Scope and Content Note
The papers of the Pierson, Rioch, and Layton families span the years 1777-2012, with the bulk of the material dating from 1886 to 1958. The papers, consisting almost entirely of family correspondence, illustrate life in rural New York during the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries and the District of Columbia during the first half of the twentieth century. The collection includes family correspondence, general correspondence, financial and legal papers, writings, class notebooks, notes, photographs, sermons, a Bible, scrapbooks, clippings, genealogical material, and printed matter. The papers are in English and organized into five sections: Harriet Wheeler Pierson papers, Frances Lupton Pierson Rioch papers, Katherine Frances Rioch Layton papers, and Phebe Ann Dusinberre Pierson papers, and Other family papers.
The collection documents primarily the lives of two sisters, Harriet Wheeler Pierson (1874-1966), a cataloger at the Library of Congress from 1900 to 1942, and Frances "Fannie" Lupton Pierson Rioch (1870-1949), a teacher, nurse, and homemaker, who lived most of her life near Pine Island, New York. Additional family papers included in the collection are those of Katherine Frances Rioch Layton (1906-1984), daughter of Frances, and Phebe Ann Dusinberre Pierson (1841-1900), mother of Harriet and Frances.
The Harriet Wheeler Pierson papers make up over half of the collection with the bulk consisting of letters to Harriet from various family members. Harriet’s sister, Frances, was her most prolific correspondent. Frances’s letters begin in 1886 when she was staying with relatives to attend school in Oneida, New York. The Oneida letters describe Frances’s school and social activities. Letters from 1887 to 1892 focus on Frances’s time at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and convey details about her classes, friends, social activities, and endeavors as a substitute teacher at Mount Holyoke for the first half of 1892. Correspondence from October 1892 through May 1894 documents Frances’s personal and professional endeavors while a teacher at the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Hampton, Virginia.
After her marriage in March 1902, to John (“Jack”) M. Rioch (1875-1956) from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Frances’s letters to Harriet cover primarily her daily activities, local news, and family news, particularly about her five children: Stephen P. Rioch, Isabel Kirk Rioch Phillips, Katherine Frances Rioch Layton, John M. Rioch Jr., and Mary Rioch Pace. Also featured are details about the family’s dairy farm, fruit orchards, church activities, the weather, and occasional references to national and international events, such as the coal strike of 1902, World War I, World War II, and United States politics, including comments about Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt. In her correspondence, Frances commented about topics mentioned in Harriet’s letters, particularly Harriet’s social activities, travels, and her work at the Library of Congress. Examples about the Library include the opening of the John Adams Building (February 11 and 19 and March 5, 1939), recently appointed Librarian of Congress Archibald MacLeish (December 10, 1939), and Harriet’s retirement from the Library (April 12, 1942, and May 10, 24, and 31, 1942).
Other family correspondents featured are Harriet’s mother, Phebe Pierson, and Harriet’s nieces and nephews. Phebe’s letters from 1890 to 1896 contain mainly details of family news and local happenings. The bulk of the family letters are from Harriet’s nephew, Stephen P. Rioch Sr., discussing in 1929 his stint in the United States Navy and his difficulties in the 1930s finding work in Trenton, New Jersey. In 1958 his letters document his relocation to Sarasota, Florida, and his efforts to find employment. Letters from nieces Katherine Layton, Mary Pace, and Isabel Phillips include details of their school and college activities, their careers, and family life. Letters indicate that Isabel also worked for several years, 1930s to 1941, at the Library of Congress. In a September 10, 1940, letter to Harriet, she mentions Quincy Mumford, a future Librarian of Congress. At the time, he was on hiatus from the New York Public Library to review the Library’s cataloging operations to suggest improvements to Librarian Archibald MacLeish.
Harriet's papers contain a few letters from her cousin, Mary Wilson MacNair, who lived with Harriet in the District of the Columbia. She, too, was a cataloger at the Library of Congress and began at the same time as Harriet. Most of MacNair’s letters to Harriet describe her travels and visits with relatives when away from Washington. Other MacNair letters are filed in the papers of Frances Lupton Pierson Rioch and the Other family papers group.
The second largest set of files in the Harriet Wheeler Pierson papers is her writings. They include both handwritten and privately published volumes of poetry. Also represented in the writings are a published article about Harriet’s tenure at the Library, Rosemary; Reminiscences of the Library of Congress, and a collection of essays about her family history, Vignettes of Family History: the Old Dutch Church, Purling Side, the Silver Cake Basket, the Parsonage, the Cottage and the New House.
The Frances Lupton Pierson Rioch papers constitute the second largest group of files in the collection with the bulk comprising family correspondence. Most of the letters are from Harriet and convey news about family, friends, school activities, social engagements, and local happenings. Included are letters from 1895 to 1896, when Harriet was attending New York State Library School in Albany, New York. These letters reveal few specifics about her studies but mainly cover family news and details of social engagements. A few letters from early 1901 document some of Harriet’s endeavors as a cataloger at the Library of Congress. Frances's papers contain no letters from Harriet after 1929. Other correspondents featured in Frances’s papers are her daughter, Katherine Layton, and her mother, Phebe Pierson. The bulk of Katherine’s letters are from 1926 to 1927, documenting her time at boarding school in Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies in East Northfield, Massachusetts. Phebe's letters (1887-1896) reflect her daily activities and relay news about family, friends, and the local community.
Frances also received letters from her husband’s family. Most of the correspondence consists of letters from her brother-in-law, David Rioch, and his wife, Minnie, that provide details about their work as missionaries in India. A few letters from her sister-in-law, Mary Rioch, offer a glimpse of her work as a teacher in Japan.
The bulk of the general correspondence in Frances’s papers consists mainly of letters from friends and include congratulatory greetings about her marriage and the births of her children. The general correspondence also contains letters from Ernest Augsburger, a Swiss immigrant, who apparently worked briefly at the Rioch farm. During the 1930s Augsburger lived in Washington, D.C., and wrote frequently to Frances. His letters reflect his fondness for the Rioch family and provide a few details about life in the capital city.
Other files represented in Frances’s papers are two class notebooks and a scrapbook. The notebooks document her time at Mount Holyoke College and pertain to botany specimens and notes about medieval history. The scrapbook, compiled by Frances, includes a few letters, a calendar from Mount Holyoke College, piano music, a small atlas, and photographs. Many of the photographs are cyanotype images of sailing ships, beach scenes, shanties, African Americans, and Native Americans; most of the photographs are probably from when she lived at Hampton, Virginia.
The Katherine Frances Rioch papers are comprised mainly of family correspondence from her aunt, Harriet Wheeler Pierson. Most of Harriet’s letters to Katherine date from 1958 to 1961. They reflect her personal activities and include news of family and friends. Also present are letters, chiefly from 1953 to 1961, from her sisters, Isabel Phillips and Mary Pace, relating news about their endeavors and families.
The papers of Phebe Ann Dusinberre Pierson consist primarily of family correspondence. Many of the letters from 1886 to 1900 are from her daughter Frances, pertaining to the period when she lived and attended school in Oneida, her time as a student and teacher at Mount Holyoke College, and her employment as a teacher at Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. Around 1895 Frances completed courses in nursing. Letters to her mother from 1897 to 1900 document her work as a nurse and include descriptions of some of her patients. Also included in Phebe's papers is a scrapbook including a few letters from family, clippings of family obituaries, essays, poetry, and other material.
Most of the Other family papers are those of Stephen D. Pierson, father of Harriet and Frances, and John M. Rioch Sr., husband of Frances. Most of the letters to Stephen Pierson are from Frances and convey details of her time at school and college from 1884 to 1890. The bulk of John M. Rioch Sr.'s files feature family correspondence, mainly from his daughter, Katherine, while she was at boarding school, and from his mother and sister. Of note in the Other family papers group is a volume of nineteenth-century sermons by Presbyterian minister George Pierson, grandfather of Harriet and Frances.