Date Original
1951
Description
This collection contains material related to the life of Bernie Babcock. In particular, it contains commencement programs, news clippings, photographs, correspondence, and a diploma cover related to the presentation of her honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. It also contains materials from her time as director of the Museum of Natural History in Little Rock, including photographs and an exhibit postcard.
Biographical/Historical Note
Bernie Babcock (1868-1962) was born Julia Burnel Smade on April 28, 1868, in Unionville, Ohio, to Hiram and Elizabeth Smade. Julia was called Bernie by her friends and family. The Smade family moved to Russellville, Arkansas, where Bernie attended public school. Bernie enrolled at Little Rock College and attended for one year, but left to marry William Babcock at the age of 18. After her husband's death, she turned to writing to support herself and five children. In 1899, she began writing a weekly literary column in the Arkansas Democrat and later became the telegraph and society editor there. She also contributed historical and religious articles to national magazines and served as editor of the Arkansas Sketch Book. During her career, she published five books on the life of Abraham Lincoln. During the early 1900s, she was active in the women's suffrage movement and later in the Prohibition movement. In the 1920s, she helped create the Museum of Natural History in Little Rock and served as its director from 1928 to 1953, and during the 1930s served as the Folklore Editor of the Federal Writers' Project in Arkansas. Upon her retirement from the museum in 1953, she moved to Petit Jean Mountain to write, where she died on June 14, 1962.
Physical Description
Document, 8.5" x 11"
Geographical Area
Arkansas
Language
English
Identifier
SMC.176.021
Resource Type
Text
Collection
Bernie Babcock papers, SMC.176.021
Publisher
Arkansas State Archives
Contributing Entity
Arkansas State Archives
Recommended Citation
Bernie Babcock papers, Arkansas State Archives, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Rights
Use and reproduction of images held by the Arkansas State Archives without prior written permission is prohibited. For information on reproducing images held by the Arkansas State Archives, please call 501-682-6900 or email at state.archives@arkansas.gov.
Disciplines
United States History
