Elizabeth Jewell Davis collection on Frances Jewell McVey
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Elizabeth Jewell Davis collection on Frances Jewell McVey
- Date
- 1940-1952, undated (inclusive)
- Creator
- Davis, Elizabeth Jewell
- Extent
- 0.18 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Aunts
- Young women -- United States -- Correspondence -- 20th century
- Women -- Correspondence
- Davis, Elizabeth Jewell
- Preferred Citation
- 2022ua002 : [identification of item], Elizabeth Jewell Davis collection on Frances Jewell McVey, 1940-1952, undated, University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Frances Jewell McVey was born December 23, 1889, to Asa and Elizabeth Jewell in Harrison County, Kentucky. When she was a small child, the family (including brothers Robert and John) moved to Lexington, where Frances graduated from Sayre College before going to the Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1913. She went on to earn a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1918, but she had already begun teaching at the University of Kentucky (UK), where she served as a professor in the English Department from 1915-1921. McVey was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Kentucky in 1940.
- In addition to assuming the position of professor in the University of Kentucky English Department, McVey served as the Dean of Women from 1921-1923. In 1923, she married then President of UK, Frank LeRond McVey, and is perhaps best known for her role as the "First Lady of Maxwell Place" until her husband's retirement in 1940. The McVeys were the first President's family to reside in Maxwell Place, and Frances Jewell McVey was widely praised for her graciousness as host of many teas and dinners. Her interest in, and recipes for, traditional Kentucky and Southern foods were well known and publicized, as was her knowledge of gardening.
- Throughout her life, Frances Jewell McVey remained active in UK campus affairs. She also served as a trustee of Vassar College, a member of the Lexington Board of Education, the National YWCA board, and the Frontier Nursing Service, and a charter member of the Lexington Junior League and the Business and Professional Women's Club.
- Frances Jewell McVey died on June 13, 1945, in Lexington, Kentucky, and was interred at the Lexington Cemetery.
- Elizabeth Jewell Davis (May 24, 1916-January 5, 1996) was a niece of Frances Jewell McVey. Her father, John Barry Jewell (1886-1946), was McVey's brother.
- Scope and Content
- The Elizabeth Jewell Davis collection on Frances Jewell McVey (dated 1940-1952, undated; 0.18 cubic feet; one slim document box) consists of family correspondence, newspaper clippings, magazine articles and death- and memorial-related information collected by Elizabeth Jewell Davis about her Aunt Frances Jewell McVey and documenting McVey's career achievements, personal characteristics, and family relationships. The memorial-related information brochures and clippings focusing on the Frances Jewell McVey Memorial Scholarship Fund at Vassar College. Another newspaper article, published in Redbook Magazine in January 1952, details advice tendered by McVey to a young University of Kentucky student, Sarah Gibson Blanding, who later served as UK Dean of Women (1929 to 1941) and would eventually be named the first woman President of Vassar College serving from 1946 to 1964.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- or
- Property rights reside with the University of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky holds the copyright for materials created in the course of business by University of Kentucky employees. Copyright for all other materials has not been assigned to the University of Kentucky. For information about permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
Correspondence, 1940 April 2-1944 October 27
McVey letter to Elizabeth Jewell regarding fellowship and career advice, 1940 April 2
McVey letter to Elizabeth Jewell regarding teaching advice, 1941 September 25
McVey letter to brother John B. Jewell and Mary Henderson, sent from Ann Arbor hospital, 1944 October 27
Newspaper clippings and magazine articles about Frances and Frank McVey, 1943-1952, undated
Frances Jewell McVey awarded "Woman of the year in the South" article, 1943
Frances Jewell McVey Education Fund announcement, undated
Frances Jewell McVey career achievements article, 1945 June 16
Frances Jewell McVey life impacts article, undated
Sarah Gibson Blanding tribute to Dean Jewell article, 1952 January
Frances Jewell "Downtown Dog" seventh grade essay, undated
Frank L. McVey portrait, undated
Newspaper clipping announcing death, 1945 June 14
Death- and memorial-related, 1945 June 13-1949 February, undated
Funeral service information for Frances McVey, undated
Frances Jewell McVey Memorial Scholarship Fund at Vassar College obituary, 1945 June 13
Resolution on death of Frances Jewell McVey, 1945 August 3
McVey Scholarship Fund at Vassar College solicitation letter, 1949 February
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
