Alphratta Blanche Preston Papers

The Alphratta Blanche Preston Papers reflects only a glimpse of Blanche Preston's life as a daughter, wife, mother, and teacher. The items which were donated at the end of her life were the precious ones she had hung onto, particularly about her daughter who died at a young age. The papers are divided into eleven series, but are primarily are comprised of correspondence to and from Blanche, her husband Albert, their daughter Clovis, and other members of the Chrisman and Preston families.

Series 1, Diaries, does not reflect much information written by Blanche as most of her diary for the years 1934-1935 is blank. However, a portion of her daughter Clovis' diary is included covering just one year previous to her death.

Series 2, Correspondence, includes letters to and from Blanche, her husband Albert, their daughter Clovis, Blanche's mother Etta Chrisman, and other Chrisman and Preston family members. Additional correspondence is from family friends as well as some guests of the boarding house. Unfortunately, a portion of the correspondence in this series is incomplete with pages missing from many of the letters.

Series 3, Documents and Certificates, contains a wide array of legal and other materials. The materials include the marriage and divorce papers between Blanche and Albert, passports for Blanche and Clovis, and the death certificate for Clovis. There are items relating to Blanche's teaching, employment and memberships. Legal papers cover some of the history of the family's boarding house and land ownership. Chrisman family materials include some of the military service for Blanche's father, John H. Chrisman, in 1864, and her mother Etta's will.

Series 4, Financial, contains many miscellaneous financial items, including documents relating to the property and houses the family owned and rented out. There are some ledgers that show household accounting figures as well as property tax statements and receipts from Blanche's and Clovis' trip to France. Some financial correspondence from their attorney is also included, as are a few receipts from the memorial fund Blanche set up at the University of Nevada, Reno, in Clovis' name.

Series 5, Biographical and Genealogical, is a small file with information about the family mainly written by the donor and friend of the family, Bonnie Trimmer.

Series 6, Ephemera, contains various materials such as hand-made cards, playbills, club and play programs, and clippings. Of special interest is a small book that includes hair samples from family members or friends, attached to pages. Most samples are labeled with the name of the person, and some are woven into intricate circles typical of other hair samples collected during the Victorian era.

Educational materials can be found in two series.

Series 7, Teaching Profession, consists of Blanche's teaching recommendations, her undated class record book, and her handwritten thesis.

Series 9, Educational Materials, consists of prose and poetry written by Blanche, her pupils, and others. This series also includes additional ephemera from Clovis such as cards, notices of honor roll attainment at her school in Paris, workbooks and binders of school work for the year 1924, a handmade scrapbook on France, her report cards and practice tests.

Series 8, Order of the Eastern Star, consists of receipts for dues paid for the years 1968 and 1971, and the chapter's calendar of events for the years 1972-1973.

Photographs in Series 10 have been transferred to the Photo Archives as photograph collection UNR-P2005-09.

Series 11, Printed Material, consists of items from Clovis's and Blanche's time in Paris (some items are in French), Galloway Woman's College (Searcy, Arkansas) Announcement for the years 1927-1928, various clippings and booklets, a 1915 University of Nevada graduation program, educational journal reprints, and two yearbooks Blanche collected during her time teaching in Arkansas and North Dakota.