Guide to the Papers of Agnes Starrett, 1914-1967 (bulk 1938-1940)
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Papers of Agnes Starrett
- Creator
- Starrett, Agnes (1899-1988)
- Collection Number
- MSS#91
- Extent
- .75 cubic feet (2 boxes)
- Date
- 1914-1967
- Date
- 1938-1940
- Abstract
- Agnes Starrett was an educator, author and editor who founded the University of Pittsburgh Press. She wrote a fictional biography of Robert Stobo (1727-1770) who was a merchant and captain in the Virginia militia. Papers include correspondence, research notes, published materials, and other sundry items, primarily documenting Starrett's research for a fictional biography of Captain Robert Stobo.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
Biographical Sketch of Agnes Lynch Starrett (1899-1988)
Agnes Starrett was an educator, editor, and author who earned her bachelor's degree and master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh in the 1920s. Starrett was a schoolteacher for five years at Lemington Elementary School in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh and served as professor of English and the Humanities at the University of Pittsburgh. Starrett was also the founding editor of the University of Pittsburgh Press and served as its director from 1954-1964. She authored the first book by that press, Through 150 Years, a history of the University of Pittsburgh, in honor of the school's sesquicentennial celebration in 1937. Agnes Starrett also authored, in 1938, a brochure entitled The Darlington Memorial Library, University of Pittsburgh. Starrett was active in Pittsburgh area organizations including the Zonta International, the Pittsburgh Bibliophile, the Catholic Circle, and the Women's Press Club. Among honors received by her in her lifetime were: a Medallion of Distinction in 1986 by the University of Pittsburgh as a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania and was named Distinguished Alumna in 1987. Ms. Starrett was the wife of C. V. Starrett, the former president of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Upon her death in December of 1988, she was survived by her husband, her daughter (Clare), a son (David), ten grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
Agnes Starrett collected the bulk of the items housed in these papers for the purpose of writing a fictional biography of Robert Stobo (1727-c1770). Stobo, born in Glasgow, Scotland, immigrated to Virginia and became a successful merchant. He also joined the Virginia militia and was commissioned as a captain. While fighting with Washington at Fort Necessity, he was taken hostage by the French under the terms of capitulation. When French authorities discovered that he smuggled a plan for Fort Duquesne to the English, he was sent to Quebec as a prisoner, tried for treason and sentenced to be executed. The sentence was never carried out and, after two attempts, he escaped and returned to the British troops in time to assist them in the attack on Quebec. Upon his return to Virginia, he was commissioned as a captain in the 15th Foot Regiment and served in Canada, the West Indies, the Lake Region, and England. In 1770, his name disappears from army lists and it is uncertain what happened to him. His adventurous career has been the basis for some romantic narratives, The Seats of the Mighty and The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker. Starrett's papers on Robert Stobo were handed over to Pittsburgh author and historian Robert C. Alberts and he used them as the research for his book The Most Extraordinary Adventures of Major Robert Stobo, published in 1965.
Scope and Content Notes
These papers include correspondence, research notes, published materials and other sundry items, primarily documenting her research on the life of Captain Robert Stobo. The vast majority of these papers are research notes. These research notes include chronological outlines of general events and Stobo's life, unattributed historical sketches of Stobo and his contemporaries, and transcribed contemporary material from archival repositories across the United States and Europe. Included in these notes are information on Stobo, his land holdings, his family, the military career of George Washington during the battles of Ft. Necessity and Quebec, general material on early Western Pennsylvania history, and material relating to prominent colonial figures including Jeffrey Amherst, George Croghan, and Captain Jacob Van Braam.
Other research material includes Starrett's notes on sources and books, chronological information, and other material. Of note are transcribed letters written by Sidney Richardson to descendants of Neville Craig and other interested people discussing the life of Stobo as well as contemporary events including the outbreak of the First World War. Starrett's own correspondence, 1938-1962, primarily includes requests for information on Robert Stobo and provides little insight into her activities. However, Starrett does mention her growing concern of the outbreak of World War II. These papers also include speeches and published material Starrett wrote about the University of Pittsburgh's Darlington Memorial Library and Stephen Foster Memorial Theater.
Arrangement
The Agnes Starrett Papers are housed in two archival boxes and are arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These items were received in one accession in 1978.
Acc# 1978.331 Gift of Agnes Starrett, (Papers).
Preferred Citation
Papers of Agnes Starrett, 1938-1940, MSS# 91, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Historical Society Staff in c1978. Papers rearranged and inventory rewritten by Diane Asseln on March 19, 1994.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Robert Stakeley on January 15, 2002.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.
Subjects
- Virginia -- Militia
- Starrett, Agnes Lynch (1899-1988)
- Amherst, Jeffery Amherst, Baron (1717-1797)
- Croghan, George (d. 1782)
- Richardson, Sidney C.
- Stobo, Robert (1727-1770)
- Van Braam, Jacob
- Washington, George (1732-1799)
- Pennsylvania -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
- Pennsylvania -- History, Military
- United States -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
- Necessity, Fort, Battle of, 1754
- Indians of North America
- Libraries -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Military uniforms
- Universities and colleges -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- World War, 1914-1918
- World War, 1939-1945