Catterall, Helen Tunnicliff, 1870-1933

Ralph Charles Henry Catterall (1866-1914), historian, was born in Bolton, England, the son of Ralph C.H. Catterall, Sr. (b. 1840) and Sarah Reed Catterall (b. 1838). The family emigrated to the United States during his childhood. Catterall received bachelor's degrees from Bucknell University (1891) and Harvard University (1892) before completing his studies at University of Chicago, where he received a Ph.D. in history in 1902. He also taught history courses at the university from 1894-1902. In 1902, he became Assistant Professor of History at Cornell University. He became a full professor in 1905, and also served as head of the history department. He was best-known as the author of The Second Bank of the United States (University of Chicago Press, 1902). Catterall died in 1914 at the home of William Lyon Phelps, with whom the family had a long and close friendship.

Helen Honor Tunnicliff Catterall (1870-1933), attorney and historian, was born in Macomb, Illinois, one of three daughters of Damon George Tunnicliff (1829-1901) and Sarah A. Bacon (1846-1933). She received a bachelor's degree from Vassar College and a law degree from Boston University. Her career included work as a graduate fellow in the Department of Political Science at University of Chicago (1893-1894), law practice in Massachusetts and Illinois, teaching history at Cornell University, and research on the history of slavery for the Carnegie Foundation. Her 5-volume Judicial Cases Concerning American Slavery and the Negro was published by the Carnegie Institution 1926.

Ralph Tunnicliff Catterall (1897-1978) was the only child of Helen and Ralph Catterall. He attended Harvard University and served in World War I. He married Louise Fontaine Cadot (1899-1986) in 1923. The couple lived in Richmond, Virginia, where Catterall practiced and taught law. He was appointed to the Virginia State Corporation Commission in 1949, and served until 1973. Catterall published several critical articles on the judicial system.

From the guide to the Catterall, Helen Tunnicliff and Ralph C. H. Catterall Family. Papers, circa 1840s-1956, (Special Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.)