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Elizabeth Millet Chase poems

 Collection
Identifier: MC111

Scope and Content Note

Typescripts and a few manuscripts of more than 400 poems written by Elizabeth Millet Chase, daughter of Bates professor George M. Chase, between 1953 and 1956. Also includes biographical information about Chase.

Dates

  • 1953-1956

Creator

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

The collection is the physical property of Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library. Bates College holds literary rights only for material created by College personnel working on official behalf of the College, or for material which was given to the College with such rights specifically assigned. For all other material, literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. Researchers are responsible for obtaining permission from rights holders for publication or other purposes that exceed fair use.

Historical Note

Elizabeth Millet Chase was born in Lewiston, Maine, on April 6, 1908, the second child of Bates professor of Greek and Latin George M. Chase and his wife, Ella May (Miller) Chase. She lived with her parents on Frye Street near the Bates College campus until their deaths, and thereafter rented rooms to young Bates female instructors. Chase suffered from significant physical deformities, caused reportedly by a pituitary gland disorder, as well as mental health issues which eventually forced her to leave her home and sign herself into the Augusta mental health hospital. She died there from pneumonia on December 21, 1966 at the age of 58.

Chase studied music in Boston and wrote poetry, completing many poems during the mid 1950s which she shared only with a few individuals. Growing up, she also spent time with her grandfather, Bates president George Colby Chase, and his wife, Emma.

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Typescripts and a few manuscripts of more than 400 poems written by Elizabeth Millet Chase, daughter of Bates professor George M. Chase, between 1953 and 1956.

Organization and Arrangement

Alphabetical by folder title.

Acquisition and Custody Information

Gift of David and Patricia Packard Reed, 2010. Elizabeth Chase gave the poems to Velma Davis, her nurse. Ms. Davis gave them to Margaret LeClair Packard, whose daughter, Patricia Packard Reed, donated the originals to the Muskie Archives. Patricia's husband, David, created the transcriptions, which are also included in the collection. Accession No.: 2010-012, 2010-128.

Alternative Formats Available

Digital copies of all poems and David Reed's essay, "Discovering Elizabeth" are available.

Processing Information

Processed by Kat Stefko, June 2011

Title
Guide to the Elizabeth Millet Chase poems, 1953-1956
Status
Edited Full Draft
Author
Kat Stefko
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Description is in: English
Edition statement
©2011

Repository Details

Part of the Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library Repository

Contact:
70 Campus Avenue
Lewiston Maine 04240 United States of America
207-786-6354
207-755-5911 (Fax)