Collections & Finding Aids
Collections and Finding Aids
The collections of the Elmira College Archives consist of two main subject areas: Regional materials including Elmira College students, faculty and alumni collections, and regional women's group collections that represent the significance of the founding of Elmira College as one of the early collegiate institutions erected for women with an academic rigor comparable to that of academic programs for men. The collections are organized in alphabetical order below.
Manuscript Collections
Charles Barber Manuscript for “Elmira College: The First 100 Years”
This collection contains four variations of the manuscript – two edited manuscripts, one set of galley proofs and drawings, and the final published version in a cloth cover. The collection contains no information about the author, correspondence about the publication or any other materials associated with constructing the publication.
Elizabeth Case Papers
The papers are comprised of the multidisciplinary works of the noted illustrator and animator, Elmira College alumna and artist, Elizabeth Case. Paintings, illustrations, sketches, animation, poetry, spoken word and written works are the artistic disciplines represented in the collection
Charles Tomlinson Griffes Collection
The collection contains letters, sheet music manuscripts, memorabilia, and books from Griffes’ personal library that offer insight into the musical training and personal progression of Charles Tomlinson Griffes, the noted early 20th Century pianist and composer and Elmira, N.Y. native.
Hollister Adelbert Hamilton Speeches and Correspondence
The bulk of the collection is comprised of lectures and speeches made by Hamilton at Elmira College in the community and elsewhere during the 1930’s. Correspondence is limited to materials primarily regarding Hamilton’s appointment at Elmira College.
Esther Hansen Papers, 1905-1986
The collection is primarily comprised of correspondence from Hansen’s position as professor of Classical Languages and Literature at Elmira College. The collection contains limited materials in regard to Hansen’s scholarship and affiliation with Elmira College.
Cyril Harris Book Manuscripts and Correspondence
The collection is comprised of correspondence files from 1943-1967 and edited typescripts for two novels, Street of Knives, a historical fiction about Aaron Burr, and Northern Exposure, a novel about Harris’s upbringing in Nova Scotia.
Ida Langdon Papers
The Ida Langdon Papers contain an assortment of teaching and lecture materials from her tenure as a professor of English Literature at Elmira College, including collegiate materials from her matriculation at Bryn Mawr College. Items concerning her association with her uncle, Mark Twain, are at a minimum.
Peck Family Papers
The Peck Family papers are comprised of letters and photographs and document the history of a well-educated family from upstate New York in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century. Letters concerning the professional activities of the Peck children, including Mary Gray Peck’s involvement in the suffrage movement, though present, are at a minimum.
Robert D. Smith Papers
The Robert D. Smith Papers document Smith’s involvement with community organizing in Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Schoharie County, New York from the 1960’s to the 1990’s. The bulk of the papers are community proposals and articles pertaining to community organization.
Gertrude Secor Scrapbook, Prints and Correspondence with Claude E. Toles
The collection is comprised of correspondence, clippings and proofs from Elmira artist, Claude E. Toles. The collection consists of a scrapbook of Toles’ artwork and larger page proofs from various projects that Toles was associated with as an illustrator for the Elmira Telegram, New York Herald and the International Syndicate. The correspondence, in part, references prints to be used for compiling Secor’s scrapbook.
Regional Women's Groups
Records of the American Association of University Women: Bath Branch
The collection contains minutes, correspondence, mailings, programs and membership lists since the creation of the Bath Branch of the American Association of University Women in 1953.
Records of the Elmira Travel Club
The Elmira Travel Club was organized in 1904 to promote the history, art and literature of the U.S. and other countries. The club was federated in 1909, becoming a member of the New York State Federation of Women’s Clubs. The collection consists of meeting minutes, programs, awards and scrapbooks from 1903-2005
Records of the New York State Federation of Women's Clubs
The bulk of the records of the New York State Federation of Women’s Clubs are materials collected during the tenure of each elected president of the organization. These papers document the history of the organization from 1898 – current. Minutes from meetings, reports of the New York Districts, Convention programs, and club events are common documents found in the presidential records. Financial records, newsletters and yearbooks of the organization are not complete.
Records of the Women's Center of the Southern Tier
The Women’s Center of the Southern Tier was incorporated in 1985 as a non-profit organization dedicated to providing information and assistance to women of all ages and circumstances who live in the Southern Tier. The records consist exclusively of board minutes and meeting materials with an incomplete run of newsletters dating from 1985 - 2002.