The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of Durham was founded in 1920 and served the larger Durham community from the 1920s until the 1970s. The Harriet Tubman branch of the Durham YWCA served the AfricanAmerican community in particular and, through collaboration with the Central branch, fostered integration in a radically segregated Durham. In the 1970s, the YWCA became the home of the Durham Women's Health Co-op and the Durham Rape Crisis Center, which operated out of the YWCA Women's Center. These organizations were central to reform movements throughout Durham, from women's health and childcare to fair wages and civil rights. The YWCA of Durham records reflect both the administrative history of the YWCA, as well as the programs, projects, social events, and community outreach that formed the backbone of the organization. For example, a series of scrapbooks, put together by Y Teen groups, program participants, and residents of the YWCA's boarding houses captures the strength of the YWCA community. The broader impact of the YWCA is evident in their range of programming, especially the clubs they hosted, from PMS and Single Mothers groups to a "Matrons Club." The YWCA's impact is also reflected in administrative and financial materials that tell the story of the Y's work to serve the people of Durham that needed a safe place to build community for themselves and their families.
Search Results
Delouis Wilson papers, circa 1890s-1940, 1967-2015 18 Linear Feet — 30 boxes
The papers of Delouis Wilson, an artist and jewelry designer based in North Carolina, consist of a set of 27 journals (1977-2008, currently closed); a few calendar notebooks; sketchbooks and notebooks from her time at Atlanta College of Art; and loose pieces of artwork. An important component of Wilson's archive consists of a collection of 30 large photographic portraits of African Americans dating from the late 1880s to about 1940, collected by Wilson chiefly in the American South.
Wilson's journals (closed to use by donor request), calendars, and notebooks document in detail the personal life of the artist, life in Durham, N.C., her travels abroad and in the U.S., including time in Tunisia in the Peace Corps, and her career as a jewelry designer. They include small illustrations contain as well as laid-in items such as letters and postcards; some have handmade covers constructed of textiles and other non-paper materials.
The artwork, sketchbooks, and art notebooks present a mix of drawings, sketches, prints, textile work, and mixed-media color paintings created by Wilson during and shortly after her art school years, all 8x11 inches or less. The notebooks also include art school class notes and handouts, creative writings, and personal notes such as recipes, lists, housing notes, and addresses. There are self-portraits scattered throughout, including a larger piece from 1990 laid into a sketchbook. Also in the collection is one large color photograph of an African American woman by Wilson. The artworks range in size from 4 1/2 x 6 to 16x20 inches.
A central component of the collection are thirty historic studio portraits of individual Black men and women (1890s-1940s), with some of couples and families, collected by Wilson in thrift shops and flea markets throughout the Southern U.S. Most belong to a process called crayon enlargements. The studios developed faint enlargements of the photographic images on convex pieces of thick card stock, then outlined and filled them with ink, crayon, or pastel pigments to resemble a painting. Only one portrait in the collection is a true fully developed gelatin silver photograph. A few smaller portraits are sized approximately 10x8 to 13x9 inches; the majority are quite large, ranging from 19x13 to to 20x16 inches. Most of the prints are hand-tinted with a variety of tecniques, but some are black-and-white, and some are on flat rather than convex mounts. Due to their fragile condition, the portraits are currently unavailable until Conservation treatment and rehousing is completed.
Rebecca West note, 16 August 1931 0.1 Linear Feet — 1 item — 12.5 x 16.5
The collection consists of a single autograph manuscript note to an unknown recipient which reads, "With Miss Rebecca West's compliments." On letterhead stationery: 15, Orchard Court. Portman Square.W.1., Welbeck 3606.
Amelia Stinson-Wesley papers, 1924-2004 3 Linear Feet
Amelia Stinson-Wesley is an ordained Methodist minister and advocate for pastoral care of women and abuse survivors. Her papers consist of correspondence, academic writing, periodical excerpts, pamphlets, flyers, and handouts.
Margaret Taylor Smith papers, 1918-2010 and undated bulk 1980-2008 19.85 Linear Feet — 24,761 Items
The Margaret Taylor Smith Papers contain materials dating from 1918 to 2010, with the bulk dating between 1980 and 2008. The collection documents Smith's voluntarism, leadership, and philanthropic activities at Duke University, especially in women's studies; her sociological research that resulted in the publication of a book; her social and family life; and her professional activities and voluntarism, particularly at the Kresge Foundation. Smith's original folder titles were retained. Smith, an avid note taker, often recorded information on the exterior of folders and manila envelopes. These folders were retained and appear in the collection. The collection is organized into five series: Duke University, Mother, I Have Something To Tell You, Personal Papers, Professional Voluntarism, and Additions.
The Duke University Series comprises materials related to Smith's leadership and professional voluntarism at the university, including correspondence, event planning notes, meeting minutes, endowment information, and speeches.
The Mother, I Have Something To Tell You Series documents the publication of the 1987 book, authored by Jo Brans, based on Smith's sociological research that describes how mothers deal with children who display untraditional behavior. Specifically, Smith researched American families whose children challenged social and sexual mores during the 1960s and 1970s. The series contains correspondence, drafts, speeches, and Smith's research related to the book, including the mothers' subject files, which typically contain written transcripts of Smith's interviews with the women, both with and without Smith's notes, questionnaires and sociological data, and audiocassette recordings of the interviews. Original audio recordings are closed to research. Use copies need to be created before contents can be accessed.
Materials related to Smith's social and family life are located in the Personal Papers Series, which primarily comprises correspondence with family, friends, and some professional associates, but also includes photographs, newspaper clippings, ephemera from Smith's days as an undergraduate at Duke University, and her father's World War I diary.
The Professional Voluntarism Series contains materials documenting Smith's professional activities, including awards, correspondence, speaking engagements, subject files, voluntarism, and philanthropy. The series particularly highlights Smith's work as the chair of the Board of Trustees of the Kresge Foundation, a national organization that awards grants to support non-profit organizations; her volunteer work with the Junior League; and her interest in ethics and ethical dilemmas.
Later Additions have not been processed. Accession (2010-0066) contains email correspondence. Accession (2010-0135) includes addition research materials, correspondence, proposals, and other miscellaneous notes. Accession (2010-0164) includes correspondence regarding the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture; the Duke University Women's Studies department; Smith's Class of 1947 and their reunions; and other miscellaneous materials and notes.
Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.
Agnes Smedley letters, 1930s-1947 0.1 Linear Feet — 3 items
The collection consists of three letters written by Agnes Smedley; the first to a Miss Gates, and the second two addressed to Corporal James A. Frankel. The single-page autograph manuscript letter to Miss Gates is written on letterhead stationery with Smedley's Shanghai address identifying her as the "Correspondent of the Frankfurter Zeitung in China." She asks Miss Gates to have "tiffin or tea" with her and wonders "Do you ever have extra time to see strange people?" The second manuscript letter, two leaves with text on all four sides, is dated December 27th, 1944. It primarily concerns Emily Hahn's book "China To Me." Smedley writes, “Miss Hahn spent 9 years sleeping around in Shanghai ... When the Japs took Hong Kong she wrote that she would just have died had she gone to a concentration camp like other Americans. So she went to the Japs and said, 'I’m a bad girl.' So the Japs left her free and she fooled around with them in Hong Kong, drinking and carousing, while the bastards were killing our men... But we Americans find this 'hot stuff' and put it up as a best seller... Miss Hahn is a propagandist for the Chinese reaction. She’s never seen a Chinese Communist, yet she’s agitating against them in N.Y... She led a purely personal life in two Chinese port cities but now poses as an authority on political and military matters of China." The third letter, autograph typescript dated March 23d 1947, was originally enclosed in Frankel’s copy of Smedley's book Battle Hymn of China, and addresses Frankel's questions about the Xi'an Incident of 1936 and the capture of Chiang Kai-shek. Smedley directs Frankel to her article on the topic published in The Nation magazine, as well as "her book."
Dawn Langley Simmons papers, 1848-2014 20.0 Linear Feet
The Dawn Langley Simmons Papers span the years 1848-2001, with the bulk of the papers being dated between 1969 and 2001. The collection consists of material collected and created by Simmons when she was using the names Gordon Langley Hall, Dawn Pepita Langley Hall, and Dawn Langley Simmons. Extensive files of correspondence dating from the 1950s to 2000 document Simmons' formative years in Kent and Sussex, Great Britain; her relationship with her mother, Marjorie Hall Copper; literary circles in Great Britain; later personal events such as her wedding and purchase of her house in Charleston, S.C.; and Simmons' development as a writer. Significant correspondents or individuals mentioned in letters and other materials include Robert Holmes, Sir Harold Nicolson, Nigel Nicolson, Edwin Peacock, Margaret Rutherford, Vita Sackville-West, and Isabel Whitney. The collection also includes writings by Simmons in the form of typescripts and diaries; printed material and clippings including articles by and about Simmons; legal and financial papers; an extensive collection of scrapbooks; photographs; audiovisual materials; and other material relating to Simmons' personal life and career as a writer. The writings in the collection are primarily typescripts but include a few proofs and printers' galleys. Many of the pieces are unpublished. The publication process of the 1995 autobiography Dawn: A Charleston Legend is extensively documented by a series of edited manuscripts and proofs as well as correspondence with the publisher. Collection materials also document to some extent sex change treatments begun in 1967 at the Gender Identity Clinic of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore; Simmons' 1969 interracial marriage to John-Paul Simmons; and the disruption in their lives in part brought on by the negative reaction of Charleston society to their marriage.
The collection also contains an electronic file of an unpublished manuscript, WANTING MAGIC, by J. Theodore Ellis, including his unpublished notes, footnotes, and reflections based on the works of Hall-Simmons and related individuals, as well as professional studies of transsexualism and sexual identity. Includes a printout of selected pages of the manuscript. There is also Ellis' copy of Simmon's GREAT WHITE OWL OF SISSINGHURST.
The Audiovisual Materials Series includes video and audio tape recordings and photographs. The recordings include professionally-produced audio broadcasts discussing Simmons' transgender life and her interracial marriage - and an amateur audio tape of Simmons' wedding. Several hundred photographs document Isabel Whitney and her family as well as Simmons' family and friends. Original recordings are closed to research; listening copies are available for most items. Otherwise, staff must arrange for use copies to be made.
The largest series in the collection, the Correspondence Series consists chiefly of incoming correspondence, spanning five decades, from family and friends, from publishers concerning Simmons' writing, and from other individuals. There is some correspondence written by Simmons scattered throughout.
Brief but detailed entries in the eleven volumes housed in the Diaries Series describe Simmons' writing career, emotional states, and family matters during the time periods from 1975-1976 and 1987-1989, ending with the years 1990-1994.
The Legal and Financial Papers Series chiefly consist of documents concerning Simmons' father, Jack Copper, Isabel Whitney and her family and estate, Simmons and her husband, and Simmons' inheritance from Whitney.
The Printed Materials Series houses clippings, travel guides, flyers, and other items that document Simmons' interests, travels, and hobbies; includes early journalistic writings (chiefly columns), and a hardcover copy of her children's book, the Great White Owl of Sissinghurst.
The twenty-odd albums found in the Scrapbooks Series feature memorabilia, clippings, photos, and correspondence assembled by Simmons concerning her writing career, family, hobbies, and interest in celebrities and royalty.
The small Volumes Series consists of two manuscripts collected by Simmons: a nineteenth-century diary written by Sarah Combs, a transcript of this diary, and an early twentieth century travelogue written by a member of the Whitney family.
The Writings Series primarily consists of typescripts of works by Simmons. There are a few written pieces by other authors. Other writings by Simmons can be found in the Correspondence Series (in the topical correspondence folders for the 1950s and 1960s and scattered throughout in other files); in the William Carter Spann Series, which contains research Simmons conducted in preparation for a book on President Carter's nephew; in the Diaries Series; and in the Printed Materials Series, which contains early columns and later writings by Simmons.
Oversize Materials housed separately from the main collection include posters, cover proofs, newspaper and magazine clippings, and a few diplomas and awards.
Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.
Queen Silver papers, 1891-1995 1.6 Linear Feet — 96 items
Collection includes letters, clippings, broadsides, flyers, a pamphlet, and black-and-white photographs, some mounted, as well as two color photographs. Much of the material relates to Silver's lectures on humanist topics, but in addition to letters by Silver there are also letters from an admirer, a teacher, and from her mother. Items predating Silver's birth include a broadside for a speech by and photographs of her mother.
Alix Kates Shulman papers, 1892-2014, bulk 1968-2014 39.5 Linear Feet — 29,625 Items
The materials in the Alix Kates Shulman Papers span the dates 1892 to 2000, with the bulk of materials dating from 1968 to 2000. These materials include: manuscripts, notes, clippings, published books, correspondence, photographs, audio and videotapes, microfilm, address and date books, family and business records. The primary focus of the collection is Shulman's writing and literary career. The secondary focus is the women's liberation and feminist movements, in which Shulman was and continues to be very active (from 1968 to the present). However, feminism and feminist activism are inextricably intertwined with Shulman's writing career, and her 1972 novel Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen is regarded by many as the first novel to "come out of" the women's liberation movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Other topics covered by the collection include: her teaching and other academic work; her public speaking and conference activities; and her involvement in political activities besides feminism. This collection sheds valuable light on the concerns and tensions within the women's liberation and second-wave feminist movements. In particular, the materials document debates and disagreements among those active in the movement with regard to sexuality, marriage and domestic relations, women's financial situation and careers, health care, civil rights and cultural expression. Many of these issues are raised in Shulman's own work, including her novels, essays, short fiction, personal letters and her teaching materials.
The collection is divided into seven series. The Personal Papers Series contains Shulman's family history papers, photographs, biographical papers, and her personal correspondence (with writers, academics, political activists and family members). Notable correspondents include Ros Baxandall, Jay Bolotin, Kay Boyle, Rita Mae Brown, Phyllis Chesler, Judy Chicago, Andrea Dworkin, Candace Falk, Marilyn French, Lori Ginzberg, Hannah Green, Erica Jong, Kate Millett, Honor Moore, Robin Morgan, Tillie Olson, Lillian Rubin, Sue Standing, and Meredith Tax. The Political Work Series contains material relating to Shulman's involvement with feminist and other liberal political groups, including Redstockings, New York Radical Women, the PEN Women's Committee, No More Nice Girls, the Women's Action Coalition, and Women Against Government Surveillance
The Literary Work Series contains a variety of materials relating to Shulman's literary career, including financial and other dealings with publishing houses, notes and research, photocopies of publications, reviews of her work, articles and notes she collected regarding the literary scene, and original manuscripts. This series contains information about her early children's books; several books she edited of Emma Goldman's writings; her essays and short fiction; her novels Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen (1972), Burning Questions (1975), On the Stroll (1977), In Every Woman's Life . . . (1980); and her memoirs Drinking the Rain (1995) and A Good Enough Daughter (1999). A small amount of correspondence regarding book reviews of other authors' work is also included.
The Academic Work Series contains materials relating to Shulman's graduate work at NYU; her teaching at Yale, the University of Colorado at Boulder, NYU, and the University of Hawaii at Manoa; as well as her relationships with her students. The Public Speaking Series contains materials relating to Shulman's participation in literary and political conferences and gatherings, personal interviews, lectures and book talks.
Portions of the Restricted Materials Series either may not be photocopied without prior permission of Ms. Shulman or the relevant author, or may not be accessed until a future date. The same organizational categories have been applied to the restricted materials as were used in the unrestricted materials to help researchers easily access overlapping and related materials that have been boxed separately due to the restrictions. The Oversize Materials Series contains miscellaneous oversize materials of a biographical and literary nature.
Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.
Jean Kilbourne papers, 1918-2014 and undated 70 Linear Feet
Collection spans 1918-2014 and includes: clippings; tear sheets; correspondence; research reports and other printed materials; slides and slide presentation texts; audiovisual materials in multiple formats including 8mm and 16mm films, audio and video cassettes; book drafts and research files used for teaching and production of Kilbournes books and films. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History and the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History & Culture.
Tijuana Bibles collection, 1930s-1998 3 Linear Feet — 500 items
The Tijuana Bibles Collection consists of about 400 Tijuana bibles, some printed material about the bibles and the phenomenon as a whole, and an anonymous author's sketches and drawings of characters and plots.
The Tijuana bibles include a wide range of characters, many inspired by (or lifted from) mainstream media and celebrities. The most frequently used characters were from newspaper comic strips, including Andy Gump, Betty Boop, Blondie and Dagwood, Dick Tracy, Ella Cinders, Dumb Dora, Wimpy, Pete the Tramp, Tillie the Toiler, and Popeye. Other bibles include generic figures such as travelling salesmen (including a vacuum cleaner man, a book salesman, a radio salesmen, and so on); parodies of real people, including Nazis, boxer Joe Louis, and other celebrities; or versions of popular movie heroines, such as Snow White or Mae West.
The collection held in Rubenstein Library consists largely of Tijuana bibles, but also include other small pornographic cartoon or comic joke books, similar in design and in manufacturing quality, but not entirely true to the "traditional" form of a Tijuana bible. There are also Tijuana bible reproductions in this series.
The manuscript materials accompanying the bibles consist of drafts and sketches for two strips, one featuring Wahoo and the other featuring Li'l Abner and Daisy Mae. Also included is a draft of "Fritzi Ritz in 'Kisses for Sale'." This series also includes pornographic drawings of generic female characters, some with and some without text. These do not appear to be taken from any particular Tijuana bible. All of the manuscript material is anonymous and undated.
Finally, the collection also includes a series of books about Tijuana bibles, compiled by the collector, including reprints of some of the bibles as well as essays or historical introductions to the genre. These books were published between 1971 and 1998.
Laura "Tibbie" Roberts papers, 1811-2011 and undated 4.5 Linear Feet — 2933 items
The accession (2009-0084) (3.6 lin. ft.; 2700 items; dated 1970s-2000s) consists of correspondence, conference materials, awards, newspaper clippings, and other ephemera from the life and volunteering of Tibbie Roberts. Items of note include her materials from the North Carolina Council of Churches, the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing (1995), North Carolina Council for Women, the National Women's Conference in Houston (1978), and the United Methodist Church's United Methodist Women Southeast Jurisdiction. Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.
The accession (2009-0150) (0.6 lin. ft.; 200 items; dated 1970s-1995) consists largely of scrapbooks from Roberts' conferences in the 1990s, including her trips to China, Singapore, and Malaysia as part of the Fourth Annual World Conference on Women, the NGO Forum on Women, and the World Methodist Conference, and her trip to Israel as part of an excavation course. Also included are materials from a filmstrip promoting the Equal Rights Amendment.
Accession (2010-0131) (0.1 lin. ft.; 25 items; dated 1979-1997 and undated) comprises material primarily related to support for the Equal Rigths Amendment. Includes printed material, newspaper clippings, 15 color photographs, and an ERA necklace medalion.
Accession (2011-0108 and 2011-0123)(0.2 lin. ft.; 8 items; dated 1811-2011 and undated) includes a family deed regarding land in Craven County; a letter; printed items on women and religion, one of which is annotated by the donor; and a piece of ephemera with a quote from the ERA on the front and a Bible verse on the back.
Minnie Bruce Pratt papers, 1870s-2005, bulk 1975-2005 94 Linear Feet
The Minnie Bruce Pratt Papers contain materials dating from the 1870s to 2005, with the bulk of the collection dating between 1975 and 2005. Materials in the collection document Pratt's work as a teacher, poet, writer, and activist. Specifically, the collection focuses on women's studies, sexual and gender identity, sexuality, and Pratt's fight against racism, sexism, imperialism and other forms of intolerance. The collection is organized into ten series: Writing, Correspondence, Family, Activism, Teaching, Financial, Photographs, Audiovisual Material, Printed Material, and Ephemera.
The Writing Series comprises drafts, proofs, and galleys related to Pratt's major works through 2003, as well as materials related to shorter pieces by Pratt, reviews, print interviews, materials related to Pratt's editorial work, and personal journals. The series also contains materials pertaining to the outside funding from grants and speaking appearances that Pratt obtained to support herself as a writer. Subseries include: Journals, The Sound of One Fork, We Say We Love Each Other, Crime Against Nature, Rebellion: Essays 1980-1991, S/HE, Walking Back Up Depot Street, The Dirt She Ate, Feminary, Workers World, Other Writings, Grant Applications, Interviews, Gigs, and Manuscripts by Others.
The Correspondence Series contains correspondence Pratt sent and received after 1966, the year of her marriage. Subseries include: Personal Correspondence, Literary Correspondence, and General Correspondence. Notable correspondents include Dorothy Allison, Judith Arcana, Elly Bulkin, Chrystos, Holly Hughes, Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich, and Mab Segrest.
The Family Series contains materials related to Pratt's childhood and relatives, including legal and business papers, genealogical information, correspondence, mementos, and photographs. The bulk of the material dates to the twentieth century, but a few documents and several photographs date to the nineteenth century. Subseries include Brown-Carr Family, Pratt Family, Minnie Bruce Pratt, Ransom Weaver and Ben Weaver, and Leslie Feinberg.
The Activism Series documents Pratt's work as an activist supporting diversity and fighting intolerance. The series comprises newspaper clippings, fliers, correspondence, and logisitical arrangements pertaining to Pratt's organizing, conference attendances, and personal research. Subseries include: Anti-Ku Klux Klan, Fayetteville, National Endowment for the Arts, and Other Issues.
The Teaching Series documents Pratt's work as an educator at various universities, primarily The Union Institute and Hamilton College. The series comprises course syllabi, materials to supplement teaching, seminar evaluations, contracts, general faculty documents, catalogs, newspaper clippings, and correspondence. The series contains correspondence from Mumia Abu-Jamal during his application process to The Union Institute for graduate studies.
The Financial Series consists of tax returns for the years 1981 to 2004 as well as detailed narratives carefully documenting deductions taken by Pratt related to her writing and teaching career.
The Photographs Series contains photographs documenting events and individuals in Minnie Bruce Pratt's life, with descriptions provided by the donor.
The Audiovisual Material Series contains miscellaneous audiovisual material pertaining to Pratt's speaking engagements, interests, and personal life. The series includes speeches and readings given at gigs, interviews, audio correspondence, programs related to lesbian issues, and instructional materials. Materials are organized into subseries depending on format and include Audio Cassettes, Compact Discs, and Videos. Use copies will need to be created before items can be accessed by researchers. Additionally, interviews are restricted unless permission from the interviewee is obtained.
The Printed Material Series contains periodicals, booklets, printed essays, and chapbooks arranged alphabetically by title. Subjects represented include poetry, women's studies, feminism, lesbianism, and the Ku Klux Klan. A number of periodicals were removed from this collection and added to the Women's and LGBT Movements Periodicals Collection. Minnie Bruce Pratt's personal library comprising several hundred books including her own work and anthologies containing her work have been cataloged separately.
The Ephemera Series comprises miscellaneous items collected by Pratt and chiefly contains t-shirts, buttons, and posters related to Pratt's activism, the conferences and demonstrations she attended, and Feminary. Posters also document Pratt's book relases, speaking appearances, seminars, and courses. Additional items include candlesticks given to Pratt upon her marriage to Marvin Weaver, a birthday coffee mug from Leslie Feinberg, pens with printed logos, a stamp, and a vibrator, and pair of handcuffs given to Pratt by students from Iowa.
Jeanne Audrey Powers papers, 1924-2015 and undated 58 Linear Feet — 111 boxes
The Jeanne Audrey Powers papers span the dates 1924-2015 and contain files documenting her personal and professional lives including correspondence, writings, family history, education, committee work, sermons, travels, and activism.
The collection is arranged into the following series: Professional Papers, Personal Papers, Print Material, and Re-Imagining Movement. The Professional Papers series contains the following subseries: Conferences/Workshops/Schools, Ecumenical and Interreligious Work, Correspondence and Writing, and Activism. A 2015 addition to the collection (2015-0177) is organized into the same four series.
Ladies of Llangollen collection, 1774-1991 9.5 Linear Feet
The Ladies of Llangollen Collection is made up of materials both by and about Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby's life at their home, Plas Newydd, in Llangollen, Wales.
The largest part of the collection is the letters written by and to the Ladies. Most of the correspondence takes place between Sarah Ponsonby and her cousin Mrs. Sarah Tighe, along with letters from Eleanor Butler, their neighbor Ch. L. West, and the Fownes family, Sarah Ponsonby's cousins and former guardians. The manuscripts include poems by the Ladies, as well as an account written about the Ladies of Llangollen by Ch. L. West and an album by a visitor to Llangollen. The papers contain items and images of the Ladies of Llangollen, Llangollen Vale, and the traditions of Wales in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Guidebooks, maps, and printed materials make up the materials about the history of the Ladies' beloved Llangollen. The images of the Ladies and their home in Llangollen Vale make up the largest part of the image files.
Emmeline and Frederick Pethick-Lawrence papers, 1890s-1946 0.5 Linear Feet
The collection consists of four typescript notes and two greeting cards. The first card is headed "Votes for Women, The National Women's Social and Political Union, Greetings and Good Wishes for 1908," addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Grinling from Mr. and Mrs. Pethick-Lawrence. The second card, dated 1936-1937, has a tipped-in photograph of the Pethick-Lawrences, signed "with love from Fred and Emmeline." A typescript letter, on The National Women's Social and Political Union stationery, dated July 8, 1908, is signed by Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence to Mrs. Grinling, and asks to have her husband convey a resolution passed at a Woolich suffrage meeting to Prime Minister Asquith. Included is a typescript copy of the letter from Grinling to Asquith carrying out the request. A typescript note, dated September 22, 1922, signed Mrs. Pethick-Lawrence on her letterhead, declines subscribing to something sent to her by Mr. Grinling. A typescript note from Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence to C.H. Grinling, dated October 3, 1945, mentions a copy of a birthday telegram Grinling sent to Gandhi, who she describes as "one of the great moral and religious leaders of the present age ... his reputation and his influence will continue to grow for many years to come." A typescript note signed "Fred," dated July 9, 1945 on "The Rt. Hon. Lord Pethick-Lawrence of Peaslake" letterhead thanks C.H. Grinling for a letter of welcome.
The library also holds a number of individually cataloged printed materials owned by the Pethick-Lawrences.
Sarah F. Martin illustrated manuscript memoir of Mary Cary Packard, R.N., and manuscript autobiography, 1863-1951, bulk 1863-1936 1.5 Linear Feet — 2 boxes — Album pages: 8 x 10 1/2 inches
Collection comprises two items: a 109-page scrapbook memoir of Baltimore-based professional nurse Mary Cary Packard, assembled by her close companion and colleague Sarah F. Martin starting in 1934 and completed shortly after her friend's death in 1936, and a shorter handwritten autobiography by Martin narrating her own life, created around 1940.
The Packard memoir starts with the 1934 dedication, and a 10-page biography of Packard's life and career in public health and nursing, handwritten in ink by Martin. Subsequent album pages abound with news or literary clippings; humorous verses and lyrics (some composed by Packard); memorabilia; postcards, Christmas and Valentine cards, and letters; and professional literature from nursing associations referring to the activities and accomplishments of Mary Cary Packard.
Also found in the scrapbook are 34 pasted-in photographs in the form of well-captioned albumen cartes-de-visite, cyanotypes, and gelatin silver prints. These are numerous portraits and snapshots of Packard, and a few of Martin, and photos of family, friends, nurses and physicians, and patrons of medical institutions such as the Jacobs and Garrett families. Other photographs offer views of hospital buildings, schools, and ancestral homes and towns. In addition, there are a number of photographs taken by Packard and Smith of the medical staff at the Garrett Sanitarium for Children in Mount Airy, Md., and photos of the exterior and interior of their home, "Clovelly," built for Packard in 1912 in the Baltimore suburb of Ten Hills. There are no depictions of the interiors of medical institutions or nursing schools. A handful of photographic postcards depicting hospitals and other locations are also present in the memoir.
The shorter 20-page "Miss Sallie" manuscript is an autobiography written by Sarah F. (Florence) Martin, and consists of a handwritten personal narrative which details her origins in Massachusetts, her nursing training, her career in Baltimore, and her friendship with Mary Cary Packard. Four photographs, one of Martin at six months old and another of her in nursing uniform, and two booklets from a Woman's Club accompany the narrative.
Together, the two manuscripts richly document the lifelong friendship and careers of the two women and their association with friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Topics well-represented in these two memoirs include the early decades of the nursing profession in the United States, the development of Maryland's public health system and children's medical institutions; the genealogies of the Alden, Cary, Packard, and Parker families of eastern Massachusetts; and the history of the Cary family of Clovelly (Devon), England.
Victoria Ortiz papers, 1923-1999 and undated, bulk 1960-1990 12.2 Linear Feet — 19.0 linear feet; approx. 14,999 Items
The Victoria Ortiz Papers span the years 1923 to 1999, with the majority of the papers dating from 1960 to 1990. The main collection (2003-0204) comprises materials separated from the Bobbye S. Ortiz Papers and consists of one series; the accession number 2003-0204 was assigned to this grouping. Viki Ortiz's political and intellectual interests can be gleaned from the topics in the Victoria Ortiz Subject Files Series, which has been divided into seven subseries to facilitate its use. The first three subseries contain newspaper and magazine articles, organizational materials, photographs, pamphlets, speeches, and reports related to Cuba, Mexico, and Latin America. Scholars of U.S. anticommunism and student movements in the 1960s may find of interest materials related to Ortiz's 1963 trip to Cuba, taken with 58 other college students in defiance of U.S. policy. Each subseries is organized alphabetically by topic or title.
The parallels and differences between Viki's and Bobbye's political interests are reflected in their subject files. Both maintained extensive collections of materials on international women's liberation; like her mother, Viki was most interested in the status of women in Latin American nations. Yet while they shared similar social values and political beliefs, Viki's interests often diverged from her mother's. Viki's general files reflect her involvement in International Year of the Woman activities and her interest in population control, as well as her interest in such topics as reproductive rights, family structure, and economic justice.
Viki's great interest in adoption and parenting grew out of her own experiences as a single adoptive parent of a Mexican-born child. The subseries on adoption and parenting includes newsletters and publications of organizations for single parents; research for a book on single adoptive parenting; and miscellaneous clippings, notes, and other materials on issues such as adoptive parenting, international adoption, and gay/lesbian parenting. These materials are arranged alphabetically by topic or title.
The final subseries contains Viki's extensive notes and other materials related to literature. This subseries is organized into coursework, general literature, and Latin American literature, and is arranged alphabetically therein.
The addition (2003-0066) consists primarily of professional and subject files documenting Ortiz's law career, writings, and feminist and social activism. Her work on the literature and women's issues of Latin America are particularly well-represented. Portions of this addition are closed to use until 2050.
Addition (05-024) (3759 items, 7.7 lin. ft.; dated 1923-1997 and n.d) comprises research materials pertaining to gender, women, and the law; artist Elizabeth Catlett; and experimentation with LSD by the U.S. military. Includes family documents about Camilo, Ortiz's adopted son; teaching materials; files from CUNY law school; correspondence, appointment calendars; videotapes; travel diaries; photographs, printed material; and ephemera. This addition is closed to use until 2050.
Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.
Noyes-Balch family papers, 1854-1957 and undated 1.6 Linear Feet — 4 boxes
Collection comprises correspondence, including 136 letters (603 pages); 3 diaries; a photograph album and loose photographs, as well as a wooden box in which the family stored letters from Catharine Porter Noyes. The collection centers around Catharine, who detailed her experiences while teaching newly freed slaves at plantations on the Sea Islands of South Carolina, from 1863-1864 and 1869-1870. She described the challenges of her teaching situation, social events and celebrations, local attitudes about freed blacks and her teaching them, black funeral and religious practices, and general conditions on the islands. She included her hand-drawn maps of the area, indicating its relation to the mainland. In addition to these letters from the Sea Islands, there are letters Catharine wrote while she was in Illinois and at the family home in Jamaica Plain, Mass., before she made her trip South (1854-1863). There are also family letters written to Catharine, 1860-1892, especially from her sister, Ellen (Nellie); Ellen's husband, F. V. “Frank” Balch; and her cousin, Mary, who taught with Ellen in South Carolina, among others family members. Another set of letters were written by Ellen to Frank while he served as secretary to U. S. Senator and abolitionist Charles Sumner (R-Ma) in 1864 in Washington, D.C.; and by artist Emily E. Balch to Richard Noyes Stone.
The collection also contains a diary maintained by a 12-year-old girl, probably Ravella Balch, and there are two diaries maintained by Emily E. Balch in 1929. Common topics in all the letters include family news, health matters, visiting, travel plans, reading, lectures and church services attendance, theater performances, and pastimes. The photograph album contains 32 black-and-white photographs of Noyes and Balch family members, as well as family friends. There are 31 cartes-de-visite and one tintype; two of the cartes-de-visite have been hand-painted. The majority of the photographs are labeled, several in ink in a later hand. In addition to the photograph album, there are 17 loose black-and-white photographs, dated 1877-1957, including 4 cartes-de-visite, 6 tintypes, and 2 photo postcards.
Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture, and as part of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture.
Sylvia Norton papers, 1926-1938 0.6 Linear Feet — 200 Items
Collection consists of manuscript and typewritten letters, written primarily to Sylvia Norton from her family, dealing with their financial struggles during the Great Depression. Also contains manuscripts of poetry and short stories written by either Sylvia or Lillian Norton under the name (Frances) Elliott Norton. Correspondence with author and critic Laurence D'Orsay discusses Elliott Norton's writing abilities. There are also a few news clippings, legal documents, and some biographical materials.
Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.
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