Catherine Eddy Beveridge Papers

Beveridge, Catherine Eddy, 1881-1970. Catherine Eddy Beveridge Papers, 1703-2004. Bulk 1870-1910. 6 cubic feet.

This extensive collection contains correspondence, personal materials, writings, and photographs of Chicago diarist, socialite and philanthropist Catherine Eddy Beveridge, Catherine Eddy Beveridge was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 29, 1881. She was the daughter of Augustus Eddy, a businessman from a prominent ministerial family, and Abby Spencer Eddy, whose father Franklin Fayette Spencer founded a successful hardware company. Materials collected by her related to her family, including her husband Albert J. Beveridge, her parents Augustus and Abby Eddy, her brother Spencer Eddy, her grandfather Franklin Fayette Spencer, and her aunt Delia Caton Field. Catherine's genealogical research is also included, and three family albums she compiled.

The materials in the Catherine Eddy Beveridge papers reflect the affluent standard of living Catherine and her circle enjoyed, including lavish weddings and parties, handsome homes in the Prairie Avenue district of Chicago, and extended travel abroad. Insight into the lives of women is particularly vivid, illustrated by Catherine's descriptions of European shopping trips for custom-made fine clothing, and the inclusion of engagement books, guest lists, and menus reflecting the daily obligations of a prominent social leader and hostess such as Delia Caton Field.

Catherine’s grandson, Albert J. Beveridge III, published a book of some of his grandmother’s writings in 2005 entitled, The chronicle of Catherine Eddy Beveridge: an American girl travels into the twentieth century. The Newberry owns a copy. It is on the fourth floor, part of Special Collections. The call number is Case CT275.B56732 A3 2005.

Call Number: Midwest MS Beveridge
Finding Aids: Online Inventory

Catherine Eddy Beveridge’s family was living at this location, 1601 Michigan Avenue, in 1881, the year of Catherine’s birth. They continued to live there until at least 1893.