Vassar Quarterly - Fall 2017 - 28

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A
G VASSAR'SH

EARLIEST
G R A D UAT E S

0 Who Were They? What Became of Them? 1
U L I A VA N D E V E L D
ER
BY J
P H OTO S C O U RT E S Y O F
T H E VA S S A R A RC H I V E S & S P EC I A L C O L L EC T I O N S L I B R A RY

N A LETTER DATED April 20, 1866,
Annie Glidden, Vassar class of 1869, wrote
to her brother John: "They are getting up
various clubs, now, for out-door exercise.
They have a floral society, boat-clubs,
and base-ball-clubs. I belong to one of
the latter, and enjoy it, hugely, I can
assure you." As this is one of the first
known mentions of women playing baseball, it has
been quoted widely by sports scholars, but until
recently, we didn't know much else about Glidden-
who she was, where she came from, or how her life
unfolded after she graduated.
Thanks to the efforts of Vassar Historian Colton
Johnson, Professor Emeritus of English and Dean
Emeritus of the College, his student researchers, and
genealogist D.B. Brown, Dean Emeritus of Students,
Glidden's story and the stories of many of the other
early graduates of Vassar are coming to light.
"We've been working on this for three years," says
Johnson. "I started the project with an academic
intern, Geneva Toland, who graduated a couple of
years ago [2015], and have since been working on it
with Heather Kettlewell '18. Our intention was to look
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at the 353 women who were admitted as students
at Vassar when it opened in September 1865. We've
since narrowed the field a bit to focus on the 63
who actually took the bachelor's degree, and they've
turned out to be a fascinating bunch of people."
According to John Raymond, the President of
Vassar College when it opened in 1865, more than
1,000 potential students had shown interest in the
college prior to the opening. "How many of them
actually presented themselves that September, we'll
never know, and we'll never know exactly how they
were examined," says Johnson, "but we do know
that by the 23rd of September, they had winnowed
the pool down to the 353 that would be students
that first year."
Those first entrants were predominantly from the
Northeast, but a surprising number came from quite
a distance; two came from San Francisco, CA, 10 from
the South, and a sizeable contingent from the Midwest-
all told, 20 states represented. There were also seven
Canadians and one woman from the "Hawaiian
Islands." "Hawaii wasn't even an American protectorate, let alone a state, in those days," says Johnson. "She
went home in February. Anyone who's lived through

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vassar Quarterly - Fall 2017