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Abby Morton Diaz papers

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00048

Scope and Contents

The Abby Morton Diaz Papers include biographical articles, articles and pamphlets written by Diaz, photographs, suffrage leaflets, reports of the Women's Educational and Industrial Union, miscellaneous pamphlets, and a book that includes a speech by Diaz.

Dates of Materials

  • Creation: 1879-1900

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

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.

Biographical / Historical

Abby Morton Diaz (1821-1904) was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Her father, Ichabod Morton, was a social reformer involved in anti-slavery, temperance, and (with Horace Mann) education movements. Abby was secretary for the Juvenile Anti-Slavery Society as a girl. Her family moved to the Brook Farm Community in 1842, where Abby stayed to teach until 1847. She married Manuel Diaz, a Cuban, in 1845. They later separated. Abby taught singing and opened a dancing school in Plymouth. She published her first story in Atlantic Monthly in 1861 and thereafter published juvenile stories and articles on "domestic culture," social reform for women, religious freedom, transcendentalism, and in later years, Christian Science. A children's book, The William Henry Letters, was published in 1870. Abby was one of the original board members of the Women's Education and Industrial Union of Boston (1877) and served as its president, 1881-92, and vice president, 1892-1902. After 1902, she was the honorary president. She traveled and lectured throughout the U.S., and eventually became active in the suffrage movement.

Extent

0.229 linear feet (1 container)

Abstract

Author, Suffragist, Social reformer. The Abby Morton Diaz Papers include biographical articles; articles and pamphlets written by Diaz; photographs; suffrage leaflets; reports of the Women's Educational and Industrial Union; miscellaneous pamphlets; and a book that includes a speech by Diaz.

Arrangement

This collection is organized into three series:

  1. I. BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS
  2. II. WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
  3. III. PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Ralph Morton Diaz, grandson of Abby Morton Diaz, donated the Diaz Papers to the Sophia Smith Collection in 1953.

Processing Information

Processed by Amy Hague, 2013.

Title
Abby Morton Diaz papers
Subtitle
Finding Aid
Author
Finding aid prepared by Amy Hague
Date
2013
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)
  • 2017-07-26T17:48:14-04:00: 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