Adelaide A. Claflin Letters

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
Newman Library
Virginia Tech
P.O. Box 90001
560 Drillfield Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9001
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (540) 231-6308
Fax: (540) 231-3694
Restrictions:

The collection is open to research.

Terms of access:

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Adelaide A. Claflin Letters, Ms1992-005, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Summary

Extent:
0.1 Cubic Feet 1 folder
Creator:
Claflin, Adelaide A.
Abstract:
Two letters from Adelaide A. Claflin (1846-1931), a woman suffragist, written to "Mrs. Hollander" about an upcoming proposed lecture in Somerville, Massachusetts, on the subject of suffrage.
Language:
The materials in the collection are in English.
Preferred citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Adelaide A. Claflin Letters, Ms1992-005, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of two letters from Adelaide A. Claflin, a woman suffragist living in Quincy, Massachusetts. Written in November, 1884, to Mrs. Hollander, the letters relate to Claflin's upcoming lecture on the suffrage question. On November 11, Claflin relates that "Mrs. Stone" (probably suffragist Lucy Stone) had recently asked if she would be willing to address a club in Somerville, and Claflin mentions her essay, "What Women as a Class Owe to Each Other," recently read before an audience in South Boston. On November 14, Claflin responds to a recent letter from Hollander, providing further background on her experience in speaking about women's suffrage and proposing the lecture topic "The Need of the Feminine Influence in the School, the Town, and the State." She requests feedback on the proposal and more information about the venue in which the lecture is to be delivered.

Biographical / historical:

Narcissa Adelaide Avery, daughter of Alden A. and Lucinda Miller Brown Avery, was born in Boston, Massachusetts on July 28, 1846. A couple of years after graduating from Boston Girls' High School in 1862, she became a teacher at the Winthrop School. In 1870, Avery married Frederick A. Claflin. The couple lived in Quincy, Massachusetts, and had four children. Adelaide Claflin became a lecturer on women's suffrage in 1883. She also lectured on other topics and wrote for newspapers. Adelaide Avery Claflin died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 31, 1931, and was buried in Mt. Wollaston Cemetery in Quincy.

Acquisition information:
The Adelaide A. Claflin Letters were purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in 1992.
Processing information:

The processing and description of the Adelaide A. Claflin Letters commenced and was completed in September, 2023.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Women -- History