Elizabeth A.W. Furnas Papers
Scope and Contents
This collection includes the papers of Elizabeth A.W. Furnas who was active in a number of Quaker concerns in the mid 20th century. Of particular interest are minutes and correspondence of the Women’s Problems Group and its successor, Philadelphia Quaker Women. There are also her manuscript writings, some notes on lectures at Pendle Hill, as well as information on some of the work camps in which she was involved.
Dates
- Creation: 1928-1967
Creator
- Furnas, Elizabeth A. W. (Elizabeth Ann Walter), 1900-1972 (Person)
- Furnas, Paul J. (Contributor, Person)
Language of Materials
All materials in English
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open to research.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce items in this collection beyond the bounds of Fair Use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder or their heirs/assigns. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-RUU/1.0/.
Biographical / Historical
Betty Furnas was the daughter of William Emley and Caroline Sargeant Walter. She graduated from Vassar College and married Paul J. Furnas, son of William and Deborah Moore Furnas, in 1923. From 1917 to 1920 Paul was the Field Secretary for the American Friends Service Committee and Associate Director of the ACLU. The couple moved to New Jersey and he worked for the Paulsboro Manufacturing Co. They participated in a number of work camps affiliated with the AFSC. Both Elizabeth and Paul also served as Board members at Pendle Hill during this period. Elizabeth also was involved with the Women's Problems Group, a fellowship of women of the two Philadelphia Yearly Meetings and later of the joint body; she became its Chairman in the early 1960s when it was renamed Philadelphia Quaker Women and continued in that role until 1966.
After 1940 Paul returned to AFSC and was appointed the Executive Secretary of Civilian Public Service In 1946, he was named Vice-President/Comptroller at Earlham; retired from Earlham in 1958 and died two years later. Betty married Thomas E. Jones, President Emeritus of Earlham, in 1968, and died four years later in 1972.
Extent
0.5 linear ft. (1 box)
Abstract
Elizabeth A.W. (Betty) Furnas was an active member of the Society of Friends who served as a member of the Board of Pendle Hill and was a member of the Women's Problems Group of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and its sucessor, Philadelphia Quaker Women. The collection includes minutes and correspondence, particularly of the latter, as well as published and unpublished writings and other material.
Arrangement
Organized in three series:
- Correspondence and Activities
- Writings
- Miscellaneous
Physical Location
For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Library's online catalog
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Ann Trueblood Rape, 2011 (Accession 2011.023)
Separated Materials
An oversized photograph of a wedding at Swarthmore Meeting in 1923, Elizabeth Furnas as bridesmaid, is stored with PA/Oversized. Blueprints of Pendle Hill, 1936, W. Pope Barney and Roy W. Banwell Associate, has been transferred to RG4 Pendle Hill (oversized).
Processing Information
Some of the collection was sorted into a letter file, presumeably by Furnas, and was labelled with the names of her different activities; this material has been kept together. The contents of a small binder labelled "Philadelphia Quaker Women" was removed from the binder and sorted into two folders, that which was attached and the other loose.
Subject
- Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends Library (Organization)
- American Friends Service Committee (Organization)
- Philadelphia Quaker Women (Organization) (Organization)
- Women's Problems Group (Philadelphia, Pa.) (Organization)
- Pendle Hill (School: Wallingford, Pa.) (Organization)
- Title
- An Inventory of the Elizabeth A.W. Furnas Papers
- Author
- FHL staff
- Date
- 2012
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Find It at the Library
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