Collection Description

The collection consists primarily of letters from Elizabeth Sherman Cameron to her various friends and family members, beginning with letters from her mother Eliza Sherman in the years preceding and immediately following Elizabeth's marriage to Don Cameron. Letters from Elizabeth herself begin in 1877 and are addressed to her mother and sisters. In 1884, she began to write to her niece Cecilia "Tia" Miles Reber and her nephew Sherman Miles, the children of her sister Mary and General Nelson Miles. Writing from such diverse places as Paris, Italy, and Egypt, Elizabeth comments on her work in the Foyer, international politics, and family news. During World War I, letters discuss work with refugees, rationing, and life in France.

After 1918, Elizabeth wrote almost exclusively to her niece Tia and grand-nephew Sam "Simmy" Reber, Jr. from Stepleton and vacation spots in the south of France. The bulk of the letters fall between the years 1930 and 1944 when Elizabeth was living at Stepleton. These letters are primarily concerned with family matters, although there is much commentary on contemporary events, especially as World War II approached. These intervening years concern the purchase of Stepleton (fall of 1923), the sickness and death of her daughter Martha who Elizabeth believed was "murdered by surgeons" (1918), discussions of weather, world and European politics, the abdication of Edward VII, the rise of Hitler, criticism of U.S. domestic and foreign policy, economic depression, and an occasional mention of social customs. Letters to Simmy, a member of the U.S. diplomatic corps stationed in Europe, often discuss international politics and the coming of the war.

Letters written during World War II discuss a range of wartime concerns, including Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, conscription, economizing at home, rations, household daily activities, empty shops, boredom, and the "internment of aliens." Other topics include: the Republican Party, neutrality, isolationism, the conscription of women, and inflation. Elizabeth's letters also contain occasional comments and reminiscences about great literary and artistic figures of her time, including Edith Wharton, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, John Singer Sargent, and the Adams brothers, Henry and Brooks.

Other topics include Elizabeth's engagement, friends and family news, life in Washington, D.C., and her health. Letters from Eliza Sherman include disparaging comments about Don Cameron. There are also references to visits of Elizabeth and Martha to Bar Harbor, Maine, and Beverly Farms; Henry Adams's devotion to 19-month-old Martha; and Martha's childhood.

The collection also contains a letter from Martha Cameron about hospital work in Cairo, a letter from Sam Reber to his wife Tia, and a letter from Ronald Lindsay discussing the death of Elizabeth in some detail.