Guide to the Mina Miller Edison Collection

Mina Miller Edison, daughter of Chautauqua co-founder Lewis Miller
and wife of Thomas Alva Edison.

THE MINA MILLER EDISON COLLECTION

CONTENTS

Introduction

Biographical Sketch

Chronology of the Life of Mina Miller Edison

Descriptive Entry

I. Historical Materials about the Chautauqua Institution

II. Biographical Materials

III. General Correspondence

IV. Bird and Tree Club Correspondence and Related Material

V. Records relating to the Administration of the Chautauqua Institution

VI. Records regarding the Chautauqua Hotel Company, Miller Cottage, and other Property

VII. Artifacts

INTRODUCTION

The papers of Mina Miller Edison (Mrs. Thomas A. Edison) were received by the Chautauqua Historical Collection from the Charles Edison Fund circa 1975. In 1991, the Chautauqua Institution restructured the Historical Collection and named it the Chautauqua Institution Archives. In 1994 new climate-controlled quarters were prepared for the Archives and the Mina Miller Edison Collection was moved to the new location. Now, in May 1997, the collection has been for the first time completely examined, categorized and rehoused as indicated in this finding guide.

The Mina Miller Edison Collection is open to researchers and may be consulted in the Chautauqua Institution Archives, located in the lower level of Smith Memorial Library, Miller Avenue, Chautauqua, New York 14722, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; and from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. During the summer season, the Archives are open 9 to 5 Monday through Saturday. Call (716) 357-6332 for inquiries or consultation.

The Archives expresses sincere gratitude to the Charles Edison Fund and its board members for their selection of The Chautauqua Institution Archives as the repository of the Mina Miller Edison Collection and for additional gifts and courtesies through the years. The cooperation of The Fund in preserving the Chautauqua idea and ideals that were exemplified in the lives of the Miller and Edison families is deeply appreciated. The Archives has also enjoyed a close working relationship with Nancy Miller Arnn, the member of the Board who is resident at Chautauqua and the niece of Mrs. Edison. It is the hope that others in the family will continue their interest in this collection and in family research.


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Mina Miller Edison was born on July 6, 1865, in Akron, Ohio, one of eleven children born to Lewis Miller and Mary Valinda Miller. Lewis Miller was a successful inventor and manufacturer of farm machinery. He was also a strong proponent of the cultural and social benefits of education, serving as superintendent of his own Sunday School in Akron and as a member of the Akron School Board. He became a trustee of Mount Union College in 1865 and president of its board beginning in 1868, serving until his death in 1899. In addition, he designed a form of church architecture called the Akron Plan, which was adopted by many Sunday Schools.

It was in 1873 that Lewis Miller and Dr. John Heyl Vincent, later a bishop of the Methodist church, visited Fair Point (now Chautauqua) and arranged with the Chautauqua Lake Camp Meeting Association for the use of its grounds by the Chautauqua Lake Sunday School Assembly. Following the first Assembly meeting in 1874, it was determined that a second assembly should be held the next year. Miller was elected Assembly president and served in that capacity until his death in 1899. After a period of reorganization following Miller=s death, a new charter was negotiated in 1902 with the State of New York, and the Assembly formally became known as the Chautauqua Institution.

It is known from autobiographical articles and speeches that Mina Miller Edison spent most of her childhood summers at Chautauqua. In 1883 she graduated with distinction from Akron High School and, after a year in Europe, she studied music and the classics at a finishing school in Boston. By that time, she was widely regarded as a famous beauty with a lovely singing voice. Mina Miller met Thomas Alva Edison during the winter of 1884-1885 at the home of Ezra Gilliland, a Boston inventor. They were married on February 24, 1886, at Oak Place, the Miller residence in Akron. As his second wife, she became stepmother to Marion Estelle, Thomas, Jr., and William Leslie, the three children from Mr. Edison=s first marriage. She and Mr. Edison subsequently had three children of their own: Madeleine, Charles, and Theodore.

The Edison Family made its home in three different locations. For most of the year their residence was Glenmont, a 23-room mansion in West Orange, New Jersey, located near the Edison laboratory and factories. They wintered in Seminole Lodge, a prefabricated home that Thomas Edison arranged to have built in Fort Myers, Florida, in anticipation of his marriage to Mina Miller. When their busy schedules allowed, they spent part of their summers at Chautauqua, although they did devote more time there after Mrs. Edison acquired ownership of the Miller Cottage following her mother=s death in 1915.

Although thoroughly devoted to her large family, throughout her life Mina Miller Edison managed to maintain an active interest in the Institution that her father co-founded. Her close relationship to Chautauqua won her a trusteeship in 1922, the fourth woman to hold that office. She was a 1930 graduate of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle and a member of the Chautauqua Women=s Club. Mina was one of the founders and president from 1933 to 1942 of the Bird and Tree Club, an organization instrumental in promoting the beautiful landscaping on the grounds.

Mina Miller Edison was also intensely interested in civic issues, both local and national, working with religious, patriotic, educational, and political organizations during the 61 years she lived at West Orange. She was especially devoted to urban planning and beautification. For example, she was instrumental in organizing the West Orange Community League, which still serves the recreational and cultural needs of West Orange. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the National Recreation Association, National Audubon Societies, John Burroughs Association, and Women's Exchange of the Oranges; chairman of Membership for the New Jersey State Parks and Recreation Association; and founder and president of the Fort Myers Branch of the Plant, Flower, and Fruit Guild.

After the death of Thomas Alva Edison in 1931, the pace of Mrs. Edison's life and her range of interests appear to have increased. In addition, in 1935, she married Edward E. Hughes, a retired steel manufacturer and old family friend. Following her second husband=s death in 1940, she dropped Hughes from her name and returned to referring to herself as Mina Miller Edison in correspondence and other writings. Mina Miller Edison died at the age of eighty-two on Sunday, August 24, 1947, at the Harkness Pavilion of the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City.

Researchers interested in an extended version of this biographical entry should consult John D. Venable's biography, titled Mina Miller Edison: Daughter, Wife and Mother of Inventors, originally published by the Charles Edison Fund in 1981 and reissued in 1987. Matthew Josephson has also written a biography of Thomas Edison, titled Edison: A Biography, which was published by McGraw-Hill Book Co. in 1959. Special thanks are also extended to June Miller-Spann, Archives Manager, and former historian of the Chautauqua Institution Alfreda Irwin for their assistance in this project.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF MINA MILLER EDISON

1865 - born in Akron, Ohio, 6 July

1874 - Lewis Miller and John Heyl Vincent initiate the first season of the Chautauqua Lake Sunday School Assembly

1883 - graduated from Akron High School

1886 - married to Thomas Alva Edison at Oak Place, the Lewis Miller home in Akron

1888 - birth of daughter Madeleine

1890 - birth of son Charles

1898 - birth of son Theodore

1899 - death of Lewis Miller

1902 - Chautauqua Assembly reorganized and renamed the Chautauqua Institution

1915 - death of Mary Valinda Miller

1922 - major renovation of the Miller Cottage

1929 - centenary of Lewis Miller's birth and fiftieth anniversary of the invention of the light bulb

1931 - death of Thomas Alva Edison; financial crisis at the Chautauqua Institution

1933 - elected president of the Bird and Tree Club of the Chautauqua Institution; established the Lewis Miller Foundation

1935 - married Edward Hughes

1940 - death of Edward Hughes

1942 - designated honorary president of the Bird and Tree Club

1944 - received honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Mount Union College, Alliance, Ohio, 4 June, in recognition of her lifelong interest in education

1947 - death, New York City, 24 August

1966 - Lewis Miller Cottage designated a Registered National Historic Landmark


DESCRIPTIVE ENTRY

This collection has been divided into seven sections that, together, illustrate the various aspects of Mina Miller Edison's long, active life. Most of the documents and other materials in the collection were created between 1925 and 1945, although there are some letters dating from the 1880s as well as from the months immediately preceding Mrs. Edison's death in 1947. The collection is particularly useful for researching Mina Edison's life and work at the Chautauqua Institution. Also included are records that illustrate her relationship with immediate family members, especially her father, brothers, and sisters-in-law. The collection is weak, however, in its coverage of Mrs. Edison's marriage to Thomas Alva Edison. The letters and other materials that document their relationship and Mr. Edison's own contributions to American history are housed elsewhere, as indicated below.

The seven sections of the Mina Miller Edison Collection are: I. Historical Materials about the Chautauqua Institution; II. Biographical Materials; III. General Correspondence; IV. Bird and Tree Club Correspondence and Related Materials; V. Records relating to the Administration of the Chautauqua Institution; VI. Records regarding the Chautauqua Hotel Company, Miller Cottage, and Other Property; and VII. Artifacts. Explanations of the materials encompassed under these headings are provided at the beginning of each section of this guide. Essentially, Sections I-II provide the context for understanding and interpreting materials in the remainder of the collection. In addition, Section VII contains objects that are closely related to documents in Sections I-VI, but that have been separated because of their unique physical form.

The core of the Mina Miller Edison Collection consists of correspondence, both copies of letters that Mrs. Edison sent and those that she received. Although two sections consist almost entirely of correspondence--General Correspondence and Bird and Tree Club Correspondence--letters, telegrams, and memoranda can be found in virtually every section of the collection. Other types of documents included in the collection are newspaper clippings, bills, receipts, unpublished articles, texts of speeches, pamphlets and brochures, departmental and financial reports, and a small number of photographs.

As previously indicated, this collection does not include extensive information about Thomas Alva Edison or Mrs. Edison's relationship with her husband. Most of Thomas Alva Edison's voluminous correspondence and business records are located at the Edison National Historic Site at Main Street and Lakeside Avenue, West Orange, New Jersey 07052. In addition, Mrs. Edison's correspondence with her mother, Mary Valinda Miller, may still reside with the Charles Edison Fund, which is located at 101 South Harrison Street, East Orange, New Jersey 07018. Researchers should also be aware of the Thomas A. Edison Papers, an ongoing documentary editing project at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, which has already completed three book volumes and three parts of a projected six-part microfilm edition of Thomas Alva Edison's papers.


I. HISTORICAL MATERIALS ABOUT THE CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION

This section of the collection consists of materials that document the origins, development, and activities of the Chautauqua Institution. It includes mostly published materials--such as newspaper clippings, pamphlets, and programs--as well as some unpublished articles and lectures that generally discuss the history of Chautauqua. This section is valuable for providing background information about the institution with which Mina Miller Edison was closely associated and in which she took an active interest throughout her life.

Box 1

Folder 1 - Maps, 1886, 1893, and undated

Folder 2 - By-Laws, 1883 and undated

Folder 3 - Organizational chart, undated

Folder 4 - Attendance statistics for 1922 through 1932

Folder 5 - Unpublished articles. Includes "Early Days of Chautauqua," by Kate Bruch, 1897; "Survey of the Seasons," author unknown, undated; and a list of distinguished visitors through 1947.

Folder 6 - Pamphlets. Includes copies of The Cicerone, 1897, and Chautauqua Impressions, by Helen P. Strong.

Folder 7 - Newspaper clippings

Folders 8-9 - Publications of the Chautauqua Institution. Includes seasonal programs, reading lists of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (CLSC), and copies of The Chautauquan Daily.

Folder 10 - Programs for the CLSC Class of 1930, Edison Class

Folder 11 - Programs for Old First Night, 1920, 1923-1930, 1932, 1937, 1941, and undated

Folder 12 - Transcripts of lectures. Includes "Science - Modern Symbol of Plenty," by Howard E. Fritz, 1946.

Folder 13 - Publications about music and musicians. Includes programs of the Chautauqua Chamber Music Society, 1929, 1931-1932; a list of personnel of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, 1960; and "An American Music Center in the Making," a radio address by John Erskin, President of Juilliard Foundation, undated.

Folder 14 - "Certificates of Sentimental Ownership," undated. One certificate was presented to Grace Miller Hitchcock for purchasing and then donating a lectureship to the Institution. The other was given to Halbert Kellogg Hitchcock for purchasing 1000 square feet of auditorium benches. These certificates were awarded during Chautauqua's financial crisis of the 1930s.


II. BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS

This second section contains a variety of autobiographical and biographical materials about Mina Miller Edison, Thomas Alva Edison, Lewis Miller, and John Heyl Vincent. Included are newspaper clippings, speeches, unpublished articles, and photographs. Many of the materials in this section were written by Mrs. Edison. These pertain to her father, earliest recollections of Chautauqua, and marriage to Thomas Alva Edison. This section also contains an assortment of small publications that Mrs. Edison appears to have collected and which have been included to indicate her range of interests.

Researchers should also note that Section II includes a small amount of correspondence written by John Heyl Vincent and his son George Vincent.

Box 2

Folder 1 - Mina Miller Edison. Includes commemorative program for the fiftieth reunion of the Akron High School Class of 1883; clippings about Mina Edison's marriages and death; a wedding announcement for Grace Miller; autobiographical articles regarding Mina Edison's early childhood and life with Thomas Alva Edison; and her curriculum vita.

Folder 2 - Thomas Alva Edison. Consists mostly of newspaper clippings.

Folders 3-4 - Speeches by Mina Edison, 1932, 1934, 1937-1941, and undated. Subjects include temperance, Lewis Miller, and Thomas Alva Edison.

Folder 5 - Articles by Mina Edison, 1938. These articles, published in The Forward, describe her trip through Scandinavia and Russia.

Folder 6 - Handwritten notes, undated. Includes miscellaneous check lists, shopping lists, and daily itineraries.

Folder 7 - Materials relating to Mount Union College. Includes 1944 edition of the Mount Union College Bulletin, which contains an article about the honorary degree given that year to Mina Edison. Also included are copies of four photographs of Mina Edison accepting the degree; the original photographs are located in the photograph file of The Chautauqua Institution Archives.

Folder 8 - Poems. Includes poems addressed to "Mother E." from AJimmie,@ ACharles,@ and AMarge.@

Folder 9 - Publications about religion and education.

Folder 10 - Publications about subjects of general interest.

Folder 11 - Copies of photographs. Subjects include various scenes in the Chautauqua Institution, 1931, 1934; a family wedding, ca. 1926, possibly that of Grace Miller; Anne Studebaker Carlisle, undated; and Elizabeth Miller, undated. The original photographs are located in the photograph file of the Chautauqua Institution Archives.

Box 3

Folder 1 - Lewis Miller. Includes newspaper clippings, commemorative articles, and an outline of the family tree of Lewis and Mary Valinda Miller.

Folder 2 - Materials from the Lewis Miller Centenary Celebration, 1929

Folder 3 - Transcript of McCormick Harvesting Machine vs. the Altman-Miller Co., October 1897, in which Lewis Miller contested that Cyrus H. McCormick was the inventor of the reaping machine.

Folder 4 - Lectures, articles, and addresses by Lewis Miller.

Folder 5 - John Heyl Vincent.

Folder 6 - Correspondence of George Vincent, 1894, 1896-1898.


III. GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE

This section consists of letters and telegrams relating to subjects of general interest to Mina Miller Edison. Carbon copies or drafts of Mina Edison's responses are also frequently included. This section does not include letters written by Mrs. Edison during her tenure as President of the Bird and Tree Club (1933-1942), which can be found in the following section. Researchers are advised to check both sections when trying to locate all letters written by a single correspondent.

Correspondents in Section III include close friends and acquaintances, civic leaders, and administrators of the Chautauqua Institution. In addition, a small amount of Mrs. Edison's correspondence with immediate family members, especially her brothers and sisters-in-law, have been filed in general correspondence, as have letters written during the 1890s between Mrs. Edison and her father Lewis Miller (see box 5, folders 1-2).

This section is arranged alphabetically according to the names of individual correspondents, and thereafter chronologically.

Box 4

Folder 1 - Acker - Aydelott, general. Correspondents include George C. Aydelott, 1929, describing the proposed design for the Hurlbut Memorial.

Folder 2 - Anderson, Mildred (Mrs. William F.), 1943-1947.

Folder 3 - Babcock - Benbow, general.

Folders 4-5 - Bestor, Arthur E., 1920, 1924-1941, 1943-1944. Arthur Bestor was president of the Chautauqua Institution from 1915 until his sudden death in 1944. Much of his correspondence with Mina Edison from 1929 pertains to plans for the centenary celebration of Lewis Miller's birth. For more of Bestor's letters, see Bird and Tree Club Correspondence (box 6, folders 7-8).

Folder 6 - Bestor, Jeanette L. (Mrs. Arthur E.), 1929, 1931, 1941, and undated.

Folder 7 - Bixby - Butterfield, general. Includes AAn Appreciation of Lewis Miller,@ by William D. Bridge.

Folder 8 - Campsall - Crane, general.

Folder 9 - Davis - Dunn, general. Correspondents include Thomas E. Dewey, 1946, who was then Governor of New York.

Folder 10 - Edison - Ellett, general. Includes letters of January and August 1941 from Charles Edison, then Governor of New Jersey, accepting an invitation to speak at Chautauqua.

Folder 11 - Ferrell - Fraser, general. Includes letter from Henry Ford, 1919.

Folder 12 - Gerwig - Griggs, general.

Folder 13 - Haas - Hutcheson, general. Includes correspondence with U.S. Hughes, 1935-1936, concerning a proposal to hold a Chautauqua Assembly Reunion Day at the San Diego Pacific International Exhibition; and the draft of a telegram, 1932, from Anna Pennybacker to Mrs. Herbert Hoover.

Folder 14 - Hazlett, Samuel M., 1934-1937, 1939, 1944-1945, 1947. Samuel Hazlett was president of the Chautauqua Reorganization Corporation and subsequently served as president of the Institution from 1946-1956.

Folder 15 - Jackson - Jube, general.

Folder 16 - Keim - Kunz, general.

Folder 17 - King, Julius, 1944. Julius King was Chautauqua=s director of Public Relations. For other correspondence with Julius King, see Bird and Tree Club Correspondence (box 7, folder 16).

Folder 18 - Laing - Lynch, general. Includes letter from Bettina Monae Lesser, 1908, describing the final illness and death of Theodore Miller, Mina Edison's brother.

Folder 19 - MacKay - McMaster, general. Correspondents include Shailer Mathews, 1924, 1929, 1936; Caroline (Mrs. Adrian) McCoy, secretary of the Chautauqua Women's Club, 1931; and William Henry McMaster, president of Mount Union College, 1899, 1917, 1922, 1925-1926, 1929-1930, 1934, 1947.

Folder 20 - McCallister, Ralph, 1944-1947. Ralph McCallister was the director (1944) and then vice-president (1946-1961) of Program and Education.

Box 5

Folder 1 - Miller, general. Correspondents include Edward, 1929; Frederic, 1931; Helen (Mrs. Lewis, Jr.), 1929; John V., undated; Lewis A., 1929, 1936; Louise (Mrs. Robert A.), 1923-1924, 1927, 1929, 1931; Rachel, 1924; and Robert, Jr., 1944.

Folder 2 - Miller, Lewis, 1894, 1898.

Folder 3 - Milligan - Myers, general.

Folder 4 - Nelson - Norton, general.

Folder 5 - Ochs - Osborn, general.

Folder 6 - Palmer - Peirce, general.

Folder 7 - Pennybacker, Anna J.H. (Mrs. Percy V.), 1922-1923, 1928, 1931-1932, 1936-1937, and undated. Mrs. Pennybacker was president of the Chautauqua Women's Club.

Folder 8 - Phelps - Pringle, general.

Folder 9 - Powers, Mabel, 1944-1947. For more of her letters, see Bird and Tree Club Correspondence (box 8, folder 9).

Folder 10 - Ransom - Russell, general. Correspondents include Eleanor Roosevelt, undated.

Folder 11 - Sample - Swisshelm, general.

Folder 12 - Taylor - Tucker, general.

Folder 13 - Van Devander - Von der Lancken, general. Includes letters from George E. Vincent, 1900, 1909, 1913, 1919, 1922, 1938, and undated; and John H. Vincent, 1911 and undated.

Folder 14 - Wadsworth - Wooldridge, general.

Folder 15 - Unknown.

IV. BIRD AND TREE CLUB CORRESPONDENCE AND RELATED MATERIAL

Section IV consists of correspondence and other materials that document Mina Miller Edison=s tenure as president of the Bird and Tree Club, which spanned from 1933 to 1942. Correspondence in this section has been arranged alphabetically by the names of correspondents, and thereafter chronologically.

A large proportion of Mrs. Edison's Bird and Tree Club Correspondence illustrates her efforts to provide interesting programs for club events. Many of the letters were written to and by prospective speakers and performers, or agents representing those individuals. Their correspondence frequently includes promotional brochures and Apublicity materials, @ résumés, news releases, and transcripts of presentations. Also included in the correspondence are letters to and from prominent naturalists, conservators, and horticulturists; leaders of related organizations; and employees, friends, and administrators at the Chautauqua Institution.

The related materials in this section consists of publications from organizations with similar interests, poems and songs, handwritten recipes collected from members for the club's recipe book, and speeches and letters that Mrs. Edison prepared for club meetings.

Correspondence

Box 6

Folder 1 - General letter of congratulations, 1933. Sent to Mina Miller Edison upon her election as president of the Bird and Tree Club.

Folder 2 - Aiken, George D., 1938, 1940.

Folder 3 - Alexander, William P., 1934-1938.

Folder 4 - Allen, Arthur A., 1933-1936, 1940, 1942, and undated.

Folder 5 - Anderson - Avis, general.

Folder 6 - Baker - Buchheister, general. Includes letter of 24 March 1941 from Alberto Bimboni to May A. Parkhurst.

Folders 7-8 - Bestor, Arthur E., 1933-1943. See also General Correspondence (box 4, folders 4-5).

Folder 9 - Brooks, Alonzo B., 1937.

Folder 10 - Brooks, Mary I., 1936.

Folder 11 - Cammerer - Crocker, general.

Folder 12 - Cleaves, Howard, 1938, 1941-1942, and undated.

Folder 13 - Davie - Dynes, general.

Folder 14 - Darling, Jay N., 1936-1942, and undated.

Folder 15 - Eudy - Everington, general.

Folder 16 - Fairchild - Fraser, general.

Folder 17 - Findlay, Hugh, 1940-1941.

Folder 18 - Fisher, Clyde, 1927, 1932, 1935, 1938, and undated.

Box 7

Folder 1 - Fry, Gladys Gordon, 1933-1935, 1938, and undated.

Folder 2 - Gabrielson - Green, general.

Folder 3 - Greer, Grace M. (Mrs. Charles), 1932, 1934-1937.

Folder 4 - Hadley - Hutchins, general.

Folder 5 - Hemenway, Herbert D., 1934-1940, and undated.

Folder 6 - Hine, Annabel (Mrs. Walter R.), 1938 and undated.

Folder 7 - Hollister, Gloria, 1937-1938, and undated.

Folder 8 - Hyde, Alice Earle (Mrs. Clarence R.), 1933-1935, and undated.

Folder 9 - Ingersoll, Raymond V., 1938.

Folder 10 - Jackson, Vincent C., 1939-1940.

Folder 11 - Jackson, Vincent W., 1936, 1938-1941, and undated.

Folder 12 - Jaeger, Ellsworth, 1935-1940, and undated.

Folder 13 - Jones - Jube, general.

Folder 14 - Keedick - Kuhrt, general.

Folder 15 - Kilpatrick, Van Evrie, 1936, 1938, 1940, 1943.

Folder 16 - King, Julius, 1934-1938. Includes a copy of his newspaper article proposing that the Chautauqua Institution host the Salzburg festival, the continuance of which was threatened by the German occupation of Austria. See also General Correspondence (box 4, folder 17).

Folder 17 - King, Louisa (Mrs. Francis), 1936-1937, and undated.

Folder 18 - Lawton, Elizabeth B. (Mrs. W.L.), 1933-1934, 1937-1938.

Folder 19 - Leeser - Lynch, general.

Folder 20 - Leigh, W. Colston, 1935, 1939.

Folder 21 - Martin - Munger, general.

Folder 22 - McClintock, Norman, 1934-1936, 1938, and undated.

Folder 23 - McLean, Forman T., 1934 and undated.

Folder 24 - Miner, Jack, 1933-1934, 1937-1938, and undated.

Box 8

Folder 1 - Miner, Roy Waldo, 1933-1934, 1936-1937.

Folder 2 - National - Nordell, general.

Folder 3 - Orbison - Osborne, general.

Folder 4 - Parry - Pringle, general.

Folder 5 - Pearson, T. Gilbert, 1935, 1937, 1939-1941, and undated.

Folder 6 - Peirce, Charles E., 1935-1938. Charles Peirce served as Acting Dean and Secretary of Instruction from 1927-1937, and later became Institution Secretary. For more of his letters, see General Correspondence (box 5, folder 6).

Folder 7 - Pillsbury, Arthur C., 1935-1936.

Folder 8 - Pirnie, Miles D., 1938, 1940-1941.

Folder 9 - Powers, Mabel, 1933-1935, 1939-1942, and undated. See also General Correspondence (box 5, folder 9).

Folder 10 - Raynor - Russell, general.

Folder 11 - Saunders - Swift, general.

Folder 12 - Scruggs, Marian Price (Mrs. Gross R.), 1936-1938.

Folder 13 - Shipman, Ellen, 1932, 1934, 1937, and undated.

Folder 14 - Throm - Tinker, general.

Folder 15 - Trager, Earl A., 1936.

Folder 16 - Unkalunt, Atalie, 1937, 1939-1940, and undated.

Folder 17 - Vinal - Vincent, general.

Folder 18 - Vincent, George, 1936-1938.

Folder 19 - Wallace - Wooldridge, general.

Folder 20 - Watson, C. Huber, 1934-1939, and undated.

Folder 21 - White, Julia Proctor, 1938 and undated.

Folder 22 - Yarian, Norman C., 1936, 1939.

Folder 23 - Zentz, John L., 1939-1940.

Folder 24 - Unknown.

Related Materials

Box 9

Folder 1 - Meeting Minutes, 1927. Includes commentary by A.M. Smith Wilkes, Frances Pryor, and Jeanette (Mrs. Arthur E.) Bestor.

Folder 2 - Contributions to the Bird and Tree Club Recipe Book.

Folder 3 - Poem and songs. Mostly written by or for Bird and Tree Club members.

Folder 4 - Programs, creed, and by-laws, 1913-1941.

Folder 5 - Speeches and letters from Mina Edison to Bird and Tree Club assemblies.

Folder 6 - Publications of related organizations.

V. RECORDS RELATING TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF
THE CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION

Section V documents Mina Miller Edison's participation in the administration of the Chautauqua Institution. In particular, many of the documents described below were sent to Mrs. Edison because of her status as a member of Chautauqua's Board of Trustees. The Trustee Records consist of monthly bulletins from Chautauqua's president, memoranda from the president regarding special or unexpected concerns, annual financial reports, minutes from Board meetings, departmental reports, opinion surveys, and letters and reports directed to cottage owners and lease holders.

Of particular interest are the Trustee records from the financial crisis of the early 1930s, during which the Chautauqua Institution was mortgaged, placed in receivership, and reorganized. Trustee records from this period are inextricably linked to the Receivers' Correspondence (box 11, folder 3), which indicates the role that receivers Alburn E. Skinner and Charles R. Haskins played in making the Chautauqua Institution an economically viable concern. In addition, the records of the Lewis Miller Foundation (box 11, folders 4-6) document Mina Edison's contribution of $100, 000, or 100 gold bonds in the Chautauqua Hotel Company, to help finance various programs at the Institution.

Box 10

Folders 1-2 - Trustee Records, 1922-1927.

Folder 3 - Trustee Records, 1928-1929. Includes copy of Act, dated 10 February 1928, presented the New York State Assembly to create the Chautauqua Improvement District.

Folder 4 - Trustee Records, 1930-1931. Included are the results of an appraisal of the Institution conducted by the American Appraisal Co., 10 March 1931; a statement of financial policies adopted by the Board of Trustees on 4 July 1931 on the recommendations of the Finance Committee; and the Mortgage and Deed of Trust for the Institution, dated 1 February 1931.

Folders 5-7 - Trustee Records, 1932-1939.

Box 11

Folders 1-2 - Trustee Records (cont.'d), 1940-1946.

Folder 3 - Receivers' Correspondence, 1933-1936.

Folders 4-5 - Correspondence regarding the Lewis Miller Foundation, 1933-1935, 1944-1946. Letters from the 1940s pertain mostly to the programs at Chautauqua funded by the Foundation.

Folder 6 - Agreement to establish the Lewis Miller Foundation, 1933. Includes preliminary notes, several drafts, and the final version of the agreement.

VI. RECORDS REGARDING THE CHAUTAUQUA HOTEL COMPANY,
MILLER COTTAGE, AND OTHER PROPERTY

Materials in this section document Mina Miller Edison's interest in and ownership of properties on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution. The Chautauqua Hotel Company was the stock company organized in 1880 to construct and maintain the Athenaeum Hotel. Correspondence of the Company consists of letters exchanged by stockholders, including Mrs. Edison and her brothers, who were also members of the company. A small number of minutes from meetings of the Company are also included, presumably because they were enclosures sent with the correspondence. The Correspondence of the Chautauqua Hotel Company is related to materials in the previous section regarding the Lewis Miller Foundation, because Mrs. Edison used money from the sale of her shares in the Company to establish the Foundation.

Another important aspect of this section is the documentary material relating to Mrs. Edison's renovation of the Miller Cottage. This material consists of correspondence, bills, and receipts for the renovation. Correspondence regarding lot 55 (found in folder 10) pertain to Mrs. Edison's efforts to enlarge the grounds on which the Cottage stood by purchasing and landscaping adjoining property.


Box 11

Folders 7-9 - Correspondence of the Chautauqua Hotel Company, 1900, 1904-1909, 1914-1915, 1923-1929. Correspondents include Ira and John V. Miller.

Box 12

Folders 1-2 - Correspondence of the Chautauqua Hotel Company (cont.'d), 1930-1948.

Folder 3 - Correspondence regarding Lot #16, 1917, 1920-1921. Lot #16 is the lot on which the Miller Cottage stands.

Folder 4 - Newspaper clippings about Miller Cottage.

Folder 5 - Correspondence regarding the renovation of Miller Cottage, 1922, 1924, 1934, 1936.

Folders 6-8 - Bills and receipts for the renovation of Miller Cottage, 1922.

Folder 9 - Inventory of Miller Cottage, ca. 1925.

Folder 10 - Correspondence regarding Lot #55, 1938-1940. These letters document Mina Edison's efforts to purchase property from Emma Howard. Correspondents include George Howard, Charles Peirce, and John V. Miller.

Folder 11 - Miscellaneous bills, receipts, and statements, 1922, 1925-1927


VII. ARTIFACTS

This section consists of objects that are closely related to the documents found in Sections I-VI but that have been maintained separately because of their unique physical form. Included are scrapbooks, photograph albums, a large amount of undifferentiated newspaper clippings, the final edition of the Bird and Tree Club's recipe book, and textile samples.


Box 13 - Scrapbooks and photograph albums. Includes a scrapbook from the Lewis Miller Centenary and an album of photographs of Thomas Alva Edison.

Box 14 - Recipe book and clippings. Chautauqua Recipes is a compilation of recipes contributed by members of the Bird and Tree Club. For the original handwritten submissions, see Bird and Tree Club Materials, box 9, folder 2.

Box 15 - Textiles. Consists of a pillow cover from the Miller crib and an arm cover from a chair in the Miller cottage.