Martha Jean Nicholson Browneller papers

Collection

Identifier: IWA0804

Staff Only

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

Browneller, Martha Jean Nicholson, 1920- (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The papers are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Extent

1.10 linear feet

Additional Description

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.

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.