Examining a catalogue for Stanford from the early 1920’s, I came across the name of an instructor for social problems, Margaret Mulford Lothrop. Still at that time sociology and social work were topics taught in the economics department there. From Lothrop’s biography (see below) we see she is reported to have taught at Stanford through 1928.
While she did not complete a Ph.D. (nor do I have any evidence this was something she ever attempted), she did cover courses in the Stanford economics department and perhaps some enterprising student in Massachusetts (where perhaps personal papers might be located) will follow up on this lead. Lothrop came from a distinguished home but
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Coursed taught by Lothrop from Stanford’s Register for 1922/23
Lothrop, Margaret Mulford, Instructor in Economics
A.B., Smith, 1905; A.M., Stanford, 1915. At Stanford since 1915.
67a. Seminar in Social Investigation.—Practical experience in some small investigation. Open only to seniors and graduates who have taken Economics 67 (Introduction to Social Investigation).
Autumn quarter (Lothrop)
autumn, 21
67b. Seminar
Winter quarter (Lothrop)
Winter, 5
103. Care of Dependents.—A study of the problems of the care of dependents and defectives in institutions and in their homes, with special reference to conditions in California. Three trips of inspection will be required.
4 units, autumn quarter (Lothrop) MTWTh 11
autumn, 39
104. Problems of Poverty.—A study of the factors causing poverty, crime, disease, and mental defectiveness, as evidences of social maladjustment; a survey of the possible means of prevention and of the social agencies attempting such work, with special reference to California. Trips of inspection will be included.
4 units, summer quarter MTWTh 11
Summer, 12
105. Crime as a Social Problem.—A study of the problems of crime: the criminal and his characteristics, the treatment of the criminal, the causes and the prevention of crime, with special reference to conditions in California. Three trips of inspection of institutions will be required.
5 units, winter quarter (Lothrop) MTWThF 11
winter, 42
117. Problems of Child Welfare.—A brief survey of problems of child protection and care from the social viewpoint, with special reference to conditions in California.
2 units, summer quarter (Lothrop) TTh 10
summer, 14
118. Seminar in Social Problems.—Practical experience in some investigation.
Winter quarter (Lothrop) By arrangement
Winter, 12
Source: Leland Stanford Junior University, Register for 1922/23, pp. 34, 162-164
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Biography of Margaret Lothrop from National Park Service
Margaret Lothrop was born to Daniel and Harriett Lothrop on July 27, 1884 at The Wayside in Concord, Massachusetts. She was the only child of parents who were focused on literature and were interested in the preservation of history. Her mother wrote many books under the pen name of Margaret Sydney, including the children’s series the Five Little Peppers, and her father was a publisher, owning the D. Lothrop Publishing Co.
They had purchased The Wayside because of its history, being the house lived in by authors Bronson Alcott, Louisa May Alcott, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, and being a witness house to the British troops marching in and out of Concord on the fateful day of April 19, 1775. With this patriotic and literary upbringing, Margaret became the first member of the National Society of Children of the American Revolution, newly founded by her mother in 1895.
Margaret saw many social events at her home, hosted by her mother, including the Hawthorne Centenary in 1904 where a monument was placed in the yard at The Wayside in honor of Hawthorne, and including fundraisers for such organizations as the Massachusetts Volunteer Aid Society. Margaret knew some of the great literary figures of the time, including John Greenleaf Whittier, Julia Ward Howe, and Samuel Francis Smith. She also saw her mother open their house for sight-seers.
Education
Margaret attended Concord schools, graduating from Concord High School known as a scholar and horsewoman. She attended Smith College, where she was a member of the Philosophical Society, the Italian Club, and a half back on the women’s field hockey team, graduating in 1905. She moved to California in 1912 where she earned her M.A. in Economics at Stanford University.
Career Woman
She moved back to Massachusetts where she worked at the Women’s Education and Industrial Union and the YWCA in Boston from 1913-15. She then returned to Stanford University where she was an instructor in the College of Arts and Sciences through 1928.
During WWI she was in the Red Cross where she was assigned as a Casualty Searcher in France, which included documenting graves, searching for families of men with memory loss, and speaking with dying men to identify their families.
Returning to The Wayside
Following the death of her mother in 1924, Margaret formed a committee in Concord to plan to open The Wayside for tourists in 1928. After serving as the Secretary of the California Society of the Prevention of Cruelty of Children for two years, she returned to The Wayside in 1932. Margaret researched the occupants of the house, coordinated staff and maintained the house for tours, tried to find organizations that would purchase the house for education purposes (to no avail), and wrote the book The Wayside: Home of Authors (published in 1940).
Preservation of The Wayside
During WWII, Margaret served as a member of the Red Cross and the Massachusetts Women’s Defense Corps. Through the 1940s to early 1960s, Margaret continued to maintain the house for tours, responded to letters from other researchers, wrote articles including “My House and the Minute Men,” and conducted her own research, including direct communication with the Hawthorne family.
She worked to have The Wayside declared a National Historic Landmark in 1963, and she sold the house to the National Park Service to become part of Minute Man National Historical Park on June 18, 1965. Margaret worked closely with the NPS staff, including contributing the bulk of her research to the park, giving oral histories, and speaking to groups.
Margaret Mulford Lothrop died in Concord on May 14, 1970. She left an extensive legacy, especially The Wayside, where she had been born and had spent so much time preserving for future generations. The house was re-opened by the NPS on April 17, 1971.
Source: National Park Service. Margaret Lothrop webpage. Also source of the image of Margaret Lothrop in her Red-Cross uniform.