Research Guides: Women's History in the Archives: A Hess Archives Collection Spotlight: Women in the Hess Archives

Introduction

This guide highlights collections in the Hess Archives and Special Collections that feature the voices and perspectives of women. For too long, women's history was not actively collected or celebrated by archival repositories. We hope this guide encourages further research and discussion of the importance of women to the history of Elizabethtown College as well as the Church of the Brethren and other Anabaptist and Pietist groups.

Ruth Hollinger, Arlene Miller, Esther Moore, Jeanette Barnes, Anna Carper, Bernice Brant, Leah Godfrey, Anna Graybill at Camp Conewago, 1940.

Collections in the Hess Archives

These are just a sample of the collections in the Hess Archives focused on women or featuring significant content by or about women. We will continue to add new links as additional materials are described and digitized.

Anna B. Mow's remembrances of Elizabethtown College's early years
Interview with Anna B. Mow about her remembrances of the early years of Elizabethtown College. The interview was conducted on October 17, 1983. Mow, a leader herself in the Church of the Brethren, was the daughter of I.N.H. Beahm, the first president of Elizabethtown College.
Anna V. Blough Missionary Letters and Diaries from China
This digital collection features the letters and diaries of Anna Blough, an early Brethren missionary to China. In 1913 she sailed for China, where she served as a missionary at the Pingding station until her death from typhus on May 9, 1922.
Bucher Sisters' Prayer Covering Patterns and Diaries, 1931-1965
Collection consists of 130 prayer covering patterns created by the Bucher sisters for women in the Annville Church of the Brethren as well as diaries of Sallie and Esther. The patterns are labeled with the names of the women for whom they were used.
Dennis L. Hughes Photographs of the Amish
This collection consists of selected images taken by East Petersburg, Pennsylvania photographer Dennis L. Hughes of Amish life and culture in the United States with a special emphasis on the Amish in Lancaster County. There are extensive images in this collection depicting Amish women and girls.
Ira R. Herr “Dear Coach” Collection, 1941-2008
The Ira R. Herr “Dear Coach” Collection consists of letters from various students that Ira R. Herr coached and taught at Elizabethtown College. A majority of the letters were sent to Herr from students who were on the frontlines of World War II. There are several letters by women serving in the WAVES and working in war industries.
Karen Johnson-Weiner Amish Doll Collection, 1991-2011
Collection of cloth dolls primarily made by Swartzentruber Amish women.
Karen M. Johnson-Weiner Papers, 1844-2022
Karen M. Johnson-Weiner, Ph.D. is a linguistic anthropologist who has been studying Amish and Mennonite communities for over 30 years. Johnson-Weiner is the author of The Lives of Amish Women (2020) among other books. This collection contains Johnson-Weiner's extensive correspondence with Amish women.
Lloyd and Ellen Cunningham Papers, 1936-2000
This collection contains the papers of Ellen Edmister Cunningham and her husband. The Cunninghams were Brethren missionaries. Together, the Cunninghams travelled to China in 1938, and remained there until 1941. They moved to the Philippines, where they were captured and taken prisoner by the Imperial Japanese Army. They spent 4 years imprisoned and returned to California once they were freed. The collection includes a journal where Ellen describes their imprisonment.
Louise Stoltzfus Papers, 1984-2002
Louise Stoltzfus was a native of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and was raised in an Old Order Amish family. She was the author of Quiet Shouts: Stories of Lancaster Mennonite Women Leaders. This collection contains Stoltzfus's research, correspondence, manuscripts, and other notes pertaining to her work and particularly her work on Amish and Mennonite women.
Margaret Mead at Elizabethtown College
Audio of anthropologist Margaret Mead speaking at Elizabethtown College on October 5, 1972.
Meyer, Wenger, Bucher Collection
This collection contains extensive late 19th and early 20th century correspondence by Brethren women and their families.
Oral History Interview with Jean Grubb Herr and Mary Grubb Fairbanks
Sisters Jean Grubb Herr and Mary Grubb Herr describe their childhood home (now the Etown College President's residence), changes to the interior and exterior of the house, college life in the 1940s and 1950s, the Elizabethtown community circa World War II, and their family's involvement in the Church of the Brethren.
Records of the Dean of College Life
Contains the history, papers, and scrapbook of the Faculty Women's Club.
Records of the Director of Foundations and Corporate Relations
Contains the history, papers, and scrapbooks of the Elizabethtown College Women's Auxiliary.
Southern Pennsylvania District 100th Anniversary of Women's Work Quilt, 1985
Quilt created for the 100th anniversary of women's work in the Southern Pennsylvania District of the Church of the Brethren. Each square represents a different congregation in the district and includes the name of a woman or names of women significant to the work of the church. The squares were contributed by the individual congregations.