IFFP Overview

1-Dec-05

The Izola Forrester Family Papers archive consists of 44 boxes. There is a detailed, file-by-file list of the contents of each box and a short box description in the Index. An extensive name index is in the Who's Who.

These cherished family papers were assembled, saved and contributed by many members of Izola Forrester’s family. They were sorted, arranged and filed by her daughters (Izola Page Allen, Marjorie Page Colony and Rosamond Page Putnam) over more than 40 years in the tower room on the third floor of 150 Court Street in Keene, New Hampshire. Various other members of the extended family also helped from time to time including grandchildren and great grand children especially: Gail Merrifield Papp, David Putnam, Jr., Donald Merrifield, Peter Merrifield, Charlotte Colony Stanley, Izola Colony Porter, Hillary Colony Kingsbury, Rosamond Putnam Delori, Louisa Putnam, James Putnam, Rosamond Allen Gorham, Caroline Putnam Stoia and great great nephew Sigurd Østrem.

Images of each page and item in the archive were digitized by three of Izola’s grand children (Gail Merrifield Papp, Louisa Putnam and Jim Putnam) and her great great nephew (Sigurd Østrem) with excellent assistance from Susan Lord and Korie Smith. The digital archive consists of over 50 thousand images and more than 56 gigabytes of disk storage.

The 44 boxes include:

• 36 file boxes consisting of 17 boxes containing letters, photos, scrapbooks, diaries, notes, clippings, story ideas, poems, business records, deeds, depositions, birth records, death records and other material; 13 boxes of manuscripts of the writings of Izola Forrester, her husband Mann Page and their collaborations; 4 boxes of family research into John Wilkes Booth; and 2 boxes of books.
• 6 flat tray boxes containing newspapers, magazines, diaries, scrapbooks and other odd-sized items.
• 2 small boxes containing a shawl and a black scarf;.

The material spans nearly 150 years and six generations. In addition to many photographs, clippings and personal items, the archive contains three special sections. The largest is an extensive set of original manuscripts of the writing for publication of Izola Forrester and Mann Page including story notes, drafts, pre-publication manuscripts, the publications themselves and associated correspondence. The manuscripts and other material related to Izola’s non-fiction book, This One Mad Act, on the life of the person she believed to be her grandfather, John Wilkes Booth, are the most extensive. Other manuscripts include Izola’s children’s books, stories for magazines, journalistic pieces from her days as a writer and journalist in Chicago and New York and stories for movies. Mann Page’s work includes plays and movie stories written singly and with Izola.

The next largest element is correspondence. Izola was a prolific letter writer who kept copies of her letters and those she received. Of special note is a 30-year correspondence with her son Richard Merrifield which they discussed publishing. Their letters are a lively commentary on the early decades of the 20th century – a dynamic exchange between two extremely well-read intellects - as well as the trials and tribulations of a family of writers. In addition to this mother/son correspondence there are a large number of other letters to and from Izola and between other family members.

The third notable component is a set of 19th century diaries, scrapbooks and letters written, compiled, saved and handed down by Izola’s mother and grandmother. They give a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the matriarchs of this line of strong women.

Through its manuscripts, letters, diaries and other material the archive chronicles the lives of many members of a remarkable family over six generations through the lens of its most prolific writer, Izola Forrester. Most importantly it tells the story of her own life from child-actress in the 1880s to journalist in Chicago and New York to writer of fiction, non-fiction and screen plays all the while traveling throughout America and raising seven children.

The archive and funds to support its processing and preservation have been donated to the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University where the archive will be processed, preserved and available to the family and scholars. The terms of the donation preserve the family’s control over use of the material. Marjorie Page Colony and Rosamond Page Putnam have this control during their lifetimes and Gail Merrifield Papp, Charlotte Colony Stanley and Louisa Putnam will succeed them.

It is hoped that other correspondence and material still in the hands of family and friends will be added to the library’s collection in the years ahead so that it too can be preserved and available. It is also hoped that the digital archive will be made available on the Internet for access by family and scholars anywhere in the world.

-- Jim Putnam - 12 Dec 2005