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Lydia Howard de Roth Collection, 1904-1970, MS 1906
Finding Aid to the Lydia Howard de Roth Collection, MS 1906
H. Furlong Baldwin Library, Maryland Historical Society
Collection summary
Title | Lydia Howard de Roth Collection. |
Creator | De Roth, Lydia Howard, 1891-1971. |
Call number | MS 1906 |
Inclusive dates | 1836-1970 |
Bulk dates | 1916-1963 |
Extent | 3 boxes, 49 folders, 1 oversize. |
Abstract | Series I: Civil Service work, 1909-1963; II: Personal papers, 1836-1970; III: Poetry, 1846-1961; IV: Newspaper clippings, 1904-1969; V: Oversize, 1938-1958. |
Administrative summary
Repository | H. Furlong Baldwin Library Maryland Historical Society 201 W. Monument St. Baltimore, MD 21201 |
Access restrictions | Open to the public without restrictions. |
Use restrictions | Permission to quote must be received in writing from the Special Collections Librarian. |
Provenance | Gift of the estate of Lydia Howard de Roth, 1972. |
Accession number | 64118 |
Processing note | Collection processed and finding aid created by Lara Westwood, January, 2013. |
Biographical Note
Lydia Howard de Roth dedicated her life to civil service, working as an air raid warden in London, teaching air raid safety in the United States, and eventually aiding in the start-up of a Civil Defense in Brazil.
De Roth, nee de Ford, was born and raised in Baltimore to a wealthy family, related to Francis Scott Key and John Eager Howard. An active society member, she and her sister, Nancy, garnered many articles in the society papers of Baltimore newspapers. She attended Bryn Mawr School, and her talent in sculpture allowed her to attend the Rinehart School of Sculpture at the Maryland Institute, where she won several awards for her work.
Post-graduation, she worked as a clerk at two Baltimore companies before beginning at the monograph section of the Military Intelligence Department. Soon after starting there, she married Herbert C. de Roth, who worked for the First National Bank of Boston. His position took the de Roths across the globe.
While stationed abroad with her husband, she continued her civil defense work. During World War II, she worked as an air raid warden in the Chelsea neighborhood in London, England from 1939 to 1941, and experienced the blitz by the Luftwaffe first hand. She later wrote a training handbook for air raid wardens and was appointed to Civil Defense consultant to Mayor Fiorello La Guardia in 1941 upon her return to the United States. She taught seminars on air raid safety and precautions in New England and Maryland and advised local governments on what to do in the event of an attack. After some years of living in Boston and New York City, her husband was assigned to represent the bank in Brazil. There she found that no civil defense system was in place, so she worked with officials in Rio de Janeiro to build one.
She returned to New York City, where she died in 1970. She is buried in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.
Scope and Content
The collection contains material pertaining to de Roth’s career in civil service, as well as her passion for the arts, history, and Baltimore society. Of particular interest may be her diary that she kept during her service as an air raid warden in London. She also wrote a manual on air raid warden training based on her experiences. Many poems from friends and family are included, especially many works written by her sister, Nancy Venable. The poetry ranges from religious subjects to reflections on World War II, and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It appears that de Roth attempted to create an anthology of poetry written about the London Blitz. She also kept an extensive record of newspaper clippings about her family, including events commemorating Francis Scott Key and members of the Howard family, Baltimore history and society, and general news. Some of the correspondence related to her work in Brazil is written in Portuguese.
The collection is divided into series based on content. Series I documents de Roth’s personal history and civil service work. Series II focuses personal papers and ephemera collected by de Roth. Series III contains works of poetry by various authors, including her husband Herbert C. de Roth, her sister Nancy Venable, and family friend, William Force Stead. Series IV holds a large number of photocopied newspaper clippings on a variety of topics. Series V is oversized and holds two certificates.
Container List
Contents | Dates | Folder | Box |
Series I: Civil Service Work, 1909-1963 |
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|
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Lydia de Roth newspaper clippings | No date, 1915-1941 | 1 | 1 |
Identification cards | No date-1959 | 2 | 1 |
Bryn Mawr College matriculation exam scores | 1909 | 3 | 1 |
Certificates and awards | 1916-1962 | 4 | 1 |
Letters of recommendation | 1917-1918 | 5 | 1 |
Early civil service work papers | 1918-1920 | 6 | 1 |
Chelsea Air Raid Wardens correspondence | No date, 1940-1941 | 7 | 1 |
Air raid warden training material | No date | 8 | 1 |
Air raid warden/civil defense training event newspaper clippings | No date, 1941-1943 | 9 | 1 |
Air raid warden/civil defense training events | 1941-1943 | 10 | 1 |
Diary of Lydia de Roth: A London Warden | 1939-1941 | 11 | 1 |
Diary of Lydia de Roth: A London Warden | 1939-1941 | 12 | 1 |
Accounts of London air raids/the Blitz | No date-1945 | 13 | 1 |
Blitz Anthology | No date | 14 | 2 |
Annotated copy of “Digging for Mrs. Miller: some experiences of an air-warden” by John Strachey | 1941 | 15 | 2 |
Letters of introduction | 1941 | 16 | 2 |
Massachusetts Committee on Public Safety work | 1941-1944 | 17 | 2 |
Brazilian Civil Defense correspondence | 1944-1945 | 18 | 2 |
Brazilian Civil Defense correspondence | 1945 | 19 | 2 |
Brazilian Civil Defense newspaper clippings | 1945 | 20 | 2 |
Travel papers | 1946-1955 | 21 | 2 |
Series II: Personal Papers, 1836-1970 |
|
|
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Engagement letters | No date, 1922 | 22 | 2 |
Miscellaneous correspondence | No date-1965 | 23 | 2 |
Letters from Nancy Venable | No date | 24 | 2 |
Letters from H. F. French | 1941 | 25 | 2 |
Miscellaneous notes and envelopes | No date, 1944 | 26 | 2 |
French ledger book | 1836 | 27 | 2 |
Walking matches | 1889-1891 | 28 | 2 |
Miscellaneous ephemera | No date | 29 | 2 |
Hampton House ephemera and clippings | No date | 30 | 2 |
Friends of American Museum in Britain | 1963 | 31 | 2 |
St. James Church (New York, N.Y.) ephemera | 1964-1970 | 32 | 2 |
Winston Churchill memorial service church programs (New York, N.Y) | 1965 | 33 | 2 |
Series III: Poetry, 1846-1961 |
|
|
|
Poems by H. C. de Roth | 1949-1955 | 34 | 2 |
Poems by Lydia de Roth | No date, 1940-1949 | 35 | 2 |
Poems for Lydia de Roth | No date | 36 | 2 |
Poems by Howard Hollingsworth | 1916-1917 | 37 | 2 |
Miscellaneous poems | 1846-1941 | 38 | 2 |
Poems by Hilda Reid | 1940-1964 | 39 | 2 |
Poems by Nancy Venable | No date-1961 | 40 | 2 |
Poems by William Force Stead | No date | 41 | 2 |
Series IV: Newspaper Clippings, 1904-1969 |
|
|
|
Family newspaper clippings | No date, 1904-1969 | 42 | 3 |
Howard house sale newspaper clippings | No date, 1920-1925 | 43 | 3 |
Francis Scott Key newspaper clippings and events | No date, 1935-1968 | 44 | 3 |
Society newspaper clippings | No date, 1906-1962 | 45 | 3 |
Society newspaper clippings | 1963-1967 | 46 | 3 |
Baltimore newspaper clippings | No date, 1904-1921 | 47 | 3 |
Baltimore newspaper clippings | 1930-1969 | 48 | 3 |
Miscellaneous newspaper clippings | No date, 1943-1963 | 49 | 3 |
Series V: Oversize, 1938-1958 |
|
|
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Awards and certificates | 1938, 1958 | Oversize |
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