Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Clarke family letters
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Clarke family letters
- Date
- 1855-1899 (inclusive)
- Extent
- 0.55 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Letters.
- Pennsylvania
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged alphabetically by recipient for the first six folders, the additional folders are arranged chronologically. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0109: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Clarke family letters, 1855-1899, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- The Clarke family, located in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, is comprised of James Clarke (1783-1867) and Jane Patton (1788-1863) as the heads of the family. They had seven children together, Mary Ann Clarke (1812-1833), Jane Patton Clarke (1813-1892), Robert William Clarke (1816-1895), Martha Jane Clarke (1818-1914), James Patton Clarke (1820-1821), James Cunningham Clarke (1823-1893), and John Patton Clarke (1825-1900). Some of their children stayed within Pennsylvania and other moved further away to states like West Virginia and Iowa.
- Robert William Clarke initially moved to Blairsville, Pennsylvania for school when he was 17 and stayed there for 21 years as a civil engineer. In 1840, he married Caroline King (1819-1880) in Erie, Pennsylvania. Together they had six children: Mary, James, Jane, Thomas, Robert, and Sarah. In 1855, Robert and family moved to Des Moines, Iowa where he helped to locate the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad for 100 miles east of Council Bluffs along with a number of other surveys in the area. In 1867, he was a member of the city council and in 1878; he was elected as Justice of the Peace.
- James Cunningham Clarke stayed within Pennsylvania, only moving towns to Greensburg, Pennsylvania. In 1853, he married Isabella Armstrong Keenan (1830-1863) with whom he had three children: Isabella, Janet, and Mary. James was the president of the Greensburg Banking Company and an attorney at law.
- John Patton Clarke moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio and then settling on a farm in Burning Springs, West Virginia. His first marriage was to Matilda Powless (1837-1915) and together they had one child, Paul Powless Clarke. In 1867, John married Nancy Jane Graham (1848-1894) with whom he had eight children: Elizabeth, Jane, Martha, Isabella, James, John, Lessie, and George.
- Martha Jane Clarke also stayed in Pennsylvania, and in 1840, she married John P. Ford (1810-1889). Together they had seven children: William, James, Robert, Albert, Jane, Amelia, and Anabel.
- American Letters collector Wade Hall (1934-2015) was a native of Union Springs, Alabama. Starting in 1962, he lived in Louisville, where he taught English and chaired the English and Humanities/Arts programs at Kentucky Southern College and Bellarmine University. He also taught at the University of Illinois and the University of Florida. He held degrees from Troy State University (B.S.), the University of Alabama (M.A.), and the University of Illinois (Ph.D.). He served for two years in the U.S. Army in the mid-fifties. Dr. Hall was the author of books, monographs, articles, plays, and reviews relating to Kentucky, Alabama, and Southern history and literature. His most recent books include A Visit with Harlan Hubbard; High Upon a Hill: A History of Bellarmine College; A Song in Native Pastures: Randy Atcher's Life in Country Music; and Waters of Life from Conecuh Ridge.
- Scope and Content
- The Clarke family letters (dated 1855-1899; 0.55 cubic feet; 2 boxes) comprise letters that document the family's relationships as they spread out across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Iowa prior to, during, and after the Civil War. Many of the letters are sent from James C. Clarke to his brother John P. Clarke, however there are letters to James C. Clarke from his niece, Belle Clarke (John's daughter). There are a number of letters written to John P. Clarke by family members, especially his sister Jane P. Moore, his brother Robert W. Clarke, and his nephew William C. Ford. The letters primarily discuss the health of family members, small business matters, education, and the weather.
- The Clarke family letters are part of the Wade Hall Collection of American letters, which includes correspondence and diaries from all over North America covering the time period of the Civil to Korean Wars. The materials were collected by Wade Hall and document everyday men and women.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- The 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 Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
General family correspondence, 1862-1896
Letter from James C. Clarke to Belle Clark, 1892
Letter from R. W. Clarke to J. W. [James William] Clarke, 1894
Letters from James C. Clarke to John P. Clarke, 1855-1892
Letters to John P. Clarke, 1864-1895
Letter from James C. Clarke to N. J. [Nancy Jane] Clarke, 1892
John P. Clarke letters, 1854-1855
John P. Clarke letters, 1861-1864
John P. Clarke letters, 1865-1866
John P. Clarke letters, 1867-1869
John P. Clarke letters, 1870-1872
John P. Clarke letters, 1873-1876
John P. Clarke letters, 1877-1879
John P. Clarke letters, 1880-1882
John P. Clarke letters, 1883-1884
John P. Clarke letters, 1885-1886
John P. Clarke letters, 1887-1889
John P. Clarke letters, 1890-1893
John P. Clarke letters, 1894-1896
John P. Clarke letters, 1897-1899
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.
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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.
