Anthony family collection, 1844-1945

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Summary

Creators:
Anthony, Susan B. (Susan Brownell), 1820-1906
Abstract:
This collection primarily contains letters and some manuscripts concerning the family affairs and women's suffrage activities of the family of American women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906).
Extent:
1.46 Linear Feet (5 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Anthony family collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection of 162 pieces contains primarily letters and some manuscripts concerning Anthony family affairs and woman suffrage activities, dating from 1844 to 1945. This group of papers was assembled by Una R. Winter, Director, and Alice L. Park, Associate Director, of the Susan B. Anthony Memorial Committee of California.

There are four large letterbooks which contain letterpress copies of approximately 1372 pages of correspondence written by Susan B. Anthony's cousin Joseph Anthony (Box 4). There is also an autograph speech of Susan B. Anthony (AF 79) and a manuscript by Joseph Anthony titled "A Trip to the Bahama Islands" (AF 76). Other subjects included in the collection are the Battle of Osawatamie and ideas and discussion about populism, racism, and religion. There are several letters which discuss a bust of Susan B. Anthony by the artist Lorado Taft, and one letter promoting a recent volume of The History of Woman Suffrage (AF 28).

Anthony family members represented in the collection include Susan B. Anthony and her relatives: cousin Jessie Anthony (1856-1918) and Jessie's father, Joseph Anthony (1829-1897), and grandfather John Anthony (Susan's uncle); niece Lucy E. Anthony (1859-1944); second cousin Katherine Boyles; niece Maude Anthony Koehler (1865-1950); and nephew Frank Anthony Mosher.

Significant figures related to the history of woman suffrage represented in the collection include: Susan B. Anthony, Anna Howard Shaw, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Stone Blackwell, and Carrie Chapman Catt. There are also some letters to and about the artist Lorado Taft and one letter by Frederick Douglass.

Note: 49 original letters [AF 18 (1-43) and AF 24 (1-6)] written by Susan B. Anthony to Jessie Anthony and Carrie Chapman Catt were removed and placed in Box 5, which is restricted. Typewritten copies of these letters have been filed in Box 1 of the collection for research use.

In Box 3, there are two loose-leaf binders and one envelope of typescripts of Susan B. Anthony letters from collections held in other libraries. These materials are from the Anna Dann Mason collection (47 letters), Sophia Smith collection (58 letters) and Alma Lutz collection (52 letters).

Biographical / historical:

Various members of the family of American women's rights activist Susan B. (Susan Brownell) Anthony were active nineteenth- and twentieth-century reformers, but she stood out among them. Although early involved in the temperance and anti-slavery movements, her main concern became woman suffrage. Most of her time was spent in lecturing and campaigning. She was also an officer in the National Woman Suffrage Association and the National American Woman Suffrage Association.

Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) was the daughter of Daniel Anthony (1794-1862) and Lucy Read Anthony (1793-1880). Her siblings included Guelma Anthony McLean (1818-1873); Hannah Anthony Mosher (1821-1877); Daniel Read Anthony (1824-1904); Mary Stafford Anthony (1827-1907); Eliza T. Anthony (1832-1834); and Jacob Merritt Anthony (1834-1900).

Acquisition information:
Gifts of Susan B. Anthony Memorial Committee of California, 1944-1953.
Processing information:

Processed by Jennifer L. Martinez in September, 2000. In July 2024, Mari Khasmanyan updated the collection's container information, rehoused materials formerly in box 3B into box 4, and updated the linear feet of the collection.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in the following manner:

  1. Correspondence, 1844-1897 (Box 1)
  2. Correspondence, 1900-1945 (Box 2)
  3. Bound volumes; copies of correspondence (Box 3)
  4. Joseph Anthony letter books (Box 4)
  5. Selected original Susan B. Anthony letters (Box 5 - restricted)
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

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

RESTRICTED: Box 5 is not available for paging, please see duplicates in Boxes 1 and 2. Please contact Reader Services 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]. Anthony family collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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