Lenna Deutsch (nee Baird, 1903-1990) was born in Chicago to Thomas and Lenna Baird. When she was 17, she moved to Spokane, where she graduated from North Central High School in 1921. In 1926, she graduated from Washington State University with a Bachelor's degree in bacteriology. After her graduation, she taught home economics and science for two years at Tekoa (WA) High School. She returned to Pullman and received her Master's degree in bacteriology in 1929 and began working as a laboratory instructor.
She and Herman J. Deutsch were married June 16, 1930, at Spokane. He was a history professor at WSU. The Deutsches had one child, a daughter, Lenna. Herman Deutsch died in November 1979.
In 1960, Lenna Deutsch published a book, "Mercer's Belles", an edited version of journalist Roger Conant's journal about Asa Mercer's "emigration experiment," bringing young unmarried women from the East Coast to Seattle in the 1860s. He recruited them as prospective teachers, and brides for bachelors.
She was a member of the Pi Beta Phi social sorority and the Pullman League of Women Voters, of which she was a charter member, and was a member of the Ingleside Study Group, the Whitman County Historical Society and the Matron's Club. She died in September 1990 in Moscow, Idaho.
This collection consists of materials related to Lenna Baird Deutch's book, "Mercer's Belles". It includes copies of Roger Conant's journal and other source materials, bibliographic notecards, articles, correspondence related to the book's publication, publicity material, personal correspondence, and reviews.
This collection is arranged in two series:
Series 1: Source Material, circa 1950-1960. This series contains materials related to the research and creation of Deutsch's book, including copies of Conant's diary, photocopies from journals, hand-written transcriptions from newspapers, journals, and archival repositories, microfilm, and bibliographic notecards with book and article call numbers and notes.
Series 2: Publication Material, circa 1950s-1962. This series contains items related to publishing and post-publication, including correspondence with different publishers and University of Washington Press, promotional material, personal correspondence regarding the book, reviews, and an article about Lenna Deutch's experience of editing a journal for publication.
This collection is open and available for research use.
Copyright restrictions apply.
[Item Description] Lenna Deutsch Papers on "Mercer's Belles", circa 1950-1962 Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Lenna and Bruce Harding donated this collection to the Washington State University Libraries in 1992 (MS.1992.75).
This collection was processed by Megan Ockerman in May of 2017.
The repository holds another version of Deutsch's Mercer's "Belles manuscript" (Cage 1803).
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.