Jean Scobie Davis, a 1914 graduate of Bryn Mawr College, taught economics and sociology at Agnes Scott College, Vassar College, Pierce College, Wells College and the American Women's College in Beirut. A lifetime interest in prison reform resulted in her work at the New York State Correctional Facility in Bedford Hills, New York.
The Jean Scobie Davis papers is a collection consisting largely of Jean Scobie Davis' diaries and correspondence covering nearly all stages of her life. The collection, which dates from 1892 to 1985, is divided into seven subseries: "Autobiographical Material;" "Correspondence;" "Diaries;" "Family History;" "Photographs;" "Prison Reform;" and "Scrapbooks and Guestbook." Material found in the collection is diverse, and consists of letters, reports, bound diaries as well as loose diary pages, photographs, scrapbooks, and handwritten notes.