Marguerite Parrish Papers

The Marguerite Parrish Papers are divided into three series: Democratic Party Activities, Personal/Service Activities, and Ephemera.

Series I: Democratic Party Activities comprises the majority of the materials within the collection, with materials dating between 1920 and 1981 (bulk 1940-1980). It is divided into two subseries.

Series I, Subseries A: General, includes general papers and correspondence, many pertaining to specific Democratic groups. The items are arranged beginning with Marguerite Parrish's Personal campaign items. The rest of the subseries is organized beginning from the local and moving to the national level. The items include such things as correspondence, minutes, photographs, pamphlets, programs, and newspaper clippings. Materials in this subseries date between 1920 and 1981 (bulk 1940-1981).

Series I, Subseries B: Political Leaders, consists of correspondence and papers filed according to the specific politician to whom they pertain. This subseries is also arranged from local to national leaders. This is one of the most interesting parts of the collection dealing with many of her acquaintances such as John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Harry S. Truman. The John F. Kennedy files in this subseries have many photographs of the President while visiting Dayton, as well as some postcards and letters to Marguerite Parrish. Additionally, many items from the inaugurations of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson are also included in this subseries. Materials in this subseries date between 1944 and 1980.

Series II: Personal/Service Activities includes both the few items pertaining to Parrish’s family that were received with the collection, as well as items concerning her many service organizations. Her work included the Child Nutrient Association in the 1930's, the Porchlight Parade for Polio in the 1950's, and the 1971 White House Conference on Aging. These items vary considerably in time and content and include such things as books, correspondence, minutes, programs, awards, and newspaper clippings. Materials in this series date between 1928 and 1977.

Series III: Ephemera contains mainly political campaign buttons but also has some American Cancer Society Buttons and state of Ohio patriotism buttons. The campaign buttons begin as early as FDR and run through President Carter. One very interesting piece of ephemera included in this series is an ink pen with President Johnson's signature on it with a note that it was used to sign several bills into Law.