Anna Murray Vail papers
Scope and Contents
The Anna Murray Vail Papers document the botanical career of Ms. Vail, especially as it pertained to her research in the Asclepiadaceae and Leguminosae families. The collection contains some correspondence, research papers, manuscripts and field notebooks. The papers are arranged in three series.
Dates
- 1891-1899
Creator
- Vail, A. M. (Anna Murray), b. 1863. (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research with permission from Mertz Library staff.
Conditions Governing Use
Requests for permission to publish material from the collection should be submitted in writing to the LuEsther T. Mertz Library of the New York Botanical Garden.
Biographical / Historical
Anna Murray Vail (1863-1955) was born 1863 in New York City. She was educated in Europe and later became a student of Nathaniel Lord Britton. In 1896 she donated her Herbarium which consisted of 3000 specimens, mostly from Eastern United States, to the New York Botanical Garden. Ms. Vail was a member of the Torrey Botanical club and was active in the movement to found the New York Botanical Garden. She studied the taxonomy of Leguminosae and Asclepiadaceae.
In 1900 she became the first Librarian of NYBG where she stayed until 1907. After resigning her post she went to France where she lived through two World Wars. She was active in The American Fund for French Wounded (1915-1919) which was founded to further the relief efforts of American women during WWI.
While in France, she had acquired a house in Hericy and remained active in Library work until her health failed her. By 1952 she had become blind and she died in 1955 at the age of 92.
Extent
0.5 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The collection is organized into three series:
- Series 1: Correspondence. 1895-1899. Arranged alphabetically.
- Series 2: Research Notes. Undated. Arranged alphabetically.
- Series 3: Field Notebooks. 1891-1897. Arranged chronologically.
Physical Location
Archives, The LuEsther T. Mertz Library, New York Botanical Garden.
Other Finding Aids
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was transferred to the New York Botanical Garden Archives.
Separated Materials
Field Notebooks have been removed from the main collection.
Processing Information
Originally processed by Susan Fraser, NYBG Archivist, July 1999, with grant funding from The National Endowment for the Humanities. (NEH-PA 23141-98). Converted to EAD in July 2006 by Kathleene Konkle under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH-PA 50678-04).
Creator
- Vail, A. M. (Anna Murray), b. 1863. (Person)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Susan Fraser
- Date
- July 1999
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Sponsor
- Originally processed by Susan Fraser, NYBG Archivist, July 1999, with grant funding from The National Endowment for the Humanities. (NEH-PA 23141-98). Converted to EAD in July 2006 by Kathleene Konkle under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH-PA 50678-04).
Revision Statements
- July 2006: Converted to EAD by Kathleene Konkle.
Repository Details
Part of the The Archives of the New York Botanical Garden Repository
New York Botanical Garden, Mertz Library
2900 Southern Boulevard
Bronx NY 10458 United States
archives@nybg.org