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Older women

 Subject
Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Scope Note: The Sophia Smith Collection collects materials relevant to women’s social circles and personal lives in addition to materials documenting their work. Social role categories are provided to add another way of understanding women’s history, and are assigned to collections that have a significant amount of materials related to that role.

This category covers collections that document the experience of old women, including papers of older women and records of advocacy groups for older women.

Found in 12 Collections and/or Records:

Carol Waldron diaries and legal documents

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00483
Abstract

Carol Waldron (1925-2007) was a mother of four who divorced her husband, became self-sufficient, and was active in the Lexington, Massachusetts branch of the National Organization for Women (NOW) in the 1970s. She was also diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1966. This collection consists primarily of her personal diaries, which are extraordinary both for their completeness and their candor about Waldron's life and feelings.

Dates of Materials: 1915 - 2002

Elder Women Oral History Project oral histories

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00766
Abstract

This collection exists because Rebecca Winborn was motivated by a desire to incorporate elder women into a "working, living archive" of their generational experiences. It includes interview transcripts, audio recordings (in the form of one cassette tape, twelve CDs, and digital files), photographs of all participants, and, in the case of one participant who passed away before the end of the project, materials from a funeral and correspondence with the family.

Dates of Materials: 2010 - 2013

Florence B. Stevenson papers

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00514
Abstract

Collection contains the personal and professional papers of Florence Stevenson, a Women's Studies scholar and women's rights activist.

Dates of Materials: 1922 - 2007

International Women's Writing Guild records

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00326
Abstract Founded in 1976, the International Women's Writing Guild is a network for the personal and professional empowerment of women through writing. The IWWG sponsors workshops, writing conferences, manuscript exchanges, and contacts to other authors and agents. The records include correspondence, conference material, newsletters, programs, flyers, brochures, pamphlets, documents pertaining to the work of IWWG members a directory of playwrights, a volume documenting the life of Banjo Clarke, and...
Dates of Materials: 1976 - 2022

Isabel Holden papers

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00585
Abstract

Volunteer; Hospital volunteer; Animal welfare advocate. Papers consist primarily of diaries which she began in 1971, the same year her husband retired, to "record what it was like to grow old and die in Northampton." There are some gaps in the diaries, which are quite detailed, introspective, and reflective of the people and goings on in Holden's life. Three spiralbound volumes of course notes, and a few miscellanous fragments, are also included.

Dates of Materials: 1913-2007

Margaret Goddard Holt papers

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00196
Abstract Pacifist, Member, Grey Panthers, Artist. The Margaret Goddard Holt Papers primarily document the personal life and activism of Margaret Holt, but also include significant amounts of material generated by her husband, Lee E. Holt, and several generations of extended family. Her lifetime diaries are detailed and introspective, and document her life from adolescence through old age and there is extensive correspondence with family and close friends (including Jungian analyst and friend, Paula...
Dates of Materials: 1814 - 2009; Majority of material found within 1960-2000

Marjory Nelson papers

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00551
Abstract Marjorie Nelson was a lesbian activist, therapist and feminist. The Marjory Nelson papers consist of a wide range of materials documenting the progression of her life, from faculty wife in a traditional marriage to graduate student, lesbian activist, radical feminist, hypnotherapist, and pacifist. Her activities in the feminist movement are richly documented, from its beginnings in the 1960s to the present. There are also correspondence, photographs and other materials representative of...
Dates of Materials: 1947 - 2022

Miscellaneous subjects collection

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00392
Abstract

Includes small amounts of mostly printed material on subjects related to women, including aging and aged women, alcoholism, anarchism, costume, fascism, friendship, girls, Nazism, physically handicapped women, postage stamps, rural women, sex, sex education, female sexuality, single women, taxation, tobacco, and witchcraft. Material includes printed material, books, cassette tapes, correspondence, position papers, questionnaires, reports, memorabilia, and stamps.

Dates of Materials: 1856-2011

New Directions for Women Productions records

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00564
Abstract Television production company. Collection consists of taped episodes of "New Directions for Women," a television series produced by Morris County, NJ Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), airing regular broadcasts on a broad range of topics related to women and feminism such as women's history, marriage, family and motherhood, women and employment, young women, education, aging women, violence against women. sexuality, gay and lesbian issues, abortion and reproductive rights,...
Dates of Materials: 1994-2005

Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project records

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00669
Abstract

The project, begun by Arden Eversmeyer in 1997, continues to collect the life stories of lesbians 70 and older from around the country. The collection includes full transcripts and audio recordings (tapes and digital files); plus related correspondence, releases, and photographs (primarily color photocopies). Some interviewee files contain additional biographical material, writings, speeches, and memorabilia.

Dates of Materials: 1944 - 2020

Old Lesbians Organizing for Change records

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00671
Abstract Old Lesbians Organizing for Change(OLOC) is a national (United States) organization of lesbian activists age 60 and over. This collection includes extensive documentation of all OLOC gatherings since 1987, including photographs of activities, and videotapes of panel discussions and keynote speeches. Administrative files, newsletters and other publications, and educational and public relations materials are also included, as is a history of the organization. The collection also contains a...
Dates of Materials: 1986 - 2018

Olive K. Damon papers

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00521
Abstract

Farmer, Homemaker, amateur artist. The bulk of the collection consists of fifty-eight volumes of personal diaries, beginning in 1930 at age 19 and ending in 2002. Subjects include local history of Whately, Massachusetts, women's daily life and connections, marriage, and farm life. Supplementing the diaries is a self-published memoir of her life, correspondence with her son, and material documenting her artwork.

Dates of Materials: 1925-2005