Filson Club Lectures, 1887-1992

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator: Filson Club

Title: Lectures, 1887-1992

Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Curator of Special Collections.

Size of Collection: 3 cubic feet

Location Number: Mss./BI/F489b

Scope and Content Note

Often referred to as “Talks Before the Filson,” the collection contains numerous research papers and memorial speeches given before meetings of the Filson Historical Society from 1887 to 1992. Topics cover many aspects of Kentucky history, focusing mainly on the state from the frontier-era to the Civil War. Many prominent club members, including Colonel Reuben T. Durrett and Alfred S. Pirtle, gave numerous papers and had papers given about them after their deaths. The collection also includes several poems and short stories. Some folders in this collection has been digitized. To view PDF scan, click on the link provided in the folder list below.

Historical Note

The Filson Historical Society was founded as the Filson Club in 1884 to preserve Kentucky history and has since amassed large collections of manuscripts, books, and artwork. In the Filson’s early days, members were required to present papers at meetings. These papers were often kept on file by the Filson, resulting in the “Talks Before the Filson” collection.

Folder List

Folder 1: Index

Folder 2: Alexander, Harry W.

Folder 3: Allison, Young E.

Folder 4: Altsheller, Brent

Folder 5: Anderson, Kitty

Folder 6: Andrews, Alfred J.

Folder 7: Anonymous

Folder 8: Barker, Thomas A.

Folder 9: Barton, W. E. (William Eleazer)

Folder 10: Bate, Richard Alexander

Folder 10a: Beattie, George W.

Folder 11: Beckner, Lucien

Folder 12: Bernhardt, Carl

Folder 13: Bloom, Levi

Folder 14: Bourne, James M.

Folder 15: Bowman, Pauline Newman

Folder 16: Boyd, Samuel G.

Folder 17: Brown, John Mason

Folder 18: Bruce, Horatio W.

Folder 19: Bryant, Thomas Julian

Folder 20: Burt, Jesse C., Jr.

Folder 21: Callahan, J. E.

Folder 22: Carrington, Wirt Johnson

Folder 23: Cawein, Madison

Folder 24: Cherry, T. C. (Thomas Crittenden)

Folder 25: Clay, Cassius Marcellus

Folder 26: Cleveland, Harry Whitney

Folder 27: Coats, Ida Symmes

Folder 28: Collins, Val. P.

Folder 29: Conkwright, Bessie Taul

Folder 30: Coomes, M. F. (click to access PDF)

Folder 31: Cotterill, Robert S.

Folder 32: Cromwell, Emma Guy

Folder 33: Crume, Lee G.

Folder 34: de la Hunt, Thomas James

Folder 35: Dickey, J. J. (John Jay)

Folder 36: Distelhorst, Walter

Folder 37: Dobbs, Charles

Folder 38: Donohue, James J.

Folder 39: Doyle, John A.

Folder 40: Duke, Basil W.

Folder 41: Duncan, Fannie Casseday

Folder 42: Durrett, Reuben T., Memoriams, 1887-1895

Folder 43: Durrett, Reuben T., Memoriams, 1900-1902

Folder 44: Durrett, Reuben T., Papers

Folder 45: Edwards, C. Hayden

Folder 46: Ellwanger, Ella H.

Folder 47: Fisher, Thomas C.

Folder 48: Fonda, Mary A.

Folder 49: Fowler, Ila Earle

Folder 50: Frank, Louis

Folder 51: Frazee, L. J.

Folder 52: Fuson, Henry Harvey

Folder 53: Gilbert, R. B.

Folder 54: Greene, Buckner F.

Folder 55: Greene, Nancy Lewis

Folder 56: Greenley, Thomas B.

Folder 57: Gregory, George H.

Folder 58: Hamilton, Samuel L.

Folder 59: Harrison, Ida Withers

Folder 60: Harrison, Lowell

Folder 61: Henton, Sara Hansborough

Folder 62: Heywood, John H.

Folder 63: Hill, Eugene D.

Folder 64: Hill, Samuel S.

Folder 65: Hoefelman, Walter M.

Folder 66: Holifield, Marvin Bertie

Folder 67: Humphrey, W. C.

Folder 68: Hunter, Mrs. Robert

Folder 69: Hurst, William L.

Folder 70: Huston, George

Folder 71: Isenberg, James L.

Folder 72: Jillson, Willard R.

Folder 73: Johnston, Josiah Stoddard, 1893-1901

Folder 74: Johnston, Josiah Stoddard, 1902-1904

Folder 75: Jones, Lewis H.

Folder 76: Jouett, Edward S.

Folder 77: Kelly, Walter H.

Folder 78: Kendrick, William C.

Folder 79: Kilpatrick, Lewis H.

Folder 80: Kincaid, Robert L.

Folder 81: Lafferty, Maude Ward, 1911, 1918

Folder 82: Lafferty, Maude Ward, 1930

Folder 83: Levi, Lily Ernestine, 1906 (click to access PDF)

Folder 84: Levi, Lily Ernestine, 1907 (click to access PDF)

Folder 85: Levi, Lily Ernestine, 1909

Folder 86: Levi, Lily Ernestine, 1917, 1924

Folder 87: Lewis, Ada S.

Folder 88: Little, Lucius P.

Folder 89: Loos, Charles Louis

Folder 90: Lytle, Elizabeth

Folder 91: McBryer, James

Folder 92: McDowell, William P.

Folder 93: McMeekin, Isabel McLennan

Folder 94: Macpherson, Ernest

Folder 95: Martin, Boyd

Folder 96: Martin, Mrs. Clarence

Folder 97: Mather, Otis M.

Folder 98: Mercer, S. C.

Folder 99: Miller, Elvira Sydnor

Folder 100: Miller, James C.

Folder 101: Moseley, M. H.

Folder 102: Mueller, Ignatius

Folder 103: Nachod, C. P.

Folder 104: Needham, Charles K.

Folder 105: Needham, Charles K.

Folder 106: Newcomb, Mary

Folder 107: Oldacre, Clara L.

Folder 108: Parsons, T. W.

Folder 109: Perrin, William Henry

Folder 110: Peter, Robert

Folder 111: Pettus, Joseph

Folder 112: Pirtle, Alfred, Tippecanoe

Folder 113: Pirtle, Alfred, 1898-1907

Folder 114: Pirtle, Alfred, 1910-1917

Folder 115: Pirtle, Alfred, 1921, 1922, no date

Folder 116: Pirtle, John Rowan

Folder 117: Price, Samuel Woodson (click to access PDF)

Folder 118: Purcell, Martha

Folder 119: Ranck, George W.

Folder 120: Reade, Philip

Folder 121: Richardson, John B.

Folder 122: Roland, Alice Kate

Folder 123: Rothert, Otto A.

Folder 124: Rouse, Alice Riddle

Folder 125: Sanders, Myra

Folder 126: Sanders, Robert Stuart

Folder 127: Sanders, Verney

Folder 128: Schachner, August

Folder 129: Schoening, Augusta

Folder 130: Scott, Elizabeth Slaughter

Folder 131: Sewell, Mrs. Nat B.

Folder 132: Seymour, Charles B.

Folder 133: Smith, D. T.

Folder 134: Smith, John F.

Folder 135: Smith, Zachary

Folder 136: Speed, Thomas

Folder 137: Stephenson, Martha

Folder 138: Stephenson, Wendell

Folder 139: Stone, May and Katherine Pettit

Folder 140: Strother, John C.

Folder 141: Summers, William T.

Folder 142: Tapp, Hambleton

Folder 143: Tevis, R. C.

Folder 144: Thixton, Marie M.

Folder 145: Thomas, D. L.

Folder 146: Thompson, Lawrence Sidney

Folder 147: Thompson, Stith

Folder 148: Threlkel, Marguerite

Folder 149: Thruston, R. C. Ballard

Folder 150: Thummel, G. E. and C. C. (Constantine Charles) Keller III

Folder 151: Tipton, French

Folder 152: Todd, C. C.

Folder 153: Todd, George D.

Folder 154: Todd, Lyman B.

Folder 155: Townsend, John Wilson

Folder 156: Trout, Allen M.

Folder 157: Tucker, Mattie B.

Folder 158: Van Stockum, R. R. (Ronald Reginald)

Folder 159: Walter, Lewis A.

Folder 160: Watterson, Henry

Folder 161: Wickliffe, John D.

Folder 162: Wilgus, D. K.

Folder 163: Wilson, Fannie S.

Folder 164: Wood, William F.

Folder 165: Woodson, Isaac T.

Folder 166: Young, Bennett H.

Subject Headings

Anderson, Charles, 1814-1895

Anderson family

Appalachian Region – Social life and customs

Artesian wells – Kentucky – Louisville

Artists – Kentucky

Baker, Alpheus, 1821-1891

Ballard, Bland W., 1761-1853

Bank of Kentucky

Banks and banking – Kentucky

Bell, Theodore S. (Theodore Stout), 1807-1884

Berea College

Bethel Academy (Jessamine County, Ky.)

Blackburn, Luke Pryor, 1816-1887

Bledsoe, Emma

Boone, Daniel, 1734-1820

Boone, Daniel, 1734-1820 – Statues – Kentucky – Louisville

Boone, Squire, 1744-1815

Booneville (Ky.) – History – 19th century

Bowmar, Daniel Mayes, 1843-1890

Breathitt County (Ky.) – History

Broadus, John Albert, 1827-1895

Brown, Richard Jones, 1819-1892

Brown, Samuel, 1769-1830

Bryant’s Station (Ky.) – History

Bryant’s Station (Ky.) – Poetry

Buckner family

Buckner, James Francis, 1813-1889

Bullitt County (Ky.) – History

Bullitt, Thomas James, 1763-1840

Business enterprises – Kentucky – Louisville

Caldwell, Charles, 1772-1853

Cawein, Madison Julius, 1865-1914

Centre College (Danville, Ky.)

Chappell, James A., 1823-1893

Charette de la Contrie, Antoine, marquis de

Chenault, William, 1835-1901

Chenoweth family

Christmas – Kentucky – Louisville

Church buildings – Kentucky – Louisville

Clark, George Rogers, 1752-1818

Clark, George Rogers, 1752-1818 – Poetry

Clarke, Marcellus Jerome, 1844-1865

Clay, Cassius Marcellus, 1810-1903

Clay family

Clay, Henry, 1777-1852

Collins, Richard H. (Richard Henry), 1824-1888

Constitutional law – United States

Corn Island (Ky.) – History – 18th Century

Cotton textile industry – Kentucky – Danville

Counties – Kentucky

Courthouses – Kentucky – Jefferson County

Craddock, Robert

Cumberland College (Princeton, Ky.)

Danville Political Club (Danville, Ky.)

Daughters of the American Revolution. Lexington Chapter (Lexington, Ky.)

Davie, George M., 1848-1900

Daviess, Joseph Hamilton, 1774-1811

DeHaven, Samuel E., 1825?-1893

Des Cognets, Anna Russell, d. 1902.

Dueling – Kentucky

Dickey, John Jay, 1842-1934

Duke, Basil Wilson, 1838-1916

Durrett, Reuben T. (Reuben Thomas), 1824-1913

Durrett, Reuben T. (Reuben Thomas), 1824-1913 – Library

Education – Kentucky

Estill County (Ky.) – History

Estill’s Defeat, 1782

Estill, Monk

Filson Club – Poetry

Filson, John, ca. 1747-1788

Fink, Albert, 1827-1897

Floods – Kentucky – Louisville

Folklore – Kentucky

Folk music – United States

Frontier and pioneer life – Kentucky

Gallagher, William D. (William Davis), 1808-1894

Galt, William H., 1827-1893

Gano, John, 1727-1804

Geology, Structural – Kentucky

Gettysburg, Battle of, Gettysburg, Pa., 1863

Gilbert, R. B.

Gilkey, John

Gordon, Harry

Governors – United States

Grave robbing

Haldeman, Walter N., 1821-1902

Hancock County (Ky.) – History

Hardin County (Ky.) – History

Harney, Will Wallace, 1832-1912

Harrodsburg (Ky.) – History

Hart, Joel T. (Joel Tanner), 1810-1877

Hindman Settlement School – History

Historical Records Survey (U.S.)

Henning, Susanne Meriwether, b. 1888

Historic sites – Kentucky

Hudson family

Humphrey, Edward P. (Edward Porter), 1809-1887

Indians of North America – Wars

Innes, Harry, 1752-1816

Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845 – Death and burial

Jackson, William L., 1825-1890

Jarvis, John Wesley, 1780-1840

Jefferson family

Jeffersontown (Ky.) – History

Jewelers – Kentucky – Louisville – History

Johnson, Richard M. (Richard Mentor), 1780-1850

Kenton, Simon, 1755-1836

Kentucky – Anecdotes

Kentucky – Commerce – History – 18th century

Kentucky – Description and travel

Kentucky – Discovery and exploration

Kentucky – History – Civil War, 1861-1865

Kentucky – History – Fiction

Kentucky – History – Poetry

Kentucky – Maps – Early works to 1800

Kentucky. Militia

Kentucky bluegrass

Kentucky rifle

Kentucky River (Ky.) – Description and travel

Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, marquis de, 1757-1834

Lair family

Land grants – Kentucky

Langdon, Josiah

Larue County (KY.) – History

Lewis family

Lewis, Lucy Jefferson, 1752-1811 – Family

Lincoln, Abraham, 1744-1786

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Lincoln, Thomas, 1778-1851

Long Run Baptist Church (Louisville, Ky.)

Lotteries – Kentucky

Louis Philippe, King of the French, 1773-1850

Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company

Louisville Cement Company

Louisville (Ky.) – Climate

Louisville (Ky.) – History – 18th century

Louisville (Ky.) – History – 19th century

Louisville Turnpike (Ky.)

Lynn, Benjamin, 1750-1814

Lytle, Elizabeth

McDowell, Ephraim, 1771-1830

McHenry, John H., 1832-1893

McMeekin, Isabel McLennan, 1895-1973

Marshall, Nancy, ca. 1781-1860

Martin, Eliza Gathright, 1847-1929

Martin’s Fort (Bourbon County, Ky.)

Mastodon – Ohio River Valley

Medicine – Kentucky

Menefee, Richard J., 1837-1893

Mercer, S. C. (Samuel C.)

Mexican War, 1846-1848

Mexican War, 1846-1848 – Causes

Miller, Christopher, b. ca. 1768

Mines and mineral resources – Kentucky

Morton, David, 1833-1898

Morton family

Muhlenberg County (Ky.) – History

Musicians – Kentucky

National characteristics, American

National Statuary Hall (United States Capitol, Washington, D. C.)

Nelson County (Ky.) – History

Numbers in the Bible

Ohio River – Power utilization

Oneida Baptist Institute

Ovariotomy

Paper industry – Kentucky – Louisville

Perry County (Ind.) – History

Perryville, Battle of, Perryville, Ky., 1862 – Personal narratives

Physicians – Kentucky – Biography

Pine Mountain Settlement School (Pine Mountain, Ky.)

Pineville (Ky.) – History

Pirtle, Alfred, b. 1837

Poetry, Modern – 20th century

Pollard, Joseph, Jr.

Porter, James D., 1810-1859

Portland cement industry

Portland (Louisville, Ky.) – History

Presidents – United States – Election – 1844

Preston, William, 1816-1887

Price, Samuel Woodson, 1828-1918

Pusey, Henry K., b. 1827

Quantrill, William Clarke, 1837-1865

Railroads – History – 19th century

Ranck, George Washington, 1841-1900

Richardson, T. G. (Tobias Gibson), 1827-1892

Ridgely, Frederick, 1757-1824

Riots – Kentucky

Ritchie, John, 1752-1814

Rivers, R. H. (Richard Henderson), 1814-1894

Roads – Kentucky – History

Rogers, Joseph M, 1742-1834 – Tomb

Rothert, Otto Arthur, 1871-1956

Rowley, William – Will

Ruddle’s Fort (Bourbon County, Ky.)

Russell family

St. Clair, Arthur, 1734-1818

Salt industry and trade – Kentucky

Sanders, George Nicholas, 1812-1873

Shane, John Dabney, 1812-1864 – Library

Shelby County (Ky.) – History

Shelby, Evan, 1719-1794

Shiloh, Battle of, Tenn., 1862 – Personal narratives

Shippingport (Ky.) – History

Slaves – Biography

Solomon, William King, 1775-1854

Speed family

Speed, John, 1772-1840 – Family

Speed, Joshua F. (Joshua Fry), 1814-1882

Stanton, Henry T. (Henry Thompson), 1834-1898

Steamboats – Kentucky

Sue Bennett College

Superstition – Kentucky

Taggart, John D., 1822-1898

Tarascon, John D., 1765-1825

Tarascon, Louis Anastasius, b. 1759

Tardiveau, Pierre, d. ca. 1835

Tates Creek Baptist Church (Louisville, Ky.)

Taylor family

Taylor, Richard, 1749-1825

Taylor, Zachary, 1784-1850

Taylor, Zachary, 1784-1850 – Tomb

Tecumseh, Shawnee Chief, 1768-1813 – Death and burial

Theater – Kentucky

Thixton, Marie M.

Todd, Lyman Beecher, 1831-1902

Tradewater River Region (Ky.) – History

Transylvania University

Trimble Co. (Ky.) – History

United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 – Medical care

United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 – Underground movements

United States. Navy

Vendetta – Southern States

Wabash Campaign, 1786

Walker, Thomas, 1715-1794

Walter, Lewis Allwhyn, 1868-1951

Waring, John U., 1790-1846?

Wayne, Anthony, 1745-1796

Wayne’s Campaign, 1794

Weir, James, b. 1821

Whiskey – Kentucky

White, John, 1822-1902

White, Levi, b. 1803 – Correspondence

Wilkinson, James, 1757-1825

Wintersmith, Richard C., 1822-1902

Wood, William F.

Yandell, David Wendel, 1826-1898