Edythe Patten Corbin Papers
Collection
Identifier: GTM-GAMMS271
The Edythe Patten Corbin Papers consist of correspondence sent to Edythe Patten Corbin, the wife of General Henry C. Corbin. One of the famous Patten sisters of Washington, D.C., Edythe Patten Corbin was a socialite who corresponded with members of the highest social circles of the nation's capital. Principal correspondents include Philippe Bunau-Varilla, American Ambassador to France Myron T. Herrick, General John J. Pershing, Senator Elihu Root, and President William Howard Taft. While most of the letters are significant in terms of social history, some of the letters provide insight into national and international political affairs. The collection is contained in five archival boxes (2.5 l.f.)
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Edythe Patten Corbin was one of five Patten sisters who were social leaders in Washington, D.C. in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The daughter of a mine owner, Edythe was born on June 12, 1869. She was educated in the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Paris, and made her debut in the family mansion on Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. That home was built in 1885. In 1900, the Patten teas became an institution in Washington social life, and Theodore Roosevelt and other leaders in a variety of fields regularly attended. Edythe married General Henry C. Corbin, who died in 1909. Among the sisters Edythe, Josephine, Helen, Mary, and Augusta, Edythe was the last to die. Edythe Patten Corbin died on April 27, 1959.
[Source: Newspaper obituary 4/28/1959: preserved in curatorial file.]
2.5 Linear Feet (5 boxes)
English
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository