Rebecca Dorsey Davis autograph album
Abstract
This collection contains an autograph album belonging to Rebecca Dorsey Davis, 1857-1861, entitled "Album of Beauty." The book contains verses and the signatures of Davis' friends and classmates while studying at the Patapsco Female Institute and Ingleside Seminary, circa 1857-1861.
Dates
- 1857 December 25-1861 August 24
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use
The reproduction of materials in this collection may be subject to copyright restrictions. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine and satisfy copyright clearances or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections. For more information visit the MCHC’s Rights and Permissions page.
Biographical / Historical
Rebecca Dorsey Davis was born on December 23, 1843 in Montgomery County Maryland to Hester Ann Wilkins (1809-1888) and Allen Bowie Davis (1809-1889). One of six children, her siblings included Thomas (1840-1849), William Wilkins (1842-1866), Mary Dorsey (1845-1939), Esther Wilkins (1847-1894), and Allen Bowie (died 1850). Rebecca's father inherited the Greenwood estate in Montgomery County, Maryland from his father and was a successful businessman and farmer. He also served as a county magistrate and a representative at Maryland’s constitutional convention in 1850.
Rebecca D. Davis was a student at the Patapsco Female Institute between 1857-1858, and Ingleside Seminary between 1859-1861. Ingleside, "a Home School for Young Ladies," was founded in 1845 near Catonsville in Baltimore County, Maryland. An 1861 graudate of the school, Rebecca took courses in ancient and modern languages, with a heavy emphasis on French, as well as music, drawing, and dancing. She was also encouraged "in the use of the needle, both for ornamental and plain sewing" (Ingleside Seminary prospectus, 1859).
By 1870, Rebecca was living in Baltimore with her parents and two younger sisters. She remained in Baltimore for the rest of her life, having never married. Rebecca Dorsey Davis died on April 5, 1921 at the age of 77. She left her estate to her only remaining sister, Mary Dorsey Davis.
Extent
1 Items
Language of Materials
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Time Travelers Antiques, April 2006.
Scope and Contents
This autograph album, titled "Album of Beauty" on the front cover, was a gift from Clara Creagh to Rebecca Dorsey Davis on Christmas 1857. A classmate of Davis' at the Patapsco Female Insitute, Creagh inscribed the album, "To Rebecca D. Davis, From her friend Clara Creagh of Alabama, Patapsco Institute, Christmas 1857."
The album itself, published by Leavitt & Allen, contains a number of blank pages interspersed with portrait engravings of ladies. The blank pages are filled with the signatures of Rebecca's friends and classmates at the Patapsco Female Institute and Ingleside Seminary. Many of the signatures accompany a verse of poetry about friendship or love, with a small number written in French. Most of the pages are addressed "To Beckie" and some contain pressed flowers or leaves.
A majority of the entries in the album are from girls at Ingleside Seminary. Their names include Mirriam Eccleston, Caroline "Carrie" Snowden, Fannie Morris, Ella Cocke, Annie Hodges, Blanche Banner, Gertrude Wood, Virginia "Jennie" Rowland, Harriet "Hattie" Kent, Margaret "Maggie" Drake, Amelia Morrow, Ella Sewell, Ellen Shaefer, and Ellen Hill, among others.
- Title
- Guide to the Rebecca Dorsey Davis autograph album
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Mallory Harwerth
- Date
- 2022-08
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library Repository
H. Furlong Baldwin Library
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore MD 21201 United States
4106853750
specialcollections@mdhistory.org