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Agnes Hunt Papers

 Collection
Identifier: CA-MS-00155

Scope and Contents

The materials document the life and career of Agnes Hunt as a member of the History Department. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, poetry, photographs, publications and tributes from 1897 until 1946. The bulk dates of materials range from 1900 to 1923. Notable correspondents include Ada Comstock, the first woman Dean of Smith College and later President of Radcliffe College. In a letter to Professor Hunt written in 1922 she proposed a plan for an American Association of University Women, exhorting college women to make themselves "guardians of educational interests."

Dates of Materials

  • Creation: 1897 - 1946
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1900-1923

Creator

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

Smith College retains copyright of materials created as part of its business operations; 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 Smith College, 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

Agnes Hunt was born in Manchester, New Hampshire on April 1, 1876 to Nathan Parker Hunt and Elizabeth S. (Bisbee) Hunt. She graduated from the Manchester High School in 1893. She earned an A.B. at Smith College where she excelled in history and was the author of the "Ivy Song" for her graduating class of 1897. She continued to study history at Yale University where she received her Ph.D. in 1900. Her doctoral thesis was titled, "The Provincial Committees of Safety."

Her first teaching post was as an instructor in history at the College for Women at Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio where she lived and worked in a settlement house. In 1903 she became Associate Professor of History at Wells College in Aurora, New York. Then in 1906 after spending a year abroad she returned to Smith College as an Associate Professor of History, where she taught English History and the history of Latin America. Known as an accomplished poet her work appeared in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York newspapers. She was also inducted into the Zeta Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Massachusetts and was published in professional teaching journals.

In 1919 Professor Hunt resigned from Smith College and returned home to New Hampshire to care for her mother. After her mother's death, she remained at home and became an active member of the Manchester community with memberships and affiliations to many civic and professional organizations until her death in 1923.

Extent

0.875 linear feet (2 containers)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Professor of History and poet. Contains biographical material, correspondence, poetry, photographs, publications and tributes.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Agnes Hunt Papers were donated over a period of time to the Smith College Archives from a variety of sources.

Related Material

Faculty collections for Professor Hunt's peers in the History, as well as the English, Greek, and Music departments can also be found in the Smith College Archives.

Processing Information

Please note that prior to 2018, folder inventories were not always updated when new material was added to the collection. As a result, folder inventories may not be complete and folder numbers may be incorrect.

Title
Finding aid to the Agnes Hunt Papers
Status
Legacy Finding Aid (Updated)
Author
Mary L. Wright
Date
2006
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)
  • 2018-11-09: Containers added and finding aid updated as part of College Archives survey

Repository Details

Part of the Smith College Archives Repository

Contact:
Neilson Library
7 Neilson Drive
Northampton MA 01063