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Rebecca Parrish collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: S1041

Scope and Contents

This collection includes three letters, poems, and a manuscript belonging to Dr. Rebecca Parrish ranging from 1908 and 1947. The first letter dated November 25, 1908 was sent to Dr. Rebecca Parrish from A.J. McLaughlin, Acting Director of Health of the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Health for the Philippine Islands, thanking the Mary J. Johnston Memorial Hospital for assisting the department with the cholera outbreak. In a second letter dated November 10, 1947 Dr. Parrish wrote describing how the hospital responded to the outbreak. The collection contains the undated poems, "Two Old Hearthstones," "My Afterglow," and "Holy Child" written by Dr. Parrish and a copy of the Hawaiian kindergarten song, "Coco Palm." Also included are carbon copies of an undated letter the doctor wrote about a time she saw a Bedouin woman singing an Arabic lullaby to a child and how it inspired her to write the song, "Little Old Manger: A Bedouin Lullaby", with both items being sent by the doctor as Christmas greetings. The collection also contains Dr. Parrish's manuscript, "Orient Seas and Lands Afar." The undated manuscript has 20 chapters and it describes the doctor's travels to a multitude of destinations, including Japan, China, the Philippines, Singapore, India, Somalia, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Italy, France, Germany, and Norway.

Dates

  • 1908-1947, undated

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Biographical Note

Dr. Rebecca Parrish was born November 1, 1869 in Montgomery County, Indiana to Jesse M. and Mary C. Parrish. She entered the Indiana Medical College of Indianapolis, Indiana in 1898 and received her medical degree in 1901. After a year's internship in Chicago, Parrish worked at Longcliff State Hospital in Logansport, Indiana from 1902 to 1906. She then went to the Philippines with the Methodist Women's Foreign Missionary Society as a medical missionary and served there for 27 years before returning to the United States in 1933. While in the Philippines, Parrish served as the superintendent of the Mary Johnston Hospital, taught social hygiene at the Philippine University, and gave many speeches to school, civic, and church groups. She died in Indianapolis on August 22, 1952.

Sources:

Ancestry.com. "Jessee M. Parrish." 1870 United States Federal Census. Accessed August 19, 2016. http://search.ancestrylibrary.com.

"Dr. Rebecca Parrish, Medical Missionary to Filipinos, Dies." Indianapolis Star , August 24, 1952.

FindaGrave.com. "Dr. Sarah Rebecca Parrish." Find a Grave Index. Accessed August 19, 2016. http://www.findagrave.com.

Extent

0.04 Cubic Feet (2 folders)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection is arranged chronologically.

Custodial History

This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from Rebecca Parrish on 1943/11/16.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Processing Information

Collection processing completed 2016/08/20 by Laura Eliason. EAD finding aid created 2016/08/20 by Laura Eliason.
Title
Rebecca Parrish collection
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository

Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671