Neth, Mary C. (1954-2005), Papers, 1927-2004 (C4040)

8 linear feet, 15 audio cassettes, 4 card files

INTRODUCTION

The professional papers of Mary C. Neth, created during her research of rural women's history of the Midwest and the history of American tap dance consists of research material, essays, newspaper clippings, photographs, conference materials, professional correspondence, and other papers. The collection also includes various documents related to the activities of the Rural Women's Studies Association, of which Neth was a founding member.

DONOR INFORMATION

The Mary C. Neth Papers were donated to the State Historical Society of Missouri by Midge Eisele on September 11, 2007 (Accession no. 6157). An addition to the collection was made by Ryan Stockwell on August 11, 2008.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Mary Carol Neth was born in Missouri in 1954. She studied at the University of Wisconsin and received her M.A. in history in 1980, and her Ph.D. in 1987. After working at the Smithsonian Institution, Virginia Polytechnic University, and American University in Washington D.C., Neth came to teach at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1995 where she taught several courses, mostly on women's and gender studies.

Preserving the Family Farm, her study of women's farm work in the first half of the twentieth century, was published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 1995. In 1998, Neth helped found the Rural Women's Studies Association and was active in its affairs. She participated in various conferences about the history of rural Midwest women. For the last ten years of her life, she worked on a large project about her other major scholarly interest, a social and cultural history of tap dancing in America. Neth died of cancer on September 14, 2005.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Mary Neth Papers have been arranged into twelve series according to the type of document: Professional Correspondence; Conference Papers; Rural Women's Studies Association Papers; Newspaper Clippings; Course Syllabi; Photographs; Grants and Proposals; Speeches; Research Material; Essays, Book Reviews, and Dissertations; Miscellaneous Papers; Card Files; and Audio Cassettes.

Professional Correspondence
Conference Papers
Rural Women's Studies Association Papers
Newspaper Clippings
Course Syllabi
Photographs
Grants and Proposals
Speeches
Research Material
Essays, Book Reviews, and Dissertations
Miscellaneous Papers
Card Files
Audio Cassettes

The Professional Correspondence series contains letters Neth received from various academic institutions, historical organizations, and colleagues. The letters cover such topics as her research of rural women's history, her participation in different conferences, and letters of recommendation she wrote. The letters have been kept in their original order based on topic.

The Conference Papers series includes official papers and notes from various historical conferences in which Neth participated. The papers contain schedules, programs, proposals, Neth's notes, and correspondence related to the conferences. The documents have been arranged by conference name and chronological order therein.

The Rural Women's Studies Association Papers series contains papers related to Neth's membership in the RWSA. The papers include the articles of incorporation, lists of members, correspondence, newsletters, promotional material, and miscellaneous documents of the RWSA.

The Newspaper Clippings series contains clippings that Neth collected from various newspapers and magazines pertaining to her studies of rural Midwest history; advertising; historic sites in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Columbia; and various other topics. There are also newspaper pamphlets from 1927, 1942, and the 1970s about the women's rights movement. The documents have been arranged in chronological order.

The Course Syllabi series consists of papers related to Neth's teaching career at American University and the University of Missouri-Columbia. They include the syllabi of both her courses and the related courses of her colleagues, as well as lecture outlines.

The Photographs series contains photographs and photocopies of images Neth collected for her rural history research. There are photographs of different village communities in the Midwest, housing types, house interiors, rural families, and women at work.

The Grants and Proposals series contains documents related to Neth's applications for various grants and scholarships. The documents include correspondence with the respective organizations, applications, and proposals she wrote.

The Speeches series includes written drafts of various speeches Neth delivered at conferences, lectures, and meetings about the history of Midwest farm women.

The Research Material series is the largest series in the collection. It contains material Neth used for her research of the rural history of the Midwest, as well as the history of tap dance in America. The documents include articles written by other historians with Neth's comments, demographic studies, photocopies of farm diaries from the 1920s and 1930s, archival inventories and guides, excerpts from novels, oral history research material, advertisements, drafts and notes written by Neth, and other miscellaneous documents. The documents were arranged in folders by the creator according to the topic of the research they cover. Neth's original order has been preserved.

The Essays, Book Reviews, and Dissertations series includes articles and essays written by Neth. It also contains book reviews she wrote for various historical magazines, as well as reviews of her own works. The series also contains her M.A. dissertation, For a "Suffering Fellow Creature" - Changing Religious Values in Popular Women's Fiction 1850-1870.

The Miscellaneous Papers series contains Neth's financial records, articles, publication notes, applications, reports, proposal material and letters, as well as her notebooks on American history.

The Card Files series contains three alphabetic index card files and one file of bibliographic notes Neth created during her research.

The Audio Cassettes series includes recordings of interviews Neth conducted with Wisconsin farm women. Each interview produced multiple tapes, but not all the tapes are present in the collection.

FOLDER LIST

Professional Correspondence Series

f. 1	Miscellaneous Professional Correspondence, 1986-1997
f. 2	Letters Related to Publications and Carstensen Award, 1986-1994
f. 3	Letters Related to Service- Professional, 1991-1995
f. 4	Letters from Colleagues, 1991-1995
f. 5	Contract and Correspondence with Hopkins, 1990-1993
f. 6	Correspondence about Berks Proposal, 1986-1987
f. 7	Correspondence about Activities, 1998-1999

f. 39	Historiography of Women's History- Overview, 1993-1994
f. 40	Women's History Slides and Notes, n.d.
f. 41	Related MU Courses, 1996-2002
f. 42	Course Syllabi, 1989-1998

Photographs Series

f. 43	"Preserving the Family Farm"
f. 44	Plat Maps, Township 29
f. 45	USDA Extension
f. 46	Community Buildings and Parks
f. 47	Farmsteads
f. 48	Iowa Community Study
f. 49	Work
f. 50	Kansas Community Study
f. 51	Married Couples/Boys and Girls
f. 52	Men
f. 53	Boys
f. 54	Women
f. 55	Girls
f. 56	Families
f. 57	Joanne Hollister/NDSU
f. 58	ISHS/Includes Gabelman
f. 59	Farm Houses/Interiors
f. 60	Farm Houses and Buildings/Exteriors
f. 61	Hospitals and Libraries
f. 62	Couples/Men and Women (Individuals)/Interiors
f. 63	Girls/Boys/Children
f. 64	Organizations/Meetings/Informal Gatherings/Protests
f. 65	Work: Crop/Livestock/Poultry For Market
f. 66	Miscellaneous Community Studies: Agricultural Planning, SD; Forest County, WI; Amenia- Sharon Land Co., ND; Alternative Uses for Land
f. 67	Co-Op Marketing
f. 68	Wheat Harvest Series
f. 69	Work: Home Care and Production for Family Use
f. 70	Parents and Children/Families
f. 71	Community Buildings/Churches/Schools

Grants and Proposals Series

f. 72-77

Grants and Proposals, 1983-1991

Speeches Series

f. 78	Seeing History in a New Way
f. 79	Moving Into the Middle Class, 1984
f. 80	Virginia Center for Humanities Talk, 1990
f. 81	The Farmer Takes a Wife
f. 82	Women in History Talk
f. 83	Smithsonian Talk

Research Material Series

f. 84	1930s Studies of Rural Problem Areas
f. 85	Letters to Farm Service Agency
f. 86	Bureau of Agricultural Economics
f. 87	Community Work
f. 88	Social Gatherings and Informal Community Life
f. 89	Primary Community Organization
f. 90	Recreation and Leisure
f. 91	Community Controls and Attitudes
f. 92	Rural Clubs, Organizations and Community Centers
f. 93	Farm Family Living Standard Studies
f. 94	Farm Tenancy and Immigrants
f. 95	Rural Religion
f. 96	Rural Education and Youth's Studies
f. 97	Population Studies
f. 98	Class Differences
f. 99	Interchanges, Visits to City or Country
f. 100	Case Studies
f. 101	Attitudes towards Farming, Rural Jobs and Nature
f. 102	Descriptions of Farm Homes and Gardens
f. 103	Farm Magazines
f. 104	Consumerism and "Modern" Improvements
f. 105	Family Relations
f. 106	Childbearing
f. 107	Sex Roles and Sexuality
f. 108	Work in fields
f. 109	Girls' Work
f. 110	Farm Women File
f. 111	Marriage
f. 112	Wisconsin Farm Women
f. 113	Farm Children, Dissertation Draft
f. 114	Farmer's Wife: Do you want your daughter to marry a farmer?
f. 115	1937 Radio Study
f. 116	Women's Work
f. 117	Survey of Wisconsin Schools
f. 118	Wisconsin School Photographs
f. 119	Advertising- Miscellaneous
f. 120	Advertising- Farm Journal
f. 121	Advertising- Country Gentleman
f. 122	Advertising ATOT
f. 123	Advertising- Exhibits, Demonstrations, Fairs, etc.
f. 124	North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station Studies
f. 125-131	South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station Studies
f. 132-136	Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station Studies
f. 137-140	Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station Studies
f. 141	Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Studies
f. 142-145	Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station Studies
f. 146-147	Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station Studies
f. 148	Influence of Rural Community
f. 149	Standard of Living, Farm Women
f. 150	Rural Libraries
f. 151	Research
f. 152	Lerner, Gerda- Presidential Address
f. 153	Research
f. 154	Oral History
f. 155	Courts and Police Department Organization
f. 156	Gender and the Family Labor System
f. 157	Research- Minnesota/Iowa
f. 158	Research- Wisconsin
f. 159	Dissent and Rebellion
f. 160	Wisconsin Studies
f. 161	Short Stories on Midwest
f. 162	Cather, Willa- Short Stories
f. 163	Plain Country People
f. 164	Secondary Advertising
f. 165	Secondary Photography
f. 166	Author Biographies
f. 167	Robinson, Phyllis
f. 168	Devil Wagon
f. 169	Feminist Theory
f. 170	Boydston/Mallon
f. 171	Invisible Farmers
f. 172	Family Studies
f. 173	Ethnicity in Rural Communities
f. 174-175	Consumption and the Market
f. 176	Invention Essay
f. 177-181	Miscellaneous Research
f. 182	Statistical Data
f. 183	Census Data
f. 184-185	Advertising Research
f. 186-188	Invention and Entrepreneur Research
f. 189	Krueger Family
f. 190	Wheat Harvest Labor
f. 191	Land Programs in Northern Wisconsin
f. 192	Powers' Diary
f. 193	Local and Family Histories
f. 194	Wisconsin- River
f. 195	Still, Mary A.B.- Diary
f. 196	Homemakers' Clubs
f. 197	Country School Legacy
f. 198-200	Bertha Gabelman Diaries
f. 201	Research for Dissertation- North and South Dakota
f. 202	Fleischman Books Photocopies
f. 203	Community Studies
f. 204	Oral Histories
f. 205	Migrant Workers in Wisconsin
f. 206	United Farm workers
f. 207	Documents on La Raza
f. 208	Documents on Racism/Civil Rights
f. 209	Documents on Student Movement in 1960s
f. 210	Research Guides

Essays, Book Reviews, and Dissertations Series

f. 211	Farm Women in the Political Arena Review, 1986
f. 212	Women's West Review, 1987
f. 213	Wisconsin Farm Women and Education Articles, 1986
f. 214	Family Survival Strategies Article
f. 215	Family, Community and Leisure Essay, n.d.
f. 216	Master's Thesis, Draft, n.d.
f. 217	Invention and the Entrepreneur Essay, n.d.
f. 218	Rural Studies, 1998
f. 219	Representation and Presentation Essay, n.d.
f. 220	Rockefeller Project Proposal, 1986
f. 221	For a "Suffering Fellow Creature"- Changing Religious Values in Popular Women's Fiction 1850-1870, Master's Thesis, 1980
f. 222	Farm Women, Gender Based Work, and the New Agriculture Essay, 1987
f. 223	Preserving the Family Farm Reviews, 1995-1996
f. 224-225	Various Book Reviews, 1991-1995

Miscellaneous Papers Series

f. 226	Preserving the Family Farm, Introduction
f. 227	SSHA Papers
f. 228	Comments: Dissertation Revisions
f. 229	Farm Women Conference Papers
f. 230	Dissertation Bibliographic Note
f. 231	Overheads for "Seeing History in a New Way"
f. 232	Financial Records- Fellowship
f. 233	"How You Gonna' Keep 'Em Down on the Farm?"
f. 234	Kathleen Hilton, "And Now She's Plowing with a Mule"
f. 235	Public Service: Publications, Presentations
f. 236	Public Presentations
f. 237	Agricultural Historical Society Nominating Committee
f. 238	Conferences
f. 239	Requests
f. 240	SRF Application
f. 241	Activities and Reports
f. 242-243	Miscellaneous Papers
f. 244	Publications: Notes
f. 245	Ashland Community Survey
f. 246	Miscellaneous Archival Materials
f. 247	"Ten Years of Cases," Report to WI Governor's Commission on Human Rights
f. 248	Maps- Missouri
f. 249	Dissertation Journals
f. 250-251	Notebooks

Card Files Series

c.f. 1-4

Manuscript Notes and Bibliographic Information

Audio Cassettes Series

a.c. 1	WTSO- Mary Neth and Lorna Miller
a.c. 2-3	"Farm Women in the Political Arena," Lorna Miller
a.c. 4	Farm Women Oral History Clips
a.c. 5-6	Rangar and Margaret Segerstrom, tapes 2, 3
a.c. 7-10	Isabel Bauman, tapes 2-4, 6
a.c. 11-15	Jean Stillman Long, tapes 1, 2, 4, 6, unnumbered

INDEX TERMS

These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at The State Historical Society of Missouri-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff

Advertising	f. 119-123
Agricultural experiment stations--Midwest	f. 124-147
Agricultural History Society, Washington D.C.	f. 8-33, 72-77
Farm buildings	f. 43-71 (pictorial image)
Farm family	f. 43-71 (pictorial image)
Farm life	f. 81, 84, 85, 93, 94, 101-103, 108, 110, 112-114, 120, 163, 171, 190, 211, 213, 222, 223, a.c. 1-15
Lerner, Gerda (1920- )	f. 152
Neth, Mary Carol (1954-2005)	f. 1-251
Rural development--Midwest	f. 8-29, 84-210
Rural sociology	f. 84-210
Tap dancing	f. 240
Tap dancing	f. 240
The Rural Women's Studies Association	f. 30-33
University of Missouri-Columbia, Department of Women's and Gender Studies	f. 39-42
University of Wisconsin-Madison	f. 221
Women in agriculture	f. 81, 110, 112, 114, 149, 171, 195, 198-200, 211, 212, 213, 222, 223, a.c. 1- 15
Women--Civil rights	f. 37, 38
Women--History	f. 8-29, 39-42, 78-225
Women--Social conditions	f. 43-71 (pictorial image)
Women--Social conditions	f. 8-29, 39-42, 78-225

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