Thelma Parkinson Sharp

Over half of the Thelma Parkinson Sharp papers is composed of correspondence. The bulk of the correspondence comprises letters Parkinson wrote and those she received from her mother Ina Parkinson (d. 1929) while she was a student at Smith College from 1916 to 1920. In her letters to her mother, Parkinson describes her classes, assignments and social activities with her friends. These letters are valuable for the picture they paint of the academic and social lives of young women of the late 1910s and early 1920s. They also reveal the continuing importance of family obligations in these women's lives. In January 1919, Parkinson returned to Vineland to care for her mother who was ill. Her friends from Smith corresponded regularly with her during the winter and spring of 1919. Among her correspondents were her roommate and best friend Emily Marind Hamill ("Tommy") and her housemates Gertrude Belle Martin, Anne Perkins, Evelyn Russe, Helen Lamson Hallock ("Babe"), Alice Carol Finger and Harriet Morgan Bevin ("Bevy").

The correspondence in this collection is less revealing about Parkinson's political career. It consists mainly of letters of encouragement upon her nomination to the U.S. Senate in 1930 and letters of congratulation when she was appointed to the State Board of Tax Appeals in 1932.

The collection also contains, however, diverse materials related to Parkinson's 1930 campaign: transcripts of speeches, lists of speaking engagements and press releases. The speeches show Parkinson's belief, which was current at the time, that women had a special role to play in politics, based on their greater identification with the home and family. Further information about Parkinson's political ideas and career can be gleaned from the press clippings which span the period 1924 to 1970. In addition, there are 22 photographs, including portraits of Parkinson, and autographed portraits of political figures. The remainder consists of material related to the Democratic conventions which Parkinson attended--lists of delegates, invitations, ribbons and badges, and miscellaneous material--a record of Parkinson's wedding presents and documents reflecting her participation in various New Jersey women's clubs and associations. A scrapbook contains press clippings spanning the period 1916-1933, primarily documenting Parkinson's political career, but also including two clippings about Walter Waldeman, a friend of Parkinson's who died in 1916. The scrapbook also includes a corsage, invitations and a few letters, among which is a letter from Franklin Roosevelt thanking Parkinson for a letter congratulating him on his election to the presidency in 1932.

There is a small amount of material related to Parkinson's husband W. Howard Sharp: a travel journal he kept, in 1927 and again in 1931, and documents from his estate.

Finally, the collection includes some correspondence from the family of Parkinson's younger sister, Margarita Parkinson Campbell (born circa 1900). Margarita Parkinson Campbell was a violinist--part of the Celesta trio, which played in the New Jersey pavilion during the Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926 held in Philadelphia. In 1927, she married another musician, Harry Campbell, and a daughter, Thelma Parkinson Campbell, was born in 1929. A son, Harry Woodruff Campbell or Woody was born three years later. These letters are chiefly from Ina Parkinson to her younger daughter, and date from the period of Margarita Campbell's marriage and the birth of her daughter. In addition, there are several letters addressed to Campbell's husband and daughter. This part of the collection also includes seven photographs of family members.