Rebecca Shelley Papers, 1890-1984

Summary

Creator:

Shelley, Rebecca, 1887-1984

Abstract:

Pacifist, participant in World War I peace movement and later peace activities, member of Fellowship of Reconciliation, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and Women Strike for Peace. Papers include Correspondence, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, periodicals, reports, photographs, and other materials relating to the International Congress of Women, 1915, the Ford Peace Ship, the American Neutral Conference Committee, the Emergency Peace Federation, and the People's Council of America.

Extent:

21 linear feet
1 oversize folder

Language:

English.

Call Number:

86123, Aa/2, UAm

Authors:

Finding aid prepared by: William H. McNitt and Christopher Leonard. Last updated: July 2016.

Background

Scope and Content:

The papers of Rebecca Shelley (1887-1984) were donated by Shelley in several accessions between 1964 and 1984. The papers make up twenty-one linear feet of materials and cover the years 1890-1984, though only a few photographs and printed items predate 1910. Her anti-war activism, legal battles, writing career, and courtships with Franz Willman and Felix Rathmer are all well-represented. In addition to her personal papers, there are groups of material belonging to Emily Balch, Richard Olsen, Felix Rathmer, Paul Shelly, and William A. Shelly.

Many peace organizations are also documented in these papers through flyers, pamphlets, periodicals, newsletters, and correspondence. These include the American Neutral Conference Committee, Emergency Peace Federation, People's Council of America, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Women Strike for Peace, and many others. As Shelley served as an officer in the Michigan Fellowship of Reconciliation (F.O.R.) through the 1950s and 1960s, many of the organization's official papers came to be in her possession. Therefore, an effort was made to remove most of these official papers to the separate Michigan F.O.R. collection.

The collection is arranged in eleven series: Biographical; Newspaper Clippings; Correspondence; Topical Papers; Miscellaneous Papers; Papers Of Other Individuals; Printed; Periodicals; Diaries And Notebooks; Photographs; and Writings.

Biographical / Historical:

Rebecca Shelley, Battle Creek pacifist and feminist, was born in Sugar Valley, Pennsylvania in 1887. She attended the Normal School at Clarion, Pennsylvania from 1902 to 1904 and taught briefly in Pennsylvania. In 1904, Rebecca's father, William Alfred Shelly, moved to Leelanau County, Michigan to become pastor of the local Evangelical congregation. Rebecca taught school for two years in the Leelanau County School but quit teaching in 1907 to attend the University of Michigan. She majored in German and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1910.

Shelley spent the next five years teaching German in Hayward, Wisconsin (1910-1912), Everett, Washington (1912-1914), and Freeport, Illinois (1914-1915). While traveling with friends in Germany in the summer of 1911, Rebecca met Franz Willman, a German literature and music critic to whom she became engaged in 1913. Their plan had been for Franz to move to the United States, but in August 1914, war was declared and Franz was called to active duty in the German army.

The severity of the world crisis along with her personal situation led her to become a pacifist. When she read about the proposed International Congress of Women at the Hague, Rebecca wrote to Jane Addams and persuaded Addams to allow her to attend as an American delegate. After the conference, Rebecca toured Germany with Angela Morgan, a fellow delegate. In Munich, she met with Franz who died later in the war after contracting encephalitis.

After returning home, Rebecca made numerous contributions to the peace movement. She was a central figure in the Ford Peace Ship (December 1915), the American Neutral Conference Committee (Spring 1916-February 1917), the Emergency Peace Federation (February-July 1917), and the People's Council of America (August 1917-1918).

In 1918, stress and exhaustion forced her to return to Michigan. After recovering at a Battle Creek sanitarium, she settled in Battle Creek. She purchased a trade journal, Modern Poultry Breeder, which she published through most of the 1920s.

In 1922, Rebecca met and married Felix Martin Rathmer, an electrical engineer from Germany. Having married a foreign citizen weeks before the pertinent law expired, Rebecca lost her American citizenship. She then refused to take the naturalization oath which included a clause promising to bear arms in defense of the country. It was only after a lengthy and publicized legal fight that her U.S. citizenship was restored in 1944.

In later years, she again became active in the pacifist movement. She was an organizer of World Peace Month in 1952. In the early 1950s she founded a Battle Creek chapter of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. She was also editor of the Fellowship of Reconciliation's Michigan F.O.R. News for many years.

After the death of her husband in 1959, Rebecca dedicated her Battle Creek property as the Peaceways Foundation. In 1964, she ran for vice-president on a peace party ticket with a Herbert Hoover, a cousin of the former president. From 1968 until 1977, she publicly dressed in mourning as a protest against the Vietnam War. She made extensive tours of Europe and South Asia, conducting peace vigils at embassies and war monuments. In 1984, Rebecca Shelley died at age ninety-seven.

Acquisition Information:

The collection was donated by Rebecca Shelley in several accessions between 1964 and 1984. Donor no. 4218. Undated address book donated by Willard Library of Battle Creek, Mich. (donor no. 4884 ) in July 2016.

Arrangement:

Summary Contents List

1. Biographical - Box 1
2. Newspaper Clippings -- 1
3. Correspondence
   • 1974 accession -- Boxes 1-4
   • 1984 accession -- Boxes 5-7
4. Topical Papers -- Boxes 7-9
5. Miscellaneous Papers -- Box 9
6. Papers of Other individuals -- Box 9
7. Printed -- Boxes 10-14
8. Periodicals -- Boxes 14-15
9. Diaries and Notebooks -- Box 16
10. Photographs -- Box 17
11. Writings -- Boxes 17-21

Related

Additional Descriptive Data:

Partial Index to Correspondence, 1984 accession

Arnori, M.S. (Minority of One)	February 21, 1966, February 23, 1966, February 28, 1966
Balch, Emily Greene, 1867-1961.	June 15, 1933, January 24, 1937, January 27, 1937, March 29, 1937, April 11, 1937, April 28, 1937, May 30, 1937, June 18, 1937, July 5, 1937, July 18, 1937, July 20, 1937, December 20, 1937, December 30, 1937, May 1939, January 15, 1942, September 11, 1950, April 23, 1951
Bentley, Alvin Morell, 1918-1969.	October 10, 1962
Brown, Garry Eldridge, 1923-	August 11, 1970, August 13, 1971, December 22, 1971, January 18, 1972
Circle Pines Center.	August 5, 1963
Crane, Henry Hitt, 1890-	December 17, 1954, April 27, 1959, April 18, 1961, September 18, 1961, November 17, 1961, 1962 (7), 1963 (5), April 4, 1964, May 19, 1964, April 9, 1965, May 20, 1965, March 2, 1967
Dende, Leopold	August 28, 1963, September 11, 1963, September 21, 1963, 1965 (17), September 11, 1966, June 4, 1967
Dougherty, Peter	April 14, 1979, undated 1970s (2)
Dubina, Nestor	1965 (5)1966 (6)
Eddy, Robert M.	May 1964 (4), September 1964 (2), May 2, 1965
Eldred, Mary	May 21, 1962, September 23, 1962, December 23, 1963, July 10, 1967, undated 1970s, September 6, 1972, September 7, 1972, January 4, 1973, January 1, 1974, June 1, 1978, January 17, 1981, 1983 (8)
Florence, Barbara Moench	September 26, 1976, September 21, 1976, June 9, 1977, October 15, 1976, February 3, 1980, February 28, 1980, November 24, 1980
Florence, Philip	July 25, 1966, July 18, 1966
Gage-Colby, Ruth	undated 1960's, June 22, 1962, July 4, 1962, July 8, 1962, July 27, 1962, June 2, 1963, 1964 (6), January 15, 1965, April 14, 1965, June 21, 1965, November 1, 1965, October 13, 1966
Hamilton, Alice, 1869-1970.	October 13, 1966
Harrington, Donald Szantho, 1914-	May 25, 1957, May 30, 1957, June 6, 1957, 1958 (9), May 15, 1959, September 9, 1959, undated 1960s, November 16, 1960, 1962 (8)
Harrison, Alice	undated 1960s, July 2, 1958, October 22, 1958, 1959 (6), February 3, 1960, February 5, 1960, June 29, 1960, August 3, 1960, 1962 (5), 1963 (7), 1964 (10), 1965 (5), June 10, 1966, December 2, 1966, May 7, 1967, June 15, 1967, November 29, 1968, January 18, 1969, January 29, 1970, November 6, 1980
Hassler, Alfred	May 11, 1962, April 30, 1962, July 7, 1962, February 10, 1964, February 26, 1964, March 25, 1964, March 30, 1964, April 14, 1964, April 2, 1965, undated 1960s
Herz, Alice	August 6, 1956, September 13, 1958, January 22, 1959, March 7, 1961, August 13, 1961, 1962 (8), 1963 (5), 1964 (extensive), 1965
Herz, Helga	July 2, 1967
Holmes, John Haynes, 1879-1964.	May 13, 1957, May 15, 1957, May 20, 1957, may 23, 1957, June 1, 1959, June 11, 1959, May 2, 1963, May 21, 1963, May 23, 1963, June 4, 1963
Humphrey, Hubert Horatio, 1911-1978.	October 21, 1968
Hutchinson, Paul, 1890-1956.	November 16, 1936, November 10, 1936, October 14, 1936, May 1, 1939
Kamarck, Frank and Esther	1957-1960, May 20, 1962, June 28, 1962, undated 1970s, undated 1950s
Kennedy, Robert Francis, 1925-1968.	March 12, 1968, March 19, 1968
Labadie, Charles Joseph Antoine dit, 1850-	February 2, 1928, February 24, 1928, February 26, 1928
Laubach, Frank Charles, 1884-1970.	undated 1960s, September 21, 1960, February 15, 1961, March 17, 1962, March 22, 1962, April 17, 1962, August 10, 1962, August 20, 1963, March 24, 1964, April 4, 1964, May 19, 1964, March 16, 1965, March 25, 1965
Lehman, Barbara	January 1964 (6), February 25, 1964
Lindsey, Fanny Cole	July 3, 1945, 1946, 1947
Lloyd, William B (Jr.)	March 29, 1929, January 29, 1968, May 26, 1968, December 11, 1968, November 19, 1968, November 29, 1968, April 19, 1971
Lochner, Louis Paul, 1887-	May 3, 1943
Mazey, Emil, 1913-	May 19, 1962, April 27, 1962
Milliken, William Grawn, 1922-	December 18, 1970
Minkoff, Lynn	June-August 1963, April 14, 1964, June 11, 1964, July 6, 1964, September 5, 1964, 1965 (5), August 10, 1966, September 21, 1966
Morgan, Angela, 1874-1957.	undated 1950s, December 1954-January 1957
Mygatt, Tracy, 1885-1973.	undated 1960s, March 31, 1962
Nielson, Axel	April 20, 1958, May 11, 1958, September 18, 1958, December 24, 1958, January 3, 1959, January 4, 1959, January 3, 1962, February 1, 1962, August 20, 1963, March 25, 1968, June 30, 1968, April 29, 1969
O'Brien, Patrick Henry, 1868-1959.	February 17, 1936, July 20, 1944
O'Connor, Jessie Lloyd	March 24, 1965, September 7, 1965, September 19, 1968
Olmstead, Mildred Scott	September 11, 1950, October 5, 1965, November 6, 1956
Pauling, Linus, 1901-	April 2, 1964
Puri, J.N.	January 14, 1971, 1974, 1975, November 10, 1977, December 20, 1978, 1979, January 25, 1980, December 25, 1981
Randall, Mercedes	January 19, 1974, April 16, 1974, May 16, 1960, July 8, 1963, September 23, 1963, February 27, 1965
Rathmer, Felix Martin, -1959.	1922-1924, 1938-1939, undated, 1911-1949
Reynolds, Barbara	June 1963-1965, January 27, 1966, February 2, 1968, April 11, 1968, January 10, 1978
Romney, George Wilcken, 1907-	June 20, 1967, September 14, 1967
Secor, Lella Faye, d.1966.	January 15, 1960, January 13, 1961, January 13, 1941, January 15, 1941
Selskosojus, Inc.	May 15, 1926, July 1, 1926
Sexton, Kripp	March 30, 1965, undated 1970s
Shafer, Paul Werntz, 1893-1954.	March 14, 1948, March 20, 1948
Shapiro, Samuel	November 26, 1962, December 2, 1962, August 28, 1963
Shelly, Edna	April 18, 1950, January 4, 1939, January 10, 1939, April 21, 1963, July 15, 1964
Shelly, Florence	undated, 1911-1949, May 24, 1939, August 7, 1942, July 1943, September 1943, 1944, 1945, April 26, 1965, June 27, 1966, November 29, 1968
Shelly, Paul	August 2, 1961, February 24, 1973, undated 1970s, February 25, 1973, March 1, 1973, 1974, May 11, 1975, August 9, 1975, December 10, 1975, July 25, 1978, July 30, 1978, December 5, 1978, August 25, 1979, November 4, 1979, February 4, 1980, January 5, 1981, February 9, 1981, August 16, 1981, 1983 (5), February 19, 1984
Shelly, Will	August 8, 1918, March 4, 1939, undated 1970s, February 3, 1975, November 1979
Shibata, Shingo	July 22, 1966, January 16, 1978
Staebler, Neil, 1905-	October 15, 1962
Steinson, Barbara	August 20, 1974, November 3, 1974
Todd, Paul Harold, 1921-	April 4, 1966, August 29, 1966
Turn Toward Peace.	December 4, 1962, August 2, 1962, May 23, 1962, December 26, 1962 September 18, 1963, October 18, 1963, December 5, 1963
U.S. Farmers Association.	October 17, 1964, November 18, 1964, December 5, 1964, December 14, 1964, January 7, 1965
Van Koevering, Adrian, 1874-1961.	1921-1927
War Resisters League.	January 7, 1933, January 26, 1933
Weinberger, Harry, 1886	February 8, 1939, February 14, 1939, February 17, 1939
Wilson, Charles Carroll	1964-1966
Witherspoon, Frances M, 1886-1973.	March 6, 1961, March 13, 1963, September 21, 1966
Women Strike for Peace.	July 27, 1963, October 29, 1964, September 8, 1965
Woodruff, Alice	October 24, 1962, January 5, 1963, December 19, 1970, September 20, 1973, January 27, 1977, January 28, 1977, February 23, 1978
Wynner, Edith	March 1965-August 1965, March-September 1966, August 16, 1979, January 20, 1964

Subjects

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Subjects:

Conscientious objectors.
German Americans -- Michigan.
Peace -- Societies, etc.
Poetry.
Poultry -- Breeding.
Social reformers -- United States.
Women -- United States -- Societies and clubs.
Women's rights -- United States.
World War, 1914-1918.
World War, 1939-1945.
Women social reformers -- United States.
Women and peace.
Afro-Americans -- Women.
Camping -- 1921-1930.
Clothing and dress.
Demonstrations.
Dwellings.
Exhibitions.
Indian women -- North America.
Machine shops.
Pacifism.
Pacifists.
Slogans.
Typewriters.
Women.
Women -- Organizations.
Pacifism.
Pacifists.

Formats:

Photographs.
Sound recordings.

Names:

American Civil Liberties Union.
American Neutral Conference Committee.
Emergency Peace Federation (U.S.)
Fellowship of Reconciliation (U.S.)
Henry Ford Peace Expedition (1915-1916)
International Congress of Women (1915 : Hague, Netherlands)
People's Council of America.
Prohibition Party (U.S.). National Committee.
Society of Friends -- United States.
United States. Work Projects Administration.
University of Michigan -- Alumni and alumnae.
Writers' Program (Mich.)
American Association for a Democratic Germany.
Circle Pines Center.
Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy.
Selskosojus, Inc.
Turn Toward Peace (Organization)
United States Farmers Association.
War Resisters League.
Women Strike for Peace.
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
Shelley family.
Shelley, Rebecca, 1887-1984.
Morgan, Angela, 1874-1957.
Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962.
Johnston, Margaret.
Addams, Jane, 1860-1935.
Angell, Norman, Sir, 1874-1967.
Arnori, M. S.
Balch, Emily Greene, 1867-1961.
Baldwin, Roger N. (Roger Nash), 1884-1981.
Bentley, Alvin M. (Alvin Morell), 1918-1969.
Boulding, Kenneth E. (Kenneth Ewart), 1910-1993.
Breckinridge, Sophonisba Preston, 1866-1948.
Brown, Garry Eldridge, 1923-1998.
Brown, Prentiss M. (Prentiss Marsh), 1889-1973.
Couzens, James, 1872-1936.
Crane, Henry Hitt, 1890-1977.
Davis, John W. (John William), 1873-1955.
Dende, Leopold.
Detzer, Dorothy, 1893-1981.
Dewey, John, 1859-1952.
Dougherty, Peter, 1805-1894.
Dubina, Nestor.
Eddy, Robert M.
Eldred, Mary.
Ferris, Woodbridge N., 1853-1928.
Florence, Barbara Moench.
Florence, Philip.
Florer, Warren Washburn, 1869-1958.
Gage-Colby, Ruth.
Goldman, Emma, 1869-1940.
Gray, Harold Studley, 1894-1972.
Hamilton, Alice, 1869-1970.
Harrington, Donald Szantho.
Harrison, Alice.
Hassler, Alfred.
Hays, Arthur Garfield, 1881-1954.
Herz, Alice.
Herz, Helga.
Heymann, Lida Gustava, 1868-1943.
Hobbs, William Herbert, 1864-1952.
Holbrook, Florence, 1860-1932.
Holmes, John Haynes, 1879-1964.
Huebsch, B. W. (Benjamin W.), 1876-1964.
Humphrey, Hubert H. (Hubert Horatio), 1911-1978.
Hutchinson, Paul, 1890-1956.
Johansen, August E. (August Edgar), 1905-1995.
Kamarck, Esther.
Kamarck, Frank.
Kennedy, Robert F., 1925-1968.
Kresge, Sebastian Spering, 1867-1966.
Labadie, Jo, 1850-1933.
Laubach, Frank Charles, 1884-1970.
Lehman, Barbara.
Lindsey, Fanny Cole.
Lloyd, Lola Maverick, 1875-1944.
Lloyd, William B., Jr.
Lochner, Louis Paul, 1887-1975.
Lynch, Frederick Henry, 1867-1934.
Magsaysay, Ramon, 1907-1957.
Mazey, Emil, 1913-1983.
Milliken, William G., 1922-
Minkoff, Lynn.
Murphy, Frank, 1890-1949.
Mygatt, Tracy D. (Tracy Dickinson), 1885-1973.
Nearing, Scott, 1883-1983.
Nielson, Axel.
Niemðoller, Martin, 1892-
O'Brien, Patrick H. (Patrick Henry), 1868-1959.
O'Connor, Jessie Lloyd, 1904-
Olmsted, Mildred Scott, 1890-1990.
Paul, Alice, 1885-1977.
Pauling, Linus, 1901-1994.
Puri, J. N.
Randall, Mercedes.
Rathmer, Felix Martin, -1959.
Reynolds, Barbara.
Romney, George W., 1907-1995.
Russell, Bertrand, 1872-1970.
Schwimmer, Franciska, 1880-1963.
Schwimmer, Rosika, 1877-1948.
Secor, Lella Faye, -1966.
Sexton, Kripp.
Shafer, Paul W. (Paul Werntz), 1893-1954.
Shapiro, Samuel.
Shelly, Edna.
Shelly, Florence.
Shelly, Paul.
Shelly, Will.
Shelly, William Alfred, 1854-1930.
Shibata, Shingo, 1930-
Sinclair, Upton, 1878-1968.
Staebler, Neil, 1905-2000.
Steinson, Barbara J., 1948-
Sugar, Maurice, 1891-1974.
Thomas, Norman, 1884-1968.
Todd, Paul Harold, 1921-2008.
Van Koevering, Adrian, 1874-1960.
Villard, Fanny Garrison, 1844-1928.
Villard, Oswald Garrison, 1872-1949.
Weinberger, Harry, 1888-
Williams, G. Mennen, 1911-1988.
Willkie, Wendell L. (Wendell Lewis), 1892-1944.
Wilson, Charles Carroll.
Witherspoon, Frances M., 1886-1973.
Woodruff, Alice.
Wynner, Edith.

Places:

Battle Creek (Mich.)
India.
Spain -- History -- Civil War, 1936-1939.
Vietnam.
India.
Netherlands.