This collection contains the papers of Frankwood E. Williams, an American psychiatrist who focused on the prevention of mental illness and was concerned with the science of human nature. There are 12 series in this collection, and it is comprised of personal and professional papers, including correspondence, reports, manuscripts, photographs, publications, programs, and other assorted documents, created by or related to Williams.

1a. Personal Papers Correspondence: consist primarily of correspondence with Williams' sisters, namely Mrs. Edwin J. Grady of Madison, Wisconsin, Mrs. Robert A. Green of Flint, Michigan, and Mrs. Benjamin H. Ragle of Boston and their respective children and other relatives. Frequent, detailed letters reflect Williams’ involvement as brother, uncle, cousin and confidante to the various members of these families. He was particularly close to his nephew, Robert Grady and took him to Europe one summer. Letters were also exchanged between Williams and Hans Juchelka and Hans Langkut, two German youths whose education Williams supported. Their later letters to Williams provide some interesting perspectives on Nazi Germany. Some correspondence and related materials refer to redecorating Williams' apartment and his often cited "city garden” in Greenwich Village.

1b. Personal Papers Miscellaneous: contains associated notebooks, notes, bills, unidentified essays, and publications from the University of Michigan, his alma mater.

1c. Personal Papers Estate Related Documents: includes Williams' last will and testament and an appraised inventory of his household furnishings.

1d. Personal Papers Obituaries and Tributes: contain correspondence, programs and memorials held at various institutions with which he was associated, correspondence regarding his death, and a bibliography and tributes compiled by Emily Martin.

World War I: includes letters, certificates of appointment, Medical Department correspondence, and manuscripts and reprints based on war related research.

3a. National Committee for Mental Hygiene Correspondence: primarily with Clifford Beers, founder and Secretary of NCMH. Correspondence usually dealt with fundraising and other issues. Williams also corresponded with other officers in addition to psychiatrists, educators, and administrators about various aspects of the NCMH’s activities.

3b. National Committee for Mental Hygiene Committee Records: include agendas, minutes, weekly reports of the Executive Committee; some records discuss fundraising campaigns, annual meetings, and the Thomas Salmon Memorial, Inc.

3c. National Committee for Mental Hygiene Surveys and Reports: include a variety of unpublished reports and surveys and related correspondence issued by NCMH and other mental hygiene oriented organizations.

3d. National Committee for Mental Hygiene Publications: encompass both bound and single issues of the National Committee’s Mental Hygiene Bulletin and related correspondence, in addition to a few isolated reprints. Williams served as editor of Mental Hygiene Bulletin from 1923-1931.

3e. National Committee for Mental Hygiene Institute for Child Guidance: grew out of the Division on the Prevention of Delinquency of the NCMH. The Institute was supported by The Commonwealth Fund. The purposes of the Institute included the study of the causes and methods of treatment of children's behavioral problems and the providing of facilities for psychiatrists and psychiatric social workers in the field of child guidance. Williams was a member of the Institute's Administrative Board, Medical Director of the NCMH and a professor at the New York and Smith College Schools of Social Work, both schools closely affiliated with the Institute. Material in this subseries includes correspondence, reports and publications.

4a. Professional Correspondence, non-NCMH with Individuals and General: contains correspondence with a variety of representatives of organizations concerning numerous topics including publications, conferences, and meetings. Some of the correspondence written during the years Williams was the medical director of the NCMH; however National Committee business is not discussed in these letters. Also includes correspondence with some prominent individuals in the psychiatric field. Foremost among them is Sigmund Freud. Three letters written by Freud and related correspondence and news clippings form part of this subseries. Other professionals include Helene Deutsch, Samuel W. Hamilton, Mary C. Jarrett, Harry N. Kerns, M. C. Otto, and Arthur Ruggles.

4b. Professional Correspondence, Association Memberships and non-NCMH: consists of correspondence, programs, and related material with professional organizations of which Williams was a member, such as the New York Academy of Medicine.

4c. Professional Correspondence, Journals and non-NCMH: consists of correspondence pertaining to articles Williams wrote for two journals. He published a paper “Community Responsibility in Mental Hygiene” for the January-February 1923 issue of American Review. Williams also served on the Editorial Board of this journal. This subseries includes Williams’ correspondence as Editor of “Social Aspects of Mental Hygiene” prepared for The Annals published by the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Williams prepared this special issue as Chairman of the Program Committee of the First International Congress on Mental Hygiene in May 1930.

Conferences and Programs: most of these records concern the First International Congress on Mental Hygiene which took place in May 1930 in Washington, D.C. Attendees of the Congress considered world cooperation and more effective promotion of mental hygiene, and attempted to correlate the special knowledge and experience of the psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric social worker, occupational therapist, public administrator, educator and sociologist to determine how best to care for and treat the mentally ill, to prevent mental illness and to conserve mental health. Williams’ work with the NCMH was reaching a peak during this time and the mental hygiene movement made worldwide progress which culminated in this Congress, which was attended by 3,500 physicians, educators, social workers, and public spirited citizens from over 50 countries. Williams organized the scientific program and also edited the Congress Proceedings. Records in this series consist of programs, letters of appreciation from delegates following the Congress, text of the first volume of the Proceedings, review of the Proceedings, reports and correspondence requesting sets of Congress papers. Programs for other conferences and concert programs are also included in this subseries.

School Related Records: comprise correspondence regarding lecture series, catalogs in which Williams' lecture series are listed, lecture notes and reading lists. Records particular to Yale University include correspondence regarding the establishment of the Department of Mental Hygiene and Psychiatry, staffing the Department, associated reports, and Williams' reprints related to his work at Yale. Emily Martin's notes referring to his teaching were prepared in 1978.

Lectures and Research Notes, lectures notes: contain correspondence concerning arrangements for Williams’ lectures at a wide variety of institutions in the Northeast and Midwest. Lecture notes are included in this subseries. Also contains Williams' notes he prepared on Freud's book, The Ego and the Id, and theories and writings of William Sweetser, Isaac Ray, D. A. Gorton and others.

8a. Publications Correspondence: refers to correspondence written in regard to papers Williams wrote. Subseries contains correspondence with editors and publishers, requests for Williams' writing, articles, and reviews.

8b. Publications Manuscripts: consist of manuscripts for some of Williams' articles.

8c. Publications Reprints: are reprints of Williams' articles.

Miscellaneous: Stimulated by discussions with Russian delegates at the International Congress on Mental Hygiene, Williams took several trips to Russia to determine the effects of the new economic order on human nature. Printed material and notes are included in this series. Programs for a skit written by Williams about mental hygiene and a variety of letters are also included.

Photographs: were taken by Williams and others of the staff of the National Committee, his trips to the Soviet Union and Europe, and professionally taken wide angle group shots of delegates to the International Congress on Mental Hygiene. Not all photographs in the collection were placed in this series; some remain in the appropriate folder in other series. Photographs are identified.

Emily Martin: Miss Emily Martin joined the staff of the National Committee in February 1916 and for many years was Williams' personal secretary. She held various positions with the NCMH and from 1952 until her retirement in 1964 she was responsible for the Information and Referral Service of the National· Association for Mental Health. She spent considerable time following her retirement until the late 1970's organizing and annotating the many archival and newspaper collections she donated to the archives. This series consists principally of material as it relates to Williams, including her correspondence with Williams and his sisters following his death, and correspondence with other individuals including Marion Kenworthy and Adolf Meyer. Photographs of Meyer and others are included with the Meyer correspondence. In addition, there are her remembrances of Williams and correspondence with Eric Carlson regarding transmittal of this collection and associated material to the Archives of Psychiatry.

Reprints and Manuscripts of Other Authors: contains manuscripts and reprints from various individuals.