Vassar College Digital Library
Guide to the Martha May Reynolds Papers, 1918-1919

Table of Contents

Collection Summary

Repository: Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries
Creator: Reynolds, Martha May, 1893 -
Title: Martha May Reynolds Papers
Dates: 1918–1919
Quantity: 0.3 cubic feet (1 box)
Abstract: Papers from her work with the YMCA in France during World War I consisting of her letters to her family, letters and cards from servicemen, a guidebook, photographs, and other memorabilia.
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Biographical Note

Martha May Reynolds was born in Poughkeepsie, NY, and was graduated from Vassar in 1915. Two years later she received an M.A. in psychology from Columbia and returned to Vassar as an assistant in the psychology department. From 1918 to 1919 she worked in France for the Y.M.C.A. After two years as the psychologist with the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children in Rochester, NY, Reynolds returned to graduate study in 1925 as a Laura Spelman Rockefeller Fellow at Columbia Teachers College, earning her Ph.D. in 1928. In 1931 Reynolds came to Vassar as a Professor of Child Study, Director of the Nursery School, and director of the children’s school at the Vassar Summer Institute of Euthenics. She was married in 1936 to Otoe K. Sherwin, and a year later left Vassar. In the following decades Reynolds (Sherwin) raised four children and wrote books and articles on the subject of child care and development. She was an advisory editor of Parents’ Magazine. The Sherwins lived on an estate in Wappingers Falls, which they donated in 1959 to the New York Conference of the United Church for use as a conference center and retreat. See also her publications in the Alumnae/Alumni Collection.

Martha May Reynolds Sherwin died in 1978.

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Scope and Content Note

Papers from her work with the YMCA in France during World War I consisting of her letters to her family, letters and cards from servicemen, a guidebook, photographs, and other memorabilia.

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Access

This collection is open for research according to the regulations of the Vassar College Archives and Special Collections Library without any additional restrictions.

Restrictions on Use

Permission to quote (publish) from unpublished or previously published material must be obtained as described in the regulations of the Vassar College Archives and Special Collections Library.

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Subject Headings

Organizations:

  • Young Men's Christian Associations

Subjects:

  • Charities--France
  • Voluntarism
  • World War, 1914-1918--War work--Young Men's Christian associations
  • World war, 1914-1918--France

Places:

  • United States--Armed Forces

Document Types:

  • Photographs

VCL Categories

  • War and War Crimes
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Encoding Information

Encoded by Elizabeth Clarke, May 2007.

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Preferred Citation

Martha May Reynolds Papers, Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries.

Processing Information

Original processing date unknown.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Harryette Reynolds Gates.

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Container List

Materials relating to Reynolds’s Y.M.C.A. work in France in 1919

Folder 1 Letters to her mother and other family members, Jan. - July 1919 (44 letters)
Folder 2 Letters and postcards from servicemen to Reynolds, Mar. - Aug. 1919 (21 letters)
Folder 3 Postcards and guidebook.
Folder 4 Snapshots, negatives, insignia, and medal.
Folder 5 Miscellaneous items relating to Y.M.C.A. work overseas during World War I.

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Details
Abstract

Papers from her work with the YMCA in France during World War I consisting of her letters to her family, letters and cards from servicemen, a guidebook, photographs, and other memorabilia.

Finding Aid Date
Dates: 1918–1919
Document Types
Collection Title
Martha May Reynolds Papers