Martha Jean Nicholson Browneller papers
Collection
Identifier: IWA0804
Scope and Contents
The Jean Browneller papers date from 1936 to 2011 and measure 1.1Â linear feet. Her diaries date from 1935 to 2010 and make up the bulk of the collection. Most of the entries record day-to-day activities with occasional references to world events. Photographs of Jean Browneller as a baby and as an older woman are also found in the biographical series along with school report cards, commencement pamphlets, and memorabilia.
Dates
- 1920-2010
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The papers are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to The University of Iowa.
Biographical / Historical
Martha Jean Nicholson was born on September 16, 1920, the daughter of Irma and Homer Nicholson. The Nicholsons raised their four children on a farm four miles outside of Oskaloosa, in Mahaska County, Iowa, during the Great Depression. Nicholson's mother supplemented the farming income by working in a cannery. After graduating from Oskaloosa High School, Jean Nicholson obtained a job as a telephone operator with the Northwestern Bell Telephone Company. Nicholson married her childhood friend Max Browneller on September 18, 1940. The couple farmed and would often hire help to tend their farm. Jean Browneller was a leader in the 4-H group called the Monroe Busy Bees, worked as an Avon representative, and was active in local clubs and organizations. She was instrumental in forming a sewing club that would later develop the Iowa "Make it yourself with wool" contest and helped her husband form the Mahaska Sheep Breeders Association in Oskaloosa.
Extent
1.10 linear feet
Abstract
Mahaska County, Iowa, farm woman who was active in 4-H and rural organizations. She recorded her daily activities in her diaries between 1935 and 1973.
Method of Acquisition
The papers (donor no. 1256) were donated by Jean Browneller in 2011.
- 2001-2010
- 2011-2020
- 20th century
- 4-H clubs
- Archives (groupings)
- Autobiographies
- Browneller, Martha Jean Nicholson, 1920-
- Browneller, Max
- Diaries
- Diaries
- Farm life
- Farmers
- Mahaska County (Iowa)
- Monroe Busy Bees (4-H Club : Mahaska County, Iowa)
- Nicholson, Homer
- Nicholson, Irma
- Northwestern Bell Telephone Company
- Oral histories
- Oskaloosa (Iowa)
- Oskaloosa High School (Oskaloosa, Iowa)
- Personal papers
- Photographs
- Rural families
- Rural girls
- Rural schools
- Rural women
- Rural women
- Sewing
- Telephone operators
- Women -- Societies and clubs
- Women in agriculture
- Women in agriculture
Creator
- Author
- Froilan Orozco
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Iowa Women's Archives Repository
Contact:
100 Main Library
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA 52242 IaU
319-335-5068
319-335-5900 (Fax)
lib-women@uiowa.edu
100 Main Library
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA 52242 IaU
319-335-5068
319-335-5900 (Fax)
lib-women@uiowa.edu