Emma F. Botsford letters
Overview
Emma Florence Botsford lived in Emporia Kansas. She was engaged to William Thayer Barry of Boston, Massachusetts, after visiting him in 1902. The letters in this collection document the daily life and struggles of an Edwardian working-class young woman in Emporia, Kansas.
Dates
- Creation: 1902 - 1904
Creator
- Barry, Florence, 1881- (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
No access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.
Biography of Emma Florence Botsford
Emma Florence Botsford was born in 1881. She lived in Emporia, Kansas, and worked at the shop of Mrs. Graham where she decorated china and created burnt-wood objects. She exchanged engagement rings with William Thayer Barry of Boston, Massachusetts in 1902. The couple married on June 8, 1904 in Emporia, Kansas.
Extent
0.75 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Scope and Contents
The collection is comprised of 119 letters, most with their original envelopes. All of the letters in the collection are written to William Thayer Barry. 117 of the letters were written by Emma Florence Botsford of Emporia, Kansas, his fiancee. The remaining two letters were written by Anna Botsford of Herington, Kansas. The letters begin shortly after Emma and William exchanged rings and end shortly before William's arrival in Kansas to take his soon-to-be bride back to Massachusetts. Botsford wrote emotional letters to Barry about her life in Emporia and her longing to be closer to him. She describes the lives of her siblings Anna, a school teacher in Herington Kansas, and brother Horace who coached football at Kansas State Normal School.
Physical Location
RH MS 1282
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchase, Carmen Valentino, 2011
Subject
- Botsford, Horace, 1877- (Person)
- Barry, William Thayer, 1880- (Person)
- Botsford, Anna (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Emma Florence Botsford Collection
- Subtitle
- Emma F. Botsford letters
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by el, 2013
- Date
- 2013
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Finding aid written in English
- Finding aid permalink
- http://hdl.handle.net/10407/9419795280
- Preferred citation
-
Emma Florence Botsford Collection, RH MS 1282, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository