Streeter, Thomas W. (Thomas Winthrop), 1883-1965

Thomas Streeter was a collector of Americana; Dr. Mumey was a noted physician, Western historian, aviator, author, inventor and woodcarver.

Thomas Winthrop Streeter (1883-1965) of Morristown, N.J., was an attorney financier, and businessman before becoming a bibliographer, rare-book dealer, and owner of one of the largest collections of Americana in the country. His collection included early books, pamphlets, and maps, with a concentration on Texas history and Western transportation, 1795-1845. In 1952, Streeter published a bibliography of the items in his collection entitled America-Beginnings. He was president of the American Antiquarian Society from 1952 to 1955 and was a member of the boards of many libraries and historical societies.

Born in Concord, New Hampshire, Thomas Winthrop Streeter (1883-1965) was the son of Frank Sherwin Streeter and Lilian Carpenter. After receiving his B.L. degree from Dartmouth College in 1904 and his LL.B. degree from Harvard University in 1907, Streeter established the law practice Streeter and Holmes in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1917, he married Ruth Cheney, with whom he had four children. That same year, the couple moved to New York City, where Streeter began working for the American International Corporation. Following his retirement in 1939, Streeter started collecting Americana and Texana, especially late 18th and early 19th century maps of Texas. He authored several books on his collection, including Americana-Beginnings (1952) and Bibliography of Texas, 1795-1845 (1955). After accumulating one of the largest collections of Texana, Streeter sold much of his collection to Yale University. An active member of many historical societies, he was also president of the American Antiquarian Society and the American Bibliographic Society.

Source:

Streeter, Ruth Cheney. Streeter, Thomas Winthrop. Handbook of Texas Online . Accessed April 29, 2011. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fst73 .

Born in Concord, New Hampshire, Thomas Winthrop Streeter (1883-1965) was the son of Frank Sherwin Streeter and Lilian Carpenter.

After receiving his B.L. degree from Dartmouth College in 1904 and his LL.B. degree from Harvard University in 1907, Streeter established the law practice Streeter and Holmes in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1917, he married Ruth Cheney, with whom he had four children. That same year, the couple moved to New York City, where Streeter began working for the American International Corporation. Following his retirement in 1939, Streeter started collecting Americana and Texana, especially late 18th and early 19th century maps of Texas. He authored several books on his collection, including Americana-Beginnings (1952) and Bibliography of Texas, 1795-1845 (1955). After accumulating one of the largest collections of Texana, Streeter sold much of his collection to Yale University. An active member of many historical societies, he was also president of the American Antiquarian Society and the American Bibliographic Society.

Thomas Winthrop Streeter was educated at Dartmouth College (1904) and Harvard Law School (1907). Beginning his career as a lawyer in Boston, Streeter soon moved into the business world, becoming involved with oil companies in Mexico. In 1917 he became treasurer, and later vice-president, of the American International Corporation. Streeter held other executive positions in the business and financial worlds until his retirement in 1939.

After 1939 Streeter devoted his time to book collecting and bibliography. He was interested in early Americana and specializied in Texana, amassing a collection which was second only to that of the University of Texas. From his years of experience Streeter compiled the five volume Bibliography of Texas 1795-1845, published in three parts. In 1957, he sold his Texas collection to Yale University, transferring the material in lots as he completed work on his bibliography. Streeter was associated with many libraries, such as the Huntington Library, the Grolier Club, and the New-York Historical Society. During the 1940s and 1950s he served as president of the Bibliographical Society of America and of the American Antiquarian Society.

Thomas Streeter married Ruth Cheney in 1917 and had four children. He died in 1965 in his hometown, Morristown, New Jersey.

Thomas W. Streeter (1883-1965), lawyer and businessman, is known for his Bibliography of Texas and his work in the field of Americana. Born in Concord, New Hampshire, on July 20, 1883, Streeter graduated from St. Paul's School in Concord in 1900, and subsequently earned degrees from Dartmouth College (B.L., 1904) and Harvard Law School (LL.B., 1907). Streeter began practicing law in Boston and married Ruth Cheney in 1917. The couple had four children.

In 1917 Streeter moved to New York and began a career in business and finance. He eventually became president of the American International Corporation. Though Streeter retired from active business in 1939 to devote himself to collecting Americana, his interest in early American history and collecting was already established. While serving as chairman of the board of Simms Petroleum Corporation from 1923 to 1930, he took advantage of business trips to Texas to locate and acquire materials relating to Texas history. In 1936 rare items from his collection were exhibited at the Texas Centennial in Dallas and in 1939, his collection was showcased at the opening of the San Jacinto Monument and Museum. Streeter published a bibliography of selected items from his collection in 1952, titled Americana-Beginnings . Over the next five years, Streeter published the five-volume Bibliography of Texas, 1795-1845 . After completing the exhaustive work, he sold his Texas collection to Yale University's Collection of Western Americana.

As reflected in Americana-Beginnings, Streeter collected extensively in many areas of American history. Before his death, which occurred in Morristown, New Jersey, on June 12, 1965, Streeter developed plans to auction most of his personal collection. The auction took place in 7 sales at Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York City, between October 25, 1966, and October 22, 1969. The catalog for the sale, titled "The celebrated collection of Americana formed by the late Thomas Winthrop Streeter..." was based on Streeter's notes about his books.