Introduction

My interest in Anson Phelps Stokes grew out of the 1928 Introduction written by Anson Phelps Stokes for Monroe Nathan Works Bibliography of the Negro. I went online in hope of finding a biography and photo of the man. And I found nearly nothing that made sense. It became clear that there were more than one Anson Phelps Stokes -- a father and son who had the same name. And then I discovered that there was an Anson Phelps Stokes, Jr. I thought that this junior was the same fellow that wrote the introduction for the bibliography. But then I discovered this photo above (right) of an Anson Phelps Stokes who was the eleventh Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts (1956-1970).

It thus seemed impossible that this Anson was the same Anson that had written the 1911 letter to Booker T. Washington, nor could have he been the man that Henry Louis Gates had mentioned who attempted to organized the publication of an Encyclopedia of the Negro in 1931. I finally discovered that there were three Anson Phelps Stokes. The Diocesan Library and Archives (of The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts) finally sent me Anson Phelps Stokes (the father) image above which was copied from The Berkshire Eagle (August 14, 1958). This article at Stokes' death recalled his accomplishment and contributions to American society.

Anson I

The first Anson Phelps Stokes (1838-1913), born in New York City, was a merchant, banker, publicist, and multimillionaire. He was the son of John Boulter and Caroline (Phelps) Stokes. He was brother of William Earl Dodge Stokes and Olivia Egleston Phelps Stokes. His grandfather was the London merchant Thomas Stokes, one of the thirteen founders of the London Missionary Society and later an active supporter of the American Bible Society, the American Tract Society and the American peace Society.

A man of pronounced piety and a promoter of benevolent enterprises, Anson Phelps Stokes was also the grandson of Anson Greene Phelps and a descendant of George Phelps who emigrated from Gloucestershire, England to Dorchester, Massachusetts about 1630. His immediate ancestors were noted for their business ability, religious civic, and philanthropic interests.

As a boy he entered the employ of the family business Phelps, Dodge & Company, a mercantile establishment founded by his grandfather. In 1861, he became a partner and also a member of the firm of Phelps, James & Company, Liverpool. In 1879, he organized he organized the firm of Phelps, Stokes & Company, bankers.

On October 17, 1865, Anson Phelps Stokes married Helen Louisa, daughter of Isaac Newton Phelps. Obviously, the two were cousins. At the time of his death in New York City, fifteen years after he lost one of his legs, Anson Phelps Stokes was survived by four sons and five daughters.

Anson II

 He also served as assistant rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in New Have (1900-19180.

Stokes was resident canon (1924-1939) at the National Cathedral (Episcopal) in Washington, D.C.. During his time in the nation's capital he was involved in numerous and varied social, cultural, and ecclesiastical causes. During this period. he guided the philanthropy of the Phelps Stokes Fund (established in 1911) toward the improving the lives of African and American blacks. In 1936, Stokes published a brief biography of Booker T. Washington, which was an extension of an earlier sketch he had done for the Dictionary of American Biography. 

Stokes saw all of his work as "fellowship in the gospel" (Philemon 1:5). He died in his Lenox. Massachusetts home after a long illness.

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Relevant Anson Phelps Stokes Bibliography

Anson Phelps Stokes. Tuskegee Institute--The First Fifty Years (1931).

Anson Phelps Stokes. Art and the Color Line: An Appeal made May 31, 1939 to the President General and Other Officers of the Daughters of the American Revolution to Modify the Rules so as to Permit Distinguish Negro Artists such as Marian Anderson to be Heard in Constitution Hall. Washington, 1939.

Encyclopedia of the Negro; preparatory volume with reference lists and reports. by W. E. B. Du Bois and Guy B. Johnson prepared with the cooperation of E. Irene Diggs, Agnes C. L. Donohugh, Guion Johnson, et all. Introduction by Anson Phelps Stokes. New York: The Phelps-Stokes Fund, Inc., 1946.

Phelps-Stokes, Anson, et al. Negro Status and Race Relations in the United States, 1911-1946; the Thirty-Five Year Report of the Phelps-Stokes Fund. New York: Phelps-Stokes Fund, 1948.

Anson Phelps Stokes, Church and State in the United States. Three volumes. (1950).

An Addendum to Anson II. Part of my confusion on the three Ansoms was caused by an online letter published by the University of Illinois Press to Booker T. Washington. Though the letter is signed "Anson Phelps Stokes," the editor places above this November 2, 1911 letter "From Anson Phelps Stokes, Jr." Of course, that would have been an impossibility in that Junior was only six years old. However the contents of the letter are important:

Anson III

His home was in Brookline, Massachusetts. he died November 7, 1986

Caroline Phelps Stokes (1854-1909), American philanthropist, was the sister of Anson Phelps Stokes (1838-1913). She endowed the Phelps-Stokes Fund for the underprivileged. She was also author of Travels of a Lady's Maid (1908).

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updated 13 October 2007