Ingraham, Elsie Powell

The Elsie Powell Ingraham family papers chronicle multiple generations of the Ingraham, Powell, Brown, Hopper, and allied families -- prominent Quakers residing primarily in New York City, Old Chatham, NY and Cambridge Mass. Although these papers document dozens of individuals, it is Elsie Powell Ingraham, her husband Edward Ingraham, and her sister Rachel Hopper Powell who are significantly represented in the collection.

Elsie Powell Ingraham (1875-1962), the fifth child of Wilson Marcy and Sarah Hopper Powell Marcy, was educated at Barnard College and married Edward (Ned) Ingraham in 1912. Because business with a Boston-based cotton brokerage firm frequently took Edward from New York, the couple maintained residences in both New York City and Cambridge, Mass. In the course of their marriage, Elsie's interest in historic homes prompted the purchase and restoration of several properties. Although childless, the couple became benefactors to many girls and young woman through their philanthropic work with the Vidyodaya School for Girls in Madras, India.

Edward (Ned) Ingraham (1879-1949) was born in New Bedford, Mass., attended Friends Academy and graduated from Harvard University in 1900. Ingraham made a career as a cotton goods broker with operations in New York and Boston and, among other affiliations, was a member of Company K of the 7th Regiment, a National Guard unit and an enclave for New York's social elite. During WWI, he served in the Cotton Goods Branch of the Supply and Equipment Section of the Office of the Quartermaster General in Washington. Following his retirement he and Elsie made Cambridge their primary residence, and he joined the board of Lesley College, became secretary of Cambridge Hospital and president of the Home for Aged People.

Rachel Hopper Powell (1865-1953), known throughout the collection as "Chellie," was educated in private schools and by tutors. From 1892 to 1896 she served as a trustee to the New York and Brooklyn Schools of Society of Friends; was a member and secretary of the Board of School Inspectors for the 21st District of New York from 1899 to 1902; and in 1914, assumed the position of treasurer of the Women's Prison Association and the Isaac T. Hopper Home. By the following year, Powell became director of the Association, retiring from this post in 1944. In addition to this work, she was treasurer of the Joint Committee on Negro Child Study in 1926, and was active with the National Prisoners Aid Association, the Welfare Council of New York, and the Women's City Club of New York, where she was director from 1931 to 1935, serving as chair for the club's committee on prevention and correction. Following her retirement, she moved to Cambridge to live with her sister and brother-in-law.

Elsie and Rachel were the great-granddaughters of the abolitionist Isaac Tatem Hopper (1771-1852). Born in Philadelphia, Hopper moved to New York City and joined the Quaker community in their work for equality. He was a leading figure in the prison reform movement and founded the Prison Association of New York. With his daughter, Abigail Hopper Gibbons, he established the Women's Prison Association, which sought the improved treatment of women prisoners and assisted them with the transition between incarceration and working life.

From the guide to the Elsie Powell Ingraham family papers, 1810-1962, (The New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division.)