Papers of Elizabeth Tilton, 1914-1949

The papers of Elizabeth (Hewes) Tilton were initially processed in the early 1960s. They have been re-processed to include the 1965 gift of her nephew, Henry Hewes, which consisted of additional diaries, writings, and correspondence.

During the processing of the original collection, clippings, printed material and other items pinned to or folded between pages of the diaries were removed. Those pertaining to Tilton were kept and filed elsewhere in the collection; those pertaining to the prohibition movement in general or to her other interests were moved to the Library's vertical files or discarded. This procedure was continued in the re-processing.

The papers in this collection pertain to Tilton's activities in education and in the suffrage, peace, and prohibition movements from 1914 until the mid-1930s. There is a small amount of biographical and genealogical material, but, except in the autobiographical writings, there is no documentation of Tilton's childhood, youth, or family relationships.

Series I, Personal, is composed mainly of diaries, with one folder of biographical and genealogical material and one folder of photographs. The diaries (4v-25v) are nearly complete for the years 1918-1934 and detail Tilton's temperance activities. Typed transcripts of many diary pages will be found among the drafts of and miscellaneous notes for Tilton's autobiographies.

Series II, Writings, contains drafts of books (29-119), most of which are autobiographies or family histories; and manuscript, typescript, and printed versions of articles and stories (120-212). Most of the latter concern prohibition, though some are concerned with childhood education and others may be parts of Tilton's autobiographical writings. Also included are letters to the editor (213 - 219); correspondence about her writings (221); and a folder of miscellaneous notes and unidentified pages (220).

Series III, Health and Education, details Tilton's involvement with the National Congress of Parents and Teachers. The National Congress of Parents and Teachers was organized on February 17, 1897 as the National Congress of Mothers. In 1908 the name was changed to the National Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations; the change to National Congress of Parents and Teachers was made in 1924.

These National Congress of Parents and Teachers files are not complete. They include minutes and reports of the Board of Managers and the Executive Committee (222 - 232); reports of the Legislative Committee, of which Tilton was national chairman (233-241); correspondence, most concerning Tilton's activities (244-253); publications (242); and subject files (254-268), which contain primarily printed material of interest to Tilton and the National Congress of Parents and Teachers and which are arranged alphabetically.

Series IV, Prohibition, concerns Tilton's primary interest; her diaries and writings (Series I and II) show her to have been a tireless temperance leader.

This series contains correspondence (269-305); speeches, statements, and news releases (306-309); subject files (310-343); and clippings (344-351). The subject files include printed material and some correspondence with or about organizations with which Tilton was associated.