Series I. BIOGRAPHICAL, PERSONAL, AND RELATED, 1968-2012 (#1.1-13.2, E.1, OD.1, PD.1-PD.2)
Scope and Contents
This series includes Fran Buss's diary entries, personal and professional correspondence (letters, cards, postcards), unpublished writings and poetry, as well as her Master's in Divinity thesis, research and oral history notes, notebooks, printed materials and clippings, and a few photographs. This series includes mostly disassembled binders constituting her journals; as well as folders of letters and research materials not originally housed in binders. Her journals, which contain a mix of writings, letters, and printed materials, reveal personal thoughts and reflections. They provide a meaningful account of her life as a mother, daughter, and wife, and offer details regarding her intellectual and professional pursuits, including community organizing, women's rights, teaching, campus ministry, and oral history research. Her correspondence, including with husband David Buss, her children, her parents, mother-in-law Leda Buss, close friends, such as professor and writer Agate Nesaule, Mary Robinson, and Maria Elena Lucas, as well as other women she met through her oral history research, can be found throughout the files and are rich with details regarding daily life and insights. The materials in this series also recount her lifelong struggles with medical and health issues, including migraines, depression, complications from gynecological surgery, and a rare eye disease known as Brown Syndrome. Also documented in this series is her complicated and often fraught relationships with Dennis Leeper and her parents. Materials, especially correspondence, can include original letters, copies, and computer print-outs. Fran Buss's web site is being captured periodically as part of Harvard University Library's Web Archive Collection (WAX). This series is arranged chronologically.
Dates
- Creation: 1968-2012
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Access Restrictions:
Access. Researchers must sign a special permission form to use the collection.
Extent
7.09 linear feet ((17 file boxes) plus 1 oversize folder, 2 photograph folders, electronic records)Creator
- From the Collection: Buss, Fran Leeper, 1942- (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository
The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.