The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University

MERTON'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH:
Wayman, Dorothy G. (Dorothy Godfrey), 1893-1975

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Descriptive Summary

Record Group: Section A - Correspondence

Dates of materials: 1949-1953

Volume: 7 item(s); 9 pg(s)

Scope and Content

Dorothy Wayman had been in correspondence for years with the youngest man ever given a life sentence in Massachusetts, William Roach. Wayman was battling cancer and feared she would not be there for Roach, who had no one else and was still young. She suggests that Merton write to him.

Biography

Dorothy Wayman was a journalist and author. Born in California, she came east for her higher education, graduating from the Boston School of Social Work in 1914. After travel to Japan, which became the subject of a book under the pseudonym Theodate Geoffrey, she returned to the Boston area. While corresponding with Merton she was a staff reporter for the Boston Globe. (Source: "The American Catholic Who's Who." Volume 14: 1960-61. Grosse Pointe, MI: Walter Romig Publisher; p. 471.)

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Other Finding Aids

If the person in correspondence with Merton has full text records in the Merton Center Digital Collections, there will be a numeric link to them below.
   

Series List

This Record Sub-Group is not divided into Series and is arranged chronologically.

Container List

SeriesDateTypeTo/FromFirst LinesPubFull TextNotes
 1949/11/04 TL[x]to MertonI write to give you the soul of a boy in prison. The youngest 'lifer' ever given a life sentence in   
 1953/03/30 TL[x]to MertonYou made me very happy--reading on P. 289 of THE SIGN OF JONAS that you and your community  appreciates prayers for prisoner serving life sentence in <i>The Sign of Jonas</i> / conversions and other ministry work in the prison / Father Sharbel, the "Hermit of Lebanon" mentioned in <i>The Sign of Jonas</i> (now Saint Charbel) - Wayman knows Fr. Joseph Eid who had written a book on Fr. Sharbel
 1953/04/08 HCS[x]from MertonI would be delighted to have the book on Fr. Sharbel and was even more delighted to hear your good   
 1953/04/10 TL[x]to MertonNo answer required. I am mailing the small book about Father Sharbel. As it was already  cause for beatification for Fr. Sharbel / use of Merton's books by a sea captain and his crew at sea / Guild of Our Lady of Ransom and their work with the local prison
 1953/05/15 TLS[x]from Fox, JamesOur grateful thanks for "The Hermit of Lebanon" which you so graciously have offered to our monastic   
 1953/08/06 HLS[x]to Reiners, Thomas V.Well begun is half done, they say! You put it in my mind to present the enclosed correspondence  sending Merton correspondence to the Boston College library
 1953/08/12 TLS[x]from Reiners, Thomas V.Would that Father Connolly were here so that an adequate expression of our gratitude could make its  sending Merton correspondence to the Boston College library
        

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