HIS 800 Historiography and Criticism: Research Guide

John Crooke was the county surveyor in Madison County, KY and these family papers include early survey books throughout the 19th century as his son and grandson followed in his footsteps. This collection is an excellent source of information for researchers of early Kentucky history and pioneers in the American west. The papers can also be used to study the life of an educated man of the period. In his writings and diaries John Crooke reflects on weather, land, religion, and other subjects considered important to this pioneer. The collection also includes several manuscript arithmetic books written by members of the Crooke family which show how math was taught in the early part of the 19th century.

The papers of the Foster family of Madison County, KY contain several series of personal letters, most of which belong to Jennie Million or Malcom Morris. Also included are a series of store receipts and tobacco sales records covering several years around 1900. The Eades family papers consist mainly of deeds and land contracts between the family and various other locals between 1869 and 1935. There are also a small number of fliers and pamphlets that offer an interesting look into the day to day concerns of people during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Green - Fife - White Family Papers consist of correspondence and other documents from the family of Daniel Green and Margaret Ross Green and their descendants. The letters from Ireland to Alexander Fife are especially interesting as they discuss the economic and political situation in Ireland as well as information about family members and neighbors. The last letter in that series briefly mentions the Potato Famine. There are also numerous documents relating to slaves and slavery including a ledger which records slave birth dates and children from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The correspondence in the collection also includes letters written during the Civil War in which currency and conditions during the war are mentioned.

The diary of Martha White was begun on December 30, 1905 when she left Richmond, Kentucky to become a trained nurse in Dr. Price's Hospital in Philadelphia. For the next three years subsequent entries describe her fellow nurses, the patients, their ailments, and her activities during her free time as well as other topics giving the researcher a good overview of the life of a young woman training to become a nurse in the early 20th century.

Katherine Head was very active in social and political affairs of Madison County, KY. Many of the items in this collection are those generated from her role as the Democratic Woman's clerk, Deputy Clerk of the United States Court in Richmond, and chair of the National Recovery Administration. In addition, she was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Kentucky Pioneer Memorial Association. Mrs. Head was also a member of the Pattie A. Clay Hospital Board for more than fifty years, a charter member of the Richmond Altrusa Club, and a member of the Presbyterian Church. Professionally Mrs. Head had worked for fifteen years for the Kentucky Insurance Company. She taught school for a time at Lee Institute in Jackson, Kentucky. She was a member of the 1895 graduating class of Central University. Unfortunately, there is little in the collection to document her activities outside the political arena.

The Lester Family Papers are comprised mostly of correspondence to Mildred Ann McAlexander Lester, of Mason County, Kentucky. She was the widow of Edras Lester and the letters are from her daughter, son-in-law, grandchildren, friends, and account holders. There is also correspondence addressed to others beside Mrs. Lester. In addition to the letters are many documents relating to a land dispute over Mrs. Lester's father's estate in Patrick County, VA. There is a sketch of property boundaries, a copy of his will, and correspondence between various people that were working on the case. Included are various forms of financial documentation from banks, personal account holders, etc. There are also documents from the Civil War, including two savings bond certificates as well as an Oath of Allegiance for a prisoner of war. Keepsakes, holiday cards, log books, memorabilia, and other items are also a part of the collection.

In 1857 John H. McDowell became part owner of the Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western Railroad Company (L.P.&W.), later known as the Union Pacific, Eastern Division, along with James C. Stone, A.J. Isaacs, and Thomas Ewing Jr. These four men controlled the company throughout its existence. This collection consist of resolutions, receipts, stock certificates, deeds, lists of assets, meeting notices, and correspondence that give some insight into the day to day operations of the Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western, the Kansas Pacific, and the Union Pacific, Eastern Division Railroads. Also included are lists of the stock holders and fees paid by those that had been loaned money, as well as documentation of treaties made with the Delaware Indians for land.

Through the railroad business McDowell had connections with John C. Fremont who purchased the Mariposa estate in 1847, a large tract of land in California that was thought to be worthless but which actually contained rich gold deposits. The Mariposa Estate documents found in this collection contain a letter relaying the condition of the estate upon purchase and the cost of purchasing the estate. The documents in this folder contain a list of current accounts held through the company including the previous balance and current balance, lists of real estate owned, a loan certificate and correspondence pertaining to the transfer of a stock certificate.

The Major Family was a prominent Frankfort, KY family in the mid-nineteenth century. The bulk of the material in this collection relates to Samuel Ire Monger Major II, mayor of Frankfort following the Civil War, a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives and owner of the Kentucky Yeoman. A number of documents also relate to his father, Samuel Ire Monger Major I, who was Clerk of the Penitentiary of Kentucky and noted civic leader in early Frankfort; his brother, Dr. Patrick Major, who was also his business partner and confidants whose correspondence reflects their close relationship; and his son, Patrick Upshaw Major, a well-known attorney and judge. There is correspondence that relates to family and business matters, personal documents that range from poetry to journals, business and financial papers that concern a wide range of endeavors, land and legal documentation such as deeds and land grants for holdings in Kentucky and Virginia as well as other states, and political material that relates to campaigns and political beliefs. Of particular interest is a first-hand account of the New Madrid Earthquake, letters concerning the 1850 cholera epidemic and records relating to the Kentucky State Penitentiary.

Many of the Major Family women are represented as well. Among them are: Margaret (Peggy) Porter who married Francis Major to become Margaret (Peggy) Major; Martha Hipkins Bohannon who was married to S.I.M. Major I, and known as Martha H. Major; and Mary Brown Scott married to S.I.M. Major II, and commonly addressed as Mary B. Major. There is very little biographical information regarding the Major Family women; however, there is extensive correspondence between the women, to and from their husbands, fathers and sons as well as with cousins and friends. These give a glimpse into their social background, daily lives, education, and some sense of their political and financial views.

The life of the James Rankin Mason family of Madison County, Kentucky is documented through the papers in this collection. Much of the correspondence deals with Civil War times. Reference is made to hiring blacks, desertion and loneliness of soldiers. Parental concerns are voiced in correspondence as women try to raise children alone. Other correspondence mentions trials concerning an army discharge as well as other matters during the war years. Of particular interest is a letter from a Newark, Ohio teacher describing Union feelings and giving a glimpse of opinions on government and politics during the Civil War. Later correspondence deals with farming, lifestyle, ordering goods, weddings and deaths. Lastly, letters from soldiers tell about camp conditions and looting. Also includes a series of correspondence from Edward Francis, who served in the 114th United States Colored Troops during the Civil War, to his wife Liza.

Other parts of the collection highlight the education, business and cultural aspects of the family by documenting farming activities, dressmaking activities and scholarly pursuits. An 1870 broadside that teaches sign language is especially interesting.

This collection contains manuscript material from three Philadelphia merchants (Richard L. Ashurst, Andrew Clow and John Gill) who had dealings with various storekeepers in Kentucky from the late eighteenth century to the mid nineteenth century. The collection consists largely of correspondence that concerns banking, property, account settlements, businesses and trading in Kentucky. Researchers may also find invoices and pages from account books. The collection does not contain complete records of these firms, but was acquired because of the individual documents from Kentucky business owners.

This diary was written by Hamilton Raven to describe his 1862 journey from Michigan to California for his family in Michigan. Raven was a school teacher, and he beautifully describes the scenery and travel conditions as he travels across the country. He also talks about the food, weather, and Indian attacks. The volume is small and he writes for only three months, but it provides excellent descriptions of the hardships of a wagon train trip across the country.

The Shackelford Papers, through correspondence, diaries, photographs, newspaper clippings and other materials, document the public career and personal life of William Rodes Shackelford and his family. The correspondence series consists of letters Shackelford received from his classmates at Central University, Richmond, KY acquaintances, and business associates. Glimpses of Richmond educational, social and cultural life is found in the correspondence along with discussions on local, state and national political issues are covered, especially the watershed 1896 presidential election between William Jennings Bryan and William McKinley and the Spanish American War.

Shackelford kept a diary beginning when he was 18 and entering Central University and continuing until 1912 with a break from 1890 to 1907. The diary from his Central University time includes details about his student days. Also of interest are the ledgers of Dr. S.M. Letcher which indicate who he treated and what they were treated for. The Legal Documents series includes materials from a number of suits involving the Clay family and a case involving betting on an election.

Walker served in World War I and his scrapbook includes photographs, correspondence, memorabilia, clippings and postcards documenting his service. Also included are two folders of correspondence between Walker and Dorothy Dunlap and between Walker and his associates at Mason and Hanger where he was employed.

These family letters span two decades of antebellum history and are an excellent source for social, cultural and economic information from that era. Slavery is discussed and the relationship between slaves and owners is revealed as the writer mentions family members, both white and African-American. Domestic violence is revealed in the letters from Samuel’s children Betsy and John. Politics are also discussed as well as prices of crops in Missouri and North Carolina. The letters also document several generations of the Walkup family in North Carolina, Kentucky and Missouri.

Through correspondence, diaries, speeches, photographs, news clippings, and other primary source materials the public career and personal life of William Luxon Wallace and his family are documented. Glimpses of late nineteenth century Richmond, KY social and political life can be found in the correspondence of Wallace's father, Coleman Covington. In addition, due to Wallace's significance as an organizer in the Kentucky Republican Party, the collection sheds some light on the party's history during the first half of the twentieth century. It also contains political memorabilia which Wallace assembled along with a quantity of materials that document his World War I experience.

The correspondence is mostly personal and covers Republican Party activities, World War I, and the proper behavior expected from young women of the 1920s. Other letters deal with various state and national elections. When Wallace served on the Eastern Kentucky University Board of Regents, the subject of the correspondence shifts to Eastern.

The collection also includes several diaries from the women in the family, Wallace’s wife wrote over a span of 44 years; his sister wrote while she was at school in Louisville in the 1920s and there is one volume from his sister-in-law.

This collection of letters is almost entirely between William and Sarah Jane Waste of Geauga County, Ohio before and during the Civil War. There are, however, several letters from various other family members including two written to Sarah and William after the war from William's father, Luke Waste and a letter written in 1888 to Miss Bertha Waste.

The earliest letters discuss religion, society in general, events, their relationship, and health. After William enlists in the army there is much information about life in the army, the movements of the regiment and information about various battles he was involved in. William describes camp, conditions and the places he is staying, as well as rumors about battles. Sarah's brothers write in more detail about events, such as the execution of two soldiers for deserting. The 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry was involved in the following battles and skirmishes that William speaks of: Lynchburg, Virginia; Fisher's Hill, Virginia and Cedar Creek, Virginia.