Born into a prominent Connecticut family, the geologist, educator, and industrialist Alfred Perkins Rockwell (1834-1903) was at turns a war hero, a professor, and a corporate executive. The son of a two-term Whig congressman, Rockwell received his AB from Yale in 1855, and remained in New Haven for his MA and PhB (1858) at the Sheffield Scientific School. Looking to build a foundation for a career in geology, he furthered his education by taking the standard European tour, spending time at the Museum of Practical Geology in London and at the prestigious Bergakademie at Freiberg, Saxony, where he studied metallurgy and coal geology. During his European sojourn, Rockwell also visited a succession of collieries in Northern England and Germany, familiarizing himself with advanced mining technology and with the economics of the industry.

At the outset of the Civil War, Rockwell returned to the United States and accepted a commission as Captain of the 1st Connecticut Light Artillery, earning a promotion to Colonel of the 6th Connecticut Infantry during the Petersburg Campaign of 1864 and finally a brevet to Brigadier General. He married Katharine Virginia Foote (1839-1902) after mustering out of the service in June 1865, and served briefly on the Board of Visitors at the U.S. Military Academy before returning to his alma mater as professor of mining at the Sheffield School. Barely three years later, he moved to a similar position at MIT, however by 1873, he made the decision to leave academia for other opportunities. In the aftermath of the devastating fire of 1872 that consumed much of downtown Boston, Rockwell was appointed Chairman of the Board of the Fire Commissioners in Boston, after which he served president of the Eastern Railroad (1876-1879) and from 1879 until his retirement in 1886, as treasurer of the Great Falls (N.H.) Manufacturing Co., a textile firm. Rockwell also earned income from land and other investments, including stock in the Minas Nuevas Mining Company, a lead and silver mining company in Mexico.

Never a prolific scholar, Rockwell wrote two books, Great Fires and Fire Extinction (Boston: Little, Brown, 1878) and Roads and Pavements in France (NY: Wiley, 1896). He and his wife had four children, of whom only one survived to adulthood: Mary Foote (1868-1868), Frances Beatrice (1872-1886), Samuel Edmund Foote (1873-1884), and Diana Ward (b. 1873). Rockwell died at his home in New Haven on Dec. 24, 1903.

The small collection of the papers of Alfred P. Rockwell document his interest in coal geology during the period of his postgraduate study at the Museum of Practical Geology, London, and the Bergakademie Freiberg, 1858-1859. Although the correspondence is slight, the collection includes a suite of notes on collieries, coal mining technology, and the economics of coal.

Of particular note in the collection are the eight notebooks on mining engineering (some containing sketches), including two volumes of notes on John Percy's lectures at the Museum of Practical Geology, 1858, three volumes kept during his stay at the Bergakademie Freiberg, including one on a course on metallurgy taught by Bernhard von Cotta, 1858-1859, and one of an industrial tour through Germany and Belgium (June 1859). The other volumes include two on collieries in northern England, and one including of production records for the Great Falls Manufacturing Company, 1879-1886.

Provenance

Acquired 1983 and 1984 (accn. no 1983-1019ms, 1984-551ms).

Preferred citation

Cite as: Alfred Perkins Rockwell Papers, American Philosophical Society.

Processing information

Recatalogued by rsc, 2004.

Related material

The Institute Archives and Special Collections at MIT houses a small collection of the papers of Alfred P. Rockwell, 1868-1869, pertaining to his appointment at MIT. The Beinecke Library, Yale, includes a diary of Rockwell's kept during a visit to the Menominee Indians of Wisconsin, 1855-1856, as well as a set of lecture notes kept during a course on metallurgy, 1857.

The Godkin Family Papers (MS Am 1083.2) at the Houghton Library, Harvard, includes several letters written to Rockwell and his wife.

Corporate Name(s)

• Bergakademie Freiberg
• Great Falls Manufacturing Company
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Museum of Practical Geology (Great Britain)
• Yale University. Sheffield Scientific School.

Genre(s)

• Pencil works
• Photographs

Personal Name(s)

• Cotta, Berhnard von, 1808-1879
• Percy, John, 1817-1889
• Rockwell, Alfred Perkins, 1834-1903
• Rockwell, Katherine Virginia Foote, 1839-1902

Subject(s)

• Coal mines and mining--Germany
• Coal mines and mining--Great Britain
• Geology--Germany
• Geology--Great Britain
• Metallurgy--Study and teaching
• Mining engineering--Great Britain
• Railroads--Massachusetts
• Textile industry--New Hampsire