Anna Gillingham Papers
Scope and Contents
The collection includes correspondence, journals and other writings of Anna Gillingham (1878-1964), prominent Quaker educator and author, who was a founder of the Orton Dyslexia Society. Also includes the correspondence of her parents, Theodore T. and Elizabeth H. Gillingham. Of particular interest in the latter are correspondence with Theodore Gillingham while he was an Indian agent at the Pine Ridge Agency in Dakota from 1881-1889.
Dates
- Creation: 1849-1962
Creator
- Gillingham, Anna, 1878-1964 (Person)
- Gillingham, Theodore T. (Theodore Tyson), 1836-1923 (Contributor, Person)
- Gillingham, Elizabeth H. (Elizabeth Hancock), 1837-1929 (Contributor, Person)
- Gillingham, Anna, 1878-1964 (Contributor, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Access to material in Series 7 is restricted.
Conditions Governing Use
Some of the items in this collection may be protected by copyright. The user is solely responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder or their heirs/assigns to reuse, publish, or reproduce relevant items beyond the bounds of Fair Use or other exemptions to the law. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/.
Biographical / Historical
Anna Gillingham (1878-1964) was a prominent Quaker educator and author. Born in Batavia, Illinois, the daughter of Theodore Tyson and Elizabeth (Heacock) Gillingham, she attended Swarthmore and Radcliffe Colleges and earned an M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University, in 1910. She taught at Friends Central School in Philadelphia from 1901-05, was school psychologist in the Ethical Culture School in New York City from 1905-36, directed the remedial reading program at the Punahon School in Honolulu from 1936-38, and was a consultant on remedial reading after 1938. After meeting Bessie Stillman at the Ethical Culture School, the two began a collaboration and companionship that would span the rest of Stillman's life. They lived together, traveled extensively, and worked together. One of their most important accomplishments was publishing the manual "Remedial Training for Children with Specific Disability in Reading, Spelling and Penmanship" in 1936. Based on the foundational ideas of Samuel Orton, developed with Gillingham's knowledge of child psychology and Stillman's experimentation as a classroom teacher, the approach was later dubbed the Orton-Gillingham method and is still in use nearly a century later to teach literacy to struggling readers, especially those with dyslexia. Anna Gillingham was a co-founder of the Orton Society, a national organization promoting research and treatment of language disabilities, now known as the International Dyslexia Association.
Some significant dates in the life of Anna Gillingham
- Jan. 11, 1836-1923
- Life of father, Theodore T. Gillingham
- Mar. 27, 1837-July 31, 1929
- Life of mother, Elizabeth H. Gillingham
- Apr. 21, 1870
- Parents' marriage
- 1877
- Sister, Mary, died in infancy
- July 12, 1878
- Anna Gillingham born
- 1900
- B.A. from Swarthmore College
- 1901
- B.A. from Radcliffe
- 1910
- M.A. Columbia
- 6th month 1964
- Died in Ossining, New York
Extent
4 linear ft. (8 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Anna Gillingham (1878-1964) was a prominent Quaker educator and author. She taught at Friends Central School in Philadelphia from 1901-05, was school psychologist in the Ethical Culture School in New York City from 1905-36, directed the remedial reading program at the Punahon School in Honolulu from 1936-38, and was a consultant on remedial reading after 1938. She also co-authored a book on remedial training for children with Stillman. She was co-founder of the Orton Society, a national organization promoting research and treatment of language disabilities. The collection includes correspondence, journals and other writings of Anna Gillingham. Also includes the correspondence of her parents, Theodore T. and Elizabeth H. Gillingham. Of particular interest in the latter are letters written by Theodore Gillingham while he was an Indian agent in Iowa and Dakota from 1881-1889.
Arrangement
The collection is divided into five series:
- Family Papers
- Anna Gillingham correspondence
- Writing
- Pictures
- Miscellaneous and reference material
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Mrs. Margaret Rawson, 1968-70
Gift of Mrs. Beth H. Slingerland, 1970
Gift of Mrs. Sally B. Childs.
Gift of Omie T. Diefenderfer, 1969.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection was given by several different donors.
Separated Materials
The following items have been removed to the Swarthmore College Library:
- A Bibliography on the Nature, Recognition and Treatment of Language Difficulties, prepared by Margaret B. Rawson for The Orton Society, Inc.
- “Pedagogical Implications of Specific Language Disability”, by Anna Gillingham. Reprint from Jan. 1952 The Independent School Bulletin.
- “Prognosis in Dyslexia”, by Margaret Rawson. Reprint No. 114 from Academic Therapy Quarterly, Vol.1, No. 3.
- Photographs in Series 4 removed to PA 142, Anna Gillingham Pictures. Abbreviated list of contents is described in Series 4 of this Finding Aid. More detailed inventory stored with the photographs.
Processing Information
When received, letters were in packets and the rest of material was unsorted. Materials were arranged in categories and placed in document boxes in Record Group 5. In 2007, the photographs in Series 4 were removed for better storage and placed in a Picture Collection, PA 142.
Subject
- Orton Dyslexia Society (Organization)
- Swarthmore College (Organization)
- Gillingham family (Family)
- Title
- An Inventory of the Anna Gillingham Papers, 1849-1962
- Author
- FHL staff
- Date
- ca. 1970
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
- Sponsor
- Encoding made possible by a grant by the Gladys Kriebel Delmas Foundation to the Philadelphia Consortium of Special Collections Libraries
Revision Statements
- 2024: This finding aid was reviewed in order to change or contextualize any outdated, harmful terminology related to Indigenous Peoples, except where it appears in a title, quotation, or subject heading.
- 2025: Biographical note updated
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