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James Madison University Libraries Special Collections
820 Madison DriveTiffany Cole
The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).
Collection open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.
[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Agnes Davis Shipley Papers, 1936, SC 0331, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.
The collection was donated by Janie Shipley, daughter of Agnes Davis Shipley, in April 2022.
Agnes Irene Davis (1917-2013) was born in McGaheysville, Virginia to N. Wilson Davis and Ethel Hensley Davis. Davis graduated from Madison College in 1940 with a degree in home economics. While a student, Davis was a member of the Sesame Club, Choral Club, YWCA, and the Grand-Daughters of Madison College in the 1950s, Davis received a degree in elementary education from Appalachian State Teachers College and was a public school teacher for more than twenty years. Outside of teaching, she was an avid flower gardener and seamstress.
Davis married Robert Gray Shipley Jr. in 1942 with whom she had four children including a daughter who died in infancy. Evan Peter Smith's Here by the Owl (2021) documents the love story between the couple specifically during Robert Gray Shipley's deployment to Ascension Island during World War II.
The Agnes Davis Shipley Papers, 1936, comprise examples of sewing techniques and coursework created by Agnes Davis Shipley during her time as a student at the State Teachers College at Harrisonburg/Madison College. The coursework was created as part of Home Economics 131: Clothing, a course that provided a thorough drill in the principles of clothing construction on both hand and machine work with special emphasis on the use of the sewing machine and its attachments as well as the selection, alteration, and use of commercial patterns. The course was taught by Lois Pearman, Associate Professor of Home Economics.
A notebook titled "Stitches and Seams" includes sewing examples and notes on various types of stitches and clothing construction techniques. Loose pages include two examples of a convertible collar and a fabric book with sewn-in examples.
The collection is arranged in two folders.