Radcliffe College papers of Freda Warner Eyler and Lee Warner Eyler Caras, ca.1937-1963, 2020
Overview
Radcliffe College papers of Freda Warner Eyler and her daughter, Lee Warner Eyler Cara, including a biographical essay for Eyler, a 10th Reunion program (1948), the Class of 1966 freshman register, clippings related to swimming activities from the early 1960s, and a dress Eyler made while she was a student at Radcliffe.
Dates
- Creation: 1937-1963
- Creation: 2020
Creator
- Eyler, Freda Warner, 1917-1986 (Person)
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Access Restrictions:
Access. Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by Freda Warner Eyler and Lee Warner Eyler Caras 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
1.58 linear feet (1/2 file box, 1 folio+ box)The Radcliffe College papers of Freda Warner Eyler and Lee Warner Eyler Caras document experiences of a mother and daughter at Radcliffe College. The papers contain a biographical essay about Freda Warner Eyler written by her daughter, Lee Warner Eyler Caras describing Freda's experiences at Radcliffe and reflecting on her career and her married life. In the essay, Caras mentions a "Radcliffe Dress," a crimson cotton dress with a double pilgrim collar that her mother made for her around 1949. The papers also contain a Radcliffe College 10th reunion program (June 5, 1948) with notes by Eyler; this program contained biographical information on classmates and Eyler wrote comments near several entries. There is also some material documenting Caras's years at Radcliffe College, including clippings describing her participation in Radcliffe swim meets and pool events, a list of students who participated in interviews conducted by Dean Catherine Williston, the Radcliffe College freshman register for the Class of 1966 with notes by Caras, and her class ring. Also included is a crimson wool dress that Freda Warner Eyler made while attending Radcliffe and a printed digital photograph of Lee Caras wearing the dress.
BIOGRAPHY
Freda Warner Eyler was a member of the Radcliffe College Class of 1938. Born August 18, 1917, she began classes as a day student, living at home in Wakefield, Massachusetts. She eventually took a room in a professor's home, where she managed childcare duties. Eyler majored in chemistry and after graduation attended Radcliffe Secretarial School. She worked as a secretary in the laboratory at the Union Paste Company, and as a chemist at Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. She married William Ross Eyler, a graduate of Harvard College (BA, 1939) and Harvard Medical School (MD, 1943). They lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and later in Framingham, Massachusetts; they had four children. In 1953, they moved to Birmingham, Michigan, where William Eyler became Chairman of Radiology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. While living in Michigan, Eyler was active in the Radcliffe Club of Detroit. Freda Warner Eyler died February 19, 1986, in Detroit, Michigan. Lee Warner Eyler Caras, daughter of Freda and William Eyler, was a member of the Radcliffe College Class of 1966.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession numbers: 2020-M151, 2021-M183
The papers of Freda Warner Eyler and Lee Warner Eyler Caras were given to the Schlesinger Library by Lee Warner Eyler Caras between December 2020 and October 2021.
Processing Information
Processed: December 2021
By: Paula Aloisio and Johanna Carll
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.
Creator
- Eyler, Freda Warner, 1917-1986 (Person)
- Title
- Eyler, Freda Warner, 1917-1986. Radcliffe College papers of Freda Warner Eyler and Lee Warner Eyler Caras, ca.1937-1963, 2020: A Finding Aid
- Author
- Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
- Language of description
- eng
- Sponsor
- Processing of this collection was made possible by gifts from the Pforzheimer Fund for the Schlesinger Library and Class of 1957 Schlesinger Library Fund.
- EAD ID
- sch02108
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.