Edith M. Lerrigo Papers, 1922-1989 (bulk 1930-1981)
General International Standard for Archival Description
Sophia Smith Collection Smith College Northampton, MA
Finding aid encoded in NoteTab Pro. Encoded by Annie-Sage Whitehurst. 2009-06-03
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Edith M. Lerrigo Papers
Creation of Edith M. Lerrigo Papers
Time of Creation of Edith M. Lerrigo Papers
Lerrigo, Edith Mary
Biographical History for: Edith M. Lerrigo Papers
Biographical Note Edith Mary Lerrigo (pronounced "Larry Go") was born September 20, 1910 in Lithia, Massachusetts to P.H.J. (Peter Hugh James) and Edith D. Lerrigo. At the time, her parents were on furlough from their work as medical missionaries in the Philippines. The family went back to the Philippines for three years, but the ill health of Edith's mother prompted a return to the U.S. Lerrigo's father went to work for the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, a job which required the family to move around quite a bit. Dissatisfied with the various public schools Edith attended, Lerrigo's parents sent her to Vermont Academy in Saxton's River, Vermont, 1924-28. It was there that she first joined the YWCA. She went on to Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, earning a B.A. in sociology and religion in 1932. Lerrigo was a member of the Bates YWCA during all four years there, serving as its Secretary, Vice President, and then President. After college Lerrigo returned home to New Jersey and spent the following year studying religious education at Teachers College at Columbia University. She earned an M.A. in 1933. Later on, she pursued additional graduate study in Christian Ethics and religious education at Union Theological Seminary. For the next several years she took charge of running the family home and worked part-time as Director of Young Peoples Activities in the family church, First Baptist Church in East Orange, New Jersey. Lerrigo joined the national YWCA staff in 1937 in the department specializing in work with college students. There she coordinated work in the northeast region, particularly in New England colleges. Lerrigo went to the University of California at Berkeley to study Chinese in 1942-43, then went to China under the auspices of the YWCA of the U.S.A.'s Foreign Division. As an advisory staff member to the YWCA of China, Lerrigo primarily worked with college students in Kunming, Chungking, Shanghai, Hangchow, and Nanking. Upon returning to the U.S. in 1947, Lerrigo returned to the Student Division, this time coordinating work in the Pacific southwest. From there she became Executive in charge of the College and University Division (1954-59), then moved to become National Executive Director of the YWCA of the U.S.A. Lerrigo's years (1959-74) at the helm were particularly challenging ones for the organization as it struggled with the social upheaval of the era, including strong pressures to merge with the YMCA, to downplay the Association's Christian purpose, and adoption of the "One Imperative" to eliminate racism. Lerrigo was unequivocal in her support of the YWCA's role as an important agent for social change. Tributes at her death describe her as "strong and insightful leader" with "a firm grasp of the problem at hand and [a] creative spirit in approaching it." In addition to her work in the YWCA, Lerrigo served on the United Church of Christ's Council of Social Christian Action, the Committee to Study Ministry on the Campus of the Danforth Foundation, and on the Board and several committees of the National Council of Churches. She was Co-Chair of the Consultation on Ecumenical Policies and Practices for the Conference of World YMCA and YWCA in Switzerland in 1962, and active in the National Assembly of Voluntary Health and Social Welfare Organizations, the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia, and on the editorial board of the liberal Protestant Christian journal Christianity and Crisis . She received honorary degrees from Bates College (1961) and Keuka College (1963). A member of Riverside Church in New York City for more than 25 years, Lerrigo served on many of its committees and on the Board of Deacons, and played a leading role in the development of the Riverside Fund for Social Justice. Edith Lerrigo retired to Pilgrim Place, a religious and cultural center for retired Christian workers in Claremont, California, in 1980. She died there on June 24, 1989.
The Edith M. Lerrigo Papers came to the Sophia Smith Collection with the Records of the YWCA of the U.S.A. in 2002. The YWCA received them from Lerrigo's sister, Florence Lerrigo, in 1990.
Scope and Contents of the Collection The Edith M. Lerrigo Papers consist of 2 linear ft. and are primarily related to her professional and public life, dating from 1922 to 1989. Types of materials include correspondence; sermons, prayers, meditations and worship services; speech texts and outlines; photographs; reports; subject files; and writings. The bulk of the papers date from the 1930s to 1981 and consist primarily of notes, outlines, and texts for Lerrigo's many speeches and presentations.
The Papers are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection without any additional restrictions.
Permission must be obtained to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use." Copyright ownership of Edith Lerrigo's writings is unknown. Copyright to materials authored by persons other than Edith Lerrigo may be owned by those individuals or their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use" must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.
Related materials are in the YWCA USA Records, Sophia Smith Collection.
Processed by Maida Goodwin, 2009
Young Women's Christian Association of the U.S.A. -- History
lcsh
Women college students -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Young Women's Christian Associations -- China
Lerrigo, Edith Mary, 1910-1989
lcnaf
series
SERIES I. BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES (1933-1989)
This series provides an overview of Edith M. Lerrigo's career and also includes a small amount of biographical information. The biographical materials consist of applications, obituaries, an honorary degree citation, a small amount correspondence, and a "party and social book" of clippings and notes for successful social events. Materials about Lerrigo's professional activities include press releases; notebooks of ideas, discussion notes, and on talks and events attended from her days in youth work in New Jersey in the 1930s, through her work in the College and University Division of the YWCA in the early 1940s; reports to various YWCA of the U.S.A. and World YWCA committees and boards; materials about Lerrigo's time in China and her continued relations with YWCA women there; a file on a 1982 trip to China; and a transcript of an oral history primarily about Lerrigo's time in China and about the YWCA's role in the world as an ecumenical lay movement.
SERIES II. PHOTOGRAPHS (1943-82, n.d.)
This series consists of prints of photographs of Edith Lerrigo and friends and associates.
SERIES III. SERMONS, PRAYERS, MEDITATIONS, AND WORSHIP SERVICES (1927-81, n.d.)
This series consists of notes and texts for Lerrigo's participation in a variety of religious services dating from her high school days into her retirement years. Lerrigo's sermons, prayers, meditations, and worship services were created for use in professional, volunteer, and personal settings.
SERIES IV. SPEECHES AND PRESENTATIONS (1931-81, n.d.)
This series contains notes, outlines, and some complete texts for many speeches and presentations by Lerrigo. The bulk were either given at YWCA events and meetings, or are about the YWCA. They provide some especially valuable insight into Lerrigo's work with youth and college and university students, as well as her leadership on issues related to race, the women's movement, and the place of religion in the YWCA.
SERIES V. SUBJECT FILES (1955-81, n.d.)
This series consists of a variety of printed materials and notes on topics of interest to Lerrigo. Included are files on Christianity in China, files of raw materials for worship services, and notes on miscellaneous reading and lectures attended by Lerrigo.
SERIES VI. WRITINGS (1922-74, n.d)
This series consists of manuscript poems, prayers, and school essays; copies of articles by Lerrigo; and a compilation of articles Lerrigo wrote for The YWCA Magazine published by the YWCA as a retirement tribute.
SERIES I. BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
General 1963-89 n.d.
Application to Columbia University Ph.D. program circa 1934
Transcript of interview conducted by Marion Robinson 24 Oct 1977
Party and social book circa 1930s
First Baptist Church of East Orange, New Jersey, Director of Young People's Activities and related work: programs, discussion materials, and lecture and other notes 1933-37, n.d.
Riverside Church 1966-76, n.d.
United Church of Christ: Report on Retreat "Non-Violence in the Midst of Terrorism," Turkey Feb 1980
World YWCA: Report to the Executive Committee of Consultation on Ecumenical Policy and Practices of Lay Christian Movements, St. Cergue, Switzerland 1962
YWCA of China
General 1945, n.d.
Correspondence 1956-83
Transfer of funds from YWCA of the U.S.A. Board of Trustees 1941-83
Spring Wind Tour II to People's Republic of China Apr 1982
YWCA of the U.S.A.
Notes and correspondence re: interview with Sarah Lyon about Lyon's work in the YWCA 1975-80, n.d.
Student/College and University Division
General 1954, n.d.
Notebook circa 1938-43
Reports to National Board 1957, 1959
Executive Director
Notes on talks given by others to YWCA groups circa 1960, 1966
Reports to National Board 1960, 1966
SERIES II. PHOTOGRAPHS
Edith Lerrigo alone 1943-79, n.d.
Edith Lerrigo with others 1945-82, n.d.
Identified others 1956-82, n.d.
Unidentified 1957-82, n.d.
SERIES III. SERMONS, PRAYERS, MEDITATIONS, AND WORSHIP SERVICES
Miscellaneous n.d.
Bates College 1931-33 n.d
Church Women United n.d.
Claremont (California) United Church of Christ Women's Fellowship 1980-81
New Jersey 1934, n.d.
SERIES III. SERMONS, PRAYERS, MEDITATIONS, AND WORSHIP SERVICES (cont'd)
Pilgrim Place, Claremont, California 1981
Riverside Church sermon, "God Risks," 20 Jan 1974
United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia 1975-76
United Church Women: worship services for National Assembly 1964
Vermont Academy 1927
General 1939-73, n.d.
Memorial Service for Jessamine Fenner 1965
SERIES IV. SPEECHES AND PRESENTATIONS
Bates College
General 1931
Baccalaureate Address 1961
Biblical Seminary, [re YWCA] Feb 1962
Christian Youth work, various locations in New Jersey 1934-35, n.d.
National Conference of Social Welfare, "Institutional Racism-Where Do We Go From Here?" Jun 1970
Ohio Wesleyan University, "Involved in Revolution, or The Fourth Act," Nov 1964
Riverside Church 1960-79, n.d.
Union Seminary
Presentations to class in student work 1956, 1958
Women's Conference 1962, 1963
World YWCA
General 1959-62, n.d.
"Racial Tensions in the World Today," World YMCA-YWCA Conference of Young Adults, Beirut 1964
Miscellaneous and unidentified YWCA groups
Community YWCAs
General 1934-81, n.d.
"Our Strength as a Women's Movement," YWCA of the City of New York Central Branch 1963
"The Past is Prelude or Match Us to This Hour," Ohio- Wesleyan University YWCA, 75th Anniversary 1964
Conferences and consultations
Miscellaneous 1955-66
Estes Conference 1957
"Freedom to Move," regional conferences 1969
"From Faith to Action," Southern Regional Conference 1960
"The Place Whereon We Stand," National Consultations with Local Association Leaders 1962
"The Student Christian Association Movement," Blue Ridge Conference Jun 1955
"YWCAs-Centers for Social Change," Toledo Workshop Apr 1972
Convention
General 1961
"The Unfinished Task," 1967
Closing session 1973
Former YWCA Board and Staff 1960, 1963
National Board
Miscellaneous 1957-58
"Relationship of the College and University Division of the YWCA with Church Student Movements" Jan 1956
"The Task to Which We are Called Today" Feb 1957
Program Development conferences and institutes
General 1960-66 n.d.
"A National Movement with a Christian Purpose" 1963
"YWCA Purpose: Lodestar of the Movement" 1974
Staff meetings and conferences
General 1952-70, n.d.
National Staff Meetings 1964
Community YWCA Executive Directors and Board Presidents 1961-69
New York Area Professional Staff Conference Oct 1962
"Welcome to YWCA Staff" 1970
Student Division and National Student Assembly
General 1948-68, n.d.
"A New Day in the Student YWCA" Oct 1957
To Student YWCAs 1942-54, n.d.
Training 1962-74
Y-Teens 1965, n.d.
Miscellaneous unidentified
"By Faith" n.d.
"From Bittersweet Tears to Dignity and Justice: A Visit to the People's Republic of China after 30 Years:" notes circa 1976
Untitled n.d.
SERIES V. SUBJECT FILES
Christianity in China 1976-81, n.d.
Sermons, prayers, and worship services 1955-77, n.d.
Miscellaneous notes on reading and lectures n.d.
SERIES VI. WRITINGS
Poems and prayers 1922-54, n.d.
School essays 1928-32, n.d.
Articles 1959-73, n.d.
Compilation of articles written for The YWCA Magazine circa 1974