%eadnotat; ]> 5003arno An Inventory of the Mary Ellicott Arnold Papers, 1888-1970 Finding Aid Prepared by FHL staff Encoding made possible by a grant by the Gladys Kriebel Delmas Foundation to the Philadelphia Consortium of Special Collections Libraries Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College. 1979 Text converted and initial EAD tagging provided by Apex Data Services, December 2000. ENG Mary Ellicott Arnold Papers, 1888-1970 FHL staff Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College. 1979 Descriptive Summary Papers, 1888-1970 RG 5/003 Mary Ellicott Arnold (1876-1968) 16 boxes; 8 linear ft. Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College.
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081-1399 U.S.A.
For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Library's online catalog. Mary Ellicott Arnold (1876-1968) was a Quaker writer and social activist, known for her work with consumer cooperatives. After an unsuccessful farming venture in her youth, Mary Ellicott Arnold and her lifelong companion, Mabel Reed, worked with the Karok Indians in California as employees of the United States Indian Bureau. After a period as chief organizer for the U.S. Employment Service in New York State, she and Mabel Reed were involved in a number of successful cooperative ventures. She was an early Treasurer of the Cooperative League, was very active in the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and was a member of Providence Monthly Meeting, Media, Pennsylvania. The collection includes correspondence, financial papers, notebooks, reports, and clippings concerning Mary Ellicott Arnold's varied activities. Correspondents include Wallace J. Campbell, Moses Coady, Darlington Hoopes, George Meany, Richard H. Rhoads, and many others.

Repository:

Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, PA 19081-1399

Phone: (610) 328-8496 FAX: (610) 690-5728

 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL NOTE

Mary Ellicott Arnold (1876-1968) was a Quaker writer and social activist, known for her work with consumer cooperatives. After an unsuccessful farming venture in her youth, Mary Ellicott Arnold and her lifelong companion, Mabel Reed, worked with the Karok Indians in California as employees of the United States Indian Bureau. After a period as chief organizer for the U.S. Employment Service in New York State, she and Mabel Reed were involved in a number of successful cooperative ventures, including cafeterias and an apartment building in New York City, miners' housing in Nova Scotia, cooperative credit unions among lobster fishermen in Maine, and the Tanguy and Cheyney Cooperative Homesteads in the Philadelphia area. She was an early Treasurer of the Cooperative League, was very active in the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and was a member of Providence Monthly Meeting, Media, Pennsylvania.

Biographical Outline for Mary Ellicott Arnold 1876 Born, April 23, at New Brighton, New York City. 1894 Attended Drexel Institute, Philadelphia, Pa. 1901-6? Farming on the Reed family farm with Mabel Reed, her lifelong companion. 1908 Work with the Karok Indians in California. 1910-14 Organized two cafeterias in Ithaca, New York to instruct students at Cornell in dietetics. 1915-16 Special studies in economics at the University of California. 1918 Chief Organizer, U. S. Employment Service for the State of New York. 1919-37 Managed 10 cafeterias and a 12-story cooperative apartment house for the Consumers Cooperative Services in New York City. 1937-39 Organized three cooperative housing projects for coal miners in Nova Scotia. 1939-40 Administrator of land settlement program for fishermen in Newfoundland. 1940-42 Organized credit unions for lobster fishermen in Maine. 1942 Visit to relocation camp for Japanese-Americans at Poston, Arizona. 1943 Began work with the Philadelphia Area Cooperative Federation. 1947-49 Organized, cooperative housing project, Tanguy Homesteads, Glen Mills, Pa. 1949 Interim Coordinator, Eastern Cooperatives, Inc. 1950-52 Planning for Cheyney Cooperative Homesteads, Cheyney, Pa. Proposal abandoned before work began, 1952. 1954-57 Chairman, Finance Committee of the Pennsylvania Branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; Treasurer, Jane Addams House, Philadelphia, Pa. 1958-63 Work for Indian rights.

1962 Death of Mabel Reed.

1968 Mary Ellicott Arnold died, May 23, in Media, Pa.

 SCOPE AND CONTENT OF THE RECORDS

The collection includes correspondence, financial papers, notebooks, reports, and clippings concerning Mary Ellicott Arnold's varied activities. Correspondents include Wallace J. Campbell, Moses Coady, Darlington Hoopes, George Meany, Richard H. Rhoads, and many others.

 Arrangement

The collection is divided into eleven series:

Biographical material General correspondence Special correspondence Early work with cooperatives Consumers cooperatives Cooperative housing Indians of North America Other activities of Mary Ellicott Arnold Quaker activities and writings Pictures and Memorabilia tebooks of Mary Ellicott Arnold ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Accession information

Donor: David and Marian Elkinton, 1975, 1979

 Access

Collection is open for research.

 Use Restrictions

Copyright has not been assigned to Friends Historical Library All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in to the Director. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Friends Historical Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by reader.

 Preferred Citation

[Indicate the cited item or series here], Mary Ellicott Arnold Papers, RG5/003, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

 Processing information

Partially processed by Marian Elkinton. Processing completed by FHL staff and stored in RG 5.

The following published material, originally part of the collection, has been removed and cataloged with FHL books:

Arnold, Mary Ellicott. The story of Tompkinsville. The Cooperative League, NY, 1940. Arnold, Mary Ellicott and Mabel Reed. In the land of the grasshopper song. Vantage Press, NY, 1957. Coady, MM. Masters of their own destiny. Harpers and Brothers Publishers, NY, 1939. Fowler, Bertram B. The Lord helps those... The Vanguard Press, NY, 1938. Related Material

See also:

DG 43, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, 1954-1958, in Swarthmore College Peace Collection. Mary Ellicott Arnold was chairman of the Finance Committee of the Pennsylvania Branch of WILPF and Treasurer of the Jane Addams House, Philadelphia, from 1954-1957. Bulk of papers are financial records kept by MEA. Mary Ellicott Arnold papers, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College SELECTED SEARCH TERMS Materials catalogued separately

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Friends Historical Library (TRIPOD). Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings:

Nova Scotia - Economic conditions Miners Rochdale Institute Women's International League for Peace and Freedom Quaker women Quaker social reformers Quakers -- Pennsylvania Housing, Cooperative Fishermen Indians of North America -- Civil rights Working class -- Dwellings Pennsylvania -- Quakers Karok Indians Reed, Mabel Campbell, Wallace J. Coady, Moses, 1882-1959 Hoopes, Darlington, b. 1896 Meany, George, b.1894 Rhoads, Richard H. (Richard Harlan), b. 1909 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE RECORDS

Note to Researchers: To request materials, please note both the location and box numbers shown below:

 Ser. 1. Biographical material, 1864-1976, n.d. Clippings, memorials, autobiographical notes by Mary Ellicott Arnold Biographical material concerning the following Ellicott family 1950-1955 1 John Bidwell 1907-1958 1 Lillian Ellicott Tomkins--estate papers 1960-1961 1 Lucie Parker--estate papers 1955-1961 1 Alfred A. Woodhull 1922 1 Scrapbook relating to the Ellicott family 1864-1976 1 Ser. 2. General correspondence, 1888-1970

Letters sent and received by Mary Ellicott Arnold, arranged chronologically. Includes correspondence with the following individuals: Roland N. Benjamin, E.R. Bowen, Wallace Campbell, Moses M. Coady, Dorothy Conklin, Hartley Cross, Darlinton Hoopes, Dorothy Kenyon, W.J. Lockwood, Goron Loveless, C.J. McLanahan, Roy McCorkle, George Meany, Thelma Pence, Viola Pfrommer, Jane and Richard Rhoads, A.G. Shaffer, Howard Leland Smith, Geore Tichenor, James J. "Jimmy" Tompkins, Lillian "Tety" Arnold Tompkins.

 Correspondence 1888-1918 2 Correspondence 1931-1939 2 Correspondence 1940-1941 2 Correspondence 1942 2 Correspondence January-June 1943 2 Correspondence July-December 1943 2 Correspondence 1944-45 2 Correspondence 1946 2 Correspondence January-April 1947 2 Correspondence May-August 1947 2 Correspondence September-December 1947 2 Correspondence Jan.-August 1948 3 Correspondence September-December 1948 3 Correspondence January-June 1949 3 Correspondence July-December 1949 3 Correspondence January-June 1950 3 Correspondence July-December 1950 3 Correspondence 1951 3 Correspondence January-June 1952 4 Correspondence July-December 1952 4 Correspondence 1953 4 Correspondence 1954 4 Correspondence 1955 4 Correspondence 1956 4 Correspondence 1957 4 Correspondence January-May 1958 4 Correspondence June-December 1958 4 Correspondence 1959 4 Correspondence 1960-1961 5 Correspondence 1962-1963 5 Correspondence 1964-1965 5 Correspondence 1966 5 Correspondence 1967-70 5 Ser.3. Special correspondence, 1938-1969

Letters regarding certain subjects or persons, arranged alphabetically by subjects listed below. Folder with undated letters and fragments at end of series.

 Acknowledgements for gifts to Europe 1954-1956 5 Automobile accident 1955 5 Cousins of Mary Ellicott Arnolds Carroll and Eilif Hanssen, Margaret and Bob Henderson, Marion Satterlee 5 Financial papers 1957-1968 5 Friends and acquaintances of MEA, list of names and addresses 1960's 5 Hall, Nelle and Elliott 5 Kuun family n.d. 5

The Kunn family were Estonian refugees during World War II.

 Correspondence 1966 5 Radcliffe Women's Archives, 1958-1962where some of MEA's papers are deposited 5 Reed, Margaret (sister of Mabel Reed) 1961-1963 5 Reidel, Anna 1942-1959 5 Taylor, John Tucker (student sponsored by MEA) 6 Tompkins, Lillian Arnold (sister of MEA) 1938-1960 6 Vantage Press, 1954-1966regarding publication of In the Land of the Grasshopper Song: a Story of Two Girls in Indian Country in 1908-09, by Mary Ellicott Arnold and Mabel Reed 6 Ser. 4. Early work with cooperatives, 1919-1942 Consumers Cooperative Services, New York City 1919-1937 6

Mary Ellicott Arnold and Mabel Reed managed 10 cafeterias and a 12-story apartment house.

 Nova Scotia, cooperative housing for miners, 1937-1939 Account books for construction of houses 6 Blueprints for houses 6 Extension dept., St Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia 7

The pioneering adult education work of James J. Tompkins and Moses M. Coady provided much of the inspiration and leadership for the housing project. Folder of writings by and about Coady and Tompkins together with notes by MEA.

 History, notes by MEA 7 "The Miner's Wife: A Cooperative Play or Musical Comedy, If You Prefer," written by MEA and miners involved in the projects. 7 Plans and specifications for the houses 7 Newfoundland, Ledger 1939-1940, July 1940 MEA's notes on land settlement program. 7 Maine, 1940-1943 MEA's notes and pictures on organizing credit unions, cooperative stores, etc., for lobster fishermen 7 Lobster Fishermen in Maine, reports 1-9 by MEA Maine Cooperatives (periodical) 1941-1943 [with gaps] 7 Ser. 5. Consumers cooperatives, 1940-1956 Writings on cooperatives, by Mary Ellicott Arnold, E. R. Bowen, Joseph Knapp, and others. 7 Cooperative League of the U.S.A (CLUSA), 1946-1956

MEA's personal files and notes, not intended as a complete organizational record.

 Biennial Congresses, 1946, 1948, 1956 7

Includes notes by MEA for earlier years.

 Board of Directors: minutes 1946-1949 7 Executive Secretary, Horace Jeremiah "Jerry" Voorhis, Reports and writings 1947-1953 7

Including MEA's summary of his book Out of Debt, Out of Danger: Proposals for War Finance and Tomorrow's Money (New York: Devin-Adair, Co., 1943).

 Finances: financial statement, budget 1946; 1949 8 History 8

Includes origin of cooperative movement in England by "Rochdale pioneers." Contains list of early Directors of CLUSA, with some writings by James Peter Warbasse, 1st President.

 Program: "What Is the Cooperative League of the United States? What Is Its Program and Purpose?" Chicago: CLUSA 1948? 8 mimeographed "A 4-Year Plan for the Cooperative League of the U.S.A. Chicago: CLUSA" [1950?] 8 mimeographed Eastern Cooperatives, Inc., 1945-1952 (ECI)

File kept by MEA particularly regarding the 120 days in 1949 when she served as Interim Coordinator. Not a complete organizational record, many gaps throughout.

 Annual meeting: reports 1945-1949 8 Board of Directors 1947-1949 8

Includes MEA's reports on her 120 days as Interim Coordinator, 1949.

 Bureau for Cooperative Field Research

Educational leaflets, mostly prepared by MEA.

 Demonstration Field Service: Suggested program 1947 8 Educational program 1950 8 Finances 1948-1952w 8

Includes MEA's notes for earlier years.

 Meeting of Federation Representatives Sept. 8-9, 1945 8 Member societies 1946-1951 8

List of member stores, investments, quotas.

 Warehouses: reports 1947-1951 8 Mid-Eastern Cooperatives, 1951-1952 9

Mid-Eastern Cooperatives was a regional subsidiary of Eastern Cooperatives, Inc., founded October, 1951.

 Finances 1951-1952 9 History and structure 9 Member societies 1951 9

With MEA's notes, 1947-1951.

 Philadelphia Area Cooperative Federation (PACF), 1940-1952

MEA's personal files. She began work with PACF in 1943.

 Education and extension, 1944-1952 9 Finances 1944-1946 9 History and structure 1940-1946 9

Includes articles of incorporation by-laws, membership requirements.

 Member societies, 1943-1949 9

Four folders of material, arranged alphabetically by the name of the society--2 folders of material on the Media society.

 Member societies, financial reports 10 Minutes, agendas, reports1943-1949 10 Newsletters and clippings 1944-1946 10 Ser. 6. Cooperative housing, 1930-1965 Cooperative housing, New York City, 1930-1965

Includes Rochdale Housing Corp., Abraham Kazan.

 Tanguy Homesteads, Glen Mills, PA., 1947-1949

MEA served as an advisor to the project, 1949.

 Account books for construction of individual houses: "Basic house," James House, Palmer House. 10 History and development plan. 10 Cheyney Cooperative Homesteads, Cheyney, Pa., 1950-1952

Attempt by 16 families to form a cooperative to build houses on 18 acre of land in rural area near Philadelphia. MEA provided guidance and leadership, but ultimately cooperative dissolved and houses were never built.

 Articles of incorporation 10 Finances Budget estimates 10 Construction costs and bids 10 Mortgage applications 10 History and chronology 11 Membership 11 Planning Blueprints 11 Building specifications 11 Plot layouts 11 Publicity 11 Ser. 7. Indians of North America, 1915-1963

Primarily Mary Ellicott Arnold's writings (articles and notes) on Indian history, treaties, and mistreatment at the hands of white settlers. Also included are articles, clippings, reports, and newsletters collected by MEA, largely from organizations working for Indian rights. Most of the material dates from the 1950's and 1960's. Arranged alphabetically by subject.

 American Indian Development, Inc. Quarterly report April-June, 1959 12 Workshop on American Indian Affairs, reports1962, 1965 12 Association on American Indian Affairs Newsletters, reports, clippings 1948-1962 12 Friends, Society of Reports, correspondence, notes regarding Quaker activity on behalf of Indians 1954-1958 12

Included is text of an "Indian Pageant", written by Mary Ellicott Arnold and performed at Chester Quarterly Meeting, April 26, 1958

 General 3 folders Articles, reports, clippings from various sources, mostly concerning violation of Indian rights 1915-1963 12 History19594 folders 12

See also: Series 11. Notebooks: Writings of MEA on Indian history and culture, including relations with early white settlers. Also contains material used by MEA in her talks to teachers in the Philadelphia schools, and for her course "Ten Little Indians."

Kinzua Dam Reports, clippings collected by MEA 1957-1963 13

re: lands taken from the Senecas in New York and Pennsylvania to build Kinzua Dam.

 Legislation Bills, reports on proposed legislation before Congress 1955-1957 13 Maps, hand drawn by MEA 13 National Congress of American Indians Reports, articles 1955-1959 13 Southwest trip: 1956diary, notes, reports by MEA 13 Tribes, General, MEA's writings 13 Tribes, Arizona "The Arizona Indian Child Goes to School" 13

Report prepared by Mamie Sizemore for the Division of Indian Education, Arizona State Department of Public Instruction. Contains a chapter on Indian tribes of Arizona.

 Tribes, Karok Announcements and reviews of In the Land of the Grasshopper Song: A Story of Two Girls in Indian Country in 1908-9, by Mary Ellicott Arnold and Mabel Reed 13

New York: Vantage Press, 1957

 Tribes, Karok (and Klamath) 13 Clippings, pictures, notes, some relating to In the Land of the Grasshopper Song 13 Tribes, Klamath Material collected 1955-1957about the Klamath Termination Act 13 Tribes, Navajos and Hopis: Notes, articles, clippings 14 Tribes, New Perces 2 folders Writings of MEA, including text of "The Nez Perces: a Pageant in Eight Scenes." 14 Tribes, Plains Indians 14 Notes, pictures, articles 14 Tribes, Southern Indians Writings of MEA 14 Ser. 8. Other activities of Mary Ellicott Arnold Hedgerow Theatre, Moylan, PA 3 folders Correspondence 1958-1963 14 Financial records, 1953-1958 mainly accounts kept by MEA 14 Official papers 1951-1958articles of incorporation, bylaws, plan of operation, notes from meetings 14 Japanese relocation camp, Poston, AZ

MEA visited the camp in August 1942 (or 1943?)

 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (Media Branch): Financial reports, articles, clippings 2 folders Ser. 9. Quaker activities and writings, 1953-1963

See also Ser. 7, Indians of North America

 General Quaker writings, 1952-1953 15 First-day School teaching notes 1956-1963 15 First-day School discussion notes 1963 15 Chester Quarterly Meeting 1958-1961 15 Chichester Meeting 1953 15 Providence Meeting: Finances 1962 15 Providence-Media Joint Peace Committee, 1953-1957 Minutes and reports 1953-1957 15 Meetings, lectures, and forums 1953-1954 15 Peace questionnaire 1953-1954 15 Ser. 10. Pictures and Memorabilia Pictures and memorabilia 2 folders 15 Ser. 11. Notebooks of Mary Ellicott Arnold, 1960, n.d. Excerpts from various authors or topics including: Israel, Natural Law, Foreign Policy, History and Philosophy 15 Book of short quotations on a variety of subjects 15 "Talks to Teachers" 1960 15

Foncerning Indians of North America.

 Indians and Other Americans: outline and notes of book by Fey and McNickle 15 "Saint Mark - Saint Matthew Compared": notes on the Gospels of Saint Mark and Saint Matthew 15