Melanie Atherton Updegraff (1886-1973) was a 1908 graduate of Bryn Mawr who went on to do missionary work for the Presbyterian Mission Board alongside her husband, Reverend David Benjamin Updegraff. The two were primarily stationed in Kolhapur and later Nipani, in West India. The collection includes correspondence between Updegraff and her sisters, children, and sister-in-law, among other family members, photographs of the Atherton and Updegraff families, an autograph collection, and brochures, pamphlets, and official documentation pertaining to Updegraff's missionary work. Updegraff's four sisters and three daughters all went to Bryn Mawr, and we hear about entrance exams, musical productions, and other campus activities in their letters.
Zelma Corning Brandt (1891-1990) was a social crusader active throughout the twentieth century. Her chief interests included the independence and development of colonial countries, American Indian affairs, nuclear disarmament, women's issues, and geriatric concerns. The collection consists of correspondence, travel notes, diaries and writings, and publications and reports, especially from 1960-1989. Brandt's longevity and attention to detail provide a complete view of various world and domestic issues and events through this period. Zelma Brandt attended Bryn Mawr College from 1909 to 1911.