Edna Aikin Baldwin papers, approximately 1900-1991

Using These Materials Teaser

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
More about accessing and using these materials...

Summary

Creator:
Baldwin, Edna Aikin, 1900-1986 and Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture
Abstract:
Papers and correspondence of Edna Aikin Baldwin (1900-1986), playwright, missionary to Burma (now Myanmar) in the 1920s-1930s, and co-founder of Lisle International.
Extent:
4.5 Linear Feet (3 Paige boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Language:
Materials in English.
Collection ID:
RL.13129

Background

Scope and content:

The papers of Edna Aikin Baldwin document her life with a particular emphasis on the 1930s. The first series contains personal papers, which include family records, clippings she saved, her high school yearbook, and her CVs and a short document of biographical information. Also included are writings by and from Burma (Myanmar) and the mission there, undated library call slips for titles of vocational literature, a Kansas driver's license, and a late-life letter by husband DeWitt C. Baldwin Sr. to their friends. One folder contains the correspondence of her intimate friend Warren Healy that was not written to or by Edna. Of particular note for biographical information are the program from her memorial service and a booklet published by Lisle International consisting of compiled memories of those who knew her.

The second series consists of her writings. The Ba Thane subseries contains a script, performance programs and correspondence about her major play, which was performed by many troupes and institutions across the United States during the 1930s. "The Japanese Play," which was never performed or published, has a sub-series consisting of both handwritten and typed drafts, index card notes, and correspondence about the writing process. The final sub-series includes drafts and notes of miscellaneous writings and notes, a poster, a program, and clippings about the Community Christmas Pageant she wrote and directed.

The third series contains photographs, mostly of the Baldwin and Aikin family and friends, many unlabeled and undated. There is one folder of photographs from Burma (Myanmar), a few snapshots from Lisle, and some headshots of Warren Healy.

The bulk of the collection is found in the Correspondence series. Most are letters, but there are also a few postcards and telegrams as well as a mailing list. They originate from 1909 through the late 1950s, but the majority are from the 1930s. Those from 1930 through 1933 contain information about her life in Burma (Myanmar), while those from earlier and later years are more general. Correspondents include her husband, son, parents, various committees and boards of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and friends. The largest percentage are love letters between Edna and Warren Healy.

Biographical / historical:

Edna Aikin Baldwin was a white educator, playwright, and missionary. She was born in 1900 in Illinois and graduated with honors from Northwestern University in 1921; later she earned a master's degree in religious education from the same institution. She married Dr. DeWitt C. Baldwin Sr. (1898-1993) in 1921. From 1923 to 1933, the couple, accompanied by their young son, served as educational missionaries in Burma (now Myanmar) with the Methodist Episcopal Church. While there, she wrote and directed a Christmas Pageant in Dalhousie Park in Rangoon (Yangon); newspapers at the time reported that it was attended by an estimated 12,000 people from 8 countries.

After returning to the United States, she lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan, lectured on college campuses, and wrote the play Ba Thane as well as an unpublished work she called "the Japanese play." From 1948 to 1968, she was active in organizations for international students and women at the University of Michigan. From 1953 to 1956, she was dean of women at Olivet College in Michigan, and from 1968 to 1970, she was foreign students director and counselor at Iowa Wesleyan College.

In 1936, she and her husband co-founded Lisle Fellowship (now Lisle International), which organized international student exchange programs; she remained active with the organization until the end of her life. Under Lisle auspices she led 75 students on a trip to the Soviet Union in 1958. She died in Rockville, Maryland in 1986.

Sources: Lisle International site and the Washington Post archives accessed 2025 March 4.

Acquisition information:
The Edna Aikin Baldwin papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 2018.
Processing information:

Processed by Ren Bickel, March 2025.

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2018-0031

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in four series: Personal papers (1917-1991); Writings (1920s-1979) with sub-series for her two plays, Ba Thane and "The Japanese Play" as well as one for the Community Christmas Pageant and other writings; Photographs (1900s-1960s); and Correspondence (1909-1959). Files are arranged chronologically within each series.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

Before you visit:
Please consult our up-to-date information for visitors page, as our services and guidelines periodically change.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Edna Aikin Baldwin papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1g468