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Field of study: neuroscience and behavior. Current occupation: Freshkills Park Manager for Science and Research Development, Freshkills Park, Staten Island, N.Y. Born and raised on Long Island, lived in San Francisco briefly after Vassar College, moved to Brooklyn. Keywords: LGBTQ;oral history
Field of study: neuroscience and behavior. Current occupation: Freshkills Park Manager for Science and Research Development, Freshkills Park, Staten Island, N.Y. Born and raised on Long Island, lived in San Francisco briefly after Vassar College, moved to Brooklyn. Keywords: LGBTQ;oral history
Field of study: neuroscience and behavior. Current occupation: Freshkills Park Manager for Science and Research Development, Freshkills Park, Staten Island, N.Y. Born and raised on Long Island, lived in San Francisco briefly after Vassar College, moved to Brooklyn. Keywords: LGBTQ;oral history
Field of study: neuroscience and behavior. Current occupation: Freshkills Park Manager for Science and Research Development, Freshkills Park, Staten Island, N.Y. Born and raised on Long Island, lived in San Francisco briefly after Vassar College, moved to Brooklyn. Keywords: LGBTQ;oral history
Field of study: neuroscience and behavior. Current occupation: Freshkills Park Manager for Science and Research Development, Freshkills Park, Staten Island, N.Y. Born and raised on Long Island, lived in San Francisco briefly after Vassar College, moved to Brooklyn. Keywords: LGBTQ;oral history
Field of study: neuroscience and behavior. Current occupation: Freshkills Park Manager for Science and Research Development, Freshkills Park, Staten Island, N.Y. Born and raised on Long Island, lived in San Francisco briefly after Vassar College, moved to Brooklyn. Keywords: LGBTQ;oral history
Field of study: neuroscience and behavior. Current occupation: Freshkills Park Manager for Science and Research Development, Freshkills Park, Staten Island, N.Y. Born and raised on Long Island, lived in San Francisco briefly after Vassar College, moved to Brooklyn. Keywords: LGBTQ;oral history
Field of study: neuroscience and behavior. Current occupation: Freshkills Park Manager for Science and Research Development. Born and raised on Long Island; lived in San Francisco briefly after Vassar; moved to Brooklyn. Keywords: LGBTQ; oral history; queer; Long Island; San Francisco; Colgate
Picture of Cait Fields during interview.
| Repository: | Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries |
|---|---|
| Creator: | Barnum, Charlotte Cynthia, 1860-1934 |
| Creator: | Barnum, Clara Louisa, 1866-1953 |
| Title: | Charlotte and Clara Barnum Papers |
| Inclusive Dates: | circa 1870-2001 |
| Bulk Dates: | 1877-1951 |
| Quantity: | 1.1 cubic feet (4 boxes) |
| Abstract: | The collection contains correspondence, ephemera, and photographs, mostly relating to Charlotte and Clara Barnum's education and continued association with Vassar College. Also included are materials related to Clarine Warner Curtis (VC 1888), a life-long friend and correspondent of Clara Barnum, whose daughter, Virginia H. Curtis Milburn Robertson (VC 1930), continued correspondence with Clara after Clarine's death in 1945. |
Born to lexicographer Samuel Weed Barnum (1820-1891) and his wife, Charlotte Betts Barnum (1823-1899), Charlotte Cynthia Barnum (1860-1934) grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, and graduated from Vassar College in 1881. In 1895, she become one of the first three women to receive a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Yale University. She worked as an editor, an actuary, and a professor of astronomy and mathematics.
Clara Louisa Barnum (1866-1953) followed her older sister to Vassar and graduated in 1888. After leaving Vassar, she received her Master's in Education from Yale University and taught Latin at New Haven High School for 25 years. She assisted her father as a proofreader on the first edition of Noah Webster's dictionary, and later worked at the Yale University Library as a genealogist.
TopThe collection contains correspondence, ephemera, and photographs, mostly relating to Charlotte and Clara Barnum's education and continued association with Vassar College. Also included are materials related to Clarine Warner Curtis (VC 1888), a life-long friend and correspondent of Clara Barnum, whose daughter, Virginia H. Curtis Milburn Robertson (VC 1930), continued correspondence with Clara after Clarine's death in 1945. Includes photographs and other material relating to the Vassar College Classes of 1881 and 1888. One letter describes Mark Twain's 1885 visit to the college.
TopThis collection is open for research according to the regulations of the Vassar College Archives and Special Collections Library without any additional restrictions.
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.
Encoded by Laura Streett and Elizabeth Clarke, November 2006. Updated February 2009. Updated by Emma Gronbeck, June 2023.
TopCharlotte and Clara Barnum Papers, Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries.
Processed by Laura Streett, April 2005. Additions processed and integrated by Emma Gronbeck, June 2023.
Gift of Charlotte Barnum (granddaughter of Samuel Horace Barnum, Clara and Charlotte's brother), 2005-2021. [M2005-007, M2009-002, M2016-009, M2019-030, M2020-002, M2021-005]
An electronic version of the correspondence transcripts is available. See the Archives and Special Collections staff for more details.
| Correspondence | |
| 1.01 | Barnum, Charlotte C. to family, 1879-1889 [originals and transcripts] |
| 1.02 | Barnum, Clara L. to family and friends, 1884-1885 [originals] |
| 1.03 | Barnum, Clara L. to family and friends, 1886 [originals] |
| 1.04 | Barnum, Clara L. to family and friends, 1887 [originals] |
| 1.05 | Barnum, Clara L. to family and friends, 1888 [originals] |
| 1.06 | Barnum, Clara L. to family and friends, 1884-1888 [transcripts] |
| 1.07 | Barnum, Clara L. to others, 1913, 1945 |
| 1.08 | Barnum, Clara L. to the VC Class of 1888, 1936 |
| 1.09 | To Barnum, Clara L. from others, 1940-1946 |
| 1.10 | Curtis, Clarine Warner to Clara L. Barnum, 1880-1886 |
| 1.11 | Curtis, Clarine Warner to Clara L. Barnum, 1889-1909 |
| 1.12 | Curtis, Clarine Warner to Clara L. Barnum, 1930-1939, undated |
| 1.13 | Curtis, Clarine Warner to others, 1936-1945 |
| 1.14 | To Curtis, Clarine Warner from others, 1945-1948 |
| 1.15 | Raymond, John H. to Samuel W. Barnum, 1876-1877 |
| 1.16 | Robertson, Virginia H. Curtis to Clara L. Barnum, 1939-1952 |
| 1.17 | Robertson, Virginia H. Curtis to Harriette P. Marsh, 1947 |
| Personal Papers and Ephemera | |
| 1.18 | Barnum, Charlotte C. - Biographical information, 2001, undated |
| 1.19 | Barnum, Charlotte C. - Letter of recommendation from Maria Mitchell, 1883 Jul 4 |
| 1.20 | Barnum, Charlotte C. - Letters of recommendation, certification, and appointment, 1883-1923 |
| 1.21 | Barnum, Charlotte C. - Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association membership certificate, 1902 |
| 1.22 | Barnum, Charlotte C. - U.S. Civil Service Commission exam scores, 1899-1918 |
| 1.23 | Barnum, Charlotte C. - Vassar College ephemera, circa 1878-1881 |
| 1.24 | Barnum, Charlotte C. - Vassar College receipts and invoices, 1877-1880 |
| 1.25 | Barnum, Clara L. - Biographical information, 2001 |
| 1.26 | Barnum, Clara L. - Vassar College badge, Class of 1888, undated |
| 2.01 | Barnum, Clara L. - Vassar College ephemera, 1884-1899 |
| 4.01 | Barnum, Clara L. - Vassar College ephemera, 1884-1887 |
| 2.02 | Barnum, Clara L. - Vassar College tuition receipts and invoices, 1884-1887 |
| 2.03 | Belmont School ephemera, circa 1940 |
| 2.04 | Clippings, 1919, 1934 |
| 2.05 | Curtis, Clarine Warner - Biographical information, undated |
| 2.06 | Curtis, Clarine Warner - Obituary, 1945 Jul 29 |
| 2.07 | Curtis, Virginia Hubbard - Obituary, 1918 |
| 2.08 | Vassar College ephemera, undated |
| Photographs | |
| 2.09 | Barnum, Charlotte C., 1881-1891 |
| 2.10 | Barnum, Charlotte C., 1902-1917 |
| 2.11 | Barnum, Charlotte C., undated |
| 2.12 | Barnum, Clara L., circa 1870-1896 |
| 2.13 | Barnum, Clara L., 1951, undated |
| 2.14 | Barnum, Clara L. and the Vassar College Class of 1888, 1922-1938 |
| 2.15 | Curtis, Clarine Warner, 1913-1935, undated |
| 2.16 | Curtis, Clarine Warner and Virginia H. Curtis, 1910-1912 |
| 2.17 | Curtis, Virginia Hubbard (1831-1918), 1925, undated |
| 2.18 | Milburn, Elizabeth and Joseph (Virginia Robertson's children), 1935-1943 |
| 2.19 | Robertson, Virginia H. Curtis Milburn and family, 1908-1942 |
| 2.20 | Vassar College campus, circa 1880-1890 |
| 4.02 | Vassar College Class of 1888, 1888 |
| 2.21-2.22 | Vassar College faculty, circa 1881-1888 |
| 3.01-3.02 | Vassar College students, 1880-1895 |
| 3.03 | Vassar College students (unidentified), circa 1880-1888 |
| 3.04 | Warner family, 1923, undated |
| 3.05 | Unidentified students (The Notman Photographic Co., Albany, NY), circa 1880-1888 |
Return to the Table of Contents
The collection contains
correspondence, ephemera, and photographs, mostly relating to Charlotte and Clara
Barnum's education and continued association with Vassar College. Also included are
materials related to Clarine Warner Curtis (VC 1888), a life-long friend and
correspondent of Clara Barnum, whose daughter, Virginia H. Curtis Milburn Robertson
(VC 1930), continued correspondence with Clara after Clarine's death in
1945.
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1 letter, dated "Thanksgiving Night 1886," from Finley (VC 1889) to her cousin "Effie." Finley writes that an excellent Thanksgiving dinner was served at Vassar College, during which the students costumed themselves as English ladies and gentlemen. She describes the events after dinner as including
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Collections Overview
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.
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