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Elizabeth A.W. Furnas Papers
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Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Betty Furnas was the daughter of William Emley and Caroline Sargeant Walter. She graduated from Vassar College and married Paul J. Furnas, son of William and Deborah Moore Furnas, in 1923. From 1917 to 1920 Paul was the Field Secretary for the American Friends Service Committee and Associate Director of the ACLU. The couple moved to New Jersey and he worked for the Paulsboro Manufacturing Co. They participated in a number of work camps affiliated with the AFSC. Both Elizabeth and Paul also served as Board members at Pendle Hill during this period. Elizabeth also was involved with the Women's Problems Group, a fellowship of women of the two Philadelphia Yearly Meetings and later of the joint body; she became its Chairman in the early 1960s when it was renamed Philadelphia Quaker Women and continued in that role until 1966.
After 1940 Paul returned to AFSC and was appointed the Executive Secretary of Civilian Public Service In 1946, he was named Vice-President/Comptroller at Earlham; retired from Earlham in 1958 and died two years later. Betty married Thomas E. Jones, President Emeritus of Earlham, in 1968, and died four years later in 1972.
This collection includes the papers of Elizabeth A.W. Furnas who was active in a number of Quaker concerns in the mid 20th century. Of particular interest are minutes and correspondence of the Women's Problems Group and its successor, Philadelphia Quaker Women. There are also her manuscript writings, some notes on lectures at Pendle Hill, as well as information on some of the work camps in which she was involved.
Organized in three series:
- Correspondence and Activities
- Writings
- Miscellaneous
Gift of Ann Trueblood Rape, 2011 (Accession 2011.023)
Some of the collection was sorted into a letter file, presumeably by Furnas, and was labelled with the names of her different activities; this material has been kept together. The contents of a small binder labelled "Philadelphia Quaker Women" was removed from the binder and sorted into two folders, that which was attached and the other loose.
An oversized photograph of a wedding at Swarthmore Meeting in 1923, Elizabeth Furnas as bridesmaid, is stored with PA/Oversized. Blueprints of Pendle Hill, 1936, W. Pope Barney and Roy W. Banwell Associate, has been transferred to RG4 Pendle Hill (oversized).
Organization
- Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends Library
- American Friends Service Committee
- Philadelphia Quaker Women (Organization)
- Women's Problems Group (Philadelphia, Pa.)
- Pendle Hill (School: Wallingford, Pa.)
Subject
- Publisher
- Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
- Finding Aid Author
- FHL staff
- Finding Aid Date
- 2012
- Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to research.
- Use Restrictions
-
Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce items in this collection beyond the bounds of Fair Use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder or their heirs/assigns. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-RUU/1.0/.
Collection Inventory
As compiled, Furnas' description from cover; contents removed from letter file. Includes many articles/publications, especially the American Friend and Friends Intelligencer, notes and materials for religious educational work, AFSC letters/work camp documents, and Pendle Hill documents. Of note is Henry Cadbury's response to the requirement of a Teacher's Oath.
Physical Description1 folder
As compiled, Furnas' description from cover; contents removed from letter file. Primarily correspondence relevant to these groups, budgets and membership rolls, and articles and publications. Of note is the discussion over regarding support for Planned Parenthood.
Physical Description1 folder
Pages removed from a small binder of minutes 1960-65 (rough with gaps) and membership lists, notes, schedules and plans for lectures, a small amount of correspondence, and flyers.
Physical Description1 folder
Loose papers enclosed in the binder above. minutes, reports, and correspondence of the Board of Philadelphia Quaker Women, 1964-66 (gaps). Also includes a carbon copy of a letter describing a visit to the White House and meeting with J.F. Kennedy (1963).
Physical Description1 folder
As compiled, loose documents. Small collection of correspondence and reports.
Physical Description1 folder
Notebook with notes, meditations, and plans for educational work.
Physical Description1 folder
Primarily philosophical and religious musings as well as notes for her lecture on First Day Schools.
Physical Description1 folder
Published articles, notes on workshops/lectures, and drafts. Of particular interest is a summary of a Sea Girt Seminar led by both Paul and Betty in the summer of 1934.
Physical Description1 folder
Primarily Wayfarer, Pendle Hill, and Religious Education Bulletin. It is not clear whether some of the material was written by Furnas or was just collected by her.
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript (typescript carbon copy), probably assembled by Howard Harrop Sargent (hhs) whose son married a Watson, relationship to Elizabeth Furnas undetermined. Of interest is a section on Uncle Len" who graduated from the Naval Acedemy in 1898 and guarded the Panama Canal in World War I.
Physical Description1 folder
Undated photograph, probably of Women's Problems Group.
Physical Description1 folder