Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm81056804
Collection material in English and Italian
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of Francis Bowler Keene, diplomat, poet, and author, were given to the Library of Congress by Mrs. Emerin S. Chute and Carolyn W. Keene in 1976.
The papers of Francis Bowler Keene were arranged and described in 1982. The finding aid was revised in 2010.
Photographs and drawings have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division where they are identified as part of the Francis Bowler Keene Papers.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Francis Bowler Keene is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The papers of Francis Bowler Keene are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Francis Bowler Keene Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Francis Bowler Keene (1856-1945) span the years 1856-1975, with the bulk of the collection concentrated in the period 1877-1924. The collection is organized into eight series: Diary and Account Book, Personal Correspondence, Family Correspondence, General Correspondence, Subject File, Writings, Miscellany, and Oversize. Included are literary manuscripts, genealogical material, an autograph collection, and miscellaneous items such as printed matter, scrapbooks, presidential appointments, certificates, a chart, and memorial.
The collection focuses on Keene’s long career as a consular officer at Florence, Italy, Geneva and Zurich, Switzerland, and as consul general at Rome. The papers reflect Keene’s deep concern and conscientiousness in performing the duties of a consular officer. His mastery of French, German, and Italian was especially helpful during World War I, when many Americans were stranded in Europe and required the services of an experienced consular officer, particularly in Switzerland.
Keene’s papers relating to personal and family affairs also form a portion of the collection. His letters to his father, David Keene, while he attended Racine College in Wisconsin and Harvard University, reveal a close relationship between father and son. The letters later written to his wife and two daughters allow a brief insight into his immediate family relationships.
A few of the papers reflect on his contribution to the field of golf, for which he was known as “Laureate of the Links” in Europe as well as in America.
Keene’s principal correspondents include Robert Bacon, Poultney Bigelow, Henry Breckinridge, Wilbur J. Carr, Eugene S. Elliott, Curtis Guild, Elizabeth Hackett, Warren G. Harding, John Hay, Philander C. Knox, Robert M. La Follette, Francis B. Loomis, William Woodville Rockhill, Theodore Roosevelt, Elihu Root, John C. Spooner, Pleasant A. Stovall, William H. Taft, Frederick Jackson Turner, Henry Watterson, Leonard Wood, and John Woodbury.
This collection is arranged in eight series:
Diary notes and account book kept by Keene while he was guardian of his uncle, Edgar Keene.
Arranged chronologically.
Letterpress book containing impressions of holographic and typescript letters.
Letters arranged chronologically.
Letters and related and attached material to and from family members.
Arranged chronologically.
Letters and attached and related material.
Arranged chronologically.
Genealogical material and autographs.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Biographical sketches, poems, essays, short stories, and other writings.
Arranged by title, topic, or type of material.
Passports, printed matter, and scrapbooks.
Arranged aphabetically by type of material.
Diplomas, appointments, certificates, charts, and memorials.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.