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Whirl around the world : a trip taken by Nellie Harper and Myrtle Goddard

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 7255

Scope and Contents

Collection includes a bound photocopy of Nellie Harper's 1931 journal and scrapbook of her "around the world" trip. Extended and thoughtful typewritten journal entries, with photographs and related ephemera, document her experiences with her traveling companion, Myrtle Goddard, as they traveled by ship, rail, and bus from the United States to Japan, China, the Philippines, Singapore-Penang, Ceylon, Egypt, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, England, Wales, and the United States.

Nellie Harper Curtis’s journal was photocopied and bound in 2009 by Cherrie Curtis Hoeft, daughter of Nellie Harper Curtis, and Kate Browning Handley and Jerry Browning Evans, daughters of Myrtle Goddard Browning. In addition to a photocopy of the journal, Hoeft, Handley, and Evans included an introduction to the journal and scrapbook, as well as a final concluding chapter dedicated to the life and memory of Karen Curtis Domingues, daughter of Nellie Curtis Domingues and sister of Cherrie Curtis Hoeft. Collection aAlso includes a digital copy of the journal on a compact disc. Dated 1931.

Dates

  • 1931-2009

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Open for public research.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from Whirl around the world : a trip taken by Nellie Harper and Myrtle Goddard, 1931, must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.

Biographical History

Myrtle Goddard Browning was born May 14, 1899, in Ogden, Utah, to Hyrum Harrison and Elizabeth Margaret Stanford. In 1930, she took a trip with her friend Nellie Harper to Seattle, Washington; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Alaska. The following year, 1931, Myrtle and Nellie embarked on an "around the world" trip which lasted approximately four months, from May to September. On August 2, 1935, Myrtle Goddard married George Lawrence Browning in the Logan Utah temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Myrtle Goddard Browning and her husband, George Lawrence Browning, had two daughters: Kate Browning Handley and Jerry Elizabeth Browning Evans.

Over the course of their marriage, the family lived in a variety of locations including Salt Lake City, Utah, and Placerville, California, where George L. Browning worked for the United States Bureau of Reclamation. George Browning died November 27, 1956. Myrtle Goddard Browning died October 22, 1965, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Biographical History

Nellie Harper Curtis was born September 6, 1902, in Rawtenstall, Lancashire, England, to John Harper and Mary Elizabeth Holding Harper. Following graduation from high school, she took a job as a legal secretary for Utah Attorney General Charles Hollingsworth. She enjoyed travelling, and in 1930 she took a trip with her friend Myrtle Goddard to Seattle, Washington; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Alaska. The following year, 1931, Nellie and Myrtle embarked on an "around the world" trip which lasted approximately four months.

On March 14, 1932, Nellie Harper married Clyde Foster Curtis, a grocery store manager from Sacramento, California. She and her husband had two daughters, Cherrill Curtis Hoeff and Karen Curtis Domingues. Nellie and her husband played a leading role in the development of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in and around Placerville, California. Clyde Foster Curtis died March 28, 1971, in Placerville, California. Nellie Harper Curtis died August 24, 1983, in Concord, California.

Extent

2 folders (0.1 linear ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

Retained in original order.

Custodial History

Donated by Kate Browning Handley and Cherrie Curtis Hoeft in 2009.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated; Kate Browning Handley and Cherrie Curtis Hoeft; 2009.

Appraisal

LDS, Utah, and Western American women (20th Century Western & Mormon Manuscripts collection development policy, 5.V, 2007).

Processing Information

Processed; Elizabeth Ballif, student manuscript processor, and John Murphy, Curator; 2010. Addendum processed; Grace Bithell, student manuscript processor, and John Murphy, curator; 2019.

Title
Register of the Whirl around the world : a trip taken by Nellie Harper and Myrtle Goddard
Status
Completed
Author
Elizabeth Ballif, student processor, and John Murphy, Curator
Date
2010 May 27
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English in Latin script.

Repository Details

Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository

Contact:
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States