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Lydia G. Wentworth Papers

 Collection
Identifier: SCPC-DG-041

Scope and Contents

The Lydia C. Wentworth Papers consist of correspondence with many friends, peace movement colleagues, newspaper editors, and staff of organizations; manuscripts, printed articles and poems; and newsclippings. Her correspondents include Caroline Lexow Babcock, Emily Green Balch, Dorothy Detzer, Annie E. Gray, Charles T. Hallinan, John Haynes Holmes, Jessie Wallace Hughan, Frederick J. Libby, Robert Luce, Lucia Ames Mead, Alice Park, Henry W. Pinkham, Arthur Ponsonby, E.L. Pratt, Belle Rankin, Sydney Strong, Fanny Garrison Villard, and John M. Work.

Dates

  • 1902-1947
  • Majority of material found within 1918-1947

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Limitations on Accessing the Collection

The collection is open for research.

Physical Access Note

All or part of this collection is stored off-site. Contact Swarthmore College Peace Collection staff at peacecollection@swarthmore.edu at least two weeks in advance of visit to request boxes.

Biographical Note

Lydia G. Wentworth, born in 1858, was a writer and ardent peace advocate who lived most of her life in Brookline, Massachusetts. She taught school until forced to retire in 1888 because of a nervous breakdown. Despite illness which confined her to bed for over thirty years, she carried on a prolific correspondence and contributed hundreds of articles to newspapers and magazines. Many of these were used as editorials or were printed in leaflet form and distributed to peace societies.

Wentworth believed that socialism and pacifism were synonymous. In her judgment, the pacifist was the only true patriot, and she campaigned vigorously against the nationalism which taught that war was a necessary evil, wholly unavoidable. She urged women to play a role in promoting peace by seeking election to public office, and becoming leaders in the peace movement. In the mid-1940s, she began to correspond with Ruth Welty, one of the founders of the Matriots Foundation, an organization dedicated to changing "the dominant masculinity in our civilization." Wentworth herself was on the advisory committee of the Women's Peace Society, and was a member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Association to Abolish War, and the Boston League of Women Voters. She also contributed financially to many causes and organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Save the Children Fund.

Wentworth died in 1947.

Extent

4.5 Linear Feet (4.5 linear ft.)

Overview

Lydia G. Wentworth, was a writer and ardent peace advocate who lived most of her life in Brookline, Massachusetts. Despite illness which confined her to bed for over thirty years, she carried on a prolific correspondence and contributed hundreds of articles to newspapers and magazines. Wentworth was on the advisory committee of the Women's Peace Society, and was a member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Association to Abolish War, and the Boston League of Women Voters.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Lydia Wentworth, circa 1937-1945

Existence and Location of Copies

This collection is available on microfilm (reels 86.1-86.11). Microfilm is available on-site by appointment and through interlibrary loan from the Swarthmore College Peace Collection.

Related Materials

For related materials, search the library's online catalog

Bibliographic References

Guide to the Swarthmore College Peace Collection, 2nd ed., p. 73.

Bibliographic References

Guide to Sources on Women in the Swarthmore College Peace Collection, p. 27.

Legal Status

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Processing Information

This checklist was revised by Anne Yoder in May of 2003.

Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Find It at the Library

Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting reproductions from Swarthmore College Peace Collection Library

Contact:
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