The Townsend-O'Brien-Hoffheimer Family Collection consists primarily of correspondence between these three generations of women and other family. Two-thirds of the collection consists of letters from Margaret O'Brien Townsend (I) and the remaining third is composed of letters from her daughter, Charlotte Townsend O'Brien. There are letters from Smith College and some diaries are also document Smith years for both mother and daughter. Margaret Townsend O'Brien's I's letters discuss daily boarding school life and close relationships with female classmates. Other subjects discussed include Margaret Townsend O'Brien's bout with serious illness when she was young; Margaret II's career as a professor of languages; and Charlotte Townsend O'Brien Hoffheimer's army experiences. The letters are rich in detail about personal development, family life, and similar subjects. Charlotte Townsend O'Brien suggested that "her greatest historical accomplishment, like her mother's, was probably the private transmission of a cultured, reverent view of nature to the younger generation."

[NOTE: The contents list for this collection is not online. Contact the Sophia Smith Collection if you would like one sent to you.]