Letters from Catherine Leirer Justice to her parents, John and Edith Leirer, 1938-1942
Overview
Letters Catherine Leirer Justice wrote to her parents, John and Edith Leirer, while she was a student at Radcliffe College and the University of Chicago and during her engagement and first year of marriage to Robert Justice.
Dates
- Creation: 1938-1942
Creator
- Justice, Catherine Leirer, 1920-1977 (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 Catherine Leirer Justice is held by Margaret Justice Dean and Amy Caroline Justice. Upon their deaths, copyright transfers to 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
.42 linear feet (1 file box)The collection contains letters Catherine Leirer Justice wrote to her parents, John and Edith Leirer, while she was a student at Radcliffe College and the University of Chicago and during her engagement and first year of marriage to Robert Justice. Letters written while she was at Radcliffe document classes she took, people she met, and social activities, including dances, concerts, dinners, and trips to Boston, Salem, and Gloucester, Massachusetts. Letters also document the costs Justice incurred while at Radcliffe for items including books, housing, social events, and clothing purchases. Letters written while Justice was attending the University of Chicago include descriptions of courses she took and classmates. Letters also document wedding planning, wedding gifts received, searching for employment, decorating her apartment, and planning meals.
BIOGRAPHY
Catherine Leirer Justice, daughter of Edith Johantgen Leirer and John Earl Leirer, was born March 27, 1920, in Logansport, Indiana. She had one sister, Doris Leirer Kett. John Leirer worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad, then bought and ran a Texaco gas station after being furloughed during The Depression. Catherine Leirer entered Radcliffe College on a full scholarship in the fall of 1938 as a member of the Class of 1942 but was forced to withdraw after two years when Radcliffe reduced her scholarship. She transferred to the University of Chicago, graduating with a BS in 1941. She earned an MA (1944) and PhD (1971) in nutrition from Purdue University. She taught home economics at Metea High School and served as a Cass County 4-H Extension agent, then taught foods and nutrition at Purdue University for over 20 years, retiring as an associate professor in 1990. She married Robert Scott Justice (1912-1992), a teacher and lawyer, in 1942. They had six children and lived on a working farm near West Lafayette, Indiana. Catherine Leirer Justice died June 12, 1997.
Physical Location
Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession number: 2022-M115
The papers of Catherine Leirer Justice were given to the Schlesinger Library by her daughters Margaret Justice Dean and Amy Caroline Justice in June 2022.
Processing Information
Processed: February 2022
By: 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
- Justice, Catherine Leirer, 1920-1977 (Person)
Subject
- Radcliffe College. Class of 1942 (Organization)
- Title
- Justice, Catherine Leirer, 1920-1997. Letters from Catherine Leirer Justice to her parents, John and Edith Leirer, 1938-1942: 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 the Alice Jeannette Ward Fund.
- EAD ID
- sch02198
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.