Correspondence, 1881-1915

This series consists of letters written by Charlotte and Mary Ely between 1881-1915 and two letters to Charlotte Ely from Mary D. Uline dated May 8 and June 25, 1913. The Ely correspondence includes original letters and copies of letters printed in newspapers and missionary periodicals. These documents are usually addressed to relatives and friends, including a cousin, Grace A. Ely, and a Mount Holyoke classmate, Anna C. Edwards, Class of 1859. The letters describe the Ely's work at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, Bitlis, and comment on social and political conditions in Turkey, such as an earthquake in 1907 and Turkish attacks on Armenians from the 1890s through 1915. The Elys also mention the work of other missionaries in the region, including several Mount Holyoke alumnae: Grace H. Knapp, Class of 1893, Lizzie Cobleigh Cole, x-Class of 1870, Frances A. and Helen Norton, Class of 1863, and Martha W. Tinker Raynolds, Class of 1859.