Ethel Grace Stiffler

Ethel Grace Stiffler
A young white woman with dark hair and eyes, seated at a table or desk indoors, wearing a striped blouse
Ethel Grace Stiffler, photographed by Julian P. Scott
BornSeptember 8, 1899
Parkton, Maryland, U.S.
DiedFebruary 9, 1995 (age 95)
Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Occupation(s)Botanist, college professor
SpouseEdwin Francis Carpenter

Ethel Grace Stiffler Carpenter (September 8, 1899 – February 9, 1995) was an American botanist and college instructor; she studied the desert plants of the American Southwest. She is best known today for her personal writings and photographs, documenting life in Tucson in the 1920s and 1930s.

Early life and education

Stiffler was born in Parkton, Maryland, the daughter of Jacob Clemm Stiffler and Bertha Cross Stiffler. Her father owned a general store and was the town's postmaster.[1] She graduated from Goucher College with a bachelor's degree in 1922, and earned a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1924.[2][3] She held a graduate fellowship in botany at Cornell University in 1927 and 1928.[4]

Career

Stiffler taught botany at the University of Arizona from 1925 to 1927. She taught at Wilson College in Pennsylvania and American University in Washington, D.C., for a few years, then returned to Tucson in 1933.[5] She could not return to university teaching after marriage, but was active in campus life as a faculty wife, and in the Town and Gown Club.[6][7]

Publications

Stiffler's almost daily letters from Arizona to her mother in Maryland[8] and her photographs were collected after her death into two published volumes, edited by her son.[9] They are considered a rich source on life at the University of Arizona in the 1920s and 1930s.[10][11]

  • Letters from Tucson, 1925–1927[9]
  • Letters from Tucson, 1933–1942[9]

Personal life

Stiffler married widowed astronomer Edwin Francis Carpenter in 1933.[12] They had two children, Roger and Emily.[9] The family lived in New York state during World War II.[10] Her husband died in 1963, and she died in 1995, at the age of 95, in Tucson.[13] There is a collection of her papers, including correspondence and photographs, in the Arizona Historical Society.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Parkton". The Gazette and Daily. 1922-06-08. p. 6. Retrieved 2025-08-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Ethel Grace Stiffler". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 2025-04-03. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
  3. ^ University of Pennsylvania (1923). Catalogue of the Trustees, Officers, and Students, of the University ... and of the Grammar and Charity Schools ... The University.
  4. ^ "Fellowships and Scholarships in the Graduate School". Cornell University Register: 102. 1928.
  5. ^ a b Ethel G. Stiffler Papers, Arizona Historical Society.
  6. ^ "Club Plans Final Dinner Meeting". Tucson Citizen. 1952-05-02. p. 14. Retrieved 2025-08-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Faculty Wives Have Tea". Tucson Citizen. 1953-02-03. p. 11. Retrieved 2025-08-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Henry, Bonnie (2007-02-01). "Captured Past". Arizona Daily Star. pp. E1, E2. Retrieved 2025-08-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b c d Soland, Aeden (December 4, 2018). "Tales within the walls: How a family home turned into the UA Key Desk". The Daily Wildcat. Archived from the original on 2025-04-20. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
  10. ^ a b Martin, J. C. (2009-11-06). "'Letters From Tucson' collects work of prolific writer in Depression, war". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
  11. ^ Ellis, Catherine H. (2012). ""Fong is In Charge of the Kitchen": Pioneer Cooks and the Culinary Life of Oracle, Arizona". The Journal of Arizona History. 53 (1): 67. ISSN 0021-9053.
  12. ^ "Tea Will Honor Couple". Arizona Daily Star. 1933-10-04. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-08-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Obituary for Ethel Stiffler Carpenter". The Arizona Republic. 1995-02-17. p. 50. Retrieved 2025-08-13 – via Newspapers.com.
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