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Daniel J. Burns collection

finding aid

Creator:

Daniel J. Burns

Date Range:

1840-2000, bulk 1888-1958

Call Number:

AG123

Abstract:

Collection of the former supervisor of Deafblind Program at Perkins School for the Blind, from 1955-1961. Contains photographs, clippings, publications, and other materials related to deafblindness and Perkins history, including a folder of Laura Bridgman signatures.

Extent:

1.5 linear feet

Language:

English

Processed by:

Molly Stothert-Maurer, 2015; Biography and scope/contents added by Susanna Coit, 2022

Biographical/Historical Notes:

Daniel J. Burns was the head of the Perkins Deaf-Blind Department from 1955 to the 1961. Burns held a B.Ed. and M.S. from the State University of New York, Genese, New York and an M.S. from Gallaudet College, with special courses at Purdue and Butler Universities. Before coming to Perkins, Burns taught children who were deaf in the Cinncinati Public Schools and was a Speech and Hearing Therapist at the Indian School for the Deaf. While at Perkins, Burns studied the evaluation, screening, and assessment of student who are deafblind, assisted by Rose Vivian and Gertrude Stenquist. Burns was also involved in the Teacher Training Program at Perkins. In September 1956, Burns announced the beginning of “the first training program for teachers of the deaf-blind to be offered at” Perkins. Offered at the graduate level, the program involved both course work at Boston University and working with Perkins students as participants lived in cottages on the Perkins campus. Burns retired from Perkins in June 1961 and died June 19, 2002.

Sources of information:

Burns, Daniel J. “Training Teachers of the Deaf-Blind.” The Lantern, Vol. XXV, No. 3. The Perkins Institution, Watertown MA. March 15, 1956.

“New Head for Deaf-Blind Dept.” The Lantern, Vol. XXXII, No. 3. Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown MA. June 1962.

Waterhouse, Edward J. “Trustees Authorize New Training Course.” The Lantern, Vol. XXV, No. 3. The Perkins Institution, Watertown MA. March 15, 1956.

Restrictions:

None

It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Perkins School for the Blind, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

Credit line/Citation:

AG123 Daniel J. Burns Collection. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.

Scope/Contents:

The collection contains photographs, clippings, publications, and other materials related to deafblindness and Perkins history. Photographs include prominent students who were deafblind at Perkins such as Laura Bridgman, Thomas Stringer, Oliver Caswell, Willie Elizabeth Robin, Helen Keller, and others. Materials span from 1897 to 2000.

Arrangement:

2 Series, 2 boxes

  • Series 1: Documents
  • Series 2: Photographs

Related collections:

Students with deafblindness at Perkins School for the Blind digital collection on Flickr

AG587 Photographs of students with deafblindness. Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA.

Container List:

Series 1: Documents

Box 1

  • B1:F1: Laura Bridgman signatures, 12 total, undated
  • B1:F2: Prints, photographs from publications, undated
  • B1:F3: Pamphlets, 1949, 1966, undated
  • B1:F4: Newspaper clippings, 1956-2000, undated
  • B1:F5: Talking disk for deafblind, in braille and Moon type, undated
  • B1:F6: The Deaf-Blind at Perkins Institution, bound reproduction of a scrapbook, ca. 1935
  • B1:F7: Publications, 1897, 1939, 1961
  • B1:F8: Publications, 1956-1961
  • B1:F9: Mailing label, law firm (accession), 2002

Series 2: Photographs, 1888-1958

Box 54: Archival Photo binder:

(Box 54- stored with AG129 Photographs in Archives)

Subjects:

  • Laura Bridgman and Oliver Caswell (reproduction of Alvan Fisher painting ca. 1844), undated
  • Michael Anagnos, undated
  • Sarah Wight, teacher of Laura Bridgman, later Mrs. Edward  Pearson Bond, undated
  • Col. Thomas Handasyd Perkins, reproduction of painting by Gilbert Stewart ca. 1827, undated
  • M. Trencheri, first teacher at Perkins, undated
  • Francois Le Sueur, print, undated
  • Helen Keller with Willie Elizabeth Robin, Tommy Stringer, Edith Thomson, undated
  • Helen Keller and Michael Anagnos, undated
  • Helen Keller, studio portrait Sheffield, AL, ca. 1888, 
  • Tommy Stringer, 2 portraits, undated
  • Willie Elizabeth Robin, 8 portraits, undated
  • Tommy Stringer, Edith Thomas, Willie Elizabeth Robin, Marion Rastron, Cora Crocker, undated
  • Anagnos bust by Bela Lyon Pratt (2, clay and bronze sculpture), ca. 1916 
  • Dorothy Ingersoll, class in massage (with model skeleton), 1935 or 1936
  • Laura Bridgman home in New Hampshire, undated
  • Perkins campus postcard, undated
  • Laura Bridgman tombstone, undated
  • Campus, Fairchild Aerial Survey Inc., undated
  • Pond and Howe Tower with lily pads in foreground, undated
  • Model of Perkins grounds, 1939
  • Still from “The Key”, movie about Laura Bridgman’s education, 1957
  • Various campus and building photographs, some in winter, undated
  • Stained glass from chapel in Howe Building, undated
  • Edward J. Waterhouse portrait, by Ted Polumbaum, undated
  • Unknown student portrait, Ted Polumbaum, 1955
  • Laura Bridgman centennial celebration, at homestead with Leonard Dowdy, 1937
  • Class: Virginia Eilerhorst, Len Johnson, Dan Burns, Joe Weil, undated
  • Staff portrait including Dan Burns and Edward J. Waterhouse, 1958
  • Edward J. Waterhouse with Patty Duke (probably), and 2 unknown men, undated
  • Perkins Library, 1932
  • Dan Burns, Gertrude Stenquist, and unknown teacher and student in classroom, undated

Provenance:

Donated in 2002.

Subject headings:

  • Perkins School for the Blind–History
  • Perkins School for the Blind
  • People who are deafblind
  • People who are deafblind–Education
  • Keller, Helen, 1880-1968
  • Robin, Elizabeth
  • Stenquist, Gertrude
  • Stringer, thomas, 1886-1945
  • Bridgman, Laura Dewey, 1829-1889

Explore more resources from the Archives

Learn more about our collections, including digitized materials, and resources related to the history of Perkins School for the Blind and the history of education for people with blindness or deafblindness.