The University of Iowa Libraries

Ruth E. Perkins was born on April 4, 1899 on a farm near Castana, Monona County, Iowa, to Henry Wills Perkins and Martha "Mattie" Rosetta Davis Perkins. Perkins graduated from high school in 1915. In 1917, she earned her teacher's certificate from the Iowa State Normal School in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Perkins taught for three years before marrying Franklin Lloyd Messenger on February 17, 1920. The couple had three sons, Donald (born 1922), Dale (born 1926), and Dwight (born 1935). Franklin Messenger died in 1959. Ruth Messenger died in 2000.

The Ruth M. Perkins Messenger papers date from 2000 and consist of a single volume: Memories , a compilation of Messenger's writings by her son, Dale E. Messenger. Following her husband's death in 1959, Ruth Messenger began writing down family stories, including stories about her life and that of her husband's. Messenger's writings reflect growing up and raising a family in rural Iowa, teaching in country schools, and living at a retirement home. She describes setting up housekeeping, learning to milk a cow, putting up ice every winter, churning butter and the arrival of each of her children, along with her reflections on World War I, the Spanish Flu Epidemic and reaching the age of ninety-nine. Also included in the volume are poems, and fictional works, written as a result of Messenger's involvement in a creative writing class as a senior citizen. A final section in Memories is comprised of recollections of Ruth and Frank Messenger written by their children and grandchildren. Also included with the papers is a section-by-section synopsis of Memories written by Margaret Richardson, Iowa Women's Archives volunteer.

Arrangement: One folder, shelved in SCVF.

Access: The papers are open for research.

Use: Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to The University of Iowa.

Acquisition: The papers (donor no.895) were donated by Dale E. Messenger in 2003.

Preferred Citation: Ruth Perkins Messenger memoir, Iowa Women's Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City.

Repository:	Iowa Women's Archives
Address:	100 Main Library University of Iowa Libraries Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone:	319-335-5068
Curator:	Kären Mason
Email:	lib-women@uiowa.edu
Website:	http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa

This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.

Personal Names:
Messenger, Ruth Perkins, 1899-2000
Messenger, Franklin Lloyd

Dates:
2000-2009

Topics:
Twentieth century
Family life
Housekeeping
Teaching
Rural schools
Rural women
Rural families
Parenthood

Occupations:
Homemakers
Teachers

Geographic Names:
Monroe County (Iowa)
Castana (Iowa)

Genre/Form of Materials:
Memoirs

Browse:
Rural and Farm Women
Autobiographical Resources: Diaries, Memoirs and Oral Histories