Guide to the Martha and Waitstill Sharp Collection, 1905-2005

(bulk 1939-1999)

John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Published in 2023

Collection Overview

Title:	Martha and Waitstill Sharp Collection
Date range:	1905-2005, (1939-1999)
Creator:	Sharp, Waitstill Hastings
Extent:	24 Linear Feet 63 boxes (36 document boxes, 10 small card file boxes, 2 large card file boxes, 19 1-size box, 1 2-size box)
Abstract:	This collection contains records of the relief work of Martha (Dickie) Sharp (1905-1999) and Waitstill Sharp (1902-1983), European delegates of the Unitarian Service Committee (USC) in Czechoslovakia, France, Portugal, and Israel before, during, and after WWII. The bulk concern their humanitarian efforts between 1939 and 1944; their assistance to refugees after the war (1944–1950); and Martha Sharp's postwar life, including her campaign for Congress, her involvement in interfaith efforts to bring Jewish refugee children to Israel, her assistance to charitable organizations, and her service on the board of and in fundraising for the Zionist women's organization Hadassah (1948–1999). The date range for the collection is 1905-2005 with the bulk dated between 1939-1999.
Repository:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Collection number:	MS.2011.008

Scope & content

This collection dates from 1905-2005 with the bulk dated from 1939-1999. It contains originals and photocopies of reports, publications, interviews, obituaries, and photographs pertaining to the careers of Martha and Waitstill Sharp. Documents record the Sharps' early social work in Meadville, PA, and their humanitarian and rescue work in World War II Prague, Czechoslovakia; Marseille and Pau, France; and Lisbon, Portugal. Materials also document Martha Sharp's postwar campaign for Congress, activities in Israel, continuing work for the Unitarian Church in Czechoslovakia, family and personal life, and work with the Cogan Foundation and other charitable agencies. The collection includes Martha's unpublished book manuscript Church Mouse and materials related to the posthumous preparation of a documentary film on both Sharps.

To view the Guide to the Martha and Waitstill Sharp Collection created by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum click here.

Access Points

Subject Organizations

• Brown University. Class of 1926.

Arrangement

Biographical / Historical

Martha Sharp was born Martha Ingham Dickie on April 25, 1905 to James Edward Ingham and Elizabeth Alice Whelan. She graduated from Pembroke College, the women's college of Brown University, in 1926 and then studied Social Work at Northwestern University's Recreation Training School. Waitstill Sharp was born on May 1, 1902 to Dallas Sharp and Grace Hastings both Americans. Waitstill Sharp graduated from Boston University with a degree in history and economics. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1926 and attended Harvard Divinity School. Martha and Waitstill married in 1928. They had two children: Hastings Sharp born in 1931 and Martha Content Sharp Joukowsky born in 1936.

Waitstill was ordained a minister in the Unitarian Church in 1933 and was assigned to a church in Meadville, PA. The American Unitarian Association (AUA) chose the Sharps to go to Czechoslovakia in 1939 to assist refugees and their emigration. They then worked for the Unitarian Service Committee (USC) to assist French refugees beginning in June 1940. They were stationed in Lisbon, Portugal and arranged for the shipment of condensed milk from the Nestle Company. Martha Sharp remained in Marseille, France and was instrumental in the emigration of 27 children and 10 adults. This project became a collaborative effort between the Unitarian Service Committee and the United States Committee for the Care of European Children. Martha Sharp became acting director of the Lisbon office in 1944-1945. By May 1945, she had helped to facilitate the emigration of 20 Spanish Republicans to Venezuela and 75 to Mexico.

Martha unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1946, in the 4th Congressional district in Massachusetts. Her opponent, Joseph Martin, attacked her for being a Communist and the USC as an organization sympathetic to Communism. Soon after her defeat, Martha accepted a position for a few years in Washington, DC, as Associate Director of Civil Defense for women and children.

Waitstill and Martha Sharp divorced in June 1954. Waitstill Sharp married Monica Allard Clark in 1955, and Martha Sharp married David H. Cogan in 1957. Waitstill Sharp retired from the pulpit in 1972 and passed away in 1983. Martha Sharp continued to be involved with organizations assisting Czechoslovakia and Israel throughout her life. After the death of her second husband, she became very involved with the David H. Cogan Foundation, established in his memory. She also began writing about her rescue efforts in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and Pau, France. She died in 1999 at the age of ninety-four. She and her first husband, Waitstill Sharp, were named Righteous Among the Nations by Israel's National Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem, in 2006.

To view the Guide to the Martha and Waitstill Sharp Collection created by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum click here.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Use of the materials:
Alternate form:	Existence and Location of CopiesThe entire collection was copied digitally by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Those copies can be accessed by contacting that institution.
Preferred citation:	Martha and Waitstill Sharp Collection, Ms.2011.008, Brown University
Contact information:	John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts Box A Brown University Providence, RI 02912 Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148 Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Custodial history:	Custodial HistoryThis collection was originally donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. It was transferred to Brown University in 2011 in accordance with the wishes of Martha Dickie Cogan as enumerated in her will.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid created by United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Encoding:	This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-10-19.
Descriptive rules:	Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Sponsor:	United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Additional Information

Location/Existence of copies:

Existence and Location of Copies The entire collection was copied digitally by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Those copies can be accessed by contacting that institution.

Inventory

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