Preliminary Inventory of the Louise Hortense Branscomb Papers, 1864-2002 and undated

Collection (accession numbers 6-17-85, 87-163, 89-122, 90-045) (458 items, 1.4 lin. ft.; dated 1864-1986) contains medical notebooks, correspondence, speeches, photographs, a few pieces of Confederate currency, and one baby book. The medical notebooks contain reports on cases of surgery on women; references to tropical medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and contagious diseases; medical histories of her patients; and dosages and treatments given. Hospitals where she worked include Woman's Hospital in Philadelphia, Pa.; Franklin Square Hospital in Baltimore, Md., and Hillman Hospital in Birmingham, Ala. One photograph (1909) of banquet at the First Methodist Church, Birmingham includes Rev. Lewis Capers Branscomb, Dr. Branscomb's father; second photo (1934) includes Dr. Branscomb.

Correspondence includes letters written by Branscomb's parents focusing chiefly on their courtship and later family life in Alabama. Speeches written by Branscomb were given at functions of United Methodist Church, Birmingham, and relate to her life as physician and to role of women in the church. Baby book describes episodes in her life from 1901-1907. Also included are papers of Lewis Branscomb, a Methodist minister, composed chiefly of diaries, newsclippings, journals, sermon topics, information about persons at whose funeral he officiated, and lists of baptisms he performed. A container list was not created for these accessions.

The addition (95-067) (25 items, 1.5 lin. ft.; dated 1944-1992) contains Dr. Branscomb's diaries which document in detail her professional and civic activities and her involvement in the Methodist Church, as well as her interactions with friends and relatives. Besides her primary diaries, there are travel diaries recording trips to India, Scandinavia, Africa, Europe, Korea, South America, and China. A container list was not created for this accession.

The addition (98-0513) (6 items, 0.5 lin. ft.; dated 1914-1920) contains six diaries kept while Dr. Branscomb was a teenager, documenting family and school life in Alabama, summer trips to North Carolina, and college life at Women's College (later Huntingdom College) in Montgomery, Alabama. Several of the diaries contain pasted in clippings, photographs, and other ephemera documenting Branscomb's social life and current events. A container list was not created for this accession.

The addition (99-0335) (11 items, 0.1 lin. ft.; dated 1992-1993) is comprised of Dr. Branscomb's 1992 diary. Includes photos and clippings. A container list was not created for this accession.

The addition (02-226) (1500 items, 4.2 lin. ft.; dated 1864-2002 and undated, bulk 1984-1999) contains correspondence, clippings, diplomas, photographs, writings, speeches, financial papers, and legal papers of Dr. Branscomb. Materials relate to her family, civic, and church affairs. Also included are a 1902 diary (for part of the year) kept by her father, as well as letters and other papers generated by him, his wife, and their various children. There are also two scrapbooks containing newsclippings, 119 black-and white photographs, and 109 color photographs.

The addition (02-250) (40 items, 0.25 lin. ft.; dated 1985) contains four audio cassettes containing an oral history conducted between September and October of 1985 in Birmingham, Ala., when Martha E. King interviewed Dr. Branscomb on behalf of the Women's Division Oral History Project for the United Methodist Church's General Board of Global Ministries. There is also correspondence, biographical information about Dr. Branscomb, as well as detailed descriptions of and an index for the interview. However, no transcript of the interview is available. Interview topics include family, education, missionary work, women's issues in the church, race relations, and Branscomb's representing the church on her travels to Africa. A container list was not created for this accession.

The addition (07-169) (5 items, 0.1 lin. ft.; dated 1980) contains a biography of Dr. Branscomb written by her brother, Rev. Edwin Branscomb in 1980.

• Branscomb, Louise Hortense, 1901-
• Branscomb, Lewis Capers.
• Branscomb, Minnie McGehee.
• King, Martha E.
• United Methodist Church (U.S.)
• Woman's Hospital of Philadelphia--History.
• Franklin Square Hospital (Baltimore, Md.)--History.
• Hillman Hospital (Birmingham, Ala.)--History.
• First Methodist Church (Birmingham, Ala.)
• Methodist Episcopal Church--Alabama.
• Surgery, Operative.
• Women in the Methodist Church.
• Women in Christianity--United States--History.
• Women physicians--United States--History--20th century.
• Obstetrics--Statistics.
• Gynecology.
• Diseases.
• Tropical medicine.
• Women missionaries.
• Women in missionary work.
• Alabama--Social life and customs.
• Diaries.
• Casebooks.
• Black-and-white photographs.
• Color photographs.
• Scrapbooks.
• Audio cassettes.

[Identification of item], Louise Hortense Branscomb Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

The Louise Hortense Branscomb Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a gift in 1985-2002.

Processed by Paula Jeannet; Alice Poffinberger; Don Sechler, Lisa Stark; Rubenstein Library staff

Completed 1987-2003

Encoded by Joshua A. Kaiser

This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.

This collection is unprocessed: materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.