The Stimson-Bullitt family has a distinguished history of community service and philanthropy in Seattle. Family members include the founder of KING Broadcasting Dorothy Stimson Bullitt (1892-1989), married to A. Scott Bullitt (1877-1932). They had three children: Charles Stimson “Stim” Bullitt (1919-2009), Dorothy Priscilla “Patsy” Bullitt Collins (1920-2003), and Harriet Overton Bullitt (b. 1924). The Bullitt family lived in The Highlands, an elite community founded by their grandfather, timber baron Charles D. Stimson (1857-1928).
In 1941, while a student at Vassar College, Priscilla Bullitt (hereafter referred to as Patsy Bullitt Collins) took a summer job in a downtown Seattle bank where she met Larry Norman, the son of the director of the YMCA's Camp Orkila on Orcas Island. The couple became engaged at the start of World War II, and Larry volunteered for the Army Air Forces. He was trained as a navigator and sent overseas in April 1943. His B-24 Liberator was lost on a mission over Germany on December 22, 1943. He was listed as missing in action and his body was never recovered.
After the war, Patsy Bullitt joined the Red Cross and was sent to the Philippines and Japan. She traveled to Hiroshima just four months after the atomic bomb was dropped. After a year in Japan, Patsy returned to Seattle and in 1947 married a family friend, Josiah “Joe” Collins. The couple moved to San Diego where they raised three sons, Jacques, Charles and William. Collins later returned to Seattle. When she died in 2003, she left behind a lifetime legacy of generosity and charitable giving.
In 1947, Dorothy Bullitt purchased a small Seattle radio station and acquired the call letters KING. While president of KING Broadcasting, she maintained her commitment to numerous philanthropies. Dorothy Bullitt’s death in 1989 left her daughters as majority shareholders in the company. They sold KING Broadcasting in 1992 and contributed a portion of the proceeds to the Bullitt Foundation, which supports educational and environmental causes.
The collection includes professional and studio portraits of the Stimson and Bullitt family ancestors, their children, friends and relatives, most with handwritten identifying captions. Other photographs and casual snapshots depict the Stimson-Greene Mansion, various residences, outdoor recreation, boating, logging, and Seattle street scenes.
The bound albums and scrapbooks include a memorial tribute to Harriet Overton Stimson, a wedding album for Mr. and Mrs. Scott Alexander Bullitt, a Dorothy Bullitt honorary album titled “This is Your Life,” and photograph albums of yacht cruises. “The Highlands History” album gives background information on the original land tracts, ownership names, and includes photographs of houses, the beach, and elementary school.
A handwritten pocket notebook compiled by conductor and composer Henry Hadley gives detailed financial accounting for each concert in the 1908 Seattle Symphony season. There is a portrait of Hadley and the first Seattle Symphony Board members.
Pasty Collins' papers include documentation of her activities with the American Red Cross, Vassar College, KING-FM, Garden of Remembrance, YMCA, The Nature Conservancy, and CARE.
The personal correspondence includes letters sent from Lawrence Norman while he was serving in the Army Air Force during World War II. This series also includes Patsy Bullitt’s letters and photographs sent to Norman that were later returned to her unopened and stamped "missing in action."
View selections from the collection in digital format by clicking on the camera icons in the inventory below.
The collection is open to the public by appointment.
The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Priscilla Bullitt Collins Collection on the Stimson and Bullitt Families, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
Gift of the Estate of Priscilla Bullitt Collins; received in February 2004.
These materials are part of a donation that also included a number of artifacts. These artifacts are cataloged and stored separately by MOHAI's Collections Department.
A collection of postcards received as part of the donation is filed separately with MOHAI's Postcard Collection.
Dorothy Stimson Bullitt Photograph Collection, Accession No. 2005.5.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Thomas Douglas Stimson (1827-1896) was the father of Charles Douglas "C.D." Stimson, and great-grandfather of Patsy Bullitt Collins. Folder includes one formal portrait and one photograph of a residence mounted on card. This is the residence of T.D. Stimson in Big Rapids, Michigan, where he ran a sawmill.
Handwritten on front of card: Res. T.D. Stimson // 1st home of Mr. & Mrs. C.D.S. 1882 // Built in 1876.
Handwritten on verso of card: Big Rapids 1878.
Achsah Jane Spencer Stimson (1834-1904) was married to T.D. Stimson. Four formal portrait photos depict Mrs. Stimson, her mother, sister, daughter Olive Jane ("Jenny"), and granddaughter Annie.
Charles Douglas "C.D." Stimson (1857-1929) was married to Harriet Overton. These photos include studio portraits, a collage portrait of men in military uniforms, a few candid outdoor shots, and Stimson with a group at Wilson Creek, Mo.
Harriet Overton (1862-1936) married C.D. Stimson at Big Rapids, Michigan in 1892. Photos include studio portraits and a photo of Mrs. Stimson with her six grandchildren.
E.T. Stimson (1860-1924) and Annie Waters married in Michigan in 1886. Photos includes three studio portraits of Annie Waters, two of E.T. Stimson, and one informal photo of Stimson with another man at the home of his sister Olive Jane ("Jenny").
W.H. Stimson (1854-1929) was married to Kate Jeffs. Folder includes five studio portraits of Willard, three of Kate, and a photo of Willard, Kate and others with donkeys and sign reading "Arkansas Travelers."
Two studio portraits of F.S. Stimson (1867-1922). Stimson was married to Nellie Clark.
F.S. Stimson and Nellie Clark had three children: Achsah Jane, Harold Clark and Frederick. This folder contains five photos of Achsah as a baby and young child, and one photo of Frederick as a baby. These children were first cousins to Dorothy Stimson Bullitt.
Dorothy Frances Stimson (1892-1989) married A. Scott Bullitt in 1918. This group includes a triptych of small photos of Dorothy and her brother Thomas as children in 1895, a photo of her at KGW-TV, working at a desk, and posing with President Kennedy.
Photographs of Patsy Bullitt Collins as a child and young woman, including a snapshot of Collins in a WAC uniform. The folder also includes copies of portraits of Patsy and her sister Harriet as children, taken by photographer Dorothea Lange in 1927.
Portrait and small snapshots taken in the Philippines. Number 2004.10.203 is a duplicate of 2004.10.63.
Photos of Patsy Bullitt Collins with family and friends, with Bullitt Foundation groups, and at Commission on White House Fellowships events, including shaking hands with President Jimmy Carter.
Norman was the fiancé of Patsy Bullitt Collins; he was killed in action over Germany 1943. These five photographs include two portraits of Norman in uniform, two hiking in snow, and one in his Roosevelt High School Rough Riders sweater.
Thomas Douglas Stimson II (1884-1931) and Emma Baillargeon (1887-1963) married in 1914. They had four children: Frances Ann, Thomas David, Emma Eleanor "Nona," and Douglas Joseph. Folder includes both studio portraits and snapshots of the four as babies, children and young adults.
Annie Fay Leeds, daughter of Olive Jane "Jennie" Stimson Fay, was married to Walter Leeds and was a first cousin of Dorothy Stimson Bullitt.
Charles Willard "Cully" Stimson (1879-1852), son of Willard Horace Stimson, was married to Clara Wing. Cully and Clara had one child, a daughter, Jane. One photo shows Cully Stimson as a young boy sitting in a goat-drawn cart, one is a portrait of Jane as a baby, and one shows the family of three "in the Highlands."
Seattle developer Harry Treat would transport visitors in his buggy to view the bluff-top home sites along 32nd Avenue W. in Loyal Heights, and below to a beach pleasure resort located at Loyal Beach (Golden Gardens) north of W. 85th Street. These photos show Treat's carriages laden with luggage and passengers.
Photos were removed from album. Each is identified with handwritten captions: Mr. and Mrs. Engle, Alma Stewart Ballinger, Mr. and Mrs. Wing, Mrs. J.C. Harris, Mrs. C.J. Smith, Mrs. C.H. Clark, Mrs. Wilton Harrison, J.D. Lowman, Mrs. A.B. Stewart, Mr. and Mrs. E.A. Strout, Mr. and Mrs. and Maurice McMicken, Olive Graef Treat, Mrs. F.K. Struve, Mrs. H.C. Henry.
Photographs of album pages, most identified with handwritten captions.
Studio portraits and snapshots.
The Stimson Mansion was later the Stimson-Green Mansion, built by Charles Douglas Stimson. Folder includes interior and exterior views.
Number .170 is a negative, stored separately.
Color snapshots.
Christmas card showing Marian Engle sledding on Cherry Street; Enetai beach; and a Graham & Daulton store horse-drawn carriage on a downtown Seattle street.
Album pages with photographs attached. Also includes two photos of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition.
Album pages with photographs attached.
Exterior view of KING-TV building; Eleanor Roosevelt posing in front of camera with UN flag behind; list of hostesses.
Includes Mrs. C.D. Stimson, president.
Marine scenery, family members and friends.
Photographs of marine scenery with captions.
Identifications on the back
Handwritten pocket notebook listing expenditures and box office receipts for the first season of Seattle Symphony concerts.
Pencil and watercolor drawings made by the French travel companion to Harriet Overton Stimson on an international trip
Typewritten copies of sympathy letters, removed from album for preservation purposes
Interior photographs of Harriet Overton Stimson's home "Norcliff" from memorial book. Removed from album for preservation purposes.
This album was presented by the Seattle Real Estate Board, honoring Dorothy Bullitt as Seattle's First Citizen for 1959. A banquet was held in Bullitt's honor at the Olympic Hotel Grand Ballroom on January 19, 1960. The album contains the transcript of the audiovisual "This is Your Life" presentation at the banquet, and photographs of the event. The inside cover contains an inscription to Dorothy Bullitt from "This is Your Life" host Ralph Edwards, who narrated the video.
Includes information on available land tracts, ownership names and photographs of houses. Pages removed from binder for preservation purposes
Inscription on page: The Highland School - built and equipped by Mrs. C.D.S. - for primary grades.
Photograph removed from "The Highlands" binder for preservation purposes
Inscription on page: The Highland Beach - common house in center built and equipped by Mrs. C.D.S. - sink, cookstove tables, etc.
Photograph removed from The Highlands binder for preservation purposes
Clippings, invitations and photographs.
Papers related to various interests and activities with which Patsy Collins was involved.
Letter and articles about Patsy Bullitt Collins' World War II service in the American Red Cross, and a later photograph of Collins with children at a Beirut refugee camp
Materials related to Patsy Bullitt Collins' trip with 17 other "Red Cross girls" to the Philippines and
Japan. Includes a welcome note from the crew of the SS
Articles and correspondence relating to Patsy Collins' Vassar scholarship fund; Collins' Vassar commencement program, 1942.
Legal correspondence and newspaper clippings relating to the sale of KING-FM. Also includes a few unrelated articles about Collins.
Also includes thank you letter for donation to CARE.
Correspondence, annual report, and photographs of Patsy Collins outdoors
Program, transcript of tribute, clippings, and photographs of ceremony.
Puget Sound Business Journal articles on Collins, and color snapshots of Collins at an event put on by the newspaper.
The Garden of Remembrance, conceived by Patsy Collins, is a memorial in downtown Seattle next to Benaroya Hall, honoring Washington State citizens killed in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and later conflicts. Materials include clippings, programs, and photographs of the dedication ceremony.
Materials include the Historic Preservation Agreement between Patsy Collins and the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board; brochure for event rentals at the Mansion; thank you letters from schoolchildren and others who had visited the Mansion; a newspapers clipping; and color snapshots of interior rooms, furnishings, portraits and family group.
The
Awards, correspondence, memorial service program for Patsy Collins. Also includes a CV for civic activist Katharine Muller "Kay" Bullitt, ex-wife of Stimson Bullitt.
Clippings relating to World War II, Patsy Bullitt Collins' engagement to Larry Norman, and Norman missing in action over Germany.
These letters were returned unopened to Patsy Bullitt Collins. A note received with the collection reads: "Letters marked "Missing in Action," returned to Patsy. Includes one small photo book. Most or all of the letters she never opened or read, saying in 2002 that she didn't want to know what she had said to Larry that he never heard. These letters were opened, with her permission but not in her presence, in 2002."Also included, letters from the military to the Norman family."
Small spiral-bound album containing sixteen 4 x 5 in. black and white snapshots of Patsy Bullitt and others, with handwritten notes commenting on some of the images. The album was returned to Collins unopened, stamped missing in action, return to sender.
Letters from fellow officers and the Secretary of War, awarding the Purple Heart to Lawrence Norman
Publisher's galley print