Papers of Elizabeth Shapleigh Macdonald, 1893-1935
Overview
Notebooks, scrapbooks, diaries, wedding albums, etc., of Elizabeth Shapleigh Macdonald, wife and mother, and lieutenant in the Montclair (New Jersey) Chapter of the Red Cross Motor Corps during World War I.
Dates
- Creation: 1893-1935
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Access Restrictions:
Access. Unrestricted.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by Elizabeth Shapleigh Macdonald as well as 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
3.3 linear feet (8 file boxes)This collection consists of notebooks, scrapbooks, diaries, and albums surrounding her wedding and honeymoon kept by Elizabeth Shapleigh Macdonald from 1893 to 1935. They include letters, written entries by Macdonald, sketches, clippings, photographs, programs, and miscellaneous memorabilia. One scrapbook is devoted entirely to the family's involvement in World War I, including war-related activities in Montclair, 1917-1923. There are also three scrapbooks of clippings and programs pertaining entirely to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, spanning the years 1900-1905. Harry Peake Macdonald is represented in this collection by a photograph album and a diary.
When the collection was updated in January 2013, the initial accession (84-M109) which was made up of #1v-34 was renumbered as #1.1v-6.5 but was left in the same order. The more recent accession (85-M193), added in January 2013, is represented by #6.5-8.4.
BIOGRAPHY
Elizabeth Shapleigh Macdonald was born in 1882 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Waldron and Mary Dupey Shapleigh. In June 1905, she married Harry Peake Macdonald, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a mechanical engineer employed by the Snead Iron Works in Jersey City. Elizabeth and Harry Macdonald lived in Montclair, New Jersey, and had four children: Waldron Shapleigh (1907- ), Udolpho Snead (1908- ), Harry Peake (1909-1976), and Mary Alastair (1914- ). As a young woman Elizabeth Shapleigh Macdonald visited much of the East Coast, and in 1898 toured Europe. During World War I she was a lieutenant in the Montclair Chapter of the Red Cross Motor Corps.
Physical Location
Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession numbers: 84-M109, 85-M193
The papers of Elizabeth Shapleigh Macdonald were given to the Schlesinger Library in June 1984 and September 1985 by Mary Alastair Macdonald, Elizabeth Shapleigh Macdonald's daughter.
Processing Information
Preliminary inventory: September 1984
By: Cecilia Valerie Estolano
Re-processed: January 2013
By: Anne Engelhart
- Title
- Macdonald, Elizabeth Shapleigh, 1882-1935. Papers of Elizabeth Shapleigh Macdonald, 1893-1935: A Finding Aid
- Author
- Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- sch00712
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.