Series I. PERSONAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL, ca.1870-2013 (#1.1-30.10, 53.1-53.7, 54.1-54.7, PD.1 - PD.8sl, PD.224, E.1)

Series I, BIOGRAPHICAL AND PERSONAL, ca.1870-2013 (#1.1-30.10, 53.1-53.8, 54.1-54.7, PD.1 - PD.8sl, PD.224, E.1), includes biographical material regarding Meredith and other family members; autobiographical writings and journals; photographs and slides of friends and family taken by unidentified individuals; press passes; poetry; a small amount of correspondence; and electronic records. Biographical material documents the lives of Meredith and her mother, grandmother, and aunts, and includes Women's Reserve, U. S. Naval Reserves (WAVES) regalia from the service of Martha Jane Adkins during World War II. Correspondence is mostly personal in nature between Meredith and her parents, grandmother, and aunts. A small amount of this correspondence consists of letters written by Meredith to her aunt, Martha Jane Adkins, who had suffered a stroke and was unable to write, in which Meredith provided check boxes for her aunt to indicate her answers. Other letters, containing accusations of sexual abuse and torture inflicted by family members and the military, may have been the products of therapeutic exercises and never sent. Other correspondence documents relationship difficulties with several women with whom Meredith was engaged in amorous relationships. The remainder of the correspondence consists of general letters of reference for Meredith written by a number of museum directors and curators. Photographs and slides contain images of great grandparents, grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins, as well as a number of college friends and other close friends and acquaintances; many of these do not appear to have been taken by Meredith. Additional photographs of friends and family are located in Series II. The bulk of this series consists of Meredith's autobiographical writings and journals that document her relationships with family and friends as well as her lesbian relationships; her bouts with addictions to alcohol, drugs, food, sex, etc., and her experiences with therapy and a number of addiction recovery support groups; her work with photography, film, and art; and her dreams and memories of physical, sexual, and ritualistic abuse at the hands of family members and the military. Throughout the 1990s Meredith records exact details of food she has consumed and her bodily functions. Later journals (2004-2012) include her adherence to the teachings of John Randolf Price, founder of the Quartus Foundation for Spiritual Research, and author of the book The Abundance Book: How to Use the Law of Attraction to Get Everything You Want in Life, which closely resembles the beliefs and language of Debtors Anonymous. Poetry is scattered throughout her journals and autobiographical writings. Meredith's papers are arranged alphabetically, followed by papers of other family members arranged alphabetically by individual's name and photographs of family members and residences.