Archives

Held by The Filson Historical Society 

Creator:  Wallace, Tom, 1874-1961 

Title:  Papers, 1925-1960 

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

Size of Collection:  23 cubic feet 

Location Number:  Mss. A W194b 

Scope and Content Note 

Collection includes the correspondence, speeches, reports, articles, and other materials of Tom Wallace, editor of The Louisville Times from 1930-1948. Wallace also garnered national attention as a conservationist and as a promoter of better relations between the Americas. He served as president or chairman of a number of national organizations including: the Izaak Walton League of America, the National Conference of State Parks, the Inter-American Press Association, and the American Society of Newspaper Editors. The bulk of the material in the collection deals with conservation, Latin American relations, and journalism, although there is ample material on World War II, race relations, and 20th century Louisville history as well. Correspondents include: prominent conservationists, Secretaries of the Interior, Directors of the National Park Service, Members of Congress, journalists, and local and national politicians. 

The collection is arranged chronologically and a detailed calendar/finding aid is available. 

Wallace originally stapled or pinned packets of correspondence together by subject and sometimes by individual. This arrangement has been preserved for the most part. As a result, packets of correspondence are filed chronologically by the date on the top letter, but may include letters from other dates. Dates listed in the chronological finding aid correspond to the dates under which materials are filed in the collection, not necessarily the exact dates of the letters. 

Biographical Note 

Tom Wallace 

• 1874 Born November 16 in Hurricane, Crittenden County, Kentucky to Tom Wallace and Mary Stuart (Dade) Wallace; Educated at Sampson’s Academy, Shelbyville; Weaver’s Business College, Louisville; Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Va. 
• 1900 Took an unsalaried reporting job at The Louisville Times writing “Little Dramas of the Police Court” and later held a series of brief jobs at the St. Louis Republic, and Louisville Evening Post 
• 1905 Joined The Louisville Times editorial staff at the request of then editor Henry Watterson 
• 1910 Married Augusta French of Philadelphia, heiress to the Smith-Kline-French pharmaceutical fortune 
• 1923 Became head of The Louisville Times Editorial page. 
• 1925-1930 Conducted an editorial crusade and gave speeches throughout the state in order to preserve Cumberland Falls from the construction of a hydroelectric dam 
• 1930 Became editor of the Times 
• 1934 Received the Pugsley Silver Medal from the American Scenic and Historical Preservation Society for outstanding leadership in the preservation of Cumberland Falls 
• 1937 Received an honorary degree from the University of Louisville 
• 1940-1941 Served as President of the American Society of Newspaper Editors 
• 1942-1945 Elected Director of the Izaak Walton League of America 
• 1943 Elected vice president of the International Pan-American Press Congress 
• 1944 Elected vice president of the American Planning and Civic Association; appointed to the National Parks Service Advisory Board by Harold Ickes, Secretary of the Interior 
• 1945 Elected president of the Inter-American Press Association; received the Maria Moors Cabot Award for contributing to international friendship among the Americas 
• 1946 Elected president of the Izaak Walton League of America 
• 1948 Retired from The Louisville Times and became Editor Emeritus 
• 1951 Became honorary lifetime president of the Inter-American Press Association 
• 1956 The Tom Wallace Chair of Conservation established at the University of Louisville 
• 1961 Died in Prospect, Kentucky on June 5. 

See the Louisville Encyclopedia for additional information 

Folder List 

***See PDF Calendar/Folder Inventory [click to open PDF]

Held by The Filson Historical Society 

Creator:  Wallace Family 

Title:  Papers, 1764-1884 

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

Size of Collection:  1 cubic foot 

Location Number:  Mss. A W194 

Scope and Content Note 

Papers include correspondence, 1764-1785, discussing family matters, the Revolutionary War, and early Ky.; wills of Dr. James Wallace and John Wallace; land and legal records; records, 1819-1829, of slaves belonging to the estate of Thomas Wallace; papers of Arthur Hooe Wallace, commission merchant at New Orleans and later resident of Louisville, Ky., including letters, 1829-1832, to his brother, William Wallace, in Culpepper County, Va., and letters, 1834-1860, to Arthur Hooe Wallace about business and family matters; accounts, 1835-1837, 1858; bills of lading for tobacco and general merchandise shipped to and by Arthur Hooe Wallace on Mississippi and Ohio River steamboats, 1834-1835; insurance policies on boats and cargoes, 1834-1835; Crittenden County, Ky., land papers, 1839, 1857, 1867; correspondence, 1860-1865, of Lieutenant Thomas Wallace, 6th Kentucky Cavalry, Morgan’s Brigade, C.S.A., with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Hooe Wallace, and with his brother and sisters, while serving in the army and as a prisoner of war at Camp Chase and Johnson’s Island, Ohio; letters to Thomas Wallace, 1866-1884; notes and plats of surveys of land for him in Crittenden County, Ky., 1867; genealogical records of the Wallace family and the allied Brown, Dade, Hart, and Preston families; and a store ledger, 1783-1784, of Alexander Dick of Spotsylvania County, Va. 

Folder 20 of this collection has been digitized and is available as a PDF in the folder list below.

Folder List 

Box 1 

1 Chart of the Wallace and allied families. Family record.

1a Indenture of Michael Wallace of Scotland, 1734 Mar. 18. (Photostat).

2 Birth and death records.

3 Records from the family prayer book of Dr. Gustavus Brown. 

4 Excerpt from the will of Dr. Gustavus Brown, 1775. 

5 Letter from William Wallace to Dr. Michael Wallace, 1764 Sept. 15.

6 Extract from the will of Dr. Michael Wallace, 1814.

7 Letter from Gustavus Brown Wallace to Dr. James Wallace, 1773 July 27. 

8 Letter from Gustavus Brown Wallace to Michael Wallace, 1775 June 29. 

9 Letter from Dr. James Wallace to Michael Wallace, 1777 Oct. 12.

10 Letter from Dr. James Wallace, 1778 Sept. 15.

11 Notes of Dr. James Wallace about the treatment of Revolutionary War soldiers who suffered with fever, ca. 1780.

12 William Scott letter to Dr. James Wallace, 1785 June 26.

13 Will of Dr. James Wallace, 1790 Dec. 10.

14 Land grant of Dr. James Wallace for 6000 acres of land on the Ohio River and Parroquette Creek, 1806 July 28. 

15 Plat and survey of land belonging to William Brown Wallace in Crittenden County, Ky., ca. 1806.Petition to Congress about his Revolutionary War service, 1832. 

16 Michael Wallace, William B. Wallace, and John Wallace v. Lucinda Wallace et al., 1807.

17 John Wallace will, 1826 Jan. 3.(Copy).

18 Deed to John H. Wallace and others for land in Livingston County, Ky., 1834Jan. 20.

19 Deed to Evey Yager, for land in Culpepper County, Va., 1792 Feb. 26. 

20 Records of slaves belonging to the estate of Thomas Wallace, 1819-1829.Report of commissioners in case of James B. Wallace et al. v. Mary Wallace et al., 1830. [CLICK TO ACCESS PDF]

21 Deed to Henry B. Wallace for land in Livingston County, Ky., 1826 Oct. 26.

22 Two grants of land to Robert Kirk by the state of Va. for land on the Ohio River and in Livingston County, Ky., 1826 Sept. 20.

23 Deed of William Wallace for land in Livingston County on the Ohio River, 1836June 24.

24 Letter from James B. Wallace to Thomas Henry Wallace, 1855 July 13.

25 Notes of survey for Thomas Wallace for land in Crittenden County, Ky., 1867Jan. 8.Plat of surveys for Thomas Wallace for land in Crittenden County, Ky., 1870 May 11. 

26 Proceedings in the case of Horace F. Walworth, v. William B. Patton, 1834 Feb.22.

27 Land patent to Charles Brownfield for land in the Illinois Territory, 1818 Sept.30.

28Anaccount of travel in India. 

29 Note from P. Norvellto Lucien Dade, 1837 Dec. 6. 

30 Correspondence from Letitia Preston Wallace to her daughters, 1863-1865. Will of Letitia Preston Wallace, 1866 July 8. 

31 Letter from Robert Crittenden to Dr. C. P. Blackburn, 1820 Apr. 29.Letter from William H. Chase to Letitia P. Hart, 1826 Sept. 3. 

 

Box 2 

32 Correspondence from Arthur H. Wallace to William Wallace, 1829-1830. 

33 Correspondence from Arthur H. Wallace to William Wallace, 1831-1832. 

34 Correspondence to Arthur H. Wallace, 1834. 

35 Correspondence to Arthur H. Wallace, 1835 Feb.-June. 

36 Correspondence to Arthur H. Wallace, 1835 July-Nov. 

37 Correspondence to Arthur H. Wallace, 1836-1861. 

38 Arthur H. Wallace accounts, 1835-1858.

39 Arthur H. Wallace bills of lading, 1834-1835.

40 Arthur H. Wallace insurance policies on boats and cargoes, 1834-1835.

41 Arthur H. Wallace Crittenden County, Ky. land papers, 1857-1867.

42 Arthur H. Wallace Livingston County, Ky. land papers. Processioner’s report on 1000 acres of land on the Ohio River, 1839 Nov. 13. 

43 Arthur H. Wallace record of membership in the Presbyterian Church, 1872 July27.

44 Thomas Wallace correspondence, 1856-1862.

45 Thomas Wallace correspondence with his family while a prisoner of war, 1863. 

46 Thomas Wallace correspondence with his family while a prisoner of war, 1864. 

47 Thomas Wallace correspondence with his family while a prisoner of war, 1865. Discharge of Thomas Wallace from military prison at Johnson’s Island, 1865 June 11 and oath of allegiance to the U.S. 1865 June 11. 

48 Thomas Wallace correspondence, 1866-1884.

48a Photograph of Thomas Wallace.

48b Letter to Mary H. Wallace from Letitia Hart Wallace, 1866 Feb. 1. Letter to Mary H. Wallace form William Wallace, Feb. 2. 

 

Box 3 

49 Genealogy of the Dade family and miscellaneous Dade family materials.

50 Genealogical history of the Hart family of Ky., 1840.

51 Memoranda of the Preston family.

52 Genealogy of the Preston family.

53 Commission of Major William Preston, 1758 Sept. 30.(Photograph).Nathaniel Hart commission as Captain in the Orange Regiment of Militia, 1771; Dec. 5 1771. (Photograph). 

54 Letter to on the history of the Wallace and Dade families.

55Letterfrom Tom Wallace to Mary Verhoeff. 

56 Alexander Dick ledger, 1783-1784. 

Held by The Filson Historical Society 

Creator:  Viars Family 

Title:  Papers, 1861-ca. 1913 

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

Size of Collection:  0.33 cubic feet 

Location Number:  Mss. A V618 

Scope and Content Note 

Letters of the three Viars brothers written while serving in the 7th Ohio Cavalry in the Civil War. They describe the everyday life of a soldier as well as the fighting done by the unit. The battles of Atlanta Ga., Selma, Ala. And Knoxville, Tenn. Are talked about in some detail. Also includes a circular specifying the qualifications for medical service. 

Biographical Note 

The three Viar brothers, Gideon, James and David were farmers from Gallia County Ohio, near Addison. They join the Ohio 7th Cavalry during the Civil War. They participate in fighting in Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. James is killed in the fighting near Knoxville, Tennessee in December 1863. David deserts the Army after the death of his brother. Gideon also takes a “French Leave” for five months but returns to finish his service until the end of the war. After the war, Gideon returns to Ohio. 

Folder List 

Folder 1: Correspondence 1861 – May 1863. 

Folder 2: Correspondence June 1863 – December 1863. 

Folder 3: Correspondence February 1864 – December 1864. 

Folder 4: Correspondence January 1865 – circa 1913. 

Folder 5: Miscellaneous Papers. 

Held by The Filson Historical Society 

Creator:  Verhoeff, Mary, ca. 1871-1962 

Title:  Papers, 1907-1960 

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

Size of Collection:  5.33 cubic feet 

Location Number:  Mss. A V514 

Scope and Content Note 

Papers include correspondence, 1907-1960, discussing Verhoeff’s research interests; club memberships; and miscellaneous material. The bulk of the collection is composed of her articles, essays, and speeches regarding early Louisville, Portland, and Shippingport; Louisville newspapers; canal companies; shipping on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers; ships and shipbuilding; salt production; and coal mining. 

Biographical Note 

Mary Verhoeff was born in Louisville, Ky. about 1871. She graduated from Vassar College in 1895, later receiving a masters degree from Columbia University in 1914. Verhoeff was vice president of the Filson Club with which she was affiliated for thirty-three years. She wrote a number of articles which were published by the club. She also wrote The Kentucky Navigations and The Kentucky Mountains. She died in Louisville in 1962 and was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery. 

Folder List 

Box 1 

1 Correspondence, 1907-1911.

2 Correspondence, 1912-1916.

3 Correspondence, 1917-1921.

4 Correspondence, 1922-1933.

5 Correspondence, 1934-1936.

6 Correspondence, 1937.

7 Correspondence, 1938-1939.

8 Correspondence, 1940-1943.

9 Correspondence, 1944-1945.

 

Box 2 

10 Correspondence, 1946-1947.

11 Correspondence, 1948.

12 Correspondence, 1949.

13 Correspondence, 1950.

14 Correspondence, 1951.

15 Correspondence, 1952.

16 Correspondence, 1953.

17 Correspondence, 1954.

18 Correspondence, 1955.

19 Correspondence, 1956-1958.

20 Correspondence, 1959.

21 Correspondence, 1960.

 

Box 3 

22 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” p. 1-44.

23 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” p. 45-63.

24 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830.”

25 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” p. 64-73.

26 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” p. 74-84.

27 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830.”

28 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” footnotes to p. 1-8.

 

Box 4 

29 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” footnotes to p. 9-13.

30 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” footnotes to p. 14-17.

31 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” footnotes to p. 18-21.

32 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” footnotes to p. 30-58.

33 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” footnotes to p. 59-60.

34 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” footnotes to p. 62-63.

35 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” footnotes to p. 63 II-63V.

35 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” footnotes to p. 63V-63VIII.

 

Box 5 

37 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” footnotes to p. 63IX-63CBV.

38 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” footnotes to p. 63XC-63XIV.

39 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” footnotes to p. 63XV-64K.

40 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” footnotes to p. 64IIIA-64C.

41 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” footnotes to p. 64D-64VO.

42 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830.”

43 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830.”

44 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830.”

45 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830.”

 

Box 6 

46 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830.”

47 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830.”

48 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830.”

49 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830.”

50 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” notes.

51 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” notes.

52 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” notes.

53 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” notes.

 

Box 7 

54 Article: “Early Louisville Newspapers, 1800-1830,” miscellaneous footnotes.

55 Article: “Louisville’s First Newspaper: The Farmers Library.”

56 Article: “Louisville’s First Newspaper: The Farmers Library.”

57Article: “Early Louisville.”

58 Exploration of the Ohio River, ports at Louisville, etc.

59 Exploration of the Ohio River, ports at Louisville, etc.

60 Exploration of the Ohio River, ports at Louisville, etc.

61 Exploration of the Ohio River, ports at Louisville, etc.

62 Steamboats and navigation on the Ohio River.

63 Notes on barges, exploration, the fur trade, etc.

 

Box 8 

64 Notes on barges, exploration, the fur trade, etc.

65 Portland.

66Shippingport.

67Earlycanal companies. 

68 Navigation at the Falls of the Ohio. 

69 Navigation and trade on the Mississippi River.

70 Navigation and trade on the Mississippi River; Spanish situation.

71 Voyages of the schooners “President Adams” and “Nonpareil.”

72 Ships and shipbuilding.

 

Box 9 

73 Ships and shipbuilding.

74 Petition of Christopher Collis for facilitating the navigation of the Ohio, 1783; July. (Photostat).

75 Reports and letters concerning the improvement of navigation on the Ohio at the Falls of Louisville.(Photostats). 

76 Geographical description of Ky.

77 Rivers.

78 Rivers.

79 Rivers.

80 Rivers.

81 Rivers.

 

Box 10 

82 Licking River.

83 Kentucky River.

84 Kentucky River.

85 Kentucky River.

86 Cumberland River.

87 Cumberland River.

88 Tennessee River.

 

Box 11 

89 Big Sandy River.

90 Big Sandy River.

91 Coal.

92 Coal.

93 Coal.

94 Coal.

95 Coal.

 

Box 12 

96 Coal.

97 Coal.

98 Coal.

99 Coal.

100 Coal.

101 Coal.

 

Box 13 

102 Coal.

103 Coal.

104 Coal.

105 Coal.

106 Coal.

107 Coal.

108 Forestry.

 

Box 14 

109 Salt production.

110 Illustrations for The Kentucky Mountains-Transportation and Commerce 1750 to 1911. 

111 Illustrations for The Kentucky Mountains-Transportation and Commerce 1750 to 1911. 

112 Illustrations for The Kentucky Mountains-Transportation and Commerce 1750 to 1911. 

113 Sketch of the life of George Rogers Clark. Correspondence of members of the George Rogers Clark Memorial Committee.

114 Translations of letters to James Wilkinson to Governor Miro, etc.

115 Copies of letters of Harry Innes and J. Speed, Jr.

116 Letters about the Western Expedition, 1778 July-Aug. (Photostats).

117 Notes concerning Arthur Campbell.

118 Worden Pope’s letters to President James Monroe, 1819-1821.(Photostats).

119 John Rowan’s claim to the bed of the Ohio River at the Falls of the Ohio, 1825 Mar. 7. 

 

Box 15 

120 Material pertaining to the presidential campaign of Andrew Jackson.(Photostats).

121 Genealogy of the Vail family.

122 Letters of Joshua, Samuel and John A. Vail.(Photostats).

123 Tennessee Valley Authority.

124 Tennessee Valley Authority.

125 Tin salvage.

126 The League of Nations Non-Partisan Association. International Relations Committee. 

127 The League of Nations Non-Partisan Association. International Relations Committee.

 

Box 16 

128 National Safety Council. Mining Section. Safety posters. 

129W.C.T.U.Settlement School, Hindman, Ky. 

130 “This is our heritage.” (A history of the Women’s Auxiliary to the Board of Missions of the Episcopal Church). 

131Miscellaneousfacts about Ky. 

132 Reviews of The Kentucky Mountains and of The Kentucky River Navigation. 

133 Notes concerning historical societies.

134 Snapshots.

135 Miscellaneous.

136 Miscellaneous.

 

pkg. 137 Certificates of the Verhoeff family. 

Held by The Filson Historical Society 

Creator:  Tryon Family 

Title:  Papers, 1861-1864 

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

Size of Collection:  0.33 cubic feet 

Location Number:  Mss. A T875 

Scope and Content Note 

Collection consists of letters from Lieutenant Frank Tryon, Company E, 2nd Regiment, First Kentucky Brigade, C.S.A., to his wife, Julia Morselle Tryon, which cover his encampment at Fort Boone, Montgomery County, Tenn., his capture at Fort Donelson, imprisonment at Camp Chase and near Sandusky, Ohio, exchange at Vicksburg, Miss., and the Battle of Murfreesboro, where he was mortally wounded. His letters mention Louisville boys in the Confederate Army, death of Morris Montgomery, capture of Curran Pope, marriage of John Hunt Morgan, George D. Prentice and his son, James Guthrie, members of the Clay family, a Miss Wolf, William A. Meriwether, the jail in Louisville for rebel women, etc. Also included are letters to Mrs. Tryon from Ellen M. Floyd, Charles B. Avis, B. W. Wells, and Henry C. McDowell; a letter from D. S. Miller to Miss Mary Dunham, dated at Nashville, Tenn., 1863 Apr. 9, about Lieutenant Tryon’s burial place; and Julia Tryon’s certificate of membership in the First Presbyterian Church, Louisville, Ky., 1864 Mar. 17. 

Folder List 

Box 1 

1 Frank Tryon letters from Camp Boone, 1861 July-Sept.

2 Correspondence to Julia Tryon telling her that her husband was taken prisoner at Fort Donelson, 1862 Feb. 21. 

3 Correspondence of Frank Tryon from St. Louis and Camp Chase, 1862 Feb. 23-Apr. 8.

4 Correspondence of Frank Tryon from Depot Prisoners of War near Sandusky City, Ohio, 1862 Apr.

5 Correspondence of Frank Tryon from Depot Prisoners of War near Sandusky City, Ohio, 1862 May-June.

6 Correspondence of Frank Tryon from Depot Prisoners of War near Sandusky City, Ohio, 1862 July.

7 Correspondence of Frank Tryon from Depot Prisoners of War near Sandusky City, Ohio, 1862 Aug. 

8 Letter from Frank Tryon to his daughter Emily, 1862.

9 Correspondence of Frank Tryon from Indianapolis and Murfreesboro and other letters to Mrs. Tryon, 1862 Sept.-Dec.

10 Letter from D. S. Miller to Miss Mary Dunham about the burial place of Frank Tryon, 1863 Apr. 9.Julia Tryon’s certificate of membership in the First Presbyterian Church, Louisville, Ky., 1864 Mar. 17. 

11 Letter from Nelson Thomasson to “Charlie and Emily,” 1921 May 9. Note on the location of Goose Creek Salt Works.