Douglas and Ruth Butman Collection
Scope and Contents
This collection includes some personal papers of Dr. Douglas Butman and his wife Ruth Butman. The Butmans lived at 332 Bacon Street for over 60 years, across the street from famous Waltham doctor Alfred Worcester. The materials housed in this collection relate to the professional, educational, and religious aspects of the Butmans' lives. There is very little about the Butmans' personal lives.
Professional materials include information about doctors Alfred Worcester and Dwight O’Hara. Important among these materials are the story of the Waltham Training School for Nurses, which was started by Dr. Worcester in 1885. Dr. O’Hara believed this school to be the source for the development of Waltham Hospital. Also interesting here are materials related to the Waltham Baby Hospital, including Finance Committee reports, annual reports, copies of incorporation certificates, and the report of the first meeting at the hospital.
Waltham High School yearbooks, North Jr. High School yearbooks, and photos of the Waltham High School Class of 1932 were educational materials kept by WHS graduate Ruth Butman. No information more personal than this can be found except in a letter to Dr. Butman from the niece of patient, Ada Hardy. (This letter is housed in the Hardy family folder and was found between the pages of a book.) Limited information about the Dickson family, who seemed to be friends with the Butmans, can be found in this collection, as well.
Finally, included here is information about the First Parish Church of Waltham, which the Butmans attended. Histories and a list of silver owned by the Church and pamphlets produced by the Church are also here.
Dates
- 1927 - 1978
Biographical / Historical
Douglas Ellsworth Butman was born in Newton, Massachusetts in 1914. He grew up on Waltham’s South Side and graduated with honors from Waltham High School in 1932, where he was president of his class. He then attended Exeter Academy and Dartmouth College, graduating in 1937 before going on to Harvard Medical School. Douglas married Ruth Harris in Waltham in 1938, and the couple settled on Bacon St. After serving as a lieutenant commander in the US Navy Seabees during World War Two, Douglas returned to Waltham where he worked as a physician, first at a small practice on Main Street and then moving to Waltham-Weston Hospital. He was very involved in the community, serving on the boards of various schools, hospitals, churches, and banks. He died in December 1995 and is buried at Mount Feake Cemetery.
Ruth (Harris) Butman was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1915, and moved to Waltham in 1927. She graduated with high honors from Waltham High School in 1932 before going on to Wellesley College. Ruth was a member of the Massachusetts Audubon Society and served on the board for the Leland Home and Parmenter Home, two nursing homes in Waltham. She and Douglas were also active members of the First Parish Unitarian Universalist church in Waltham. She died in September 1990 and is buried at Mount Feake Cemetery.
Extent
.6 Cubic Feet (2 manuscript boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Housed in two boxes - Box one contains manuscripts which include the hospital information, the Dickson family materials and the Hardy letter and photos. Box two houses the school yearbooks and photographs.
- Title
- Guide to the Douglas and Ruth Butman Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Date
- 1996
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Revision Statements
- March 2025: Finding aid revised by Dana Hamlin
Repository Details
Part of the Waltham Room Archives, Waltham Public Library Repository