mnsss160 Florence Seaver Slocomb Papers, 1876-1930 Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by mnsss. Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College

Northampton, MA

2003

Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Laura Cutter. 2003-06-13 Finding aid written in English. 2005-09-23 mnsss160 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15). Sophia Smith CollectionSmith College Florence Seaver Slocomb Papers, 1876-1930 Finding Aid MS 144 Revised 2002 Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Collection Overview Slocomb, Florence Seaver, 1867-1955 Florence Seaver Slocomb Papers1876-1930 MS 144 1 box (.5 linear ft.) Sophia Smith Collection

Smith College Northampton, MA

Woman's club leader and suffragist. The papers document Slocomb's broad involvement in a variety of civic affairs, social causes and political movements. Scrapbooks and newspaper clippings make up about half of the collection. The rest consists of a small amount of correspondence, articles, speeches, and one photograph. Materials document her World War I service, women's club activities, and campaigns for suffrage, pure food, and jury service for women. English. Biographical Note

Florence Seaver Slocomb, 1906

Florence Seaver was born in Massachusetts on April 26, 1867. Her father, Nathanial Seaver was a Unitarian minister who served various churches including those in Leicester, Millbury, and Pittsfield, Massachusetts. She graduated from Smith College in 1889 and went on to teach high school in North Easton, Massachusetts. In 1895 she married George Albert Slocomb, a well-known Worcester physician. She became active in the Unitarian church and was a prominent figure in the Worcester Women's Club where she advocated for the causes of women's education and prison reform. By the turn-of-the-century, she was well-known for her work for woman suffrage and for pure food. She provided wartime service through War Camp Community Service in 1919-1920 and was appointed a member of the Woman's Committee, Council of National Defense. With the passage of the 19th amendment in 1920, she became active in the League of Women Voters. In 1924 she was appointed to the Council of Women and Children in Industry and, in 1926 was the first woman from Worcester County elected to the Massachusetts State Legislature. In the 1930s she was a staunch advocate for jury service for women. She also lectured and wrote for various magazines. She died in 1955.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The papers consist of an assortment of materials that document Slocomb's broad involvement in a variety of civic affairs, social causes and political movements. Scrapbooks and newspaper clippings make up about half of the collection. The rest consists of a small amount of correspondence, articles, speeches, and one photograph. Articles, announcements, bulletins, certificates, pamphlets, programs, and reports document her WWI service, women's club activities, and campaigns for suffrage, pure food, and jury service for women. The scrapbooks contain some biographical information.

Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

The papers are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection.

The copyright owner of this collection is unknown. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use" must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

Florence Seaver Slocomb Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, MA

History of the Collection

Florence Seaver Slocomb donated her papers to the Sophia Smith Collection in 1959. Additional items were donated to the collection by Inez Seaver in 1960.

Finding aid revised in 2002 by Gayla Spaulding, intern.

Search Terms Slocomb, Florence Seaver, 1867-1955 Worcester Women's Club--History Civic improvement--Massachusetts--Worcester--History Women jurors--History--20th century--Sources Women legislators--Massachusetts--History Women--Societies and clubs--United States--History--Sources Women--Suffrage--Massachusetts--History--Sources Additional Information Clippings 1 1 Woman suffrage (Worcester, Mass.): newspaper clippings, 1912-15 1 Mass. State Legislature: newspaper clippings, 1924-28 1 2 Domestic Science and Pure Food Exposition (Worcester, Mass.): brochures, programs and articles, 1912 1 3 Jury duty for women (including legislative work of Mass. Senate and House): pamphlets, articles and announcements, 1928 Letters 1 4 Harriet B. Waters, editor General Federation Bulletin, 1912 1 Freeman M. Saltus, President Worcester Central Labor Union, 1928 1 Frederic W. Cook, Secretary, Commonwealth of Mass. (re: salaries of teachers), 1928 1 Edna C. Barry, Secretary to the Speaker of the House (Mass. legislature), 1928 1 5 League of Women Voters (Mass.): bulletins and programs, 1927-29 1 6 Programs: club programs listing Mrs. Slocomb as a speaker (includes announcement of a series of lectures in Parliamentary Law for women given by Mrs. Slocomb), 1909-30 1 7 Red Cross: badge and certificate of merit, n.d. 1 8 Republican State Committee (Mass.): brochures and programs, 1928 1 9 War service 1 Correspondence from H. S. Braucher, Secretary, War Camp Community Service, enclosing identification card, 1920 1 Certificate from Governor of Massachusetts appointing F.S.S. a member of Woman's Committee of the Council of National Defense, 1918 1 10 Women's colleges: article by F.S.S. from Smith College Monthly, 1902 1 11 Worcester Women's Club: articles, pictures and treasurer's report, 1910-11 1 12 Photograph: of Florence Seaver Slocomb, 1906 1 13 Scrapbooks: 1 unbound (1909-29) and 1 bound (1876-1908): miscellaneous items and clippings