Artha May McConoughey was an organizer and lecturer for the Women's Christian Temperance Union in the Chicago area during the early 20th century. She attended Northwestern University Law School during the 1920's.
There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested..
Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Artha May McConoughey Papers, Ms. 2005.2, Brown University Library.
This collection provides glimpses into several periods of Artha McConoughey's life. Her travel diary recounts the daily events of her first extended trip away from her home and family in 1908-1909; it begins with her Atlantic passage and continues through her year's stay in Germany, France and England.
The collection of speeches she gave from 1911 to 1913 as a Women’s Christian Temperance Union organizer and activist outlines the major themes of the American Temperance Movement (allied with the women's suffrage movement) of the early 20th century, with special attention to the Loyal Temperance Legion, whose focus was the education of children. McConoughey came from the same hometown—Evanston, Illinois—as Frances Willard, an early WCTU president and one of the driving forces behind its growth from a temperance-related organization into a national advocate for social reforms and women’s rights. At a time when American women did not yet have the right to vote, the collective activism of the WCTU gave them a voice as well as the skills and confidence to use it.
The collection consists of six series:
The McConoughey Papers were purchased from Michael Brown in January 2005.
Brown University Library catalog record for this collection:
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Bound, handwritten journal of her 1908/1909 European tour with brother Edward, with loose sheets enclosed. Abridged, handwritten copy of this journal inscribed to her brother Davies on the occasion of his own 1910 trip to Europe.
6 handwritten temperance speeches (c.1912). 1 typed, mimeographed report "What Our Library Means to You" (n.d.). 1 handwritten juvenile story "Rose Party" (1896).
Handwritten or typed essays and bibliographies for a class at Northwestern University Law School.
Cloth armbands, lace collar, ribbon-work trim, blue silk sash, 2 hotel luggage stickers, 3 postcards, and 1 steamship menu.
Small box of pressed flowers from stops on her European tour, most flowers identified and dated.
School and family photographs, most unidentified.
Title to Lot 173 of Robert Oakman's Twelfth St. subdivision of part of 1/4 Sec. 7, 10,000 A.T. (Acre Tract), City of Detroit & Greenfield twp., Wayne Co., Mich. Union Trust Co., Detroit, Mich.