Merrill papers, ca. 1913-1983.
type: FindingAid
type: Document
conforms to: General International Standard for Archival Description
publisher: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
encoded as: Merrill papers, ca. 1913-1983.
topic: Merrill papers
subject: Merrill papers
has part: Biographical History for: Merrill papers
topic: Correspondence, 1924-1983
subject: Correspondence, 1924-1983
topic: Writings, 1926-1937, 1978
subject: Writings, 1926-1937, 1978
topic: Memorabilia, circa 1924-1941
subject: Memorabilia, circa 1924-1941
topic: Biographical Information, circa 1924-1968
subject: Biographical Information, circa 1924-1968
topic: Photographs, circa 1913-1968
subject: Photographs, circa 1913-1968
topic: Correspondence, 1924
subject: Correspondence, 1924
topic: Correspondence, 1925-1926
subject: Correspondence, 1925-1926
topic: Correspondence, 1927-1928
subject: Correspondence, 1927-1928
topic: Correspondence, 1929-1930
subject: Correspondence, 1929-1930
topic: Correspondence, 1931-1934
subject: Correspondence, 1931-1934
topic: Correspondence, 1935-1940
subject: Correspondence, 1935-1940
topic: Correspondence, 1944-1973
subject: Correspondence, 1944-1973
topic: Correspondence, 1974-1983
subject: Correspondence, 1974-1983
topic: Articles, 1926-1937
subject: Articles, 1926-1937
topic: Translation of "Getting to Know the Japanese," by Anne Sano-Gerber,1978
subject: Translation of "Getting to Know the Japanese," by Anne Sano-Gerber,1978
topic: Biographical information, circa 1924-1968
subject: Biographical information, circa 1924-1968

General International Standard for Archival Description
type: Standard

Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
type: Repository
type: Organization
type: Agent
country code: US
maintenance agency code: mshm
is publisher of: Merrill papers, ca. 1913-1983.
administers: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
provides access to: Merrill papers
provides access to: Correspondence, 1924-1983
provides access to: Writings, 1926-1937, 1978
provides access to: Memorabilia, circa 1924-1941
provides access to: Biographical Information, circa 1924-1968
provides access to: Photographs, circa 1913-1968
provides access to: Correspondence, 1924
provides access to: Correspondence, 1925-1926
provides access to: Correspondence, 1927-1928
provides access to: Correspondence, 1929-1930
provides access to: Correspondence, 1931-1934
provides access to: Correspondence, 1935-1940
provides access to: Correspondence, 1944-1973
provides access to: Correspondence, 1974-1983
provides access to: Articles, 1926-1937
provides access to: Translation of "Getting to Know the Japanese," by Anne Sano-Gerber,1978
provides access to: Biographical information, circa 1924-1968

Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
type: SpatialThing
is administered by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

Merrill papers, ca. 1913-1983.
type: EAD
type: Document
description: Finding aid generated in MARC format from database, then encoded using Perl scripts and XSL stylesheet. 2003-05-20
created: 2003-05-20
conforms to: Encoded Archival Description
conforms to: Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
encoding of: Merrill papers, ca. 1913-1983.

Encoded Archival Description
type: Standard

Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
type: Standard

Merrill papers
type: ArchivalResource
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
level: collection
identifier: MS 0571
date: ca. 1913-1983.
date created accumulated string: ca. 1913-1983.
extent: 1 box
extent: (5 linear in.)
language: eng
origination: Merrill, Katharine, 1895-1983.
has biographical history: Biographical History for: Merrill papers
scopecontent: Scope and Contents of the Collection The Katharine Merrill Ahlbers Skog Papers consist of correspondence, writings, memorabilia, biographical information, and photographs. Of particular interest is Merrill's correspondence, 1924-1983, which chiefly consists of forty-three letters written from the Matsuyama Girls' School in Matsuyama, Japan, between 1924-1940. Most of these documents appear to be copies of letters that Merrill wrote for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and sent to friends, mainly at Mount Holyoke College. The letters describe Merrill's life as a missionary teacher in great detail. She discusses the school and its summer camp; the surrounding city; Japanese customs; the daily and personal lives of her students and co-workers; visits to cities, temples, palaces, and shrines; and a trip to China in 1925. She also discusses political and economic events such as the Sino-Japanese conflict, World War II, and the worldwide economic depression in the 1930s. She frequently mentions Olive S. Hoyt, Principal of the Matsuyama Girls' School and an 1897 graduate of Mount Holyoke College, and two of the letters in the collection are written by both Hoyt and Merrill. Later letters mention travels in Japan in 1966 and 1971, and in France, Germany, and Switzerland in 1966 and 1978. She also describes her life and travels while living in Sweden from 1964-1983. The collection includes a few personal letters that Merrill wrote to Bertha E. Blakely, Mount Holyoke College Librarian, Dorothy ("Deed") Camp Nourse, a Mount Holyoke classmate, and Mount Holyoke's president, David Bicknell Truman, as well as a 1944 note from Mary Emma Woolley, former president of the College. Writings include published and unpublished articles by Merrill, 1926-1937, concerning her work in Japan, and her 1978 translation of an unpublished paper by Anne Sano-Gerber entitled "Getting to Know the Japanese." Memorabilia consists of programs, postcards, and documents, chiefly i…
associated with: Women missionaries - Japan - Correspondence.
associated with: Missionaries - Japan - Correspondence.
associated with: Women teachers - Japan - Correspondence.
associated with: Teachers - Japan - Correspondence.
associated with: Voyages and travels.
associated with: Women travelers.
associated with: Schools - Japan.
associated with: Young women - Education - Japan.
associated with: World War, 1939-1945 - Japan.
associated with: Depressions - 1929 - Japan.
associated with: Sino-Japanese Conflict, 1937-1945 - Personal narratives.
associated with: Merrill, Katharine, 1895-1983.
associated with: Hoyt, Olive S. (Olive Sawyer), 1874-1966.
associated with: Nourse, Dorothy Camp, 1894-1991.
associated with: Blakely, Bertha E. (Bertha Eliza), 1870-1962.
associated with: Woolley, Mary Emma, 1863-1947.
associated with: Truman, David Bicknell, 1913-.
associated with: Matsuyama Girls' School (Matsuyama-shi, Japan) - History - Sources.
associated with: American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
associated with: Japan - Description and travel.
associated with: France - Description and travel.
associated with: China - Description and travel.
associated with: Sweden - Description and travel.
associated with: Switzerland - Description and travel.
associated with: Japan - Economic conditions - 1918-1945.
associated with: Matsuyama-shi (Japan) - Description and travel.
associated with: Japan - Social life and customs - 1912-1945.
associated with: Letters
associated with: Photographs.
associated with: Postcards.
type: Aggregation
type: Collection
has part: Correspondence, 1924-1983
aggregates: Correspondence, 1924-1983
has part: Writings, 1926-1937, 1978
aggregates: Writings, 1926-1937, 1978
has part: Memorabilia, circa 1924-1941
aggregates: Memorabilia, circa 1924-1941
has part: Biographical Information, circa 1924-1968
aggregates: Biographical Information, circa 1924-1968
has part: Photographs, circa 1913-1968
aggregates: Photographs, circa 1913-1968

collection
type: Level
type: Concept

1 box
type: Extent
archbox: 1
label: (5 linear in.)

Merrill, Katharine, 1895-1983.
type: Agent
is origination of: Merrill papers

Biographical History for: Merrill papers
type: BiographicalHistory
type: Document
type: DocumentPart
body: Biographical Note Katharine Merrill was born on August 3, 1895, in Quincy, Massachusetts. Her father, John Flint Merrill, was in the real estate business. She attended Woodward Institute in Quincy, from 1909-1913 then went to Mount Holyoke College from 1913-1917. She majored in German, zoology, and physiology and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1917. She graduated from Harvard University Summer School of Physical Education in 1922 and received her Masters in Education from Harvard Graduate School in 1928. She worked as a high school teacher of German, biology, physical education, geography, typewriting, and girls' basketball in New York and Massachusetts from 1917-1924. She also was an actuarial clerk for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company from 1919-1921. Merrill was a missionary teacher at the Matsuyama Girls' School in Japan from 1924-1941. She taught physical education, English, and folk dancing and earned a certificate from the Tokyo School of Japanese Language and Culture in 1933. In 1927-1928 Merrill returned to the United States and worked as a clerk at the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in Boston while finishing her Master of Education degree from Harvard University. From 1942 until about 1954 she worked in Washington D.C. as a research analyst and Japanese translator for the Military Intelligence Service, in addition to serving as a high school German teacher and a translator for the Index Catalogue Division of the Armed Forces Medical Library. She married Knut Ahlbers in 1954 and in 1964 moved to his homeland, Sweden, where Ahlbers died. In 1968 she married Karl August Skog in Vasteras, Sweden. She died in Vasteras on November 27, 1983, at the age of eighty-eight.
topic: Merrill, Katharine, 1895-1983.
subject: Merrill, Katharine, 1895-1983.
is biographical history for: Merrill papers
is part of: Merrill papers, ca. 1913-1983.

Women missionaries - Japan - Correspondence.
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Missionaries - Japan - Correspondence.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh

Women teachers - Japan - Correspondence.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh

Teachers - Japan - Correspondence.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh

Voyages and travels.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh

Women travelers.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh

Schools - Japan.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh

Young women - Education - Japan.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh

World War, 1939-1945 - Japan.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh

Depressions - 1929 - Japan.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh

Sino-Japanese Conflict, 1937-1945 - Personal narratives.
type: Concept
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Merrill, Katharine, 1895-1983.
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focus: Merrill, Katharine, 1895-1983.

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Merrill, Katharine, 1895-1983.
type: Person
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Hoyt, Olive S. (Olive Sawyer), 1874-1966.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcnaf
focus: Hoyt, Olive S. (Olive Sawyer), 1874-1966.

Hoyt, Olive S. (Olive Sawyer), 1874-1966.
type: Person
type: Agent
type: E21 Person

Nourse, Dorothy Camp, 1894-1991.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcnaf
focus: Nourse, Dorothy Camp, 1894-1991.

Nourse, Dorothy Camp, 1894-1991.
type: Person
type: Agent
type: E21 Person

Blakely, Bertha E. (Bertha Eliza), 1870-1962.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcnaf
focus: Blakely, Bertha E. (Bertha Eliza), 1870-1962.

Blakely, Bertha E. (Bertha Eliza), 1870-1962.
type: Person
type: Agent
type: E21 Person

Woolley, Mary Emma, 1863-1947.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcnaf
focus: Woolley, Mary Emma, 1863-1947.

Woolley, Mary Emma, 1863-1947.
type: Person
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Truman, David Bicknell, 1913-.
type: Concept
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focus: Truman, David Bicknell, 1913-.

Truman, David Bicknell, 1913-.
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Matsuyama Girls' School (Matsuyama-shi, Japan) - History - Sources.
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focus: matsuyamagirlsschoolmatsuyama-shijapan-history-sources

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
type: Concept
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Japan - Description and travel.
type: Concept
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focus: japan-descriptionandtravel

France - Description and travel.
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in scheme: lcsh
focus: france-descriptionandtravel

China - Description and travel.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh
focus: china-descriptionandtravel

Sweden - Description and travel.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh
focus: sweden-descriptionandtravel

Switzerland - Description and travel.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh
focus: switzerland-descriptionandtravel

Japan - Economic conditions - 1918-1945.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh
focus: japan-economicconditions-1918-1945

Matsuyama-shi (Japan) - Description and travel.
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focus: matsuyama-shijapan-descriptionandtravel

Japan - Social life and customs - 1912-1945.
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focus: japan-sociallifeandcustoms-1912-1945

Letters
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aat
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Photographs.
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Postcards.
type: Concept
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in scheme: aat

Correspondence, 1924-1983
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Merrill papers
is aggregated by: Merrill papers
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
level: series
extent: 8 folders
scopecontent: This series consists of letters written by Merrill between 1924-1983. Most of these documents appear to be copies of letters that Merrill wrote for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and sent to her friends, mainly at Mount Holyoke College. The collection also includes a few personal letters sent to Bertha E. Blakely, Librarian of Mount Holyoke College, Dorothy ("Deed") Camp Nourse, a Mount Holyoke classmate, and David Bicknell Truman, President of Mount Holyoke College. There is also a note to Merrill from Mary Emma Woolley, former president of Mount Holyoke College, written in January 1944. Of particular significance are forty-three letters written by Merrill while teaching at the Matsuyama Girls' School in Japan, 1924-1940. In these letters she gives detailed information about her life and work. She discusses the school's curriculum, buildings, ceremonies, fund-raising activities, and dormitory life; its summer camp; the surrounding city; her work as a teacher of English, physical education and etiquette classes; and the personal lives of her co-workers and students. Olive S. Hoyt, Principal of the Matsuyama Girls' School and an 1897 graduate of Mount Holyoke College, is frequently mentioned in these letters. There are two letters, 1926 and 1936, written by Hoyt and Merrill describing the history of the school and current goals at the time of the fortieth and fiftieth anniversary of the school. Merrill also discusses Japanese customs pertaining to food, clothing, church, movie and play theatres, calling upon friends, New Year's celebrations, national holidays declared by the Japanese Emperor, religious festivals, weddings, funerals, and Christian baptisms. She describes climbing Mount Fuji, flying in an open cockpit mail plane, visiting various Japanese cities, temples, palaces, shrines, and missionary conferences, taking extensive bicycle trips, and visiting China in 1925. She also discusses political and economic events such as the Sino-Ja…
access restrictions: Unrestricted

Writings, 1926-1937, 1978
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Merrill papers
is aggregated by: Merrill papers
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
level: series
extent: 2 folders
scopecontent: This series includes Merrill's unpublished and published articles written by Merrill between 1926-1937 and a document translated from Japanese to English by her in 1978. The articles concern the Matsuyama Girls' School and summer camp and school. Merrill's translation is of an unpublished paper by Anne Sano-Gerber entitled "Getting to Know the Japanese."
access restrictions: Unrestricted

Memorabilia, circa 1924-1941
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Merrill papers
is aggregated by: Merrill papers
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
level: series
extent: 1 folder
scopecontent: This series consists of programs, postcards, and documents, chiefly in Japanese, from the Matsuyama Girls' School dating from 1924-1941. Of particular interest are postcards of the school showing the campus and the surrounding city before its destruction during World War II. Most of the postcards have descriptions of the pictures written by Merrill.
access restrictions: Unrestricted

Biographical Information, circa 1924-1968
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Merrill papers
is aggregated by: Merrill papers
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
level: series
extent: 1 folder
scopecontent: This series contains notes, programs, clippings, articles, and wedding invitations dating from circa 1924-1968. There is a program from the "Commissioning Service for Miss Katherine Merrill, Matsuyama, Japan," 1928. There are also newspaper clippings, 1928-1935, discussing Merrill's missionary activities in Japan and information about her assistance with a book about the pineal glad published in 1954. Invitations to her weddings in 1954 and 1968 are also included.
access restrictions: Unrestricted

Photographs, circa 1913-1968
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Merrill papers
is aggregated by: Merrill papers
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
level: series
extent: 1 folder
scopecontent: This series consists of formal and informal photographs of Merrill, her students, co-workers and husbands, circa 1913-1968. Included is what is probably Merrill's high school graduation photograph, circa 1913. Of particular interest are photographs of the students, choir and teachers of the Matsuyama Girls' School, circa 1924-1926, and of Merrill in traditional Japanese clothing and riding a bicycle, circa 1925-1928. Also included are snapshots of Sweden and Norway, 1965, and pictures of Merrill and her two husbands, 1958-1968.
access restrictions: Unrestricted

Correspondence, 1924-1983
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Merrill papers
is aggregated by: Merrill papers
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
level: series
extent: 8 folders
type: Aggregation
type: Collection
has part: Correspondence, 1924
aggregates: Correspondence, 1924
has part: Correspondence, 1925-1926
aggregates: Correspondence, 1925-1926
has part: Correspondence, 1927-1928
aggregates: Correspondence, 1927-1928
has part: Correspondence, 1929-1930
aggregates: Correspondence, 1929-1930
has part: Correspondence, 1931-1934
aggregates: Correspondence, 1931-1934
has part: Correspondence, 1935-1940
aggregates: Correspondence, 1935-1940
has part: Correspondence, 1944-1973
aggregates: Correspondence, 1944-1973
has part: Correspondence, 1974-1983
aggregates: Correspondence, 1974-1983

Writings, 1926-1937, 1978
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Merrill papers
is aggregated by: Merrill papers
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
level: series
extent: 2 folders
type: Aggregation
type: Collection
has part: Articles, 1926-1937
aggregates: Articles, 1926-1937
has part: Translation of "Getting to Know the Japanese," by Anne Sano-Gerber,1978
aggregates: Translation of "Getting to Know the Japanese," by Anne Sano-Gerber,1978

Memorabilia, circa 1924-1941
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Merrill papers
is aggregated by: Merrill papers
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
level: series
extent: 1 folder
type: Aggregation
type: Collection
has part: Memorabilia, circa 1924-1941
aggregates: Memorabilia, circa 1924-1941

Biographical Information, circa 1924-1968
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Merrill papers
is aggregated by: Merrill papers
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
level: series
extent: 1 folder
type: Aggregation
type: Collection
has part: Biographical information, circa 1924-1968
aggregates: Biographical information, circa 1924-1968

Photographs, circa 1913-1968
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Merrill papers
is aggregated by: Merrill papers
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
level: series
extent: 1 folder
type: Aggregation
type: Collection
has part: Photographs, circa 1913-1968
aggregates: Photographs, circa 1913-1968

series
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type: Concept

8 folders
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2 folders
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1 folder
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folder: 1

1 folder
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folder: 1

1 folder
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8 folders
type: Extent
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Correspondence, 1924
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Correspondence, 1924-1983
is aggregated by: Correspondence, 1924-1983
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

Correspondence, 1925-1926
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Correspondence, 1924-1983
is aggregated by: Correspondence, 1924-1983
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

Correspondence, 1927-1928
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Correspondence, 1924-1983
is aggregated by: Correspondence, 1924-1983
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

Correspondence, 1929-1930
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Correspondence, 1924-1983
is aggregated by: Correspondence, 1924-1983
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

Correspondence, 1931-1934
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Correspondence, 1924-1983
is aggregated by: Correspondence, 1924-1983
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

Correspondence, 1935-1940
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Correspondence, 1924-1983
is aggregated by: Correspondence, 1924-1983
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

Correspondence, 1944-1973
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Correspondence, 1924-1983
is aggregated by: Correspondence, 1924-1983
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

Correspondence, 1974-1983
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Correspondence, 1924-1983
is aggregated by: Correspondence, 1924-1983
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

2 folders
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Articles, 1926-1937
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Writings, 1926-1937, 1978
is aggregated by: Writings, 1926-1937, 1978
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

Translation of "Getting to Know the Japanese," by Anne Sano-Gerber,1978
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Writings, 1926-1937, 1978
is aggregated by: Writings, 1926-1937, 1978
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

1 folder
type: Extent
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Memorabilia, circa 1924-1941
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Memorabilia, circa 1924-1941
is aggregated by: Memorabilia, circa 1924-1941
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

1 folder
type: Extent
folder: 1

Biographical information, circa 1924-1968
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Biographical Information, circa 1924-1968
is aggregated by: Biographical Information, circa 1924-1968
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

1 folder
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Photographs, circa 1913-1968
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Photographs, circa 1913-1968
is aggregated by: Photographs, circa 1913-1968
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA