Colgate, Mabel Hall, 1895-1985.

Mabel Hall Colgate was the only child of Edith Buckingham Hall and Samuel Colgate, a minister whose brothers had all gone into the family business, the Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company. Following Samuel Colgate's death in 1902, Edith Colgate married Henry Bradford Washburn, then professor of church history at, and later dean of the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Mass. They had two sons, Henry Bradford, Jr., and Sherwood Larned. Mabel was very close to her step-father and step-brothers, as well as her mother, and remained so throughout her life.

Mabel attended the Buckingham and Mary Winsor schools. Her brothers went to Groton and then to Harvard. During the first World War Mabel corresponded with a number of American soldiers--mostly boys she knew from Harvard--during their training and while they were at the front. She volunteered with the Red Cross in California and Washington, D.C. In Cambridge she was a member of the Sewing Circle League of 1916 and the Saturday Morning Club.

In the late 1920s Mabel began to spend winters in North Carolina, most often staying in Tryon, a spa town. Distressed by the conditions of the poor, Mabel became involved in charity work, providing assistance and education to a few families, encouraging the children to stay in school, and teaching the girls dressmaking and other skills.

The Colgates and Washburns travelled extensively in the United States, especially in the South and West, and in Europe. Mabel travelled for health, education, and pleasure, often keeping a journal during her travels to record her activities and some observations, as well as to keep a record of her reading and bird watching. Her brothers were avid mountain climbers, and Brad often wrote and lectured about his expeditions. Mabel died in Cambridge in 1985.

From the description of Papers 1827-1979 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 232007555

Mabel Hall Colgate (MHC) was the only child of Edith Buckingham Hall (EHCW) and Samuel Colgate (SC)--a Baptist-turned-Presbyterian minister and amateur photographer whose brothers had all gone into the family business, the Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company. EHCW, born in 1871, was one of Mary (Hoey) (MHH) and Edward (EJH) Hall's ten children. EJH was a businessman who had worked for the Perth-Amboy Terra Cotta Company in New Jersey, and started his own brick company, Hall and Sons, in Buffalo, N.Y., before becoming vice-president of Bell Telephone there.

EHCW probably met SC when her sister Florance (FHC) was being courted by SC's brother Gilbert (GC). FHC married GC in 1888 (in a double wedding with her older sister Mary); six years later EHCW married SC. Their wedding was in June 1894 and they left almost immediately thereafter so that SC could pursue his theological studies in Germany. They lived there for two years, and MHC was born in Dresden on July 18, 1895.

SC was the pastor at the Presbyterian church in East Aurora, N.Y., near Buffalo, when he died in 1902 after a prolonged illness. In 1908 EHCW married Henry Bradford Washburn (HBW), then professor of church history at, and later dean of, the Episcopal Theological School (ETS) in Cambridge, Mass. HBW had been an acquaintance for some time: EHCW and SC had met the Washburns in Berlin in 1895, and Mary Elizabeth Washburn, HBW's mother, was the Colgate's first houseguest in New York City after they returned from abroad. EHCW and HBW had two sons, Henry Bradford, Jr. (Brad), and Sherwood Larned (Sherry). MHC was very close to her step-father and step-brothers, as well as to her mother, and remained so throughout her life, living near to them and corresponding whenever separated.

MHC had a number of friends and suitors among her stepfather's colleagues and students, including James Arthur Muller and future Episcopal bishops Henry Sherril and William Lawrence. She had a number of proposals but never married, and was engaged only once, in June 1913 to William L. Wood, a student at the ETS. She broke off the engagement, however, probably before the end of the year. It is unclear why, and why she remained single. She may have felt unable to marry because of poor health, but the nature of this delicate health, which required frequent visits to the doctor and cures in better climates, is also unclear.

The family was able to travel extensively. MHC travelled for health, education, and pleasure, always with a companion and often with other family members. She often kept a journal during her travels, recording her activities and some observations. She also kept a record of reading and bird watching. As a very young child she travelled to the west coast and the south with her parents. She spent summers at the family house in Onteora, N.Y., in the Catskills, and often visited friends and relatives there and at their winter houses. MHC went to Europe in 1912 with her cousin Flonny and a friend, spent a year there in 1925-1926, and returned again in 1937. She also spent time in California.

In the late 1920s MHC began to spend winters in North Carolina, most often staying in Tryon, a spa town. Distressed by the conditions of the poor families in the surrounding towns, MHC became involved in charity work through a family friend, retired Bishop Frank Touret. She provided assistance and education to a few families, encouraged the children to stay in school, and taught the girls dressmaking and other skills. She sponsored the education of two children in particular, Edward McCurry and his half-sister Estelle Coggins.

During World War I, MHC corresponded with a number of American soldiers--mostly boys she knew from Harvard--during their training and while they were at the front. She volunteered with the Red Cross in California and Washington, D.C., where she stayed for a time with her cousins Mary and Billy Fisher. In Cambridge she was a member of the Sewing Circle League of 1916 and the Saturday Morning Club.

MHC attended the Buckingham and Mary Winsor schools. Her brothers went to Groton and then to Harvard College. Sherry received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1940. Brad went on to become director of the Museum of Science in Boston. Both boys were avid mountain climbers, and Brad often lectured and wrote about his expeditions.

MHC died in Cambridge in 1985.

From the guide to the Papers, 1827-1979, (Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute)