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Dorothy B. Waage Collection

 Collection
Identifier: RHC-A-2137

Dates

  • Creation: 1830-1990

Creator

Biographical / Historical

Dorothy (Boylan) Waage was born January 8, 1905 to parents Otis H. Boylan (1878-1956) and Ada Blanche Clapham (1879-1973). Dorothy grew up in Kalamazoo where she attended Kalamazoo Central High School and Kalamazoo College. In 1926, she participated in a tour of Europe through a program with Mount Holyoke, and in 1929 she returned for a tour of Greece and the Mediterranean. Following her marriage to Frederic Waage (1907-1985) on August 28, 1935 and move to Ithaca, New York, Dorothy gave birth to son Frederic Waage IV (1943-). Later she moved to Greensboro, North Carolina where she lived for the remainder of her life until she died on December 11, 1997.

Dorothy was the granddaughter of James P. Clapham (1810-1887), a well-known retail druggist. Clapham was born in London, England, where he apprenticed as a druggist at age 16. He moved to the U.S. in 1835 and in 1842 settled in Kalamazoo, where he opened a drugs store. As a skilled and experienced apothecary, Clapham became a trusted medical authority and prescriptionist and prepared the remedies for many pioneer ailments, largely malarial.

Extent

12 boxes : The collection amounts to 6.0 cubic feet contained in 12 full-sized hollinger boxes

Language of Materials

English

Physical Description

The collection amounts to 6.0 cubic feet contained in 12 full-sized Hollinger boxes with folders comprised of letters and cards exchanged between family members and friends, photographs of family, friends, home life, and travels abroad in Europe and the Mediterranean, and a few diaries, books, and documents belonging to Dorothy and her immediate family.

The letters are of various sizes with none being larger than 8 ½”x11”. The correspondence were kept in original order and the letters which had corresponding envelopes are kept together with clips. A majority of the photographs with labels and descriptions were kept in their original groupings, however, photos from albums were removed from their original books. Most of the photos in the collection are in good condition, however, a few were removed from frames or are partially missing (cut or torn by donor). The other items in the collection are in good condition.

General

The collection was sent to us by Dorothy’s son, Frederick Waage IV.

Title
Dorothy B. Waage Finding Aid
Status
Completed
Author
Katherine Bauer
Date
2018-12-04
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Western Michigan University Archives & Regional History Collections Repository

Contact:
Charles C. and Lynn L. Zhang Legacy Collections Center
1650 Oakland Drive
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5307 US
(269) 387-8490