%eadnotat; ]> 5083wije An Inventory of the William Jeanes Memorial Library Controversy Papers, 1939-1961 [bulk 1953-1960] 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. 1981 Text converted and initial EAD tagging provided by Apex Data Services, December 2000. ENG William Jeanes Memorial Library Controversy Papers, 1939-1961 [bulk 1953-1960] FHL staff Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College. 1981 Descriptive Summary William Jeanes Memorial Library Controversy Papers, 1939-1961 [bulk 1953-1960] RG 5/083 Mary Knowles (b. 1910) 3 boxes; 1.5 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 Knowles (b. 1910), a librarian at the William Jeanes Memorial Library in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, and Plymouth Monthly Meeting were the center of a “Red Scare” controversy in 1953-56 when Mrs. Knowles was accused of being a member of the Communist Party. Mary Knowles had pleaded the Fifth Amendment in 1953 before the Jenner Committee (Senate Internal Security Subcommittee) regarding her employment as secretary at the Samuel Adams School in Boston Mass. When she refused to take the Pennsylvania Loyalty Oath in 1954, the controversy and criticisms escalated. The William Jeanes Memorial Library was established in 1926 as a gift by Mary Rich Jeanes Miller, in memory of her first husband, granted to a Board of Trustees to be appointed by the Plymouth Preparative Meeting (Quaker), Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. By 1953, the Jeanes Library received much of its budget from various public sources. Mary Knowles was hired as a temporary librarian and became permanent in 1954. The Library Committee and Plymouth Monthly Meeting remained staunchly behind Mary Knowles's civil rights and retained her as librarian. She was convicted of contempt of Congress in 1955 for refusing to answer questions arising out of the Senate subcommittee. She successfully appealed the conviction in 1960. This collection includes legal papers, correspondence, and other materials relating to the controversy. It also contains background material concerning the William Jeanes Memorial Library, Plymouth Monthly Meeting, and the hiring of Mary Knowles.

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

Mary (Ruth Gardner) Knowles was born in 1910 in Watertown, Massachusetts, and attended Bates College in Maine. She married Clive Dorman Knowles in 1933; they divorced in 1951. Mary Knowles worked for the Samuel Adams School for Social Studies, Boston, as an office secretary 1945-1948, and was certified as a librarian by the State of Massachusetts. In 1953, she appeared before the Jenner Committee (Senate Internal Security Subcommittee). Mary Knowles was hired by the Jeanes Memorial Library in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, in 1953, and became the focus of a McCarthy-era controversy. She was convicted of contempt of Congress in 1957 for refusing to answer questions arising out of the Senate subcommittee and successfully appealed the conviction in 1960.

 SCOPE AND CONTENT

This collection includes legal papers, correspondence, and other materials relating to the William Jeanes Memorial Library Controversy concerning the hiring of Mary Knowles as librarian by the Library Committee of Plymouth Monthly Meeting. The collection contains background material concerning the William Jeanes Memorial Library, Plymouth Monthly Meeting, and Mary Knowles who was convicted of contempt of Congress in 1957 for refusing to answer questions arising out of the Jenner Committee (Senate Internal Security Subcommittee) and successfully appealed the conviction in 1960.

 Arrangement

The collection is divided into eight series:

General background Correspondence of Mary Knowles Legal papers Printed material William Jeanes Memorial Library Plymouth Monthly Meeting Alerted Americans Miscellaneous ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Accession information

Donor: Plymouth Monthly Meeting, 1977

Mary Knowles, 1981

Stefan Thiemer, 1985

 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], William Jeanes Memorial Library Controversy Papers, RG5/083, Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

 Processing information

In 1981, Plymouth Monthly Meeting permitted its previously deposited papers on the controversy to be integrated with the papers of Mary Knowles. The collection were combined into a single Record Group 5 collection, sorted and filed in documents boxes. in 1985, a paper by Stefan Thiemer, “The Plymouth Monthly Meeting and the Case of Mary Knowles,” was added to the collection.

 Related Material

See also:

Plymouth Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, RG 2 Richmond Miller Papers, RG 5/105, Series 8 SELECTED SEARCH TERMS

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: Researchers are advised to search by subject and author, when applicable.

Quakers --Pennsylvania -- Plymouth Meeting (Pa.) Quakers - Controversy Plymouth Meeting (Pa.) Knowles, Mary, 1910- William Jeanes Memorial Library, (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) -- Library Committee Plymouth Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends Society of Friends - Controversies Civil rights -- Religious Aspects -- Society of Friends Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends- Civil Liberties Committee Thiemer, Stefan. “The Plymouth Monthly Meeting and the Case of Mary Knowles.” DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE RECORDS

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

 Ser. 1. General Background Background material 1 folder 1

Biographical material about Mary Knowles, general information about the William Jeanes Memorial Library, Plymouth Meeting, Pa., and summaries of the controversy resulting from hiring Mary Knowles as Librarian in 1953 with implications for the broader issues of civil and religious liberty.

Ser. 2. Correspondence of Mary Knowles, 1953-1961 Correspondence 1953-1961 1 Ser. 3. Legal papers, 1953-1960 Senate and court documents (with related papers) concerning Mary Knowles's appearances before the Senate Judiciary Committee and subsequent trial 1953-1960 1 Ser. 4. Printed material, 1953-1961, n.d. Press releases 2 Other printed material, mostly magazine articles 2 Newspaper clippings n.d. and 1953-61 2 Ser. 5. William Jeanes Memorial Library, 1939-1961, n.d. Correspondence 1939-61 2

Mostly correspondence of the Library Committee, appointed by Plymouth Monthly Meeting.

 Minutes of the Library Committee. 1941-1961 2

Rough drafts of occasional minutes from 1941-61; sketchy and very incomplete.

 Statements of the Library Committee 2 Financial statements and related material about the library 2 General information about the library 2 Ser. 6. Plymouth Monthly Meeting, 1955-1960, n.d. Correspondence 1955-60 3 Statements, including ones received from other Friends meetings 3 Ser. 7. Alerted Americans

The Alerted Americans were a right-wing group opposed to Mary Knowles.

 Mimeographed statements by Helen Corson 3 Petition requesting replacement of Mary Knowles 3

Includes a summary and analysis, with packets of signatures at back of box.

 Ser. 8. Miscellaneous, 1954-1958, n.d. Minutes and statements of other groups 3 General background material on defense of civil liberties,n.d. and 1954-58. 3 Thiemer, Stefan. “The Plymouth Monthly Meeting and the Case of Mary Knowles.” 3

Paper--gift of author, May 1985.