Biography collection
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of biographical material related to both well-known and unknown women and men whose lives spanned the years from 1771-1970s. Notable individuals represented include Mary McLeod Bethune, Bernard Baruch, Lizzie Borden, Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby (The Ladies of Llangollen), Tennessee Claflin Cook, Grace Coolidge, Angela Davis, Mary Daly, Hannah Dustin, Dorothy Gish, Julia Ward Howe, Anne Hutchinson, Mother Jones, Helen Keller, Florynce Kennedy, Joan Little, Eleanor Roosevelt, Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Florence Luscomb, Rosa Luxemburg, Marie Antoinette, Margaret Mead, Pauli Murray, Anna Lord Strauss, Rose Pastor Stokes, Annie Sullivan Macy, and Victoria Woodhull.
For the most part, there is only a small amount of material on each individual. Files are organized alphabetically by name. Materials typically include published and unpublished biographical sketches, books, correspondence, diaries, genealogies, newspaper clippings, photographs, and published and unpublished writings. The files of individuals such as Lizzie Borden and Angela Davis also include legal documents. Davis' file (the largest in the collection) also contains memoranda, postcards, political buttons, leaflets, petitions, newsletters, trial bulletins, press releases, and political cartoons which document the movement organized to agitate for a fair trial and freedom for Davis and other political prisoners.
Some lesser-known individuals include interesting and significant material as well, such as Ferdinanda Wesselhoeft's personal letters in German detailing daily life in the United States during the period 1842-1886; the letters and journals of Anna Green Winslow and Mary Hutchinson Parmele dating from the 1770s and 1780s; and correspondence to Ethel Clyde from such famous individuals as Pearl Buck, Albert Einstein, Helen Keller, Pauli Murray, Norman Thomas, Mary van Kleeck, Margaret Sanger, and A.J. Muste. Finally the collection contains a small number of collected biographies including those that document the lives of women associated with Princeton University, White House brides, "women who wanted to be men," and living daughters of presidents.
Dates of Materials
- Creation: 1771-1995
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1920-1970
Creator
- Sophia Smith Collection of Women's History (Organization)
Language of Materials
English.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research use without restriction beyond the standard terms and conditions of Smith College Special Collections.
Conditions Governing Use
Materials in this collection may be governed by copyright. For reproductions of materials that are governed by fair use as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission to cite or publish is required. Researchers are responsible for determining who may hold materials' copyrights and obtaining approval from them. Researchers do not need anything further from Smith College Special Collections to move forward with their use.
Extent
9.584 linear feet (20 containers)
Abstract
This collection consists of biographical material on both famous and lesser-known women and men. For the most part, there is only a small amount of material on each individual. Materials typically include published and unpublished biographical sketches, books, correspondence, diaries, genealogies, photographs, and published and unpublished writings.
Arrangement
This collection is organizedas follows:
- SERIES I. INDIVIDUALS
- SERIES II. COLLECTED BIOGRAPHIES AND BIBLIOGRAPHIES
- OVERSIZE MATERIALS
- BOOKS ON SHELF
Arrangement
Files arranged alphabetically by name.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials in this subject collection were either purchased or given to the Sophia Smith Collection by various donors.
Additions to the Collection
Periodic additions to collection are expected.
Processing Information
Finding aid revised in 2002 by Jessica Lawson, intern. Introductory text by Kate Weigand.
Subject
- Bethune, Mary McLeod, 1875-1955 (Person)
- Baruch, Bernard M. (Bernard Mannes), 1870-1965 (Person)
- Borden, Lizzie, 1860-1927 (Person)
- Butler, Eleanor, Lady, 1738 or 9-1829 (Person)
- Ponsonby, Sarah, 1754 or 5-1831 (Person)
- Coolidge, Grace Goodhue, 1879-1957 (Person)
- Davis, Angela Yvonne, 1944- (Person)
- Duston, Hannah Emerson, b. 1657 (Person)
- Gish, Dorothy (Person)
- Flexner, Eleanor, 1908-1995 (Person)
- Howe, Julia Ward, 1819-1910 (Person)
- Hutchinson, Anne Marbury, 1591-1643 (Person)
- Jones, Mother, 1843?-1930 (Person)
- Keller, Helen, 1880-1968 (Person)
- Kennedy, Florynce, 1916- (Person)
- Little, Joan (Person)
- Longworth, Alice Roosevelt, 1884-1980 (Person)
- Luscomb, Florence, 1887- (Person)
- Luxemburg, Rosa, 1871-1919 (Person)
- Marie Antoinette, Queen, consort of Louis XVI, King of France, 1755-1793 (Person)
- Mead, Margaret, 1901-1978 (Person)
- Murray, Pauli, 1910- (Person)
- Strauss, Anna Lord, 1899-1979 (Person)
- Stokes, Rose Pastor, 1879-1933 (Person)
- Woodhull, Victoria C. (Victoria Claflin), 1838-1927 (Person)
- Buck, Pearl S. (Pearl Sydenstricker), 1892-1973 (Person)
- Sophia Smith Collection of Women's History (Organization)
- Daly, Mary (Person)
- Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962 (Person)
- Sullivan, Anne, 1866-1936 (Person)
- Title
- Biography collection
- Subtitle
- Finding Aid
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by mnsss.
- Date
- 2003
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Sponsor
- Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Revision Statements
- 07/26/2017: This resource was modified by the ArchivesSpace Preprocessor developed by the Harvard Library (https://github.com/harvard-library/archivesspace-preprocessor)
- 2005-09-23: mnsss82 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15).
- 2017-07-26T17:48:24-04:00: This record was migrated from InMagic DB Textworks to ArchivesSpace.
- 2019-04-24: Made paper FA pencil edit changes.
Repository Details
Part of the Sophia Smith Collection of Women's History Repository
