Collection inventory

Special Collections home page

George Fisk Comfort Family Collection

An inventory of his family collection at the Syracuse University Archives


Sponsor: The processing of this collection was made possible through a grant from The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.

Finding aid created by: Mary Skaden
Date: 2013

Biography

The Comfort family is connected to Syracuse University mainly through George Fisk Comfort, who took a position at the University a year after it opened and became the first Dean of the College of Fine Arts. In addition to Dean Comfort, the four generations of the Comfort family represented in this collection provide an interesting cross section of an American family during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

John Comfort (1776 - 1850), grandfather of Dean Comfort, was a merchant and lived in Great Bend, Pennsylvania with his Phoebe and their nine children. Professionally, he helped build part of the national road between the Hudson River and Lake Erie, which would later become the Erie Railroad.

Silas Comfort (1803 - 1868), father of George Fisk Comfort, was a Methodist preacher. He was born May 5, 1803 in Lanesboro, Pennsylvania, married Electa Smith in 1826, and raised eight children. The Comfort family travelled around the United States as Silas was assigned to different church congregations. In 1835, after years of hard work, Silas was appointed Presiding Elder while in St. Louis and was thus obliged to hear trials against parishioners for their questionable moral conduct. He earned notoriety after allowing the testimony of an African American to be used against a white church member, something unheard of at the time. While his views on abolition and slave rights may have been considered progressive for the time, most of his life was not so controversial. After his wife Electa died in 1861, Silas married Sara Ann Foster and had two more children: Silas G. Comfort and Grace Comfort. When Silas and Sara both died in 1868, the children were raised by their half brother George.

George Fisk Comfort (1833 - 1910) was the first dean of the College of Fine Arts at Syracuse University. Born on September 20, 1833, he spent much of his youth travelling abroad and studying art, philosophy, and language, but graduated from Wesleyan University with a Bachelor's and a Master's degree of Liberal Arts in 1857 and 1860 respectively. Afterwards, he continued his travels and studies in Europe and while attending university in Berlin in the 1860s, he focused on aesthetic culture, especially its place of importance in European education and society. Upon returning to the United States in 1865, he brought this idea with him, and when Allegheny College hired him as a professor, he taught the first lecture class on the topic of Aesthetics in an American university.

George Fisk Comfort

After teaching for several years, George decided to move to New York City; it was during this time that he met and married Anna Amelia Manning. Together they raised their two sons, as well as George’s half brother and half sister. Professionally, he spent his time writing textbooks on languages and aesthetics in education and continuing to give lectures for various organizations. He also founded the American Philological Association in 1869. In November of the same year, George attended and gave the main address at a meeting for citizens interested in starting an art museum in New York City that could rival those in Europe. This initial meeting was the origin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The idea of a public institution, funded in part by the city, exhibiting some of the greatest works of art for all Americans to see was groundbreaking at this time. George took great pride in this endeavor and worked on its development as one of the original trustees until 1872, when he moved to Syracuse to take a teaching position at the University.

Although George came to Syracuse University as a professor of modern languages, literature, and aesthetics, the University supported his idea for a college of fine arts. After a year of planning and proposing, the College of Fine Arts at Syracuse University officially opened in 1873 with George Fisk Comfort as its first dean. Originally planned as an all-inclusive art school, the College of Fine Arts was the first institution in the United States to offer both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in areas such as architecture, painting, sculpture, music, and oratory arts. In addition to his role as dean, George continued to teach. After several years of great success at Syracuse University, he attempted to take this model elsewhere and left Syracuse. In 1894, he set his sights on Texas and worked with investors to open the Southern College of Fine Arts. Due to a variety of reasons, this plan ultimately fell through, and George found himself in a difficult situation; bankrupt and jobless, he moved back to Syracuse.

By 1897, however, George had a new plan. By repurposing the basic plan for the Met, he would open a fine arts museum in Syracuse. After several years of gathering public support and funding, the Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts opened in 1900 in the Onondaga County Savings Bank. By 1906, the museum had moved to the top floor of the Carnegie Public Library. It was a small institution, but as the director, George worked hard to make sure it was professionally managed, aesthetically relevant, and an important part of the community. Even now, the museum remains a major part of Syracuse, despite looking very different; it is better known today as the Everson Museum of Art.

In 1910, while spending time in New York City to visit one of his sons and look for art to add to the museum’s collection, George suddenly died from a combination of exhaustion and food poisoning. However, his legacy in Syracuse remains to this day.

Anna Manning Comfort

George Fisk Comfort’s wife, Anna Manning Comfort (1845 - 1931), married into a forward-thinking family but was not overshadowed by anyone’s progressive views or social accomplishments. Anna was the youngest student in the first class to graduate from the New York Medical College for Women, an institution founded by her aunt and mentor, Dr. Clemence Lozier. Although Anna had to deal with the harsh reality of gender discrimination while attempting to earn a medical degree, she persisted. Her aunt was a strong supporter of equal educational opportunities and was very involved in the suffragist movement; not surprisingly, her niece held similar opinions.

Upon graduating, Anna became the first woman with a graduate degree to set up a medical practice in Connecticut. Again, she often faced prejudices in the communities where she practiced but continued regardless. She returned to New York City in 1870 to work and lecture at the New York Medical College for Women. During this time, she met George Fisk Comfort and the two were married in 1871. Although she took time off to raise her children, when her husband’s plan for a school in Texas fell through, Anna reopened her practice in Syracuse. After his death in 1910, Anna continued to live and work in the Syracuse area until her own death in 1931.

Ralph Manning Comfort (1872 - 1954) was the older of George Fisk Comfort’s two biological sons. Ralph graduated from the architecture program at Syracuse University in 1893. He maintained a close relationship with his parents and supported them during their financial difficulties. He married Ethel Nutt in 1902 and had one son, Lowell Rutherford Comfort, in 1903. In his professional life, Ralph worked for an architectural firm in New York City, managed a lumber mill in Texas for several years, and returned to New York in the early 20th century to work as consultant and efficiency engineer until his death in 1954.

Scope and Content Note

The Comfort Family Collection spans 1822 to 1956 and is separated into series based on the family members of George Fisk Comfort. Various individuals from the family are included, though the bulk of the material comes from Dean Comfort and four direct relatives.

The John Comfort Series includes correspondence to his son, Silas, and his personal will.

The items included in the Silas Comfort Series include basic biographical material, some of his religious writings, and a small amount of information on his wife, Electa. A large number of sermon notes are included, as well as the leather pouch that originally contained them. There is also information regarding the church trial in which he famously accepted an African American man's testimony.

The George Fisk Comfort Series also consists largely of correspondence and writing. A great deal of the correspondence comes from 1895 to 1905 and provides an intimate idea of Comfort's life after he left Syracuse University and while he was planning the Syracuse Fine Arts Museum. Of significant interest are the vast amount of letters to his son Ralph, in which Comfort describes his everyday trials and successes but also occasionally discusses larger philosophical ideas. He also corresponds with various individuals of historical significance, such as President Andrew Johnson, Melville Dewey, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and Thomas Moran. There are also letters to chancellors and administrators at Syracuse University, including Frank Smalley, Charles Sims, and James Roscoe Day, some lecture notes from courses he taught, a history of the University, and brochures from programs he led while teaching at Syracuse University. In addition to his correspondence, there are also various materials that pertain to several major areas of his life: the founding of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, scholarly works from his academic positions, books and course readers, his plan for a school of fine arts in Texas, and a great deal of information about the founding of the Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts. Photographs in this series include portraits, family members, images of various artistic representations, and landscapes. Apart from Comfort's personal papers, there is biographical material such as articles, an essay by Syracuse University professor David Tatham, and a thesis on Comfort's life.

Items in the Anna Manning Comfort Series include publications from conferences about suffrage and educational rights, information on community groups she was involved in, and some of her poetry and informal writing. Included in her correspondence are letters from family members, fellow community organizers, and Syracuse University administrators such as Frank Smalley and Charles Sims. Photographs in this series include both formal and informal personal portraits, members of the Comfort family, and members of the Manning family. Additionally, her papers comprise material from her role as a doctor, including medical reference books, lecture notes from school, a draft of her thesis in women's health from medical school, and a small medical kit.

The items in the Ralph Manning Comfort Series pertain mostly to his professional life and to his relationship with his father. His correspondence is concentrated around the time of his father's death in 1910 and the celebration of his father's birth centennial in 1933. Additionally, some of the correspondence deals with business matters or communication with his employers. This series also contains some biographical information, a Syracuse University diploma, and the wills of Ralph and his wife Ethel.

Additionally, there are various other relatives of George Fisk Comfort represented in this collection. Emily Comfort (sister), Frederick Price Comfort (son), John Comfort (brother), Melville Comfort (brother), Silas G. Comfort (half-brother), and William Comfort (brother) are each included in the Other Family Members Series. This series consists of a small amount of material such as correspondence, short articles, and annual school catalogs.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

In addition to this collection, the Archives holds portrait files for George Fisk Comfort and Ralph Manning Comfort and clipping files that relate to George Fisk Comfort, Ralph Manning Comfort, and Silas G. Comfort.

Selected Search Terms

Names

Carnegie, Andrew, 1835-1919.
Comfort, Anna (Manning) 1845-1931.
Comfort, George Fisk, 1833-1910.
Comfort, S. (Silas), 1808-1868.
Cox, Kenyon, 1856-1919.
Curran, Charles C. (Charles Courtney), 1861-1942.
Day, James Roscoe, 1845-1923.
Dewey, Melvil, 1851-1931.
Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875.
Lozier, Clemence S.
Morgan, J. Pierpont (John Pierpont), 1837-1913.
Post, Alice Thacher, 1853-1947.
Sims, C. N. (Charles N.), 1835-1908.
Smalley, Frank, 1846-1931.
Winchell, Alexander, 1824-1891.
American Association of Museums.
American Philological Association.
Everson Museum of Art.
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)
National American Woman Suffrage Association.
New York Medical College for Women.
Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts.
Syracuse University -- History.
Syracuse University.
Syracuse University. -- College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Subjects

Aesthetics.
Art museums.
Women in medicine.
Art museum directors.
College teachers.
Higher education.

Types of Material

Correspondence.
Photographs.
Scrapbooks.
Sermons.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

George Fisk Comfort Family Collection,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

The George Fisk Comfort Family Collection came to Syracuse University originally as a long term loan from Ralph M. Comfort. After his death in 1954, the collection was formally presented to the University as the gift of his wife, Ethel N. Comfort.

Processing Information

Damaging materials, such as staples and paper clips, were removed, original newspaper clippings were replaced with photocopies, and photographs have been placed into individual Mylar sleeves. Original containers were replaced with new archival boxes and folders, including one oversized box for large certificates and diplomas.

Arrangement

Within each series, the folders are arranged alphabetically, with their contents ordered chronologically.

Table of Contents

John Comfort

Silas Comfort

George Fisk Comfort

Anna Manning Comfort

Ralph Manning Comfort

Other family members

Inventory