Guide to the Lucile Olive Davis Dana Papers 1870-1974
Cage 313

Summary Information

Repository
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries
Creator
Dana, Lucile Olive Davis
Title
Lucile Olive Davis Dana Papers
ID
Cage 313
Date [inclusive]
1870-1974
Extent
1700.0 items.
General Physical Description note
6.5 linear feet of shelf space.
Language
English
Abstract
Correspondence, student notes, drafts of essays and photographs of a Washington State University student, 1912-1916, subsequently wife of Professor Homer J. Dana of the College of Engineering. The papers reflect her student experiences, her position as a faculty wife and her interest in the Daughters of the American Revolution and the American Association of University Women, as well as her relationship with family members, principally her father, the Reverend William H. Davis, her sister Grace Davis, a mission teacher in India; and her step-mother Martha Jenks Davis.

Preferred Citation note

[Item Description]. Cage 313, Lucile Olive Davis Dana Papers . Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

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Biographical/Historical note

Lucile Dana was born as Lucy Davis in Webster, Kansas in 1891. While a small child, she was moved to Oregon City, Oregon, where her father, a clergyman and teacher, had accepted a new assignment. While attending preparatory school at Pacific College in Newberg, Oregon, she adopted the name Lucile. When her family moved to Albion, Washington in about 1910, she followed to the nearby city of Pullman, where she entered the State College of Washington (now WSU). She graduated from the State College's Department of History and Economics in 1916 and became a teacher, first at Amber, Washington, and then in the high school at Davenport, Washington.

In the summer of 1920, she married Homer Dana of the WSU engineering department staff and returned to Pullman. The rest of Mrs. Dana's life was largely composed of the activities of a professor's wife in a small college town, a role through which she attempted to preserve formal social traditions. She was also concerned with volunteer activities with the Daughters of the American Revolution and the American Association of University Women. As a part of her DAR activities, Mrs. Dana served as the compiler of Volume 12 of Family Records of Washington Pioneers (Prior to 1891), Collected by the Daughters of the American Revolution (typescript, 1941-42). During much of Mrs. Dana's adult life, she was hampered by numerous minor physical and mental health problems. She died in Spokane in April 1974.

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Scope and Contents note

Lucile Dana's papers consist of correspondence from 1907-1972, notes and papers accumulated while a student, drafts of essays written for the DAR and AAUW, and numerous photographs, mostly of personal and family subjects. Correspondents include Mrs. Dana's husband, Homer J. Dana (1890-1970); her father, Rev. William H. Davis (1842-1935), a clergyman and head of Edwards College at Albion, Washington; her sister, Grace Davis (ca. 1885-1953), a teacher at a mission school at Lucknow, India; her step-mother, Martha Jenks Davis (1869-1955); and other acquaintances and family members. The correspondence also includes a series of letters written by Mrs. Dana to her step-mother, Martha Davis, which Mrs. Dana acquired after the death of Mrs. Davis. Subjects discussed in the correspondence include personal affairs and interrelationships among the various members of the Davis and Dana families, as well as comments on the career of Professor Homer Dana. Some correspondence relative to the Daughters of the American Revolution is included. Mrs. Dana's student papers illustrate the content of instruction in the social sciences at Washington State University in 1912-1916.

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Arrangement note

The papers are arranged in three series: correspondence, student papers and writings, and photographs. The correspondence is arranged in one chronological sequence, except for the letters from Lucile Dana to Martha Davis, which are in a separate chronological sequence. Mrs. Dana's student notes and her later writings are arranged according to courses of instruction or subject. The photographs are arranged according to their principal subjects.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries © 1975

http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/masc
Terrell Library
P.O. Box 645610
Pullman, WA, 99164-5610
509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu

Conditions Governing Access note

This collection is open for research use.

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

The papers of Lucile Dana were donated to the Washington State University Library in 1973 and 1974.

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Related Materials

Separated Materials note

The donation accompanied her gift of the papers of her husband, Professor Homer J. Dana (Cage 299).

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Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

  • American Association of University Women
  • Daughters of the American Revolution

Personal Name(s)

  • Dana, Homer Jackson, 1890-
  • Dana, Lucile Olive Davis, 1891-1974. --Archives
  • Davis, Grace, ca. 1885-1953
  • Davis, Martha Jenks, 1869-1955
  • Davis, William Henry, 1843-1935

Subject(s)

  • Missionaries -- India--Correspondence
  • Photographs
  • Washington (State)
  • Women

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Collection Inventory

Series 1: Correspondence, 1907-1972 

Correspondence of Lucile Dana 
Box-folder

 1907-1911   60.0 items.

 1 / 1

 1912-1916   60.0 items.

 1 / 2

 1917   40.0 items.

 1 / 3

 Jan.-Apr. 1918   45.0 items.

 1 / 4

 May-Sept. 1918   40.0 items.

 2 / 5

 Oct.-Dec. 1918   40.0 items.

 2 / 6

 Jan.-Mar. 1919   25.0 items.

 2 / 7

 Apr.-May 1919   25.0 items.

 2 / 8

 June-Sept. 1919   25.0 items.

 3 / 9

 Oct.-Dec. 1919   25.0 items.

 3 / 10

 Jan.-Mar. 1920   35.0 items.

 3 / 11

 Apr.-Dec. 1920   35.0 items.

 3 / 12

 1921-1928   45.0 items.

 3 / 13

 1930, 1934-1935   25.0 items.

 4 / 14

 1926-1939   25.0 items.

 4 / 15

 1940-1942   20.0 items.

 4 / 16

 1944-1945   65.0 items.

 4 / 17

 1946-1949   20.0 items.

 5 / 18

 1950-1951   20.0 items.

 5 / 19

 1952-1954   20.0 items.

 5 / 20

 1955-1959   25.0 items.

 5 / 21

 1960-1961   30.0 items.

 5 / 22

 1962-1963   35.0 items.

 5 / 23

 1964-1965   50.0 items.

 6 / 24

 1966-1967   25.0 items.

 6 / 25

 1968-1972   50.0 items.

 6 / 26

 n.d.   25.0 items.

 6 / 27

Correspondence with Martha Davis 
Box-folder

 1920-1929   35.0 items.

 7 / 28

 1930-1939   50.0 items.

 7 / 29

 1940-1944   50.0 items.

 7 / 30

 1945-1949   50.0 items.

 8 / 31

 1950-1952   45.0 items.

 8 / 32

 1953-1955   45.0 items.

 8 / 33

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Series 2: Student Papers and Writings, 1901-1960 
Box-folder

Elementary and prep school materials, 1901-1912   40.0 items.

 9 / 34

College notes, 1912-1916 
Box-folder

Economics   8.0 items.

 9 / 35

German   1.0 item.

 9 / 36

History   8.0 items.

 9 / 37

Lab Sciences   2.0 items.

 10 / 38

Sociology   12.0 items.

 10 / 39

Education (Psychology)   6.0 items.

 10 / 40

English, Greek, Geology, Sanitary Science and Political Science   8.0 items.

 10 / 41

Miscellaneous   10.0 items.

 10 / 42
Box-folder

The Jews in America, essay 1916   1.0 item.

 11 / 43

The Promise of the Future, 1916   1.0 item.

 11 / 43

Gains from the War, 1918   3.0 items.

 11 / 43

College Souvenirs, 1912-1916   45.0 items.

 11 / 44

Davenport High School, 1918-1919   5.0 items.

 11 / 45

Daughters of the American Revolution and American Association of University Women, 1930-1960   8.0 items.

 11 / 46

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Series 3: Photographs 
Box-folder

Objects, scenes, buildings, 1905-1950   50.0 items.

 12 / 47

India, 1910-1920   30.0 items.

 12 / 48

Posed snapshots of persons, 1908-1950   60.0 items.

 12 / 49

Informal poses and candid snapshots, 1905-1955   50.0 items.

 12 / 50

Formal portraits, 1870-1925   30.0 items.

 12 / 51-52

Formal portraits, 1880-1960   70.0 items.

 13 / 53-56

Clippings re: Lucile Dana, 1974   2.0 items.

 13 / 57

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