Betty Wells Papers, 1931-1995, n.d.
General International Standard for Archival Description
Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections
Finding aid encoded in NoteTab Pro. Encoded by Jennifer Gunter King. 2005-06-04
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Betty Wells Papers
Wells, Betty, 1913-2002
Biographical History for: Betty Wells Papers
Biographical Note Katharine Elizabeth (Betty) Taylor Wells, a graduate of Mount Holyoke College (1935) and a French teacher, was born on December 23, 1913 in Boston, Massachusetts to Earl and Helen Travis Taylor. She graduated from the Girls' Latin School in Boston in 1931, and from Mount Holyoke College in 1935. She spent her junior year abroad (the 1933-1934 academic year) studying in France. In June of 1935, she married Richard Dennison Wells, a graduate of the Harvard Engineering School. They lived in Lewiston, Maine and had one daughter, Katharine, who later attended Colby College. In 1963, Betty Taylor Wells began a program at Northeastern University for her master's degree in education, and started teaching French in high school the following year. She received her M.Ed. in 1966. She died on August 6, 2002, at the age of eighty-eight.
Scope and Contents of the Collection Comprised of Correspondence, Writings, Photographs, Biographical Material, and Scrapbooks. Correspondence (1933-1995, n.d.) consists of letters to her parents, written as a Mount Holyoke College student spending her junior year in France, and correspondence (1933-1995, n.d.) with Simone Calvet, a French penpal and later friend. Student letters describe her studies, social activities, and travels in France, Germany and Italy, while the bulk of her correspondence with Simone Calvet reflect each woman's intellectual, family and social life, and their thoughts on marriage, motherhood, world affairs, illness, aging and the nature of their friendship. The Writings series (ca. 1931-1935, n.d.) is comprised of illustrated short-stories, poems, a manuscript entitled, "First Fruits" and a manuscript entiteld, "What is the Subconscious?" and noted as a French thesis (ca. 1934); all authored by Wells. Some of these items were written for English classes at Mount Holyoke College. The Photographs (1931-1989, n.d.) are primarily of snapshots removed from the correspondence from Simone Calvet, as well as a few photographs of Wells as a student at Mount Holyoke. Biographical Material (1934, 1954-55, 1959) consists of newspaper articles announcing her engagement, wedding and other activities as well as a photocopy of her diploma from the University of Paris. The Scrapbook Series consists of two scrapbooks, one dedicated to her years as a student at Mount Holyoke College (1931-1935) and consisting of corresponence, clippings, programs and photographs. The other scrapbook is dedicated specifically to her year studying abroad in France (1933-1934) and includes travel ticket stubs, photographs and correspondence. Material from this collection is available in an online digital format.
Student activities Massachusetts South Hadley.
lcsh
English language Study and teaching (Higher) Massachusetts South Hadley.
Aging.
Children.
Foreign study.
Junior year abroad.
World War, 1939-1945 France.
Books and reading.
Family France History Sources.
Family United States History Sources.
Friendship United States History Sources.
College students Massachusetts.
Women college students Massachusetts.
Women Health and hygiene France History Sources.
Depressed persons France Correspondence.
Mentally ill women France Correspondence.
Women Health and hygiene United States History Sources.
Women France Social conditions Sources.
Women United States Social conditions Sources.
Marriage France Social conditions Sources.
Marriage United States Social conditions Sources.
Voyages and travels.
Wells, Betty, 1913-
lcnaf
Calvet, Simone, 1913-
Taylor, Earl Eesley b. 1886
Taylor, Helen Sanborn Travis, 1885-.
Wells family
Calvet family
Mount Holyoke College Students.
Mount Holyoke College Studentlife 1931-1935.
Mount Holyoke College Student papers ca. 1931-1935.
aat
series
Correspondence, 1933-1995, n.d.
September - October, 1933
November - December, 1933
January - February, 1934
March - April, 1934
May - June, 1934
Writings, ca. 1931-1935, n.d.
Essays and Poems ca. 1931-1935, n.d.
First Fruits n.d.
"What is the Subconscious" (French Thesis) ca. 1934
Photographs, 1931-1989, n.d.
Photographs 1931-1989, n.d.
Biographical Material, 1934, 1954-55, 1959
Biographical Material 1934, 1954-55, 1959
Scrapbooks, 1931-1935
Scrapbook v.1 1931-1935
Scrapbook v.2 1933-1934