Blackwell and Atwood families archive, 1865-1993

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Summary

Creators:
Blackwell and Atwood families
Abstract:
The Blackwell and Atwood families archive consists of correspondence, notebooks, photographs, and printed ephemera saved by the Atwood family.
Extent:
6.2 Linear Feet (9 boxes and 2 oversize folders)
Language:
The records are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Blackwell and Atwood families archive, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection primarily consists of correspondence to and from Alice Stone Blackwell, Mary Elizabeth Hagar Atwood, and Anna Louise Hagar. There are approximately 128 letters from Alice Stone Blackwell to Mary Elizabeth Hagar Atwood. There are also dozens of poems (sent for children or to celebrate their arrival) and manuscripts by Alice Stone Blackwell. Also included are approximately 182 letters from Mary Elizabeth Hagar Atwood's sister, Anna Louise Hagar, where she writes primarily from the West Coast. There are two letters from Lucy Stone to Anna Louise Hagar. In one letter, Stone hopes the Hagar sisters "...had pleasure out of the books. My daughter [Alice Stone Blackwell] when she was your age used to have great fun with the Huggermuggers. She knew it was all 'make believe' but she liked it all the same" (May 16, 1890). There are 6 letters from Henry Browne Blackwell to Mary Elizabeth Hagar Atwood. In one letter dated October 5, 1898, Blackwell writes Atwood a short poem, which reads: "Beautiful Beth! We love her to death; She can swim; she can dive; And she knows how to count five!" In another letter he ends with an exhortation "Don't run away, and avoid Saloons" (July 10, 1905). An item of interest is Elizabeth Blackwell's medical notebook, Box 7 (8). Topics such as air, diseases, food, and temperament are discussed. The notebook appears to be incomplete. There are approximately 85 photographs, many are family snapshots (individual and gatherings), but more are studio portraits (often cabinet cards). Ephemeral items include buttons, greeting cards, newspaper clippings, periodicals and programs. The bulk of the periodicals consist of the magazine: The Youth's Companion from 1885 through 1924. The two oversize folders consist of additional newspaper clippings. Lastly, there are two oversize folders consisting of additional newspaper clippings.

Biographical / historical:

Lucy Stone was a prominent American orator, abolitionist, and suffragist, and a vocal advocate and organizer promoting rights for women.

Henry Browne Blackwell was an American advocate for social and economic reform. He was one of the founders of the Republican and the American Woman Suffrage Association.

Stone married Blackwell in West Brookfield, Massachusetts on May 1, 1855. They had two daughters: Alice Blackwell Stone and Mary Elizabeth Hagar Atwood (adopted). Alice Stone Blackwell was an American feminist, suffragist, journalist, and human rights advocate. Mary Elizabeth Hagar Atwood married Ernest Winslow Atwood and the couple had four children: Alice Gertrude King Atwood, Henrietta Louise Atwood, Helen Elizabeth Atwood, and Robert W. Atwood.

Elizabeth Blackwell was a British-born physician, notable as the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States, as well as the first woman on the UK Medical Register. Henry Browne Blackwell was her younger brother.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Mary Heiskell Price, July 2012.
Custodial history:

Originally owned by Elizabeth Blackwell and Kitty Barry Blackwell, passed from Kitty to the Atwood family in the early 20th century.

Purchased by Claire Heiskell from Robert Atwood at an undetermined date.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by genre.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Blackwell and Atwood families archive, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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