Mary Lyon collection

Collection — Folder: Register and guides, Summaries of correspondence, Typed transcripts of selected letters

Identifier: MS 0500

Staff Only

Birthplace of Mary Lyon

Scope and Contents

The Mary Lyon Collection consists of letters by and to educator Mary Lyon, her published and unpublished writings, biographical information about her and memorabilia associated with her, books that were in her personal library, materials about the Lyon family and the Massachusetts towns closely associated with her early life, and portraits and other likenesses of her. The collection primarily documents Lyon's activities as a pioneering educator of women and her work as the founder and first principal of Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. Correspondence (1818-1849, n.d.) contains letters by and to relatives, friends, and colleagues concerning her work, particularly at Mount Holyoke, and aspects of her personal life. Correspondents include educators Zilpah Grant Banister and Eunice C. Cowles, L.T. Guilford, and other Mount Holyoke graduates, Lyon's niece, Abigail Moore Burgess, missionary Justin Perkins, and Laban and Elizabeth Wheaton, founders of Wheaton Female Seminary. Writings (circa 1827-1849, n.d.) include pamphlets that Lyon wrote to publicize Mount Holyoke, the Missionary Offering (1843) which reflects her support of missionary work, and many unpublished documents such as her student compositions, her notes for lectures, and her journal describing travels in Pennsylvania, New York State, and Michigan in 1833. Notes on Lyon's Remarks (circa 1837-1849) were compiled by Mount Holyoke students and teachers and reflect her views about religion, the purpose of education, character, and other subjects. Biographical Material and Memorabilia (circa 1778-) consists of articles, newspaper clippings, and papers about Lyon's life, jewelry, textiles, and other items that belonged to her and others, and items once used to furnish the Mary Lyon Room at Mount Holyoke. These materials include information about the many posthumous honors conferred upon her. Lyon's Library (1809-1847) consists of books that she owned and includes writings by Catharine Esther Beecher, Amos Eaton, Edward Hitchcock, and John Milton. Lyon Family materials (circa 1836-) chiefly consist of published and unpublished genealogies about various branches of the family both in the United States and Europe. There is also a photograph album that appears to contain portraits of Lyon's brother, Aaron E. Lyon, and his relatives. Places Associated with Lyon (circa 1849-) consists of publications, notes, postcards, and photographs concerning Ashfield, Buckland, and Byfield, Massachusetts. Portraits and Other Likenesses (1832-) contains prints of a daguerreotype, a ferrotype, and paintings of Lyon taken or completed during her lifetime as well as later paintings and drawings of her. Lyon's correspondence and writings were microfilmed in 1987 and the collection includes four sets of the film and related user guides. Oversize (Folio) Material (circa 1827-) in the collection is boxed separately.

Material from this collection is available in an online digital format.

Dates

ca. 1778-

Conditions Governing Access

Unrestricted.

Conditions Governing Use

Use of the collection is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.)

Biographical Note

Mary Lyon, educator and founder of Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now Mount Holyoke College), was born on February 28, 1797, in Buckland, Massachusetts. Her parents were Aaron Lyon, a farmer, and Jemima Shepard Lyon. After her father's death in 1802 and her mother's remarriage 1810, Lyon remained on the family farm as a housekeeper for her brother. She started teaching in 1814 and continued her own education by attending Sanderson Academy in Ashfield, Massachusetts, Amherst (Massachusetts) Academy, and Byfield (Massachusetts) Seminary. She opened the Buckland (Massachusetts) Female School in 1824 and taught the summer term classes at Adams Female Academy in Derry (now East Derry), New Hampshire with Zilpah Grant. In 1828, she began teaching full time at Ipswich (Massachusetts) Female Seminary. During this period, she also attended lectures at Amherst College and spent a few weeks studying at what is now Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In 1832, she began developing plans for a new school for adult women that would own its own property and not be a for-profit venture. She spent the summer of 1833 traveling through Pennsylvania and New York State to Detroit, Michigan purchasing scientific equipment for Ipswich Seminary and visiting schools and colleges. She resigned from the Ipswich school in 1834, returning later to serve as acting principal during Grant's temporary absence, and assisted with the planning of Wheaton Female Seminary (now Wheaton College) in Norton, Massachusetts. With the help of male advisers she began raising funds for a school that was chartered on February 11, 1836 as Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Mount Holyoke opened on November 8, 1837 and Lyon served as principal for almost twelve years. She also taught chemistry classes and organized the domestic work system by which students and teachers took care of cooking and housekeeping chores in order to avoid the expense of hiring paid staff. Lyon died of erysipelas, an acute streptococcus disease of the skin and subcutaneous tissue, on March 5, 1849 and is buried on the Mount Holyoke grounds.

Extent

25.95 Linear Feet (13 full Hollinger, 2 half Hollinger, 3 record storage, and 5 specialty boxes; 92 volumes; 2 folders)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Lyon, Mary, 1797-1849; Educator and founder of Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now Mount Holyoke College). Contains correspondence, published and unpublished writings, notes on Lyon's remarks, biographical material and memorabilia, books that were in Lyon's library, material relating to the Lyon family and to Ashfield, Buckland, and Byfield, Massachusetts, portraits and likeness of Lyon, and microfilm of her correspondence and writings. The collection documents aspects of her personal life, including her studies at Byfield Seminary and Sanderson Academy, as well as her work at Ipswich Female Seminary and particularly Mount Holyoke Female Seminary.

Processing Information

Processed by Elaine D. Trehub, 1987 and Patricia J. Albright, 2007.

Subjects

Ashfield (Mass.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Buckland (Mass.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Byfield (Mass.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
DVDs Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
Detroit (Mich.) -- Description and travel Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Erie Canal (N.Y.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Missionaries -- United States Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Mount Holyoke College Manuscript Collections Subject Source: Local sources
Mount Holyoke Female Seminary -- Recollections Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
New York (State) -- Description and travel Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Pennsylvania -- Description and travel Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Women -- Education (Higher) -- United States -- History Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Women -- Religious life -- Massachusetts Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Women educators -- United States Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Women teachers -- United States Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
audiocassettes Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
correspondence Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
diaries Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
genealogies (histories) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
jewelry Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
lecture notes Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
microfilms Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
notebooks Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
photograph albums Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
photographs Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
portraits Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
postage stamps Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
postcards Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
reminiscences Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
sermons Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
textiles (visual works) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
tintypes (photographs) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
wills Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus