Charlotte Clement, whose correspondence forms the largest part of the collection, was one of five children born to Sarah Salome Fish (1832-1906) and Wallace Clement (1835-1921). Her siblings were Florence Anna (1860-1870), Charles Fish (b. 1862), Charlotte's twin brother Frederick Percival (1864-1918), and Henry Wood (1866-1958).
Charlotte attended finishing school in Philadelphia and then traveled in Europe for extended periods, maintaining a busy social schedule and correspondence with people in Italy, Holland, France, and other European countries. After living abroad, mostly in Leghorn, Italy, Charlotte married Thomas Emerson Ripley (1865-1956), also a Rutland native, in Paris in 1891. The couple took up married life in Tacoma, Washington, where her husband established himself in the plywood business. Charlotte and Thomas had two children: Clements (1892-1954) and Cornelia Emerson (1896-2000). Clements married Katherine Ball (1898-1955) and Cornelia married Frederick Barreda Sherman (1892-1989). Charlotte Clement Ripley died in Rutland on August 12, 1923.
From the description of Charlotte Clement Ripley correspondence, 1870-1963. (Vermont Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 60584848
