1910-1914 Diary of a Remarkable Mount Holyoke and Columbia Graduate Who Would Make History as Maine’s First Female State Legislator and Senator

On offer is the five-year diary of Dora J. (Bradbury) Pinkham (1891-1941) of Fort Kent, Maine. Dora kept this diary while completing her undergraduate degree at Mount Holyoke College (graduated 1913) and her Master’s degree at Columbia University (graduated 1914). Less than a decade after graduation, she made political history and became a pioneer for women in politics in  the state of Maine (see BIO NOTES following the diary description). 

Dora’s entries throughout her post-secondary education show her to be devoted to Christ, her music, sport, and expanding her mind. She attends lectures outside of school hours on a range of topics, studies incessantly, is an available friend and daughter, and makes space for her passions for music and sport when possible. She seizes opportunities, such as joining the college debate team. It is no wonder she made a political splash a few years later and changed the landscape of Main politics for generations of women to come. Everything Dora writes in her college years offers a window into the woman the Sun Journal would describe, in 1923 when she entered the Maine legislature the following way: “[She has] a cheery smile, a laughing kind of voice, can see a joke and is decidedly human in every way”. 

At the tender age of 19, Dora was already keeping an eye on politics:

“A Democratic landslide. First Dem. governor elected in 30 yrs, when this Plaisted’s father was governor…” [Sept 13, 1910, Dora is referring to the election of Governor Frederick William Plaisted, whose father had been governor from 1881-1883].

“Election day - College vote. Wilson 43, Roosevelt, 180, Taft, 160…the results of the real election. Wilson’s landslide! Took Jennie Lewis to the Senior-Freshman [reception]. Good time” [Nov 5, 1912]. 

She does a nice job describing student life at Mount Holyoke College. Her time there was focused on academics, music rehearsals (she played the banjo, of all things, and was in glee club) and performances, hockey and Christianity: 

“Rev E. Paddock spoke in chapel on “as your day is so shall your strength be”. Hate to think I won't see him again for a year or maybe more. English Exam in A.M. ...Not so bad. Studied Math in P.M. in little room D.H. Botany in eve. Postcard from Sadie”  [Jan 31, 1910]. 

“Mountain Day…Miss Bridges invited all her advisees to breakfast…the Holyoke ranges, 23 peaks, miles ? Took us over 3…Home at 4:30…” [Oct 12, 1910]. 

 “Structure paper back. Favorable criticism for which I was wisely prepared by Miss Lester. “Good understanding ... discrimination and rigor of thought “. Mission committee meeting at nine. Was able to play hockey today” [Oct 13, 1911]. 

Dora completed her Master’s of Arts at Columbia in only one year and she seems to be  too busy to keep a diary for much of it. As her career at Columbia ends and her professional life begins, she is sure to record it: 

 “Went to work! Everybody very nice to me. Lots of nice oldish men there, wildly interesting young woman next to me, Miss Miladolfsky. Went to work on lowly wages…got so I could turn the crank quite some. Requires too much thought!” [May 11, 1914]. 

“Studied an hour and a half and did exam…all over now! Doing proof-reading in the office - very tiring” [May 21, 1914].

This diary is a gem. Through it we learn the roots of a brave, bold and unique woman who chose to enter politics as a Republican in the early 20th century. Learning about the ambitious, hardworking, engaged young woman Dora was allows us a window into who she became.This diary is also a precious piece of history for those interested in the earlier days of Mount Holyoke College and Columbia University. 

DORA JULIA BRADBURY PINKHAM BIO NOTES: Dora J. Bradbury Pinkham was born in New Limerick, Maine, and raised in Fort Kent. She married Niles Pinkham, a lumber industry executive,  in 1917.Following graduation she  briefly taught at Madawaska Training School.  A long-time member of the Republican State Committee, she ran for state legislature and, in 1922 she defeated two-term Democrat William J. Audiber. Pinkham was the first woman to win election to the Maine’s legislature. Remarkably, Pinkham was not only a Republican but also a “Yankee Protestant” while her district was known to be “overwhelmingly Democratic, Franco American and Catholic” (Potholm, 2011, p. 115). While she was a one-term member of the legislature, she made an impact, passing five of six bills she sponsored in the Maine House of Representatives.  In 1926 her political star rose higher when she became one of the first two women ever elected to the Maine senate. Following her two terms in the Senate, Pinkham served as special secretary to Maine Governor William Tudor Gardiner. She was very active in her community and the state serving as the local Chairman for the Red Cross. There is much information available on Dora Pinkham, but this article from the Sun Journal helps the reader to know who Dora was as a person as well as a politician: https://www.sunjournal.com/2023/01/22/when-dora-pinkham-took-office-as-maines-first-woman-lawmaker-a-century-ago-the-journal-predicted-a-lot-more-by-2023/

The diary measures 7.75 inches by 5.0 inches and contains 365 pages. The covers have separated from the spine. The pages are in good condition. Dora writes regularly in 1910 through 1912, her entries becoming more scarce in 1913 and she only writes in May of 2014. The diary is about 65% complete. The handwriting is legible. Overall Fair.