Dorothea Lynde Dix letters to Anne E. Heath and other letters
Overview
Letters from American nurse and social-welfare reformer Dorothea Dix to Anne E. Heath and other correspondence.
Dates
- 1820-1884
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.
Extent
3 linear feet (9 boxes)Consists of approximately 500 letters from Dix to Anne E. Heath concerning Dix's work and travels, as well as the activities of mutual friends and the Boston social scene. Also contains a small number of letters from Heath to Dix; from Dix to Heath's sister, Abby Barnett (spelled variously by Dix as Barrnet/Barnet/Barnett); from Dix to her brother, Joseph; and from Dix to Heath's brother, Charles. NB: Some letters are accompanied by envelopes bearing short notes regarding contents, date, and other relevant information; presumably these notes are in Anne Heath's hand.
Biographical / Historical
After an early career as a Boston schoolteacher and author of children's books, Dix became concerned with the plight of the mentally ill in the United States, especially the indigent. She traveled widely in North America and Britain to investigate hospital conditions and subsequently became politically active, petitioning state and national legislatures for reforms. She was also appointed superintendent of female army nurses during the American Civil War.
Arrangement
Organized into the following series:
- I. Letters from Dix to Anne E. Heath
- II. Letters from Dix to Abby Barnett
- III. Letters from Dix to others
- IV. Letters from Anne E. Heath to Dix
- V. Letters from Nancy W. Burnap to Dix
- VI. Letters from others to Dix
- VII. Other correspondence
- VIII. Other material
Within each series, contents are presumed to be in rough chronological order; many letters, especially early ones, lack a date
Physical Location
b
Immediate Source of Acquisition
No accession number; Gift of Mrs. William H. White; received: 1937.
Processing Information
Processed by: Michael W. Austin
- Title
- Dix, Dorothea Lynde, 1802-1887. Dorothea Lynde Dix letters to Anne E. Heath and other letters, 1820-1884: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou02437
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.
Harvard Yard
Harvard University
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2440
Houghton_Library@harvard.edu