1958-2016; bulk: 1982-1990
Guide to the Collection
Restrictions on Access
The Sylvia R. Gilman papers are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@anasaziadventure.com.
Abstract
This collection consists of the sketches, notes, and organizational files of artist and peace activist Sylvia R. Gilman pertaining to her involvement in grassroots organizations working for peace and nuclear disarmament.
Biographical Sketch
Sylvia Royce Gilman was an artist and activist from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Born 16 July 1936 in Connecticut to Wilbert McKinnon and Mary Dorchester (Hatch) Gilman, Gilman had a younger brother, Jonathan. Gilman graduated from Wellesley High School and Vassar College, majoring in English Literature. She later studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Massachusetts College of Art.
As an activist, Gilman was involved in several grassroots organizations that focused on denuclearization and anti-war movements, including Massachusetts SANE and FREEZE, two organizations that later became Massachusetts Peace Action.
Gilman passed away from cancer on 28 October 2016 at the age of 80.
Sources
Ancestry.com. U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
"Sylvia R. Gilman," obituary, Boston Globe, accessed February 13, 2023, http://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/bostonglobe/name/sylvia-gilman-obituary?id=16153366.
United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Wellesley, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Roll: 2874; Sheet Number: 12; Enumeration District: 11-332.
"Wilbert McKinnon Gilman," FamilySearch, accessed February 13, 2023, http://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LXQJ-JF4/wilbert-mckinnon-gilman-1902-1989.
Collection Description
The Sylvia R. Gilman papers include meeting notes, sketches, flyers, posters, mass mailings, conference materials, and newsletters from a variety of anti-war and denuclearization organizations. The papers also include correspondence from political figures, all in response to Gilman's letters, as well as a variety of sketches of meeting participants and artwork she designed for various organizational activities and events, including the letterhead for the New England Peace Test and promotional materials for the Festival for a Nuclear-Free Future. Gilman had a penchant for drawing squirrels, and there are a number of squirrels throughout her notes. Also in the collection is a small number of personal materials, including letters from family and friends, a daily journal, and a sketchbook from the Teach-In on Iraq at MIT in 1998 (of note is a sketch of historian Howard Zinn).
Arrangement Note
The bulk of this collection pertains to Sylvia Gilman's activism and participation in anti-war and peace organizations. Despite being organized into series and subseries, most of Gilman's folder titles have remained intact, unless clarification was needed for research purposes. Researchers may find duplication and connections between many of the folders due to the interrelatedness of the materials.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Jonathan Gilman, July 2017.
Restrictions on Access
The Sylvia R. Gilman papers are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@anasaziadventure.com.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Activism, 1979-2016
This series contains meeting notes, sketches, correspondence, newspaper articles, newsletters, and mass mailings pertaining to the organizations and causes that were important to Sylvia Gilman, focusing particularly on denuclearization and peace movements.
A. Political Correspondence, 1985-2013
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains letters from politicians to Sylvia R. Gilman in response to her letters, including President Barack Obama; Representatives Edward Markey, Thomas "Tip" O'Neill, and Michael Capuano; and Senator John Kerry.
B. Denuclearization, 1979-2016
Arranged alphabetically.
This subseries contains files on a variety of organizations and grassroots efforts focusing on denuclearization, with particular attention to the Cold War and relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. Files contain meeting agendas and flyers, newsletters and mass mailings, and newspaper clippings. Some folders relate to Massachusetts SANE and Massachusetts FREEZE, two organizations that were separate organizations before eventually becoming Massachusetts Peace Action. Also included in this subseries are letters to the editor, written by Gilman, and files on the Seabrook, New Hampshire, nuclear power plant.
C. Iran-Contra, 1987-1991
Arranged alphabetically.
This subseries contains newsletters from The Christic Institute, the organization founded by the lawyers who represented Karen Silkwood, as well as information about the Intelligence Authorization Act of 1991.
D. Miscellaneous, 1982-2002
Arranged alphabetically.
This subseries contains materials related to Sylvia Gilman's activist interests in Central America, the file for which also includes a letter from Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy; the Palestine/Israel conflict; and local issues related to Trinity Church in Boston, Massachusetts.
E. Peace Movements, 1980-2014
Arranged alphabetically.
This subseries contains files pertaining to various organizations and grassroots movements related to peace movements, including Massachusetts Peace Action, Interfaith Peace Center, Cambridge Interfaith Peace Council, and rallies against the Gulf War and the War on Terror. The file for the Gulf War includes letters from Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy and a draft of a letter Gilman wrote to then-Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, Senator John Kerry, and Representative Gerry E. Studds.
II. Personal, 1958-1990
This series contains a small amount of personal correspondence, including letters from a college friend, known only by her first name, Peggy; a daily journal and log with sketches; miscellaneous news articles from 1967 about Iran, Egypt, and Israel; and a sketchbook featuring sketches from a teach-in on Iraq at MIT in 1998. The sketchbook includes a sketch of well-known historian Howard Zinn. It is arranged chronologically.
Preferred Citation
Sylvia R. Gilman papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.
Persons:
Organizations:
Subjects:
Materials Removed from the Collection
Negatives and a contact sheet from the file on Peace Peddlers have been removed to the MHS Photo Archives.