Archives

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator:  Hutchings, E. T., 1886-1958

Title:  Mrs. A. T. Hert residence architectural drawings, 1916-1965

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

Size of Collection:  2 ovsz. folders

Location Number:  Mss. AR H973

Biographical Note

Eusebius T. (“E. T.”) Hutchings (1886-1958) was born in Louisville, as was his father, architect John Bacon Hutchings (1859-1916). E. T. attended the University of Kentucky for two years, and then enrolled at Cornell University, departing in 1909 to continue his studies in Hanover and other European cities. Following his work with his father and brother and service in World War I, Hutchings returned to Louisville in 1919 and opened his namesake firm. His roster of notable commissions included the vast horse farm, Spindletop Hall, in Lexington, Ky.; the restoration of Federal Hill (also known as “My Old Kentucky Home”) in Bardstown, Ky.; and the remodeling and expansion of the Alvin T. Hert estate, Lyndon Hall, outside of Louisville (now the Hurstbourne Country Club). He also designed many fine residences in Louisville and the Central Presbyterian Church. He additionally served as associate architect to Carrere & Hastings for the design and construction of the Louisville War Memorial Auditorium.

References:

“Architects’ Biographies,” in Blackburn, Winfrey P., Country Houses of Louisville, 1899-1939, (Louisville, Ky.: Butler Books, 2011), p. 342.

Scope and Content Note

A set of architectural drawings related to the remodeling and expansion of the Alvin T. Hert estate, Lyndon Hall, outside of Louisville (now the Hurstbourne Country Club). The center section of the present Club House of Hurstbourne Country Club is the oldest part of the building and was originally a private residence. Its exact date of construction is unknown, but it bears great resemblance to Design XXXI in A. J. Downing’s The Architecture of Country Houses, published in 1850. In 1928, the present owner, Mrs. A. T. Hert, engaged architect E. T. Hutchings to remodel and enlarge the house for her residence. Hutchings incorporated the existing building into a grand 2 ½ story brick Gothic Revival structure. Mrs. Hert named the house Lyndon Hall and the surrounding acreage Hurstbourne Farms. In 1949, the estate was purchased by L. LeRoy Highbaugh Sr. and Jr. and the name changed to Highbaugh Farms. The Highbaughs lived in the house for a number of years; in 1965 they began to develop the estate into a community to be known as Hurstbourne, with plans for a shopping center, offices, schools, churches, and also a country club complex with the stately Lyndon Hall as its club house.  Lyndon Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Also present in the collection are drainage & sewage disposal plans for the Hert property, and property maps for the developing Hurstbourne area.

Related Collections:

Highbaugh Enterprises, Inc. Architectural drawings, 1941-1979 (Mss. AR H638)

Lyndon Hall and Lyndon Cottage research material (014×58)

Lyndon Hall and Lyndon Cottage photographs (014PC59)

Marble bust of Mrs. Sallie Hert; “Hurstbourne Farms” sign (2014.33.1-2)

Folder List

Folders

Folder 1:  Alterations & Additions to Residence for Mrs. A. T. Hert, 1928

Folder 2:  Drainage & sewage disposal plans for property of Mrs. A. T. Hert; Hurstbourne property maps, 1916-1965

Subject Headings

Architecture – Design and plans.

Architecture, Domestic – Kentucky – Louisville.

Architecture – Kentucky – Louisville.

Country clubs – Kentucky – Louisville.

Hurstbourne Country Club (Louisville, Ky.)

Hurstbourne (Louisville, Ky.)

Louisville (Ky.) – Buildings, structures, etc.

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator: Hammon, Stratton O.

Title: Photograph Collection, ca. 1930s-1960s.

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

Size of Collection: 275 images & one album

Location Number: 998PC46

Scope and Content Note

Black and white photographs of houses and other buildings designed by Stratton O. Hammon,
Architect. Includes a few color transparencies. For list of addresses of homes and buildings
included in photos, see below.

Item 998PC46.63 is a photograph of Stratton Hammon in front of his home in 1975. This item is
also a Courier-Journal photograph and cannot be reproduced.

Items 998PC46.117 – .127 are photographs of Kentucky doorways.

Item 998PC46.129 is a group photograph with Governor Simeon E. Willis.

Item 998PC46.245 is a photograph of a Stratton O. Hammon exhibit at the J.B. Speed Museum
from February 1931.

Item 998PC46.281 is a wrapped album containing World War II photographs of Bowman Field.

Biographical Note 

Stratton Owen Hammon was born in 1904 in Louisville, Ky. By the age of 18 he was working for the firm M. J. Murphy as a draftsman and learning architecture. He left M. J. Murphy in 1929 to start his own business. His business quickly grew, and he was recognized as a first-class architect not only in the city of Louisville but in national magazines such as Better Homes and Gardens, McCall’s Magazine and Good Housekeeping Magazine.
During the Second World War he enlisted as a Captain in the Army Corps of Engineers in the summer of 1942 and was placed in charge of the construction of an airfield in Columbus, Ind. When that job was done, he was then sent to oversee the construction of the airfield at Sturgis, Ky. By spring of 1943 he was promoted to Major and sent to the Regional Office of the Corps of Engineers in Louisville where he was involved in such projects as construction at the Naval Ordinance Plant, Bowman and Standiford Fields, Nichols General Hospital, and Jeffersonville Quartermaster Depot.
Hammon’s army career took a change when he was classified as fit for combat and sent to the University of Virginia to be trained in Military Occupational Government. He was then sent over to England and then to France where he arrived a couple of weeks after D-Day. Hammon then became an officer in the Museum, Fine Arts and Archives Division of the Allied Forces. He worked in France and the Low Countries surveying historical sites for damage and or looting. He eventually was assigned to the SHAEF in Paris before coming home to the United States just before the war ended.
After the war he returned to Louisville and started practicing as an architect. His son Neal joined him to form Hammon and Hammon in the 1950s. They designed many houses as well as doing work for such companies as Reynolds Aluminum and General Box as well as government jobs for Jefferson County, Ky., Jefferson County, Ind., Orange County, Ind., and the Corps of Engineers. Hammon practiced his trade up until his death in 1997.

Photograph List 

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator:  Verhoeff, Mary (1872-1962) and Carolyn Verhoeff (1875-1975)

Title:  Papers, 1895-1988

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

Size of Collection:  1 cu. ft.

Location Number:  Mss. A V514b

Biographical Note

Mary Verhoeff (1872-1962) and Carolyn Verhoeff (1875-1975) were born to Herman Verhoeff, Jr. (1827-1893) and Mary Jane Parker (1836-1924), members of one of Louisville’s richest families. Both sisters went to Vassar College in New York, graduating in 1895 and 1897, respectively. The two never married; instead, they were lifetime companions, living together on Second Street in Louisville, attending First Unitarian Church, and spending their time on traveling and activism.

Parents: Herman and Mary Jane

Herman Verhoeff, Jr., immigrated from Germany to America with his parents in 1836, eventually settling in Louisville, Kentucky, where he and his younger brother, Otto Verhoeff, became leading pioneers in the grain and commission business under the firm name Verhoeff Brothers. In 1873, the brothers built the first grain elevator south of the Ohio River. This business venture succeeded spectacularly, and Louisville became an essential stop for trains transporting grain from the Western to the Southern states. After Otto’s death in 1870, Herman left an interest in the firm to his nephew Henry Strater, and Herman remained President until his death in 1893.

Mary Jane Parker was born in Kentucky and married Herman Verhoeff in 1859. Mary and Carolyn had two older siblings: Minerva “Minnie” Verhoeff Hartwell (1862-1926) and Dr. Frederick Herman Verhoeff (1874-1968), who was a famous eye pathologist who served as Professor of Ophthalmic research at Harvard Medical School and Consulting Chief of Ophthalmology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Frederick married Margaret F. Lougee (1878-1962) in 1902, and they had two daughters, Mary Josephine Verhoeff (1907-1924) and Margaret Verhoeff Vested (1918-2016). (NOTE: Margaret Verhoeff Vested was married three times in her life and is referred to throughout the collection by the surnames “Vested,” “McCarthy,” and “Wyper.” When she is mentioned in this finding aid, she will be referred to simply as “Margaret Verhoeff Vested.”)

Mary Verhoeff

Mary Verhoeff received an M.A. degree in geography and sociology from Columbia University after graduating from Vassar College. She wrote two books: The Kentucky Mountains, published in 1911, and The Kentucky River Navigation, published in 1917. Though her major interests were scholarship and research, Mary Verhoeff also devoted a great deal of her time to civic activities. She was a leader of the Vassar alumnae club, which raised money to send promising Kentucky students to Vassar and promoted higher education for women. As a prominent member of the Monday Afternoon Club, she helped sponsor lectures, concerts, and other cultural events. She joined women’s civic organizations that provided playgrounds, supported the Louisville Free Public Library, and worked to improve sanitation.

From 1911 on, Mary was a member of the Filson Club (now the Filson Historical Society). While serving on the Club’s Library Committee, she assisted in reading, arranging, and cataloguing old letters, manuscripts, and documents. She did this “with no thought of reward,” stated a tribute from the Filson Club, “except the satisfaction derived from worthwhile work well done.”

Carolyn Verhoeff

Carolyn Verhoeff did her post-graduate work at Radcliffe College after also graduating from Vassar. Carolyn worked as a kindergarten teacher until 1903 and published three books for kindergarten-aged children: All About Johnnie Jones, Four Little Fosters, and Love Me, Love My Dog. These books centered around the humane treatment of animals, one of Carolyn’s greatest passions.

Carolyn later became president of the Kentucky Animal Rescue League, publicized the horrifying conditions at the city dog pound, and campaigned for humane treatment of animals used for medical research at the University of Louisville. The medical school consented to inspections, which Carolyn did herself for many years. In 1959, she was honored by the National Society for Medical Research, and in 1963 the University of Louisville School of Medicine dedicated the Carolyn Verhoeff Animal Care Center to her. Both Mary and Carolyn were also dedicated suffragists.

Sources:

H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online, Carolyn Verhoeff (1876-1975): Louisville Animal Welfare Advocate and Suffragist

H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online, Mary Verhoeff, 1872 (?)-1962 Louisville Geographer and Suffragist

Scope and Content Note

This collection documents the personal and professional lives of Mary Verhoeff (1872-1962) and Carolyn Verhoeff (1875-1975) through correspondence, newspaper clippings, journals, and publications. The Verhoeff sisters were lifetime companions who never married, instead devoting their lives to activism and community outreach.

Folders 1-6 contain personal and professional correspondence. The personal correspondence in folders 1-4 consists of letters from family members about travel, weather, birth announcements, and health. Folder 5 contains Carolyn’s correspondence about animal welfare. Folder 6 contains correspondence related to Vassar College.

Folders 7-8 contain newspaper clippings related to Mary and Carolyn, respectively.

Folders 9-14 contain materials related to Carolyn’s personal and professional life. Folder 9 contains materials related to kindergarten education. Folders 10-11 contain materials related to animal welfare. Folder 12 contains miscellaneous creative writings by Carolyn. Folders 13-14 relate to travel.

Folder 15 contains property appraisals for Carolyn Verhoeff and Margaret Lougee Verhoeff (1878-1962). Folders 16-17 contain death notices for Mary and Carolyn, respectively. Folder 18 contains the diary of Matilda Verhoeff (1840-1927), Mary and Carolyn’s aunt. Folder 19 contains the schoolwork of Carolyn Verhoeff, Margaret Lougee Verhoeff, Mary Josephine Verhoeff (1907-1924), and Margaret Verhoeff Vested (1918-2016).

Folder 20 contains Minerva “Minnie” C. Verhoeff Hartwell’s (1862-1926) graduation materials from the Louisville Female Seminary. Folder 21 contains the last will and testament of Annie S. Symonds (d. 1934), cousin of Margaret Lougee Verhoeff.

Folders 22-24 contain genealogical charts, maps, and notes for the Verhoeff and Parker families. Folder 25 contains correspondence written in German. Folder 26 contains miscellaneous materials related to the Daughters of the Revolution national society. Volumes 27-30 contain genealogical information for the Verhoeff family.

Related collections:

Verhoeff, Henry, 1863-1942. Papers, 1883-1920. (Mss. A V514a)

Verhoeff, Mary, 1871-1962. Papers, 1907-1960. (Mss. A V514)

Verhoeff Sisters Photograph Collection (022PC3)

Folder List

Box 1

Folder 1: Mary and Carolyn Verhoeff correspondence, 1926-1953

Folder 2: Mary Verhoeff personal correspondence, 1905-1960

Folder 3: Carolyn Verhoeff personal correspondence, 1903-1968 and n.d.

Folder 4: Correspondence to/from family, 1923-1955

Folder 5: Carolyn Verhoeff correspondence concerning animal welfare, 1921-1969

Folder 6: Vassar College correspondence and class bulletin, 1907-1949

Folder 7: Mary Verhoeff clippings and publications, 1911-1973

Folder 8: Carolyn Verhoeff clippings and publications, 1924-1968

Folder 9: Kindergarten and education material, 1911-1964

Folder 10: Animal welfare / Animal Rescue League material, 1927-1963

Folder 11: Medical Research Dog heroism medal, 1961

Folder 12: Carolyn Verhoeff miscellaneous literary manuscripts, 1947-1967

Folder 13: Carolyn Verhoeff “European Tour” diary, 1901

Folder 14: Carolyn Verhoeff passport, LFPL certificate, and National Centenarian’s Reunion brochure, 1901-1975

Folder 15: Property appraisals of Carolyn Verhoeff and Margaret Lougee Verhoeff, 1971-1983

Folder 16: Mary Verhoeff “in memoriam” material, 1962

Folder 17: Carolyn Verhoeff death and memorial material, 1975-1976

Folder 18: Matilda Verhoeff diary, 1918-1922

Folder 19: Schoolwork of Carolyn Verhoeff, Margaret Lougee Verhoeff, Mary Josephine Verhoeff, and Margaret Verhoeff Vested, 1895-1937

Folder 20: Minerva “Minnie” C. Verhoeff Hartwell Louisville Female Seminary material, 1880

Folder 21: Annie S. Symonds’ will, 1936

Folder 22: Genealogical manuscript “Parkers in America,” 1617-1859, with annotations by Mary Verhoeff, n.d.

Folder 23: Genealogical charts, n.d.

Folder 24: Miscellaneous genealogical notes and clippings, 1896-1990

Folder 25: German correspondence, ca. 1923

Folder 26: Daughters of the American Revolution, 1939-1941

Volume 27: Binder of genealogical information, n.d.

Volume 28: Binder of genealogical information, n.d.

Volume 29: Binder of genealogical information, n.d.

Volume 30: Binder of genealogical information, n.d.

Subject Headings

Actions and defenses.

Anderson, Marion, 1897-1993.

Animal experimentation.

Animal models in research.

Animal rescue – Kentucky.

Animal welfare.

Authorship.

Birth announcements.

Books and reading.

Christmas.

Creative writing.

Death notices.

Diaries.

Dog attacks.

Draft – Law and legislation – Vietnam (Democratic Republic).

Europe – History.

Female seminaries.

Filson Club.

Genealogy.

General Society of the Daughters of the Revolution.

Geography.

German language.

Hartwell, Minerva Verhoeff, 1862-1926.

Health – Kentucky.

Home repair and improvement.

Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919.

Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973.

Kentucky – History – 20^th century.

Kindergarten.

Louisville Free Public Library.

Medical colleges.

Mourning customs – Kentucky.

Mythology, Greek.

Mythology, Roman.

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.

Symonds, Annie S., d. 1934.

Travel – 20th century.

Travel – Europe.

University of Louisville.

Valuation – United States.

Vassar College.

Verhoeff, Margaret Lougee, 1878-1962.

Verhoeff, Mary Josephine, 1907-1924.

Verhoeff, Matilda, 1840-1927.

Vested, Margaret Verhoeff McCarthy Wyper. 1918-2016.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975.

Weather – Kentucky – Louisville.

Women – Education – Kentucky.

Women – Social life and customs.

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator:  Plymouth Congregational Church (Louisville, Ky.)

Title:  Records, ca. 1916-1977, 1992

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

Size of Collection:  0.5 cubic foot, 1 boxed volume

Location Number:  Mss. BA P738

Historical Note

Plymouth Congregational Church was founded in Louisville, Kentucky in 1877, when a group of congregants broke off from Center Street Church and identified themselves as Congregational Methodist. Services were first held on Jefferson Street between Ninth and Tenth and later in a former synagogue on Preston Street and then back to a location on Ninth Street.

In 1891, the National Council of Congregational Churches’ American Missionary Association sent Rev. E. G. Harris, a recent graduate of Howard Divinity School, to Plymouth. Rev. Harris arranged the purchase of property for the church at the corner of Seventeenth and West Chestnut streets. Rev. Harris was a member of the Interracial Commission, served as board president for the Colored Orphans’ Home, and married Rachel Davis, a librarian at the Western Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library. He helped direct fundraising for the construction of a new Gothic Revival style church at Seventeenth and West Chestnut, completed in 1929. Plymouth Congregational Church membership was primarily made up of Black middle- and upper-class families and included prominent figures in Louisville and Kentucky civil rights struggles, such as Dr. James Bond, Lyman T. Johnson, and Hortense Houston Young.

Rev. Harris oversaw the establishment of the Plymouth Settlement House, which opened next door to the church in 1917 and served as an extension of the church’s mission. It was outfitted with offices, classrooms, a kitchen, a large auditorium, and a dormitory on the third floor for young Black women who came to Louisville to work as domestic laborers. Programs at the settlement house over time included a theater group, a Boy Scouts troop, camps, activities for teenagers and for senior citizens, childcare services, and family counseling. Morris F. X. Jeff, Jr. served as executive director of the Plymouth Settlement House in 1966-1972 and organized free adult education courses, campaigns to oppose housing segregation laws, and voter registration drives. In 1973, the name of the institution was changed to Plymouth Urban Center.

Members of a Sunday school operated by the German St. Peter’s Evangelical Church formed the West Louisville Evangelical Church in 1915. The congregation built a church in the Shawnee neighborhood at 245 South 41st Street in 1916.  A new sanctuary was constructed circa 1926-1927. In 1957, the church changed its name to West Louisville United Church of Christ. In 1986, the West Louisville United Church of Christ closed due to declining membership caused by white flight and problems maintaining the property. The remaining congregation became members of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ.

Sources:

Benjamin D. Berry Jr., “The Plymouth Congregational Church of Louisville, Kentucky,” Phylon, 42 (1981), 224-32

Plymouth Complex Individual Landmark draft designation report, Metro Historic Landmarks and Preservation Districts Commission, March 19, 2020, https://louisvilleky.gov/document/pds20-landmark-0002plymouthdraftdesignationreportpdf

Clarence Matthews, “Church going out of Existence after 71 years in West End,” Louisville Courier Journal, 24 November 1986.

Scope and Content Note

The collection consists of twentieth-century records of Plymouth Congregational Church, founded in 1877 in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Plymouth Settlement House, which opened in 1917 as an extension of the church’s mission. The church and settlement house were located next to each other in the Russell neighborhood at the corner of Seventeenth and West Chestnut streets. The church’s membership was primarily made up of middle- and upper-class Black families, and the settlement house provided social services to neighborhood residents. Included in the collection are board minutes, correspondence, annual reports, and publications. The collection also includes a register of the West Louisville Evangelical Church in the Shawnee neighborhood at 245 South 41st Street.

Folders 1-8 contain Plymouth Congregational Church records. Early-twentieth-century records include a ca. 1917 property map and board minutes and financial records from 1923-1936. Correspondence from Rev. E. G. Harris and other church officials to Hattie Bishop Speed document fundraising for and construction of the new church building completed in 1929. Annual reports and publications from 1941-1977 provide information about church leadership, membership, financial accounts, and church activities. The annual reports also discuss programs at the Plymouth Settlement House. A 1977 publication commemorating the centennial anniversary of the church includes historical information and images of church buildings, pastors, and members. In the centennial publication, an image with the identifying information, “Typical of earlier church picnics,” was taken at the entrance to Mammoth Cave and includes the Black guide Matt Bransford lying down in front of the church group. Correspondence and miscellaneous records from the 1960s-1970s relate to fundraising and budgets, a dispute over requests for the resignation of Rev. A. D. Pickney, a sermon by Rev. Benjamin D. Berry addressing the meaning of “Black Power,” and relations with neighborhood residents.

Folders 9 and 10 contain Plymouth Settlement House records. Reports from 1938-1939 and ca. 1970 and board minutes from 1967-1971 detail the settlement house’s programs for neighborhood residents, including dormitories for “working girls,” activities for teens and senior citizens, a childcare center, family counseling, day and residential camps, a theater group, adult education classes, and a community health kitchen.

Volume 11 is an oversized ledger used by West Louisville Evangelical Church in the Shawnee neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky, to register marriages, baptisms, confirmation classes, and deaths among its mostly white members from 1916-1945. Members’ attendance at communion services is also recorded for 1964-1966. Loose inserts in the back of the ledger include a 1935 license to solemnize marriages for Rev. Rausch, a 1968 request for a baptism record, and a 1992 Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ bulletin. A digitized version of the register can be found here.

A portion of the collection has been digitized and is available on the Filson’s Digital Project site here: https://filsonhistorical.omeka.net/collections/show/90 .

Folder List

Box 1

Folder 1: Church and settlement house miscellaneous records, 1916-1917, ca. 19A43

Folder 2: Church board minutes and financial records ledger, 1923-1936

Folder 3: Correspondence to Hattie Bishop Speed, 1928-1930

Folder 4: Church annual reports and publications, 1938-1961

Folder 5: Church annual reports and publications, 1964-1969

Folder 6: Church annual reports and publications, 1970-1977

Folder 7: Church miscellaneous records, ca. 1959-1967

Folder 8: Church miscellaneous records, ca. 1967-1977

Folder 9: Settlement house publications, 1928-1939, ca. 1970

Folder 10: Settlement house board minutes and miscellaneous records, 1967-1971

Oversize

Volume 11: West Louisville Evangelical Church register, 1916-1946, 1964-1968, 1992 [boxed]

Subject Headings

African American children – Kentucky – Louisville.

African American churches – Kentucky – Louisville.

African American clergy – Kentucky – Louisville.

African American household employees – Kentucky – Louisville.

African American neighborhoods – Kentucky – Louisville.

African Americans – Kentucky – Louisville.

Baptismal records – Kentucky – Louisville.

Black power – United States.

Bond, Dr. James, 1863-1929.

Boy Scouts of America – Kentucky – Louisville.

Camps – Kentucky – Louisville.

Children – Services for – Kentucky – Louisville.

Church buildings – Kentucky – Louisville.

Churches – Kentucky – Louisville.

Community centers – Kentucky – Louisville.

Community theater – Kentucky – Louisville.

Day care centers – Kentucky – Louisville.

Deacons – Kentucky – Louisville.

Deaconesses – Kentucky – Louisville.

Discrimination in housing – Kentucky – Louisville.

Faith based human services – Kentucky – Louisville.

Family counseling – Kentucky – Louisville.

Fund raising – Kentucky – Louisville.

Harris, Rev. Everett G., 1866-1936.

Harris, Rachel Davis, 1869-1969.

Housing – Kentucky – Louisville.

Johnson, Lyman T., 1906-1997.

Koinonia Farm.

Louisville (Ky.) – History.

Louisville Municipal College.

Mammoth Cave (Ky.)

Marriage records – Kentucky – Louisville.

Older people – Services for – Kentucky – Louisville.

Plymouth Settlement House (Louisville, Ky.)

Race relations.

Racism – Kentucky – Louisville.

Sigma Pi Phi.

Social settlements – Kentucky – Louisville.

Speed, Hattie Bishop, 1858-1942.

United Church of Christ.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975 – Veterans.

West Louisville Evangelical Church (Louisville, Ky.)

Women volunteers – Kentucky – Louisville.

Young, Hortense Houston, 1903-1977.

Youth – Services for – Kentucky – Louisville.

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator:  Clark-Strater-Hill Family

Title:  Papers, 1675-2011

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

Size of Collection:  10 cu. ft. and 1 ovsz. box

Location Number:  Mss. A C595a

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.

William Clark’s son, James Charles Clark (1830-1902) was born in Scotland and immigrated to Canada with his parents in 1838. In 1850, he relocated to Louisville, Kentucky. James Charles Clark and his wife, Jessie LaNauze Clark (1837-1908), had seven children including Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson (1868-1954).

Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson married William Edward Strater (1866-1908) in 1893. Together they had a son, Edward LaNauze Strater (1894-1966). Following William Edward Strater’s death in 1909, Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater married Major Alexander “Sandy” MacKenzie Watson (1883-1957) in 1913.

Edward LaNauze Strater served in World War I as a volunteer ambulance driver in the American Field Service. He received in the Croix de Guerre by the French government. He married Barbara Milton Watkins (1898-1971), a stage actress from Louisville, Kentucky. Together they had two children, Sylvia Barret Strater Hill (1928-2015) and Edward Pendleton “Pen” Strater (1924-2004).

Sylvia Barret Strater Hill married James Brents Hill Jr. in 1950 and together had three children.

Scope and Content Note

The collection consists of correspondence, memory books, diaries, plays, short stories, and ephemera from several generations of the related Clark, Strater and Hill families, but primarily from Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, her husband William Edward Strater, their child Edward LaNauze Strater and his wife Barbara Milton Strater (née Watkins).

The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence among several generations of the family, and memory books and diaries written by Barbara Milton Strater which relate to her career in theatre, family life, and travels abroad.

Related Collections:

Clark-Strater-Hill photograph collection (021PC35)

Clark- Strater-Hill Museum collection

Clark-Strater-Watson manuscript collection Mss. A C595

Folder List

Box I

Folder 1: Correspondence from William Clark to Robert Clark, 1852

Folder 2: Correspondence from William Clark to James Clark, 1852- 1864

Folder 3: Correspondence from Robert Stevenson to James Clark, 1863-1866

Folder 4: Correspondence from nephews to James Clark, 1863-1896

Folder 5: Correspondence from David and Georgie Clark to James Clark, 1865

Folder 6: Correspondence from Isabella to James Clark, 1865

Folder 7: Correspondence from James Clark to unidentified “Mr. Clark,” 1866

Folder 8: Correspondence from James Clark to William Clark, 1866- 1870

Folder 9: Correspondence from various senders to Jessie LaNauze Clark, 1872-1908

Folder 10: Correspondence from James Clark to Jessie LaNauze Clark, 1877- 1898

Folder 11: Correspondence from Jessie LaNauze Clark to James Clark, 1880, 1892

Folder 12: Correspondence from Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson to James Clark, 1883

Folder 13: Correspondence from James Clark (son) to James Clark, 1887

Folder 14: Correspondence from Charles Strater to William Edward Strater, 1889-1890

Folder 15: Correspondence from Frank Chapman to Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, 1889-1893

Folder 16: Various correspondence to and from Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater, 1889-1932

Folder 17: Correspondence from Jessie LaNauze Clark to her grandson Edward LaNauze Strater, 1892-1908

Folder 18: Correspondence from William Edward Strater to Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, 1893-1897

Folder 19: Correspondence from William Edward Strater to Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, 1893-1900

Folder 20: Correspondence from Jessie LaNauze Clark to daughter Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, 1895-1908

Folder 21: Correspondence from Augusta Strater to William Edward Strater, after 1893

Folder 22: Correspondence from George McNair (cousin) to Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, 1894

Folder 23: Correspondence from Sue Barret Milton Watkins to Florence Marie Clark Milton, 1895

Folder 24: Correspondence from Annie and Augusta Strater to William Edward Strater, Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, and Edward LaNauze Strater, 1902

Folder 25: Correspondence between Barbara M. W. Strater and various Middle Bass Island friends photographs and real photo postcards, 1903-1935

Folder 26: Correspondence from James Clark Jr. to William Edward Strater, 1907

Folder 27: Correspondence to and from William Agnew Milton, 1907-1911

Folder 28: Correspondence from Jessie LaNauze Clark to her children including Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, 1908

Folder 29: Correspondence from Edward LaNauze Strater to grandmother (likely Jessie LaNauze Clark), 1908

Folder 30: Correspondence from Edward LaNauze Strater to Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson and Major Alexander M. Watson, 1909-1914

Folder 31: Correspondence from Jessie LaNause Clark Strater Watson to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1909-1915

Folder 32: Correspondence to Edward LaNauze Strater from Charles Strater, 1910-1928

Folder 33: Correspondence between Frank Chapman and Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, 1913-1931

Folder 34: Correspondence between Frank Chapman and Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, 1934-1963

Folder 35: Correspondence from Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1915

Folder 36: Correspondence from Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1915

Folder 37: Correspondence from Isabel Clark Courtenay to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1916

Folder 38: Correspondence from Sarah Collins to Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, 1916

Folder 39: Correspondence from Jessie Clark Strater Watson and Mackenzie Watson to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1916

Folder 40: Correspondence from Jessie Clark Strater Watson and Mackenzie Watson to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1916-1917

Folder 41: Correspondence from various senders to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1916-1932

Folder 42: Correspondence from unidentified senders to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1917

Folder 43: Correspondence from Edward LaNauze Strater to Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, 1917

Folder 44: Correspondence from Edward LaNauze Strater to Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, 1917-1918

Folder 45: Correspondence from Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1917-1939

Folder 46: Correspondence from Edward LaNauze Strater to Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, 1917-1939

Folder 47: Correspondence from Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson to Isabel Clark Courtenay, 1918

Folder 48: Correspondence from Anne Ford Milton Haldeman to Florence M. Haldeman Price and Barbara Milton Watkins Strater, 1918-1942

Folder 49: Correspondence from Edward LaNauze Strater to Barbara Milton Watkins Strater, 1920

Folder 50: Correspondence from Barbara Watkins Milton Strater to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1920-1921

Folder 51: Correspondence from Barbara Watkins Milton Strater to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1921

Folder 52: Correspondence from Sue Barret Milton Watkins to Barbara W. Milton Strater, 1921-1924

Box 2

Folder 52a: Correspondence from Barbara Watkins to Walter Haldeman, 1922

Folder 53: Correspondence from Barbara Watkins Strater to Sue Barrie Milton Watkin, 1922

Folder 54: Correspondence from Barbara Watkins Strater to Sue Barrie Milton Watkin, 1922-1923

Folder 55: Correspondence from Barbara Milton Watkins Strater to Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, 1922-1932

Folder 56: Correspondence from Barbara Milton Watkin Strater to William Agnew Milton, 1923

Folder 57: Correspondence from Barbara Watkins Strater to Sue Barrie Milton Watkin, 1923

Folder 58: Correspondence from Sue Barret Milton Watkins to Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, and Ann Milton Haldeman, 1924

Folder 59: Correspondence from Barbara Watkins Strater to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1924-1927

Folder 60: Correspondence from Antoinette Smith to Barbara Watkins Strater, 1926

Folder 61: Correspondence from Barbara Watkins Strater to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1927

Folder 62: Correspondence from Barbara Watkins Strater to Isabel Clark Courtenay, 1929-1930

Folder 63: Correspondence to and from Major Alexander “Sandy” Watson and Edward LaNauze Strater, Sylvia Barret Strater Hill, 1930-1931

Folder 64: Correspondence from Barbara Watkins Strater to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1931-1934

Folder 65: Correspondence from Jessie Clark to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1936

Folder 66: Correspondence from Barbara Watkins Strater to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1936-1937

Folder 67: Correspondence from Sylvia Barret Strater Hill to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1937-1945

Folder 68: Correspondence from Barbara Watkins Strater to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1938

Folder 69: Correspondence from Edward LaNauze Strater to Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, 1938-1953

Folder 70: Correspondence from Barbara Watkins Strater to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1939-1942

Folder 71: Correspondence from Barbara M. W. Strater to Sylvia Barret Strater Hill, 1944

Folder 72: Correspondence from Edward L. Strater to Sylvia B. Strater Hill, 1944-1949

Folder 73: Correspondence from Barbara Watkins Strater to Major Alexander “Sandy” M. Watson, 1945

Folder 74: Correspondence from Barbara Watkins Strater to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1945-1953

Folder 75: Correspondence from Barbara M. W. Strater to Sylvia B. Strater Hill, 1946-1949

Box 3

Folder 76: Correspondence from Barbara M. W. Strater to Sylvia B. Strater Hill, 1946-1949

Folder 77: Correspondence from various senders to Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, 1947-1950

Folder 78: Correspondence from Lissie and Estelle Hill and Sylvia B. Strater Hill, 1948-1967

Folder 79: Correspondence from Barbara M. W. Strater to Mrs. Van Winkle, 1950

Folder 80: Correspondence from Babara M. W. Strater to Sylvia B. S. Hill, 1951-1959

Folder 81: Correspondence from Edward LaNauze Strater to Sylvia B. S. Hill, 1951-1966

Folder 82: Correspondence from Julia Courtenay George to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1953

Folder 83: Correspondence from Edward LaNauze Strater to Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson, 1953

Folder 84: Correspondence from Barbara Watkins Strater to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1955-1958

Folder 85: Correspondence from Edward LaNauze Strater to Barbara Watkins Strater, 1959-1961

Folder 86: Correspondence from Barbara M. W. Strater to Sylvia B. S. Hill, 1959-1969

Folder 87: Correspondence from Sylvia Barret Strater Hill to Barbara M. Watkins Strater, 1962

Folder 88: Correspondence and real photo postcard from Francoise Couzin to Edward LaNauze Strater, 1965

Folder 89: Correspondence to/from Barbara Watkins Milton Strater from/to Estelle Clark Castle, 1960 and 1965

Folder 90: Letters of sympathy from various senders to Sylvia Barret Strater Hill, 1966

Folder 90a: Correspondence from Barbara M. W. Strater to the Courier-Journal, 1969

Folder 91: Correspondence from Paul Marrs to Barbara M. Watkins Strater, 1970

Folder 92: Various letters of sympathy to Sylvia B. S. Hill, 1971

Folder 93: Various letters of sympathy to Sylvia B. S. Hill, 1971

Folder 94: Correspondence and clippings to Estelle Hill from Sylvia Barret Strater Hill, undated

Box 4

Volume 95: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater memory book, 1910

Volume 96: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater memory book, 1911-1914

Volume 97: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater memory book, 1914-1916

Volume 98: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater memory book, 1916

Volume 99: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater memory book, 1916

Box 5

Volume 100: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater memory book, 1916-1917

Volume 101: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater memory book, 1917-1918

Volume 102: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater memory book, 1918

Volume 103: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater memory book,1918-1920

Box 6

Volume 104: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater memory book, 1920-1921

Volume 105: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater memory book, 1921

Volume 106: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater memory book, 1922-1923

Volume 107: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater memory book, 1922-1923

Box 7

Volume 108: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater memory book, 1924-1941

Volume 109: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater and Edward LaNauze Strater memory book, c.1935

Volume 110: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater Christmas journals, 1951-1954

Volume 111: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater Christmas journals, 1955-1958

Volume 112: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater Christmas journals, 1959-1961

Volume 113: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater Christmas journals, 1962-1966

Volume 114: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater Christmas journals,1967-1969

Volume 115: Edward LaNauze Strater diary, 1904

Volume 116: Edward LaNauze Strater diary, 1913

Volume 117: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater daily diary, 1914

Volume 118: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater daily diary, 1957

Volume 119: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater daily diary, 1958

Volume 120: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater daily diary, 1959

Volume 121: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater daily diary, 1960

Volume 122: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater daily diary, 1961-1962

Volume 123: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater daily diary, 1963

Volume 124: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater daily diary, 1964

Volume 125: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater daily diary, 1965

Volume 126: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater daily diary, 1966

Volume 127: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater daily diary, 1967

Volume 128: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater daily diary, 1968

Volume 129: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater daily diary, 1969

Volume 130: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater daily diary, 1969

Volume 131: Barbara Milton Watkins Strater daily diary, 1970

Volume 132: Sylvia Barret Strater Hill travel diary, 1957

Volume 133: Sue Barret Milton Watkins and Edward J. Watkins scrapbook, c.1910-1930

Box 8

Folder 134: Edward LaNauze Strater passports, 1917-1933

Folder 135: American Field Service in France volunteer roster, correspondence, and Croix de Guerre certificate and other material, 1915-1918

Folder 136: World War I maps, c. 1915

Folder 137: Various newspapers, 1918

Folder 138: Notes on astrology by Edward LaNauze Strater, undated

Folder 139: “The Horoscope of Edward LaNauze Strater and It’s Interpretation by Wynn,” booklet, undated

Folder 140: American Federation of Astrologers 1958 convention program, correspondence, and notes on astrology by Edward LaNauze Strater, 1948-2011

Folder 141: The Altar Steps a play in three acts by Edward LaNauze Strater, undated

His Sister and Another, The Mysteries of the East and other plays by Edward LaNauze Strater, undated

Folder 142: “Carefully Considered Conduct,” “Deux Boulevardiers,” and other short stories by Edward L. Strater, undated

Folder 142a: “His Sister and Another,” “Mysteries of the East,” and other plays by Edward LaNauze Strater, undated

Folder 143: Untitled short stories by Edward LaNauze Strater and clippings, undated

Folder 144: Untitled poetry by Edward LaNauze Strater, undated

Folder 145: Illustrations and paintings by Edward LaNauze Strater, 1911-1916

Folder 146: Edward LaNauze Strater short story scrapbook, 1923-1925

Folder 147: Clippings of Edward LaNauze Strater’s work in Scribner’s Magazine and certificates of copyright, 1925-1940

Folder 148: “A Short History of Middle Bass Club,” by Edward LaNauze Strater, c. 1965
Folder 149: “Musical Chairs,” “Midnight Bound,” “Let’s Get Together,” and other musical compositions with lyrics by Edward LaNauze Strater, undated

Folder 150: “In the Dark,” “Against My Judgement,” “Want Ad,” and other musical compositions with lyrics by Edward LaNauze Strater, undated

Folder 150a: “Steeple,” “Same Day,” “Road to Past,” and other musical compositions with lyrics by Edward LaNauze Strater, undated

Folder 151: “Always” signed sheet music by Irving Berlin, undated

Box 9

Folder 152: Bicycle trip sketchbook, 1919

Folder 153: “Little Jane” short stories by Sue Barret Milton Watkins, undated

Folder 154: Cookbook by Barbara Milton Watkins Strater, undated

Folder 155: Poetry by Barbara Watson Strater, undated

Folder 156: Courier-Journal newspapers, 1922

Folder 157: Clippings re: Frank Chapman, c. 1930-1945

Folder 158: Composition notebook with poetry, undated

Folder 159: Clippings and ephemera related to theatre, undated

Folder 160: Maude Adams scrapbook, undated

Folder 161: Clark family genealogical charts, correspondence, and clippings, 1866-1963

Folder 162: Jessie LaNauze Clark Strater Watson last will and testament, 1954

Folder 163: Isabel Stevenson and William Howard Courtenay wedding invitations, undated

Folder 164: Clark family in Scotland genealogical material, clippings, and correspondence, c. 1920

Folder 165: Extracts of Clark family birth and marriage entries from the General Registry Office Edinburgh, Scotland, 1677-1703

Folder 166: Extracts of Clark family birth and marriage entries from the General Registry Office Edinburgh, Scotland, 1718-1762

Folder 167: Extracts of Clark family birth, marriage, and death entries from the General Registry Office Edinburgh, Scotland, 1734-1877

Folder 168: Notes on Clark family history by James Clark, 1862

Folder 169: James Clark naturalization papers, personal, family, and business materials, 1852- 1898

Folder 170: The Ohio Valley Telephone Company contract and correspondence, 1890-1926

Folder 171: James Clark and Jessie LaNauze Clark marriage certificate, 1865

Folder 172: Pendennis Club articles of incorporation, by-laws and other material, 1882-1912

Folder 173: Prentice Club articles of incorporation and by-laws, 1878

Folder 174: “For Louisville’s Tomorrow” booklet by First National Bank, Kentucky Title Trust Company, and Kentucky Title Company, 1927

Folder 175: Stevenson family of Shutterflat, Scotland land transfer legal documents (sasines) and genealogical information, 1728-1837

Folder 176: Cochrane family genealogy, birth, marriage and land transfer legal documents (sasines), 1675-1928

Folder 177: Clark family of Shutterflat, Scotland land transfer legal documents (sasines), 1700-1845

Folder 178: Notes, correspondence and photocopies related to Shutterflat, Scotland, 1866-1942

Folder 179: Genealogical information and correspondence related to the Agun, Claypoole and Kuykendall families, 1804-1973

Folder 180: Genealogical information and correspondence related to the Barbour and Pendleton families, 1898-1975

Folder 181: Genealogical information and correspondence related to the McCalla and Nalle families, undated

Box 10

Folder 182: Clark family genealogical material, 1832-1987

Folder 183: Genealogical information and correspondence related to the Milton family, c.1900-1950

Folder 184: William Agnew Milton Civil War journal, correspondence, certificate for Confederate Association of Kentucky, 1863-1927

Folder 185: Genealogical information and correspondence related to the Taylor and Bushrod families, 1816-1921

Folder 186: Watkins family genealogical information and correspondence, 1802-1982

Folder 187: Strater family genealogical information and correspondence, 1831-2010

Folder 188: Verhoeff family genealogical information and correspondence, 1931-1965

Folder 189: William Edward Strater last will and testament and material related to the sale of Strater Bros. Tobacco Company, 1909-1912

Folder 190: Edward LaNauze Strater biographical information, correspondence, clippings and other material, c. 1910-1965

Folder 191: Edward LaNauze Strater business material related to the Majestic Theater Co. and Kentucky Desk Company, 1935-1969

Folder 192: Hill family genealogical material, c. 1940-1990

Folder 193: Cooper family genealogical material, undated

Folder 194: James Brents Hill biographical material, clippings, correspondence, and other material, c. 1920-1950

Folder 195: Grace Cooper Hill biographical material, clippings, correspondence, and other material, 1957-1970

Folder 195a: Barbara Milton Strater notebook with quotes and addresses, 1917-1921

Folder 195b: Miscellaneous material including unidentified correspondence, Watson genealogical data, and clipping about Henry Strater, 1878-1889 and undated

Oversized box

Folder 196: Strater family scrapbook, c. 1910-1965

Folder 197: “That Little Something,” musical composition with lyrics by Edward LaNauze Strater, 1915

Folder 198: The Taming of the Shrew poster for Louisville Girls High School at Macauley’s Theater, 1916

Folder 199: Edward LaNauze Strater school diplomas and material related to service in World War I, 1913-1917

Item 200: Jessie LaNauze Clark family tree, undated

Item 201: Robert Nicol/Christian Erskine pedigree, undated

Subject Headings

American Federation of Astrologers.

American Field Service.

American Museum of Natural History.

Astrology.

Brown, John, 1800-1859.

Chapman, Frank M. (Frank Michler), 1864-1945.

Clark, James Charles, 1830-1902.

Clark, Jessie LaNauze, 1837-1908.

Confederate States of America.

Harpers Ferry Armory (U.S.)

Kentucky Derby

Louisville Girls’ High School.

Macauley’s Theatre (Louisville, Ky.)

Majestic Theater Company (Louisville, Ky.)

Middle Bass (Ohio)

Milton, William Agnew, 1844-1928.

Pendennis Club.

Prentice Club (Louisville, Ky.)

Scotland.

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Strater, Barbara Milton, 1898-1971.

Strater Brothers Tobacco Company (Louisville, Ky.)

Strater, Edward LaNauze, 1894-1966.

Strater Watson, Jessie LaNauze, 1868-1954.

Strater, William Edward, 1866-1908.

Theater.

Ohio Valley Telephone Company (Louisville, Ky.)

United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865.

Watkins, Sue Barrett, 1870-1924.

World War, 1914-1918.