Mary Lyon Papers
Scope and Contents
The Mary Lyon Papers focus on Mary Lyon's correspondence and memory. The papers contain numerous speeches and articles about Mary Lyon's lasting influence on education and her role in the creation of Wheaotn College and Mount Holoyoke College. The materials span the years 1834 to 2003. Materials include letters, speeches, articles, newspaper clippings, and photographs. A weakness in the collection is that there are not many materials of Mary Lyon's own and that most materials are post-mortem.
The collection is divided into four series: CORRESPONDENCE, PAPERS & ARTICLES, MEMORIAM, and PHOTOGRAPHS.
Dates
- Creation: 1834-2003
Access Restrictions
No restrictions. Open for research.
Copyright
Copyright is retained by the authors, or their descendants, of items in these papers as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Biographical / Historical
Mary Lyon (1779-1849), at age 38, was teaching at Ipswich Academy when she agreed to aid the Wheaton family in establishing Wheaton Female Seminary. She developed the first curriculum and rules, found the teachers and first principal, Eunice Caldwell.
While at Wheaton she taught some classes and also made trips across New England to raise funds for what would later become Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. In 1837, she took Wheaton's principal, Eunice Caldwell, and eight Wheaton students with her to open Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, Mass. She served as Mount Holyoke's first principal for twelve years following its opening. Mary Lyon Hall at Wheaton College was named for her in 1910.
Extent
0.4 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Mary Lyon papers focuses on Mary Lyon's correspondence and memory. The papers contain numerous speeches and articles about Mary Lyon's lasting influence on education and her role in the creation of Wheaton College and Mount Holoyoke College. The materials span the years 1834 to 2003. Materials include letters, speeches, articles, newspaper clippings, and photographs.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Found in Collection. Acquisition information not available for this collection. Please contact the Marion B. Gebbie Archives for more information.
Separated Materials
Photographs were physically removed from the collection and placed with the photographs.
Processing Information
Processed by: Hanna Juergens, W13, 2011
Encoded using Archivist Toolkit by: Hanna Juergens, W13, 2012
Encoding edited by: Megan Wheaton-Book, Assistant Archivist, 2014
Subject
- Mary Lyon, 1797-1849 (American women's educator) (Person)
- Wheaton Female Seminary (Norton, MA) (Organization)
- Mount Holyoke College (Organization)
Topical
- Title
- Inventory of the Mary Lyon Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Hanna Juergens, W'13
- Date
- August 2011
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Marion B. Gebbie Archives and Special Collections Repository