Born June 10, 1856, daughter of Rowland Hazard and Margaret Rood Hazard, Caroline Hazard was a prolific writer, authoring works on local history and women’s education, as well as numerous poems of a religious nature. She acted as the official Hazard family biographer, and was responsible for the publication of numerous works dealing with the family. Although she did not possess a formal college degree, she served as president of Wellesley College from 1899 to 1910. In addition, Caroline was active in numerous civic and philanthropic organizations. In her later years she resided in Mission Hills, California, where she was on the Board of Trustees of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, founded by her brother Rowland G. Hazard in 1916. She died March 18, 1945.
The collection contains Caroline Hazard’s collected papers including correspondence; photographs; numerous poems and published materials; pamphlets; a watercolor landscape painting; three chapters of an autobiography; and a letter book.
Researchers are advised to contact Rhode Island College Special Collections for questions regarding permissions to reproduce, distribute, or otherwise publish material from this collection. Although Rhode Island College has physical ownership of the collection, it does not necessarily hold literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
The collection is open for research.
Caroline Hazard papers, MSS-0092, Special Collections, James P. Adams Library, Rhode Island College.
The collection has been arranged into the following series:
The collection was given to Rhode Island College in 1968 by Martha Bacon Ballinger, with the consent of her husband, Ronald B. Ballinger, as well as her sister, Helen Bacon Westlake, and Helen’s husband, J.T. Westlake.
After the collection arrived in 1968, Rhode Island College Professor Norman Smith conducted preliminary sorting of the collection. The processing of the papers and the preparation of the original finding aid was funded by a National Historical Publications and Records Commission grant. The initial finding aid was prepared by Norene Rickson, library assistant in RIC Special Collections, with the assistance of Michael Kohl, Assistant Librarian in Special Collections. At this time, photographs were removed from their original locations and added to the other photograph files. Books were also removed from the collection and added to various book collections in Special Collections. In 2022, nitrate negatives were removed from the collection, digitized, and destroyed due to preservation and conservation concerns by Molly Bruce Patterson, Digital Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at the time. In 2023, the finding aid was converted to current archival standards by Veronica L. Denison, Digital Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at Rhode Island College. At this time, the papers of Rowland Hazard, Joseph Peace Hazard, Thomas Rutherford Bacon, Caroline Hazard, Helen Hazard Bacon, and Leonard Bacon were removed from the Nathaniel Terry Bacon papers and made into their own separate collections to better reflect the various creators and their materials. Items in this collection were also reboxed into archival boxes and items foldered.
Rhode Island College Special Collections contains additional collections relating to the Bacon and Hazard families:
Additionally, the following institutions also have collections of Caroline Hazard:
the Rhode Island Historical Society,
Nitrate negatives that were in this collection were removed in 2022 and destroyed due to preservation concerns. Prior to their removal, they were digitized and are available upon request. Contact the Special Collections for further information. This collection was separated from the Nathaniel Terry Bacon papers (MSS-0005) and made into its own collection in 2023. Contact the Rhode Island College Special Collections for further information.
Nitrate negatives in this collection have been digitized and destroyed. The digital reproductions of these images are not available online. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact the Rhode Island College Special Collections.
This series is arranged by outgoing and then incoming correspondence. The outgoing correspondence (in folders 2-4) is arranged chronologically, while the rest of the series contains incoming correspondence that is arranged alphabetically. The majority of the correspondence dates from 1942-1945 and is of a personal nature. In addition, there are references to Caroline Hazard’s philanthropic and civic activities. There is considerable correspondence from Hazard’s friend Patience Adams and Hazard’s nephew Leonard Bacon. Other correspondents include Gordon Battle from the Association for the Advancement of Negro Country Life, writer Pearl S. Buck, poet Isabel Fiske Conant, president of the Georgia Normal and Agricultural School Joseph W. Holley, president of George State College Benjamin F. Hubert, Dorothy H.W. Hunt, president of the Tuskegee Institute F.D. Patterson, John D. Rockefeller, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Republic of China T.A. Soong, and poet Margaret Stillwell.
This series contains Hazard’s writings in printed and manuscript form and is arranged alphabetically by title. The majority of the series contains poetry, however there are several manuscript copies of an unfinished autobiography. Folders contain a mix of poetry, notes, family history, autobiographical information, and other writings.
This series contains printed material collected by Hazard. Included is an article on Mary Peace reprinted from the Bulletin of the Friends Historical Association, a book of poetry by Isabel Fiske Conant, and the program for the dedication of the Weaver sculpture at the Hazard Memorial in Peace Dale, Rhode Island, 1920.
This series contains other papers collected by Hazard. Included are her 1942 tax return, notes on Hazard family history, which includes a description of “Memorial Tower” built by Joseph Hazard at “The Castle.” Other documents in this collection pertain to the Santa Barbara Museum and travel brochures.