Beatrice Farnsworth Powers was born May 22,1880 in Lincoln, Mass., daughter of Charles Perkins and Mary Jane (Murray) Farnsworth. She was graduated from the Lincoln School and attended Abbott Academy and Chauncy Hall. She taught for several years in the South School in Lincoln and served as superintendent of the Sunday school at St. Anne's Church (1904-09). After graduating from Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in 1912, she volunteered at the Dr. Wilfred Grenfell's Mission in Labrador. In 1913 Powers traveled to Changsha, China, where she spent two and a half years on the staff of the Yale-in-China Hospital as principal of the nursing school and superintendent of nurses. She returned to the U.S. in 1915 and in 1916 married Dr. Grover Francis Powers (1887-1968). The Powers lived in Baltimore and then New Haven where Grover F. Powers was Professor of Pediatrics at Yale University School of Medicine. They had one son, Ross Farnsworth Powers. In 1957 Beatrice Powers and her niece, Olive Floyd, published Early American Decorated Tinware which became "a classic on the subject." Beatrice Powers died September 4, 1967.

The Beatrice Farnsworth Powers Papers include correspondence, photographs, memorabilia, and writings documenting her nursing work in the Grenfell Mission in Labrador (1912); life in Changsha, China (1913-1915) where she was nursing superintendent at the Yale-in-China Hospital; and travels in Europe (1907). Of special interest are Powers' views on the status of Chinese women, the impact of missionaries on China, and reflections on Chinese society. Photographs capture daily scenes in Saint Anthony (Newfoundland), Battle Harbor (Labrador), and Changsha (China). There are also biographical articles and writings about Beatrice and Grover Powers, and their niece Olive Floyd.