Judith Van Ness papers

Collection — Box: 1

Identifier: 2023-006

Staff Only

Content Description

This collection consists of photographs and documents from the personal papers of Judith Van Ness, a lifelong Rochester resident and former librarian at the Rochester Public Library. The photographs document Rochester buidlings and scenes from the 1970s to the 1990s. The documents include a copy of her essay on draft card burning, undated but likely written in 1966, which provides a first-person account on the topic right from the time during which it became a signifcant form of anti-Vietnam War protest.

Dates

Creation: Circa 1966-circa 2005

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish, reproduce, distribute, or use in any current or future manifestations must be obtained in writing from the Rochester Public Library Local History and Genealogy Division.

Biographical / Historical

The donor provided the following biographical information on the creator of this collection:

Judith Lamb Van Ness was born 1932 in South Haven, MI. She married Paul D. Van Ness, December 1953, in Jackson, MI. They moved to Rochester in 1966 and divorced in 1976. Judith spent the rest of her life in Rochester until she moved to assisted living in the Boston, MA area in July 2022. In Rochester, Judith worked in a number of positions, including at the Strong Museum during its initial years as a public institution. She was an amateur artist whose work appeared regularly in local and regional shows. As a resident of the South Wedge neighborhood, she advocated for the preservation of the neighborhood's historic homes and against commercial developments. Many of the photographs in this collection depict her home on Averill Avenue.