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Greenville Woman's College Records, 1855-1976; bulk 1920-1937

Please e-mail specialcollections@furman.edu with comments & questions

Arrangement

The collection has been arranged in 12 series, three of which have been further arranged in subseries. The materials within each series have been arranged chronologically by year.

Series 1, GWC General

Subseries 1, Programs and Invitations

Subseries 2, Circulars and Advertisements

Series 2, Board of Trustees

Series 3, Office of the President

Series 4, Financial and Legal Records

Series 5, Registrar

Series 6, Library

Series 7, Faculty Collections

Series 8, Clubs and Organizations

Series 9, Publications

Series 10, Visual Materials

Subseries 1, Photographs and Etchings

Subseries 2, Negatives

Subseries 3, Postcards

Series 11, Alumnae Association

Sub-series 1, Merge and Coordination with Furman

Sub-series 2, Class Files

Sub-series 3, Reunion Files

Series 12, Diploma Collection

Scope and Contents

The surviving records of the Greenville Woman's College consist of documents created by or related to the college and its Alumnae Association. The collection spans from 1855 through 1976, although the majority dates from 1920 to 1940. Materials in the collection include correspondence, committee reports, diplomas, financial records, library accessions, minutes, photographs, negatives programs, student publications, historical sketches, speeches, and postcards.  This body of records also contains some records from the Woman's College of Furman University (1938-1961).

The Class Credits and Requirements Book in Series 5, Registrar was given by Edna Carlton, housekeeper of the women’s dorms, and contains a list of students, 1897-1906.

The Zetosophia Academic Honor Society was created in 1922 and included alumnae retroactively elected back to 1914. Zetosophia merged with Furman’s academic honor society Hand and Torch in 1953, and records up to that time, plus during the merger 1954-1955 are included. Hand and Torch was voted out of existence in 1974. Zetosophia members apparently continued to meet under that name and records from 2000 to 2010 are included.

Mary C. Judson organized the Judson Literary Society in 1878 in honor of her brother, Charles H. Judson. We have the newspaper the Society produced, The College Mirror (1879-1884), programs, one photo of five female members ca. 1880s, and a manuscript describing how the society was created, author and date unknown. There are minutes from a November 10, 1879 meeting. Pins worn by the members are included in the GWC Artifacts collection. The Judson Literary Society was later split into the Alethean and Philotean Societies, and a constitution, bylaws booklet, and programs are included.

Records of the Alumnae Association, established in 1889, include the constitution, minutes, treasurer’s reports, historical sketch, alumnae biographical information, and newsletters. Records from the Greenville County GWC Alumnae Club include minutes (1912-1913) and the constitution and bylaws. A subseries dealing with the merge and coordination with Furman University is included. Furman’s alumni and alumnae associations voted to merge on May 30, 1953.

The diplomas in Series 12 include Greenville Baptist Female College (1855-1878), Greenville Female College (1878-1912), and Greenville Woman's College (1912-1933).