Isabelle Perkinson Williamson papers, 1827-1930, bulk 1909-1930

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Summary

Creator:
Perkinson, Isabelle Holmes and Williamson, Isabelle Perkinson
Abstract:
Correspondence and other items of Isabelle (Perkinson) Williamson, wife of Lee Hoomes Williamson, engineer, and of her mother, Isabelle (Holmes) Perkinson. There are also letters from and items belonging to Lee H. Williamson. Topics include: life in Charlottesville, Virginia; students of the University; Edwin A. Alderman, University president; work in the Navy Department from 1913-1917; the early moving picture industry; life during the Roaring Twenties; and the beginning of the Great Depression. Includes descriptions of the Georgetown Visitation Convent, Washington, D.C., Europe during 1909 and 1910, Virginia, the Panama Canal Zone, Rancagua, Chile, and Puerto Rico. Papers relating to World War I consist of letters from soldiers and war workers; food cards; and letters from Mary Peyton, who was with a field hospital unit in France. The collection also contains information on early moving pictures; life during the Roaring Twenties; and the beginning of the Great Depression. Photographs - chiefly of family members and views from a Chilean mining settlement - and ephemera such as postcards, calling cards, tickets, and greeting cards round out the collection.
Extent:
2.5 Linear Feet (4 boxes)
Language:
Materials in English
Collection ID:
RL.10094

Background

Scope and content:

Collection comprises papers of Isabelle (Perkinson) Williamson, wife of Lee Hoomes Williamson, engineer, and of her mother, Isabelle (Holmes) Perkinson. Included are many letters to Isabelle (Holmes) Perkinson from former students of the University of Virginia who had patronized her boardinghouse in Charlottesville, Virginia, letters from Isabelle (Holmes) Perkinson to her daughter describing life in Charlottesville, and commenting on Edwin A. Alderman, President of the University of Virginia, and many notes and bills reflecting frequent financial difficulties. Also included in this collection are letters between Isabelle P. and Lee Hoomes Williamson.

Many of the letters describe travels: letters from Isabelle P. Williamson to her mother were sent while attending the Georgetown Visitation Convent, Washington, D.C., while on a tour of Europe during 1909 and 1910, while visiting in Virginia and in the Panama Canal Zone, while working in the Navy Department in Washington, 1913-1917, and, after her marriage in 1917, while living near Rancagua, Chile, and in Puerto Rico with her husband. Also included in this collection are letters between Isabelle P. Williamson and Lee Hoomes Williamson.

The collection also contains information on the early motion picture industry; life during the Roaring Twenties; and the beginning of the Great Depression.

Papers relating to World War I consist of letters from soldiers and war workers, food cards, and letters from Mary Peyton, who was with a field hospital unit in France.

Sixty-nine photographs - chiefly of family members and views from a Chilean mining settlement - and ephemera such as postcards, calling cards, tickets, greeting cards, and Lee Williamson's WWI military identification card round out the collection.

Much more information on the collection's contents, written up in 1941, can be found in the Rubenstein Library cardfile catalog; please consult with Research Services staff.

Biographical / historical:

Isabelle Howard Williamson (1895-1930) was a resident of Charlottesville, Virginia who was married to Lee Hoomes Williamson (1891-1942), a civil engineer. Her mother was Isabelle (Holmes) Perkinson (1856-1924), wife of William Howard Perkinson, professor of German and Italian at the University of Virginia; widowed when her husband died young, she earned a living by running a well-known boardinghouse, Eden Holme, in Charlottesville. Many former students wrote to her following their years at the University.

Isabelle, her daughter, married Lee Hoomes Williamson while they were living in Chile in 1917. They had three children. Their final residence was in Lexington, Virginia.

Acquisition information:
The Isabelle Perkinson Williamson papers were acquired as a gift by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library between 1935 and 1941, as part of the George Frederick Holmes family papers.
Processing information:

Processed by Rubenstein Library staff; photographs and ephemera processed by Paula Jeannet.

This collection was originally acquired as part of the George Frederick Holmes family papers, beginning in 1935. Sometime around 1941 the papers of Isabelle (Perkinson) Williamson and Isabelle (Holmes) Perkinson were processed and described by library staff, and became a separate collection.

Physical facet:
approximately 2,520 items
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.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Isabelle Perkinson Williamson papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.