Table of Contents
- Collection Summary
- Biographical Note
- Scope and Content Note
- Subject Headings
- Related Material
- Administrative Information
- Access and Use
- Encoding Information
- Series List
- Container List
Collection Summary
| Repository: | Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries |
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| Creator: | Grove, Elsa Butler, 1884-1969 |
| Title: | Elsa Butler Grove Papers |
| Inclusive Dates: | circa 1915-1969 |
| Bulk Dates: | 1919-1924 |
| Quantity: | 0.4 cubic feet (1 box) |
| Abstract: | The Elsa Butler Grove Papers contains correspondence, typescripts, printed materials, and photographs, primarily related to Grove's service in the Baltic States and work with the American Red Cross and the Vassar Unit in France during World War I. |
Biographical Note
Elsa May Butler was born in St. Louis, Missouri on May 16, 1884, the daughter of William Borton and Marie Lange Butler. A 1905 graduate of Vassar College, Grove received her master's degree from the Washington University School of Social Work in 1914 and was a fellow at Bryn Mawr from 1915-1916. She later became a student at Columbia University Graduate School of Political Science, where she studied economics, sociology, and anthropology.
Elsa devoted much of her life to medical social work. During World War I, she was in charge of the Vassar College Red Cross welfare unit at Verdun, France and was decorated by the French government for her services. On June 14, 1921, Grove began an one-year position directing social work in child relief units in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania for the American Red Cross. During this period of service in the Baltic States, she took extensive notes on the conditions witnessed by the inhabitants of Latvia. Her observations provide an account of the difficulties of conducting health work overseas, in terms of those administering aid as well as those who are receiving the assistance.
Upon her return to the United States, Grove taught hospital service at Teacher's College of Columbia University, Fordham University, Dillard University, Smith College, and Mt. Sinai Hospital (1923-1942). She served as President of the Class of 1905, Vassar College from 1935 to 1940, and was active in numerous professional societies, including the New York Urban League, the National Institute of Immigration Welfare, and the American Association of Social Workers.
In preparation for Vassar's 100th Anniversary, Grove took a determined interest in the campaign for the establishment of a Women's Archives at Vassar College. It was her considered belief that the gathering of an extensive collection of materials relating to the role of women throughout history would serve as a valuable tool in the betterment of Vassar's academic resources.
TopScope and Content Note
The collection primarily contains records of Elsa Butler Grove's work with the American Red Cross, and includes correspondence, 1921-1924; a diary with entries about her Baltic experiences, 1921; typescript articles about government, children, women, labor, and charity work in the Baltic States based on her work there, 1921-1922; photographs of Grove and Verdun; and miscellaneous maps, booklets, and articles. Other items include eight letters relating to the proposed Vassar Archives, 1956; and her obituary, 1969. In addition, there is an unbound scrapbook containing, correspondence, notes, and photographs of her work with the Vassar Unit in France, 1919-1920.
TopAccess and Use
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.
Subject Headings
Organizations:
- American Red Cross
- Townsend, Fanny P. Simpson, 1881-1970
- Vassar Red Cross Relief Unit
Subjects:
- Charities--Baltic States
- Children--Baltic States
- International relief
- Labor and laboring classes--Baltic States
- Medical social work--Europe
- Social work with children
- Women social workers
- Women--Baltic States
- Women--Diaries
- World War, 1914-1918--War work--Red Cross
Places:
- Baltic States--Politics and government
- Baltic States--Social conditions
- Estonia--Description and travel
- Latvia--Description and travel
- Lithuania--Description and travel
- Verdun (France)--Description--Views
Document Types:
- Correspondence
- Diaries
- Photographs
VCL Categories:
- War and War Crimes
Encoding Information
Encoded by Elizabeth Clarke, April 2007. Updated by Emma Gronbeck, October 2025.
TopAdministrative Information
Preferred Citation
Elsa Butler Grove Papers, Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries.
Processing Information
Original processing date unknown.
Container list updated by Laura Streett, April 2007.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Elsa Butler Grove, 1955.
Series List
Series I. Correspondence, 1919-1924 |
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Series II. Writings, 1921-1954 |
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Series III. Printed Materials, circa 1915-1969 |
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Series IV. Photographs, circa 1919-1936 |
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Series V. Vassar Unit Scrapbook, 1919-1920 |
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Container List
Return to the Table of Contents
Details
The Elsa Butler Grove Papers contains correspondence, typescripts, printed materials, and photographs, primarily related to Grove's service in the Baltic States and work with the American Red Cross and the Vassar Unit in France during World War I.
