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Purchased with the Molly Elliot Seawell Endowment.
The Martha Webb Purcell and Anna Brooke Purcell papers are arranged into two series: I. Martha Webb Purcell and Anna Brooke Purcell correspondence and II. Anna Brooke Purcell travel journals.
This collection consists of correspondence and travel journals created by sisters Martha Webb Purcell and Anna Brooke Purcell, between 1882 and 1951. The majority of the correspondence in the collection documents various trips around Europe that Martha and Anna took between 1914 and 1937, during which the sisters witnessed the outbreak of World War I (WWI) in 1914, the stock market crash of 1929, and the buildup to World War II (WWII) in 1937. Later letters were sent to the sisters from their cousins in Ireland from 1938 to 1954, documenting life in Europe during and after WWII. The collection also includes seven travel journals written by Anna Purcell. The journals contain daily notes about her travels, including the places she visited, her expenses, and meals.
Martha Webb Purcell and Anna Brooke Purcell papers, Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries.
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