Addison Pierce Munroe and his son, Chester,
at the Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC,
ca. 1913.
Addison Pierce Munroe was born in Providence, RI in 1862, the youngest son and eighth
child of Philip Allen Munroe and Delana Pierce.
He is of interest in his own right, as a successful retailer, real estate investor, and
politician. But he is also of interest in relationship to the author H.P. Lovecraft. Addison
and his wife, Annie Burnside Hopkins, were the parents of two sons, Chester Pierce
Munroe and Harold Bateman Munroe. Both boys were childhood friends of Howard
Lovecraft, and Addison also was well-acquainted with him.
In an interview with Winfield Townley Scott, excerpted in S.T. Joshi’s biography of
Lovecraft, Addison Munroe describes young Howard’s capabilities:
Occasionally I would have an opportunity to talk with him and he always
surprised me with the maturity and logic of his talk. I remember one time
in particular, when I was a member of the R.I. Senate 1911-1914, we had
several important measures before that body; Howard, being over here
one evening, started to discuss some of these measures, and I was
astounded by the knowledge he displayed in regard to measures that
ordinarily would be of no interest to a young fellow of twenty. In fact he
knew more about them than 75 per cent of the Senators who would finally
vote on them.
When Lovecraft made his will in 1912 (and it would be the only one he would make), he
asked both Addison and his son Chester, along with Howard’s lawyer, to be the
witnesses.
There is an excellent and detailed biography of Addison from the time of his birth until
1920 in The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
Biographical, 1920. That biography has been reproduced in full on the H.P. Lovecraft
and His Legacy blog by Chris Perridas, and since it is easier to read there, rather than in
the online version of the History, we have included a link here.
Catherine Beyer Hurst, MBA, Writer and Community Historian
Further Reading
Joshi, S.T. H.P. Lovecraft: A Life. West Warwick, RI: Necronomicon Press, 1996.