Mildred Duncan Warnecke Collection

2 linear feet (1 half-size document box, 2 boxes of varied size)

Content warning: The illustration and description of the mural (in Box 1, Folder 3) include inaccurate, derogatory, and/or offensive depictions of people indigenous to the area.

The Mildred Duncan Warnecke Collection predominately contains student group photographs, photo albums depicting family life, sports and leisure activities, rural scenes, and Normal School students; newsletters and student activities of the class of 1907, and reunion materials related to Gamma Sigma Nu. The collection also contains copies of The Seal yearbook and The Signal newspaper. It is unclear how Warnecke came to acquire the photo albums created by Louise Woodruff Bush, although Bush was an older Gamma Sigma Nu member, and Warnecke was very active in the sorority, attending the annual reunions. The collection spans 1906-2000, with most of the materials falling between 1906-1969.

This collection is divided into three series:

1. Publications and Ephemera
2. Photo Albums
3. Photographs

This collection is open for research.

The items in this collection may be used by patrons who abide by the guidelines of the Archives and Special Collections. Some items have been digitized and their online location is indicated. Two items in Box 3 are not yet accessible due to preservation concerns.

Portions of the collection have been digitized and are available for viewing in the library on a provided computer.

Copyright restrictions apply. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the College Archivist and Special Collections Librarian,Archives and Special Collections, R. Barbara Gitenstein Library, The College of New Jersey, PO Box 7718, Ewing, NJ 08628-0718, email: Ask a Librarian.

• English

The Mildred Duncan Warnecke Collection was donated to TCNJ by her grandson, Jeffrey Harris.

None.

TCNJ library catalog: https://tcnj.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01COLLNJ_INST/ouchcg/alma999665153405191

History:
The materials in this collection were collected by Mildred Duncan Warnecke (1902-2000). Warnecke was born to Charles Henry Duncan (1873-1952) and Laura Ella Woolman (1876-1928) in Burlington, NJ. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Education from The New Jersey Normal School at Trenton in 1924. She married Rudolph Emil Warnecke (1902-1967), with whom she had three children: Donald Bruce Warnecke (1929-1931), Wuzanne Warnecke (1931-), and Carol Warnecke Harris (1932-). She taught in New Jersey schools in three different locations, specifically in Burlington from 1924-1927, Rutgers Preparatory School in Somerset in the 1930s, and in Westfield from 1942-1946.

Warnecke had been a very active member of Gamma Sigma Nu, where she later befriended Louise Woodruff Bush (class of 1907), whose photo albums also are part of this collection, and possibly Edna Van Sickle Budd (class of 1911), whose yearbook and likely class photos are also part of this collection

Louise E. Woodruff Bush was born in 1887 to David Woodruff and Francis or Frances Demond in Morristown, New Jersey. She attended the New Jersey State Normal School where she was president of the Gamma Sigma literary society and studied the Kindergarten course. She graduated in June 1907 and began teaching in East Orange Schools. She married John A. Brokaw in 1914, who died in 1918. She married William H. Bush (1881-1954) in 1924, and a few years later they settled in Chatham, New Jersey. She remained active with Trenton State alumni groups including Gamma Sigma Nu throughout her life. She died in 1963.

Edna Buck Van Sickle Budd was born in 1890 to Walter N. Van Sickle and Theresa Buck in Unionville, New York. Shortly after, the family moved to Wantage, New Jersey. She attended the New Jersey State Normal School in Trenton where she was president of the class of 1911, a member of Gamma Sigma literary society, and a member of the short-lived social club the “Sacred Nine.” She taught 6th grade in Chatham, New Jersey Schools for three years before marrying Merritt L. Budd (1887-1952) in 1914. After her children were born, she was active in their school’s Parent Teacher Association and a wide array of religious, civic, and history organizations. She also remained active in the Trenton State College, Gamma Sigma Nu alumni group. She died in 1982

The Gamma Sigma literary society was originally called the “Society of Literary Workers” and was among the first clubs of the New Jersey State Normal School. The name was changed in 1894 to Gamma Sigma, “the Greek words for its motto - Knowledge is Power” according to the March 1894 Signal. In the society’s earliest years, they were focused on the work of Shakespeare, however by the late 1890s they were known for performing annual or biannual minstrel shows for the school, sometimes under the name “Peachbottom Minstrel Troupe.” In the 1920s the society transitioned into a social sorority, but it never connected to any of the national offices of the sororities now recognized by the National Panhellenic Council. It disbanded in the late 1990s or early 2000s.

Gamma Sigma Nu is the alumni chapter of Gamma Sigma. It was organized in Newark, New Jersey c. 1909-1910, and remained active at least to the early 2000s.

Description based on DACS.

Deb Schiff, Archivist and Special Collections Librarian, 2023