Women's Papers and Other Collections of Value to
Women's Studies
Women's Papers
- American Red Cross, Training Camp for Nurses.
Records, 1917-28 (bulk): .4 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, speeches and presentations, applications and other records, and photographs of the camp held at Vassar during the summer of 1918, offering college graduates intensive pre-hospital nursing instruction.
- American Red Cross, Vassar Unit.
Records, 1914-20: ca. 6 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, photographs, reports, financial documents, clippings, and newsletters of the unit funded by Vassar students, alumnae, faculty, and friends; staffed by Vassar alumnae, and located in France during and after WWI. Correspondence is mainly of Margaret Lambie (VC 1907) and Elsa Butler Grove (VC 1905).
- Anthony, Susan Brownell, 1820-1906.
Woman suffrage leader, abolitionist.Papers, 1854-1905: ca. 100 items.
- Letters and statements regarding suffrage and equal rights for women and the anti-slavery movement.
- Atkinson, Ruth Lamb, 1896-1978.
Chief education officer for the FDA (1933-42), consumer protectionist, and author. Author of American Chamber of Horrors (VC 1918).Papers, 1928-70 (bulk): ca. 12 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, clippings, reports, speeches, manuscript drafts.
- Bechtel, Louise Seaman, 1894-1985.
First woman to head a children's department in a major U. S. publishing house; a director of The Horn Book Magazine; author, reviewer, and lecturer of children's literature (VC 1915).Papers, 1913-80 (bulk): ca. 21 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, manuscripts, illustrations, biographical information, and published articles and reviews pertaining to children's authors and illustrators. Extensive correspondence from Elizabeth Coatsworth, Bechtel's classmate and close friend.
- Benedict, Ruth Fulton, 1887-1948.
Anthropologist, author of The Chrysanthemum and the Sword (VC 1909).Papers, 1905-48: ca. 24 cu. ft.
- Personal and professional papers consisting of correspondence, diaries, manuscripts and typescripts, speeches, teaching materials, photographs. Correspondents include Franz Boaz, with whom she studied and worked.
- Bergeret, Ida Treat, 1889-1978.
Journalist, writer, and teacher.Papers, 1928-74: 5 cu. ft.
- Papers of her personal and professional life include her travel diaries and notes, manuscripts, and published versions of her articles and stories on China, Russia, Tahiti, Abyssinia, Djibouti, and the Red Sea slave trade; correspondence with her husbands, Paul Vaillant-Couturie and Andre Bergeret, and her friend, Pierre Teihard du Chardin.
- Bird, Caroline, 1915-.
Journalist, equal-rights activist, author of Second Careers: New Ways to Work after 50.Papers, ca. 1966-79: ca. 16 cu. ft.
- Papers include manuscripts, correspondence, and subject files relating to her many publications, including Born Female and The Two-Paycheck Marriage.
- Bishop, Elizabeth, 1911-79.
Pulitzer-prize winning poet (VC 1934).Papers, 1925-79: 19 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, diaries, manuscripts, photographs, publications, and memorabilia documenting her personal and professional life. Major correspondents include Robert Lowell, Marianne Moore; also extensive correspondence from Bishop to family and friends.
- Bondfield, Margaret Grace, 1873-1953.
Trade-union leader and first woman British cabinet minister.Papers, 1898-1951 (bulk): 3 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, clippings, speeches, publications, government documents, and other publications concerning her involvement in the Labour Party and its election campaigns, 1919-47. Also personal and travel diaries, photographs, memorabilia. Correspondents include Helen Lockwood, Rose Schneiderman, Lillian Wald, Frances Perkins, and Eleanor Roosevelt.
- Carreno, Teresa, 1853-1917.
Pianist, composer, conductor, and singer.Papers, 1869-1917: 163 items.
- Correspondence, manuscripts, original score. Correspondents include Edward MacDowell, Edvard Grieg, and Camille Saint-Saens.
- Davis, Hallie Flanagan, 1890-1969.
Playwright, teacher, founder of the Vassar Experimental Theatre, and director of the WPA Federal Theatre Project.Papers, 1910-69: ca. 13 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, travel notes and diaries, materials about the Vassar Experimental Theatre and the Federal Theatre Project; also includes research materials for Joanne Bentley's work, Hallie Flanagan: A Life in the American Theatre.
- Davis, Paulina Kellogg Wright, 1813-76.
Abolitionist, feminist, suffragist.Papers, 1843-90: .6 cu. ft.
- Correspondence includes letters concerning the women's movement in the U. S. and Europe and the organization of the 1870 Women's Rights Convention.
- Furness, Caroline, 1869-1936.
Astronomer and writer (VC 1891).Papers, 1887-1928: ca. 2 cu. ft.
- Mainly correspondence from her Vassar astronomy professor and mentor, Mary Watson Whitney, but also regarding her efforts to aid Japanese women, 1918-23.
- Grove, Elsa Butler, 1884-1969.
Medical social worker, served with the Vassar Unit of the American Red Cross at Verdun, France, during WWI; child relief worker in Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania (VC 1905).Papers, 1921-24 (bulk): .3 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, diary of experiences in the Baltic, photographs.
- Hale, Sarah Josepha, 1788-1879.
Editor of Ladies' Magazine and Godey's Lady's Book; proponent of education for women.Correspondence, 1863-67 (bulk): 30 items.
- Letters from Hale to M. Vassar and Vassar trustees regarding the inclusion of the word "Female" in the name, Vassar Female College.
- Hill, Elsie Mary, 1883-1970.
Suffragist and national chair of the National Woman's Party (VC 1906).Papers, 1898-1970: ca. 55 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, minutes, reports, press releases, articles, diaries, and photographs relating to her personal and political activities. Correspondence includes about 200 letters from Alice Paul, 1915-70, and many from Anita Pollitzer, 1921-69.
Editor and literary agent (VC 1944).
Papers, 1965-80: ca. 8 cu. ft.
- Ladd-Franklin, Christine, 1847-1930.
Psychologist and mathematician (VC 1869).Diaries, 1860-73.
- Two diaries, begun at age 12, record her school experiences, life and studies at Vassar, relationships with women, and irritations with contemporary attitudes toward women.
- Lockwood, Helen Drusilla, 1891-1971.
Educator and workers' education activist (VC 1912).Papers, 1908-71 (bulk): ca. 29 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, diaries, manuscripts, publications, photographs, scrapbooks, minutes, and curriculum materials relating primarily to her professional career as an English professor and her interests in euthenics, labor, and workers' education. Also includes brochures, newsletters, reports, speeches, school publications, and Lockwood's teaching notes and outlines regarding her association with the Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers, the Vineyard Shore Workers' School, the Hudson Shore Labor School, and other workers' education projects, 1922-52.
- Lowe, Jeanne R., 1924-72.
Journalist and writer on urban affairs (VC 1944).Papers, 1959-73: ca. 29 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, reports, speeches, articles, and other materials pertaining to urban renewal, urban housing, role of women in science, race, public housing, the National Urban Coalition, and community planning.
- Lowell, Amy, 1874-1925.
Poet and critic.Correspondence, 1916-25: 59 items.
- Correspondence from Lowell to Elisabeth B. Cutting, an editor at the North American Review, concerning articles for the magazine, her poetry, speaking engagements, and other writers.
- Lutz, Alma, 1890-1973.
Feminist, equal-rights activist, biographer of prominent 19th-century women (VC 1912).Papers, 1912-71: ca. 29 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, clippings, notes, speeches, interviews, photographs, manuscript and published versions of her writings. Major correspondents include Angelica Balabanoff, Pearl S. Buck, and Miriam Holden.
- McCarthy, Mary Therese, 1912-89.
Novelist, essayist, critic (VC 1933).Papers, 1912-89: ca. 65 cu. ft.
- Correspondence relating to her personal and professional life, research notes, manuscript and published versions of her works, speeches, photographs, and scrapbooks.
- MacCracken, Henry Noble, 1880-1970.
Educator and president of Vassar College (1915-46).Papers, 1914-70: ca. 166 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, memoranda, minutes, reports, contracts, publications, and other materials pertaining to all aspects of Vassar College; his teaching activities; his personal interests in the American Red Cross, founding of Sarah Lawrence College, Dutchess County Health Association; and personal and business correspondence with Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt, M. Carey Thomas, Mary E. Woolley, and others.
- Millay, Edna St. Vincent, 1892-1950.
Pulitzer-prize winning poet (VC 1917).Papers, ca. 1913-59: ca. 6 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, examinations, publications, and records relating to her Vassar College years; manuscripts, correspondence, clippings, photographs, and ephemera dealing with her life after Vassar.
- Mitchell, Maria, 1818-89.
First professor of astronomy at Vassar College; a founder of the Association for the Advancement of Women; first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.Papers, 1853-89 (bulk): 4 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, notebooks, observatory photographs, and manuscripts reflecting Mitchell's personal and professional life.
- Moore Marianne, 1887-1972.
Poet and editor.Letters, 1924-65: 62 items.
- Correspondence to Fanny Borden, Vassar College Librarian, discussing The Dial; her friendship with Elizabeth Bishop; aiding refugee children during WWII.
- Raymond, John H., 1814-1878.
Minister and president of Vassar College (1864-78).Papers, 1823-78 (bulk): ca. 2 cu. ft.
- Correspondence relating to his personal and professional life; letter books containing his outgoing correspondence as president of Vassar relating to his views on women's education, students, and other issues; propositions regarding Vassar College salaries and other issues; manuscripts of his sermons; and his scrapbook on women's education, women's work, and women's rights.
- Richards, Ellen Swallow, 1842-1911.
First woman graduate of MIT; author of Euthenics, pioneer in sanitation, food chemistry, public health, and home economics; proponent of scientific education of women; a founder of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae, now the AAUW (VC 1870).Papers, 1868-1934: .2 cu. ft.
- Mainly letters from Richards to friends regarding Vassar College, women at MIT, education, research, travel, Association of Collegiate Alumnae, and the home economics movement.
- Robertson, Priscilla Smith, 1910-87.
Educator, editor of The Humanist, and writer of Revolutions of 1848 and An Experience of Women (VC 1930).Papers: ca. 16 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, clippings, manuscripts, research and teaching notes, and photographs relating to her personal and professional life and involvement with the Southern Tenant Farmers Union, the Kentucky Civil Liberties Union, The Humanist and history of the Smith and Robertson families.
- Salmon, Lucy Maynard, 1853-1927.
Historian and teacher, suffragist and pacifist. Author of Domestic Service.Papers, 1887-1927 (bulk): ca. 26 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, manuscripts, publications, clippings, reminiscences, genealogy, and photographs concerning the Vassar College history department, teaching history, woman's suffrage movement, domestic science, historical research methods, and other personal and professional interests.
- Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, 1815-1902.
Abolitionist, woman's rights advocate.Papers, 1796-1921: ca. 2 cu. ft.
- Correspondence with Susan B. Anthony, Paulina Wright Davis, Elizabeth Smith Miller, Gerrit Smith, and others relating to family matters, her children, the woman's movement, her lectures and travels, and other personal and professional interests; clippings, transcripts of her speeches, an autobiographical sketch, and photographs.
- Taylor, James Monroe, 1848-1916.
Minister and president of Vassar College, 1886-1914.Papers, 1865-1916: 4 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, primarily concerning Vassar College and the education of women; also included are clippings, photographs, and manuscripts of his addresses and his book, Before Vassar Opened.
- Vassar, Matthew, 1792-1868.
Businessman, philanthropist, founder of Vassar College.Papers, 1769-1890: ca. 8 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, business records, diaries, and memorabilia primarily dealing with Vassar's brewery and other business ventures, the education of women, and the founding of Vassar College.
- Vassar College Class of 1935.
Surveys and oral histories of the Class of 1935: ca. 2 cu. ft.
- Studies made of class members in anticipation of their 50th class reunion to discover what kinds of contributions they had made and were continuing to make; the impact of their Vassar education; and self-perceptions after many years beyond graduation.
- Vassar College Class of 1942.
Surveys of the Class of 1942: 2 cu. ft.
- Studies made of class members for their 50th class reunion, including individual surveys and summaries of answers to questions on health, politics, the women's movement, abortion, coeducation, and television.
- Vassar College Students' Materials Collection.
Collection of various materials, 1860-1959, bulking in late 1800s, early 1900s: ca. 42 cu. ft.
- Vassar students' diaries, letters, notebooks, exams and papers, scrapbooks, and photograph and autograph albums. Some topics touched upon include many aspects of student life, and students' opinions and thoughts on race, ethnicity, and contemporary life. Also includes microfilm of admissions records of early Vassar students.
- Webster, Jean, 1876-1916.
Writer of drama and fiction, including Daddy Long-Legs and When Patty Went to College (VC 1901).Papers, 1896-1916 (bulk): ca. 10 cu. ft.
- Correspondence, travel notes and diaries, manuscripts, photographs, and clippings related to Webster's personal and professional life and interests, including several trips to Europe and a world tour (1906).
- Woman's Suffrage and Women's Rights Collection.
Collection of various materials, 1866-1974: 3 cu. ft.
- Publications, correspondence, programs and other ephemera, photographs and clippings of various organizations, including NWP, NOW, and International Federation of Business and Professional Women.
- Yamakawa, Sutematsu, 1860-1919.
First Japanese woman to receive a baccalaureate degree; involved in women's work, especially nursing; wife of Japanese minister of war, Iwao Oyama (VC 1882).Papers, 1882-1919 (bulk): ca. 90 items.
- Correspondence to Vassar classmates regarding her trip back home to Japan and her life before and after her marriage, articles about Yamakawa, photographs, and memorabilia.
Additional Manuscript Collections of Value for Women's Studies
Vassar College Presidents
- Blanding, Sarah Gibson (1898-1985), educator, president of Vassar College
- Jewett, Milo Parker (1808-82), educator and first president of Vassar College
Other Women of Interest
- Balabanoff, Angelica (1878-1965), socialist
- Banning, Margaret Culkin (1891-1982), novelist, essayist (VC 1912)
- Blanchard, Abbie S. (fl. late 19th century), schoolgirl diarist
- Brate, Charlotte (1890-1967), artist, children's author, pacifist (VC 1912)
- Bryner, Edna (1886-1967), writer, student of Tibetan Buddhist literature (VC 1907)
- Carroll, Ruth Robinson (1899-), illustrator/writer of children's books (VC 1922)
- Clark, Frances Underhill (1868-1950), Quaker, proponent of human rights of political prisoners (VC 1891)
- Clarkson, Rosetta Shear (1892-1950), author of works on cultivation of herbs (VC 1914)
- Cutler, Amelia MacDonald (1882-1947), suffragist, student of rural life (VC 1907)
- Ellery, Eloise (1875-1958), educator and writer (VC 1897)
- Goldman, Olive Remington (1887-1985), educator, U. N. official (VC 1919)
- Hogarth, Grace Weston Allen (1905-), children's author/illustrator (VC 1927)
- Mason, Ruth Fitch (1890-1974), writer, literary agent (VC 1912)
- National Women's Political Caucus
- Pollitzer, Anita (1894-1975), suffragist, equal-rights activist
- Ramsey, Alice Huyler (1885-1983), first woman to drive a car across the U. S. (VC 1907)
- Schwartz, Julia Augusta (1873-1957), children's author (VC 1896)
- Scott, Mary Augusta (1851-1918), scholar, English teacher (VC 1876)
- Stanley-Brown, Margaret (1895-1958), surgeon (VC 1919)
- Tappan, Eva March (1854-1930), educator and children's author (VC 1875)
- Whitney, Marian Parker (1861-1946), educator