MS 0562.1
Correspondence , 1919-1927
15 folders
Chronological
Part of MS 0562, The Elsie M. Kimball Papers.
Restrictions: Unrestricted
Last Updated: 2002/11/18
Description:
This series consists of typed transcripts of
letters that Kimball wrote to her mother,
Leonetta Nichols Kimball, and sister, Lorenia
("Rene") M. Kimball, from 1919-1921 and
1923-1927. These documents concern her work as a
relief worker and stenographer for the Near East
Relief (N.E.R.) organization in Armenia and the
Republic of Georgia and as a clerk and translator
for the Georgian Manganese Company in Tchiatouri
(Ciat'ura), Georgia, and in Moscow, Russia. The
letters often include transcripts of letters,
reports, telegrams, and newspaper articles from
the N.E.R., friends, co-workers, and orphans.
These letters include detailed descriptions of
her work in orphanages in Akhalkalaki and Batoum
(Batumi), Georgia, and Kars, Armenia in
1920-1921, Alexandropol (Alekandropol), Armenia
in 1923, and at the Djalal Oghlou Farm School and
orphanage near Alexandropol from 1923-1925. She
describes the horrific lives of the children in
her care, the difficulty of providing for them
during famines, defending them from Turks and
looters, massacres of Armenians, conditions in
refugee camps, the impact of the Greco-Turkish
War on the region, and the effects of earthquakes
in Tiflis (T'bilisi), Georgia in 1920 and
Alexandropol in 1926. In a letter dated August
30, 1919, she describes spending time with
Gertrude Knox Wells, a Mount Holyoke classmate
who was also doing relief work in the area.
Kimball also discusses working in Tiflis as a
secretary for William M. Haskell, Allied High
Commissioner to Armenia and Director General of
the American Commission for Relief in the Near
East in the Caucasus, and for Ernest A. Yarrow,
Director General of the N.E.R. Other letters
discuss her work as a clerk and translator for
the Georgian Manganese Company, a mining firm
owned by the William Averell Harriman family,
from 1926-1927. She describes her American and
British co-workers, living accommodations,
details of her work, her active social life, and
the people she meets during her work and travels.
The letters also give accounts of her journey to
the Near East through Italy, Greece, and Turkey
in 1919 and her travels in Central Asia in 1927.
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MS 0562.2
Biographical Information , 1921-1930, ca. 1950
1 folder
Chronological
Part of MS 0562, The Elsie M. Kimball Papers
Restrictions: Unrestricted
Last Updated: 2000/02/10
Description:
This series consists of articles, newspaper
clippings, and a form letter dating from
1921-1930 and ca. 1950. Most of this material
concerns Kimball's work with the Near East Relief
(N.E.R) organization and dates from 1921-1930. Of
particular interest is a form letter addressed
"To the Alumnae of Mount Holyoke" dated December
10, 1923, and sent by the N.E.R. to encourage
alumnae to donate money to the relief work. This
letter outlines Kimball's work for the
organization and the support that Mount Holyoke
College President Mary Emma Woolley has given to
war relief efforts. A newspaper article dated
January 3, 1928, mentions the medal bestowed on
Kimball for her N.E.R. service and includes an
account of her defense of an orphanage against
Turkish soldiers. The clipping from about 1950
concerns her retirement from the Union Carbide
and Carbon Corporation.
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MS 0562.3
Photograph , ca. 1919-1920
1 folder
Part of MS 0562, The Elsie M. Kimball Papers
Restrictions: Unrestricted
Last Updated: 2000/02/10
Description:
This series contains a photograph of Armenian
refugee homes near Akhalkalaki, Georgia, in about
1919-1920.
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