Stone, Ursula Batchelder. Collection, 1900-2001

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Descriptive Summary

IdentificationICU.SPCL.UBSTONE
TitleGuide to the Ursula Batchelder Stone Collection1900-2001
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Library
LanguageEnglish
Date1900-2001
Physical Description6.25 linear feet (13 boxes)
RepositorySpecial Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.
AbstractUrsula Batchelder Stone was a researcher, activist, and teacher who lived for more than 60 years in the Hyde Park community. This collection contains materials relating to her work as a board member of the South East Chicago Commission and to her teaching career at George Williams College. The collection also includes extensive research files compiled by Stone’s daughter, Mary Alzina Stone Dale, in preparation of a book on Stone.

Notes

Hyde Park-Kenwood-Woodlawn Neighborhood

Chicago and Illinois

Access

Boxes 11 through 13 contain cassette tapes which require audio equipment for access. The rest of the collection is unrestricted and open for research.

Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Stone, Ursula Batchelder. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Ursula Batchelder Stone was born June 26, 1900 in Faribault, Minnesota. As a girl, she attended Shattuck-St. Mary’s School; in 1918, she enrolled at Bryn Mawr College. In 1922, she graduated with a B.A., continuing with one year of graduate work in economics at Bryn Mawr. She enrolled in the School of Commerce and Administration at the University of Chicago in 1925. In 1929, she became the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in business from an American university with the acceptance of her dissertation, entitled “The Baking Industry with Special Reference to the Bread-Making Industry in Chicago.” While completing the dissertation, she married School of Business faculty member Raleigh Stone.

Throughout the 1930s, Stone worked with her close friend, Rachel Marshall Goetz, as the Batchelder and Marshall Research Service. Together, they conducted independent research and published detailed reports of their findings for a variety of Chicago companies. Stone also held the presidency of the Hyde Park League of Women Voters from 1939-1941. In 1939, she joined the faculty of George Williams College, lecturing in economics and social sciences. She remained on the faculty until the college moved from Hyde Park to suburban Downers Grove in 1965.

In 1952, Stone was elected as the only female on the Committee of Five, which then established the South East Chicago Commission. The SECC spearheaded the Hyde Park-Kenwood Urban Renewal Project of the 1950s and 60s, leading to massive commercial and residential redevelopment between 39th and 67th streets. Stone passed away in 1985.

Scope Note

The Ursula Batchelder Stone Collection consists of two series. Series I contains primary source material from Stone, including photographs, correspondence, and other writing. Series II houses Mary Alzina Stone Dale’s extensive research files on her mother’s life and career, used for the preparation of a book about Stone’s life and career, entitled Suffragette Daughter. Included here are Dale’s notes, clippings, correspondence, and interviews relating to Stone’s education and professional activities.