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Emily Howland papers

 Collection
Identifier: HC.MC-1164

Scope and Contents

Papers include the correspondence of Richard C.S. Drummond with legatees under Howland's will, primarily representatives of African American educational institutions in the South. The administration of the will required verification of incorporated names, since some of the beneficiary institutions had names that were different from those Howland used in her will. Much of the correspondence involves this verification, but, in the process, provides histories of these institutions. Correspondents include Mary McLeod Bethune, Levi Hollingsworth Wood, J. Henry Scattergood, Isabel Howland, and Frederick Libby. The colletion also includes biographical materials about Emily Howland.

Dates

  • Creation: 1926-1975

Creator

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17). Users have permission to write to Burke Drummond, attorney, Metcalf Plaza, Auburn, New York 13201 concerning the legal papers.

Biographical / Historical

Emily Howland (1827-1929) was an activist for Black education, women's rights (with Susan B. Anthony and Anna Howard Shaw), temperance, and peace. She grew up in the Quaker community of Sherwood, New York, raised by an abolitionist family. She attended the Margaret Robinson School in Philadelphia, but was prevented from continuing her education because of her gender. In 1857, she became a teacher in a school for young Black girls run by Myrtilla Miner in Washington, D.C. After the Civil War broke out, Howland worked at Camp Todd, also in Washington, D.C. This was the largest refugee camp in the country, established after President Lincoln's emancipation proclamation of 1862. At Camp Todd, Howland was a nurse and teacher to many African Americans, and served as director of the settlement from 1864 to 1866. This time served to confirm her opinion that education was the road to equality. She also determined that this education needed to be practical rather than classical, a route she felt would allow African Americans to function independently in society. At age 99, Emily Howland was awarded an honorary Litt.D. from SUNY-Albany.

In her will, dated 1926, Emily Howland named almost 50 educational institutions as legatees, some 30 of them Southern, which were providing an industrial education to Black Americans. She also left bequests to institutions such as the National Council for the Prevention of War and the Women's Christian Temperance Union. Richard C.S. Drummond, the father of donor Burke Drummond, was the administrator of Emily Howland's estate.

Extent

.5 linear ft. (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The collection consists of correspondence between the administrator of Emily Howland's estate, Richard C.S. Drummond, and representatives of 39 mostly southern African American educational institutions, as beneficiaries of her will.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Emily Howland papers were donated to Special Collections, Haverford College in 1989 by Burke Drummond (legal papers) and Marian Mosher (Sherwood School history and biographical sketch of Emily Howland), both through Susan Mosher Stuard.

Related Materials

Cornell University is the most significant repository of Emily Howland papers; there is also a collection of her papers at Friends Historical Library and the Peace Collection, Swarthmore College. The original copy of Howland's will is in Surrogate's Court, Cayuga County, New York.

Processing Information

Original processing information unknown. Reboxed and finding aid updated May 2022 by Cole Hannah.

Title
Emily Howland papers, 1926-1975
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Find It at the Library

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