Lucy T. Shoe Meritt (1906- 2003) was an acclaimed archaeologist, scholar, teacher and editor who received her B.A, M.A, and Ph.D degrees from Bryn Mawr. During her life time, Shoe Meritt taught at Mount Holyoke College and the University of Texas at Austin, was a fellow at the American Academy of Rome, and served as the Editor of Publications for the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. Additionally, she was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study and the American Institute of Archaeology. She received the Gold Medal of the Archaeological Institute of America for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement in 1976. The collection is largely comprised of Shoe Meritt's correspondence with her family and notable scholars who were her contemporaries. It also includes diaries, publications, academic and professional papers, as well as photographs, postcards and scrapbooks.
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.