May E. Francis Collection
Scope and Contents
This collection consists primarily of notes and manuscripts related to a projected history of Texas on which Francis was working. The collection also includes a small amount of Francis family correspondence relating to legal matters in the 1860s. In addition, the collection contains a few books associated with Francis's work and research.
Dates
- Creation: 1864-c. 1968
Creator
- Francis, May E. (Person)
Language of Materials
Materials entirely in English.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions. Materials are open for research.
General Use, Reproduction, and Copyright Policies
Many items housed in the Rod Library Special Collections & University Archives, including unpublished images and manuscripts, may be protected by copyright, publication rights, trademarks, or model release rights which the library does not own and for which the library cannot grant permission or licensing. Materials currently under copyright are usually still available for research and limited reproduction under Fair Use laws. However, it is the sole responsibility of the patron to determine whether or not their use of a given material falls within Fair Use guidelines and to obtain permission for said use from the rightful copyright owner.
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 ยง 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
May E. Francis was born on November 2, 1880, in Mapleton, Minnesota. She received her bachelor's degree from the Iowa State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa) in 1920; her master's degree from Teachers College at Columbia University (New York); and her Ph.D. from the University of Texas in 1934. Francis began her career teaching in a one-room school in Bremer County, Iowa. She drafted and created regulations for the Standard School Law, which sought to improve one-room school education. Francis was the first woman elected to statewide public office in Iowa, when she was elected the state superintendent of public instruction in 1922. Outside of teaching and holding public office, Francis wrote a historical novel, Jim Bowie's Lost Mine, as well as a fourth-grade spelling textbook. She died in 1968 and was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 2003.
Extent
1.25 Linear Feet (1 box)
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Mike Fuller, a great-nephew of May Francis, donated this collection to the Special Collections and University Archives in July 2013.
Processing Information
Collection processed by University Archivist Gerald L. Peterson, August 2013; updated, August 27, 2013 (GP). Last updated by Library Associate Dave Hoing, October 2017. Linear feet count updated on August 7, 2017.
- Title
- May E. Francis Collection
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script