Exploring the Narratives and Archives of Massachusetts’ Stubborn Children

Olivia Mastrosimone

MA, History, New York University

MSLIS, Palmer School of Library & Information Science, Long Island University

Section 1: Red Tape and Ragged Moccasins

In December of 1936, 16-year-old Faye Tennison had a date, and she needed new shoes.^[1] Tennison’s mother, Margaret Elliot, called up her daughter’s “best boy friend” and arranged for him to take her to a tea room, maybe a movie. The boy was a proper gentleman—dressed nicely, polite to mom and dad, and always brought their daughter back by 9 p.m. But Faye couldn’t go, not without a new pair of shoes. She had told her mother a month prior about the dismal state of her footwear. There was only one pair in her closet: a ragged pair of moccasins, held together by red tape and old string. They were dirty and riddled with holes. The teenager simply refused to leave the house wearing them.^[2]

It’s a fairly typical act of defiance by a 16-year-old. But at the time, this kind of disobedience was quite dangerous— and technically illegal—for teenage girls and young women. In fact, this incident marked the beginning of a chain of events that ended with Tennison imprisoned for her stubbornness.

We don’t know from reading Tennison’s nearly 150-page case file if she ever got new shoes. Hours after the teenager refused to go on her date, she overdosed on Luminal, a sedative widely prescribed in the 1930s, and was found unconscious on her mother’s bed in their home on Boylston St. in Newton Highlands. After her suicide attempt, Tennison was taken to Worcester State Hospital, a state facility for the “clinically and chronically insane.”^[3]

“Mother promised me shoes for a whole month and she didn’t get them for me. Then she raised Hell for a whole week and it made me depressed,” Tennison said, as quoted in her intake interview at Worcester. “Then she said I had to go out with a fellow I liked. He dresses nicely and I didn’t have anything to wear except ragged moccasins and socks and it was December, so I lost my temper and took Luminal, so they called me crazy […] I wasn’t crazy, I was mad and depressed.”^[4]

Above Image: Faye Redacted Inmate File.  Source: Inmate Case Files, 1913-1973. HS9.06/515.. Records from Massachusetts Correctional Institute, Framingham. Massachusetts State Archives, Boston, MA.

She was shuffled from psychiatric hospitals to boarding houses before running away. When her father, Roger Tennison, found her in March of 1940, he called the police and charged his then 19-year-old daughter with the crime of “being a stubborn child,” an offense originally codified in 1649 by Massachusetts Bay Puritans that legalized the punishment and execution of any child found to be stubborn or disobedient. A law that, while significantly amended, was not repealed until 1973.^[5]

Within days of her father’s charge, Tennison was before Judge Donald E. Mayberry at the District Court of Newton and sentenced to two years at Framingham Reformatory for Women.^[6] 

In her case file, provided by the Massachusetts State Archives, Tennison is described by her mother as “crabby, hard to please, jealous of her sister, surly, unwilling to play and disliked by others.” Elliot also explained to her daughter’s caseworker that she is a “truant and a liar, swearing profusely, being disobedient, given to temper tantrums and moods of depression.” But Tennison’s statements tell a different story. The young woman explained the dysfunction she endured living with her parents and younger sister, Jane, born two years after Tennison in 1922. Her mother had a drinking problem and a “terrible temper,” frequently and “violently” beating her and her sister. She told her caseworker that she was often underfed—weighing only 111 pounds at 5’6”— and dirty, that her home was “impossible,” and that she “[needed] to escape.”^[7]

She escaped the Reformatory on July 3rd, 1940, four months into her sentence, with her friend Bertha Keane, a 19-year-old girl also brought there on stubborn child charges. She left a note for Mrs. Watson, one of her caseworkers, before she left. “I hate this place so much and the stigma that is attached to being here that I would commit suicide before I would return,” she wrote. Local police found her shortly after, and she returned to Framingham to complete her sentence.^[8]

Above image: Faye’s letter, written before her escape. Source: Inmate Case Files, 1913-1973. HS9.06/515.. Records from Massachusetts Correctional Institute, Framingham. Massachusetts State Archives, Boston, MA.

Faye wasn’t alone. Hundreds of young women and girls passed through Framingham between the institution's opening in 1877 and the repeal of the law in 1971—500 young women in the first 50 years the institution was operational, with the number of convictions increasing slightly, but steadily, each year. While the number of stubborn child convictions remained low compared to the various other crimes that sent women to Framingham—offenses from murder to drunkeness to aiding in abortion—the use of the law represents an interesting moment in the history of the American carceral system and offers insight into the societal norms about femininity, obedience, and social control present in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.^[9]

Section 2: In the Archives

Researching the history of the Massachusetts Stubborn Child Law and the experiences of young women at the Framingham Reformatory requires navigating a wealth of archival materials housed in multiple institutions. The Massachusetts State Archives holds case files, inmate histories, and institutional registers that provide detailed accounts of the young women sentenced under the law. As with all Massachusetts state criminal records, these records come with access restrictions—only files belonging to individuals who have passed away are available to researchers. Additionally, any medical information within these files must be redacted by archives staff before researchers can access photocopies. Despite these limitations, these case files offer invaluable insight into the lives of incarcerated girls and young women, detailing their personal histories, institutional experiences, and interactions with the legal system.

Above image: Faye’s Redacted Inmate File. Source: Inmate Case Files, 1913-1973. HS9.06/515. Records from Massachusetts Correctional Institute, Framingham. Massachusetts State Archives, Boston, MA.

Above image: Page from Inmate History Logbooks showing three stubborn child inmates, with names redacted. Source: Inmate History Logbooks, 1877–1913. HS9.06/821X, Volume 7, 567. Records from Massachusetts Correctional Institute, Framingham. Massachusetts State Archives, Boston, MA.

Beyond individual case files, institutional records from Framingham Reformatory and Department of Corrections and state Legislative records provide a more systemic view of how the Reformatory operated. These records, housed at the Massachusetts State Archives and the Massachusetts State Library, contain administrative correspondence, policy documents, and reports on institutional conditions. They help contextualize the personal stories found in inmate case files, revealing the broader policies that shaped the incarceration of young women.

Above image: Page from the 1874 Act to Establish a Reformatory Prison for Women. Section 21 is of particular note, as the stubborn child law exists in section 28 of the chapter of Massachusetts General Laws regarding offenses against “chastity, morality, and decency.” This 1874 act made it legal to incarcerate women convicted of this crime for two years. Source: Secretary of the Commonwealth. Act To Establish A Reformatory Prison For Women. c.385 §21 (1874). http://hdl.handle.net/2452/103361

For a more personal perspective on the reformatories’ leadership and institutional philosophy, the papers of superintendents Jessie D. Hodder and Miriam Van Waters offer an unparalleled look at the ideas and reforms implemented at Framingham and similar institutions. These collections, housed at the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University’s Radcliffe Institute, contain correspondence, reports, and advocacy materials that provide insight into how these women sought to shape the lives of incarcerated girls. The extensive digitization of these collections makes them particularly accessible, allowing scholars to engage with them remotely.

Above image: Excerpt from a draft for a speech given by Reformatory superintendent Jessie Hodder Source: Miriam Van Waters Papers. Reformatory for Women at Framingham, 1876-1970. Subseries 2. General notes and reports, 1879-1967, "Hodder files," 1911-1922, A-71, folder 231, sec. 5 Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. https://nrs.lib.harvard.edu/urn-3:rad.schl:42063771?n=5

Perhaps the most striking archival materials come from the incarcerated girls themselves. Writings, poetry, schoolwork, and artwork created by young women at Framingham are also preserved at the Schlesinger Library. These materials, now fully digitized and freely available online, offer rare and deeply personal accounts of incarceration from the perspective of the girls who lived through it. Through their creative work, these young women documented their thoughts, dreams, frustrations, and resistance, providing an intimate counterpoint to the official records produced by the state.

Above image: Poem written by an inmate in 1940, with name redacted. The superintendent at the time, Dr. Miriam Van Waters, made it a policy to refer to inmates as “students.” Source: Miriam Van Waters Papers. Reformatory for Women at Framingham, 1876-1970. Subseries 4. Student writings and activities, 1932-1961. Student writings and activities, 1940. A-71, folder 369, sec. 65. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. https://nrs.lib.harvard.edu/urn-3:rad.schl:41699301?n=65

Above image: Program for a performance put on by Framingham inmates in 1940. Source: Miriam Van Waters Papers. Reformatory for Women at Framingham, 1876-1970. Subseries 4. Student writings and activities, 1932-1961, Student writings and activities, 1940-1942,  A-71, folder 373, sec.6. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. https://nrs.lib.harvard.edu/urn-3:rad.schl:41699151?n=6

Accessing these materials, however, varies widely depending on the institution and jurisdiction. Public records laws differ significantly from state to state, and researchers must be aware of the legal landscape when working with historical correctional records. Massachusetts has some of the strictest public records laws in the country, requiring researchers to navigate multiple layers of access restrictions and redaction policies. While this process can be daunting, scholars should not be discouraged by bureaucratic hurdles. Understanding the policies and making formal records requests can still yield important findings, and persistence is often key when working with carceral archives. Researchers should also be aware that some institutions have digitized portions of their collections, allowing access to valuable materials without the need for in-person visits. By navigating these systems thoughtfully, historians can uncover stories that might otherwise remain buried in the vaults.