Rose Mary Lawson Shaker Research Collection (MS-571)
Scope and Contents
This collection contains various documents, photographs, maps, correspondences, books, and audio-visual materials pertaining to Shaker religious communities in the Midwest. All materials in this collection were either used or produced by Rose Mary Lawson or Martha Boice during their research of Shaker communities. These collection materials span in date from roughly 1990-2001, though there are some photocopies in the collection that date back as far as 1895. This collection would be useful for those researching Shaker religious communities in Ohio and Kentucky, and even the doctrines, protocol, and history of the Shaker religion as a whole. Additionally, this collection might be of use to those studying the geography or history of rural communities in Ohio and Kentucky in which Shakers resided, as it includes a sizable collection of maps and land deeds depicting Shaker communities and surrounding towns.
Series I, Research Materials, includes various research materials used and produced by Rose Mary Lawson and Martha Boice in their studying of the Shaker communities. This series includes notes, citations, and photo copies of materials that Lawson and Boice used in Shaker Research. This series also includes various maps (including oversize maps) of Shaker communities that were predominantly used by Boice to write Maps of the Shaker West. Finally, this series includes a small number of photographs, microfilm, and scrapbooks of Shaker communities. Items in this series are dated from 1980 to 2001.
Series II, Publication and Related Materials, includes books, drafts, essays, and speeches produced by Lawson and Boice and all materials related to the publication of these works. This series is divided into two subseries. The first encapsulates the various written works on Shakers written by Lawson and Boice from 1980 to 1997. The second sub-series includes drafts of speeches given by Boice to promote Maps of the Shaker West, and various reviews of Lawson and Boice’s works, dating from 1997-2000.
Series III, Correspondence, includes the correspondence between Martha Boice and various others (Shaker researchers, cartographers, illustrators, historians, and publishers) dated from 1995-2000. This series includes correspondence written prior to the publication of Boice’s Maps of the Shaker West and after.
Dates
- Creation: 1980 - 2001
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1990 - 2000
Creator
- Lawson, Rose Mary Haley, 1929-2007 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The oversize materials (mainly maps of mid-west Shaker regions) found within this collection are stored off site; therefore, please provide at least 2 days advance notice to use oversize items.
Additionally, due to preservation concerns, original audio and video materials cannot be played in the reading room. Patrons may have access to reference copies. Items without reference copies can be digitized at the request of a patron for the cost of creating a digital copy. Please provide us at least two weeks advance notice if you would like to request an audio or video reference copy. Call 937-775-2092 or e-mail us at library-archives-ref@wright.edu .
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Biographical / Historical
Rose Mary Lawson, née Haley, of Dayton, Ohio was an archivist, author, teacher, and researcher born in 1929. As a young adult, Lawson obtained a master’s degree in history from Wright State University and used this education to work for various historical institutions around Dayton, Ohio, including the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, the Montgomery County Historical Society (now Dayton History), and the Patterson Homestead. Lawson’s personal scholarly interest lay in the Shaker religious communities of Ohio and Kentucky. She produced many written works on the Shakers, including various articles, a children’s Shaker paper doll book, and a book on the Watervliet Shaker community that was once located in Dayton, Ohio. Lawson passed away in 2007.
Martha Boice, née Hibbert, of Dayton, Ohio is a historian and researcher of Shaker communities and advocate for the preservation of historic Ohio buildings. Boice has spearheaded campaigns to preserve a large number of historic buildings in South-Western Ohio. Boice also had an interest in Shaker architecture, inspiring her to write Maps of the Shaker West, which she published through her own publishing company, Knot Garden Press.
Extent
4.24 linear feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection contains various documents, photographs, maps, correspondences, books, and audio-visual materials pertaining to Shaker religious communities in Ohio and Kentucky. Materials in this collection were either used or produced by Rose Mary Lawson, or her colleague, Martha Boice, during their research of Shaker communities. Rose Mary Lawson, née Haley, was an archivist, author, teacher, and researcher of Shaker religious communities. Lawson produced many written works on the Shakers, including various articles, a children’s Shaker paper doll book, and a book on the Watervliet Shaker community that was once located in Dayton, Ohio.
Arrangement
The collection consists of three series and two sub-series:
- Series I: Research Materials, 1980-2001
- Series II: Publications and Related Materials 1980-2000
- Sub-series A: Books, drafts, and essays, 1980-2000
- Sub-series B: Promotional materials, talks, and reviews, 1995-2000
- Series III: Correspondence, 1995-2000
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
The collection includes some microfilm images of buildings in various midwestern Shaker communities. A microfilm reader will be required to view these images.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Rose Mary Lawson Shaker Research collection was donated to Wright State Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University Libraries, by Fred Lawson, Rose Mary’s widower, in January 2008. The additions to the collection were donated by Martha Boice, a fellow Shaker-researcher and Rose Mary’s friend and colleague, in 2009.
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
Separated Materials
The maps included in this collection have been separated to oversize map-case drawers and stored off-site.
General
The materials within this collection were used in the writing of Martha Boice’s book, Maps of the Shaker West.
Boice, Martha, Dale Covington, and Richard Spence. Maps of the Shaker West: A Journey of Discovery. Knot Garden Press, 1997.
Lawson, Rose Mary. Shaker Paper Dolls. Knot Garden Press, 1998.
Lawson, Rose Mary. Six Doctors for 600 People: Memories of a Small Town Doctor’s Daughter in Brooksville, Kentucky 1889-1989. Bracken County Historical Society, 2010.
Processing Information
Much of the processing of this collection maintains the original order into which Rose Mary Lawson and Martha Boice arranged the materials. There were some slight alterations to this order, such as combining all of Boice’s post-publication correspondence into a single grouping.
donor
- Boice, Martha Hibbert (Person)
Subject
- Shakers -- Religion (Organization)
- Shakers -- Social Life and Customs (Organization)
- Shakers -- Middle West -- History (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Rose Mary Lawson Shaker Research Collection (MS-571)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid written according to DACS standards by Anna Helmig, April 2019.
- Date
- 2019 May 1
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
Wright State University Libraries
Special Collections and Archives
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton OH 45435-0001 USA
937-775-2092
library-archives@wright.edu
