manosca45 Helen Ashurst Choate Papers, 1908-1957 Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Gayla B. Spaulding. Smith College Archives

Northampton, MA

Finding aid encoded in NoteTab Pro. Encoded by Deborah A. Richards. 2006-08-11 Finding aid written in English Smith College Archives Helen Ashurst Choate Papers, 1908-1957 Finding Aid RG 42 Gayla B. Spaulding 2001

Collection Overview Choate, Helen Ashurst Helen Ashurst Choate Papers1908-1957 RG 42 1 box (.225 linear ft.) English Smith College Archives

Northampton, MA

The materials document the life and career of Helen Ashurst Choate, as a member of the Botany Department. Biographical Note Smith College Teaching Fellow, 1908-09 Associate Professor of Botany, 1909-47 Class Dean for the Class of 1938, 1934-38 Associate Professor Emeritus, 1947-57

Helen Ashurst Choate was born on August 29, 1882 in Irvington-on-Hudson, NY to Washington Choate and Grace Whitton Choate. She graduated from Smith College with the class of 1904, and worked as a teacher at Greenwich Academy in Connecticut before returning to Smith on a trustee fellowship from 1908-09. In 1909, studying under professor William F. Ganong, Choate received an M.A. from Smith and became an associate professor of botany, a position she held for 38 years until her retirement in 1947. In 1920, she received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Between 1934-38 she served as Class Dean for the class of 1938, and she also served as department chair for several years. Her field of research was plant physiology.

Choate was active with the work of the Edwards Congregational Church in Northampton, hospital aid, victory gardens, the Red Cross, and relief work. She was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, and Sigma Delta Epsilon, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Botanical Society of America, and the History of Science Society.

Choate died at the age of 75 on December 12, 1957 at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, MA.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Helen Ashurst Choate Papers contain biographical materials, correspondence, and publications spanning her career as a faculty member at Smith College.

This collection is organized into three series: Series I: Biographical Materials (1899-1997) This section of the collection consists of photographs, invitations to various functions, a calendar, faculty files, and obituaries. Series II: Correspondence (1903-1950) This section of the collection contains miscellaneous correspondence, as well as correspondence from four other faculty members - Elizabeth Lawrence Clark, Anna Alice Cutler, Grace (Smith) Jones and John H. Pillsbury. Series III: Publications (1912-1940) This section consists of a history of the Botany Department from 1875 - 1950, a publications list and publications. Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

The papers are open for research according to the regulations of the Smith College Archives without any additional restrictions.

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the documents must be requested from the Smith College Archives. Smith College owns copyright to any published material relating to college events and activities. Provenance and copyright ownership of other materials is unknown and researchers are responsible for determining any question of copyright.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

Helen Ashurst Choate, Box #, Smith College Archives.

Additional Information 707 1 Biographical Materials 1899-1997 707 2 Botany Department History 1875-1950 707 3 Botany Department History 1894-1932 707 4 Botany Department History 1875-1950 707 5 Correspondence, A - Z 1903-1950 707 6 Correspondence: Clark, Elizabeth Lawrence 1950 707 7 Correspondence: Cutler, Anna Alice 1950 707 8 Correspondence: Jones, Grace (Smith) 1950 707 9 Correspondence: Pillsbury, John H. n.d. 707 10 History of the Botany Department from 1875-1950, a publications list and the following publications: "The Origin and Development of the Binomial System of Nomenclature", 1912; "A Standardization of Floral Diagrams for Educational Use", 1914; "An Unpublished Letter by Gronovius", 1916; "The Earliest Glossary of Botanical Terms", 1917; "Chemical Changes in Wheat During Germination", 1921; "Demonstration Study of Colors in Autumn Foliage", 1924; "Dormancy and Germination in Seeds of Echinocystis lobata", 1940 1912 - 1940