Nellie Suydam Cowley correspondence
Collection area: Arizona and Southwest
Collection dates: 1907 to 1932
This collection consists of the correspondence of Nellie Suydam Cowley, a print shop owner in Douglas, Arizona. The letters are primarily between Nellie and her mother but also include correspondence with other family members and the American Society for Psychical Research. The letters primarily span her time living in Douglas, Arizona from 1913-1928. The letters cover every day life in Glendora, California and Douglas, Arizona as well as Nellie's printing business, life along the border and areas of interest like politics, gardening and spirituality.
Nellie Suydam Cowley spent most of her life in Glendora, California and Douglas, Arizona, moving with her family to California in 1885. Cowley became a printer and moved to Arizona, working for various newspapers and print shops. She married Harry Cowley, also a printer and set up a printing shop in Douglas, Arizona in 1913. Nellie wrote regularly to her mother, Lucetta. After the death of her mother in 1928, Nellie left Douglas and her husband and returned to Glendora. She died in 1946.
Reference: BOHEM, HILDA. “Nellie Suydam of Glendora: Diary of an Ordinary Woman.” Southern California Quarterly 66, no. 4 (1984): 335–44. https://doi.org/10.2307/41171121.
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