Scope and Content Note
The Cerise C. Jack Papers Relating to the Sacco and Vanzetti Case span the years circa 1921-1999, with the bulk of the material dating from 1923 to 1930. The collection consists primarily of letters written by Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti to Cerise C. Jack and printed matter.
Both Sacco and Vanzetti were working-class Italian immigrants, anarchists, and political activists. They were arrested for murder in 1920, tried in 1921, and executed by the state of Massachusetts in 1927. The case was highly controversial. Supporters believed that Sacco and Vanzetti had been wrongfully executed and victimized because of their political beliefs.
The papers collected by Cerise C. Jack, Sacco and Vanzetti’s English-language teacher, friend, and supporter, include eighteen handwritten letters from Nicola Sacco, eight letters from Rose Sacco, wife of Nicola, and eleven handwritten letters from Bartolomeo Vanzetti sent to Jack or her daughter Betty during Sacco and Vanzetti’s incarceration. Jack visited the men in prison, brought them gifts, brought gifts to Rose Sacco and the Sacco children, and supported efforts for judicial appeal. She also collected printed matter related to the case, including material from the Sacco-Vanzetti Defense Committee and the Sacco-Vanzetti National League, and the booklet Background of the Plymouth Trial by Bartolomeo Vanzetti. Miscellaneous correspondence concerns Betty Wirth, daughter of Cerise Jack, and her former ownership of these papers and their use by scholars and students.