Moss Family Papers

Papers, chiefly deeds, of the Moss/Morse family of Litchfield.

The Moss family papers are comprised chiefly of the 13 v. Lucien Moss scrapbook collection. The scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings of Jewish interest from 1840-1895, primarily from Philadelphia and New York newspapers. Clippings deal extensively with social and domestic affairs in Philadelphia and New York, the persecution of Jews in Russia and Romania and relief efforts on their behalf by American Jewry and Baron Moritz de Hirsch, religious and cultural efforts and trends, noted Jewish personalities, the history of the Jewish communities in Philadelphia, New York, and elsewhere. Vol. 12 contains clippings pertaining to the Philadelphia Guardians of the Poor, of which Lucien Moss was a Board member from 1882-1884. As well as the scrapbooks, the collection includes Lucien Moss' papers (1878-1881), and family records and correspondence of Joseph Lyons Moss, John Moss and William Moss.

An aging botanist withdraws to the seclusion of his family’s vacation home in the German countryside. In his final days, he realizes that his life’s work of scientific classification has led him astray from the hidden secrets of the natural world. As his body slows and his mind expands, he recalls his family’s escape from budding fascism in Germany, his father’s need to prune and control, and his tender moments with first loves. But as his disintegration into moss begins, his fascination with botany culminates in a profound understanding of life’s meaning and his own mortality. Visionary and poetic, Moss explores our fundamental human desires for both transcendence and connection and serves as a testament to our tenuous and intimate relationship with nature. Klaus Modick is an award-winning author and translator who has published over a dozen novels as well as short stories, essays, and poetry. His translations into German include work by William Goldman, William Gaddis, and Victor LaValle, and he has taught at Dartmouth College, Middlebury College, and several other universities in the United States, Japan, and Germany. Moss, Modick’s debut novel, is his first book to be published in English. He lives in Oldenburg, Germany.