Abundant collections of diaries, correspondence, and related materials document the social life and customs, family relationships and routine domestic chores of women inthe home. These collections represent a wide range of economic classes and geographic locations. Holdings are particularly strong in Southern plantation materials, but also present are papers of rural Midwest and New England country women as well as urban aristocrats in the U.S. and abroad. The bulk of the collections are from the 19th or early 20th centuries. This is not an exhaustive list; it is meant to offer an overarching sense of our diverse holdings on the domestic and social lives of women throughout history. To locate further manuscript collections, you may also try searching the online finding aids. You may also search for further materials using the online catalog.

Suggested catalog search terms: 

Confederate states of America -- Social conditions
Family -- United States
North Carolina -- Social life and customs
Social life and customs
Women -- Confederate States of America
Women -- Correspondence
Women -- Diaries
Women -- Family relationships
Women -- Religious life
Women -- Social conditions
Women -- Southern states -- Correspondence
Women -- United States -- Conduct of life
Women travelers
Victorian domestic life
Voyages and travels

Next page: 18th century collections

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