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Alice Weld Tallant papers

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00158

Scope and Contents

The papers include a small amount of material related to her medical career after graduation from Johns Hopkins University in 1902, at Joy Settlement and St. Martha's House, Philadelphia; and more extensive documentation of her work in France during World War I, both as Director of Smith College Relief Unit, and later in a French Army Hospital. Letters (1902-1957) to and from Tallant include those of her grandmother, playwright Alice Brown, and Sophia Smith Collection Director, Margaret Storrs Grierson. Also included are biographical materials, photographs, radio scripts, memorabilia, and tributes from the French government and citizens.

Dates of Materials

  • Creation: 1896-1958

Creator

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

Permission to cite the papers for quotations or for publication beyond "fair use" must be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection.

Biographical / Historical

Alice Weld Tallant was born in Boston on 14 July 1875. She attended private schools, and earned her A.B. from Smith College in 1897 and her M.D. from Johns Hopkins in 1902. She did graduate work at the hospital of the New York Lying-In Society and later at the Charite Hospital in Berlin. She interned and assisted at New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston from 1902 to 1905. Tallant worked as "Examiner for Gymnasium and Lecturer in Hygiene" at Bates College from 1903 to 1904. She was Professor of Obstetrics at the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania and Obstetrician-in-Chief at College Hospital from 1905 to 1923. From 1922-28, she was an obstetrician at the Philadelphia General Hospital. She went overseas with the Smith College Relief Unit in World War I, serving from July 1917 until February 1918. While there, she served in the 6th French army military evacuation hospital and was awarded the Croix de Guerre in 1918. In 1922, she wrote a textbook on obstetrical nursing.

From 1905 until her death in 1958, Tallant practiced obstetrics at the Woman's Hospital in Philadelphia. In addition to these responsibilities, throughout her life she worked in other hospitals and institutions in Philadelphia, including the Baby's Hospital from 1924 to 1942. Tallant also served as physician and social worker at the Joy Settlement from 1928 to 1938, and contributed her time and expertise to the Girls' House of Refuge from 1906 to 1950, first as visiting physician and then as consulting physician. Alice Weld Tallant died 31 May 1958.

Extent

0.438 linear feet (2 containers)

Abstract

Physician, Settlement house worker, Relief worker, World War I. Small collection related to Tallant's medical career at Joy Settlement and St. Martha's House, Philadelphia, and in France during World War I.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Alice Weld Tallant donated her papers to the Sophia Smith Collection circa 1947 to 1959.

Related Material

Additional material on Alice Weld Tallant is in the Smith College Archives.

Processing Information

Finding aid revised by Jennifer Smar, 2005.

Subject

Source

Title
Alice Weld Tallant papers
Subtitle
Finding Aid
Date
2005
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

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)
  • 2017-07-26T17:48:13-04:00: This record was migrated from InMagic DB Textworks to ArchivesSpace.

Repository Details

Part of the Sophia Smith Collection of Women's History Repository

Contact:
Neilson Library
7 Neilson Drive
Northampton MA 01063