Clark-Strater-Watson Family Papers, 1850-1970
Held by The Filson Historical Society
Creator: Clark-Strater-Watson family
Title: Papers, 1850-1970
Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Curator of Special Collections.
Size of Collection: 5.28 cubic feet
Location Number: Mss./A/C595
Scope and Content Note
Papers of the allied families of Clark, Strater and Watson families of Ontario, Canada, and Louisville and Henderson, Ky. Correspondence for approximately the first 40 years of the collection centers on William Clark (1794-1881) and his sons, James (1830-1902) and David (d.1800). The elder Clark immigrated to Canada from Scotland and his sons to Kentucky. Letters discuss Canadian life, the Fenian Movement, a Canadian opinion of abolitionist, John Brown, slavery, possible union with the U.S., the Civil War, and political and economic conditions in both countries. William Clark emigrated from Scotland to Scarboro, Ontario, Canada in 1838.
The bulk of the collection focuses on James Clark’s daughters, Jessie Clark (1868-1954). Letters between her, her first husband William Strater (1866-1908), their son, Edward Strater (1894-1966), and her second husband, Col. Alexander M. Watson, and others, provide a portrait of the activities, lifestyles, and personal relationships of an affluent, socially active Louisville family.
Biographical Note
The Clark, Strater and Watson families were located in Ontario, Canada, and Louisville and Henderson, Ky. The Clark line originally hailed from Scotland, with William Clark emigrating from Scotland to Scarboro, Ontario, Canada in 1838.
Folder List
Folder 1: Correspondence, 1850-1854
Folder 2: Correspondence, 1855-1859
Folder 3: Correspondence, 1860-1864
Folder 4: Correspondence, 1865-1866
Folder 5: Correspondence, 1867-1869
Folder 6: Correspondence, 1870-1874
Folder 7: Correspondence, 1875-1879
Folder 8: Correspondence, 1880-1884
Folder 9: Correspondence, 1885-1887
Folder 10: Correspondence, 1888
Folder 11: Correspondence, 1889
Folder 12: Correspondence, 1890
Folder 13: Correspondence, 1891
Folder 14: Correspondence, 1892
Folder 15: Correspondence, January-April 1893
Folder 16: Correspondence, May 1-18, 1893
Folder 17: Correspondence, May 19-31, 1893
Folder 18: Correspondence, June-July 1893
Folder 19: Correspondence, August 1-10, 1893
Folder 20: Correspondence, August 11-31, 1893
Folder 21: Correspondence, September 1-15, 1893
Folder 22: Correspondence, September 16-30, 1893
Folder 23: Correspondence, October – December, 1893
Folder 24: Correspondence, 1894
Folder 25: Correspondence, 1895
Folder 26: Correspondence, 1896
Folder 27: Correspondence, 1897
Folder 28: Correspondence, 1898
Folder 29: Correspondence, 1899
Folder 30: Correspondence, 1900
Folder 31: Correspondence, 1901
Folder 32: Correspondence, 1902
Folder 33: Correspondence, 1903
Folder 34: Correspondence, 1904
Folder 35: Correspondence, 1905
Folder 36: Correspondence, 1906
Folder 37: Correspondence, 1907
Folder 38: Correspondence, 1908
Folder 39: Correspondence, 1909
Folder 40: Correspondence, 1910
Folder 41: Correspondence, 1911
Folder 42: Correspondence, January-March 1912
Folder 43: Correspondence, April-June 1912
Folder 44: Correspondence, July-December 1912
Folder 45: Correspondence, January 1913
Folder 46: Correspondence, February-March 1913
Folder 47: Correspondence, April 1913
Folder 48: Correspondence, May-June 1913
Folder 49: Correspondence, July-December 1913
Folder 50: Correspondence, January-October 1914
Folder 51: Correspondence, Nov.-December 1914
Folder 52: Correspondence, January-June 1915
Folder 53: Correspondence, July-December 1915
Folder 54: Correspondence, January-June 1916
Folder 55: Correspondence, July-December 1916
Folder 56: Correspondence, 1917
Folder 57: Correspondence, January-July 1918
Folder 58: Correspondence, July-December 1918
Folder 59: Correspondence, January-June 1919
Folder 60: Correspondence, July-December 1919
Folder 61: Correspondence, January-July 1920
Folder 62: Correspondence, July-December 1920
Folder 63: Correspondence, 1921
Folder 64: Correspondence, 1922
Folder 65: Correspondence, 1923
Folder 66: Correspondence, 1924
Folder 67: Correspondence, 1925
Folder 68: Correspondence, 1926
Folder 69: Correspondence, January-August 1927
Folder 70: Correspondence, September-December 1927
Folder 71: Correspondence, 1928
Folder 72: Correspondence, 1929
Folder 73: Correspondence, January-June 1930
Folder 74: Correspondence, July-December 1930
Folder 75: Correspondence, January-August 1931
Folder 76: Correspondence, September-December 1931
Folder 77: Correspondence, January-April 1932
Folder 78: Correspondence, May-December 1932
Folder 79: Correspondence, 1933
Folder 80: Correspondence, 1934
Folder 81: Correspondence, 1935
Folder 82: Correspondence, 1936
Folder 83: Correspondence, 1937
Folder 84: Correspondence, January-July 1938
Folder 85: Correspondence, August-December 1938
Folder 86: Correspondence, January-March 1939
Folder 87: Correspondence, April-December 1939
Folder 88: Correspondence, 1940-42
Folder 89: Correspondence, 1943
Folder 90: Correspondence, 1944-45
Folder 91: Correspondence, 1946-1949
Folder 92: Correspondence, 1950-1970
Folder 93: Correspondence, Undated and letter fragments
Folder 94: Newspaper clippings, 1914-1952, and undated
Folder 95: Genealogical information
Folder 96: Miscellaneous
Subject Headings
Abolitionists – Canada – History
Abolitionists – United States – History
Audobon, John James, 1785-1851
Banks and banking – Kentucky – History
Brown, John, 1800-1859
Bryan, William Jennings, 1860-1925
Canada – Economic conditions
Canada – History – Fenian Invasions, 1866-1870
Clark family
Clark, James, 1830-1902
Courtship – Kentucky – History
Jacob, Charles Donald, 1838-1898
Joffre, Joseph Jacques Cesaire, 1852-1931
Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875
Leakey, Mary Douglas, 1913
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
Louisville (Ky.) – Politics and government
Louisville (Ky.) – Social life and customs
Marconi, Guglielmo, marchese, 1874-1937
Mussolini, Benito, 1883-1945
Pendennis Club (Louisville, Ky.)
Postwar reconstruction
Slavery – United States – History
Spanish-American War, 1898
Stephens, Alexander Hamilton, 1812-1883
Strater, Edward LaNauze, 1894-1966
Sugar growing – Canada – History
Tobacco – Kentucky – History
Tyler, Henry Samuel, 1851-1896
United States – History – 1913-1921
United States – History – 1933-1945
United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865
Women – Suffrage – United States – History
