Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Armstrong, Marjorie
- Abstract:
- Marjorie Armstrong (1907-1991) graduated from Pomona College (1938) and was director of the Mary B. Eyre School from 1936-1939. Correspondence written to Armstrong from her mother, Sarah Louise Armstrong, makes up a substantial portion of the collection. Also included are her school and college ephemera and records from Claremont High School, Pomona College and Smith College; diaries of both mother and daughter (1929-1973); correspondence and documents from the courtship and marriage of Sarah Louise Armstrong (née Peet) and Dr. Frank T. Armstrong, D.D.S; and some material related to William W. Peet, a prominent missionary and relative of Sarah Louise and Marjorie Armstrong.
- Extent:
- 13 boxes
- Language:
- Languages represented in the collection: English
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection covers the time period from circa 1809-1974. The collection is divided into two series: Marjorie Armstrong Papers; and Sarah Louise Armstrong Papers. The general organization of each series is in descending order: record type and within that whenever possible arranged alphabetically and then chronologically. The oldest item in the collection is a family record book from circa 1809. A primary component of the collection consists of letters written to Marjorie Armstrong by her mother Sarah Louise Armstrong with the bulk of this from 1960-1969. Other correspondents are represented in the collection as well, but without the same frequency observed in the correspondence from mother to daughter. Of note in terms of correspondence, there are letters relating to the courtship between Dr. Frank T. Armstrong, D.D.S and Sarah Louise Armstrong (née Peet) from circa 1904. Additionally, there are journals belonging to both Marjorie Armstrong and her mother. These range in date from 1929-1973 and help document each woman's day-to-day life. The collection also includes assignments completed by Marjorie Armstrong in the course of her education, as well as ephemera related to graduating from the secondary and higher education institutions she attended. Other items of interest include the marriage of certificate of Marjorie Armstrong's parents and the father's certificate upon receiving his degree in dentistry from Northwestern University.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Marjorie Ruth Armstrong was born April 5, 1907 and passed away in July 1991. Her parents were Sarah Louise Armstrong, née Peet, (1880-1973) and Frank T. Armstrong (1870-1914); the two were married on September 28, 1904. Her mother was both a teacher and an artist and her father was a dentist. With her mother and younger brother George Bennett Armstrong (1909-?), she moved to California from Iowa in 1921 and the family settled in Claremont in 1922. She graduated from Claremont High School in 1924. Her undergraduate studies were completed at Pomona College and she received her B.A in 1928. While at Pomona College she was a member of the Women's Glee Club. Following her graduation from Pomona College, she attended Smith College in New Hampshire and received an M.A in Early Childhood Education in 1929. From 1936-1939 she served as director of the Mary B. Eyre School, a model nursery school, at Scripps College. It appears that she never married. Throughout her life, she was highly active in early childhood education, specifically in the state of California and was involved in the founding of several nursery schools. She appears to have been highly involved in the church and was likely a supporter of missionary activities, specifically with an organization by the name of Christian World Missions. In addition a relative on her mother's side was William W. Peet, a prominent member of the missionary community, specifically in the 'East.'
Sources for Biographical note: Hand written document of family history in box 11, folder 11, as well as Ken Counselman's, "The Mary B. Eyre Children's School: An Administrative History," PhD diss., 1986
- Acquisition information:
- Unknown.
- Arrangement:
-
The Marjorie Armstrong Family Papers have been divided into two series: the papers of Marjorie Armstrong and the papers of her mother Sarah Louise Armstrong. The Marjorie Armstrong Papers are further divided into three sub-series: correspondence; school and personal records; and diaries. The following are the sub-series for the Sarah Louise Armstrong Papers: correspondence; family records; and diaries. Within these two series, the materials are grouped by record type and chronologically whenever possible within these groupings. Additionally, in the correspondence, the letters are arranged alphabetically by sender and within this chronologically. The suggestion for this organization was taken from the limited organization given the collection by its record creator. The correspondence was roughly grouped together in a suitcase belonging to Marjorie Armstrong, the diaries were grouped together in one box, and the family and school papers were together in another box. The majority of the letters in this collection were bundled/grouped by Ms. Armstrong by year. This bundling allowed for the assignment of a year to certain letters that were not accompanied by an envelope with postmark. In terms of the correspondence, the date on the letter is given preference to the postmark date. When the letter is not dated but has an envelope complete with postmark this is the date used. Eight of the letters from Marjorie Armstrong's correspondence and one letter from Sarah Louise Armstrong's correspondence were too long for a letter-sized document box and have accordingly been moved to a legal-sized document box. This is also noted in the relevant sections on the container list of this finding aid. There also several letters addressed to both Marjorie and Sarah Louise Armstrong. These letters have been filed with the correspondence of Sarah Louise Armstrong.
Series 1 Marjorie Armstrong Papers
Subseries 1.1 Correspondence
Subseries 1.2 School and Personal Records
Subseries 1.3 Diaries
Series 2 Sarah Louise Armstrong Papers
Subseries 2.1 Correspondence
Subseries 2.2 Family Records
Subseries 2.3 Diaries
- Physical location:
- Ella Strong Denison Library, Scripps College, Claremont University Consortium.
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Location of this collection:
-
1030 Columbia Avenue, #2031Claremont, CA 91711, US
- Contact:
- (909) 607-3941