Scope and Content Note
The papers of the Howard-von Recum family span the years 1869-1972, with the bulk of the material dating from 1881 to 1955. The papers document the lives of a British diplomat and his family from the late nineteenth century, through two world wars, and into the 1950s. The papers are in English, German, and French and are organized into the following series: Diaries , Correspondence , and Addition .
The Diaries were kept by Sir Henry Howard (1843-1921) and his daughter Baroness Marie Ernestine Howard von Recum (1868-1954), with a few diary pages kept during 1914 by Lizzie Walker, a household maid. The diaries of Sir Henry Howard cover his diplomatic career from 1881 until his death. Some of the diaries sustained damage while others were lost completely during a warehouse fire in 1919. His diaries, also containing reminiscences, clippings, postcards, and ephemera, are complete for the two peace conferences he attended at Hague, Netherlands, his Peking, China, appointment from 1887-1890, and his posting to the Vatican during World War I. Events before 1881 are covered in letters to his parents especially since his father had also been a diplomat.
The diaries of Baroness Marie Ernestine Howard von Recum cover her years as a teenager posted with her family to various countries, her marriage to the German aristocrat Baron Rudolf von Recum, and the beginning of World War I. Her diaries, interleaved with photographs, clippings, and ephemera, document her family life and social and world events. The diaries may cease in 1914 because the baroness was held in protective custody by the German government during World War I.
The Correspondence documents the diplomatic life of both Sir Henry Howard and his family, the separation of family members on different sides during the world wars, and provides a glimpse into the lives of interrelated British, German, and French aristocrats. Correspondents include Sir Henry Howard, his wife Lady Cecilia Riggs Howard (1844-1907), and their children Alice Lawrason Howard (1876-1942), George Howard (1869-1919), Henry Mowbray Howard (1873-1953) known as "Pompey," Janet Madeleine Cecilia Howard (1871-1960) known as "Jessie," and Baroness Marie Ernestine Howard von Recum known as "Da." Other family members with correspondence in the papers include Franz von Recum (1906-1974), Alice L. Riggs (1840-1927), Jane Agnes Riggs (1854-1930), and other members of the Riggs family. The correspondence is arranged as it was received in three-ring binders. Although the binders are labeled as to the person and dates of correspondence enclosed, the labels do not always reflect all the persons or dates contained in a binder. At the end of the correspondence is a volume on Howard genealogy.