Papers of Priscilla Dewey Houghton, 1875-2012 (inclusive), 1940-2005 (bulk)

This collection documents the life of Priscilla Dewey Houghton and also provides information on the lives of her maternal grandmother, parents, first husband, and other family members. Approximately half of the collection consists of Houghton's diaries, ranging from 1939 to 2004. Other materials include genealogical information; diaries of her mother, Priscilla Badger Blackett, and maternal grandmother, Grace Richardson Learnard Badger; a birthbook for her mother and a scrapbook kept during World War I, including a year spent in Japan; courtship letters and correspondence with family and friends; play scripts; speeches; and meeting minutes and program planning materials for organizations and events in which she participated. The bulk of the folder headings were created by the processor. Those created by Houghton are in quotation marks.

Series I, BIOGRAPHICAL AND PERSONAL, ca.1929-2011 (#1.1-15.9, FD.1), consists primarily of Houghton's diaries. Houghton fastened photographs, clippings, programs, letters, and other items into most of her later diaries, which also include lists of the books she read during the year. The diaries describe Houghton's daily life, with many of the later diaries describing trips she took with Amory Houghton, often on government business; her thoughts about religion and politics; family activities; her bouts with lung cancer; her first husband's death; and her involvement with various theater and arts organizations. The diaries begin in 1941 and continue until 2004; the later diaries (June 1986 to May 2004) form a complete run, but there are some significant gaps in the earlier sequence, with no diaries from the 1950s and only a few from the 1960s. The series also includes correspondence; articles about Houghton; Houghton's memoirs of her childhood and early adulthood; her dissertation; itineraries for trips she took with Amory Houghton; a children's book she wrote for her son Toby; and scrapbook pages/diary entries describing the days immediately following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, in which Houghton vividly describes her own thoughts and feelings and the reactions of her friends. See Series II for Houghton's correspondence with family members. The series is arranged alphabetically.

Series II, FAMILY, 1875-2012 (#15.10-19.8, FD.2-FD.7), includes material related to Houghton's maternal grandmother, her mother and father, her husbands, and her children. Of particular note are the family history written by Houghton's maternal grandmother, Grace Richardson Learnard Badger, and the two diaries kept by her. In the first diary, she describes trips to Texas and other southern states taken in 1875 and 1890 and her wedding day in 1892, noting her distress that her father was taken ill and unable to accompany her to the church. The second diary is from 1949, the year before her death. (Some entries appear to have been transcribed for Badger, possibly by a nurse, after she suffered a heart attack in August 1949.) The series also includes a scrapbook kept by Houghton's mother, Priscilla Badger Blackett, documenting her experiences during World War I, including several months spent in Japan; "The Persimmon Tree," a draft manuscript by a family friend, partially inspired by Blackett's experiences in Japan; two of Blackett's diaries, one of which describes her year in Japan; letters exchanged by Priscilla Badger Blackett and William Cameron Blackett during their engagement; and courtship letters exchanged by Houghton and Talbot Dewey. (Dewey, who was serving in the Army Air Corps during their courtship, frequently signed his letters with the names "Jeff," "Geoffrey," or "George.") The series also includes a memorial service program and obituary for Talbot Dewey; congratulatory letters Priscilla Badger Blackett received upon her engagement and condolence letters regarding the death of her husband; a list of wedding gifts received by the Blacketts; certificates received by William Cameron Blackett, including his discharge from military service; Amory Houghton's description of the inauguration of Nelson Mandela; a family genealogy and a book of Houghton's poems and essays about family and friends. This book includes reproductions of family photographs and poems about her bout with polio. The series is arranged alphabetically by family member.

Series III, PROFESSIONAL, 1955-2011 (#19.9-23.12), includes material on the Charles River Creative Arts Program, including Houghton's Multi-Arts Summer Programs: The Charles River Model: Forty Years of Success, which describes the program's development and gives advice on how to emulate it; programs, notes, and press releases related to two conferences on arts programming and writing musicals presented by the Freelance Players; and speeches by Houghton. Topics include "Women, Faith, and the Political Arena," "Unsung Heroes: Women Artists and Suffrage," and "But You Have No Health Insurance," and audiences include the League of Women Voters, the American Association of University Women, the Retired Teachers Association, and arts administrators. Poems and songs Houghton wrote for events celebrating family and friends are also included. The series also includes scripts and scores for Houghton's musicals; scripts, correspondence, meeting minutes, publicity, and planning materials for benefit performances by Living Stage and Urban Improv; and correspondence and programs regarding performances of Anna Deavere Smith's plays at Arena Stage and other venues. The series is arranged alphabetically.

Series IV, ACTIVISM/RELIGIOUS AND VOLUNTEER WORK, ca.1955-2000 (#23.13-25.4, F+D.1), includes a program for the Dewey Center for Arts and Science (named in honor of Houghton) at the Charles River School; notes, correspondence, articles, and meeting minutes related to the planning of the Episcopal Church's celebration of the Bicentennial; notes and lesson plans for teaching Sunday School; printed material, correspondence, and financial statements regarding efforts to aid the Daramombe Mission in Zimbabwe in meeting the health, educational, and social needs of its community; a directory for the women's network co-founded by Houghton; and correspondence and meeting minutes for the Middlesex School's committee on women and coeducation, of which Houghton was a member. The series is arranged alphabetically.

Series V, PHOTOGRAPHS, ca.1897-1994 (#PD.1-PD.5), includes photographs of Houghton alone and with family, friends, and political figures (including Amory Houghton and Nelson Mandela). The series also includes images of Houghton's mother, father, brother, and some unidentified family members. The series is arranged chronologically.

Most of the photographs in this collection are or will be digitized and available online.