William Thomas Walsh was born on September 11, 1891 in Waterbury, Connecticut, the first son of William Thomas and Elizabeth Josephine (Bligh) Walsh. Walsh's grandparents, Michael and Mary (Hennelly) Walsh, immigrated from Ireland around 1850 and originally settled on a farm near Baltimore. Walsh became a high school reporter for the Waterbury American at age sixteen while he was still enrolled at Crosby High School. In 1910, at the age of nineteen his first book was published as a warning against socialism. It was published under the title "The Mirage of Many" while Walsh attended Yale. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1913. He studied violin at the Yale School of Music and was conductor of the university's symphony orchestra. In 1914, Walsh married Helen Gerard Sherwood, and they went on to have six children: Elizabeth Purves, Jane, Grace (Sister Mary Concepta), William Thomas (died in infancy), Helen Theresa, and Peter. Having already worked for various newspapers throughout his high school and collegiate careers, during the last year of World War I Walsh found himself serving as a field-reporter on the Mexican Border for the New York Daily. Later on in 1918, Walsh found the start to his thirty-one year teaching career at Hartford Public High School in Connecticut. From 1919 to 1933, Walsh headed the English Department at the Roxbury School in Massachusetts. He then moved on to a position as an English professor at Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart for the next fourteen years. Teaching as a profession afforded him amble time to concentrate on his writing career, especially with summers off to travel. Throughout his teaching career, Walsh regularly spent summers in the archives of Catholic churches in Spain in order to conduct research for his books. Walsh also attended the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire, his first time being in 1929, in order to finish his work on Isabella of Spain. While attending the artist colony, he worked alongside numerous other prominent artists of the early twentieth century. He formed a relationship with poet E.A. Robinson that developed over the years even when Walsh did not attend the colony after 1933. In 1935, Walsh wrote a piece published in U.S. Catholic Weekly in memory of E.A. Robinson and the experiences the two shared while attending the colony.
On July 15, 1946, while working on Our Lady of Fatima, Walsh received the opportunity to interview Sister Marie Lucia of the Carmelite convent of Santa Teresa in Coimbra, Portugal. Sister Marie Lucia was famously the only survivor of the three children who witnessed a series of apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal, in the summer of 1917. In the interview, Sister Lucia digressed the significance of the second July secret, and reported the precise distinction between the Holy Father's Consecration of the world versus the specific Consecration of Russia.
In 1947, Walsh retired from teaching due to diminished health and concentrated on finishing his novel Our Lady of Fatima. Walsh's most noteworthy works include his biographies on Isabella of Spain, Philip II, and St. Teresa of Avila, as well as his Characters of the Inquisition, Our Lady of Fatima, and Saint Peter, the Apostle. In 1933, Fordham University awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in Literature. For his works on Spanish Catholic history, Walsh was awarded the Laetare Medal by the University of Notre Dame in 1941, and in 1943 he received the Cross of Commander of the Order of Alphonso X by order of the Minister of Education of Spain.
The William Thomas Walsh Papers are divided into two series. The first series, Correspondence, consists of letters between William Walsh and a variety of individuals. The second series, Publications and Audiovisual Materials, 1930-1949, boxes 1-2, contains numerous manuscripts of some of Walsh's works, copies of some of his published books, and photograph portraits.
Series 1, Correspondence, 1914(1930-1948)2004, box 1, contains further biographical information published about William Thomas Walsh. The correspondence in the first series pertain his personal life, his career as both an educator and an author. Correspondence include his family and friends, publishing companies, educational institutions, and members of the Catholic Clergy. In addition to the personal correspondence, this series also contains poems written by Walsh's daughter, Helen Payne, as well as correspondence between her and her brother, Peter.
Series 2, Publications and Audiovisual Materials, 1930-1949, n.d., boxes 102, contains numerous manuscripts of Walsh's work. Some of these manuscripts are for works that were not finished. In addition, there are personal copies of Walsh's published works, photograph portraits of Walsh, as well as an unidentified audio tape recording.
The William Thomas Walsh Papers consists of:
None
This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
The Walsh Papers were donated to the American Catholic History Research Center on January 5, 2016 by Dr. Steven Millies, on behalf of Mary Ann Carlin-Walsh, the surviving wife of his son, Peter.
Processing and EAD markup in April-May 2016 by Daniel Van Ostenbridge. Additional processing and EAD markup completed in May 2016 by W. J. Shepherd.
Biographical information published about William Thomas Walsh and correspondence that include his family and friends, publishing companies, educational institutions, and members of the Catholic Clergy. In addition, there are also poems written by Walsh's daughter, Helen Payne, as well as correspondence between her and her brother, Peter.
Correspondence between Walsh and numerous individuals inquiring mostly about his literary works.
Correspondence with prominent American Catholic clergy, including: Sister Mary Ignatia (see newspaper clipping), Reverend Robert Ignatius Gannon, S.J., Reverend Mother Agnes of Jesus, and Monsignor Matthew Tierney.
Correspondence between Walsh and Mother Grace Dammann, Reverend Mother Ursula Benziger, and Reverend Mother Florence Weston (1944-1947). Relevant Newspaper articles and miscellaneous articles pertaining to Manhattanville faculty.
Includes letters and manuscripts
Numerous manuscripts, many unfinished, plus copies of Walsh's published works, photograph portraits of Walsh, as well as an unidentified audio tape recording.
n.d.
(See Rare Books; See also Ref. Pub. Pamphlets)-unmarked
Includes letter from Blackstone Studios to Mrs. Walsh.
Published by Sheed and Ward.
Published by PJ Kennedy and Sons.
Published by Robert M. McBride and Company.
Published by Sheed and Ward
Published by The MacMillan Company.
Published by The MacMillan Company.
Published by P.J. Kennedy and Sons.