Papers of Elisabeth Burger, 1880-2013 (inclusive), 1940-2000 (bulk)

The collection documents the lives of Elisabeth Burger, Frieda S. Miller, and Pauline Newman and provides a vivid look at the relationships among the three women. The collection includes Burger's diaries, writings, and her correspondence with Miller and Newman, as well as with her husbands, children, and friends. Also included is material related to her education and finances. The collection also includes Newman and Miller's letters to each other and their correspondence with others; documents related to Miller's involvement with the first General Assembly of the United Nations; writings by Miller and Newman; a scrapbook on her career kept by Newman; materials kept by members of the Segelke family (Miller's mother's family); photographs; audiotapes; and a compact disc.

Most folder headings were created by the archivist; those created by Burger appear in quotation marks. The Schlesinger Library holds the following related collections: Papers of Frieda S. Miller, 1909-1973 (A-37), Additional papers of Frieda S. Miller, 1948-1963 (MC 881), Papers of Pauline Newman, 1900-1980 (MC 324; M-44 ), and Additional papers of Pauline Newman, 1926-1982 (83-M191--83-M198).

Series I, BIOGRAPHICAL AND PERSONAL, 1880-2008 (#1.1-8.1), includes diaries (the bulk of them covering the years between 1980 and 1998) in which Burger recorded travel, daily events, thoughts about her writing projects, and her feelings about her second husband, her children, and grandchildren. She also discusses therapy sessions; feelings of anxiety and inadequacy, partially due to making life choices that differed from those of Miller and Newman; and her difficulty in recognizing and expressing her own strong feelings, particularly that of anger. (She attributes this largely to the atmosphere in which she was raised, and her childhood feeling that her mother's reserved manner was preferable to Newman's more volatile demeanor.) Diary entries from 1979 to 1986 often address the challenges of caring for Newman, who lived with the Burgers, as she became increasingly unable to care for herself; Newman's frustrations often took the form of violent outbursts. Entries also express Burger's concerns with the life choices of her younger son and his wife, including Hugh's support of the right to life movement.

The series also includes articles about Burger; the transcripts of two oral history interviews; programs for horsemanship shows in which she participated in her youth; financial and medical records; Vassar College grade reports and other material re: Burger's education; and passports. Also included are Burger's writings, which are primarily autobiographical, though in some instances family members appear under different names. Many of these essays focus on her childhood and her feelings of being different from her friends due to her lack of a father; other writings address Hugh Owen's involvement with the Unification Church, Miller's early life, and the challenges of caring for Newman in her last years. Also included are family genealogies, and the correspondence of David, Hugh, and Michael Owen with each other and other family, friends, and associates. Their correspondence with Burger appears in Series II. The series is arranged alphabetically.

Series II, CORRESPONDENCE, 1929-2013 (#8.2-25.4), consists primarily of letters received by Burger. The series includes her extensive correspondence with David Owen, ranging from a few years before their marriage to shortly before his death, with topics including Owen's work for the United Nations and the extensive travel it required, his loneliness when away from Burger, Burger's daily life and activities, and their children's development. Clippings about Owen and itineraries and schedules for his frequent travel are often included with the correspondence, as well as letters sent to Owen by other family members. The series also includes Burger's correspondence with Miller, who frequently used the endearment "Dolly" for Burger, and Newman. (Miller often included letters from others with her letters.) Topics include daily activities, travel, and work. Of particular note is a copy of a letter Newman sent Miller, regarding Miller's relationship with a man and her related behavior toward Newman. For Newman and Miller's correspondence with each other, including further letters on this topic, see Series III. Other correspondents include Chester Burger (including love letters sent before their marriage and a later letter describing Chester's sense of being rejected by Burger); Burger's sons (including letters sent from camp); daughter-in-law Maria Mitchell Owen; stepchildren Roger Owen and Gillian Owen Barratt; and grandchildren (children of Hugh and Maria Owen). Burger's correspondence with Hugh Owen often reflects their differing views regarding abortion, religion, and David Owen's work for Planned Parenthood, while also conveying the deep love she had for him and for his brother Michael. The series also includes letters from male admirers and letters Burger received while at summer camp and while working at the International Labour Office in Geneva. The series is arranged with alphabetical correspondence appearing first, followed by chronological correspondence. Some correspondents may appear in both groups.

Series III, FRIEDA S. MILLER AND PAULINE NEWMAN, 1889-2003 (#25.5-31.12), documents the personal and professional lives of Miller and Newman. The series includes biographical information on both Miller and Newman as well as notebooks, scrapbooks, a sketchbook, legal documents belonging to members of the Segelke family, and Miller's correspondence with her grandmother Augusta Segelke, aunt Louise Segelke, and sister Elsa Segelke Carroll. (Some of these documents are in German.) Also included are a travel diary kept by Miller during her 1923 trip to Europe with Newman, with entries ending before Burger's birth, and a notebook in which she recorded Burger's birthdate and some of Burger's developments, such as weight gain, during the first weeks of her life. The series also includes Miller's correspondence with professional associates and friends, including Newman. Of particular note are the letters Newman sent Miller expressing her feelings over what she viewed as Miller's secretiveness in regard to her relationships with men and Miller's disregard for Newman's feelings (#26.4-26.7). These letters discuss both Newman's feeling in 1923 when she learned of Miller's pregnancy and her feelings decades later upon learning of Miller's involvement with a man she met at a conference in India. Also of note is the material related to the first meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, at which Miller was a member of the US delegation; she served on a committee that focused on refugees and attended a meeting of women delegates and advisors organized by Eleanor Roosevelt. This group issued an open letter to "the women of the world," which is included in the series. The series also contains a small amount of material related to the Women's Bureau, and writings by Miller.

In addition to the biographical material on Newman and her correspondence with Miller, the series includes Newman's correspondence with friends and acquaintances and her will and obituary. The series also contains writings by Newman, including her draft memoir and Michael Owen's reminiscences of her. Of particular note are an oral history conducted by Barbara Wertheimer and "'Love, Paul': Pauline Newman and the Formation of Women's Friendships, Families, and Identities in America, 1910-1975," which details Newman's relationships with Rose Schneiderman and with Miller. Also of note is a scrapbook compiled by Newman, containing photographs of Newman alone and with fellow feminists including Schneiderman, Miller, Josephine Conger Koneko, and Esther Peterson. The scrapbook also includes articles by and about Newman, including articles on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911. The series is arranged with Miller's material, arranged alphabetically, followed by Newman's alphabetically arranged files. Correspondence with Burger appears in Series II.

Series IV, PHOTOGRAPHS, AUDIOVISUAL, AND OVERSIZED, ca.1850-2007 (#PD.1fv-PD.17, T-218.1 - T-218.7, CD-83.1, FD.1-FD.2, F+D.1, OD.1), includes photographs of Burger alone, with Newman and Miller in her infancy, and with her husbands and children. Included are photographs of her wedding to David Owen and Burger with a trophy cup she won for horsemanship. The series also includes photographs of Newman and Miller's trip to Europe during which Burger was born. Also included are photographs of Miller with government officials including Harry Truman and Frances Perkins, and with members of labor and women's organizations such as the Minimum Wage Board for the Cleaning and Dying Industry and the National Council of Catholic Women. Photographs of Newman include images of her inspecting labor conditions for women in Germany and speaking at a meeting of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. The series also contains photographs of members of the Owen and Burger families and photographs of unidentified members of the extended Miller family.

The series also includes an audiotape of an interview of Burger regarding her early life with Newman and Miller; audiotapes of celebrations of Newman's 87th and 89th birthdays, with reminiscences of her life and career; an interview she participated in regarding women in the labor movement; the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union memorial service for her; and an interview of Miller about the economic life of women in the Far East. In addition, the series contains oversized items, including a souvenir folio of the "American Woman" stamp (presented to Miller), posters promoting a speech by Newman and her Congressional campaign, the certificate appointing Miller director of the Women's Bureau, and a drawing of Newman. The series is arranged with chronologically arranged photographs appearing first, following by the audiovisual material, arranged first chronologically and thereunder by format, and finally by oversized items.

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