Finding aid for the Emily Metcalf and the Hudson Female Seminary

Biography of Biography or History

Emily Metcalf served as the principal of the Hudson Female Seminary, one of the earliest female educational institutions in Hudson, Ohio.

BIOGRAPHY OF EMILY METCALF Emily Metcalf (1831-1915) was the youngest of 4 daughters of Dr. Jonathan Metcalf (1787-1869) and Abigail Root (1792-1870). Emily's father was an early pioneer doctor, arriving in Hudson in 1812. Except for her time spent at the school of Miss Guilford and at a Ladies Seminary in Ipswich, Massachusetts, Emily spent most of her years in Hudson, Ohio. She was a Sunday School teacher at the First Congregational Church and also was an Advisory Board Member of the Ohio branch of the Woman's Board of Missions of the Interior. HISTORY OF THE HUDSON FEMALE SEMINARY: The Hudson Female Seminary was an early female educational institution in Hudson, Ohio. In 1835, Rev. Harvey H. Gross (ca.1810-1893) erected structure on Aurora Street for the purposes of establishing a school. The school, known as "Hudson Academy," was co-educational, with the second floor reserved for young ladies. In 1843, Mary Strong (1816-1854) became principal of the female department. In 1845, Mary constructed a building on her father's property on Main Street, and established the Hudson Female Seminary. Mary ran the school until 1854 when her health failed and she was forced to close the school. In the autumn of 1855, Hudson citizens formed an Association to run the school. The Association purchased furniture, repaired the school building, and hired teachers. The school went through five teachers in four years before selecting Emily Metcalf in 1860, who ran the school until it closed in 1874. After the seminary closed, Emily continued to tutor students preparing for college. It is believed that the school building was moved from 258 North Main Street to 15 Baldwin Street in 1868 during Emily’s tenure. At one point, Emily Metcalf owned the property. INFORMATION FROM: -Tributes from manuscript collection -The Annual newsletter provides a history of early female education in Hudson -HHA House report: https://hudsonheritage.org/property/strong-metcalf-female-seminary/

Scope and Content

The collection consists of two series: 1) Emily Metcalf 2) Hudson Female Seminary

The Emily Metcalf series consists of two sub-series: 1) Genealogy/Biography 2) Estate papers 3) Miscellaneous Metcalf items The genealogy and biography sub-series includes several tributes to Emily Metcalf and some papers relating to other members of the Metcalf family including Eliza Thompson Metcalf (1798-1865) and two Metcalf genealogies. The Estate subseries comprises documents on the disposition of Emily Metcalf's estate, including a copy of her will and tax letters and bills. A bulk of the series consists of correspondence over the exhumation of Metcalf from Markillie to the Old Burial Ground, to honor her wish to be buried near her parents. The miscellaneous Metcalf items include two of Emily Metcalf's school notebooks, an ambrotype of Horace Metcalf (Emily's grandfather) (stored separately), and Dr. Jonathan Metcalf's medical notes. The Hudson Female Seminary series consists of two sub-series 1) Seminary Building & Property 2) Records The Seminary Building and Property sub-series concerns the purchase and removal of the old Hudson Female Seminary building in 1925 as well as correspondence in 1951 regarding the placement of the Ohio Turnpike and its effect on the building.* The collected records of the Hudson Female Seminary consists of various newsletters including two issues of The Casket (1859) and two issues of The Annual (1868) as well as various announcements and advertisements. *In 1925, former pupil Ella Ellsworth proposed that the old seminary building at 15 Baldwin Street be moved off the property and onto the Hudson Library lot (then at 49 E. Main Street). The proposal was never realized.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

The collection is open for research use.

Restrictions on Access

The collection is open for research use.

See also the Hudson Schools collection.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Persons:

Organizations/Corporations:

Family Names:

Material Types:

Preferred Citation

[Box number, folder number, piece number], Collection on Emily Metcalf and the Hudson Female Seminary, Hudson Library & Historical Society

Detailed Description of The Collection