College Women

Dorothy Burr Thompson’s post-college diary in which she writes about her travels.

Dorothy Burr Thompson’s post-college diary in which she writes about her travels.

Mary Whitall Worthington's diary from her junior year at Bryn Mawr College. The diary begins during her summer vacation while she is visiting friends and family in Europe. She describes visiting Newnham College and sneaking into play rehearsals, hearing engaging speakers on women's suffrage, and traveling around Ireland. Miss Worthington has a deep interest in the Women's Suffrage Movement and this passion can be seen throughout her diary. During her junior year at Bryn Mawr she is the President of the College Equal Suffrage League and attends the 40th Annual Convention of the North American Woman Suffrage Association in Buffalo, New York, in October of 1908. She writes about the experience of attending the convention, of hearing M. Carey Thomas speak, of meeting other women dedicated to the cause, and of her unfavorable opinion of Harriot Stanton Blatch. Her diary includes accounts of other meetings of the Bryn Mawr chapter of the College Equal Suffrage League and her thoughts on the many talks she attends regarding suffrage, including two (one given at Bryn Mawr) by Anna Howard Shaw. She also writes about playing on the hockey team (including a particularly memorable game between the classes of 1909 and 1910 played in "fancy dress"), performing in and and attending plays and other cultural performances, and about traditions including rush night and the garden party. Miss Worthington writes about her different friend groups and their interactions, giving more detail especially as more of them get engaged and some experience the loss of loved ones. She talks about her relatives, particularly her aunt, M. Carey Thomas. Throughout her diary, Mary Whitall Worthington includes photographs of friends, programs from events, exam questions, drawings, and letters from family members. Miss Worthington also includes an index of topics she discusses at the back of the diary.

Nathalie Gookin's diary for the year 1917 contains similar accounts and descriptions of her life to those in her letters. Every day she faithfully records the big and small events of the spring semester freshman year and fall semester sophomore year at Bryn Mawr College such as studying, getting a liberty bond, and the US declaration of war on Germany.

Mary Whitall Worthington's diary during her time at Bryn Mawr College from 1907 to 1908. In it she gives vivid descriptions of her day to day life including interesting lectures she attends, time with friends, class plays, and traditions such as rush night, lantern night, May Day, and her class dinner. She discusses her extracurricular activities including playing on the hockey team and her involvement with the College Women's Equal Suffrage League. Miss Worthington writes of her interest in philosophy and pens an address (possibly for a meeting of the College Women's Equal Suffrage League) entitled "Women and Progress." In this diary, Miss Worthington occasionally expresses concern about her grades and academic performance and mentions her health and repeated stays in the infirmary and visits to doctors. She talks about her relatives, particularly her aunt, M. Carey Thomas, and her brother Babe who attends Haverford College (class of 1911). Throughout her diary, Mary Whitall Worthington includes photographs of friends, programs from events, exam questions, drawings, and letters from family members. Miss Worthington also keeps a list of the books she has read throughout the year at the front of the diary and an index of topics she discusses at the back.

Nathalie Gookin's diary for the year 1918 contain similar content and reflections to those in her letters during the spring of her sophomore year and fall of her junior year at Bryn Mawr College. Every day she records the events in her life, including paper clippings of poems about the First World War.

Dorothy Burr Thompson's diary, in which she writes about her sophomore through junior years at Bryn Mawr College. She records her impressions of and interactions with friends, classmates, and teachers. She discusses books and authors she is reading (Wilde, Hedda Gabler, Moliere, the Iliad, the Odyssey) while rarely making the distinction between classwork and books she reads for pleasure. She writes of trips into Philadelphia to see the ballet, opera, concerts, as well as performances at Bryn Mawr. She also discusses her struggle to settle on a course of study, her concerns about being at the top of her class, and her anxieties about developing and maintaining friendships.

The diary of Helen Griffith, documenting her time at Bryn Mawr College. In it she describes her day to day schedule, including classes she did and did not attend, gossip about friends, and her meal schedule. Occasionally she offers her opinion on whats happening at the college. There are occasional time lapses in the latter part of the diary documenting her post graduate life.

Lucy Taxis Shoe Meritt's diary from the spring semester of her senior year (January 1927) through the fall semester of her first year as a graduate student (December 1927), all at Bryn Mawr College. In this diary she discusses her coursework and exams; the SGA (Self-Government Association) and class meetings; and extra-curricular activities like athletics and folk and Morris dancing. She also discusses taking photographs and working on the class book, and Bryn Mawr traditions including May Day and Bonfire Night; and includes details about Commencement, Garden Party, and her final time singing on the senior steps. The diary also includes descriptions of her daily activities during school vacations and her family's move back to Austin, Texas from Philadelphia and their efforts to fix up their new house. Throughout her diary, Meritt describes her interactions with friends, family, classmates, and professors. Meritt is reflective in the first half of this diary and writes about how much Bryn Mawr has meant to her. The latter half reverts back to her everyday descriptions of life at school, attending classes and lectures, interactions with friends, etc., but she does mention missing some friends from the class of 1927 who she no longer sees on a daily basis.