Iowa Women's Archives - Ruth Hamilton Papers - The University of Iowa Libraries

IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES

IOWA CITY, IOWA

TITLE:»RUTH HAMILTON (1898-2008)

PAPERS, DATES:»1895-2008

»QUANTITY:»6 linear feet and audiovisual material

ACQUISITION:	The »papers were donated by »Ruth Hamilton (donor no. 273) in 1995 and succeeding years.
ACCESS:	The »papers are open for research.
ARTIFACTS:	»In box 16.
AUDIOVISUAL:	»Six audiocassettes shelved with audiocassette collection (AC327-AC333, AC343, Four videocassettes shelved with videocassette collection (V96, V104-V105, V162).
COPYRIGHT:	»Copyright has been transferred to the University of Iowa.
PHOTOGRAPHS:	»In boxes 1 to 11.
PROCESSED BY:	»Kristen Rassbach, 1996.

»Biography

Begin text here:»Ruth Hamilton was born on April 12, 1898 in the town of Alta, Iowa, to Peter and Hulda Jensen. She married Carter Hamilton in 1921 He was a professional baseball player for the Cleveland Indians who became a doctor in 1923. Together they adopted a son, Peter. Hamilton graduated from teacher's college in Cedar Falls, Iowa, in 1916. She later returned to school to study dramatics and English at the University of Minnesota and continued to study throughout her life, taking classes whenever she could.

As a teacher, Hamilton taught both in the classroom and over the radio. She began her teaching career in a country schoolhouse in Iowa, in 1916, and later went on to teach speech and elocution classes in California and adult English classes in in Hollywood and New York. She wrote many newspaper articles, travelogues and letters to the editor as well as her memoirs, entitled "The Hamilton Saga." Hamilton was elected twice to the New Hampshire legislature, from 1964 to 1973, and worked for a time in real estate. She also had a great interest in antiques and restoring old homes.

After her husband's death in 1949, Hamilton traveled extensively to many destinations around the world and in her later years gave lectures on her experiences. Ruth Hamilton died in her sleep on January 18, 2008 at the age of 109.

Scope and Content Note

Begin text here:The» Ruth Hamilton papers date from »1895 to 2008 and measure »6 linear feet. The »papers »are arranged in »five series: Personal, Professional, Travel, Correspondence, and Artifacts.

The Personal series (1895-2008 and undated) contains Hamilton's obituary and memoirs including a rough draft of Book 1, 1898 to 1950, a rough draft of Book 2, "Widowhood," and a bound copy of Book 1. The rough drafts also contain many pictures and newspaper clippings which are not found in the bound copy of the book. Newspaper clippings, photographs, and other writings concerning Hamilton, her family and her friends and several of the honors received by Hamilton and information she collected on several of her interests are also included here.

The Professional series (1916, 1940-1993 and undated) contains newspaper clippings and photographs of Hamilton during her days of teaching, politics, and speech and radio work. Several of the bills Hamilton worked on in the New Hampshire legislature and other legislative materials are also included.

The Travel series (1937-1996 and undated) consists of general information from her many trips, lecture materials she used when speaking about her travels, and photographs and brochures from her trips. Also included here is a videocassette of

Hamilton's trip to Europe in 1937 which was originally filmed with an eight millimeter camera.

The Correspondence series (1937-1998 and undated) mainly consists of letters sent and received by Hamilton while abroad. Included are a collection of letters from Sherman Adams, a political leader in New Hampshire, the novelist Irving Stone, and several from the White House throughout several presidential terms. »

The Artifacts series (1895, 1963-1985 and undated) contains many of the souvenirs Hamilton collected from around the world. Of special interest are the stamps and coins from countries Hamilton visited which are no longer cohesive political entities.

style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Box no. Description

Box 1

PersonalPersonal»

Memoirs

Bound book 1, undated

Rough drafts

Book 1

Preface, undated

Chapters 1-23, undated (23 folders)

Box 2

Chapters 24-50, undated (27 folders)

Book 2

Preface, undated

Chapters 1-5, undated (5 folders)

Box 3

Chapters 6-11, undated (6 folders)

Documents

Certificate of Baptism, 1898

Deed, 1953

Passports, 1937-1984

Education

Report cards, 1905-1916

Sixtieth High School Reunion, 1976

Family

Hamilton, Carter

Baseball career, 1919-1923

Education, 1916-1943

Father, 1927 and undated

Marriage to Ruth Jensen

Wedding announcement, 1921

Newspaper clippings and photographs, 1921 and undated

Newspaper clippings, 1923, 1968 and undated

Obituary, 1949

Hamilton, Peter

Newspaper clippings, 1936, 1939, 1946

Scrapbook 1943, 1946, 1958 and undated

Family tree, undated

Jensen, Lloyd (Hamilton's brother), 1959

Parents

Newspaper clippings, undated

Wedding invitation and photograph, 1895

Sweden/Denmark family information, 1915, 1937, 1971-1975

Friends

Gelb, Trudy, 1990

MacLaughlin, Don, 1979 and undated

Peters, Ron, undated

Praschnik, Herman, undated

Certificates, 1986, 1990 and undated

Unsung Heroines Award, 1986

Interests

Art, 1972-1974

Gauguin, Jean, 1980, 1986-1987 and undated

Iconography, 1975-1995 (scattered) and undated

Student museum, 1993

Optimists Club, 1996

International Optimists Convention Speech, 1997 [shelved in videocassette collection: V162]

Box 4

Interviews

NEWS 6 WCPX, Orlando, Florida, 1996 [shelved in the videocassette collection: V104-V105]

Newspaper clippings, 1923, 1939-1998 and undated

Writings

Biographical, 1942, 1986, and undated

Poetry and a memoir of a friend, 1962, 1968 and undated

Miscellaneous

Business cards, undated

"Durant depression, 1928," undated [shelved in the audiocassette collection: AC 343]

Highlights of life in Florida, 1952-1961, 1983, 1995

Highlights of life in New Hampshire, 1941, 1961

Mother's Day, 1996

Party of a Century: 100 Years of caring and Sharing program, April 12, 1998

Thanksgiving, 1996

Widowhood timeline, 1950-1986

Photographs

Alta, Iowa, 1995

Birthdays

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

Hamilton, Carter, 1934, 1948, 1949, and undated

Family, 1907-1930, 1948 and undated (2 folders)

Friends, 1973-1996 and undated

Portrait, 1963 [closed for conservation]

Thornburg, Iowa, 1996

Box 5

Travel, 1937, 1965, 1974-1976, 1984-1987

Miscellaneous, 1977, 1995

Professional

Politics

New Hampshire Legislature

General information, undated

New Hampshire legislature (cont.)

Photographs, 1986 and undated

House journal, 1970

Bills, 1965

General Court Manuals, 1941, 1965, 1969

Sesquicentennial Booklet, New Hampshire State House, 1969

National Order of Women Legislators Annual Convention, 1969

Brown Book of the New Hampshire Legislature, 1965, 1969

Diary of the 1964-1965 legislative session

Draft one

Draft two [typescript]

Legislative sessions of 1965 and 1969

"Beginning of My First Political Campaign--1963," 1993 [shelved in the audiocassette collection: AC328]

Official documents, 1963-1965, 1968 and undated

Photographs, 1964, 1965 and undated

Editorials, 1969

Speeches, 1965, 1968 and undated

Issues

Legal voting age, 1969

Junkyards, undated

Highway regulation and protection, 1965

Four-year term for governors, 1970

Wiretapping and eavesdropping, 1955-1971

Youth, 1969 and undated

Comments by Hamilton on issues

Vietnam, bed bugs, and LSD, undated [shelved in the audiocassette collection: AC329]

Dog and Cat Bill, journalism, Nixon, and Kent State, undated [shelved in the audiocassette collection: AC330]

New Hampshire State Hospital, liquor stories, litter bugs, and the Dog and Cat Bill, undated [shelved in the audiocassette collection: AC331]

Feldman Bill, and legislature stories, undated [shelved in the audiocassette collection: AC332]

Legislature stories, undated [shelved with audiocassettes: AC333]

Newspaper clippings

1940

1961-1969 and undated

Box 6

Campaigns

Adams, Sherman, 1959 and undated

Carter, Jimmy, 1977

McCarthy, Eugene, 1968-1969 and undated

McGovern, George, 1972

Peterson, Walter, 1968-1969

Inaugural invitations, 1965, 1977

Real estate, 1963, 1993 and undated

Speech and radio, 1938-1939 and undated

Teachers college, 1916

Teaching experience, 1916-1917, 1923 and undated

Travel

Trips

Europe, 1937

Videocassette [shelved in the videocassette collection: V96]

California, 1939

Norway, 1951

Europe, 1955

Denmark

Italy

Switzerland

West Germany

Scandinavia, 1963

Norway

Sweden

Arctic trip, 1963

Leningrad

Moscow

Norway

Box 7

Arctic trip, 1963

USSR, 1963

East Germany, 1963

Balkan trip, 1965

Bulgaria

Czechoslovakia

Denmark

Greece

Hungary

Switzerland

Turkey

West Germany

Yugoslavia

Miscellaneous

Iceland, 1969

Iceland, 1971

USSR, 1971

Sweden, 1972

Ireland, 1972

France, 1974

Box 8

London, 1974

African cruise, 1974 [oversize shelved in map case: drawer 3]

USSR, 1974

East Germany, 1974

Italy, 1975

Malcesina

Pompeii

Sorrento (Island of Capri)

Italy, 1977

Florence

Rome

Syracuse

Sicily

General

Africa, 1977 [oversize shelved in map case: drawer 3]

Yucatan, 1982

USSR, 1983

Memories of trip [shelved with audiocassettes: AC327]

Yucatan, 1983

Box 9

Black Sea Cruise, 1984

Belgium, 1984

Holland, 1984

Mexico, 1985

London, 1985

Portugal, 1985

Mexico and Cuba, 1986

Romania, 1986

Box 10

Costa Rica, 1987

Costa Rica, 1988

London, 1990

Lectures

Programs, undated

Notes

Africa, undated

Iceland, undated

USSR, undated

Photographs, 1996 and undated

Denmark

Knud Rassmussen Museum, undated

Miscellaneous, undated

Greece, undated

Iceland, undated

London, undated

Poland, undated

Portugal, undated

USSR

Gagarin, Yuri, undated

Hermitage, undated

Box 11

Photographs, undated

Stamp collection, undated

Miscellaneous, undated

Correspondence

General

1937, 1939

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990-1998

undated

Adams, Sherman, 1952-1968

Box 12

Artifacts

Balkan trip handicrafts, 1965

Yuri Gagarin viewer, 1963

Leaf and rock from the Acropolis, 1984

Hamilton's baby cup

Stone from the ruins of the temple where Apostle Paul spoke, 1965

Coins

Ireland and Costa Rica

Yugoslavia, East Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, Austria, Belgium, and West Germany

Hungary and Romania

Turkey, Greece and Cuba

Soviet Union

Mexico

Africa and Portugal

England and Denmark

Pins from the Soviet Union

Stamps from various countries

Box 12

Artifacts (cont.)

Doll from the Soviet Union, 1970

Locket, 1933

Wallet from the Soviet Union, 1983

Cigarette case from the Soviet Union

Silver spoon from parent's wedding set, 1895