Florence Hope Luscomb Oral History

University Archives and Special Collections
15 Lippitt Road
Kingston, RI 02881-2011
Tel: 401-874-4632

email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Published in 2008

Collection Overview

Title:	Florence Hope Luscomb Oral History
Date range:	1972-1973
Creator:	Strom, Sharon
Extent:	1 box(es) (.25 linear feet)
Abstract:	The collection consists of tapes and transcripts of interviews with social and political activist Florence Luscomb from 1972 through 1973.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	University Archives and Special Collections
Collection number:	Mss. Gr. 82

Scope & content

From March 1972 to August 1973, Strom and Halpern interviewed Florence Luscomb. During these interviews Luscomb discusses her involvement with the suffrage movement of the early 20th century, her life at Tamworth, NH, political activities, and her family history. In addition, she talks about her visits to China and Cuba during the 1960's, her involvement with labor movement, and the women's movement of the 1970's.

Included in this collection is a May 3, 1973 recording of a talk given by Luscomb at the University of Rhode Island. It is recorded on two cassette tapes, tape two of the recording is separated from it's reel. The talk and interviews conducted in August 1973 are not transcribed. Only a transcription of the interview of July 18-19, 1972 exists in the collection.

Arrangement

After processing, the collection was arranged into one series as follows:

• 1. Florence Hope Luscomb Oral History

Biographical Information

Florence Hope Luscomb (1887-1985) was a social and political activist who earned an S.B. in architecture at M.I.T. in 1909. She worked as an architect until 1917, when she became executive secretary for the Boston Equal Suffrage Association, thus beginning her long career as a political activist. For a brief biography on Luscomb visitNotable American Unitarians.

The papers of Florence Luscomb are at the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College.

In the spring of 1971 Dr. Sharon Strom, History professor at the University of Rhode Island, was introduced to Florence Hope Luscomb by Steve Halpern, a personal friend of Strom's and former housemate of Luscomb's. Dr. Strom, who was teaching a course on social reform in the United States, invited Florence Luscomb to speak to her students about the experiences Florence had as an activitist during the suffrage campaign in Massachusetts during the early part of the 20th century. Although a committed progressive, Ms. Luscomb has been described as a pragmatic person who allowed her views to be shaped by the issues in which she was involved. She saw herself as guided by American democracy and its cornerstones: civil liberties and equality. Her interviews reflect those beliefs, even when at the time of these interviews she was advocating that the women's movement included not just the radical feminists, but women from all socio-economic and racial backgrounds.

These interviews were the foundation for Sharon Strom's book, Political Woman: Florence Luscomb and the Legacy of Radical Reform, published in 2001 and available through the HELIN catalog.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Open for research.
Use of the materials:	Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Preferred citation:	Florence Hope Luscomb Oral History, Mss. Gr. 82, University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections.
Contact information:	University Archives and Special Collections 15 Lippitt Road Kingston, RI 02881-2011 Tel: 401-874-4632 email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The collection was transferred by Sharon Strom, University's Department of History in 1975.
Custodial history:	The collection was previously held by Sharon Strom.
Processing information:	The collection was processed by Russell Franks in 2007.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Russell Franks.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Nicholas Albaugh on 2008 May 22, updated by Hailie D. Posey on 2009 September 22, updated by Mark Dionne on 2020 May 11.
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Separated material:

The records were originally accessioned as part of the Mill Life Oral History collection (Mss. 81), but were removed from that collection.

Inventory

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Inventory