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COLLECTION Identifier: far00048

Anna M. M. Reid collection

Scope and Contents

The Anna M. M. Reid collection, 1793-2001, is organized in three series. Series I, Edward Tuckerman research, contains Reid's research materials on American botanist Edward Tuckerman (1817-1886). Series II, Anna Reid papers, contains Reid's published papers, materials on lichens and mosses, and correspondence. The series also includes illustrated plates and descriptions from James Sowerby's English Botany. Series III, Ethel Hutchinson papers, consists of bryologist Ethel Hutchinson's correspondence, notes, plant lists, illustrations, clippings, and lesson plans.

Dates

  • Creation: 1793-2001

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research by appointment. Researchers must register and provide one form of valid photo identification. Please contact botref@oeb.harvard.edu for additional information.

Extent

1 collection (7 boxes)

Biographical note: Anna M. M. Reid

Anna Marie Murphy Reid was born in New York City on December 22, 1926, to father Thomas Murphy and mother Annie Keenan Murphy. Reid, who was also known as Nancy, graduated from Mount St. Vincent College in New York City, earned a master’s degree in chemistry from Purdue University, and received a Master of Liberal Arts degree from the Harvard Extension School. She met Robert Clark Reid at Purdue University, and they married in 1950. They had a son, Donald, and a daughter, Christine.

Reid lived in Lexington, Massachusetts, for over 50 years and was highly active in her community. She participated in the Lexington Garden Club and served as a secretary of the Friends of the Farlow in the Harvard University Herbaria. As a bryologist, Reid contributed specimens to the Herbaria under the standard name A. M. M. Reid. She enjoyed genealogical research and needlepoint. Her husband Robert died in 2006 and she died on May 10, 2012, in Burlington, Massachusetts at the age of 85.

Sources

Anna M. Murphy Reid. Legacy. Website (https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/wickedlocal-lexington/obituary.aspx?n=ann-m-murphy-reid&pid=157564281

Biographical note: Ethel Priscella Hutchinson

Ethel Priscilla Hutchinson was born Ethel Priscilla Francois in Saugus, Massachusetts, on September 9, 1895. Her father was a country doctor and Ethel received a private education. After her first marriage ended, Ethel moved permanently to Canaan, New Hampshire, in 1936, where she developed an interest in mosses. In 1938, she married the local postmaster, Fred R. Hutchinson, who shared her home until his death in 1962.

Ethel studied moss observation and identification with A. J. Grout and began corresponding with bryologists throughout the world. She developed an herbarium of moss specimens she collected in New Hampshire and Vermont, prepared exhibits for local fairs, and gave moss lessons to New England residents. Ethel published only a few works, but some of them were notable including a bryology guide book called A Guide to the Study of Mosses and the index of the first sixty volumes of The Bryologist. Ethel Hutchinson died on October 31, 1966, in Hanover, New Hampshire. Her herbarium, library, and slide collection were bequeathed to her pupil Anna Reid.

Source:

Reid, A. M. M. 1987. Pioneer New England Bryologists - A Prosopography. Occas. Pap. Farlow Herb. Cryptog. Bot. 19: 1-71. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7456357. Accessed 26 April 2021

Other Finding Aids

There is a more detailed finding aid in the repository. For additional information email botref@oeb.harvard.edu.

Provenance

Anna Reid's family donated the collection in 2012.

Title
Reid, Anna M. M. Anna M. M. Reid collection, 1793-2001: A Guide.
Status
in_progress
Author
Botany Libraries, Farlow Reference Library of Cryptogamic Botany, Harvard University.
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
far00048

Repository Details

Part of the Botany Libraries, Farlow Reference Library of Cryptogamic Botany, Harvard University Repository

The Harvard University Herbaria houses five research libraries that are managed collectively as the Botany Libraries. The Farlow Reference Library of Cryptogamic Botany specializes in organisms that reproduce by spores, without flowers or seeds. The Archives of the Farlow Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany houses unique resources including personal papers, institutional records, field notes and plant lists, expedition records, photographs, original artwork, and objects from faculty, curators, staff, and affiliates of the Farlow Herbarium.

Contact:
Harvard University Herbaria
22 Divinity Ave
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2366