Hooker papers, 1873-1942 (bulk 1884-1927)
General International Standard for Archival Description
Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
Finding aid generated in MARC format from database, then encoded using Perl scripts and XSL stylesheet. 2003-05-20
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Hooker papers
Creation of Hooker papers
Time of Creation of Hooker papers
Hooker, Henrietta Edgecomb, 1851-1929.
Biographical History for: Hooker papers
Biographical Note Henrietta Edgecomb Hooker was born on December 12, 1851 in Gardiner, Maine to George Washington Hooker and Eliza Annis Ballentine Hooker. She entered Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1869 and graduated in 1873. Following her graduation, she worked at Mount Holyoke teaching algebra and botany. In 1888 she received her doctorate from the University of Syracuse. In 1889 she went to Königliche Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin (Berlin University) to continue her studies. She returned to Mount Holyoke as a professor of botany and was department chair until her retirement in 1908. After retiring she raised Buff Orpington chickens, entering them in contests and donating the prize money to Mount Holyoke College. In 1922 the College awarded her an honorary Bachelor of Science degree. She died at age seventy-seven on May 13, 1929 in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Scope and Contents of the Collection The Henrietta Edgecomb Hooker Papers consist of correspondence, writings, magazine and newspaper articles, and photographs. The materials document her experiences as a botany professor at Mount Holyoke College, her hobby of raising and showing Buff Orpington chickens, and her interests in botany. Included is information concerning a hiking tour of Western Massachusetts for Mount Holyoke College students which was led by Hooker. Of note are letters in which Hooker discusses the destruction of Mount Holyoke's Seminary Building by fire in 1896. There is also an article about the history of Mount Holyoke College and the school's need for funds in the aftermath of the fire. Also, in letters written to Mount Holyoke College president Mary Woolley, Hooker states her vision of the history and future of Mount Holyoke College Botany Department. Some letters and writings describe the lives and work of Mary Lyon, Mount Holyoke College president Elizabeth Storrs Mead, and botany professor Lydia W. Shattuck.
College teachers - Massachusetts.
lcsh
Women college teachers - Massachusetts.
Botany - Study and teaching (Higher) - Massachusetts.
Botanists - United States.
Women botanists - United States.
Orpingtons.
Chickens - Breeding - History - Sources.
lcnaf
Shattuck, Lydia W. (Lydia White), 1822-1889.
Mead, Elizabeth Storrs, 1831-1917.
Mount Holyoke College - Faculty.
Mount Holyoke College. - Botany Dept.
Mount Holyoke College - History.
Seminary Building (South Hadley, Mass. : Town)
Mount Holyoke College - Fire 1896.
Talcott Arboretum.
aat
series
Correspondence, 1896-circa 1927
Consists of letters written by and to Hooker between circa 1896-circa 1927 (with gaps). Of particular note are two letters that discuss the destruction of the seminary building by fire in 1896. The first letter, written to Mount Holyoke alumna Marim Gaylord Atwell, soon after the fire offers a twenty-one page description of the event. Also described are the reactions of faculty and students, and the plan for reconstruction. The second letter, written a year later to another alumna, Sarah French Lee, describes the reconstructed campus. There are several letters written to Mount Holyoke College President, Mary Emma Woolley, in which Hooker states her vision of the history and future of the College's Botany Department and provides a background on her career. Another letter written to a Mount Holyoke teacher, Anna C. Edwards, in 1927 describes her experiences traveling to a poultry show in Ottawa, Canada. One to Hooker from Clara Leigh Dwight, written in 1898, was sent with a three hundred dollar donation toward the construction of the greenhouse (the Talcott Arboretum) at Mount Holyoke. Another letter from alumna Marim W. West accompanied the gifts of an herbarium.
Unrestricted
Writings, 1884-1927
This series consists of articles published in magazines, manuscript writings, lecture notes, speeches, and lists written by Hooker between circa 1884-circa 1923. Her writings include scholarly pieces on botany, historical pieces on the Botany Department at Mount Holyoke College, pieces on the general history of the College, the College's founder Mary Lyon, Mount Holyoke College President Elizabeth Stores Mead, and Botany Professor Lydia W. Shattuck. Also included is a reflection on the life and work of Theodore Roosevelt. Of particular note is an article published in 1884 about her travels in Norway.
Chickens Information, 1911-1927
Consists of information about Hooker's hobby of raising Buff Orpington chickens from 1910-1927. Included are illustrated mating lists. There are also magazine articles in which Hooker describes how she became interested in raising chickens.
Biographical Information, 1873-1942
Consists of letters and magazine and newspaper articles about Hooker, 1837-1942. Included are several newspaper articles concerning Hooker's hobby of raising and showing Buff Orpington chickens. There are also letters written by those that knew Hooker reflecting on their relationships with her. Also included are biographical accounts of Hooker's life and a newspaper article announcing her death.
Photographs, circa 1873-circa 1920
Consist primarily of portraits of Hooker from circa 1873-circa 1920. Also included are two snapshots of Hooker, pictures of several of her chickens and a portrait labeled "European Tour. Party led by Prof. Swain" that includes Hooker.
Unrestrticted
Chicken Information, 1911-1927
Buff Orpington Hens, 1911-1927