Somerville Literary Society Records
Scope and Contents
Contains the records of the Somerville Literary Society including constitution, minutes, financial papers, writing, correspondence and material concerning the Lucretia Mott and Martha F. Tyson Scholarships.
Organized into seven series:
- Constitution and Bylaws, Published Proceedings and Membership
- Minutes
- Lucretia Mott and Martha F. Tyson Scholarships
- Financial Papers
- Writings
- Correspondence
- Miscellaneous
Dates
- Creation: 1871-1978
Creator
- Somerville Literary Society (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright has not been assigned to Friends Historical Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in to the Director. Permission for publication is given on behalf Friends Historical Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by reader.
Biographical / Historical
The Somerville Literary Society was a women students' literary organization founded at Swarthmore College in 1871. The purposes of the organization were to discuss literature, to strengthen the friendship between its members, and to prepare them for the wider field of action and influence opening to women, according to the group's constitution. The society was named after Mary Somerville (1780 -1872), a 19th century Scottish mathematician and scientist.
The Society organized an annual celebration, Somerville Day, which featured plays, songs, and lectures on literary topics and was held through 1964. The group produced a literary journal and was active on campus through the 1940s. However, by the mid 20th century, it had become primarily an organization for Somerville alumnae and concentrated its efforts on managing the Lucretia Mott and Martha F. Tyson Scholarships.
Extent
5.25 linear ft. (11 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Somerville Literary Society was a women students' literary organization founded at Swarthmore College in 1871. The purposes of the organization were to discuss literature, strengthen the friendship between its members, and prepare them for the wider field of action and influence opening to women, according to the group's constitution. The collection contains the records of the Somerville Literary Society, including constitution, minutes, financial papers, writing, correspondence and material concerning the Lucretia Mott and Martha F. Tyson Scholarships
Physical Location
For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donor: Somerville Literary Society
Separated Materials
Autographs donated to the Somerville Literary Society by Charles Jenkins have been transferred to the Charles Jenkins Autograph Collection. Photocopies are filed in Series 6, Miscellaneous, Somerville Literary Society.
Autographs and Letters (in original order):
- Williamina Palton Fleming
- Lillie Devereux Blake
- Mary S. Sogar
- Octavia Walton LeVert
- Florence Earle Coates
- Caroline Atwater Mason
- Jeannette L. Gilder
- Carter Goodloe
- Ruth Hall
- Frances Aymar Mathews
- Amelia Küssner
- Caroline Chesebro
- Emily Sartain
- May Wright Sewall
- Gwendolen Overton
- Mrs. James K. Polk
- Bessie C. Parker
- Alice Morse Earle
- Kate Sanborn
- Mrs. Potter Palmer
- Dorothea Dix
- Anna Dickinson
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton
- Evelyn Noble Armitage
- Grace Greenwood
- Wendell Phillips
- Rachel G. Foster
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton (#2)
- Belva A. Lockwood
Processing Information
Rehoused and a new finding aid produced in 2003. Autographs transferred to Small Collections, 2011.
Subject
- Swarthmore College (Organization)
- Somerville Literary Society (Organization)
- Title
- Finding aid for Somerville Literary Society Records, 1871- 1978
- Author
- Finding Aid Prepared by FHL staff
- Date
- 2007
- 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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