Jean Scobie Davis Papers

Bryn Mawr College logo

Jean Scobie Davis (1892-1985) was a graduate of Bryn Mawr College class of 1914. After graduating, Davis traveled with her family to Neuchâtel, Switzerland, with the intention of studying French in preparation for taking graduate courses in Paris. The outbreak of World War I altered her plans and she instead studied economics and international law at the University of Geneva during the winter of 1914-1915. In March 1915, Davis left Switzerland for Paris and after a brief stay returned to the United States in July. Davis went on to teach economics and sociology at Agnes Scott College, Vassar College, Pierce College, Wells College, and the American Women’s College in Beirut. While working at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Georgia, Davis developed an interest in prison reform, particularly in women’s prisons and reformatories for teenagers. She served on the Board of Visitors of the New York State Reformatory for Women at Bedford Hills, New York, for thirty-six years. This collection features letters written by Jean Scobie Davis to her parents and friends during her junior and senior years at Bryn Mawr College through her time in Geneva and Paris.

Collection Guide for the Jean Scobie Davis Papers
Browsing as anonymous (not verified)
52 items [showing 41 - 52]

Pages

Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to her Aunt Annie, October 19, 1914
Title:
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to her Aunt Annie, October 19, 1914
Description:
Davis writes to her Aunt Annie, thanking her for her correspondence, which included the gift of a handkerchief. She provides details about the Student Christian Association Conference that she attended, and talks about the attitudes that people at the conference had towards the Great War. She also writes of preparing for university classes, and of renewing her permit of residence in Geneva.
Date:
1914-10-19
Collection:
Jean Scobie Davis Papers
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to her father, February 10, 1915
Title:
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to her father, February 10, 1915
Description:
Davis writes to her father about needing more time to plan a thesis, of being able to use the archives in Geneva, and of learning more about the area's history. She also laments the lack of history instruction at her university.
Date:
1915-02-10
Collection:
Jean Scobie Davis Papers
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to Katharine Huntington, July 13, 1913
Title:
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to Katharine Huntington, 1913
Description:
Davis writes of her shock over her "friend" Martha's bad habits and manners. She shares her relief that she herself has outgrown some of the poor manners she sees within Martha. She also writes of her plans for the rest of her stay.
Date:
1913-07-13
Collection:
Jean Scobie Davis Papers
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to Anne, November 10, 1914
Title:
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to Anne, 1914
Description:
Davis responds to a letter from a friend from Bryn Mawr College. She expresses displeasure over policies and decisions that M. Carey Thomas is trying to enact, which she feels go against individual liberties, stating that she wishes Thomas could be ousted from the College. She also writes of taking classes at the law university in Geneva, and of her disappointment at not being able to visit a friend in Berlin, due to the War.
Date:
1914-11-10
Collection:
Jean Scobie Davis Papers
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to her father, April 07, 1915
Title:
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to her father, 1915
Description:
Davis writes to her father, telling him that she has set her sights on working in charity while she gains the experience she deems necessary in order to be a successful writer, which is her true passion. She states that she would like to study sociology while working with immigrants when she is back home in the United States, and plans to do relief work while in Europe over the summer.
Date:
1915-04-07
Collection:
Jean Scobie Davis Papers
Letter from Tanke Bollerd to Jean Scobie Davis, March 1, 1915
Title:
Letter from Tanke Bollerd to Jean Scobie Davis, 1915
Description:
Davis's German friend writes to her, giving her reports of the war from a German perspective.
Date:
1915-03-01
Collection:
Jean Scobie Davis Papers
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to her father, January 11, 1915
Title:
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to her father, 1915
Description:
Davis sends a letter to her father which originally included a letter that she received from a German friend, in which her friend had apparently "lost her moral sense", asking that he send it back after reading it. She also gives details of war-based atrocities which had been committed against Belgians by the occupying German army, as relayed by the son of a friend who worked in Belgium as a pastor. She also passes along stories of war-torn areas heard from other sources which she deems trustworthy.
Date:
1915-01-11
Collection:
Jean Scobie Davis Papers
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to Katharine Huntington, June 25, 1913
Title:
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to Katharine Huntington, 1913
Description:
Davis writes of finding clothing and trinkets of her grandparents' in her aunt's attic. In a second letter, she writes of her time in Wooster, Ohio, and how bored she is becoming with her vacation.
Date:
1913-06-25
Collection:
Jean Scobie Davis Papers
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to Pen, undated
Title:
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to Pen, undated
Description:
Davis writes a short letter asking the recipient to send instructions on how to use the fountain pen her father left for her. She also makes observations about the student population at the university she will be attending, and writes of enjoying the fall weather while it is still nice.
Date:
(approximate)1914
Collection:
Jean Scobie Davis Papers
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to her mother, June 29, 1913
Title:
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to her mother, 1913
Description:
Davis writes of her visit to the library at the College of Wooster, comparing it to that of her own college's library. She also writes of attending lectures at the summer school, and remarks on things she finds peculiar about her hosts.
Date:
1913-06-29
Collection:
Jean Scobie Davis Papers
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to her father, April 19, 1915
Title:
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to her father, 1915
Description:
Davis writes to her father of time spent with her mother in Paris and visiting with friends. She also writes of changing her mind about staying in Europe for the summer, planning to work on writing over the summer instead. The second half of the letter is from her mother to her father.
Date:
1915-04-19
Collection:
Jean Scobie Davis Papers
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to her mother, July 03, 1913
Title:
Letter from Jean Scobie Davis to her mother, 1913
Description:
Davis writes to her mother of her travels to Chicago, and of time spent with her hosts, the Hursts, and their friends. She writes of Illinois being an equal suffrage state, and of her friend Beth's desire to vote in an upcoming election. She writes of enjoying Chicago, and of seeing the prairie lands for July 4th.
Date:
1913-07-03
Collection:
Jean Scobie Davis Papers

Pages