npv_stanton_elizabeth_cady Guide to the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Papers, 1792-1981 (bulk 1839-1899) Inventory prepared by Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries

Box 20, 124 Raymond Ave., Poughkeepsie, NY, 12604-0020

unknown Finding aid encoded by Elizabeth Clarke August 2007. Finding aid written in English. Collection Summary Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, 1815-1902 Elizabeth Cady Stanton Papers 1792-1981 1839-1899 1.4 cubic feet (7 boxes) Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries The collection contains material related to Elizabeth Cady Stanton's work for women's suffrage, abolition, temperance, and other social causes. Includes family and professional correspondence, biographical and autobigraphical material, transcripts of her speeches, and photographs. Also includes material by others, such as her daughter, Margaret Stanton Lawrence, about the women's movement and Stanton's life and career. Biographical Note

Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902), a leader in the struggle for women's rights, was born on 12 November 1815, in Johnstown, NY, and graduated from Emma Willard's Troy Female Seminary in 1832. Through her close relationship with her cousin Gerrit Smith, a wealthy landowner and reformer, and his daughter, Elizabeth Smith Miller, Stanton became interested in the antislavery and temperance movements, and married the abolitionist Henry Stanton in 1840. As reflected in her letters from 1839-1859, her concerns for the next twenty years appear to have been her children (seven born between 1842 and 1859) and family, but it was during this period that she became one of the leaders in the women's rights movement. She helped to organize the first convention in Seneca Falls, NY in 1848 and formed the friendship with Susan B. Anthony that was to be so important for the future of the feminist movement. At the well-attended convention in Seneca Falls, Stanton proposed a resolution advocating suffrage for women. The resolution was the first public demand by women for the vote and, eloquently defended by Frederick Douglass, was finally adopted.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton's letters, which span the years 1867-1885 and include several to Paulina Wright Davis, another feminist and suffragist, reveal the public person. She became a very popular lecturer on the Lyceum circuit at this time and used her fame and popularity to further the cause of women's rights throughout the United States and abroad. Stanton persuaded Aaron Sargent of California to introduce a federal woman suffrage amendment following the wording of the Fifteenth Amendment. It was reintroduced in every Congress until finally adopted in 1920. In the 1880s, Stanton and Susan B. Anthony prepared the monumental three-volume History of Woman Suffrage, the last volume of which appeared in 1886.

In later years, Stanton, famous and widely honored, devoted more time to writing for newspapers and magazines such as the Westminster Review, Arena, Forum, and North American Review. Still, another controversy involved her. Convinced that the church and its interpretation of the Bible were great obstacles to the progress of women, she demanded that women have an equal place in the church and published The Woman's Bible, a commentary analyzing the Bible's derogatory references to women. These activities are reflected in her letters from 1885-1902.

In 1898, Stanton published her reminiscences, Eighty Years and More, and continued to express her views on religion, divorce, and other subjects. She died at the age of eighty-six. For months afterwards, newspapers and magazines acknowledged Elizabeth Cady Stanton as "a statesman of the woman's rights movement and the mother of woman suffrage."

Scope and Content Note

The collection includes correspondence with Susan B. Anthony, Paulina Wright Davis, Elizabeth Smith Miller, Gerrit Smith, and others relating to family matters, her children, the women's movement, her lectures and travels, publication of her books and articles, women and religion, abolition, temperance, and other social causes, 1839-1902; phrenological report by L.N. Fowler on the character of Stanton, 1853; and clippings, articles, transcripts of her speeches, an autobiographical sketch, and photographs. Other items include correspondence by Margaret Stanton Lawrence and others on the women's movement, other social causes, and Stanton's career, 1792-1927; and manuscripts and typescripts by Margaret Stanton Lawrence about Elizabeth Cady Stanton's life and career.

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 Names: Lawrence, Margaret Stanton Fowler, L.N. (Lorenzo Niles), 1811-1896 Anthony, Susan B. (Susan Brownell), 1820-1906 Davis, Paulina W. (Paulina Wright), 1813-1876 Miller, Elizabeth Smith, 1822-1911 Smith, Gerrit, 1797-1874 Stanton family Subjects: Family--New York (State) Women's rights Women--Suffrage Slavery--Anti-slavery movements Women and religion Temperance Women--Social conditions Feminist literature--Women authors Women travelers Phrenology Abolitionists Feminists Women authors, American Women social reformers Document Types: Autobiographies Autographs Correspondence Photographs Printed ephemera Scrapbooks VCL Categories: Family Religion Women's History Encoding Information

Encoded by Elizabeth Clarke, August 2007. Updated by Emma Gronbeck, May 2023.

Processing Information

Original processing date unknown.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Harriot Stanton Blatch (VC 1878) and Alma Lutz (VC 1912).

Other Formats

Scrapbooks are also available on microfilm. With the exception of extenuating circumstances, readers will be required to use the microfilm. A part of "Phrenological Character of Mrs. Elizabeth [sic] C. Stanton..." found in Volume 1 of the Scrapbooks was not microfilmed. The reader will find a photocopy of this part in Box 3 of the Stanton Papers.

Preferred Citation

Elizabeth Cady Stanton Papers, Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries.

Series List Series I. Correspondence, 1839-1902 (Boxes 1-3)

This series contains 147 letters (1839-1902) relating to family, children, the women's movement, lectures and travels, publication of Stanton's books, articles, and other topics.

Series II. Unpublished Manuscripts by Margaret Stanton Lawerence, undated (Box 4)

This series contains four unpublished manuscripts by Stanton's daughter about her mother's life and career.

Series III. Scrapbooks, 1792-1927 (Boxes 5-7)

This series consists of 3 volumes containing letters written to Elizabeth Cady Stanton from others involved in the women's movement and other causes, as well as clippings of her newspaper articles and letters to the editor, copies of speeches, photographs, and other memorabilia. Volume 1 contains letters from Susan B. Anthony to Stanton and Volume 2 contains a typescript of "Our Young Girls," Stanton's favorite and most popular lecture on the New York Lyceum Bureau circuit.

Series IV. Miscellaneous, 1839-1981 (Box 3)

This series consists of additional materials related to Stanton, such as printed articles and ephemera, poetry written by Stanton, biographical and family ephemera, and a photocopy of "Phrenological Character of Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton."

Container List Correspondence Folder 1.1.1 Susan B. Anthony, 1852 Folder 1.1.2 Susan B. Anthony, 1855 Jan 3 Folder 1.1.3 Susan B. Anthony, 1856 Jan Folder 1.1.4 Susan B. Anthony, 1857 Aug Folder 1.1.5 Susan B. Anthony, 1859 Apr 4 Folder 1.1.6 Susan B. Anthony, 1859 Apr 10 Folder 1.1.7 Susan B. Anthony, 1859 Jul 15 Folder 1.2.1 Rachel Foster [Avery], (1 ALS w/ TS) [1880s] Folder 1.2.2 Rachel Foster [Avery], (1 ALS w/ TS) [1880s] Folder 1.3 Edward Baines, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1869] Apr 10 Folder 1.4 Harriot Stanton Blatch, (1ALS w/ TS) [1879] Mar 24 Folder 1.5 William J. Bok, (1 ALS w/TS) [1894] Nov 18 Folder 1.6 Mr. Brown, (1 ALS w/ TS) 1872 Folder 1.7.1 [Lloyd] Bryce, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1893 Dec] Folder 1.7.2 [Lloyd] Bryce, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1893 Dec 15] Folder 1.8 C.S. Carter, (1 ALS w/ TS) 1876 Oct 2 Folder 1.9 Mrs. Conte, (1 ALS w/ TS) 1885 Folder 1.10 Laura Brownell Collier, (1 ALS w/ env.) 1886 Jan 21 Folder 1.11 Mrs. Darlington, , (1 ALS w/ TS) [no year] May 27 Folder 1.12.1 Paulina Wright Davis, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1870 July 9] Folder 1.12.2 Paulina Wright Davis, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1872 Apr 1] Folder 1.12.3 Paulina Wright Davis, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1874 Oct 18] Folder 1.13 Mrs. Ellsworth, (1 LS w/ TS) 1898 Mar 23 Folder 1.14 Mrs. Holloway [?], (1 ALS w/ TS) [1889] Folder 1.15 Karr Knortz, (1 AN w/ TS) 1879 Dec 1 Folder 1.16.1 Mary Livermore, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1892 Jul 7] Folder 1.16.2 Mary Livermore, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1894 May 7] Folder 1.17 Mrs. William Proctor Mellen, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1890] Folder 1.18.1 Elizabeth Smith Miller, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1839 Jun 4] Folder 1.18.2 Elizabeth Smith Miller, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1839 Jul 20] Folder 1.18.3 Elizabeth Smith Miller, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1839 Sep 11] Folder 1.18.4 Elizabeth Smith Miller, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1841 Mar 17] Folder 1.18.5 Elizabeth Smith Miller, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1842 May 28] Folder 1.18.6 Elizabeth Smith Miller, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1845 Feb 3] Folder 1.18.7 Elizabeth Smith Miller, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1846] Folder 1.18.8 Elizabeth Smith Miller, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1847 Feb] Folder 1.18.9 Elizabeth Smith Miller, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1847] Folder 1.18.10 Elizabeth Smith Miller, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1850 Apr 30] Folder 1.18.11 Elizabeth Smith Miller, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1851 Jul 2] Folder 1.18.12 Elizabeth Smith Miller, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1852 Oct 22] Folder 1.18.13 Elizabeth Smith Miller, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1856 Jan 24] Folder 1.18.14 Elizabeth Smith Miller, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1856 Mar] Folder 1.19 Lucretia Mott, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1872] Apr 1 Folder 1.20 Olive Moulton, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1870s] Folder 1.21.1 Charles Mumford, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1871 Apr 29] Folder 1.21.2 Charles Mumford, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1870s] Folder 2.1 Elizabeth Pease [Nichol], (1 ALS w/ TS, env.) [1840] Nov 3 Folder 2.2 Mr. Nordoff, (1 ALS w/ TS) [no year] Apr 15 Folder 2.3.1 M.D. Phillips, (1 ALS w/ TS) 1886 Aug 5 Folder 2.3.2 M.D. Phillips, (1 ALS w/ TS) 1896 Aug 30 Folder 2.4 Mr. Redpath, (1 ALS w/TS) 1870 Feb 28 Folder 2.5 William Seward, (1 TS) [no year] Sep 19 Folder 2.6 Mrs. Smith, (1 ALS w/ TS) [no year] Jun 4 Folder 2.7 Cousin G. [Gerrit Smith], (1 ALS w/ TS) [1874] Dec 16 Folder 2.8.1 Margaret [Marguerite Berry Stanton], (ALS w/ 2 TS) 1867 Jun 24 Folder 2.8.2 Margaret [Marguerite Berry Stanton], (ALS w/ 2 TS) 1896 Aug 30 Folder 2.9 Mr. Strickland, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1886 May] Folder 2.10 Mr. [Edwin A.] Studwell, (1 ALS w/ TS) 1867 Nov 30 Folder 2.11 C.P. Sumerby, (1 ALS w/ TS) 1876 Nov 1 Folder 2.12 Mrs. Thomas, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1898] Feb 19 Folder 2.13 Mr. Thomas, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1898] Jan 23 Folder 2.14 Mr. Underhill, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1890] Folder 2.15 Mrs. Underwood, (8 ALS w/ TS) 1884 Apr 5 - [1890-1898] Jan 23 Folder 2.16.1 Mr. Underwood, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1885 Mar 13] Folder 2.16.2 Mr. Underwood, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1885 Mar 27] Folder 2.16.3 Mr. Underwood, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1885 Oct 19] Folder 2.16.4 Mr. Underwood, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1889 Jan 29] Folder 2.16.5 Mr. Underwood, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1898 Feb 15] Folder 2.16.6 Mr. Underwood, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1898 Feb 17] Folder 2.16.7 Mr. Underwood, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1890] Folder 2.16.8 Mr. Underwood, (1 ALS w/ TS) undated Folder 2.17 Oswald Villard, (2 TS w/ env) 1902 Oct 20 Folder 2.18.1 William Hayes Ward, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1870 Mar 18] Folder 2.18.2 William Hayes Ward, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1890 Jan 13] Folder 2.18.3 William Hayes Ward, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1890 Mar 14] Folder 2.18 William Hayes Ward, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1890 Dec 5] Folder 2.19.1 Lemuel Washburn, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1893 Mar 25] Folder 2.19.2 Lemuel Washburn, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1898 Dec 11] Folder 2.20 Mr. [Thurlow] Weed, (1 ALS w/ TS) [no year] Jan 26 Folder 2.21 Mrs. White, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1896] Jul 14 Folder 2.22 B.W. Williams, (1 ALS w/ TS) [1872] Oct 18 Folder 2.23.1 Unknown, (1 ALS w/TS) [1869 Jan 29] Folder 2.23.2 Unknown, (1 ALS w/TS) [1870] Folder 2.23.3 Unknown, (1 ALS w/TS) [1889 Oct 16] Folder 2.23.4 Unknown, (1 ALS w/TS) [1890 Nov 16] Folder 2.23.5 Unknown, (1 ALS w/TS) [1895 Jul 28] Folder 2.23.6 Unknown, (1 ALS w/TS) [1895 Dec 11] Folder 2.23.7 Unknown, (1 ALS w/TS) [1898 Mar 3] Folder 2.23.8 Unknown, (1 ALS w/TS) [no year] Aug 27 Folder 2.23.9 Unknown, (1 ALS w/TS) undated Folder 2.24.1 Postcard, self – addressed, (1 postcard) [1897 Mar] Folder 2.24.2 Postcard, self – addressed, (1 postcard) [1897 May] Folder 2.24.3 Postcard, self – addressed, (1 postcard) [1897 Feb] Folder 2.24.4 Postcard, self – addressed, (1 postcard) [1897 May] Folder 2.24.5 Postcard, self – addressed, (1 postcard) [1897 Aug] Folder 2.24.6 Postcard, self – addressed, (1 postcard) [1897 Jun] Folder 2.24.7 Postcard, self – addressed, (1 postcard) [1897 May] Folder 2.24.8 Postcard, self – addressed, (1 postcard) [1897 Mar] Folder 3.1 Theodore Tilton, (1 ALS) 1897 Mar 27 Folder 3.2 Martha C. Wright, (1 ALS w/ TS) 1874 Oct 3 Folder 3.3.1 Correspondence to and from Margaret Stanton Lawrence, (1 ALS, 2 Fragments) 1911 Mar 3 Folder 3.3.2 Correspondence to Margaret Stanton Lawrence, (1 TS) 1923 Jul 2 Folder 3.4.1 Autograph Notes, 1869 Mar 1 Folder 3.4.2 Autograph Notes, 1869 Mar 1 Folder 3.4.3 Autograph Notes, 1871 Feb 18 Folder 3.4.4 Autograph Notes, 1874 Feb 13 Folder 3.4.5 Autograph Notes, 1875 Nov 14 Folder 3.4.6 Autograph Notes, 1885 Dec 1 Folder 3.4.7 Autograph Notes, 1888 Mar 30 Folder 3.4.8 Autograph Notes, 1893 Mar Folder 3.4.9 Autograph Notes, 1893 Oct 11 Folder 3.4.10 Autograph Notes, 1896 Feb 7 Folder 3.4.11 Autograph Notes, 1896 Mar 20 Folder 3.4.12 Autograph Notes, 1896 Aug 1 Folder 3.4.13 Autograph Notes, 1899 Jul 19 Folder 3.4.14 Autograph Notes, 1900 Folder 3.5.1 Autograph Notes, undated Folder 3.5.2 Autograph Notes, undated Folder 3.5.3 Autograph Notes, undated Folder 3.5.4 Autograph Notes, undated Folder 3.5.5 Autograph Notes, undated Folder 3.5.6 Autograph Notes, undated Folder 3.5.7 Autograph Notes, undated Unpublished Manuscripts by Margaret Stanton Lawerence Folder 4.1 "Elizabeth Cady Stanton..." pp. 1-43, undated Folder 4.2 "Elizabeth Cady Stanton..." pp. 44-88, undated Folder 4.3 "Elizabeth Cady Stanton..." pp. 89-134, undated Folder 4.4 "Who Was Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Who Started Votes For Women", undated Folder 4.5 "Who Was Elizabeth Cady Stanton? My Mother," part 1, undated Folder 4.6 "Who Was Elizabeth Cady Stanton? My Mother," part 2, undated Folder 4.7 "Who Was Elizabeth Cady Stanton? My Mother," part 3, undated Folder 4.8 Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Federal Amendment, undated Scrapbooks Box 5 Volume I, 1792-1870 Box 6 Volume II, 1881-1899 Box 7 Volume III, 1892-1921 Miscellaneous Folder 3.6 Inscription of Cook Book from Elizabeth Cady Stanton, (1 ANS w/ facsimile of inscription, 1 TS) 1878 Oct 2 Folder 3.7 Biographical Sketch by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, (1 AN w/ TS) 1885 Mar 10 Folder 3.8 Verses by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, (1 AN w/ 1 TS) [1870 Nov 12] Folder 3.9.1 Birthday Poems by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, (1 AN w/ env) 1897 Oct 20 Folder 3.9.2 Birthday Poems by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, (1 AN w/ env) 1852 Oct 20 Folder 3.10 Toasts by Elizabeth Cady Stanton at Ellen Walter's Dinner Party, (1 AN w/ TS) undated Folder 3.11 Robert Livingston Stanton's Toast to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, (1 AN) undated Folder 3.12 Bookplate of Theodore Stanton, undated Folder 3.13 First-day-of-issue envelope honoring Elizabeth Cady Stanton, (1 env) 1948 Jul 19 Folder 3.14.1 Miscellaneous Printed Material: "The Birth of an Idea" from Lucretia and Elizabeth by Katharine Fisher, undated Folder 3.14.2 Miscellaneous Printed Material: "Tributes to Elizabeth Cady Stanton" from Equal Rights, 1939 Dec Folder 3.14.3 Miscellaneous Printed Material: Lithograph portrait of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, engraved by H. B. Hall, Jr. (from Eminent Women of the Age by James Parton), circa 1869 Folder 3.14.4 Miscellaneous Printed Material: "Elizabeth Cady Stanton" by Helen Waltermire in Hudson River Magazine, 1941 Jan Folder 3.14.5 Miscellaneous Printed Material: "Life Sketch of Elizabeth Cady Stanton" by Nora Stanton Barney, 1948 Jul 19 Folder 3.14.6 Miscellaneous Printed Material: "Stanton, Elizabeth Cady" from The Biographical Cyclopaedia of American Women, Vol. 1, circa 1924 Folder 3.14.7 Miscellaneous Printed Material: "Actor's donation helps preserve historic home" from The Poughkeepsie Journal, 1981 Jun 2 Folder 3.15.1 Photograph: Portrait of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 1871 Folder 3.15.2 Photograph: Portrait of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, undated Folder 3.15.3 Photograph: Portrait of Elizabeth Cady Stanton with Harriot Stanton Blatch and Nora Stanton Barney, circa 1887 Folder 3.15.4-6 Photographs: Portraits of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her family, 1857-1882 Folder 3.15.7 Photograph: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, undated Folder 3.15.8 Photograph: Portrait of Judge Daniel Cady, undated Folder 3.15.9 Photograph: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, undated Folder 3.15.10 Photograph: Elizabeth Cady Stanton sitting in a chair outside, undated Folder 3.16 "Phrenological Character of Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton", (Photocopy) 1853