Child, Francis James, 1825-1896

The materials in this bound volume were generated due to a manuscript called the "Harris manuscript." The Harris manuscript was written down by the sisters Amelia Harris (1815-1891) and Jane Harris (1823-1897). They compiled a family repertoire of Scottish ballads, mainly passed on orally to the sisters by their mother, Grace Dow Harris (Mrs. David Harris) (b.1782). This manuscript and some correspondence was purchased in 1873 by Professor Francis James Child of Harvard University who was a scholar of ballads, in order to help make these songs known. Other correspondents involved with the Harris manuscript include: William Edmondstoune Aytoune, Norval Clyne, and others.

From the guide to the Francis James Child collection of letters and papers relating to the Harris ballad manuscript, 1859-1913., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)

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