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Mary Burnett Horton Papers

Call Number

MC.222

Dates

1936-1975, inclusive
; 1939-1974, bulk

Creator

Horton, Mary Burnett

Extent

11 Linear Feet (11 boxes)

Language of Materials

Material is predominantly in English with some French and Russian.

Abstract

Mary Burnett Horton was an authority in home economics and a pioneer in consumer and institutional education in the food and nutrition field. She received a master's degree from NYU in 1946 and worked as a bacteriologist and as head of the consumer education program at Sheffield Farms before being appointed director of the National Dairy's Sealtest Consumer Service where she worked until retiring in 1962. The collection consists of a large number of recipes in the form of books, booklets, brochures, circulars and clippings; food-related publications and printed materials; article drafts, speeches, notes, conference materials, photographs and personal and professional correspondence.

Biography of Mary Burnett Horton

Mary Burnett Horton was born in Stirling, Scotland, in 1897 and moved to New York City with her family as a child. She graduated from Hunter College, where she trained as a bacteriologist. In 1920 she began working as a laboratory assistant at Sheffield Farms; she became chief bacteriologist in 1932. When Sheffield inaugurated a consumer education program in 1937, she became its director, developing school and public visiting programs at four major milk processing plants in greater New York, focusing on pasteurization and the nutrition of dairy products. With wartime restrictions in 1941, she took the programs to consumers, lecturing extensively to women's clubs on feeding families under food shortages and rationing. She served as chairperson of the Manhattan Nutrition Committee from 1944 to 1946, while earning a master's degree from New York University in Home Economics with a specialty in nutrition in 1946. In 1949 she became the only woman elected to the Board of Directors of Sheffield Farms, a post she held until 1956, when the company became a division of National Dairy.

In 1947 Horton was appointed director of National Dairy's Sealtest Consumer Service, which included four test kitchens equipped with the latest and newest appliances. The aim of the kitchens was to help consumers, dietitians, and school, hospital and industrial food managers to adjust to postwar changes, including the advent of convenience foods and the transfer of new technology to consumer products. The staff working in the kitchens performed extensive work on recipe development, culminating in recipe pamphlets, publicity releases and quantity recipe cards. During her fifteen years as director of Sealtest Consumer Service, Horton was widely regarded as an authority in home economics and a pioneer in the consumer and institutional education in the foods and nutrition field.

Mary Horton retired from Sealtest in 1962 but continued to be involved in various professional associations. In addition to her position at Sealtest, Mary Horton was the chairperson of New York City Home Economists in Business (1953), the American Home Economics Association, and the Consumer Services Committee of Grocery Manufacturers of America (1955-56). She served on the U.S. Navy Food Advisory Committee from 1948 to 1962. As consumer consultant editor of the trade publication Food Business from 1953 to 1963 she authored many articles in various publications.

Horton also served as the chairperson of civil service of the New York City Federation of Women's Clubs. She was appointed a member of the Women's Committee established in the late 1950s by Governor Rockefeller and the Department of Commerce whose purpose was to find ways to create careers for women. In 1963 she traveled to the Soviet Union as part of the American Home Economics Association to take part in a Women's Congress. Mary Horton died in 1974 at the age of 77.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into five series, one of which has been further arranged into subseries. The contents of each series and subseries are arranged alphabetically. The series and subseries arrangement of the records is as follows:

Series I contains records relating to Horton's activities in Sheffield Farms, Sealtest and the food industry in general.

Series II contains Horton's personal correspondence, biographical information, work prospects and other miscellaneous materials.

Series III contains photographs of Mary Horton at various events, in her office, and of the facilities of Sheffield Farms and Sealtest Kitchens.

Series IV contains materials related to Horton's professional associations unrelated to the food industry, including her 1963 trip to the Soviet Union.

Series V, Subseries I contains recipe books.

Series V, Subseries II contains recipe booklets.

Series V, Subseries II contains loose recipes.

Missing Title

  1. Food and Nutrition
  2. Personal
  3. Photographs
  4. Professional
  5. Recipes

Scope and Content

The collection documents the activities of Mary Horton in her role as a pioneer in the food field and consists of a large number of recipes in the form of books, booklets, brochures, circulars and clippings; food related publications and printed materials; article drafts, speeches, notes, conference materials, photographs and personal and professional correspondence.

Access Restrictions

Repository permission is required for access. Please contact New York University Archives, (212) 998-2641, university-archives@nyu.edu.

Use Restrictions

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by the creator are maintained by New York University. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from New York University Archives, (212) 998-2646, university-archives@nyu.edu.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form: Identification of item, date (if known); Mary Burnett Horton Papers; MC 222; box number; folder number; New York University Archives, New York University Libraries.

Location of Materials

The bulk of this collection is located in offsite storage. Please contact the University Archives for details.

Provenance

The collection was accessioned by University Archives in four accretions from 2009-2010.

Physical and Technical Requirements

The collection contains two audio recordings that have not been converted to a digital format. Please contact the University Archives for access to these materials.

Separated Materials

Memorabilia in the collection have been removed and are stored with the University Archives Memorabilia Collection. Please contact the University Archives for access to these materials.

Collection processed by

Aleksandr Gelfand.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 17:53:33 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is written in: English, Latin script.

Repository

New York University Archives
New York University Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012