Evan Ashe Parsons
In 1901, at the close of Mary Bobbit Ross’s final year of education at the Asheville Normal and Collegiate Institute, she received a collection of letters from her close friends. The letters were only to be opened when she reminisced about them during the oncoming summer and the future thereafter.This volume presents a complete transcription of all twenty-nine letters that preserve the voices of numerous young women from Southern Appalachia as they wish farewell to their friend, who they very well might never meet again. The letters beautifully capture the personalities of their authors, young women ranging from approximately ages sixteen to twenty, and offer an intimate glimpse into the friendships and memories of Mary Ross and her counterparts during their time at boarding school. This collection also provides a rare glimpse into the experiences of southern boarding school students at the turn of the twentieth century. Also included is a biographical account of Mary Ross and her family, along with information about the Asheville Normal and Collegiate Institute during its years of operation with respective photographs. Together, this collection provides a valuable resource for genealogists, local historians, and anyone interested in Appalachian history and women’s experiences in the early twentieth century.
