Dorothy Wright Simes papers, 1906-1970

Full finding aid (pdf)

Collection Scope and Content

The papers of Dorothy Wright Simes are contained in 30 diaries and five folders of family information. The diaries start in 1937 and finish in 1970. Some of the diaries are very complete with notations on fifty, sixty or even seventy percent of the days; but a few are minimal. Her most consistent years are the late 1940s through the 1960s. The diaries are a rare look into the private life of a wealthy Maine woman as they chronicle her marriage, children, son-in-laws and grandchildren, along with her friendships and travels. Dorothy documented her role in A.R. Wright throughout her diaries. The diaries record her friendships, her family events, and her own charitable contributions to the organizations important to her for many years of her life. The folders are notebooks of receipts/addresses for both herself and her mother, family photographs, and local maps.

Biographical/Historical Note

Dorothy Wright was the daughter of Augustus R. and Jessie Wright. She was born on April 14, 1886 in New York. Dorothy graduated from the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York in 1905. She came to Portland, Maine early in life as her father established and managed the A. R. Wright coal delivery business. She married Charles Frederick Simes in 1923 and he came to run her father’s company in 1933 until his death in 1975. Dorothy had two surviving daughters during their marriage. Rosamond was born in 1924 and Victoria in 1927. The Simes lived together in two residences; the first, their primary residence was at 28 Bowdoin Street on the Western Prom of Portland, Maine, and the second, in a summer “cottage” built by architects Fasset and Stevens for A. R. Wright on Pine Point in Cape Elizabeth. Dorothy Wright Simes died at 88 on November 22, 1974. She is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Portland, Maine.