Olivia Stokes Hatch (1908 – October 17, 1983) was an American philanthropist,

clubwoman The club movement is an American women's social movement that started in the mid-19th century and spread throughout the United States. It established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While wome ...

, and travel writer.

Early life

Olivia Egleston Phelps Stokes was born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, the daughter of the educator and philanthropist Rev. Dr.

Anson Phelps Stokes Anson Phelps Stokes (February 22, 1838 – June 28, 1913) was a wealthy American merchant, property developer, banker, genealogist and philanthropist. Born in New York City, he was the son of James Boulter Stokes and wife Caroline (nee Phelps). ...

and Caroline Mitchell Phelps Stokes. She was a member of an extended family of notables: Her grandfather

was a banker, and her brother, Anson Phelps Stokes, Jr. was an Episcopal bishop. Her great-grandfather James Boulter Stokes and her great-great-grandfather,

Anson Green Phelps Anson Green Phelps (March 24, 1781 – May 18, 1858) was an American entrepreneur and business man from Connecticut. Beginning with a saddlery business, he founded Phelps, Dodge & Co. in 1833 as an export-import business with his sons-in-law as ...

were Connecticut businessmen. Her great-aunt was Caroline Phelps Stokes was also a wealthy benefactor, mainly of educational causes; real estate developer

William Earl Dodge Stokes William Earle Dodge Stokes (May 22, 1852 – May 18, 1926) was an American multimillionaire who developed many buildings on New York City's Upper West Side. Early life Stokes was born in New York City on May 22, 1852. He was the son of ...

, socialist writer James Graham Phelps Stokes, and architect

Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes (April 11, 1867 – December 18, 1944) was an American architect. Stokes was a pioneer in social housing who co-authored the New York State Tenement House Act, 1901 New York tenement house law. For twenty years he work ...

were among her uncles. Her maternal great-grandfather was Daniel Lindley, an American missionary in South Africa, and her mother's sister, Anna V. S. Mitchell, did relief work in France during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and afterwards among refugees in Istanbul.Olivia Stokes Hatch Papers
Special Collections, Bryn Mawr College Library. Olivia Stokes attended

Foxcroft School Foxcroft School, founded in 1914 by Charlotte Haxall Noland, is a college-preparatory boarding and day school for girls in grades 9-12 & PG, located near Middleburg, Virginia, United States. In its century of existence, Foxcroft has educat ...

and

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...

, graduating in 1930."Lenox Church Scene of Bridal For Miss Stokes: Bryn Mawr Alumna Wed to John Hatch Jr."
''New York Times'' (October 15, 1939): 53.

Career

Hatch traveled throughout the United States, Central, and South America, and in the Far East. She was co-author, with Mary Marvin Breckinridge Patterson, of ''Olivia's African Diary: Cape Town to Cairo, 1932'', a record of their trip throughout Africa after college, which was published in 1980. Hatch died in 1983, aged 75 years. Her papers are in the collection of Bryn Mawr College. Hatch was a member of the

Colony Club The Colony Club is a women-only private social club in New York City. Founded in 1903 by Florence Jaffray Harriman, wife of J. Borden Harriman, as the first social club established in New York City by and for women, it was modeled on simila ...

in New York and of the

Junior League The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (Junior League or JL) is a private, nonprofit educational women's volunteer organization aimed at improving communities and the social, cultural, and political fabric of civil society. With ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

She was active with the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

and American Conferences of

Social Work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

. In the 1940s, Hatch worked with the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

, City Club (Albany), Race Relations group and the Red Cross Speakers Bureau. In the 1950s she worked with the Norfolk League of Women Voters, and was active in church groups and the Parent-Teacher Association. In

Lenox, Massachusetts Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is in Western Massachusetts and part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,095 at the 2020 United States census ...

, in the 1960s, she volunteered as a reader for Recording for the Blind, and helped to entertain young artists in conjunction with the

Berkshire Music Center The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops. The center operates as a part of the Tanglew ...

."Revolt, They Said". www.andreageyer.info.
Retrieved 2017-07-30. CC BY-SA icon

Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license. She and her husband donated significant lands toward the creation of the Berkshire County Land Trust and Conservation Fund.

Personal life and legacy

Olivia Phelps Stokes married John Davis Hatch Jr. (1907–1996), an art collector and museum administrator, in 1939. They had four children together, Sarah, John, Daniel, and James. John, Daniel, and Sarah all followed their mother's interest in Africa, and Sarah Stokes Hatch continued her work with the American Red Cross. Olivia Stokes Hatch died in 1983, aged 75 years. There is a site called "Olivia's Overlook" in the Berkshire Hills, named for Olivia Stokes Hatch.Lauren R. Stevens
''50 Hikes in the Berkshire Hills''
(Countryman Press 2016).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatch, Olivia Stokes American activists 1908 births 1983 deaths Writers from New Haven, Connecticut American travel writers American women travel writers Clubwomen Foxcroft School alumni 20th-century American women