mnsss514 Mary Isabel Ellis Basten, 1837-2004 Finding Aid Sophia Smith Collection

Smith College Northampton, MA

2012

Finding aid exported into EAD from InMagic DB/Textworks 13.0. Encoded by Margaret Jessup. February 20, 2012 Finding aid written in English. Collection Overview Basten, Mary Isabel Ellis, 1886- 1975 Mary Isabel Ellis Basten1837-2004 MS 665 8 boxes (8 linear ft.) English Sophia Smith Collection

Smith College Northampton, MA

Teacher; Homemaker. Collection consists primarily of the courtship letters of Mary Isabel Ellis and Austin Slausen Basten, who married in 1912, as well as the former's diaries from 1905 through 1922 and part of 1926. There is also correspondence that post-dates the marriage and some letters from friends and other family members, as well as photographs, scrapbooks, memorabilia, writings, and biographical information. Biographical Note

Mary Isabel Ellis ("Mibs") was born in New York City to Isabel Fitch Ellis and Wesley Ellis. She graduated from Kingston Academy in Kingston, New York in 1905. After teaching for a year in a one-room schoolhouse in Kripplebush, New York to help finance her college education, she entered Emerson College in 1906. Emerson was a three-year college at the time and she graduated in 1909, majoring in English and dramatics. She then taught at the Bloomsburg State Normal School in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania until marrying Austin Basten, in 1912. Austin Basten was a businessman who worked with various firms until starting his own business. The couple had three children: Louis Bevier, David Ellis,and Mary Esther. They lived in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Hartford, Connecticut and Indiana before retiring to Lynchburg, Virginia. Basten did some writing, including a brief account of having seen the Panama Canal under construction, and gave occasional talks on various topics; she was also active in local garden clubs. In 1972, the couple moved to their daughter's home in Old Greenwich, Connecticut.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

This collection consists primarily of the courtship letters of Mary Isabel Ellis and Austin Slausen Basten, who married in 1912, as well as the former's diaries from 1905 through 1922 and part of 1926. There is also correspondence that post-dates the marriage and some letters from friends and other family members, as well as photographs, scrapbooks, memorabilia, writings, and biographical information.

[NOTE: The contents list for this collection is not online. Contact the Sophia Smith Collection if you would like one sent to you.]

The papers are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection with the following caveats: Collection is stored offsite; researchers must give 48 hours advance notice. This collection has not been fully processed and therefore may be difficult to use.

The Sophia Smith Collection owns copyright to the unpublished works of Mary Basten in this collection. Permission must be obtained to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use." Copyright to materials created by others may be owned by those individuals or their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

Mary Isabel Ellis Basten, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.

The Papers of Mary Isabel Ellis Basten were donated to the Sophia Smith Collection by her granddaughter, Jean Krogh (Smith 1969) in 2010 and 2011.

Accessioned by Burd Schlessinger, January 2011

Courtship -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Sources Emerson College -- Students -- History Rutgers College -- Students -- History Teachers -- United States -- Biography -- Sources Young women -- United States -- Diaries Basten, Austin Slausen Basten, Mary Isabel Ellis, 1886-1975 Basten, Austin Slausen