Henrietta Pearl Terry Collection

Collection

Identifier: MSS 0173

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection is comprised of folders arranged by subject. An artifact file contains a variety of objects ranging from copper plates for calling cards to pieces of "tatting", lace handmade by Terry. Two folders contain biographical information that detail events of her life, of both an educational and a personal nature. A correspondence file contains letters between Terry and her mother, Mary Etta Kirwin Terry, and one of her brothers, Charles Everly Terry, during her time in Turkey.

Other folders contain greeting cards to the Terry and Nee households; photographs of Terry while she was in college, in Turkey and with her family throughout her life; a scrapbook compiled from Terry's senior year at Alton Community High School (1922) to her senior year at Shurtleff College (1926); and five diaries that chronicle her life from February, 1926 to September, 1931. Two additional diaries document Terry's voyage from New York City to Istanbul for her teaching assignment. One folder is devoted to memorabilia of that year which she spent in Turkey.

Dates

1920 - 1955

Creator

Terry, Henrietta Pearl (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is retained by the creators of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information. Please see our Sensitive Materials Statement.

Biographical or Historical Information

Henrietta Pearl Terry (1904-1981) was born in Virden, Illinois. Her father, an independent farmer, her mother, a teacher of mathematics, and her older siblings, many of them teachers as well, set good examples for the youngest of the family's nine children. The early focus on academics and discipline helped Terry to excel in her scholastic endeavors, culminating in masters (1929) and doctoral (1934) degrees from the University of Illinois.

Terry taught in various capacities while working on her doctoral dissertation, including a stint at the American College for Girls in Istanbul, Turkey. Upon her return to the United States in 1935, Terry began teaching high school geometry and remedial arithmetic in the University of Illinois community. In the fall of 1940, she was appointed testing chairman, a position newly created to administer a system of testing, scoring, and evaluating test scores. Terry and a contemporary developed the system as a means of designing instructional methods for remedial students based on the students' test scores.

In 1942, Terry joined the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) and was trained as an aerologist stationed in the weather bureau at the US Naval Air Station in Norfolk, Virginia. She served for three years in the Navy and earned the rank of Lieutenant prior to her discharge on December 1, 1945.

Terry married Raymond Nee on December 22, 1945 and the couple had one child, Rayetta. Terry died June 5, 1981 following cardiac arrest.

Extent

0.80 Linear Feet (2 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Henrietta Pearl Terry (1904-1981) was an educational testing designer and administrator. The Henrietta Pearl Terry Collection dates from 1920 to 1955 and contains artifacts, biographical information, correspondence, photographs, a scrapbook, diaries, and memorabilia.

Method of Acquisition

Purchased from a collector, January 2001.

Offensive Language Statement

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