Kitty Barry Blackwell: Family Correspondence

Kitty Barry Blackwell was an Irish orphan adopted by Elizabeth Blackwell in circa 1854 in New York. She served as her mother’s secretary and companion, and her slight deafness made her self-conscious and shy. Blackwell’s papers are significant in that she kept up an extensive correspondence, shedding considerable light on her life and Elizabeth Blackwell’s years in England. The majority of Kitty Barry Blackwell’s family correspondence is with her cousin, Alice Stone Blackwell, and her adoptive mother, Elizabeth Blackwell.

The extensive letters from Alice Stone Blackwell contain detailed accounts of the Blackwell family's activities in the United States. In 1921, Kitty Barry Blackwell left England and spent her remaining years with Alice Stone Blackwell.