Table of Contents

Overview of the Collection

Administrative History

Scope and Contents of the Collection

Administrative Information

Restrictions

Index Terms

Arrangement of the Collection

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Administrative History

The Connecticut Botanical Society was established in 1903 to bring together amateur and professional botanists who shared a common interest in the plants of Connecticut and the surrounding region. Currently, the Connecticut Botanical Society increases the knowledge of the state's flora, accumulates a permanent botanical collection, promotes conservation, and raises public awareness on the botanical riches of Connecticut. The Connecticut Botanical Society conducts annual meetings, organizes botanical fieldtrips for members throughout the state, maintains a herbarium for the study of flora held at the Yale Herbarium at the Peabody Museum, and publishes semi-annual newsletters, annual yearbooks, and significant works on the flora of Connecticut.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The records of the Connecticut Botanical Society documents the activities of the Connecticut Botanical Society from its establishment in 1903 to the present. The collection contains correspondence, minutes, notebooks, financial records, biographical member files, publications, incorporation documentation (by-laws, articles of incorporation), photographs, and digital files produced by the Connecticut Botanical Society. The bulk of the material dates from 1903 to 2000. These materials document the work of the Connecticut Botanical Society to increase knowledge of the state's flora, accumulate a permanent botanical collection, and promote conservation education and the state's natural resources. Of particular interest is the administrative documentation of the Connecticut Botanical Society in the secretary's ledgers and minutes as well as the documentation of its educational activities, including the herbarium, fieldtrips, and publications.

In addition to the records of the society, the personal papers of the Harger family are also included in this collection. These papers primarily document the extensive correspondence of Edgar Burton Harger (1867-1946), land surveyor, botanist, and a founder of the Connecticut Botanical Society. In addition are research files and personal material on other Harger family members. This includes diaries and correspondence from the middle of the 19th century between various family members. These documents provide insight into the family's personal and domestic experience primarily in the Naugatuck Valley and in New Haven, Connecticut.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Item]. Folder, Box. Connecticut Botanical Society Records, 1846-2016. Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives, Connecticut College.

Processed by

Rose Oliveira, 2016.

Aquisitions Information

The Connecticut Botanical Society records were donated to the Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives in 2009 by Glenn Dreyer.

Processing Notes

Collection followed the original arrangement of the material and most folder titles were retained. The collection contained digital material on media containing photographs, video, and word files. This material was migrated from the media and preservation actions applied.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open for research.

Restrictions on Use

Access to digital files will require consultation with the archivist.

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Arrangement

Organized into six series and subseries:

• Series I. Administrative Records, 1903-2003
• Subseries A. General, 1928-2003
• Subseries B. Minutes, 1903-1994
• Subseries C. Financial records, 1903-2003
• Series II. Biographical members files, 1906-2009
• Series III. Photographs, ca. 1910-2000
• Educational initiatives and events, 1877-2016
• Subseries A. Fieldtrips, 1903-2016
• Subseries B. Herbarium, 1877-2005
• Series V. Publications, 1918-2015
• Series VI. Harger family papers, 1846-1993

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Subseries B. Minutes, 1903-2000

Subseries C. Financial records, 1903-2003

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Series II. Biographical members files, 1906-2009

Contains clippings, correspondence, notes, drafts of papers, newsletters, certificates, awards, memorials, and drawings pertaining to members of the Connecticut Botanical Society. The bulk of the material dates from 1970-2000 and documents society members' work and achievements within CBS and as part of the larger community. Also included are materials on early members and founders.

This series is arranged alphabetically.

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Series III. Photographs, ca. 1915-2005

Contains photographs, slides, photocopies, and digital files of Connecticut Botanical Society members. The bulk of the images date from 1980-2000, although there are several photographs from the first few decades of the society. Photographs capture members on field trips, working at the herbarium, exhibits produced by the CBS, and board meetings. Box 2 folder 31 is available as a digital file; please consult the archivist for access.

This series is arranged alphabetically.

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Series IV. Educational initiatives and events, 1877-2016

Contains correspondence, annual reports, notebooks, registers, attendance lists, inventories, clippings, maps, and publications that document the fieldtrips and the herbarium organized by Connecticut Botanical Society members. Of particular interest are the early fieldtrip excursion notices and schedules which contain objectives for collecting specimens as well as transit and trolley information from the start of Connecticut Botanical Society to the current day. The herbarium materials document the creation and maintenance of the Herbarium. This includes register and guest books for visitors and those who volunteered, inventories, catalogs of the flora of Connecticut, and collectors' notebooks which contain extensive information and notes on collected botanical species.

This series is arranged into two subseries and then alphabetically within each subseries.

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Series V. Publications, 1918-2015

Includes newsletters, yearbooks, and field guides produced by the Connecticut Botanical Society. The bulk of the publications consist of the yearbooks and newsletters which document the development of the society, its members, and the broader botanical interests of the community. The yearbooks began in 1929 and served as an annual reports for those who could not attend meetings. Prior to the yearbooks, only lists of members were printed annually. The yearbooks contain lists of officers and committees, by-laws, president's message, members' rosters and reports of the annual meeting, finances, herbarium, and fieldtrips. The Connecticut Botanical Society Newsletter began in 1973 and contains botanical articles and news as well information on the history of the society and its members.

Materials are arranged alphabetically and then by date.

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Series VI. Harger family papers, 1846-1993

Includes correspondence, diaries, articles, compositions, notes, genealogical research, and clippings. The bulk of the material relates to Edgar Burton Harger (E.B.Harger), a founding members of the Connecticut Botanical Society. This material was gathered by Beatrice Harger Sellner, Harger's daughter, who wrote a short biography and several articles on Harger. Of particular interest is the extensive correspondence between Harger and fellow botanist of the period. These include society members like Charles B. Graves, Lumen Andrews, Charles Weatherby, E.H Evans, Charles Bissell, as well as noted botanist like William Albert Setchell, Professor of Botany and chairmen of the department at the University of California, Berkeley, and Benjamin Lincoln Robinson, Gray Herbarium curator.

Also included are the papers and biographical research on E.B. Harger and other Harger family members. This research includes members with a shared interest in botany including E.B. Harger's: grandfather, Alfred Harger; father, John Harger; uncle, Oscar Harger, professor of paleontology at Yale University; and E.B.'s children, Alfred P. Harger, and Beatrice Harger Sneller. Other materials of note are John Harger's line diary from August 1850 to November 1854 which detail life on the farm, and the 164 transcribed letters to and from members of the Harger family and to Sarah Scott, second wife of Alfred Harger. These letters detail everyday life primarily in the Naugatuck Valley and New Haven. Some correspondence is in German.

This series is arranged alphabetically.

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