Grace Webb Tenny papers

Collection

Identifier: MS 0612

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Grace Webb Tenny Papers contain a scrapbook, correspondence, memorabilia, biographical information, and photographs. The scrapbook, compiled as a Mount Holyoke College student from 1901-1904, contains programs, invitations, notes, menus, and photographs of students, teachers, and the campus. Correspondence primarily consists of letters written by Tenny between 1900-1907. Her letters from 1900-1903 concern her activities as a Mount Holyoke student, particularly her social life and her involvement with the College's chapter of the Young Women's Christian Association. Letters to a Mount Holyoke classmate, Mary W. Turner, date from August 20, 1904-August 19, 1907. They describe her preparations for missionary work, wedding plans, experiences as a missionary in Japan, and the birth of her daughter. There is also a copy of her December 26, 1906 letter published in a collection of class letters by members of the Class of 1904 describing her life in Japan. Memorabilia (1901-1904) consists of s souvenir ribbon from the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, New York in 1901, a Junior Prom program, a copy of the College Directory for 1903-1904, a menu for a Class of 1904 breakfast (probably on Senior Mountain Day), and publications concerning the 1904 commencement ceremony. Biographical Information (1909-1910) consists of tributes to Tenny after her death and a copy of the memorial service for her. Photographs (1904) consist of two copies of a photograph from 1904 showing Tenny in her cap and gown.

Dates

1900-1907
Majority of material found within 1900 - 1904

Conditions Governing Access

Unrestricted

Biographical Note

Grace Esselstyn Webb Tenny, Mount Holyoke graduate and missionary in Japan, was born in Rochester, New York on February 16, 1883 to Henry and Ella Thomas Webb. She graduated from the Rochester High School in 1900 and enrolled in Mount Holyoke College that same year, receiving a B.A. in 1904. On May 11, 1905 she married the Reverend Charles B. Tenny. The Tennys went to Japan in October of that year, where they served as missionaries stationed in Kobe, Japan. They had one daughter, Ruth Hana Tenny, who graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1929. Grace Webb Tenny died on September 27, 1910 in Yokohama, Japan.

Extent

2 boxes (1904 Webb)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Tenny, Grace Esselstyn Webb, 1883-1910; student and missionary. Mount Holyoke College graduate, 1904. Papers consist of a scrapbook, correspondence, memorabilia, biographical information and photographs, chiefly concerning her life as a student at Mount Holyoke.