United States Agency for International Development collection of Phyllis Henry Stevens, ca.1955-2008
Overview
Biographical information about Phyllis Henry Stevens, letters Stevens wrote while serving USAID missions in Iran and Pakistan, excerpts of letters Stevens compiled into memoirs of her missions in Iran and Pakistan, and writings by Stevens drawing on her travels in Iran and Pakistan.
Dates
- Creation: 1955-2008
Creator
- Stevens, Phyllis Henry, 1922-2018 (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 Phyllis Henry Stevens 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
.42 linear feet ((1 file box) plus 1 photograph folder)The United States Agency for International Development collection of Phyllis Henry Stevens includes biographical information about Stevens, letters Stevens wrote while serving USAID missions in Iran and Pakistan, excerpts of letters Stevens compiled into memoirs of her missions in Iran and Pakistan, and writings by Stevens drawing on her travels in Iran and Pakistan. Stevens's letters were written mostly to her mother and contain descriptions of American and European colleagues; Iranian people, including colleagues and servants; social engagements, including parties, dinners, and concerts; National Front protests in Iran; and her romantic relationships with men, most notably National Front member Saeid Fatemi and Iranian USAID worker Hassan Ansari. In 1962, Stevens became engaged to Ansari and most of her letters from the year concern Ansari, their engagement, and their post-marriage plans. Ansari broke the engagement in November 1962, while Stevens was on leave in the United States. Most of the photographs in this collection are or will be digitized and available online. Folders were created and arranged alphabetically by the archivist.
BIOGRAPHY
Phyllis Henry Stevens, daughter of Richard and Dorothy Miller Henry, was born October 5, 1922, in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She received a BA from Mount Holyoke College in French in 1944, then attended Hickox Secretarial School in Boston, Massachusetts. She worked as a secretary at Massachusetts General Hospital, Wellesley College, the University of Utah, and Harvard Divinity School. In the 1960s, she worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), serving missions in Tehran, Iran, where she was a secretary in the Community Development Division, Public Health Division, and Training Office from 1960 to 1962, in Lahore, Pakistan, where she was Administrative Assistant to Provincial Director from 1963 to 1964, and in Paris, France, where she was secretary to Judge Frank M. Coffin from 1964 to 1965. She died November 21, 2018, in Arlington, Massachusetts.
Physical Location
Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession number: 2022-M44
United States Agency for International Development collection of Phyllis Henry Stevens was given to the Schlesinger Library by Diane Ehrenpreis in March 2022.
Processing Information
Processed: October 2023
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.
Geographic
Topical
Creator
- Stevens, Phyllis Henry, 1922-2018 (Person)
- Title
- Stevens, Phyllis Henry, 1922-2018. United States Agency for International Development collection of Phyllis Henry Stevens, ca.1955-2008: 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
- sch02249
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.