Papers of Sheila Mackenzie Jewett Bailey, 1757-1949 (inclusive), 1890-1919 (bulk)

The collection includes personal correspondence, scrapbooks, writings, photographs, clippings, pencil drawings, etc., primarily documenting Sheila Mackenzie Jewett Bailey's girlhood, early married life, and motherhood, as well as family papers, keepsake wallets, diaries, genealogical information, correspondence from both the Jewett and Bailey families, and reading notes kept by William Bacon Bailey. Material was mainly unfoldered and unidentified when it arrived at the library, although a number of letters were grouped by Carmen Valentino before the collection was purchased. The processor created most of the folder titles in the collection, although many of the groupings established by Valentino have been retained.

Series I, PERSONAL, 1900-1916 (#1.1-2.7, F+D.1), contains five scrapbooks and miscellaneous personal material. Four scrapbooks, made by Sheila Jewett Bailey primarily between 1900 and 1902, contain invitations; calling cards and letters from friends; programs from graduations; clippings of social events; photographs of family vacations and friends, including several photographs of a visit to Smith College in 1901; a list of books in the family library; etc. One of these four scrapbooks is specifically dedicated to documenting her father's life, poetry, other writings, and letters. A fifth scrapbook is a collection of clippings documenting the 1916 polio epidemic.

Sheila Jewett Bailey boxed up her diaries for her daughter, and while the diaries themselves are missing, notes she made on the box cover are included in this series. One note reads, "I think if Dorothy were to read them all when she is old enough to understand life in sequence she would understand her mother's best impulses & how hard she tried." Another reads, "Should like to have Billy read 1905 any way & hark back to the loveable sort of a girl I was then." On the other side, dated April 22, 1919, she wrote, "The reverse of this card shows the state of mind I was in several years ago when I boxed up [these?] diaries feeling [?] and as if I could not live with WBB a day longer -- But I did -- more is the pity as I look back."

Personal materials also include Sheila Jewett Bailey's address book and financial records, recipe clippings, pencil drawings, school report cards, writings, wedding clippings, etc. Materials are arranged with scrapbooks first, followed by the remaining folders, which are arranged chronologically.

Series II, CORRESPONDENCE, 1853-1930, n.d. (#2.8-6.12), includes letters from Howard and Sarah Jewett to their daughter and son-in-law, from Sheila Jewett Bailey to her parents, to Sheila Jewett Bailey from friends, and other family correspondence. It is arranged in three subseries.

Subseries A, To Sheila Jewett and William Bacon Bailey, 1892-1919, n.d. (#2.8-3.6), contains letters to Sheila Jewett Bailey and her husband. Included are letters from William Bailey's mother, from Sheila Jewett Bailey's parents and other relatives, Sheila Jewett Bailey's friends, and business correspondence. Sheila Jewett Bailey filed for divorce in 1919, and in that year her mother wrote, "Here I sit thinking and wondering how you are, and where you are," and, "I shall keep on trying to be patient under any conditions and shall always think you are trying to do your best." Letters to Sheila Jewett Bailey from her friends include a collection of letters describing details of her friend Elsa's travels through Europe with her parents in 1900-1901. Personal business correspondence includes professional references for William Bailey's teaching career and two letters regarding Sheila Jewett Bailey's divorce suit. Folders are arranged chronologically, with letters to Sheila Jewett Bailey first, followed by those to William Bailey.

Subseries B, To Howard and Sarah Jewett, 1866-1913, n.d. (#3.7-6.4), contains letters to the Jewetts. Most of the letters are from Sheila Jewett Bailey from her home in New Haven (1906-1912), in which she described the details of her daily life and social activities, including accounts of travels and dinner parties; her interest in music; the workings of the household; visits and news from family members and friends; her wardrobe; summers spent at the Bailey family compound ("Calla Shasta") in Agawam, Massachusetts; etc. Following the birth of her daughter Dorothy in 1909, Sheila Jewett Bailey's letters contain accounts of her development. She also took an interest in her family's genealogy, writing to family members for information and making many genealogical notes. The frequency of Sheila Bailey Jewett's letters to her parents declined after 1912. While there are indications that their correspondence continued, the letters from Sheila Jewett Bailey during this period are not in the collection. Letters are arranged alphabetically by correspondent, and then chronologically for each correspondent.

Subseries C, Other Jewett and Bailey family, 1853-1930, n.d. (#6.5-6.12), includes letters from Sheila Jewett Bailey and Howard and Sarah Jewett to other family members, and between members of William Bacon Bailey's family. Family business correspondence includes letters relating to the upkeep of Bailey family plots at the Granville Cemetery. Folders are arranged chronologically.

Series III, WILLIAM BACON BAILEY RESEARCH NOTES, n.d. (#6.13-15.2), is a collection of notecards, mostly typewritten, based on various books and other sources. Topics include immigration, pauperism, crime, statistical and geographical information, socialism, Phoenicia and Ancient Greece, prostitution, etc. Notes are arranged in the order in which they were received by the library.

Series IV, OTHER FAMILY, 1757-1949, n.d. (#15.3-16.12), includes personal ephemera and genealogical materials from the Jewett and Bailey families. It is arranged in two subseries.

Subseries A, General, 1757-1920, n.d. (#15.3-15.11), includes family religious diaries written in western Massachusetts in the mid-1700s, which include copied Bible passages, personal prayers and spiritual reflections, "Directions for the strict observation of the Lord's day," and notes on sermons. Also included are a collection of materials gathered by Howard Jewett for Sheila Jewett Bailey to keep in memory of his mother, including letters and eulogies; a keepsake wallet created by Howard Jewett, including his marriage certificate, a lock of Sheila Jewett Bailey's hair, gathered plant material, etc.; miscellaneous writings; personal inventories; and professional and miscellaneous writings of Howard Jewett. Folders are arranged chronologically.

Subseries B, Genealogy, 1801-1949, n.d. (#15.12-16.12), contains notebooks, correspondence (1801-1949), and loose notes relating to the genealogies of both the Jewett and Bacon families (primarily the Jewetts), most of it gathered by Sheila Jewett Bailey. A few hand-drawn maps of land lots accompany the notes. Also included are the written genealogies, The Jewett Family of America Year Book of 1911 and Descendents of John Jewett, who first appears at Rowley, Mass., 1661 (n.d.). Folders are arranged chronologically.

Series VI, PHOTOGRAPHS, 1889-1916, n.d. (#PD.1-PD.22), includes photographs primarily of Sheila Jewett Bailey and her immediate family, a number of other relatives, Sheila Jewett Bailey's birthplace and other family houses, vacations, etc. One album contains photographs documenting a California branch of the Jewett family, including a 1915 wedding atop "Jewett Rock." Many of the immediate-family photographs appear to have been collected by Howard Jewett, including several he put together for Dorothy Bailey. Most of the photographs in this collection are or will be digitized and available online.