University of Pennsylvania Finding Aids

Corneille McCarn Rucker, an aspiring poet, was raised in Nashville, Tennessee and Hawaii before attending Vanderbilt University. She was the first woman to publish in The Fugitive, an influential poetry journal. It appears that despite this success, Corneille, in general, had a difficult time publishing many of her poems. This collection documents the lively social life and literary aspirations of a well-educated young woman in the early 20th century. Corneille McCarn Rucker memorialized her life in an extremely narrative and vivid fashion through letters, diaries, writings, and scrapbooks.

A Philadelphia native, Jane Wright Proctor Wallis (1875-1956) was the daughter of Sarah Jane Wright and Josiah Kendall Proctor (the founder and owner of several prominent city businesses) and a mother of ten children. The Jane Wright Proctor Wallis family papers provide a glimpse into early 20th-century family life through correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, and memorabilia. The collection dates from 1833 to 2007, revealing a pride in the history and genealogy of the Proctor Wallis family across its many generations. In addition to familial topics, this collection features many materials documenting events of the early 20th Century as well as various Philadelphia-area social and charitable clubs.