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Agency History/Biographical note:
Margaret Conant was born on October 6, 1899 in Littleton, Massachusetts. She attended Littleton schools and graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1921, majoring in English with a minor in Bible studies. She spent the summer of 1920 at Columbia University, and after graduating from Mount Holyoke, she attended Boston University from 1921-1922. For the next two years, Conant was Church Secretary at the Congregational Church in Champaign, Illinois, and from 1924-1927 she was in charge of student activities in the Mount Vernon Church in Boston. She studied at the Auburn Theological School in the summer of 1926, and at Harvard Graduate School of Education from 1927-1928. She later served as a social worker with the Red Cross in the Middle East, where she established a Red Cross Club and headed the hospital unit. She also held a supervisory job with the Persian Gulf Command. After World War II, Conant was a Field Counselor with the California Society for Crippled Children, and in 1957 was a Disability Couselor for the California Department of Education. Upon retirement, she volunteered further with the United Church Board of Mission Schools in Izmir, Turkey. Conant was part of the American Association of Social Workers and the National Rehabilitation Association, and was also involved with the Foreign Policy Association, the English Speaking Union and U.N. Association, and the World Federalists. Conant lived for many years in Berkeley and died in Orinda, California on October 12, 1903.

Scope and Content:
The Margaret Conant Papers consist of copies and excerpts of letters and diary transcripts, correspondence, "reminiscences" recorded in 1991, maps, biographical information, and photographs. The papers chiefly document Conant's work with the American Red Cross in the Middle East during World War II. Conant recounts her travels through  the Middle and East Africa with comments on interactions with native populations. Conant describes events aboard the ship while traveling through the region, including Christmas activities. Of special note is her trip to Teheran, Iran and the Caspian Sea. Conant also describes relations between the Americans and Russians in the region, as well as the end of World War II.

Cite as: Margaret Conant Papers, Mount Holyoke College, Archives and Special Collections, South Hadley, Massachusetts

Access Restrictions: Records restricted to use by office/department of origin for 25 years from date of record creation

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