Author Archives: Special Collections

A Family Reunion: Correcting the Record, Expanding the Story

Jeffrey M. Ranney recently contacted Special Collections to offer us a copy of his book, An American Journey: The Ranney Family of the Connecticut River Valley & Virginia, 1616-2022. The family, he wrote, had deep roots in Vermont. Checking our … Continue reading

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The Poor Farm Garden 1947-1953

In the fall of 1946, Robert F. Stoel (who later changed his last name to Stowell) joined the University of Vermont English department as an instructor. In June 1947, Stowell purchased 18 tillable acres with buildings and a spring on … Continue reading

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Ovid and the Istrian Skies

Bound into the back of our 1497/98 printed edition of the works of Ovid is a four-page manuscript that offers an intriguing sidelight to our current focus on eclipses. The dense Latin script is difficult to read, so we asked … Continue reading

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College Memory Books, for Keepers of Keepsakes

On October 22, 1921, UVM student Dorothy Mayo Harvey typed a long letter to “family adorable, and adored.” She reported on her campus activities and included a paragraph about her search for a college memory book. I have a new … Continue reading

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A Tale of Two Burlington Women’s Clubs

During the 2023 spring semester, Special Collections intern and History graduate student Brooke Talbott processed the records of two Burlington, Vermont women’s clubs. Drawing on correspondence, reports, minutes, scrapbooks, account books, ephemera and publications in the collections, Brooke tells the … Continue reading

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Trans Visibility in Out in the Mountains

Special Collections intern and History graduate student Juniper Oxford contributed this blog post for the 2023 International Transgender Day of Visibility. She relied on the UVM Libraries’ digital version of Out in The Mountains to do her research.  For two … Continue reading

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Unusual Materials

This spring, Erika White’s ARTS 196 class, Making Artist Books, includes four sessions in Silver Special Collections. During the first session, librarian Prudence Doherty introduced students to a selection of artists’ books. During the second session, students explored accordion book … Continue reading

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Black Caterer Managed UVM’s Hash House

The 1900 federal census recorded approximately 115 Black residents in Burlington, Vermont. Almon J. Clark, listed as colored in the 1900 census, lived with his wife Anna (54), his daughters Mary (24) and Ellen (22) and his sons John (19) … Continue reading

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Christmas Cards from the Studio of Katherine Crockett

In January 1966, T. D. Seymour Bassett, the curator of the UVM Wilbur Collection, sent a letter to Katherine Crockett in Pittsford, Vermont. Bassett wrote that he had received two of her attractive Christmas cards from friends in St. Louis … Continue reading

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High License, Local Option, and the 1902 Election

As the 2022 election season draws to a close, we offer an article by graduate student Juniper Oxford about the 1902 election, when prohibition in Vermont was the central contentious issue. Juniper conducted research for the article in Special Collections … Continue reading

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