Alma Schmidt Petersen Papers
Scope and Content of the Collection
Letters from Alma Schmidt Petersen to her parents, letters and photographs to Petersen from an admirer in the German army, letters from Seipp relatives in Germany to the Schmidts, and one letter from Lea Demarest Taylor to Alma Schmidt Petersen.
Letters from Petersen to her parents describe travel throughout the United States and Europe, and conditions at various spas she resided in with her grandmother for treatments. The letters from her and from aunts and uncles in 1914 describe social life in Germany on the eve of the first World War. The letters from Lt. Fritz Hirschberger, 1914-1915, are in German, and he includes small snapshots of himself, fellow soldiers, officers, and views of the front where he was stationed.
The postcard from Lea Demarest Taylor (daughter of Graham Taylor and manager of the Chicago Commons settlement house) is a thank-you to Alma for the gift of a book about the life of Bernadette Devlin.
Dates
- Creation: 1909-1970
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1911 - 1930
Creator
- Petersen, Alma Schmidt, 1894-1989 (Person)
Language
Materials are in English and German.
Conditions Governing Access
The Alma Schmidt Petersen Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Alma Schmidt Petersen Papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
Biography of Alma Schmidt Petersen
Chicago woman graduate of Mt. Vernon Seminary and traveler.
Alma Schmidt was the daughter of Dr. Otto L. Schmidt and Emma (Seipp) Schmidt. She wrote to her parents while on tours of American and European spas with her grandmother (Catherine Orb Seipp), and assorted aunts and uncles, and include her descriptions of social life in Germany in the autumn of 1914.
Alma attended Mt. Vernon Seminary (now Mt. Vernon Campus of George Washington University) in Washington, D.C.; before she died in 1989, she was the oldest surviving graduate of that college. In 1919 she married Dr. William F. Petersen, and that year they took a honeymoon trip up through Banff, Vancouver, Tacoma, Portland, and San Francisco.
Alma and William F. Petersen had three children: Edward (born ca. 1922), Conrad (born ca. 1924), and William (born ca. 1927). Alma Schmidt Petersen died in 1989.
Extent
0.4 Linear Feet (1 box)
Abstract
Letters of Alma Schmidt Petersen of Chicago to her parents (Emma Seipp Schmidt and Dr. Otto L. Schmidt) while on tours of European, Canadian and American spas and vacation sites, and at Mt. Vernon Seminary, 1913-1914. Also letters from various Seipp family members in Germany in 1914, and from a German soldier-admirer, 1914-1915. Topics include attitudes toward the impending war in Europe, the treatment of chronic illness, and the school and vacation experiences of a well-off young woman.
Arrangement
Papers arranged by sender, and chronologically therein.
Collection Stack Location
1 27 2
Provenance
Gift, Edward Schmidt Petersen, 1992.
Processed by
Alison Hinderliter, 2010.
Acknowledgements
This inventory was created with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this inventory do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Subject
- Hirschberger, Fritz, Lieutenant (Person)
- Mount Vernon College -- Students –- Correspondence (Organization)
- Petersen, William F., 1887-1966 (Person)
- Schmidt, Emma Seipp (Person)
- Schmidt, Otto L. (Otto Leopold), 1863-1935 (Person)
- Petersen, Alma Schmidt, 1894-1989 -- Travel (Person)
- Petersen, Alma Schmidt, 1894-1989 -- Correspondence (Person)
Genre / Form
Topical
- Manuscripts, American
- Parent and adult child -- Correspondence
- Sanatoriums -- Europe -- 20th century
- Sanatoriums -- United States -- 20th century
- Tourists -- Canada -- Correspondence
- Tourists -- United States -- Correspondence
- Women travelers -- Europe -- Correspondence
- Women travelers -- Pacific and Mountain States -- Correspondence
- World War, 1914-1918 -- Photographs
- Title
- Inventory of the Alma Schmidt Petersen Papers, 1909-1970, bulk 1911-1930
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Alison Hinderliter
- Date
- ©2010.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts and Archives Repository
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512
reference@newberry.org