Clara Taylor papers
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of a photocopy of Taylor's line diary, photographs of her time in Russia at the time of the Bolshevik Revolution, and an undated typescript of "A YWCA Secretary in the Russian Revolution" by Taylor's great-nephew, David K. Martin, which he wrote from Taylor's diary and letters home.
Dates of Materials
- Creation: 1917 - 1963
Creator
- Taylor, Clara (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for use without restriction beyond the standard terms and conditions of Smith College Special Collections.
Conditions Governing Use
To the extent that he owns copyright, David Martin has assigned the copyright in Clara Taylor's works to Smith College; however, copyright in other items in this collection may be held by their respective creators. 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. For instances which may regard materials in the collection not created by Clara Taylor, 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.
Biographical / Historical
In 1917 Russian women within the Kerensky Provisional Government invited the YWCA to help working women, recently granted full civil rights, to prepare themselves for their new role in society. Clara Taylor, who at the time was industrial secretary for the YWCA's regional offices in Minneapolis, and seven other women travelled to Russia and established Y associations in Petrograd and in Moscow and worked with women's groups in other cities. They also operated a shipboard exhibition along the Volga River in 1918, demonstrating improved nutrition, child care, and agricultural techniques to villagers. The combination of political upheavals as the Bolsheviks seized control, the threat of German invasion after March 1918, and Allied intervention in northern Russia in support of the anti-Bolsheviks led to the evacuation of all Americans from the Bolshevik-controlled portions of the country. The YWCA women left the country briefly but made their way back to northern Russia set up box-car canteens for U.S. troops in Archangel before finally returning to the US in conjunction with Allied Forces withdrawal in 1919.
Extent
0.208 linear feet (1 container)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
In 1917 Russian women within the Kerensky Provisional Government invited the YWCA to help working women, recently granted full civil rights, to prepare themselves for their new role in society. Taylor, who at the time was industrial secretary for the YWCA's regional offices in Minneapolis, and seven other women established Y associations in Petrograd and in Moscow and worked with women's groups in other cities. This collection includes a facsimile of her line diary made during this period, a manuscript culled from those diaries by her great-nephew and photographs from her time in Russia.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection was received as a gift from David Martin in 2004.
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Finding aid to the Clara Taylor papers
- Status
- Legacy Finding Aid (Updated)
- Author
- Madison White, Ellice Amanna
- Date
- 2018
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2017-07-26T17:48:24-04:00: This record was migrated from InMagic DB Textworks to ArchivesSpace.
- 2018-10-12: Updated to conform to DACS
- 2018-12-20: Biography, abstract notes written; finding aid updated to current standards and published
Repository Details
Part of the Sophia Smith Collection of Women's History Repository
