Biographical essays of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, l975-ca.l978
Overview
Photocopies of biographies of approximately 100 women who lived in the United States in the 17th through the early 20th centuries of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, a social service, genealogical, and historical organization.
Dates
- Creation: l975-l978
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Access Restrictions:
Access. Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright. Copyright in the biographical essays created by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America is held by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. 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
1 linear feet ((1 carton) plus 1 folio folder)This collection consists of biographies of women who lived in the seventeenth through the early twentieth centuries. The biographies were compiled and written by their descendants, all of them members of the National Society of Colonial Dames of America. The essays in this collection are photocopies; the originals are at the Library of Congress.
The biographies, of approximately one hundred women, illustrate patterns of American settlement: in the New England colonies, on Southern plantations, and in pioneer settlements on the frontier. Most of the women were of English or Scottish stock and were members of affluent and influential families. Extracts of diaries and letters provide vivid descriptions of domestic activities and of the material conditions of daily life. Among the most prominent women represented are Abigail (Smith) Adams (see #24), Sarah (Pierrepont) Edwards (#31), Deborah (Sampson) Gannett (#24), Sarah Josepha Hale (#44), Juliette (Gordon) Low (#13), Pocahontas (#13), Mercy (Otis) Warren (#24), Martha (Dandridge) Washington (#1), and Phillis Wheatley (#24).
Each biography is filed under the state chapter of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America to which the author (not the subject) belongs; most folders therefore contain biographies of women from various states. Forty one state chapters of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America and one in the District of Columbia are represented by authors; forty one states and the District of Columbia are represented in the biographies.
HISTORY
The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America is a social, service, genealogical, and historical organization founded in 1892.
Physical Location
Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession numbers: 84-M183, 85-M100
These biographical essays of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America were given to the Schlesinger Library by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in October 1984.
INDEX
States in capital letters in this index are those in which the subjects of biographies lived. The states listed following these are those in which the biographers live; each of the latter states is represented by a folder in this collection.
- ALABAMA Alabama
- ARKANSAS Arkansas
- CALIFORNIA California, Illinois, North Carolina, Oklahoma
- COLORADO Colorado
- CONNECTICUT Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Texas
- DELAWARE Delaware
- DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA District of Columbia, Massachusetts
- FLORIDA Florida, Georgia
- GEORGIA Georgia, Tennessee
- ILLINOIS Kansas, Michigan, Oklahoma
- INDIANA Indiana
- IOWA Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts
- KANSAS Kansas, Oklahoma
- KENTUCKY Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas
- LOUISIANA Louisiana, Texas
- MAINE Maine
- MARYLAND Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina
- MASSACHUSETTS California, Georgia, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont
- MICHIGAN Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin
- MINNESOTA Minnesota
- MISSISSIPPI Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Massachusetts
- MISSOURI Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas
- NEBRASKA District of Columbia, Louisiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma
- NEW HAMPSHIRE New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Texas
- NEW JERSEY California, Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
- NEW YORK Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont
- NORTH CAROLINA Georgia, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas
- OHIO Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio
- OKLAHOMA Oklahoma
- OREGON Oregon
- PENNSYLVANIA Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Wyoming
- RHODE ISLAND Delaware, Rhode Island
- SOUTH CAROLINA Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas
- SOUTH DAKOTA Louisiana
- TENNESSEE Indiana, Tennessee, Texas
- TEXAS Texas
- VERMONT Oklahoma, Vermont
- VIRGINIA Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia
- WASHINGTON Oregon, Washington
- WEST VIRGINIA West Virginia
- WISCONSIN Illinois, Wisconsin
- WYOMING Illinois, Massachusetts, Wyoming
Processing Information
Preliminary inventory: February and June 1985
By: Cecilia V. Estolano, Bert Hartry, Elizabeth H. Wang
- Title
- National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. Biographical essays of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, 1975-ca.1978
- Author
- Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- sch00821
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.