Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Minnie Parkhurst papers, approximately 1884-1960
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Parkhurst, Minnie, 1886-1972
- Title
- Minnie Parkhurst papers
- Dates
- approximately
1884-1960 (inclusive)18841960
1913-1922 (bulk)19131922 - Quantity
- .58 linear feet (1 box)
- Collection Number
- 1848 (Accession No. 1848-001)
- Summary
- Correspondence, trial proceedings and other court documents, newspaper clippings, and writings. The bulk of the collection pertains to Louise Olivereau's trial and imprisonment for sedition; it also contains other materials on radicalism in general.
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Access restricted: For terms of access, contact Special Collections for details.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Activist Minnie Parkhurst was born in Iowa on December 27, 1886 to parents William Ansel and Frances Eudora Arnold Parkhurst. She was active in many movements in the early years of the twentieth century, including pacifism, socialism, feminism, and anarchism. While living in Boise, Idaho, in 1912, Parkhurst met and married Ed Rimer (1884-1965). After initially taking Rimer’s last name, Parkhurst returned to her maiden name, which she used for the rest of her life.
Parkhurst’s political activism began in Boise, where she ran for city commissioner on the IWW-Socialist platform. She lost this campaign, and by 1914 she and Rimer had moved to Seattle, where she joined a theatre group and worked for the Neo-Malthusian League, which focused on birth control and population growth. She also served as the secretary of the Seattle Birth Control League and was a founding member of the Seattle branch of the International Workers’ Defense League.
Through her activism, Parkhurst befriended and corresponded with many other political activists, including Emma Goldman and Louise Olivereau, who was imprisoned for sedition between 1917 and 1920. In August 1917, Olivereau had used her own money to distribute letters that urged men to refuse the draft, which was considered a crime under the Espionage Act. Parkhurst worked to appeal Olivereau’s prison sentence and published a pamphlet about her friend’s story that included excerpts from the trial transcript and the closing speech. Although she had been sentenced to ten years in prison, Olivereau ultimately served only twenty-eight months before her release in March 1920.
In addition to her activist work, Parkhurst enjoyed poetry, drama, hiking, and swimming. She began a new career path in the 1920s, and sold Ford Motor Cars before working as an independent real estate agent. Parkhurst died on May 27, 1972 in Woodinville, Washington. She is buried in Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Bellevue.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Correspondence, trial proceedings and other court documents, newspaper clippings, and writings. The bulk of the collection pertains to Louise Olivereau's trial and imprisonment for sedition; it also contains other materials on radicalism in general.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
View selections from this collection in digital format.
Restrictions on Use
Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series 1: Incoming CorrespondenceReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/1 | Birth Control League 3 letters
Includes correspondence with
The Birth Control Review, The Birth
Control League of Western Pennsylvania, and the National Birth Control
League
|
1918-1919 |
1/2 | Brady, Thomas 1 letter
|
1920 |
1/3 | Carlson, J. E. 1 letter
|
1918 |
1/4 | Chervin, Harriet 1 letter
|
1919 |
1/5 | Colorado Penitentiary 1 letter
|
1919 |
1/6 | Cornwell, Barbara 2 letters
|
1918-1919 |
1/7 | Garcia, R. B. (to Louise Olivereau) 1 letter
|
1920 |
1/8 | Goldman, Emma 1 letter
|
1917 |
1/9 | Howard, Bessie 1 letter
|
1919 |
1/10 | Johnson, Milton 1 letter
|
1918 |
1/11 | Kennan, Ellen A. 1 letter
|
1919 |
1/12 | League for the Amnesty of the Political
Prisoners 1 letter
|
1919 |
1/13 | Liberator Publishing Co. 3 letters
|
1918-1920 |
1/14 | Lumber Workers Industrial Union Local #500 1 letter
|
1918 |
1/15 | Lyman, Mrs. L. G. 1 letter
|
1920 |
1/16 | Magon, Enrique 1 letter
|
1920 |
1/17-20 | Olivereau, Louise 102 letters
|
1913-1922 |
1/21 | Shapiro, Alice 1 letter
|
1919 |
1/22 | Swartout, Norman Lee 2 letters
|
1921-1922 |
1/23 | Thurber, Edmund Gorham 1 letter
|
1919 |
1/24 | United States Justice Department 3 letters
|
1919 |
1/25 | Wood, Charles Erskine Scott 4 letters
|
1918-1919 |
Series 2: Outgoing CorrespondenceReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/26 | Outgoing Correspondence 21 letters
|
1916-1919 |
1/27-30 | Olivereau, Louise 123 letters
|
1917-1920 |
Series 3: Legal DocumentsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/31 | Legal Documents
Lost Policy Certificate, Earnest Money Receipt, and real estate
deeds and contracts
|
1944-1951 |
Series 4: Louise Olivereau CaseReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/32 | Transcript of trial |
1917 |
1/33 | Trial speech to the jury |
1917 |
1/34 | Impressions, notes, and other writings |
c. 1917 |
1/35 | Clippings |
1917 |
1/36 | Poetry and literary passages dedicated to or written by
Olivereau |
c. 1917 |
Series 5: Writings and PerformancesReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/37 | Poetry and literary passages written by
others |
c. 1917 |
1/38 | Biographical notes about famous authors |
undated |
1/39 | Miscellaneous notes and writings |
undated |
1/40 | Socialist articles and other publications |
1909-1949, undated |
1/41 | Programs for "Minnie E. Parkhurst in a Dramatic Reading
of Three One Act Plays" |
1921 |
Series 6: ClippingsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/42 | News clippings |
1912-1920 |
Series 6: MiscellaneousReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/43 | Henry Dickson Schools materials |
1909 |
1/44 | Postcards, horoscope, and church bulletin |
1910-1960, undated |
Series 7: PhotographsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/45 | Photographs |
1884, 1945, undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
- Political activists--Washington (State)--Seattle
Personal Names
- Olivereau, Louise
- Parkhurst, Minnie, 1886-1972--Archives
- Strong, Anna Louise