Doris K. Eldred papers, 1947-2005 (bulk 1947-1948)

Summary

Creators:

Eldred, Doris K., 1925-2022

Abstract:

Materials related to Doris K. Eldred's time as a teacher in China, including correspondence, photographs and photograph albums, teaching materials, and some collected ephemera.

Extent:

3.33 Linear Feet (3 boxes)

Language:

Materials are in English and Chinese.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Doris K. Eldred papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Correspondence, photographs and photograph albums, and teaching materials related to Doris K. Eldred's time as a teacher in China, as well as art and ephemera she collected. Correspondence includes letters she wrote to her parents in San Marino, California, and letters she received from friends and family, many detailing her experiences in China and the subsequent evacuation. Two photograph albums document Eldred's experience sailing to China from San Francisco and her life and activities there. Teaching materials include a gradebook and some documentation of school activities. Also included are a few small artworks she acquired.

Biographical / historical:

Doris K. Eldred was an American teacher. She was born May 5, 1925, to Delos and Helen Eldred, and grew up in San Marino, California, graduating from South Pasadena High School and Occidental College. In 1947, Eldred traveled to Bejing, China, to teach at the Peking American School, a day school for the children of missionaries and children whose families were in China for business. A year later, however, she and other Americans were evacuated by the US Navy when fighting escalated between the Kuomintang government and the Chinese Communist Party during the Chinese Civil War. After evacuation, Eldred spent the summer in Europe and taught in Italy and England before returning to the United States. Back in California, Eldred taught in Temple City and volunteered at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena. She died April 28, 2022.

Acquisition information:

Gift of Karen El-Kara, April 2023.

Processing information:

Processed at the time of accessioning by Kelly Kress in June 2023.

Arrangement:

Arranged by type of material.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related resources

Separated material:

A copy of Samuel Victor Constant's Calls, Sounds and Merchandise of the Peking Street Peddlers was transferred to The Huntington Library's Rare Book Collection. The volume is individually cataloged and can be found by searching the Huntington Library Catalog.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Americans -- China -- History -- 20th century
Teachers, Foreign -- China
Letters (correspondence)
Photograph albums
Photographs
Scrapbooks

Names:

Peking American School
Eldred, Doris K., 1925-2022

Places:

China -- Description and travel
China -- History -- Civil War, 1945-1949
China -- Social life and customs

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Doris K. Eldred papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:

Huntington Library, Manuscript Collections

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, CA 91108, US

Contact:

(626) 405-2191

reference@huntington.org

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