Rebecca Kirkland papers, 1954-2011
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Summary
- Creator:
- Kirkland, Rebecca, 1942-
- Abstract:
- Rebecca Gray Trent Kirkland (born 1942) is a pediatric endocrinologist and the third daughter of Mary Duke Biddle and Josiah C. Trent. This collection contains correspondence from her mother and stepfather about family relationships, travel, and holiday plans over the course of her life, as well as from her friends and sisters after she moves away to attend prepatory school.
- Extent:
- 0.6 Linear Feet (One document box and one half document box.)
0.04 Gigabytes (39 files) - Language:
- Material in English.
- Collection ID:
- RL.11264
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The primary focus of this collection is correspondence received by Kirkland over the course of her life from her mother Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans and stepfather James Hustead Semans discussing family relationships, travel, and holiday plans.
However, the majority of the material specifically dates from 1957-1958, her first year in prepatory school in Bryn Mawr, PA. While there is some correspondence from her parents, there is even more from her friends and sisters, keeping her informed of their lives now that she has moved away.
There is also one file of correspondence from 1959-1960 addressed to her future husband, when he seems to have been a high school senior about to enroll in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Most senders are identified by first name only, and none are Rebecca herself.
- Biographical / historical:
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Rebecca Gray Trent Kirkland was born in 1942 in Durham, NC to philanthropist Mary Duke Biddle Trent (Semans; 1920-2012) and thoracic surgeon Josiah Charles Trent (1914-1948). She attended the Baldwin School then Duke University, where she graduated from the Woman's College in 1964 then the Medical School in 1968. She married John Lindsey Kirkland, III, a pediatric endocrinologist, on 26 June 1965 in Durham. She is currently Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics at the Baylor College of Medicine, where she has been since 1975.
- Acquisition information:
- The Rebecca Kirkland papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library as gifts from Kirkland in 2016 and 2020. Material transferred in 2023 came from a 2019 addition to the Semans family papers.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Katrina Martin, July 2016, and Laurin Penland, February 2021.
Box 2 and 1956-1958 folder in Box 1 transferred from Semans family papers by Zachary Tumlin, December 2023.
Accessions described in this collection guide: 2016-0122 and 2020-0108.
- Arrangement:
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The Rebecca Kirkland papers are arranged chronologically.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Subjects
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Contents
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- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Rebecca Kirkland papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Duke University.
- Permalink:
- https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1m62p