Gretchen Hoyt Corbett was born in 1886 in New York City. After studying music and singing, she married Henry L. Corbett (1881-1957) in 1908, and moved to Portland, Oregon. The couple later had five children. Gretchen Hoyt Corbett helped to reorganize the Oregon Symphony, founded the Junior League of Portland, and served on the board of the Portland Art Museum. She died in 1978.
Sources: Obituary in the Oregonian, February 23, 1978.
The collection consists of 37 typewritten letters that Gretchen Hoyt Corbett of Portland, Oregon, wrote to her neighbor, Celia Gates. Many of the letters include handwritten edits. The majority of the letters describe Corbett's childhood and early adulthood, including descriptions of life, fashion, and customs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She also discusses her family members, what Portland was like when she first moved there, and political developments of the era, including the election of her husband, Henry L. Corbett, to the Oregon State Legislature. The collection also includes a note written in 2023 by Gates' sister, Sarah Gates Fitzgerald, that explains the context in which the letters were written.
Collection is open for research.
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Gretchen Hoyt Corbett letters to Celia Gates, Coll 1032, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Gift of Sarah Gates Fitzgerald, March 2024 (RL2024-020).
Other materials at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library relating to Gretchen Hoyt Corbett include the Corbett family papers, Coll 592; and an oral history interview, SR 9424.
Gretchen Hoyt Corbett (1886-1978) was a neighbor and friend of Stuart Gates and Sylvia Gates of Portland, Oregon. Corbett acted as an honorary grandmother to the Gateses' daughters, inviting them over for tea and reading them stories. In late 1969, the eldest Gates daughter, Celia, was hospitalized at Good Samaritan Hospital for a rare childhood cancer, and during this time, Corbett wrote letters to her. Celia Gates died on December 30, 1969.
Sources: Information written by Sarah Gates Fitzgerald in October 2023; vital records on Ancestry.com.