A Guide to the Mary Carter Collection, n.d., 1914-1915 #SC 0105

Thomas Balch Library

Thomas Balch Library
208 West Market Street
Leesburg, Virginia 20176
USA
Phone: (703) 737-7195
Fax: (703) 737-7195
Email: balchlib@leesburgva.gov
URL: http://www.leesburgva.gov/departments/thomas-balch-library/

Processed by: Elizabeth E. Preston

Abstract

Mary Carter kept a scrapbook during 1914 and 1915, mostly during her summer and winter breaks. She called it "My good time book." In it, she collected newspaper notices and announcements of dances, parties, card games, and weddings. The book also includes place cards, invitations, programs, and calling cards. The collection also includes a copy of "A Sketch, Richard Baxter Fishburne 1896-1922-1925," written by Margaret Fishburne Welbourn (1889-1968). Richard B. Fishburne (1896-1925) was one of Mary Carter's friends.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection open for research.

Use Restrictions

Physical characteristics and conditions affect use of this material. Photocopying not permitted.

Preferred Citation

Mary Carter Collection, n.d., 1914-1915 (SC 0105), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

Michaela McIntyre, Leesburg, VA

Alternative Form Available

None

Accruals

2012.0158

Processing Information

Elizabeth E. Preston, 14 March 2013

Biographical Information

Mary Carter (1897-1 October 1944) was the daughter of Charles Shirley Carter, Jr. (1871-1949) and Bessie Bentley Carter (1860-1938). The family lived in Leesburg in the home of Carter's father, Charles Shirley Carter, Sr. (1840-1922), a physician. She attended the Misses Eastman's School for Girls in Washington, D.C.; she graduated in 1916. Carter spent much of her time at school in Washington and returned to Leesburg for summer and winter breaks. When home, she attended dances and parties with the other young people of Leesburg, many of whom also attended boarding schools.

Carter moved permanently to Washington in her twenties, where she worked as a secretary in several government offices. She died in October 1944 and was buried in Union Cemetery, Leesburg.

Scope and Content

Mary Carter kept a scrapbook during 1914 and 1915, mostly during her summer and winter breaks. She called it "My good time book." In it, she collected newspaper notices and announcements of dances, parties, card games, and weddings. Carter often added notes about who attended the events, how late everyone stayed out, and other general comments. The book also includes place cards, invitations, programs, and calling cards. Though most of the material comes from her stays in Leesburg, there are several things from the Misses Eastman's School for Girls, including an invitation to a tea hosted by the class of 1915.

The collection also includes a copy of "A Sketch, Richard Baxter Fishburne 1896-1922-1925," written by Margaret Fishburne Welbourn (1889-1968). Richard B. Fishburne (1896-1925) was one of Mary Carter's friends. He developed tuberculosis and went to a sanitarium in Oteen, North Carolina in 1923. Fishburne's sister, Margaret, wrote a sketch of the last years of his life based on letters he sent to her while she was living in Japan. She gave copies of the sketch to friends and family on an anniversary of his death.

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Bibliography

Frain, Elizabeth R. Union Cemetery Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia: Plats A and B, 1784-1995 . Lovettsville, VA: Willow Bend Books, 1995.

Mary Carter Collection, n.d. 1914-1915 (SC 0105), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Obituary. The Loudoun News, 5 October 1944, page 6.

U.S. Federal Census, AncestryLibrary.com (accessed 14 March 2013).

Other Finding Aid

None

Technical Requirements

None

Other Finding Aid

Bibliography

Frain, Elizabeth R. Union Cemetery Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia: Plats A and B, 1784-1995 . Lovettsville, VA: Willow Bend Books, 1995.

Mary Carter Collection, n.d. 1914-1915 (SC 0105), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.