McGraw, Maria (Dickinson) | to Thomas S. McGraw, May 15, 1867
VC 1867
VC 1867
1 letter from McGraw to her [future] husband Thomas S. McGraw, 1 from McGraw to her friends Harriette Warner, Helen Warner, and Martha Warner. The letter to her future husband includes details about Commencement, most notably her winning the Salutatory. She also describes a photographer on campus
VC 1870
VC 1870
2 letters, from Mary A. Mineah to her mother, about her spring semesters at Vassar in 1869 and 1870. In the first letter, Mineah describes lectures by Vassar astronomy professor Maria Mitchell, Yale professor Silliman, missionary in Brazil J.L. Fletcher, and Vassar religion professor Farrar. In
1 letter from Moore to her sister. Moore gives a detailed description of Thanksgiving dinner at Vassar, which included both students and faculty. In particular, she focuses on the fashion, the food, and the setting of the dinner. She also lists a number of arts performances given that week
VC Spec 1878-1879,1 letter, dated Dec 31 1878, from Moore (VC spec 1878-1879) to her father, John Adams Moore. Moore reports having received her father's two letters and requests family news. She describes a New Year's party given by the assistant lady principal, student visits to their professor
1 letter from Neef to Abbie Farwell (VC 1872). Neef discusses the death of a mutual acquaintance, explains her busy academic schedule, and discusses news from friends and family (particularly regarding cholera).
1 letter from Noyes to H. Rachel Swan. Noyes explains that due to attending a concert at Bull's Head the night before, she is choosing not to attend her classes. She asks Swan to bring her notes from physiology class.
221 letters from Julia Pease, mostly to her parents and sister Caroline, concerning her experiences at Vassar between 1870 and 1875. Pease discusses social visits, family news, fashion trends, and academic experience. She describes Christmas festivities and theatricals at Vassar (Cara, Dec 1872) and
8 letters from Mary Pratt to her mother, one dated Nov. 1874 and the remaining seven between April 1877 and May 1880. The 1874 letter recounts making molasses with her classmates at Vassar. Remaining letters describe making chicken costumes for the Philalethean entertainment, the junior class
1 letter from Quigley (VC 1918) to her family members "Papa" and "Margery." Quigley reports that organizations are attempting to sell Liberty Bonds at Vassar College, despite the unlikelihood of students being able to purchase fifty-dollar bonds. She also mentions studying for a written exam in
1 letter, dated 9 Apr 1869, from Ellen (Swallow) Richards to her mother. \nRichards describes finding the "first" spring flowers near Vassar College. She recounts giving flowers to VC Lady Principal Hannah Lyman during Lyman's illness, and to her classmates and instructors. According to Richards, VC
1 letter from Robinson to Pres John H. Raymond, including a brief reply. Robinson inquires about adding a class, but Raymond does not allow it.
This collection includes 10 letters: 8 letters to Ross' mother and 2 incomplete letters to unknown recipients, all spanning from Ross' freshman year through the fall of her junior year. Ross describes several elections on campus for the VC Students' Association and other student organizations. She
4 letters, dated between Oct 3 1905 and Nov 3 1908, from Ryerson (VC 1909) to her mother and father. Ryerson discusses her experiences at Vassar College. She describes her coursework, her instructors, Mrs. Kendrick [the Lady Principal], and the lectures that she attends. She asks her parents to send
1 letter from Sawyer to Belle Greene Sawyer. A short letter saying goodbye to Belle, who is going home while Kitty remains at Vassar.
1 typed copy of a letter from Schmitt (VC 1920) to her mother about the 1918 fire at Vassar College. Schmitt describes the fire as resulting from a defective flue and causing the collapse of an entire wing of Main Building. She reports that the four hundred students who had been living in Main
This collection contains 315 letters: 19 addressed to her family, 248 to her sister, 2 to her father and sister, and 46 to her father. The letters cover her entire time at Vassar. Shipp describes her courses and impressions of faculty members (President James Taylor and Lady Principal Georgia
Many letters in this collection are written by Abigail L. Slade or Caroline S. Slade, and noted accordingly; when letters were co-written, this is also specified. For some letters, it is impossible to determine which person wrote the letter, noted by "Slade, Abigail L. or Slade, Caroline S."\n\n18
Content Warning
The Vassar College Archives within the Digital Library include some images, texts, and material items that are racist, xenophobic, or otherwise harmful. The Vassar Libraries have provided descriptive text and additional notes whenever possible to alert Digital Library users to these items. The Engaged Pluralism Initiative Race and Racism in Historical Collections Project Group is working with the library on contextualizing and facilitating community conversations about these materials. For more information see: https://library.vassar.edu/rrhc
The Archives & Special Collections Library is part of the Vassar College Libraries system. It holds the rare book, manuscript, and archival collections of the college. It collects, preserves, and makes available rare and unique collections, and also engages in teaching and outreach activities. This collection of finding aids describe items in both the Virginia B. Smith Memorial Manuscript Collection and the College Archives.
The Vassar College herbarium holds over 8,000 specimens of vascular plants, bryophytes, and algae. Holdings are primarily from northeastern North America, and include collections made by several notable 19th century botanists. To learn more about this project visit the website here.
Vassar College's institutional repository reflects the research and scholarly output of the Vassar College community. It provides access to senior theses, peer reviewed open access articles, and projects from a wide range of disciplines.