Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Jessie M. Bierman Papers, circa 1890-1993
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Bierman, Jessie M. (Jessie Marguerite), 1900-1996
- Title
- Jessie M. Bierman Papers
- Dates
- circa 1890-1993 (inclusive)18901993
- Quantity
- 4.25 linear feet
- Collection Number
- Mss 586
- Summary
- This collection contains the personal and professional papers of Dr. Jessie M. Bierman, a pioneer in the field of maternal and child health, from all stages of her life.
- Repository
-
University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana--Missoula.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Jessie M. Bierman was born on April 6, 1900, at Egan Slough near Kalispell, Montana, to Henry and Alice Bierman. She received her bachelor of arts from The University of Montana in 1921 and got a medical degree from Rush Medical College of the University of Chicago in 1926. She earned a master of public health at the Institute of Columbia University fifteen years later.
Dr. Bierman worked in private practice in San Francisco, California, from 1927 to 1936 and also served as an instructor in pediatrics at the University of California School of Medicine. In 1936, Bierman returned to Montana to work as Director of Maternal and Child Health in the Montana Department of Health. She started well-baby clinics in Montana that were a model for such programs across the country.
From 1938 to 1942, she worked with the Children’s Bureau in Washington, D.C., as assistant director of the Division of Health Sciences. She was chief of Maternal and Child Health of the California Department of Public Health from 1942 to 1947, during which she became a lecturer in pediatrics and a professor of maternal and child health at the University of California School of Medicine, a position she held until 1963. While at the University of California, she traveled to Germany as an expert in maternal and child health and served as a consultant on maternal and child health problems in India. Bierman also studied the children of Kauai, Hawaii, and published her findings in the book The Children of Kauai.
She was named professor emerita in 1963, but stayed on as the director of maternal and child health research until 1967. After that, she was the head of the maternal and child bureau for the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland and was visiting professor of public health at the University of North Carolina.
Jessie Bierman was the recipient of the Martha May Eliot Award of the American Public Health Association and other distinguished awards. She was given an honorary doctorate by The University of Montana in 1967.
Bierman had a summer residence at Goose Bay on Flathead Lake. Bierman supported academics and research at The University of Montana’s Biological Station, endowing a distinguished professorship to support an internationally recognized ecologist to study and direct research at the Flathead Lake Biological Station. Bierman died in 1996.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This collection contains the personal and professional papers of Dr. Jessie Bierman, a pioneer in the field of child and maternal health, from all stages of her life. The collection contents begin with writings related to Bierman’s family history. The collection contains the memoirs of Jessie Bierman’s father, Henry, and her writings about him.
Items from her early days include a poetry scrapbook filled with correspondence and poems, her high school yearbooks, and diploma. Her student days at The University of Montana are represented by a scrapbook and diploma. Materials from her medical career in California include a set of house call diaries, 1931-1935. A scrapbook and related correspondence represent her years with the Montana Department of Health. Her positions in government and with international missions related to maternal and child health are reflected in correspondence and other writings. The collection contains the writings and publications Bierman completed while at the University of California and elsewhere, including the study she prepared regarding the children of Kauai, Hawaii.
The collection contains the numerous honors and awards Bierman received toward the end of her career. It also contains clippings about Bierman and other clippings and publications she collected on child and maternal health issues. The photographs in the collection are from all stages of Bierman’s life. Of particular interest are the family photographs, which include photographs of the Kalispell Meat Market that was owned and operated by Henry Bierman, and photographs of Henry and Alice Bierman.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright status unknown.
Preferred Citation
[Name of document or photograph number], Jessie M. Bierman Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana--Missoula.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is divided into six series:
Series I: Henry Bierman, 0.25 linear feet, 1895-1985
Series II: Jessie Bierman, 1.5 linear feet, 1907-1986
Series III: Writings, 0.5 linear feet, 1924-1986
Series IV: Awards and Honors, 1.25 linear feet, 1918-1993
Series V: Clippings, 0.5 linear feet, 1935-1991
Series VI: Photographs, 0.25 linear feet, circa 1890-1980
Acquisition Information
The bulk of the collection was donated by Jessie Bierman in 1987 and 1991. Another portion of the collection was a gift of the University of California-Berkeley, Bancroft Library, 2000.
Processing Note
The collection was processed and a finding aid was written by Jennifer Rusk in Fall 2004. The collection consists of three separate accessions of materials, which were combined and reorganized to create the collection. One accession of materials (donated in 2000) consisted of duplicates of correspondence, writings, clippings from the Jessie M. Bierman Papers at the University of California-Berkeley. Negatives were physically removed from the collection for preservation.
Related Materials
The Bancroft Library at the University of California-Berkeley holds a collection of Jessie M. Bierman papers.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series I: Henry Bierman, 1895-1985 Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/1 | Johann Heinrich Bierman’s
descendents in America |
undated |
| 1/2 | Henry Bierman’s memoirs and
correspondence |
1895 and undated |
| 1/3 | Henry and Alice Bierman Marriage
Certificate |
1899 |
| 1/4 | Book accounts of Kalispell Meat
Market-Henry Bierman, Proprietor |
1906-1926 |
| 1/5 | Henry Bierman
certificates |
1939 and 1943 |
| 1/6 | Clippings re: Henry Bierman’s
death |
1943 |
| 1/7 | Newspaper features about Henry
Bierman, Montana history-general |
1949-1985 and undated |
| 1/8 | Correspondence, writings,
clippings re: Montana: The Magazine of Western History articles about Henry
Bierman |
1959-1961 and undated |
Series II: Jessie Bierman, 1907-1986 Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/9 | Jessie Bierman grades |
1907-1928 |
| 1/10 | Flathead High School
yearbooks |
1916-1918 |
| 2/1 | Poetry Scrapbook |
1918 and undated |
| 2/2 | Scrapbook-Autobiographical |
1920-1971 and undated |
| 2/3 | Rush Medical College of The
University of Chicago, Senior Class book |
1926 |
| 2/4 | House call diaries |
1931-1933 |
| 2/5 | House call diaries |
1935-1936 |
| 2/6 | Scrapbook-Montana State Board of
Health |
1936-1937 |
| 2/7 | Montana State Board of Health,
correspondence, clippings |
1936-1938 |
| 2/8 | Children’s Bureau |
1937-1981 |
| 3/1 | Correspondence |
1929-1986 |
| 3/2 | Personal
correspondence |
1932-1952 and undated |
| 3/3 | State of California Department of
Health |
1942-1945 and undated |
| 3/4 | University of California-Jessie
Bierman, faculty member |
1947-1984 |
| 3/5 | Notes about Geneva, India,
Mediterranean, Soviet Union |
undated |
| 3/6 | Germany trip, notes and
miscellaneous |
1949 |
| 3/7 | Germany trip with Unitarian
Service Committee Public Health Planning Team |
1951 |
| 3/8 | Outgoing correspondence from trip
to India |
1955 |
| 3/9 | Clippings and memorabilia from
Soviet trip (1956) |
1956 and undated |
| 3/10 | Clippings and publications from
Soviet Union |
1956-1969 and undated |
| 3/11 | Trip to Soviet Union (1956) and
other Soviet Union-related materials |
1956-1961 |
| 3/12 | Trip via Asia |
1957 |
| Box | ||
| OS9 | Diploma: University of Chicago,
Doctor of Medicine |
1927 |
| OS9 | Diploma: University of Montana,
Bachelor of Arts |
1921 |
| OS9 | Diploma: Flathead County High
School |
1918 |
| OS9 | Certificate: Montana Board of
Medical Examiners |
1936 |
| OS9 | The American Board of Preventive
Medicine and Public Health |
1950 |
| OS9 | Delta Omega |
1948 |
| OS10 | Art plates:
Ajanta Paintings: Twenty Colour Plates, published
in New Delhi |
1956 |
| OS10 | Student Scrapbook: The University
of Montana |
1919-1921 |
Series III: Writings, 1924-1986Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 4/1 | Published papers-Kauai Pregnancy
and Child Study, other papers about maternal and child health (some by Jessie
Bierman) |
1924-1970 |
| 4/2 | Publications by Jessie
Bierman |
1924-1968 |
| 4/3 | Speeches/writings and radio
broadcasts by Jessie Bierman |
1938-1986 and undated |
| 4/4 | Writings by Jessie
Bierman |
1958-1971 and undated |
| 4/5 | Kauai Study, clippings,
correspondence |
1960-1972 and undated |
| 4/6 | Book The Children of Kauai by
Jessie Bierman, Emmy E. Werner, and Fern E. French |
1971 |
| 4/7 | Martha May Eliot
tributes |
1966-1978 and undated |
| 5/1 | "Annotated Bibliography on
Maternal Nutrition," by Jessie Bierman, with related news releases |
1970 |
| 5/2 | Publication, "Maternal Nutrition
and the Course of Pregnancy" by Jessie Bierman, with related
correspondence |
1970 |
| 5/3 | Curriculum Vitae drafts for
Jessie Bierman |
undated |
| 5/4 | Notes, clippings and overhead
transparencies for speeches |
1967-1969 and undated |
| 5/5 | Miscellaneous writings and
notes |
undated |
Series IV: Awards and Honors, 1918-1993 Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 5/6 | Certificates-honorary, etc. for
Jessie Bierman |
1918-1964 |
| 5/7 | University of Montana-awards,
clippings, writings |
1960-1993 |
| 5/8 | Honorary Doctorate, The
University of Montana |
1967 |
| 5/9 | The Golden Grizzly Den, The
University of Montana, certificate |
1971 |
| 5/10 | American Public Health
Association Certificate |
1977 |
| 6/1 | University of Chicago Alumni
Award |
1984 |
| 6/2 | Honors-miscellaneous
correspondence, clippings |
1958-1984 |
| Box | ||
| 8 | Plaque: "Healthy Mothers, Healthy
Babies-The Montana Coalition Establishes the Jessie Bierman, MD, MPH, Lecture"
|
1990 |
| 8 | Plaque: American Public Health
Association-Martha May Eliot Award, presented to Jessie Bierman |
1968 |
| 8 | Two academic hoods, one possibly
Ph.D. hood |
undated |
| OS10 | Framed certificate: "The
University of Chicago Alumni Association Professional Achievement Award"
|
1984 |
Series V: Clippings, 1935-1991 Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 6/3 | Clippings about Jessie
Bierman |
1934-1983 |
| 6/4 | Clippings about Jessie
Bierman |
1937-1982 |
| 6/5 | Jessie M. Bierman Annual Lecture
in Maternal and Child Health, programs |
1963-1965 |
| 6/6 | Publications and clippings,
health and medical-related |
1935-1978 and undated |
| 6/7 | World Health Organization
publications |
1957-1970 |
| 6/8 | Public health publications by
others |
1966-1972 |
| 6/9 | University of North
Carolina |
1971 |
| 6/10 | Miscellaneous
clippings |
1978-1979 and undated |
| 6/11 | University of Montana Biological
Station, Flathead Lake |
1967-1986 and undated |
| 6/12 | University of Montana Biological
Station clippings |
1973-1991 and undated |
| Box | ||
| OS9 | Poster: First Annual Jessie M.
Bierman Lecture |
1963 |
Series VI: Photographs, circa 1890-1980 Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 6/13 | Alice Bierman
photographs |
circa 1890-1948 |
| 6/14 | Henry Bierman and family
photographs |
circa 1902-1940s and undated |
| 6/15 | Jessie Bierman
photographs |
1918-1980 and undated |
| 6/16 | California
photographs |
1926-1979 and undated |
| 7/1 | Germany photographs |
1949-1951 |
| 7/2 | Foreign travel
photographs |
1955-1956 and undated |
| 7/3 | Soviet Union Trip-Seminar "The
Equality of Women in the USSR," photographs |
1956 |
| 7/4 | Honorary degree
photographs |
1966 |
| 7/5 | [Bierman at home, Goose Bay,
Flathead Lake] photographs |
1967 and undated |
| 7/6 | Miscellaneous
photographs |
undated |
| 7/7 | Scenic photographs |
undated |
| Box | ||
| Negatives | [Jessie Bierman] examining a
child, undated [Jessie Bierman], undated
[Jessie Bierman] and unidentified
children fishing, undated [Henry Bierman], undated
Ida Shawers Bierman, portrait,
1887 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Child health services--Government policy--Montana
- Children--Health and hygiene
- Children--Health and hygiene--Hawaii--Kauai
- Maternal health services
- Maternal health services--Government policy--Montana
- Pediatrics
- Women pediatricians--California--San Francisco--Diaries
Personal Names
- Bierman, Alice--Photographs
- Bierman, Henry--1860-1943--Biography
- Bierman, Henry--1860-1943--Photographs
Corporate Names
- California--Bureau of Maternal and Child Health
- Kalispell Meat Market (Kalispell, Mont.)--Photographs
- Montana--State Dept. of Health
- University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco--Faculty
- University of Montana--Missoula--Students
Form or Genre Terms
- Awards
- Personal papers
- Photographs
- Poems
- Scrapbooks
Occupations
- Women pediatricians
Finding aid prepared by Jennifer
Rusk
2004
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
