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COLLECTION Identifier: MC 344

Papers of the Driggs-Rust family, 1851-1976 (inclusive), 1906-1976 (bulk)

Overview

Correspondence, photographs, etc., of the Rust and Driggs families of Kansas, New York and Pennsylvania.

Dates

  • Creation: 1851-1976
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1906-1976

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions:

Access. Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by the Driggs-Rust family is held by the President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Schlesinger Library. Copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.

Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.

Extent

.63 linear feet (1+1/2 file boxes)

This collection spans four generations (see the genealogical information in #1) and consists mainly of correspondence and published articles by or about members of the Rust and Driggs families, 1906-1976. Earlier materials include copies of letters from Roger Burgess and James Burgess and Eliza (Burgess) Rust (Louise Rust Driggs's great-grandmother), who emigrated to the United States from England in the 1850s. The letters to relatives in England describe life and economic conditions in Monroe County, New York and eastern Pennsylvania. There are also poems by Roger Burgess about the Atlantic voyage and his first impressions of the New World.

The twentieth century papers are primarily the correspondence and other papers of Louise (Rust) Driggs, her mother, Lucile (Osborn) Rust, and her parents-in-law, Edwin L. Driggs and Josephine (Jackson) Driggs. There are also papers about food and home economics by Louise Rust Driggs's aunt, Inez (Osborn) Potter.

The correspondence and other papers of Lucile (Osborn) Rust (1890-1976), a professor of home economics at Kansas State University, document her work as a field consultant for the United States occupation authorities in Germany, 1949; her lecture tour as a Fulbright Scholar in Australia and New Zealand, 1952; and her involvement in Kansas women's civic groups.

The correspondence of Josephine (Jackson) Driggs (1884-1975) and Edwin L. Driggs spans the years 1906-1920. Edwin L. Driggs was a civil engineer and spent most of this period in the Philippines constructing waterworks and teaching at the University of the Philippines. The Driggs correspondence is informative on social conditions there and also describes China and Japan, which they visited several times.

The papers by or about Louise Rust Driggs (1912-1995) primarily document her career in food and nutrition as a magazine editor, author, and consultant.

BIOGRAPHY

Roger and James Burgess and Eliza Burgess Rust emigrated to the United States from England in the 1850s. Their descendants include Louise Rust Driggs (1912-1995), a nutritionist, magazine editor, author, and consultant, her mother Lucile Osborn Rust (1890-1976), a professor of home economics at Kansas State University and field consultant for United States occupation authorities in Germany (1949), and Driggs in-laws: Josephine Jackson Driggs (1884-1975), and Edwin L. Driggs, a civil engineer, who spent the early 20th century in the Philippines constructing waterworks and teaching at the University of the Philippines.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession numbers: 77-M20, 77-M77, 79-M35, 79-M286

The papers of Driggs-Rust family were given to the Schlesinger Library by Louise (Rust) Driggs in March 1977

CONTAINER LIST

  1. Box 1: Folders 1-15
  2. Box 2: Folders 16-19

Processing Information

Reprocessed: April 1983

By: David Nathan

Title
Driggs-Rust family. Papers of the Driggs-Rust family, 1851-1976 (inclusive), 1906-1976 (bulk): A Finding Aid
Author
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
sch00137

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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