The University of Massachusetts Amherst
Robert S. Cox Special Collections & University Archives Research Center
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Collections: C

Connie Jean

Connie Jean Diaries

1976-2007 Bulk: 1976-1983
1 box 0.25 linear feet
Call no.: MS 596

Little is known about Connie Jean, a gender non-conforming woman assigned male at birth, other than that she was living in Lansdowne, in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, in the late 1970s and 1980s. For at least a decade, she was involved with, and lived with, another transgender woman, “Dick,” who had a wife and children before the two met. In her late 30s or early 40s in 1976, Connie Jean began venturing into public dressed as a woman, and after being stopped by police in April 1976, wrote “now they have my name and all the information on me knowing that I am a TV and cannot stop from doing it because I love it.” She later wrote that she wished Dick “was all female and not part woman when he has on all the clothes” adding that “it would be nice if he had all the equipment that a real woman has.” Both she and Dick apparently considered gender reassignment surgery in the early 1980s.

The two diaries (Feb.-July 1976 and July 1979 through Aug. 1983) and photographs in this small collection offer insight into the lives of a gender non-conforming woman and her partner in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The earliest entries consist of cryptic indications of whether she was staying at home on a given day or venturing into numbered “areas” marked on a map (not present), but by April 1976, the entries become much richer. The diaries make frequent reference to Connie Jean’s desire for dressing as a woman, her struggle to appear in public, and her support for Dick’s transition.

Acquired from Benjamin Katz, Jan. 2009 (2009-024)

Subjects

Transgender people--Pennsylvania

Types of material

DiariesPhotographs
Conor, V.

V. Conor Account Book

1887-1891
1 vol. 0.1 linear feet
Call no.: MS 620 bd

Little is known about V. Conor, other than he traveled on unspecified business up and down the Connecticut River Valley during the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

From the sketchy details surrounding this book of personal accounts, it appears that the author, identified tentatively by a name written on the front fly leaf, was based in Hartford, Conn., and traveled throughout western New England, often to Greenfield and Millers Falls, Mass. Dated between August 1887 and May 1891, the accounts are surprisingly detailed, recording the record keeper’s fondness for doughnuts, seasonal fruits, and the Opera House and Allyn Hall, and they record the range of foods and incidentals, daily trips, subscription to the Hartford Journal, piano rental, and visits to the Knights of Pythias and Red Men (presumably the Independent Order of Red Men or similar organization).

Subjects

Finance, Personal--ConnecticutHartford (Conn.)--Economic conditions--19th century

Contributors

Conor, V

Types of material

Account books
Constitutionalism in American Life Conference

Constitutionalism in American Life Conference Collection

1986
1 box 0.25 linear feet
Call no.: MS 140

A conference hosted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst on November 7-9, 1986, that examined the impact of the Constitution on politics and government, foreign policy, race relations, and the economy, and also discussed the impact on the constitution of popular struggles and the emergence of “rights consciousness.” Includes papers presented at the conference that were to be subsequently published in a special bicentennial issue of the Journal of American History.

Subjects

Constitutional history--United States--CongressesConstitutional law--United States--CongressesJournal of American historyUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst--History
Construyamos Juntos

Construyamos Juntos Collection

1986
1 box 1.5 linear feet
Call no.: PH 052
Depiction of Parrot in Nicaragua
Parrot in Nicaragua

In May 1985, a group of activists in Western Massachusetts opposed to the interventionist U.S. foreign policy of the Reagan era formed a construction brigade to assist with basic human needs and express solidarity with the people of Central America. Modeled on the Venceremos Brigade, Construyamos Juntos, Building Peace of Nicaragua, raised over $20,000 for construction supplies in addition to funds for individual travel. Between January and March 1986, the 17 activists joined a smaller brigade from West Virginia in constructing the Carlos Armin Gonzales elementary school in San Pedro de Lovago. During their first month in Nicaragua, they witnessed a Contra assault on the town that left one assailant dead and two residents of the town wounded.

This exhibit includes 55 mounted images and 99 35mm slides taken during the brigade’s time in Nicaragua, documenting the brigade’s construction work and providing a valuable visual record of life in Nicaragua during the Contra war. Used in public talks about Contruyamos Juntos, the collection includes exhibit labels that explain the purpose and activity of the brigade, the history of Nicaragua, and the Contra attack in January 1986.

Subjects

Nicaragua--History--1979-1990

Types of material

Photographs
Conte, Silvio O. (Silvio Oltavio), 1921-1991

Silvio O. Conte Papers

1950-1991
389 boxes 583.5 linear feet
Call no.: MS 371
Depiction of Silvio Conte, 1973
Silvio Conte, 1973

Temporarily stored offsite; contact SCUA to request materials from this collection.

Massachusetts State Senator for the Berkshire District, 1950-1958, and representative for Massachusetts’s First District in the United States Congress for 17 terms, 1959-1991, where he made significant contributions in the areas of health and human services, the environment, education, energy, transportation, and small business.

Spanning four decades and eight presidents, the papers offer an extraordinary perspective on the major social, economic, and cultural changes experienced by the American people. Includes correspondence, speeches, press releases, bill files, his voting record, committee files, scrapbooks, travel files, audio-visual materials and over 5,000 photographs and slides.

Subjects

Massachusetts--Politics and government--1951-Massachusetts. SenateUnited States--Politics and government--20th centuryUnited States. Congress. House

Contributors

Conte, Silvio O. (Silvio Oltavio), 1921-1991

Types of material

PhotographsScrapbooksSound recordings
Cook Borden & Co.

Cook Borden and Co. Account Books

1863-1914
3 vols. 1.25 linear feet
Call no.: MS 288 bd

Cook Borden (a great uncle of Lizzie Borden) and his sons were prosperous lumber dealers from Fall River, Massachusetts who supplied large mills and transportation companies in the region. Three volumes include lists of customers and building contractors, company and personal profits and losses, accounts for expenses, horses, harnesses, lumber, and the planing mill, as well as accounts indicating the cost of rent, labor (with the “teamers”), insurance, interest, and other items.

Subjects

Callahan, Daley & CoConstruction industry--Massachusetts--HistoryContractors--Massachusetts--HistoryCratesLumberLumber trade--Massachusetts--Fall River--Accounting--HistoryTextile factories--Massachusetts--HistoryTextile industry--MassachusettsTransportation--Massachusetts--HistoryWages--Manufacturing industries--Massachusetts

Contributors

Borden, Cook, 1810-Borden, JeromeBorden, Philip HBorden, Theodore WCook Borden & Co

Types of material

Account books
Cook, Allen B.

Allen B. Cook Papers

1893-1899
2 boxes, 2 OS framed photographs 2 linear feet
Call no.: RG 050/6 1896 C66

Born June 27, 1875 in Petersham, Massachusetts, Allen Bradford Cook graduated from Massachusetts Agricultural College as a member of the class of 1896. Cook was a member of the MAC Shakespearean Club, Young Men’s Christian Association, Washington Irving Literary Society, and the Clark Cadets Band. Immediately upon graduation, Cook began a career with facets as a landscape gardener, farm manager, tree warden, and state park supervisor. He was a life-long member of the Grange, active on both the state and national level, and helped to revitalize several Connecticut chapters. Cook met his wife, Emma Louise Shepardson, through her brother and Cook’s college friend, William Shepardson. Allen and Emma married on July 23, 1899, and had five children. Allen Cook died May 24, 1965 at his home in West Hartford, Connecticut.

The Cook papers include three oversized photographs of the MAC class of 1896, Shakespearean Club, and the Clark Cadets Band; Cook’s wooden flute and piccolo from his time in the Clark Cadets; two MAC wool felt pillow covers; Cook’s academic reports; and a large set of ephemera, including material from the Shakespearean Club and programs and cards from commencement, class day and military exercises, dances and banquets, and various oratory contests.

Gift of Barbara Goodwin, June 2021

Subjects

Massachusetts Agricultural College--Students

Types of material

Ephemera
Cook, Lewis E.

Lewis E. Cook Papers

ca.1969-2015
ca.30 45 linear feet
Call no.: MS 1110

A resident of Circleville, Ohio, Lewis E. Cook began to study Esperanto seriously in 1969 and became an key member of the Esperanto Association of Central Ohio. Born in Marysville on October 31, 1935, and a graduate of Ohio University and the University of Madrid, he joined his father to form the Lewis E. Cook and Son Insurance Agency, becoming well known as an insurance agent and certified tax preparer. His passion in college and after was the study of language, including Esperanto, Spanish, German, and Arabic. He died September 20, 2014, in Grove City.

The papers of Lewis E. Cook offer insight into grassroots Esperantism, with a wealth of information on the Esperanto Association of Central Ohio and on efforts to spread the language regionally and nationally. The collection contains a large number of books in Esperanto, pamphlets, and periodicals, with a few boxes of Cook’s personal papers.

Gift of Carmen Rivero Cook, Dec. 2019
Language(s): Esperanto

Subjects

Esperanto
Cook, Maurice E.

Maurice E. Cook Papers

1893-1921 Bulk: 1893-1895
1 box .25 linear feet
Call no.: RG 050/6 C66

Maurice Elmer Cook: studio portrait, Massachusetts Agricultural College, 1895

Born in Marlborough in 1876, Maurice Elmer Cook moved to Shrewsbury at the age of two, when his father, Herbert, purchased property on Floral Street for his market gardening and greenhouse flower and vegetable business. Maurice Cook stayed in the family business, and joined the Massachusetts Agricultural College class of 1897 to further his education in agriculture and market gardening. He worked at the plant house while attending MAC, and often took trips with classmates to hike local fields and ranges in the Pioneer Valley area to collect specimens. Cook was a member of the College Shakespeare Club, the YMCA, the Natural History Society, the Washington Irving Literary Society, and Sergeant in Battalion Org, Company A on campus. He roomed with Harry T. Edwards, of Chesterfield, in South College his first year, and in North College with Charles Adams Peters, from Greendale, for his second and third years. Cook left college early, in November 1895, on account of rheumatism, and did not return. After a trip to Pasadena, CA for his health, Cook returned to Shrewsbury, where he would live and work for the rest of his life. He built a new property and greenhouses there after his 1906 marriage to Carrie Harrington. Both died in Shrewsbury in 1931, leaving behind their three daughters, Gertrude, Elizabeth (class of 1934), and Florence.

The Cook Papers present a detailed view into the daily life and activities of an early MAC student, as well as a look into the infrastructure and organization of the MAC campus. Cook wrote home regularly, and the over 80 letters from his two and half years at the college offer significant coverage of his classes and studies, his living arrangements and financial needs, activities on campus and in Amherst, natural and agricultural locales, travel logistics for students, and updates on MAC buildings. In addition to the rich set of correspondence, the collection includes a small but unique set of photographs of MAC grounds and students, additional photographs taken by Cook, several MAC produced postcards, and Cook’s 1894 College Shakespearean Club certificate.

Gift of Kenneth Lever, October 2019

Subjects

Massachusetts Agricultural College--AlumniMassachusetts Agricultural College--Students

Types of material

CorrespondencePhotographs
Cooley, Bertha Strong

Bertha Strong Cooley Collection

1901-1949
1 box 0.5 linear feet
Call no.: MS 506

An educator, farmer’s wife, and resident of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, Bertha Strong Cooley was an ardent Socialist who published regularly in local newspapers on topics ranging from anti-imperialism, democracy, capitalism, Communism, Russia, World War II, and civil rights.

The Cooley scrapbooks reflect the views of a teacher and farmer’s wife who used the newspapers to express her passion for social justice. Cooley ranged widely in responding to the news of the day, espousing Socialism and opposing racial injustice, war, imperialism, economic oppression, and Capitalism. One scrapbook contains writings by Cooley, the other clippings of articles dealing with topics of interest.

Subjects

African Americans--Civil rightsPacifists--MassachusettsRace relations--United StatesSocial justice--MassachusettsSocialists--MassachusettsWorld War, 1939-1945

Contributors

Cooley, Bertha Strong

Types of material

Letters to the editorScrapbooks