Eleanor Taft Tilton Papers
Scope and Content
The collection reflects Mrs. Tilton's active interest in civic and state affairs. The collection includes correspondence, reports, maps, plans, newspaper clippings, notebooks, minutes, agendas, and financial records concerning the following topics: development of Hartford, Connecticut; separation of church and state; education; American Civil Liberties Union; Thomas J. Dodd>; elections; environmental issues; and world affairs.
Dates
- 1939-1976
Access
The collection is open and available for research.
Restrictions on Use
Permission to publish from these Papers must be obtained in writing from the owner(s) of the copyright.
Biography
Eleanor Taft Tilton, daughter of Dr. Charles and Martha Jarvis Taft, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on 1 January 1901. She attended Vassar and Barnard Colleges, but did not earn a degree. She married Arthur van Riper Tilton; he was employed by the Hartford Fire Insurance Company for many years.
Mrs. Tilton was involved in civic and state affairs. She was an active opponent of the I-84 extension (Bushnell Park Connector); she was a member of the Election Laws Commission, PTA, served as secretary to the Fine Arts Commission, and as president of the Hartford League of Women Voters. Mrs. Tilton was also known for her outspoken support of the separation of church and state: Tilton v. Meskill, Tilton v. Finch, and Tilton v. Richardson.
Mrs. Tilton died on 26 March 1984.
Extent
5.5 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Eleanor Taft Tilton, daughter of Dr. Charles and Martha Jarvis Taft, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on 1 January 1901. She attended Vassar and Barnard Colleges, but did not earn a degree. She married Arthur vcan Riper Tilton; he was employed by the Hartford Fire Insurance Company for many years. Mrs. Tilton died on 26 March 1984.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in a single series divided into twelve sections:
Bushnell Park Connector (undated, 1947-1973) —contains material concerning the development plans of Hartford, the different committees on which Mrs. Tilton served, as well as reference material. Major topics include the Commission on the City Plan, the Committee for Hartford, the Connecticut Capitol Center, and the State Capital Government Center Committee. The section includes correspondence with Governor John Dempsey and others, maps and plans, newspaper clippings, and reports.
Church-State Separation (undated, 1961-1976) —consists of materials related to Mrs. Tilton's fight to uphold the separation of church and state. Within the section are materials associated with the American Civil Liberties Union; Americans United for Separation of Church and State; Church-State, a monthly review (1961-1975); the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union Church-State Committee; court cases (1968-1973); the issue of educational vouchers (1970-1973) Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; legislative acts (1969-1973); and shared time, dual enrollment (1964-1968). The section also includes correspondence, publications and newspaper clippings, as well as writings of Mrs. Tilton including: biographical information, drafts and copies of correspondence, personal notebooks, letters to editors, and drafts of reports.
Citizen's Charter Commission (undated, 1953) —consists of correspondence and newspaper clippings relating to the commission.
Civil Liberties Union (undated, 1965-1973) —contains materials pertaining to the American Civil Liberties Union (1965-1972) and the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union. Topics include birth control, Black Panthers and Knights of Columbus.
Thomas J. Dodd (undated, 1961-1967) —contains materials collected by Mrs. Tilton relating to Thomas Dodd and his political career. The materials include correspondence about Dodd (1963), newspaper clippings, letters to editors (1962-1963) and notes.
Election Laws Commission (1939, 1941) —consists of reports and their drafts.
Environmental issues (undated, 1951-1954) —contains materials which deal with the Submerged Lands Act (1951-1954); steel mills in Connecticut; timber bill, H.R. 4646 (1954); and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (1953-1954).
Fine Arts Commission (undated, 1957-1970>) —contains correspondence, membership lists, minutes, agendas, reports, rules and procedures, and outgoing correspondence.
League of Women Voters (1948-1972) —consists of a single file of material received by Mrs. Tilton from the League.
Personal Papers (undated, 1945-1973) —consists of material relating to family matters and personal interests. Included are correspondence, family and financial papers (1946-1947), newspaper clippings (1967-1972), her work as a real estate broker (1946-1950) and two scrapbooks of clippings (1953-1954).
Adlai Stevenson contains an undated interview with Governor Stevenson by Mrs. Tilton and a 1953 letter.
World Affairs (undated, 1945-1963) —consists of information on world issues and affairs, publication from the Department of State (1945), Foreign Policy Association materials, clippings (1962-1963), peace and disarmament and the United Nations (1945).
Acquisition Information
The collection was donated by Joan Tilton Kenney on 26 February 1980.
- Actions and defenses Subject Source: Fast
- Catholics Subject Source: Fast
- Church and state Subject Source: Fast
- City planning Subject Source: Fast
- Civic centers Subject Source: Fast
- Civic improvement Subject Source: Fast
- Civil rights Subject Source: Fast
- Connecticut (state) Subject Source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- Correspondence Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Disarmament Subject Source: Fast
- Educational law and legislation Subject Source: Fast
- Election law Subject Source: Fast
- Environmental protection Subject Source: Fast
- Express highways--Environmental aspects Subject Source: Fast
- Financial records Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Fraternal organizations Subject Source: Fast
- Interviews Subject Source: Fast
- Law Subject Source: Fast
- Legislation Subject Source: Fast
- Maps (documents) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Men Subject Source: Fast
- Municipal charters Subject Source: Fast
- Municipal government Subject Source: Fast
- Notebooks Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Notes Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Political crimes and offenses Subject Source: Fast
- Political participation Subject Source: Fast
- Political parties Subject Source: Fast
- Press releases Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Publications (documents) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Societies Subject Source: Fast
- Speeches (documents) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Submerged lands Subject Source: Fast
- United States (nation) Subject Source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- Voting Subject Source: Fast
- Women Subject Source: Fast
- Women in real estate Subject Source: Fast
- minutes (administrative records) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Title
- Eleanor Taft Tilton Papers
- Status
- Published
- Author
- Archives & Special Collections staff
- Date
- 1982 June
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Archives and Special Collections, University of Connecticut Library Repository
University of Connecticut Library
405 Babbidge Road Unit 1205
Storrs Connecticut 06269-1205 USA US
860-486-2524
archives@uconn.edu