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Sarah Daniels Packard was born on October 29, 1827 to Congregational minister Levi Packard and Clarissa Sanford Packard in Spencer, Massachusetts. She attended school in Medway, Massachusetts before entering Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1844. After graduating in 1846, she returned to Spencer to teach. She married hardware store owner James Cotton Holden in 1850 and lived in New York City. They had three children and in 1861 moved to Madison, New Jersey. She died in Madison on January 13, 1907, at the age of seventy-nine.
The Sarah Daniels Packard Holden Papers consist of journals, correspondence, notebooks, compositions, biographical information, a diploma, and a photograph. Most of this material relates to her years as a student at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, 1844-1846. The Mount Holyoke-related items include a letter written by Holden on March 22, 1844, and journals compiled in 1844 and 1845. In these documents Holden discusses her course work, schedule, roommates, religious life, the school's interest in the financial support of missionaries, the daily walking requirement, a Mountain Day excursion in 1845, Mary Lyon, her room in the Seminary Building, and caring for ill students. Three compositions dating from 1845-1846 concern the story of Pocahontas, the life and death of one of Holden's friends, and the power of memory and remembrance. Three notebooks contain calisthenic exercises, lists of plants that were probably collected for a botany class, and several original poems and songs written by Mount Holyoke students, circa 1840-1846, that are examples of what has come to be known as Seminary Literature. The notebook of these writings also includes poems and songs dating from 1838-circa 1843 and written by students in the "High school" in Medway, Massachusetts, that Holden attended before coming to Mount Holyoke. This collection also includes twelve letters dating from 1847-1866. One of these letters was written by Holden to her mother in 1847; the others were written to Holden by her parents, a cousin, and friends, including a Mount Holyoke classmate, Mary Susan Rice. These letters chiefly discuss news of family and friends, child care, death, national events, and religion. Of particular note is a letter from Rice dated August 13, 1866, in which she describes her work as a teacher and missionary at the Fiske Seminary in Orumiyeh, Persia (now Iran). Other items in the collection consist of Holden's Mount Holyoke diploma from 1846, a biographical note about her, circa 1907, and a formal photograph of her dating from about 1860.
This collection is organized into seven series:
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Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:
Sarah Packard Holden Papers, Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections, South Hadley, MA.
Arranged chronologically.
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There are two journals in this series. They date from October 29, 1844-July 1845 and from October 1-25, 1845. The journals discuss many aspects of student life at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. Holden wrote almost daily in each and commented on her schedule, her roommates, her room in the Seminary Building, religious life and regulations at the school, required daily walking exercise, her homesickness, her studies, caring for ill students, and events such as a Mountain Day excursion on June 25, 1845.
Arranged chronologically.
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There are thirteen letters in this series. Two letters are written by Holden, one while she was a student at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, dated March 22, 1844. It is addressed to a friend, Abby S. Wright, and discusses her studies, activities, required daily walking exercise, the school's financial support of missionaries, and Mary Lyon. This letter also includes a note from a classmate, Harriet L. Whittemore, describing her schedule. The other letter by Holden was written on March 12, circa 1847. It is addressed to her mother, Clarissa Packard, and chiefly concerns a visit to her cousin and James Holden. There are also six letters to Holden from her mother and father, her cousin, and from her friend S.A. Pope. These letters date from January 18, 1847, to December 29, 1856. They discuss news of family and friends, child care, death, national events, and religion. The correspondence also includes two letters to Holden from her classmate Mary Susan Rice, Mount Holyoke Class of 1846. One of these letters, dated March 1, 1847, discusses their teachers, friends, and religion. Another letter, dated August 13, 1866, describes Rice's work as a teacher at the Fiske Seminary in Orumiyeh, Persia (now Iran). Included in this letter is a note from one of Rice's students. Three additional letters in the collection include a note from James Holden, dated February 19, 1847, asking Levi and Clarissa Packard for permission to marry their daughter, a letter dated August 19, 1850, written by James Holden, and a humorous note dated December 25, 1854 from Levi Packard to his grandson Horace Holden II.
Arranged chronologically.
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There are three notebooks in this series. One notebook contains songs and poems by students at the "Medway High school" in Medway, Massachusetts, 1838-circa 1843, and Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, circa 1840-1846. The writings by Mount Holyoke students are examples of creative writing that has become known as Seminary Literature. The other two notebooks date from Holden's years as a student at Mount Holyoke, 1844-1846. One describes calisthenic exercises and the other, listing the names of plants, was probably compiled for a botany class.
Arranged chronologically.
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The three compositions in this series were written by Holden while she was a student at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. The first is dated May 31, 1845, and describes the story of Pocahontas. The second was written on June 14, 1845, and describes the memories of the life and death of a friend. The final compostition was written on June 6, 1846. It is entitled "Memory" and discusses the power of memory and remembrance.
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There is one biographical note in this series, dating from about 1907. The includes names, dates, and places related to Holden's life.
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This series consists of Holden's 1846 diploma from Mount Holyoke Female Seminary.
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This series consists of one formal photograph of Holden taken in about 1860.