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COLLECTION Identifier: A/B639

Diary of Rettie Downer Blanchard, 1932-1933

Overview

Diary of Rettie Downer Blanchard.

Dates

  • Creation: 1932-1933

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions: No restrictions on access copy.

Access. Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by Rettie Downer Blanchard, 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

1 folder

The diary of Rettie Downer Blanchard provides a highly detailed, year-long account of her travels in the United States and Cuba. The notes, which are handwritten in pen and pencil, are illegible in some parts of the diary. Most of the comments describe individuals or groups she encountered during her travels and scenic landscapes. Other comments describe the challenges of finding adequate food and lodging, road conditions, and car problems.

BIOGRAPHY

Rettie Downer Blanchard (1868-1948) was one of five children born to Benjamin R. and Margaret Joseph Downer in New York State. In 1889 she married Orville Blanchard; the couple had two children Muriel Blanchard Link (1896-1997) and Douglas Leo Blanchard (1894-1951). On October 10, 1932, at 65 years of age, Blanchard left her home in Vermont to travel by car to Florida. While spending part of the winter in Florida, Blanchard worked at various day jobs and briefly traveled to Cuba and California. The trip ended on July 2, 1933. Rettie E. Blanchard passed away at 80 years old while living at the Cutler Home in Chester Depot, Vermont.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession number: 2005-M82

The Diary of Rettie Downer Blanchard was purchased from John Waite Rare Books in 2005.

Processing Information

Processed: July 2005

By: Anne Englehart.

Updated and additional description added: July 2020

By: Emilyn L. Brown.

The Schlesinger Library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.  Finding aids may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.

Author
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
sch01861

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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