Mary Whitall Worthington Papers

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Mary Whitall Worthington (d. 1912) was a graduate of Bryn Mawr College class of 1910 and the president of the Bryn Mawr chapter of the Woman’s Equal Suffrage League. She was the niece of the College’s second president, M. Carey Thomas. After graduating from Bryn Mawr, Worthington attended Johns Hopkins Medical School but died as the result of congenital heart failure in January 1912. This collection primarily includes Worthington’s diaries, covering her time at Bryn Mawr College and her first year of medical school at Johns Hopkins University and interspersed with photographs, correspondence, and ephemera. They are extensive and eloquent reflections on Worthington’s life as a young woman attending college in the early 20th century. The collection also includes Worthington’s notes, a speech written for a Suffrage League meeting, and a handwritten play.

Collection Guide for the Mary Whitall Worthington papers
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16 items [showing 1 - 16]
Letter to Mary Worthington from M. Carey Thomas, November 5, 1911
Title:
Letter to Mary Worthington from M. Carey Thomas, 1911
Description:
M. Carey Thomas writes to her neice, Mary Worthington, regarding planned visits from family members while Mary is home from school recovering from her illness.
Date:
1911-11-05
Collection:
Mary Whitall Worthington Papers, In Her Own Right, Bryn Mawr College
Mary Worthington diary, 1909-1910
Title:
Mary Worthington diary, 1909-1910
Description:
Mary Whitall Worthington's diary from around the time of her senior year at Bryn Mawr College, 1909-1910. The diary begins with a description of Miss Worthington's summer vacation in which she goes first to Baltimore to visit with family and friends, and then to New York before sailing to Europe on board the RMS Lusitania. In England, she attends a number of parties and social engagements and makes new friends. She goes to the World's Student Christian Federation Meeting in Oxford and is moved by the religious devotion she witnesses. Worthington is particularly interested in the suffrage movement, and while in England she has tea with Inez and Vida Milholland. They attend a "suffragette raid" on the House of Commons together, and Miss Worthington gives a detailed description of the demonstration and includes newspaper clippings with her own thoughts. Later in the year, when Emmeline Pankhurst gives a lecture at the Merion Cricket Club and tours Bryn Mawr, Worthington is able to speak with her about the movement and privately marvel that she dressed in purple, white, and green -- suffragette colors. This diary is filled with Miss Worthington's high praise of her friends, descriptions of hockey games, club lectures, play and glee club rehearsals, and traditions such as rush night, Lantern Night, May Day (for which she was elected the May Queen), and bonfire night. Throughout her diary, Miss Worthington talks about her relatives, in particular her aunt, M. Carey Thomas. She also includes programs from events, exam questions, drawings and photographs, and letters from family members. Miss Worthington also includes an index of topics she discusses at the back of the diary.
Date:
1909 - (approximate)1910
Collection:
Mary Whitall Worthington Papers, In Her Own Right, Bryn Mawr College
Notes from the Bryn Mawr College Equal Suffrage League chapter, 1910
Title:
Notes from the Bryn Mawr College Equal Suffrage League chapter, 1910
Date:
1910
Collection:
Mary Whitall Worthington Papers, In Her Own Right, Bryn Mawr College
Mary Worthington partial diary entry, approximately 1906
Title:
Mary Worthington partial diary entry, approximately 1906
Description:
Partial loose-leaf diary entry by Mary Worthington, undated. Mary mentions visiting with her Aunt M. Carey Thomas and Miss Garrett.
Date:
(approximate)1906
Collection:
Mary Whitall Worthington Papers, In Her Own Right, Bryn Mawr College
A list of books read by Mary Worthington, June-October 1910
Title:
A list of books read by Mary Worthington, June-October 1910
Date:
1910
Collection:
Mary Whitall Worthington Papers, In Her Own Right, Bryn Mawr College
Notes or a journal entry by Mary Worthington discussing Bryn Mawr College faculty.
Title:
Notes or a journal entry by Mary Worthington discussing Bryn Mawr College faculty.
Date:
(approximate)1906 - (approximate)1910
Collection:
Mary Whitall Worthington Papers, In Her Own Right, Bryn Mawr College
An untitled play by Mary Worthington
Title:
An untitled play by Mary Worthington
Date:
(approximate)1906 - (approximate)1910
Collection:
Mary Whitall Worthington Papers, In Her Own Right, Bryn Mawr College
Mary Worthington's course and exam notes.
Title:
Mary Worthington's course and exam notes.
Date:
1910
Collection:
Mary Whitall Worthington Papers, In Her Own Right, Bryn Mawr College
Mary Worthington diary, 1908-1909
Title:
Mary Worthington diary, 1908-1909
Description:
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.
Date:
1908 - (approximate)1909
Collection:
Mary Whitall Worthington Papers, In Her Own Right, Bryn Mawr College
Speech from a Suffrage League meeting.
Title:
Speech from a Suffrage League meeting.
Date:
(approximate)1906 - (approximate)1910
Collection:
Mary Whitall Worthington Papers, In Her Own Right, Bryn Mawr College
Mary Worthington diary, 1907-1908
Title:
Mary Worthington diary, 1907-1908
Description:
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.
Date:
1907 - (approximate)1908
Collection:
Mary Whitall Worthington Papers, In Her Own Right, Bryn Mawr College
Index cards with excerpts from the Laws of the State of New York
Title:
Index cards with excerpts from the Laws of the State of New York
Description:
Index cards with excerpts from the Laws of the State of New York, including "Night Courts; separate court for women" and "Medical examination of prostitutes."
Date:
(approximate)1910
Collection:
Mary Whitall Worthington Papers, In Her Own Right, Bryn Mawr College
Mary Worthington diary, 1910
Title:
Mary Worthington diary, 1910
Description:
Mary Worthington's diary. Includes various clippings, photographs, and letters to Worthington from her friend Kate regarding her marriage.
Date:
1910
Collection:
Mary Whitall Worthington Papers, In Her Own Right, Bryn Mawr College
Public ledger, June 3, 1910
Title:
Public ledger, 1910
Description:
Clippings from the Public Ledger newspaper, June 3, 1910, featuring articles about President William Howard Taft speaking at the 1910 Bryn Mawr College commencement ceremony. Front page includes an image of Taft greeting M. Carey Thomas.
Date:
1910-06-03
Collection:
Mary Whitall Worthington Papers, In Her Own Right, Bryn Mawr College
Mary Worthington diary, 1907
Title:
Mary Worthington diary, 1907
Description:
Mary Whitall Worthington's diary covering her freshman year at Bryn Mawr in the spring of 1907. Mary recorded descriptions of many College traditions including May Day, her class dinner, a bonfire, and the garden party. She writes about attending athletic events and plays at both Bryn Mawr and Haverford, spending time with friends, and the early stages of working with the Bryn Mawr chapter of the College Women's Equal Suffrage League. This diary also includes a recounting of her summer vacation, giving a good idea of her several groups of friends. She discusses her interest in biology as well as her advocacy for women's suffrage and social reform. Throughout her diary, Mary includes photographs of friends, place cards and programs from events, drawings and poems by friends, and a letter from her brother.
Date:
1907
Collection:
Mary Whitall Worthington Papers, In Her Own Right, Bryn Mawr College
Notes or a journal entry by Mary Worthington discussing college coursework.
Title:
Notes or a journal entry by Mary Worthington discussing college coursework.
Date:
(approximate)1906 - (approximate)1910
Collection:
Mary Whitall Worthington Papers, In Her Own Right, Bryn Mawr College