Primarily correspondence among Berry family members and friends in Spokane, Wash., as well as towns in Pa., Ohio, Ill., and Ala. Contains detailed descriptions of daily life, local news, and family relationships between 1890 and 1910. Half the letters are written to Pearl Berry (later Pearl B. Smith). Many are from her cousin, Elizabeth Gilmore (83 items), and siblings David W. (D.W.), Gertrude, and Mary Berry (later Mrs. Lee R. Scott). Topics in early letters include boarding school activities; Presbyterian and Congregational church services and events; interest in and social activities with young men; women's weight gain and diets; and illness (scarlet fever, grippe, mumps). Later letters detail home life, music, books, sewing, housekeeping activities, and local gossip regarding funerals, engagements, and weddings. In addition, Pearl Berry's siblings wrote about the Second United Presbyterian Church they founded in Spokane (ca. 1902, 50 items), and D.W. commented on sports, young women, work, and school. Other letters are written to and from Pearl's siblings (Mary, Margaret Jane, Robert, and D.W.), parents (William and Martha S.), and aunt (Mary Berry). There is also one letter from Pearl's fiance and one letter written by Pearl. Ephemera (60 items) includes invitations to dinners, parties, weddings, and commencement ceremonies; sympathy cards; Christmas cards (1942); birth announcements; Presbyterian Church bulletins and programs; and newspaper clippings. Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.
