Ely, Charlotte E.
Charlotte E. and Mary A.C. Ely Papers,
1861-1990
Manuscript Collection: MS 0631
2
boxes
Agency History/Biographical note:
Charlotte Elizabeth Ely was born on July 2, 1839 in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Her sister, Mary Ann Caroline Ely (who usually called
herself Annie) was born on June 2, 1841 in Wilmington, Delaware.
They were the daughters of Judah Ely, a Presbyterian minister who
died in 1843, and Caroline Coutier Ely, a native of England. After
the death of their mother in about 1853, the Elys moved to Buffalo,
N.Y., to live with an uncle, E. Sterling Ely. The sisters were
educated at home and spent a year at Elmira College before entering
Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. After graduating from Mount Holyoke
Female Seminary in 1861, the Elys spent two years teaching, then went
on a tour of England and Europe in 1865-1866. An encounter with the
Reverend and Mrs. George C. Knapp, the first missionaries in Bitlis,
Turkey, convinced the Elys that they, too, should become missionaries
in that area. The Elys arrived in Bitlis on October 3, 1868, and
established the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary for Armenian girls.
They remained at the school (except for rare furloughs to the United
States) until Mary died on May 4, 1913, and Charlotte died on July
11, 1915.
Scope and Content:
The Charlotte Elizabeth and Mary Ann Caroline Ely Papers consist of
primary and secondary materials chiefly relating to their lives as
missionaries and teachers in Turkey from 1868-1915. Of particular
importance in this collection are letters written by the Elys between
1881-1915. These documents describe their work at the Mount Holyoke
Female Seminary in Bitlis, their travels in the region, the
activities of other missionaries and social and political events in
Turkey, including attacks on Armenians from the 1890s through the
early years of World War I. An autobiographical sketch written by
one or both of the Elys provides a summary of their lives through
about 1902. These sources are complemented by a report concerning
orphans in Bitlis, written by Charlotte Ely in 1899; letters and
publications issued by the American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions between 1914-1916; extensive biographical
information concerning the Elys; published and unpublished material
about events in Turkey in 1877 and between 1912-1917; and a small
amount of memorabilia. The collection also includes photographs of
the Elys and of people, buildings, scenes and historic sites in
Turkey, England and Europe. The writers of letters and articles in
this collection include a number of Mount Holyoke alumnae: Anna C.
Edwards, Class of 1859, Anna Hunt Knapp, Class of 1886 and Grace H.
Knapp, Class of 1893. Charlotte Ely's association with Mount Holyoke
is also reflected by a notebook that she kept for history, English
composition and "stenography" (shorthand) courses in 1861. Other
documents in the collection concern or were written by Edwin St. John
Ward (husband of Charlotte Allen Ward, Class of 1903), George Perkins
Knapp and, particularly, Mary D. Uline.
Cite as: Charlotte E. Ely and Mary A.C. Ely Papers, Mount
Holyoke College, Archives and Special
Collections, South Hadley, Massachusetts
Access Restrictions: Unrestricted
Series List:
- Correspondence
, 1881-1915
, 2 folders
- Writings
, 1861, ca. 1902
, 2 folders
- Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, Bitlis,
Records
, ca. 1868-1899
, 2 folders
- American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions Records
, 1914-1916
, 1 folder
- Biographical Information
, ca. 1892-1990
, 3 folders
- Information about Turkey
, 1877, 1912-1917
, 1 folder
- Memorabilia
, ca. 1868-1915
, 1 folder
- Photographs
, ca. 1861-1915
, 7 folders
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