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Mary Eleanor Bissell Papers: Finding Aid
mssBissell papers  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Overview of the Collection
  • Access
  • Administrative Information
  • Biographical Note
  • Scope and Content
  • Arrangement
  • Indexing Terms

  • Overview of the Collection

    Title: Mary Eleanor Bissell Papers
    Dates (inclusive): 1738-1958
    Collection Number: mssBissell papers
    Collector: Bissell, Mary Eleanor.
    Extent: approximately 160 items in 1 box
    Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Manuscripts Department
    The Huntington Library
    1151 Oxford Road
    San Marino, California 91108
    Phone: (626) 405-2203
    Fax: (626) 449-5720
    Email: reference@huntington.org
    URL: http://www.huntington.org
    Abstract: This collection chiefly contains correspondence and documents created by the Connecticut ancestors of Pasadena, California, socialite Mary Eleanor Bissell, the most prominent of whom are her great-grandparents, Eleanor Mills Bissell and Thomas Bissell (fl. 1796-1848).
    Language: English.

    Access

    Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

    Administrative Information

    Publication Rights

    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]. Mary Eleanor Bissell Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Provenance

    The material was acquired from the estate of Eleanor Bissell through the courtesy of the Pasadena Art Museum, August 2, 1963.

    Biographical Note

    Eleanor Bissell was born circa 1870 in Winsor, Connecticut, the daughter of Thomas H. Bissell, banker and land owner. About 1924 she moved to Pasadena, California, where she was active in prominent, social groups until her death circa 1962.

    Scope and Content

    This collection chiefly contains correspondence and documents created by the Connecticut ancestors of Pasadena, California, socialite Mary Eleanor Bissell, the most prominent of whom are her great-grandparents, Eleanor Mills Bissell and Thomas Bissell (active 1796-1848). The collection contains around forty pieces of correspondence relating to her great-grandparents as well as over a hundred items relating to the Bissell family business. The business papers include court summons, bills of sale, receipts, promissory notes, quit-claim deeds and an account book, all dated between 1738 and 1836. The collection also contains documents on the genealogy of the Bissell family in Windsor, Connecticut, as well as eighteen photographs of family and friends.
    A one volume guest book for Bissell's home in Pasadena, an autograph album, three lantern slides of Bissell's rose garden, one piece of correspondence, and a college diary are the only items in the collection that specifically pertain to Mary Eleanor Bissell.

    Arrangement

    The collection is arranged broadly in chronological order.

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

    Subjects

    Bissell, Eleanor Mills.
    Bissell, Mary Eleanor.
    Bissell, Thomas, active 1796-1848.
    Smith College -- Students -- 19th century.
    Family-owned business enterprises -- Connecticut -- Windsor -- 19th century.
    Landowners -- Connecticut -- Windsor -- 19th century.
    Women college students -- Social life and customs -- 19th century.
    Pasadena (Calif.) -- Social life and customs -- 20th century.
    Windsor (Conn.) -- History -- Sources.
    Windsor (Conn.) -- Social life and customs -- 18th century.
    Windsor (Conn.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century.

    Forms/Genres

    Business records -- United States -- 18th century.
    Family papers -- United States.
    Genealogies -- United States.
    Letters (correspondence) -- United States.
    Photographs -- United States.
    Business records -- United States -- 19th century.
    Legal documents -- United States -- 18th century.
    Legal documents -- United States -- 19th century.

    Alternate Authors

    Bissell, Eleanor Mills.
    Bissell, Thomas, active 1796-1848.