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COLLECTION Identifier: 83-M248

Papers of the Demarest family, 1921-1949

Overview

Correspondence of Frances Brown Demarest and her family from Washington, D.C.

Dates

  • Creation: 1921-1949

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions:

Access. Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by the Demarest family is held by the President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Schlesinger Library. Copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.

Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.

Extent

.42 linear feet (1 file box)

The collection consists of letters, most to Frances Brown Demarest from her parents, two siblings, and her four children. The letters are concerned with health issues, family news, financial problems, news of camp, school and college, and Robert's service as a World War II pilot. There is some material on the Red Cross.

FAMILY HISTORY

Frances (Brown) Demarest was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Stephen C. Brown, registrar of the Smithsonian Museum, and step-granddaughter of Amanda Brown, who worked in the Treasury Department, 1880-1910, and was the leading authority on mutilated money. Frances Brown Demarest had two siblings, Marjorie (Brown) Rush (died July 1982) and Harry J. Brown, a Washington journalist. Frances Brown Demarest married Reginald E. Demarest, who was of Huguenot descent, and they had four children: Frederick Demarest (died July 14, 1983), Robert Demarest (a pilot during World War II), Virginia (Demarest) Singer (Smith College, class of 1932), and Frances (Demarest) Nichols, who attended Wellesley College with the class of 1940. Frances Brown Demarest was a "gray lady" for the Red Cross during World War II. She died in September 1978; Reginald E. Demarest died in July 1971.

Physical Location

Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession number: 83-M248

This collection was found in the attic of a house in Springfield, Massachusetts, and brought to the Schlesinger Library by Patricia King, director of the library, in November 1983. It was subsequently given to the library by Virginia (Demarest) Singer and Frances (Demarest) Nichols.

Processing Information

Preliminary inventory: January 1986

By: Jane S. Knowles and Adelaide Kennedy

Subject

Title
Demarest family. Papers of the Demarest family, 1921-1949: A Finding Aid
Author
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
sch00135

Repository Details

Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository

The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.

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