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COLLECTION Identifier: 79-M209

Additional papers of Ethel McLean Johnson, 1840-1978 (inclusive), 1920-1960 (bulk)

Overview

Addenda to the papers (A-27) of Ethel McLean Johnson, public official and writer.

Dates

  • Creation: 1840-1978
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1920-1960

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions:

Access. Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by Ethel McLean Johnson as well as 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

4 linear feet ((4 cartons) plus 1 folio+ folder, 1 folio folder)

This collection contains photographs, family papers, large numbers of articles by Ethel McLean Johnson (both typescript and printed), her correspondence with editors, and papers and correspondence concerning Johnson's public service career, largely after 1932. The collection is arranged in one series in the following order: family and biographical data and photographs (#1-21), professional papers (#22-45), writings and correspondence re: writings (#46-86), and business and other correspondence (#87-114).

BIOGRAPHY

Ethel McLean Johnson, public official and writer, was born in Brownfield, Maine, in 1882. She attended the Parsonfield Seminary and the Western State Normal School; she was graduated from Simmons College in 1910 with a degree in Library Science and in the same year received a Litt. B. from Boston University. She was employed by the Women's Educational and Industrial Union, 1910-1918, and in the summer of 1918 was the Secretary of the Congressional Committee, Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association. She became a member of the Massachusetts Minimum Wage Commission, 1918-1919, and served as Assistant Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Labor and Industries, 1919-1932. Johnson was appointed Minimum Wage Director of the State of New Hampshire, 1933-1935 by Governor John Gilbert Winant, and assisted in organizing the New Hampshire Commission on Interstate Compacts. From 1935 to 1939, Johnson worked under the direction of Winant at the International Labor Organization in Geneva, and was Acting Director of the Washington office of the International Labor Organization, 1939-1943. From 1943 to 1946, Johnson was Special Assistant to Ambassador Winant at the Court of St. James. A prolific freelance writer, Johnson spent a busy retirement in Brownfield writing reports, articles of news and opinion, and poetry. Her last years were spent in a nursing home in Florida.

Physical Location

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

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession number: 79-M209

These addenda were given to the Schlesinger Library by the estate of Ethel McLean Johnson in August 1979.

Related Material:

There is related material at the Schlesinger Library; see Ethel McLean Johnson Papers, 1918-1945 (inclusive), 1919-1932 (bulk) (A-27).

CONTAINER LIST

  1. Carton 1: 1-21
  2. Carton 2: 22-53
  3. Carton 3: 54-79
  4. Carton 4: 80-115
  5. Folio+ folder
  6. Folio folder

Processing Information

Preliminary Inventory: February 1981

By: Jane S. Knowles

Title
Johnson, Ethel McLean, 1882-1978. Additional papers of Ethel McLean Johnson, 1840-1978 (inclusive), 1920-1960 (bulk): A Finding Aid
Author
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
sch00658

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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