THE DOROTHY DAY - CATHOLIC WORKER COLLECTION

  NEW YORK CATHOLIC WORKER RECORDS 

Scope and Content

Series W-1, Catholic Worker Press Publications, 1933- ( .4 cubic foot), consists of the books, pamphlets, leaflets, and circulars published by the New York Catholic Worker. It is arranged alphabetically by type of document and chronologically thereunder. 

Series W-1.1, The Catholic Worker, 1933- (2 cubic feet), consists of the four-volume facsimile reprint edition published by Greenwood Press (May 1933-June 1961

Series W-2, General Correspondence, Outgoing, 1933- (.6 cubic foot), is arranged chronologically. Correspondence pertaining to submitted manuscripts, CW communities, and certain activities and concerns of the CW movement is filed in Series W-3 through W-6).  

Series W-2.1, General Correspondence, Incoming, 1933- (9.6 cubic feet) is arranged by spans of years (e.g., 1933-1953) and then alphabetically by correspondent.

Series W-2.2, General Correspondence, Incoming, by Correspondent, 1933- (.6 cubic foot), contains extended correspondence from Ade Bethune, Fritz Eichenberg, Paul Hanly Furfey, and other writers. It is arranged alphabetically by correspondent and chronologically thereunder.

Series W-3, Contributions to The Catholic Worker, 1933- , contains submitted manuscripts and related correspondence, arranged by author. 

Series W-4, Catholic Worker Communities, 1933- ( 9.6 cubic feet), contains records of affiliated CW communities. At present, the only records we have for most of the CW houses and farms, defunct or active, were received from the New York CW - correspondence (letters received and carbon copies of some letters sent), publications, and clippings.  As records are received from other communities, separate series will be established for them.  The series is arranged alphabetically by location of community and type of record and chronologically thereunder. 

Series W-4.1, St. Joseph's House and Maryhouse (New York City) Records, 1934- (.6 cubic foot), consists of records that document the operations of these houses, including correspondence, clippings, and legal and financial records. The series is arranged alphabetically by type of record and chronologically thereunder.

Series W-4.2, Maryfarm (Easton, Pennsylvania, and Newburgh, New York) Records, 1935 (1936-1955)-1992 (.4 cubic foot), contains the surviving records of two farms operated by the New York CW (1936-1946 and 1947-1955) and a graduate school paper on the Easton farm, for which one of the residents was interviewed. The series is arranged alphabetically by type of record and chronologically thereunder.

Series W-4.3, Our Lady Star of the Sea Camp and Peter Maurin Farm (Staten Island, New York) Records, 1940 (1949-1964)-1978 (.3 cubic foot), consists of fragmentary records of the camp (1940-1941) and farm (1950-1964), arranged by type of record.

Series W-4.4,  Catholic Worker Farm (Tivoli, New York) Records, 1912, 1946-1947, 1956, 1963-1980 (1 cubic foot), documents the NYCW's endeavors from 1964-1979 at a site overlooking the Hudson River. The series is arranged alphabetically by type of record and then chronologically.

Series W-4.5, Peter Maurin Farm (Marlboro, New York) Records, 1979- (.3 cubic foot) contains records of the present farm of the NYCW, arranged alphabetically by type of record and chronologically thereunder.

Series W-5, Financial and Legal Records, 1933- (3.6 cubic feet), documents transactions of the New York Catholic Worker as a whole, including checks paid (1955-1976) and donations received (1955-1989). The series also contains correspondence and documents concerning estates of which the New York CW was a beneficiary and correspondence relating to the Internal Revenue Service's attempt to tax the NYCW. (Financial and legal records pertaining to a particular house or farm are filed in its series.) The series is arranged alphabetically by subject and type of document and chronologically thereunder.

Series W-6,General Subject Files, 1934- (1.2 cubic feet), contains correspondence and publications concerning  particular interests of the New York CW community, such as cooperatives, retreats, and prison reform. The series is arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically thereunder.

Series W-6.1, Subject Files: Communities and Social Welfare Organizations, 1933-, n.d. (.4 cubic foot), documents the NYCW's ties to other communities and organizations, including the Bruderhof, Friendship House, and The Grail. The series is arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically thereunder.

Series W-6.2, Subject Files: Labor, 1933- (1.3 cubic feet), concerns the NYCW's efforts in behalf of organized labor, notably Dorothy Day's intercession with Cardinal Spellman at the time of the "Grave Diggers Strike" in 1949. It includes a Christmas crèche constructed under Ade Bethune’s direction by members of the Catholic Union of Unemployed (a self-help group organized by the New York CW), ca. 1939. The series is arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically thereunder.

Series W-6.3, Subject Files: Pacifism and Conscientious Objection, 1936- (1 cubic foot), documents the anti-war activities of the New York CW community, including protests against  mandatory civil defense drills (1955-1961) and the Vietnam War. There is also information on the Association of Catholic Conscientious Objectors, spun off from the NYCW during the Second World War, which sponsored alternative service camps and published The Catholic C.O.  (A complete run of this serial is included.) The series is arranged chronologically.

Series W-6.4, Subject Files: People, 1923-1926, 1935- (1 cubic foot), contains files on associates of Dorothy Day and other Catholic Workers who were not themselves members of the movement. It includes letters from Dorothy Day to the following: Rev. Harvey Egan, Fritz Eichenberg (photocopies), Llewellyn Jones, Rev. Leo Neudecker, William Oleksak, and Anne Perkins. The series is arranged alphabetically by proper name and chronologically thereunder.

Series W-6.5, Subject Files: Surveillance of Dorothy Day and Other Catholic Workers, 1943-1990, n.d. (.3 cubic foot), contains a photocopy of the New York Police Department Intelligence Division ("Red Squad")  file on the Catholic Worker, correspondence and notes of Robert Ellsberg on Dorothy Day's FBI file, and the FBI's file on Arthur Sheehan (actually pertaining to Dorothy Day and the New York Catholic Worker as a whole).