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COLLECTION Identifier: MC 376

Papers of Margaret Wither Griffith, 1912-1960

Overview

Correspondence, notebook, address books, photographs, etc., of social worker Margaret Wither Griffith.

Dates

  • Creation: 1912-1960

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

TERMS OF USE

Access. Unrestricted.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright is held by Radcliffe College.

Copying. Unrestricted.

Extent

.21 linear feet ((1/2 file box) plus 2 photograph folders, 1 folio photograph folder.)

This collection consists of correspondence, a notebook, two address books, memorabilia, and three photographs. Most of the letters concern the estate of Griffith's mother, Jessie (Wither) Griffith, who died in 1959, leaving the property in Wareham to Griffith and her sister Janet. There are several letters and notes concerning the Home for Aged Women, but there is no record of her work there in this collection. Many of Griffith's personal papers were sorted and discarded at the time she moved to the Home as a resident.

The notebook (#3), containing names, addresses, grades, and nationalities of students, may be evidence that Griffith was at some time a teacher. She used it at another time as well, possibly when employed at the Home. One address book (#1) belonged to Griffith's mother; the other (#2) includes notes and letters. There are several portraits fo Griffith; other photographs are unidentified but may include Griffith.

See also the records of the Home for Aged Women (MC 294).

BIOGRAPHY

Margaret Wither Griffith Papers grew up in Wareham, Massachusetts, and attended Boston University School of Religious Education and Social Service from August to December 1918. She worked for the City Missionary Society of Boston, and, from 1929 until her retirement in 1978, was the social worker for the Home for Aged Women in Jamaica Plain.

Griffith lived with her sister, Janet A. Griffith, in Dorchester; they also maintained the family home in Wareham. For the last several years of her life she resided in the Home for Aged Women. She died on February 29, 1984.

Physical Location

Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession number: 85-M154

The papers of Margaret Wither Griffith were given to the Schlesinger Library by Jane E. Manopoli and Lawrence M. Channing, executors of Griffith's will, in July 1985.

Processing Information

Processed: December 1986

By: Nancy Falk

Title
Griffith, Margaret Wither, 1898-1984. Papers of Margaret Wither Griffith, 1912-1960: A Finding Aid
Author
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
sch00007

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.

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