Elizabeth W. Hayward’s collection of Ursuline Academy and reunion materials consists of correspondence, clippings, printed matter, and an artifact. Correspondence includes letters to Hayward and her husband, George P. Hayward, regarding the 1878 reunion, former Ursuline students present during the 1834 riot, and memorabilia from and commemorating life at the Mount Benedict convent. Reunion letters mostly consist of responses to Hayward’s invitation. Many of her classmates, however, include information regarding the possible locations and married names of other former convent girls. Two of Hayward’s correspondents, Ann Babson and Lucy H. Bates, provide accounts of the convent fire from their own recollections. Abby F. Gay includes lyrics to a song recalled from her school days at the convent. Included with correspondence are several lists of the names of reunion attendees, generally identified by maiden name, recording known married names and residences. Some of the materials in this collection were annotated by an unknown individual circa 1985; this same individual made notes on former convent girls Malvinia and Rosalinda Storer, which are also included in this collection.

Clippings in this collection include a society announcement for the reunion at the Hayward home and a retrospective regarding the convent fire and riots. Printed matter includes a prospectus of the Ursuline Academy from the early 1830s and a rare copy of Benjamin Franklin DeCosta’s 1876 pamphlet on the life of his aunt Mary Rebecca Theresa DeCosta, one of the first American postulates of the Boston Ursuline Convent, entitled In memoriam: Sister Sainte Claire of the Order of St. Ursula. Clippings and printed matter are arranged chronologically.

All materials in this collection were originally housed by Hayward in a small vellum-covered trunk, which has been preserved and included in the artifacts series.