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F. W. Saunders papers

 Collection
Identifier: BC-2025-063

Scope and Contents

Correspondence to F. W. Saunders primarily from Jack B. Yeats, as well as Elizabeth Corbet Yeats, J. Kilgannon of the Sligo photography studio Kilgannon and Sons, and biographers Joseph Hone and William Kirkpatrick Magee.

The bulk of the scrapbook is newspaper clippings, most of which relate to W. B. Yeats, but also Irish poet George William Russell (AE), Irish politician Thomas Henry Grattan Esmonde, and the town of Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, Ireland. Scrapbook ephemera also includes publications about W. B. Yeats; two illustrated envelopes, Fores's Courting Envelope No. 1 and Fores's Coaching Envelope No. 6; a copy of a letter from Canon Sherlock, discussing the history of Scurlag Castle; and a notice from Red Cross, Carrick-On-Suir about the war effort signed by Saunders as the Honored Secretary.

Dates

  • Creation: 1893 - 1952

Creator

Access Note

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

These materials are made available for use in research, teaching and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may retain copyright to the materials.

Biographical note: F. W. Saunders

Frederic William Saunders was born on May 21, 1867, in Dublin, Ireland, to Elizabeth Tute and Frederic Gatchell Saunders, who practiced law in Dublin and Sligo with the firm Kernaghan and Saunders. Saunders went to high school in Dublin with W. B. Yeats, most likely Erasmus Smith High School. He married Margaret Stoddart Boyd on April 3, 1899, in Carrick-on-Suir, Tipperary, Ireland, and they had one daughter, Alice Mary Saunders. Saunders was the Honorary Secretary of the Red Cross in Carrick-on-Suir during World War I. He was a bank manager at National Bank in Carrick-on-Suir and later in Steventon, Berkshire, England, and retired sometime before 1942. Saunders died on February 13, 1946 in Steventon.

Sources:

"Frederic / Fred William Saunders". Ancestry, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/family-tree/person/tree/177967948/person/242311805258/facts (accessed January 12, 2026).

Hone, Joseph. W. B. Yeats, 1865-1939. London, United Kingdom: Macmillan Company, 1943.

"Mr. F. W. Saunders". Obituary in The Irish Times, February 19, 1946.

“Yeats appreciations from newspaper cuttings, collected by F. W. Saunders, a school fellow”, scrapbook, Box 1, Folder 9, F. W. Saunders papers, BC.2025.063, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

Full Extent

1.5 Linear Feet (3 containers)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Correspondence received by Irish bank manager and history enthusiast F. W. Saunders, as well as a scrapbook containing ephemera related to W. B. Yeats. Correspondents include Jack B. Yeats and Elizabeth Corbet Yeats.

Arrangement

Alphabetical.

Provenance

Purchased from Whyte's, 2025.

Related Materials

Anthony Mourek collection of Irish culture and history, BC.2024.066, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

Boston College collection of Yeats family papers, MS.1986.054, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

George William Russell papers, MS.1993.017, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

Loretta Clarke Murray collection of women in revolutionary Ireland, MS.2016.016, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

Marion Doyle collection of W. B. Yeats, MS.1997.033, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

Source

Title
F. W. Saunders Papers
Subtitle
1893-1952
Author
Molly Aleshire
Date
2026
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the John J. Burns Library Repository

Contact:
John J. Burns Library
Boston College
140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill MA 02467 USA
617-552-4861