Elizabeth Baird Bennett-Harriet Brainard Correspondence

Collection — Box: 1

Identifier: MsC-56

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This box contains nine letters written by Elizabeth (Libby) Baird Bennett to Harriet (Hattie) Brainard between January 16, 1896, and May 30, 1897. They offer a glimpse of life at the Normal School during the late 19th century.

Dates

1896-1897

Creator

Bennett, Elizabeth Baird (Person)
Brainard, Harriet (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials entirely in English.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions. Materials are open for research.

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Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy or similar laws, and the Iowa Open Records Law (see Iowa Code § 22.7). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of Northern Iowa assumes no responsibility.

Biographical / Historical

Both Elizabeth ("Libby") Bennett and Hattie Brainard were born in Wyoming, Iowa. Bennett studied to be a teacher and married Harley (Harlan) DeWitt, with whom she had two children. Their daughter died very young. Bennett's birth and death dates are unknown, though from the letters' context, she might have been born in 1877 or 1878.

Hattie Brainard (1878-1965) married Milo Garrison (1876-1945), with whom she had five children: Millard, Lenore, Harriet, Sterling, and William. She was a teacher at Hazel Green School, near Amber, Iowa, and later at East Ridge School. She ended her teaching career upon her marriage. Her husband was hospitalized with an undisclosed illness for ten years before his death in 1945. Both Hattie and Milo are buried in the cemetery in Wyoming, Iowa.

Both Bennett and Brainard attended the Iowa State Normal School, though Brainard apparently only stayed for one term, having returned home by the time these letters were written to her. According to Brainard's daughter, Harriet Wilbour, Hattie spoke fondly of Libby throughout her life, although it is uncertain how long the two corresponded after their marriages.