Papers of M. Carey Thomas in the Bryn Mawr College Archives: Reel Listing

              Papers of M. Carey Thomas
Reel Listing
1
Thomas, M. Carey.
M. Carey Thomas Personal Papers: Volumes 1-13.
1853-1874
The volumes microfilmed on Reel 1 afford a vivid
and evocative record of Carey Thomas's infancy,
childhood, and youth. Comprised of her earliest
diaries and notebooks (1864-1878) supplemented by
two of her mother's journals, these volumes
document in unusual detail the events and influences
of Thomas's formative years.Volumes 1 and 2 are
diaries of Mary Whitall Thomas, Carey Thomas's
mother. Volume 1 (1853-1883) is essentially a
journal of her spiritual and devotional life; its tone is
confessional and self-critical, and its fund of factual
detail is sparse. Her rebellion against the restrictions
of women's lives and her struggle to bring her tastes
and aspirations into conformity with the attitudes of
her parents and with her own religious beliefs are
reflected. The second journal (1857-1876) is a record
of the Thomas children's early years and early
development. Mary Thomas lovingly chronicles
births and deaths, the health, growth, education,
recreation and amusement, precocious behavior and
remarks, and the personalities and characters of each
of her children. A lengthy account of Carey's nearly
fatal burn and subsequent convalescence begins with
an entry dated January 1864. Although the
childhoods of all ten Thomas children are recounted
in this volume, it is unusually rich in detail and
observation about M. Carey Thomas, the eldest,
beginning with her birth and continuing until she was
a student at Cornell.Volume 2, along with a few
subsequent volumes, is interspersed with
correspondence, in this case letters written to the
Thomas children. These letters have been
microfilmed where they occur in the volume. In
addition, the letters to and from Carey Thomas have
been xeroxed, so that copies could be filed and
microfilmed with her incoming and out-going
correspondence.The first six of M. Carey Thomas's
diaries (Volumes 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11) complement her
mother's account of her childhood and youth,
covering the years 1864-1878. Volumes 4 and 5,
which purport to be diaries from her 7th and 8th
years, were written by her aunt Hannah Whitall
Smith and her mother respectively. They contain
brief, somewhat idealized accounts of visits with
relatives, her studies, relations with her siblings, and
religious activities. The first diary in Thomas's hand
(no. 6), a small volume with a handful of entries,
begins with the endearing resolution: "I am goin to be
more gentel to the boys this year; I have asked
Heavenly father to help me."Volumes 8, 10, and 11,
written when she was in her early teens, are far more
substantive, supplying insight into Thomas's
developing personality and temperament. They
reflect the conflict between her tomboyishness and
her developing intellect as well as her relationships
with her friends, parents, siblings. Her feminism as
early as her thirteenth year is firmly documented, and
her longing for education, independence, and
excitement is a theme which recurs and strengthens
throughout the succeeding volumes. The widely
quoted statement of her feminist goals: "If I ever live
and grow up my one aim... shall be and is to show
that a woman can learn..." (Feb. 26, 1871) occurs
along with other striking statements of the impact on
her life of the traditional restrictions on women's
activities and options in these volumes.The remaining