Thomas Winthrop Streeter Sr. (July 20, 1883 – June 12, 1965) was a

book collector Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given collector. The love of books is '' bibliophilia'', and some ...

whose collection of

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

was considered one of the most important of its kind.

Early life

Thomas Winthrop Streeter was born on July 20, 1883, in

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...

, to Lillian (née Carpenter) and Frank S. Streeter. He graduated from St. Paul's School in 1900 and

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1904. In 1907, he graduated from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

Career

Following his graduation, Streeter practiced law in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. He law practiced at Choate, Hall & Stewart and later became a senior partner of the firm Streeter and Holmes. In 1917, he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and was affiliated with banking and business firms there and in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

. He was chairman of the board of Simms Petroleum Corporation from 1923 to 1930 and was associated with the liquidation of

Bank of United States The Bank of United States was a private New York City bank that operated between 1913 and its failure in 1931. Founded by Joseph S. Marcus, the bank grew rapidly between 1925 and 1929, merging with or acquiring several others and increasing it ...

from 1931 to 1935. In 1939, he retired from his law and financial career to focus his time on collecting historical documents about

, including books, maps, pamphlets, and broadsides. Streeter was president of the

Bibliographical Society of America The Bibliographical Society of America (BSA) is a North American organization that fosters the study of books and manuscripts. It was constituted from the earlier Bibliographical Society of Chicago (created in 1899) as the national membership began ...

from 1942 to 1943. He was chairman of Friends of the

Library. He was an associate of the

John Carter Brown Library The John Carter Brown Library is an independently funded research library of history and the humanities on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The library's rare book, manuscript, and map collections encompass a variety of ...

and a member of the Council of Fellows of the

Pierpont Morgan Library The Morgan Library & Museum (originally known as the Pierpont Morgan Library and colloquially known the Morgan) is a museum and research library in New York City, New York, U.S. Completed in 1906 as the private library of the banker J. P. Morg ...

. He was director of Friends

Huntington Library The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington and Arabella Huntington in San Marino, California, United State ...

. He was a member of the visiting committees of the libraries at Yale, Princeton, Harvard, and the

McGregor Library Highland Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An enclave of Detroit, Highland Park is located roughly north of Downtown Detroit, and is surrounded by Detroit on most sides. As of the 2020 census, the city had a popula ...

. He was fellow of the

California Historical Society The California Historical Society (CHS) was the official historical society of California, until it dissolved and transferred its collections to the Stanford University Libraries in an agreement that was announced in January 2025. Founded in 1871 ...

and a member of the council of

Grolier Club The Grolier Club is a private club and society of bibliophiles in New York City. Founded in January 1884, it is the oldest existing bibliophilic club in North America. The club is named after Jean Grolier de Servières, Viscount d'Aguisy, T ...

.Heaney, Howell J. “Thomas W. Streeter, Collector, 1883-1965.” ''The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America'' 65, no. 3 (1971): 243–56. He was a trustee of the

New York Historical Society The New York Historical (known as the New-York Historical Society from 1804 to 2024) is an American history museum and library on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. It ...

and served as its treasurer from 1947 to 1964. He served as president of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

. He was a member of the Wolpole Society, the Century Association of New York, and the Club of Odd Volumes of Boston. In February 1957, Streeter sold 2,100 historical Texan Americana to the Yale University Library, including a letter from William B. Travis at

The Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo ...

. His data on early American railroads was provided to the American Antiquarian Society and Harvard Business School.

Personal life

Streeter married Ruth Cheney on July 23, 1917. Their children were Frank S., Henry S., Thomas W. and Lillian. Streeter died on June 12, 1965, at his home in Morristown. He was buried in

Peterborough, New Hampshire Peterborough is a New England town, town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,418 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The main village, with 3,090 people at the ...

Awards

In 1946, Streeter was awarded an honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Darthmouth College. In 1957, he was awarded the New York Historical Society's Gold Medal for Distinguished Service. He received the Henry Wagner Memorial Award of the California Historical Society in 1962.

References

External links

Thomas W. Streeter Papers
Yale Collection of Western Americana. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Streeter, Thomas Winthrop Sr. 1883 births 1965 deaths People from Concord, New Hampshire People from New York City People from Morristown, New Jersey American book and manuscript collectors Presidents of the Bibliographical Society of America Dartmouth College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Lawyers from Boston 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American lawyers