Scope and Content Note
The papers of Mary Vance Trent (1914-1998) span the years 1849-1998, with the bulk of the material concentrated from 1959 to 1976. Most of the collection documents Trent's service as one of the first women foreign service officers in the United States, particularly her assignments in Indonesia, 1957-1958, 1964-1967; Wellington, New Zealand, 1969-1972; and Saipan, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Micronesia), 1972-1974. Because of her expertise in Micronesia, Trent was rehired two months after her mandatory retirement in August 1974 to direct the Micronesian status negotiations and to work with the Department of Interior in developing a plan of self-government for these islands. Also represented in the collection are family papers and travel files chronicling Trent's personal trips and her activities as a lecturer and guide for the Smithsonian Institution Travel Program. The papers reflect Trent's interest in the status of women in the countries she visited on official business or personal travel. The papers are organized in four series: Family Papers , Correspondence , Subject File , and Classified .
The Family Papers , 1849-1983, consist chiefly of letters Trent wrote to her sister, Madeline Trent, women's page editor of the Christian Science Monitor. In these letters Trent discusses her work, religious faith (Christian Science), her social activities, and other interests. Trent frequently complimented her sister on the topics covered in the women's page of the Christian Science Monitor, particularly those about women's liberation and equal rights. Her letters also mention the unrest in Indonesia in 1965 during the anti-Communist uprising in that country when President Soekarno was forced from power during an anti-Communist uprising and replaced by General Soeharto. Included in the Family Papers are religious writings of Trent's father, Ray S. Trent, who was also a Christian Scientist, and short stories that he wrote for his daughters entitled "The Pony Stories: Two Little Girls on a Louisiana Sugar Plantation." The family material also contains a letter written from the Civil War battlefield at Wilson Creek, Missouri, by one of Trent's Confederate ancestors, C. W. Deane.
The Correspondence series, 1951-1997, consists of incoming correspondence to Trent chiefly from friends and colleagues detailing their interests and activities. Many of the letters include attachments such as photographs. Most of the letters and photographs from 1966 to 1968 are from friends who visited Trent in Indonesia or contain news of Indonesia after her departure in 1968.
The Subject File , 1932-1998, consists of correspondence, memoranda, reports, travel notes, background information, and printed matter documenting Trent's foreign service assignments, her activities as a lecturer for the Smithsonian Institution, and her personal travel. Most of the State Department files document Trent's service in Indonesia, New Zealand, and Micronesia and her activities as United States liaison for East Asian affairs to the United Nations and as advisor and director of the Office for Micronesian Status Negotiations. Included in the Indonesia files are two bulletins pertaining to Indonesian women, one a Djakarta club list and the other relating to the women's movement in Indonesia. The Subject Files also contain an unpublished manuscript by Trent about the women of Indonesia entitled "Iron Butterflies." The manuscript, an enclosure accompanying a 1991 letter, is located in the file on Marshall Green, former ambassador to Indonesia.
The State Department subject files also contain material pertaining to a training course organized and directed by Trent in 1962 primarily for wives of diplomats. Trent taught the class from 1962 to 1964 at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington, D.C. In 1964 she received the Superior Honor Award for developing and teaching the course. The Foreign Service Institute files also contain two interview transcripts in 1988 in which Trent reflected on the training course and her State Department career. An additional transcript of an interview conducted by Carol Zachary in 1993 is located in the biographical file of the Subject File. In that interview Trent discussed her childhood, family, and career.
The Subject File also reflects Trent's interests in the Girl Scouts and her travel activities. In 1932 Trent was chosen as a delegate with three other United States girl scouts to attend the international inauguration of Our Chalet, Girl Scouts and Girl Guides headquarters in Adelboden, Switzerland. There are papers relating to this meeting and also to subsequent anniversary meetings in 1982 and 1992. Trent's travel files consist chiefly of notes and background material relating to the various places she visited on personal travel or as a tour lecturer for the Smithsonian Institution.