Use Restrictions

The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Beardwood and Whipple family travel photograph albums, C0329, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Purchased by Lynn Eaton from Caroliniana Rare Books in July 2020.

Processing Information

Processed by Amanda Menjivar in August 2022. Finding aid completed by Amanda Menjivar in August 2022.

Biographical Note

Olive Whipple Peabody Beardwood was born Olive Whipple in 1886 in Massachusetts. Her birth parents were Grace A. McKay Whipple and Albert L. Whipple. For unknown reasons, she was adopted by the New York/Massachusetts lawyer Philip G. Peabody, and changed her name accordingly. Olive and Philip traveled extensively together, visiting multiple European countries. Eventually Olive married, and changed her name again, this time to Beardwood. Olive died in 1969.

Scope and Content

Content warning: Racist language.

Seven photograph albums created by Olive Whipple Peabody Beardwood and her mother, Grace M. Whipple, documenting their travels with family across the Eastern, Southeastern, and Southern United States, as well as Europe. The majority of the albums seems to have been compiled by Olive for herself and her mother, with one album likely compiled by Grace.

The first album was likely made by Olive for Grace. It includes photographs of Black adults and children outside their Hartsville, South Carolina homes. Racist language is used to describe these individuals. The album features a road trip through South Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. One handwritten caption reads "Followed Route 1 from Washington, D.C. thru Richmond, VA - Raleigh, N.C. to S.C." Subjects of photographs include friends and acquaintances, and landscapes. Created in 1929.

The second album features a road trip to Florida and features images takes in St. Augustine, Jacksonville, and Daytona Beach. Likely created by Olive circa 1930.

The third album features a road trip to Washington, D.C. Likely created by Olive circa 1930.

The fourth album features photographs taken in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, as well as Florence, South Carolina, and Massachusetts. Included are photographs taken in France. Included are images of a Black woman caregiver, who Olive likely hired to care for her child. Likely created by Grace in 1929.

The fifth album features photographs from a roadtrip to Shenandoah Valley, Virginia in April 1929, including a visit to Shenandoah Caverns. Photographs of Hartsville, South Carolina are also present. Likely created by Olive in 1929. The sixth album is in essence a duplicate of the fifth album.

The seventh album features photographs from 1929 - 1931. Photographs were taken in Hartsville, Florence, Columbia, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The album was liekly created by Olive in November 1930.

There eighth album is an outlier. It features photographs of various individuals and locations/buildings in the Victorian era. Based off of the album used, as well as clothing worn by the individuals, this album was likely created in the 1890s - 1900s. It is unknown if this album is connected to the Beardwood-Whipple family, though the album likely originates from the United States.

Arrangement

This is a single box collection.

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center also holds the Vacation trip in the new Chevrolet scrapbook, the Sallie Montgomery travel diary, the American voyage photograph albums, and many other collections related to travel of the United States.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• African Americans
• Automobile travel
• South Carolina
• Women travelers