Cowles papers, ca. 1821-1903.
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: Cowles papers, ca. 1821-1903.
topic: Cowles papers
subject: Cowles papers
has part: Biographical History for: Cowles papers
topic: Correspondence, 1833-1888
subject: Correspondence, 1833-1888
topic: Letters by Cowles, 1835-1888, undated
subject: Letters by Cowles, 1835-1888, undated
topic: Letters to Cowles, 1833-1888, undated
subject: Letters to Cowles, 1833-1888, undated
topic: Writings, circa 1821-1879
subject: Writings, circa 1821-1879
topic: Her copies of documents written by Mary Lyon, circa 1821-1848
subject: Her copies of documents written by Mary Lyon, circa 1821-1848
topic: Journal, 1831-1832
subject: Journal, 1831-1832
topic: Pamphlet, "Our Maidens," 1879
subject: Pamphlet, "Our Maidens," 1879
topic: Biographical Information, circa 1903
subject: Biographical Information, circa 1903
topic: Biographical information, circa 1903
subject: Biographical information, circa 1903
topic: Family Papers, circa 1830s, 1835, 1850, 1879
subject: Family Papers, circa 1830s, 1835, 1850, 1879
topic: Caldwell and Cowles family papers, circa 1830s, 1835, 1850, 1879
subject: Caldwell and Cowles family papers, circa 1830s, 1835, 1850, 1879
topic: Photograph, circa 1850s
subject: Photograph, circa 1850s

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: Cowles papers, ca. 1821-1903.
administers: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
provides access to: Cowles papers
provides access to: Correspondence, 1833-1888
provides access to: Letters by Cowles, 1835-1888, undated
provides access to: Letters to Cowles, 1833-1888, undated
provides access to: Writings, circa 1821-1879
provides access to: Her copies of documents written by Mary Lyon, circa 1821-1848
provides access to: Journal, 1831-1832
provides access to: Pamphlet, "Our Maidens," 1879
provides access to: Biographical Information, circa 1903
provides access to: Biographical information, circa 1903
provides access to: Family Papers, circa 1830s, 1835, 1850, 1879
provides access to: Caldwell and Cowles family papers, circa 1830s, 1835, 1850, 1879
provides access to: Photograph, circa 1850s

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

Cowles papers, ca. 1821-1903.
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: Cowles papers, ca. 1821-1903.

Encoded Archival Description
type: Standard

Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
type: Standard

Cowles papers
type: ArchivalResource
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
level: collection
identifier: MS 0718
date: ca. 1821-1903.
date created accumulated string: ca. 1821-1903.
extent: 1 box
extent: (2.5 linear in.)
language: eng
origination: Cowles, Eunice C. (Eunice Caldwell), 1811-1903.
has biographical history: Biographical History for: Cowles papers
scopecontent: Scope and Contents of the Collection The Eunice Caldwell Cowles Papers include correspondence, writings, biographical information, Caldwell and Cowles family papers, and a photograph. Much of this material concerns Cowles's connections to Mount Holyoke Female Seminary and to Ipswich Female Seminary, where she spent most of her career. The correspondence, dating from 1833 to 1888, includes letters by and to Cowles. Some early letters in the collection are addressed to friends and family members. Other letters concern Mount Holyoke Female Seminary at its inception, including a letter, dated March 8, 1838 and entitled "Washing Day at Mount Holyoke Seminary," that describes the students' weekly cleaning routine. Later letters by Cowles are more general in nature and are addressed mainly to friends. Also included are letters written by Mary Lyon to Cowles. One letter, dated July 3, 1836, concerns Cowles's appointment as associate principal at Mount Holyoke. Another, dated November 29, 1855, concerns a student at Ipswich Female Seminary. The writings include two journals that Cowles kept while she was a student at Ipswich Female Seminary from 1831-1832. One describes her academic routine and makes reference to Mary Lyon, her teacher at Ipswich. The other journal contains Bible passages. Also included in the writings is a pamphlet by Cowles entitled "Our Maidens," from a lecture she delivered in 1879 at a meeting of the Women's Board of Missions in Boston, Massachusetts. The pamphlet discusses the training of women missionaries and Mary Lyon's role in this field. Also included are documents written by Mary Lyon but apparently copied by Cowles. These documents include spiritual writings, letters, a ledger of cash received from Mount Holyoke for furniture, and some compositions on education. The biographical information consists of an obituary and a biographical note, circa 1903. The family papers include a notification, dated July 30, 1835, of the drowning death of Cowles's…
associated with: Women missionaries.
associated with: Women's colleges - Massachusetts.
associated with: Missionaries - Training of.
associated with: Women - Religious life - Massachusetts.
associated with: Mount Holyoke Female Seminary - Domestic work.
associated with: Mount Holyoke Female Seminary - Furnishings.
associated with: Mount Holyoke Female Seminary - Inception.
associated with: Mount Holyoke Female Seminary - Student life - 1838.
associated with: Cowles, Eunice C. (Eunice Caldwell), 1811-1903.
associated with: Lyon, Mary, 1797-1849.
associated with: Mount Holyoke Female Seminary - History.
associated with: Mount Holyoke Female Seminary - Faculty.
associated with: Ipswich Female Seminary (Ipswich, Mass.) - Faculty.
associated with: Ipswich Female Seminary (Ipswich, Mass.) - Students.
associated with: Receipts.
associated with: Letters.
associated with: Photographs.
associated with: Diaries.
type: Aggregation
type: Collection
has part: Correspondence, 1833-1888
aggregates: Correspondence, 1833-1888
has part: Writings, circa 1821-1879
aggregates: Writings, circa 1821-1879
has part: Biographical Information, circa 1903
aggregates: Biographical Information, circa 1903
has part: Family Papers, circa 1830s, 1835, 1850, 1879
aggregates: Family Papers, circa 1830s, 1835, 1850, 1879
has part: Photograph, circa 1850s
aggregates: Photograph, circa 1850s

collection
type: Level
type: Concept

1 box
type: Extent
archbox: 1
label: (2.5 linear in.)

Cowles, Eunice C. (Eunice Caldwell), 1811-1903.
type: Agent
is origination of: Cowles papers

Biographical History for: Cowles papers
type: BiographicalHistory
type: Document
type: DocumentPart
body: Biographical Note Eunice Caldwell was born on February 4, 1811, in Ipswich, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Captain John Caldwell and Eunice Stanwood Caldwell. Her father, a sailor, drowned in the Kennebec River in 1835. She attended Ipswich Female Seminary from 1828 to 1829, where she met and began a lasting friendship with Mary Lyon, a teacher and an assistant to Zilpah P. Grant, the school's principal, from 1828 to 1839. She graduated from Ipswich in 1829 and was a teacher there from 1830-1835. She served as the first principal of Wheaton Female Seminary (later Wheaton College) in Norton, Massachusetts in 1836. She left her position at Wheaton for Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, where she was Associate Principal from 1837-1838. She married the Reverend John Phelps Cowles in 1838 and followed him to Oberlin College, where he was professor of Hebrew. In 1844 they returned to reopen Ipswich Female Seminary which they ran until it closed in 1876. The Cowles's had three daughters. Cowles died at the age of ninety-two on September 10, 1903 in Ipswich, Massachusetts.
topic: Cowles, Eunice C. (Eunice Caldwell), 1811-1903.
subject: Cowles, Eunice C. (Eunice Caldwell), 1811-1903.
is biographical history for: Cowles papers
is part of: Cowles papers, ca. 1821-1903.

Women missionaries.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh

lcsh
type: ConceptScheme

Women's colleges - Massachusetts.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh

Missionaries - Training of.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh

Women - Religious life - Massachusetts.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh

Mount Holyoke Female Seminary - Domestic work.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh

Mount Holyoke Female Seminary - Furnishings.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh

Mount Holyoke Female Seminary - Inception.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh

Mount Holyoke Female Seminary - Student life - 1838.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcsh

Cowles, Eunice C. (Eunice Caldwell), 1811-1903.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcnaf
focus: Cowles, Eunice C. (Eunice Caldwell), 1811-1903.

lcnaf
type: ConceptScheme

Cowles, Eunice C. (Eunice Caldwell), 1811-1903.
type: Person
type: Agent
type: E21 Person

Lyon, Mary, 1797-1849.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcnaf
focus: Lyon, Mary, 1797-1849.

Lyon, Mary, 1797-1849.
type: Person
type: Agent
type: E21 Person

Mount Holyoke Female Seminary - History.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcnaf
focus: mountholyokefemaleseminary-history

Mount Holyoke Female Seminary - Faculty.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcnaf
focus: mountholyokefemaleseminary-faculty

Ipswich Female Seminary (Ipswich, Mass.) - Faculty.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcnaf
focus: ipswichfemaleseminaryipswichmass-faculty

Ipswich Female Seminary (Ipswich, Mass.) - Students.
type: Concept
in scheme: lcnaf
focus: ipswichfemaleseminaryipswichmass-students

Receipts.
type: Concept
type: GenreForm
in scheme: aat

aat
type: ConceptScheme

Letters.
type: Concept
type: GenreForm
in scheme: aat

Photographs.
type: Concept
type: GenreForm
in scheme: aat

Diaries.
type: Concept
type: GenreForm
in scheme: aat

Correspondence, 1833-1888
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Cowles papers
is aggregated by: Cowles papers
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
level: series
extent: 2 folders
scopecontent: The correspondence consists of twenty letters and two postcards written by and to Cowles between 1833 and 1888. The letters by Cowles, primarily addressed to friends and family, discuss personal news and include information relating to the opening of Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. Of particular interest is a letter dated March 8, 1838, entitled "Washing Day at Mt. Holyoke Seminary," in which she gives a detailed account of Mondays at the school, when time was set aside for students to wash their clothing as well as the inside of the school building. Also included in the series are two letters by Mary Lyon as well as one to her from Cowles. The first letter written by Lyon is an informational letter from July 3, 1836 about Cowles's recent appointment at Mount Holyoke. The letter written to Lyon, dated July 11, 1844, describes some of Cowles's students at Ipswich Female Seminary. The second letter by Lyon is a short note, dated November 29, 1855, concerning a student who was soon to attend Ipswich Female Seminary. The letters written by Cowles later in life are of a general nature, mainly to friends.
access restrictions: Unrestricted
type: Aggregation
type: Collection
has part: Letters by Cowles, 1835-1888, undated
aggregates: Letters by Cowles, 1835-1888, undated
has part: Letters to Cowles, 1833-1888, undated
aggregates: Letters to Cowles, 1833-1888, undated

Writings, circa 1821-1879
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Cowles papers
is aggregated by: Cowles papers
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
level: series
extent: 3 folders
scopecontent: The writings consist of two journals Cowles kept while she was a student at Ipswich Female Seminary 1831-1832. One describes her academic routine and contains references to Mary Lyon, her teacher at Ipswich. The other journal is primarily made up of Bible passages. Also in this series is a pamphlet written by Cowles entitled "Our Maidens," a copy of a lecture delivered in 1879 at a meeting of The Women's Board of Missions in Boston. The pamphlet discusses the training of women as missionaries and includes a lengthy section on Mary Lyon and her visionary role in this education. This series also contains documents apparently written by Mary Lyon between 1821 and 1848 and copied by Cowles. These documents include spiritual writings, letters, a ledger of cash received from Mount Holyoke for furniture, and some compositions on education.
access restrictions: Unrestricted
type: Aggregation
type: Collection
has part: Her copies of documents written by Mary Lyon, circa 1821-1848
aggregates: Her copies of documents written by Mary Lyon, circa 1821-1848
has part: Journal, 1831-1832
aggregates: Journal, 1831-1832
has part: Pamphlet, "Our Maidens," 1879
aggregates: Pamphlet, "Our Maidens," 1879

Biographical Information, circa 1903
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Cowles papers
is aggregated by: Cowles papers
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
level: series
extent: 1 folder
scopecontent: The biographical information consists of an obituary from "Christian World" magazine, circa 1903, describing Cowles's role in women's education, and a biographical note, also dating from about 1903.
access restrictions: Unrestricted
type: Aggregation
type: Collection
has part: Biographical information, circa 1903
aggregates: Biographical information, circa 1903

Family Papers, circa 1830s, 1835, 1850, 1879
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Cowles papers
is aggregated by: Cowles papers
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
level: series
extent: 1 folder
scopecontent: This series consists of Caldwell and Cowles family papers. The series includes a letter dated July 30, 1835, written by William Caldwell and addressed to Daniel Cogswell of Ipswich, notifying him of the drowning death of Cowles's father, Captain John Caldwell. Also included are two receipts belonging to Cowles's husband, John Cowles, as well as a short note from Mary Lyon to Cowles' mother, Eunice Caldwell, possibly written in the 1830s.
access restrictions: Unrestricted
type: Aggregation
type: Collection
has part: Caldwell and Cowles family papers, circa 1830s, 1835, 1850, 1879
aggregates: Caldwell and Cowles family papers, circa 1830s, 1835, 1850, 1879

Photograph, circa 1850s
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Cowles papers
is aggregated by: Cowles papers
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
level: series
extent: 1 folder
scopecontent: This series consists of a formal portrait of Cowles probably dating from the 1850s. The photograph appears to be a copy of a photograph that was published in a magazine or newspaper.
access restrictions: Unrestricted
type: Aggregation
type: Collection
has part: Photograph, circa 1850s
aggregates: Photograph, circa 1850s

series
type: Level
type: Concept

2 folders
type: Extent
folder: 2

Letters by Cowles, 1835-1888, undated
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Correspondence, 1833-1888
is aggregated by: Correspondence, 1833-1888
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

Letters to Cowles, 1833-1888, undated
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Correspondence, 1833-1888
is aggregated by: Correspondence, 1833-1888
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

3 folders
type: Extent
folder: 3

Her copies of documents written by Mary Lyon, circa 1821-1848
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Writings, circa 1821-1879
is aggregated by: Writings, circa 1821-1879
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

Journal, 1831-1832
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Writings, circa 1821-1879
is aggregated by: Writings, circa 1821-1879
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

Journal, 1831-1832
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Writings, circa 1821-1879
is aggregated by: Writings, circa 1821-1879
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

Pamphlet, "Our Maidens," 1879
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Writings, circa 1821-1879
is aggregated by: Writings, circa 1821-1879
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

1 folder
type: Extent
folder: 1

Biographical information, circa 1903
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Biographical Information, circa 1903
is aggregated by: Biographical Information, circa 1903
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

1 folder
type: Extent
folder: 1

Caldwell and Cowles family papers, circa 1830s, 1835, 1850, 1879
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Family Papers, circa 1830s, 1835, 1850, 1879
is aggregated by: Family Papers, circa 1830s, 1835, 1850, 1879
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA

1 folder
type: Extent
folder: 1

Photograph, circa 1850s
type: ArchivalResource
is part of: Photograph, circa 1850s
is aggregated by: Photograph, circa 1850s
access provided by: Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA