Olivia Procter Benedict papers
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Olivia Procter Benedict papers
- Date
- 1819-1952, undated (inclusive)
- Creator
- Benedict, Olivia Procter, 1867-1959
- Extent
- 0.75 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Cincinnati (Ohio)
- Episcopal Church -- Clergy.
- Freemasonry -- United States
- High school students.
- Letters.
- Procter, Charlotte Elizabeth Jackson, 1838-1903
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged by format and alphabetically.
- Preferred Citation
- 1997ms268: [identification of item], Olivia Procter Benedict papers, 1819-1952, undated, University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- William Procter (1801-1884) was born in Orleton, Herefordshire, England. In 1830, he and his wife Martha Peat Procter emigrated to the United States. Martha contracted cholera while traveling on the Ohio River and died in Cincinnati soon thereafter. Procter remained in Cincinnati, where he began a candle making business. In 1833 he married Olivia Norris, the daughter of Cincinnati chandler Alexander Norris. With James Gamble (1803-1891), who married Olivia Norris' sister Elizabeth Ann Norris in 1833, they formed the partnership Procter and Gamble in 1837. William and Olivia Procter had ten children: William A., Elizabeth, Sarah, Jane, Olivia, George H., Harriet, Harley, Edwin R. and Percy. In 1851, William Alexander Procter joined the company and in 1857 became a third partner in the enterprise which was now also making soap. William A. Procter (1834-1907) married Charlotte Elizabeth Jackson Procter, the daughter of John and Marianne Jackson in 1860. In 1845 John Jackson had a business (Johnston and Jackson) on the corner of Fifth and Main Streets in Cincinnati. Elizabeth and William A. Procter had several children including Marianna, Olivia, Elsie, and William Cooper. In 1860, on the eve of the Civil War, Procter and Gamble acquired a large supply of rosin from Louisiana--an ingredient necessary for soap making, which enabled the company to edge out other competitors in supplying the Union Army in the west with soap. In 1879 the company began to market Ivory Soap. When P & G incorporated in 1890, William A. Procter became its first president and his brother Harley Procter became second vice president, and his son William Cooper Procter (1862-1934) became general manager. Following William A. Procter's suicide death in 1907, William Cooper Procter became the company's last family-related president.
- Olivia Procter Benedict was born November 23, 1867, in Glendale, Hamilton County, Ohio. In 1895, she married Reverend Cleveland K. Benedict, Assistant Rector of the Christ Protestant Episcopal Church in Glendale. To their marriage, six children were born: Stephan (1896-1896), Charlotte Elizabeth Benedict Wallis (1897-1941), Samuel (1902-1994), William Procter (1905-1906), Cooper Procter (1907-1967), and Charles William (1910-1911). For a time, the family lived in Sewanee, Tennessee, where Reverend Benedict was the dean of the School of Theology at the University of the South. Olivia died in July 1959 and was buried at the Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati.
- Sources:
- "Deaths and Funerals: Olivia Benedict; Kin Of W.C. Procter", Cincinnati Enquirer, 1859 July 18 https://www.newspapers.com/image/100826724/?clipping_id=123860730, accessed 2023 May 1.
- Scope and Content
- The Olivia Procter Benedict papers (1819-1952, undated; 0.75 cubic feet; 2 boxes) primarily comprise letters, school papers, and printed materials related to the Jackson/Procter families of Cincinnati, Ohio during the nineteenth century. Henry Norris wrote the earliest letter in the collection to his wife Phoebe in Dublin in 1819. Most letters in the collection were written to Elizabeth Jackson Procter (Lizzie) from her mother Marianne (Mary), her father, her siblings (Anna, Ellen, John, and James), and future sisters-in-law (Elizabeth and Olivia) Procter). Letters are primarily about family matters including childbirth, deaths, personal health, visits and travel, and news of family and friends. Some letters are addressed to Lizzie while she is at boarding school at St. Maries, Jasper County, Illinois (1855-1857) and at the family home in Glendale (Hamilton County, Ohio), and care of Procter and Gamble in Cincinnati. Though there is no announcement of Lizzie's marriage to William Alexander Procter, a letter from Presbyterian Pastor William Davidson, dated June 10, 1860, addressed to Mrs. William A. Procter, does announce that she is a member of the church in good standing and provides an indication that she may have changed churches because of her marriage. Another letter of interest is dated Jan. 14, 1861, from Mary Jackson to Lizzie relates the difficult birth of future Republican politician John Jackson Burchenal (1861-1926) to Lizzie's sister Ellen (Mrs. Charles H. Burchenal) of Richmond, Indiana. The last group of materials in the collection pertain to Elizabeth and William A. Procter's children and were addressed to Olivia Procter. This collection contains a portion of Olivia's school papers (Hughes High School, 1882-1885) and the Benedict's wedding license (April 24, 1895). Three pieces of correspondence written in 1952 place Olivia Procter Benedict's residence at 6465 Ridge Road, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
Charlotte Elizabeth Jackson Procter letters, 1845-1866
Cleveland K. Benedict's Poor Richard's Almanac, 1901
Henry Norris letter to his wife, Phoebe, in Dublin, 1817
Olivia Procter Benedict letters, 1873-1952
Olivia Procter Benedict school papers, Bartholomew English and Classical School and Hughes High School, 1882-1884
Letterbox, undated
Marriage certificate, Cleveland K. and Olivia Procter Benedict, 1895 April 24
Masonic apron with hand painted/drawn symbols, undated
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
