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Agency History/Biographical note:
Fidelia Fiske was born on May 1, 1816 in Shelburne, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Rufus Fiske and Hannah Woodward Fiske. Fiske was educated in Shelburne district schools and spent one term at Franklin Academy. She taught in Shelbourne's district schools before entering Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1839. Her education was interrupted in 1840-1841 while she recovered from typhoid fever. She returned in the fall of 1841 and graduated in 1842. After teaching for a year at the Seminary, she convinced her family that despite her poor health she was going to accompany Dr. Justin Perkins to Persia. She sailed from Boston on March 1, 1843. In Orumiyeh, Fiske was in charge of founding a girls' boarding school. The school continued to grow under Fiske's supervision from its opening in October of 1843 until her failing health forced her to return to United States in 1858. In the United States she was a teacher at Mount Holyoke between 1859-1864, until her death of "general inflamation of the lymphatic vessels" on July 26, 1864, in Shelburne, Massachusetts; she was forty-eight years old.

Scope and Content:
The papers of Fidelia Fiske consist of papers chiefly relating to her work as a missionary in Persia from 1843-1858, and to her later work at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. Of particular importance are letters written by Fiske between 1843-1864. These documents describe her voyage to and overland travel in Persia, her work wth her school and the villager's reactions and political resistance to her work. These sources are complemented by other writings, including her book, "Recollections of Mary Lyon (1866)." Biographical material includes  an obituary published in July, 1864 in an unidentified newspaper. The biographical information is supplemented by books, articles and notes written after her death. The collection also contains a small amount of memorabilia, including a New Testament Bible in Syriac, as well as a series of photographs which includes a portrait of Fiske and photos of The Fiske Female Seminary in Persia.

Cite as: Fidelia Fiske Papers, Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections, South Hadley, MA

Access Restrictions: Unrestricted.

Series List:


• Correspondence , 1843-1864 , 6 folders
• Writings , 1841-1866 , 2 folders.
• Biographical Information , 1864 , 5 folders
• Memorabilia , 1842-1864 , 2 folders
• Photographs , ca. 1842-1864 , 2 folders