Family Papers
Personal, professional and family correspondence, published and unpublished writings by and about Emily Blair, diaries, speeches, personal and family memorabilia, and clippings. Series I and II form the bulk of the collection, Series II being largely Emily Blair's personal writings, such as diaries, speeches, published articles, typescripts of fiction and non-fiction, and typescripts of her autobiography. Blair family material consists of the papers of Harry Wallace Blair (husband), Harriet Blair Forsythe (daughter), James Patton and Anna Gray Newell (parents), and her McDowell family ancestors of Pennsylvania, particularly the correspondence of Alexander McDowell. The collection is useful for researching the history of women and the family in the early 20th century, the issues of feminism and women's suffrage, and the emergence of women as politicians within the Democratic Party. Notable correspondents include Cordell Hull, Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt, and Harry S. Truman. McDowell family materials chronicle pioneer life on the 18th-century Pennsylvania frontier.