Papers of Katharine Wolcott Toll, 1809-2008 (inclusive), 1890-1985 (bulk)

The papers of Katharine Wolcott Toll include correspondence, drafts, notes, diaries, medical records, photographs, etc., documenting Toll's personal life and her work as a reporter and social worker. Papers also document the lives of her parents, Charles Hansen and Mayes Martin Toll, as well as other family members. Some files arrived at the library in folders and those folder titles were retained. The archivist created folders for the loose materials and those folder titles appear in square brackets. The file arrangement was created by the archivist.

Series I, KATHARINE WOLCOTT TOLL, 1901-2010 (#1.1-31.1, 51.1-56.3, 50F+B.1-50F+B.3, FD.1, PD.1), includes correspondence, diaries, medical records, drafts, notes, etc. It is arranged in four subseries.

Subseries A, Biographical and personal, 1912-2008 (#1.1-15.5, 51.1-53.7, 50F+B.1-50F+B.3, FD.1), includes correspondence, diaries, medical records, notes, etc. Medical records include copies of Toll's official medical records as well as her notes on her treatments and on the doctors who treated her. Much of the material focuses on her diagnosis and treatment for epilepsy, which she did not develop until later in her life. Following World War II, Toll became involved with efforts to assist individuals and families displaced by the war to immigrate to the United States. She joined the New England Resettlement Committee, an organization that helped refugees from Germany find sponsors, jobs, and housing. Toll's files contain correspondence, notes, printed material, clippings, etc., relating primarily to her public relations work for the group. Toll's work with refugees led to an interest in international issues, which she pursued through her involvement with Technical and Educational Assistance Mission (TEAM), an activity of the United Council on World Events, whose purpose was "the education of the American community on the meaning and potential of international technical assistance." Her files include correspondence, notes, printed material, clippings, etc. Toll's diaries and calendars document her daily activities. Files are arranged alphabetically.

Subseries B, Professional, 1939-1984 (#15.6-19.11), includes correspondence, notes, printed material, etc., relating primarily to Toll's work for the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts and the Boston Social Service Exchange. Toll served as the executive secretary of the Refugee Resettlement Program in the Department of Social Service for the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, where she recruited, screened, and oriented organizations and individuals to sponsor refugee families. She also supervised plans for housing, employment, special training, etc., and performed environmental casework and referrals for the new arrivals in consultation with the Family Service Association of Greater Boston. She was executive director of the Boston Social Service Exchange where she helped develop standards and procedures for the exchange of professional case information, including research data. Files are arranged alphabetically.

Subseries C, Correspondence, 1919-2010 (#19.12-25.11, 53.8-54.4, PD.1), contains correspondence with friends and family, mainly consisting of accounts of their activities and news of common friends and family. Much of the news focuses on members of the Toll family living in Denver, including accounts of visits there, which often resulted in small family reunions. Other correspondence relates to Toll's everyday life, including doctors' visits and financial matters. Files are arranged alphabetically and then chronologically.

Subseries D, Writings and related, 1901-2004 (#25.12-31.1, 54.5-56.3), contains drafts and printed articles by Toll, as well as background materials relating to her writings, including notes, printed materials, copies of letters, etc. Many of the writings are brief reminiscences of Toll's childhood in Amherst, Massachusetts, which may have been written for inclusion in her memoir, which she referred to as the "Snell Street Family Papers." Files on members of her family include writings, clippings, and copies of documents about them. Originals of these copies may or may not be included in this collection. Files are arranged alphabetically.

Series II, CHARLES "CARL" HANSEN AND MAYES MARTIN TOLL, 1870-1979 (#31.2-43.12, OD.1), includes correspondence, diaries, articles, and other papers by Charles Toll, materials relating to his study of intelligence testing, talks by Mayes Martin Toll, etc. It is arranged in two subseries.

Subseries A, Biographical and personal, 1892-1972 (#31.2-34.9, OD.1), includes correspondence, diaries, articles, and other papers by Carl, talks by Mayes, etc. Also included are materials relating to Carl's study of intelligence testing, mainly consisting of forms used to test intelligence, some of which appear to have been developed by Carl. Files are arranged alphabetically with those relating to Carl first, followed by those relating to Mayes.

Subseries B, Correspondence, 1870-1979 (#34.10-43.12), contains correspondence with family and friends as well as Carl's correspondence with professional colleagues. Both Carl and Mayes were from Denver, Colorado, and much of the correspondence contains news of local Denver events as well as accounts of the lives of family and friends living in Denver. Files are arranged alphabetically and then chronologically.

Series III, OTHER FAMILY, 1809-1959 (#44.1-49.14, 50F+B.4), contains correspondence, legal documents, scrapbooks, etc., belonging to members of the Toll family, including Katharine Wolcott Toll's grandparents, Charles Hansen and Katharine Ellen Wolcott Toll; her uncles, Henry, Roger, and Oliver Toll; and her brothers, Charles Hansen, III, Henry, and Caldwell Toll. Files are arranged alphabetically.

Series IV, PHOTOGRAPHS, 1882-1994 (#PD.2-PD.11), contains portrait and candid photographs of Katharine Wolcott Toll, Charles Hansen Toll, Mayes Martin Toll, Katharine Ellen Wolcott Toll, and other members of the Toll family. Also included are photographs of the New England Resettlement Committee resettlement center in Baldwinville, Massachusetts, at the Hospital Cottages for Children, and photographs of refugees taken mainly by D. Njezic for the International Refugee Organization in the United States Zone of Germany and by Foto-Looschen. The arrangement mirrors the arrangement of the paper documents.

Most of the photographs in this collection are or will be cataloged in VIA, Harvard University's Visual Information Access database. Others, referred to as "uncataloged" photographs, are not of sufficient research interest to warrant cataloging and are simply treated as part of the documents they accompany; they are marked on the back with an asterisk in square brackets [*].

Materials received by the Schlesinger Library in February 2014 were added to the collection in March 2014 and are represented in #51.1-56.3. Files in the original collection remain in the same order. Folders added in March 2014 are listed in intellectual, not sequential order.