Selsam, Georgia Kauffman,
Selsam papers,
ca. 1919-1997
Manuscript Collection: MS 0759
1
box
Agency History/Biographical note:
Georgia Elizabeth Kauffman was born on October 6, 1902, in Mifflin,
Pennsylvania. Her father, Allen R. Kauffman, was a telephone
operator for the Pennsylvania Railroad. She attended Mifflintown
High School from 1915 to 1919 and the Dickinson Seminary in
Williamsport, Pennsylvania, from 1919-1920, before enrolling in Mount
Holyoke College in 1920. At Mount Holyoke, she majored in English
Literature with a minor in English. After receiving her Bachelor of
Arts degree in 1924, she taught French and English at the High School
in Brattleboro, Vermont from 1924-1926. On June 11, 1926 she married
Clayton L. Piggott, a printer, and in 1928 she had a daughter
Margaret Hilton. She began teaching again at a nursery school in
Brattleboro in 1930. In 1932 she moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
and became the director at the Seller School; she remained there
until 1935. In 1934 she divorced Piggott, and on September 12, 1935,
she married John Paul Selsam, an assistant professor of history at
the State College of Pennsylvania. Their daughter Eleanor Katharine
graduated from Mount Holyoke in 1948. After her husband died in
1950, Selsam remained active in the affairs of the State College of
Pennsylvania, acting as an assistant to the Music Department and
chaperoning a choir tour of Europe. She died on October 16, 1997 in
Newton, Pennsylvania at the age of ninety-five.
Scope and Content:
The Georgia Kauffman Selsam Papers include correspondence,
memorabilia, biographical information and photographs. Most of the
material pertains to Kauffman's life at Mount Holyoke College from
1920-1924, especially her first semester of college in 1920. In her
letters to family members she describes her everyday life at the
College including food, clothing, sports, religious life, musical
events, parties, balls, and her studies. She discusses events such
as Mountain Day, trying out for the field hockey team, and the Junior
Show. She also describes activities in her dormitory, Judson Hall,
and her friends. The correspondence also includes a letter dated
September 13, 1920, from Mildred Leona Batchelder, Mount Holyoke
College Class of 1922 and "big sister to Selsam; a letter from
Elizabeth S. Merriam, Mount Holyoke Class of 1921, dated September
19, 1920; and a letter dated December 23, 1920 from Miss Ruth S.
Rafferty, Alumnae Secretary and resident of Judson Hall. Photographs
include pictures of Judson Hall, her friends and family, costume
parties, plays, Mountain Day, May Day, the fire damage to Rockefeller
Hall, and Mount Holyoke College graduation 1924. Her memorabilia
include a wedding notice, a calling card, and a Christmas card.
Biographical information consists of a note, ca. 1926, and a death
notice, 1997.
Cite as: Georgia Kauffman Selsam Papers, Mount Holyoke
College Archives and Special Collections, South
Hadley, MA.
Access Restrictions: Unrestricted
Series List:
- Correspondence
, 1920-1924
, 5 folders
- Memorabilia
, 1935, 1940
, 1 folder
- Biographical Information
, ca. 1926, 1997
, 1 folder
- Photographs
, ca. 1919-1940
, 2 folders
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