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Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator:  James Rees & Sons Company

Title:  Architectural plans, 1910-1914

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

Size of Collection:  .89 cu. ft. (6 rolls)

Location Number:  Mss. AR R328

Scope and Content Note

The collection is comprised of six architectural drawings from the James Rees & Sons Company depicting plans of the Idlewild. The drawings include plans for the boiler deck, a midship section, an unfinished section drawing, cabin plan, a main deck and west elevation as well as a 1910 finished profile drawing of the Idlewild. Most plans are from the early 20^th century and highlight typical naval architecture of the day, specifically steam and tow boats. All plans are drawn on waxed linen and are in good condition.

Please see the collection’s Container List and Project Index for additional information on individual records.

Historical Notes

James Rees & Sons Company Historical Note:

As taken from the 1913 James Rees & Sons Company Illustrated Catalog^[1]:

“Designers contractors and builders of iron and steel hull freight and passenger steamers, tugboats, dredgeboats, towboats and barges for island waters, also marine and land engines, and boilers of every type and size.

We make a specialty of light draught river steamers of every description, being the “pioneers” of the “knockdown” galvanized steel hull watertight compartment, and composite steamers for foreign trades, using either high pressure or compound condensing engines of any type desired.”

Incorporated on July 1, 1895 the John Rees & Sons Company combined the companies of James Rees & Sons (boiler manufacturer) and James Rees Duquesne Engine Works. Initially incorporated as “James Rees and Sons Company” it was changed to “James Rees Sons & Company” after the death of Captain James Rees (September 12, 1889).

Captain James Rees purchased the shop of Rowe & Davis around 1843 after his work on the steamship Michigan at Stackhouse and Thompson was completed. Rowe & Davis was purchased with Rees’s savings and with the aid of workers William Hutchinson and John Morrow. The lease on this shop was six months and at its end Rees and his fellow workers found themselves with $25,000 worth of work and no building in which to complete it. This issue was remedied with the purchase of Robert White & Bro. from which Rees, Hartupe & Co. was formed—and functioned until 1851. It was around this time that Rees and his men begin work on a line of freight and passenger packets for the Allegheny River. Due especially in thanks to the oil-carrying trade, this business was a wild success until 1865 when trains became the dominant, and preferred, mode of transport.

Operating from 1854-1930^[2] at the corner of Duquesne Way and Fourth Street (formerly Hay Street) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Rees turned his attentions from freight and passenger packets to engine and boat building. His later endeavors catered to the well-known packet companies (such as the Memphis Packet Company) along the Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri, and their tributaries.  Many famous boats can be traced back to the James Rees & Sons Co., including the first steel-plate steamboat ever built in the United States. By the late 1870s Rees had broadened its scope to encompass business dealings in South America. No sooner had the company expanded to South America than it begin working with other global partners, including Central America, Russia, and Africa.

Idlewild/Avalon/Belle of Louisville Historical Note:

Designed and constructed^[3] by James Rees & Sons Co. and launched on October 8, 1914 for delivery to the West Memphis Packet Co., the Idlewild was made for ferry use between Memphis, Tennessee and West Memphis, Arkansas. Her ferrying tasks continued for ten years until she began working as a day packet as well as a passenger excursion vessel. These short trips known as “tramping” took place along the Missouri, Mississippi, and Ohio River systems. Throughout the 1920s and 30s the Idlewild made many trips to, and through, Louisville. During the 1940s the Idlewild aided in the war effort by acting as a towboat and pulled barges of oil along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. In 1947 the Idlewild was sold to J. Herod Gorsage of Peoria, Illinois and in 1948 was renamed Avalon. Gorsage no sooner sold the Avalon to investors out of Cincinnati, than her role as a tramp steamer resumed. It was in this same year (1948) that the Avalon became the most widely traveled steamboat for her size in American history (a record that holds true to this day). The 1950s and 60s brought about a wealth of changes for the Avalon, including the addition of a telegraph system and a new diesel-burning system. This time period also saw the demise of the Avalon. Work for the Avalon was scarce and repairs amounted to funds far greater than Cincinnati’s budget could (or would) allow for. Sold at a U.S. Marshal’s auction, the Avalon was purchased in May 1962 by Judge Marlow Cook of Jefferson County for $34,000.

The Avalon, as described within the 1950 edition of Way’s Directory of Western Rivers Packets:

Stern wheel, excursion packet and tow with a steel hull built in 1914 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on the Allegheny River at James Rees & Sons shop.

Measuring 157.5x35x5 with engines measuring 16’s – 6 ½ ft. stroke. Originally owned by West Memphis Packet Co. and variously operated as a packet, excursion boat and ferry. Bought by New St. Louis & Calhoun Packet Corp. of Hardin, Illinois in February, 1928 for excursions and contract towing jobs. Sold in April, 1947 to J. Herod Gorsage of Peoria, Illinois and renamed her Avalon in February, 1948. The name Avalon was to honor the old side-wheeler, upon which Capt. Ben Winters first worked.

P-1025, at Madison, Indiana loading excursions. Very good.

After purchase by Jefferson County her name was changed to the Belle of Louisville. This name was chosen by Cook and inspired by his wife, Nancy, whom, while studying out East was nicknamed the “Belle of Louisville”. No sooner was the boat renamed than repairs and redesign began. Naval architect Alan Bates^[4] was the man hired for the job of returning the Belle to functioning status, a job which took a little more than a year (not to mention the ongoing renovations and work necessary on any vessel, especially one so old, which continued through the latter part of the 60s) and can be read about in Bates’s book Belle of Louisville: Ohio River Steamboat. The 1960s would also mark the Belle’s first participation in the Great Steamboat Race, as part of the annual Kentucky Derby Festival, against the Delta Queen. In the 1970s and 80s the Belle was added to the National Registry of Historic Places (1971) and as a National Historic Landmark (1989); that same year the Belle was declared the oldest operating Mississippi river-style steamboat in the nation. The 1990s brought some much-needed updates and repairs, as well as an unfortunate encounter with a vandal who attempted to sink the ship in 1997. Due to the quick work of the crew and others, the ship was not fully submerged and was back up and running by 1998 – just a little over a year after the incident. The 2000s have been characterized by tourism and celebration; in 2007 a ten-year preservation plan was implemented, in 2009 the Belle celebrated her 95^th birthday and the continued record of the oldest American steamboat still in operation, and in 2014 the Belle celebrated her 100^th birthday with a week-long riverboat celebration known as the Centennial Festival of Riverboats.

Resources:

Bates, Alan L. Belle of Louisville: Ohio River Steamboat. Berkeley, CA. Howell-North Books. 1965.

Glossary of Steamboat Terms. http://www.steamboats.org/history-education/glossary.html

Journey along the Ohio River. “Steamboat report: Worlds largest coal barge Joseph B.

Williams”. http://sternwheel.blogspot.com/2012/02/steamboat-report-worlds-largest-coal.html

Way, Frederick Jr., compiler.  Way’s Directory of Western Rivers Packets. 1950.

Way, Frederick Jr. and Joseph W. Rutter, compilers. Way’s Steam Towboat Directory. Athens, OH. Ohio University Press. 1990.

Container List – Click Here to See Project Index

Box 1:

Roll 1: Main deck plan and west elevation plan for the Memphis Ferry Co. proposed boat (Idlewild), June 1910

Roll 2: Proposed ferry boat for West Memphis Ferry Co., Memphis, Tenn. (Idlewild), June 1910

Roll 3: Midship Section Memphis Ferry; looking aft (Idlewild), 1914

Roll 4: Cabin plan of Memphis Ferry (Idlewild), no date

Roll 5: Unnamed, no date

Roll 6: Memphis Ferry guard boiler deck (Idlewild), no date

 Subject Headings

Architecture – Designs and plans.

Avalon (Steamboat).

Belle of Louisville (Steamboat).

Boats and boating–Ohio River.

Idlewild (Steamboat).

Naval architects

Naval architecture.

Naval architecture–Designs and plans.

Segregation.

Steamboats.

Towboats

Transportation.

[1] This catalog is available at the Digital Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. https://librarycatalog.einetwork.net/Record/.b19404360

[2] Research through the Historic Pittsburgh City Directories (http://digital.library.pitt.edu/p/pitttextdir/ ), more specifically the Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, J.F. Diffenbacher’s directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities and the Pittsburgh directory, find the last listing for James Rees and Sons in 1921 and then a final mention of Jas. Rees in 1930.

[3] Original drawings depict a port side (left) profile featuring an extended boiler deck that sheltered the entire foredeck, a pilot house resting directly on a skylight roof and an altogether lacking texas cabin. Whereas the final product did, in fact, feature a texas cabin as well as other changes including: the removal of W.M.F. Co. for Idlewild, enclosing the open as-drawn gangway across the boiler deck and changing the whistle from one to three barrels.

[4] Captain Alan Bates (1923-2012) was a naval architect by trade as well as a steamboat historian, columnist for the Waterways Journal, author of books on riverboat lore and technology, founding member—and first president in 1958— of the Howard Steamboat Museum Board of Directors and one of the volunteers involved in saving and preserving the Howard Steamboat Museum Collection (located at the University of Louisville’s Archives and Special Collections). Bates’s love with the water began shortly after he finished high school when he was hired as a deckhand. Bates designed 32 excursion vessels throughout his day. He served as first mate on the Belle for a number of years and even went on to earn his masters license. Known around the world for his steamboat expertise, Bates also designed the Natchez.

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator:  Barnes family

Title:  Papers, 1913-1936

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

Size of Collection:  .33 cu. ft.

Location Number:  Mss. A B261

Scope and Content Note

Collection consists of professional papers of John H. Barnes and his son, Marshall Barnes. John Barnes’ material concerns the construction and management of the Ideal movie theater in Beaver Dam, Ky. which he owned and managed; movie ads and booking materials are included. In addition to assisting his father in management of the theater in the 1920s, Marshall Barnes was the campaign manager during the Kentucky Democratic primary campaign for U.S. Senate of John Y. Brown, Sr., in 1936.  The correspondence is primarily between Marshall and various campaign workers and political supporters; collection also includes campaign materials and ads.

Biographical Note

John Hiram Barnes was born Dec. 14, 1856 in Ohio Co., Ky.  In1890 he established the Beaver Dam (Ky.) Deposit Bank and served as president until his death in 1934. In 1913 he established and managed the Ideal movie theater in Beaver Dam.  The theater burned in 1927.  He and his wife, Margaret E. Barnes, had two sons, Frank and Marshall.  John died in Jefferson Co., Ky., May 16, 1934 and is buried in Sunnyside Cemetery in Beaver Dam.

Marshall Barnes was born March 2, 1897 in Ohio Co., Ky.  He served in the U.S. Navy during World War I and then entered the banking and insurance business with his father and brother, later serving as bank president from 1940 to 1981. He received his LL B degree from the University of Kentucky in 1924 and was admitted to the Kentucky Bar. He served a four year term as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1932 to 1936. In 1936 Marshall served as campaign manager for John Y. Brown, Sr., a candidate in the Kentucky Democratic primary election for U.S. Senate.  Marshall and his wife, Anne Barnes, had a son and a daughter.  He died in Owensboro, Ky., Dec. 16, 1985 and is buried in Sunnyside Cemetery in Beaver Dam.

Folder List

Folder 1: Ideal Theatre Correspondence, 1913-1925 [54 items]

Folder 2: J. Y. Brown Campaign Correspondence, April – June 1936 [57 items]

Folder 3: J. Y. Brown Campaign Correspondence, 1-14 July 1936 [54 items]

Folder 4: J. Y. Brown Campaign Correspondence, 17-30 July 1936 [74 items]

Folder 5: J. Y. Brown Campaign Correspondence, August – November 1936 [47 items]

Folder 6: J. Y. Brown Campaign materials, literature [19 items]

Folder 7: J. Y. Brown Campaign undated correspondence, receipts, newspaper clippings, misc. documents [50 items]

Subject Headings

Advertising – Motion pictures.

Associated First National Pictures, Inc.

Barnes, John Hiram, 1856-1934.

Barnes, Marshall, 1897-1985.

Beaver Dam (Ky.) – Buildings, structures etc.

Beckham, John Crepps Wickliffe, 1869-1940.

Brown, John Young, 1900-1985.

Campaign literature, 1936 – Democratic – Kentucky.

Campaign management – Kentucky.

Campaign promises – Kentucky.

Construction industry – Kentucky.

Construction industry – United States.

Famous Players-Lasky Corporation.

Film Booking Office of America.

Film posters, American.

Fox Film Corporation.

Heralds (Advertisements) – United States.

Kentucky – Politics and government.

Kentucky – Politics and government – Caricatures and cartoons.

Letterheads – United States.

Logan, M. M. (Marvel Mills), 1874-1939.

Motion picture actors and actresses – United States.

Motion picture programs – Kentucky.

Motion picture theaters – Kentucky – Beaver Dam.

Paramount Pictures Corporation (1914-1927).

Patronage, Political – Kentucky.

Playbills – Kentucky.

Political campaigns –Kentucky.

Political candidates – Kentucky.

Political posters, American – Kentucky.

Primaries – Kentucky.

Theatrical posters – Kentucky.

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator:  Louisville Landmarks Commission

Title:  Records, 1973-1978

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

Size of Collection:  2 cu. ft.

Location Number:  Mss. BL L888g

Scope and Content Note

The Louisville Landmarks Commission was created by city government in 1973. These papers from one of the original members of the Commission, James Bentley. They include meeting minutes, agendas, memorandum, and files on neighborhoods and individual buildings being considered for Landmark status. They also contain files on legal cases that came about as a result of the Landmark status such as conflicts with the Louisville Women’s Club, the Eastern Star Home and Highland Presbyterian Church.

Historical Note

The Louisville Landmarks Commission was established in April 1973 to make Historic Preservation part of government policy in Louisville. The Commission was appointed by the government with the members of the Commission to be citizens with interest in and skills relating to preservation and architecture.

Folder List

Folder 1: Agenda for meetings 1974-1977 – many undated.

Folder 2: Meeting Minutes, 2 November 1973-14 December 1973. Minutes from first meeting, Beginning of Women’s Club.

Folder 3:Meeting Minutes for 1974. Discussion of hiring a director. Defining boundaries for Old Louisville and the Cherokee Triangle. Discussion of the logo design process. Agreement that West Main Street be pushed forward as next priority after the Old Louisville designation as a preservation area. Questions about the University of Louisville buildings since announcement that the Arts and Sciences Deans Office was to be raised. Discussion as to what should be done as to creating public awareness by designating buildings landmarks. Discussion about the demolition of buildings and saving facades.

Folder 4: Meeting Minutes 1975. Discussion about designating buildings as landmarks. Discussion on the Limerick neighborhood. A brief history of Cherokee Triangle development. Discussion of the demolition of two house by the Women’s club for parking and a summery of Mayor Sloane’s talk to the Club.  Discussion about the designation of the Old University of Louisville Medical School building – designate only parts or the whole since it was remodeled and additions made over the years. Discussion of designating Union Station as a landmark and what the boundaries would be to include the buildings. Discussion of plaques to designate the landmarks. Arguments about whether only architecture or history should be considered for landmark designation – stemming from the U of L medical building which added to over the years. Some wanted only the original section designated while others wanted the whole building – including the ugly yellow brick section, because it was all the medical school building. Many cases of denying applications for changes and possible litigation. Ask state government for permission to collect parts from the Old Liederkranz Hall, owned by the state and to be torn down, for possible future use in buildings.

Folder 5: Meeting Minutes 1976. University of Louisville map. Fort Nelson Park news release. Dedication of the Little Loom House.  Vote to make the Playhouse at U of L a landmark. Reports on Women’s Club case. Letter to Courier-Journal about the Women’s Club case and vandalism of the houses in question. Eastern Star Home denied permission to build new facility due to design. Resolution naming Main Street as a “Street of History”.  Legal decision on the Eastern Star Home case.

Folder 6: Meeting Minutes 1977. Letters protesting the proposed demolition of a house owned by the Collegiate School to be turned into a parking lot. Letters in opposition to making Butchertown a Historical District. Move to ease restrictions on painting in historical district. Mayor Sloane’s press conference at the houses owned by the Women’s Club. Updates on Women’s Club Case. Architectural Description Draft for: Cathedral of the Assumption. Church of Our Merciful Saviour, Jefferson County Courthouse, Irvin House, The Cloister, Monserat School, Seelbach House, YMCA Building, Spring Station, Christ Church Cathedral, Memorial Auditorium.

Folder 7: Meeting Minutes to 19 July 1978. Highland Presbyterian Church controversy is discussed.

Folder 8: Memorandum 1973. The 27 February memo to Richard Hill and James Bently from Alderman Sidney Baer about creating the Landmarks Commission.

Folder 9: Memorandum 1974. Memo about the Women’s Club. Survey of places to consider for historic designation.

Folder 10: Memorandum 1975. Memo about a called meeting at Mayor Sloane’s office to try to settle Women’s Club problem.

Folder 11: Memorandum 1976. Arguments by the Women’s Club lawyers against the seizure of the two houses owned by the Club by the city’s right of eminent domain in order to prevent the Women’s Club from tearing them down for parking. A History of the Russell-Shawnee Area.  A brief history of the development along Southern Parkway. Memo about Union Station being taken over by TARC. Memo about approval of changes on Main Street for the Natural History Museum. Memo from Frankfort discussing new tax benefits to owners of historical property.

Folder 12: Memorandum 1977. A survey of needs for Old Louisville. Memo about demolition at DuPont Manual High School. A history of the Prince Hall Parkland Masonic Temple. Memo 2 November 1977 to Mayor Sloane discusses repair of the houses in the Women’s club controversy.

Folder 13: Memorandum 1978. Memo of 4 January 1978 discusses the possible settlement with the Women’s Club. Letter from Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission about aluminum and vinyl siding on houses.

Folder 14: Correspondence 1973.Letter and newspaper editorial about widening 2^nd and 4^th streets.

Folder 15: Correspondence 1974. A letter from Mayor Sloane to the Women’s Club about possible solutions to their parking problem. Several letters from out of town experts encouraging Louisville to name West Main Street with its cast iron architecture as a preservation district. Many letters between Frank Rankin and Scott Miller about negotiations in the Women’s Club matter.

Folder 16: Correspondence 1975. Correspondence with the Lawyer for the Women’s Club. Correspondence about the University of Louisville Medical School building. Correspondence dealing with the demolition of Imorde’s restaurant. Many letters dealing with opposition to demolition of buildings.

Folder 17: Correspondence 1976. Letters from the Women’s Club members expressing outrage at the comments made by Frank Rankin in the Courier-Journal about vandalism of the houses in question.

Folder 18: Correspondence 1977. Correspondence about Manual High School preservation. Letters about Spring Station and Union Station as historic landmarks for the city.

Folder 19: Press releases 1973-1977. Mitch McConnell’s press release on historic preservation in Jefferson County.

Folder 20: Budget. Memos and forms dealing with the Landmarks commission Budget. A city budget for the year 1974-1975. Written description for the year 1978-1979 budget for the Landmarks Commission.

Folder 21: Membership file. Contact information for members of the Commission and the expiration date of their term.

Folder 22: Ordinance. Copy of the ordinance creating the Landmarks Commission. Copies of forms used by the Commission in Historic Neighborhoods to apply for repairs/construction.

Folder 23: Pamphlets and newsletters dealing with historic preservation.

Folder 24: Preservation grant.

Folder 25: Newspaper Clippings.  Clippings and copies from books dealing with architectural preservation.

Folder 26: Miscellaneous material. List of pre-approved paint colors. Guide for Preservation Districts and Landmarks. List of buildings to consider for landmark status. Cleveland Conference of Landmarks Commissions Representatives booklets. Kentucky bill on holding public meetings.

Folder 27: Women’s Club Issue. Court decisions, public pleas, television editorials and courtroom exhibits dealing with the Women’s Club case.

Folder 28: Community Development Task Force Committee Report from 1975. Lists of proposals and possible funding.

Folder 29: Landmarks file. Information gathered for individual buildings to be considered for landmark status. The Little Loom House: Information from Lou Tate about the history of the site and the Little Loom house. Union Station: History of site, architect and L&N Railroad. Old Medical School: History of the site, Medical Schools in Louisville and the architects Clarke and Loomis. Mary D Hill School (Central High School): History of Black education in Louisville, brief history of the architect. Louisville Trust Building: History of the building. Carnegie Library at Tenth and Chestnut: Brief history of the building and its importance to the African American Community and a list of architects who worked in Louisville and the influence on the design of the library. The Brennan (Ronald) House: A brief history of the structure and the Brennan Family. Old Louisville Trust: Description of the building, the architects and the skyscraper. Sanborn Maps of the sites.

Folder 30: Old Louisville File. Photocopy of Bridwell and Brown, “Old Louisville”.  Map of boundaries for the Old Louisville Historic District. Description of buildings on the west and north sides of the Old Louisville proposed boundaries. Brief Old Louisville History and listing of houses of interest. The transcript of a meeting dated 16 January 1974 that was a fact finding mission before the neighborhood became a historical district. Walking tour map and description of the buildings highlighted on the tour. Papers dealing with the demolition of Imorde’s restaurant. Block survey of Old Louisville. Booklet titled “Old Louisville”.

Folder 31:Limerick Neighborhood file. Neighborhood survey of the Limerick area noting important buildings in the neighborhood. Booklet titled “Limerick (An Irish Neighborhood)”. Photocopy of a 1955 article on the neighborhood. Proposed boundaries of the Limerick neighborhood. Limerick Area Architectural Description report.

Folder 32: West Main Street file. Walking tour map and brief description.  West Main Street Architectural Description – building by building description.  Summary of Remarks at hearing for West Main Street proposed Historic District held on 4 September 1974. A paper on the history of West Main Street with descriptive notes taken on history of individual buildings. Final proposal for West Main Street.

Folder 33: Main Street 100 to 300 block. Draft of the Historic and Architectural Significance survey of the area.  Final draft for the 300 block application.

Folder 34: Cherokee Triangle file. Cherokee Triangle Area Preservation District Designation Report: Contains history of area and architectural report on buildings in the area. Transcription of the public hearing held on 6 March 1974. Paper on the historical significance of the Cherokee Triangle neighborhood. Boundary description. Copy of Cherokee Triangle Area  Study of September, 1974, by Louisville and Jefferson County Planning Commission.

Folder 35: Western Branch Library File. Landmark designation Report. History of building and architects.

Folder 36: Cathedral of the Assumption File. Landmark site designation report for the cathedral, The Cloister (Ursuline Academy), Fifth Ward School, and Louisville War Memorial Auditorium.  Brief history of the buildings.

Folder 37: Seelbach-Parrish house file. History of the house, the Seelbach family and the Parrish family.

Folder 38:Chestnut Street YMCA Building File. A brief history of the building and of the Knights of Pythias in Louisville.

Folder 39: Mary D. Hill School, Municipal College and St. Louis Bertrand file. Brief history of the buildings, the architects and the education of African Americans in Louisville.

Folder 40: Church of Our Merciful Saviour file. Brief history of the building, architect and African American Boy Scout Troop 35.

Folder 41: Butchertown file. Brief description of two blocks in Butchertown.

Folder 42: Highland Presbyterian Church file. Letters of support for the Church demolishing the two houses in order to construct a play park for their kindergarten. There is also a written reply to alternative proposals from the Landmarks Commission.

Folder 43: Christ Church Cathedral file. Landmarks commission report with history of the church and architect.

Folder 44: Jefferson county Jail file. Landmarks Commission report. History of the Jail in Louisville and Jefferson County and the architect, D X Murphy.

Folder 45: Belknap Playhouse File. Letters discussing the proposed move of the Playhouse from the campus.

Folder 46: Thompson-Buchanan-Rankin House File. History of the house and its owners until becoming part of Spalding University.

Folder 47: Little Loom House File. A history of the buildings and Lou Tate and the Little Loom House program.

Folder 48:  Southern Parkway, Marine Hospital and Peterson Dumesnil House File. U S Marine Hospital Landmark Site Designation Report with a history of the site and the architect. A Security Systems Survey for the Peterson-Dumesnil House. History of the Peterson-Dumesnil House. Architectural survey of a block of Southern Parkway.

Folder 49: Portland file.  A brief history of Portland.

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator:  Hornbrook family

Title:  Papers, 1857-1879

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

Size of Collection:  .33 cu. ft.

Location Number:  Mss. A H814

Scope and Content Note

Most of the correspondence in this collection is from Theodore Hornbrook to his wife, Lucy (sometimes Lucie), while aboard various ships on which he served as a clerk.  The ships on which he worked traveled between West Virginia and Mississippi.  During the Civil War, his boat was frequently requisitioned by the military to transport goods and troops.  Among the papers are bills for boat parts and repairs to the steamboat Leonora II of which Hornbrook was part owner.

Biographical Note

Theodore Hornbrook was born in Ohio in September 1837.  In 1861, Hornbrook married his wife, Lucy (b. June 1841, sometimes Lucie, maiden name unknown).  He worked as a steamboat clerk on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and was partial owner of the Steamer Leonora II.  Lucy died between 1900 and 1910, and Theodore died sometime after 1920.  They had two children, Charles M. (April 1880- after 1930, sometimes Charley) and Theodore (13 April 1883-October 1969).   The family lived in Marshall County, Virginia (now West Virginia) in the 1850s and 1860s, and in 1866, they moved to Belmont County, Ohio.  Sometime before 1900, the family returned to West Virginia, living in Wetzel County.

Folder List

Folder 1:              Correspondence, 1857-June 1864

Folder 2:              Correspondence, July-December 1864

Folder 3:              Correspondence, January-August 1865

Folder 4:              Correspondence, September-December 1865

Folder 5:              Correspondence, January-February 1866

Folder 6:              Correspondence, March 1866-November 1878

Folder 7:              Correspondence, 1879-1888, undated

Folder 8:              Receipts and accounts, 1859-1878

Folder 9:              Military orders, 1864-1865

Folder 10:            Miscellaneous

Folder 11:            Envelopes

Subject Headings

Business enterprises – Ohio River Valley

Ohio River Valley – Commerce

Steamboats – Mississippi River

Steamboats – Ohio River

United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 – Economic aspects

United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 – Equipment and supplies

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator:  Stone-Green family

Title:  Papers, 1916-1965 (bulk 1916)

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

Size of Collection:  .66 cu. ft.

Location Number:  Mss. A S877a

Scope and Content Note

Collection consists of letters, most written in 1916, between Nora L. Stone and Raymond O. Green while courting in western Kentucky.  The letters primarily express the love and devotion that each feels for the other.  They particularly enjoy teasing one another regarding suspicions that each still has romantic feelings for another person and each claims to write longer, more frequent letters than the other.  Many of the letters contain references to social life and local customs.  Letters dated October 1918 indicate that Raymond had been inducted into the army but was confined to a local hospital when stricken with the flu raging in the Bowling Green, Ky. area. Letters in the 1960s are to Raymond Green’s sister, Ethel James, and family.

Biographical Note

Raymond O. Green was born September 18, 1893, in Mayfield, Kentucky, the 7^th of 8 children born to John and Mary Green.  Nora L. Stone was born August 5, 1896, in Milburn, Kentucky, the oldest of two children born to Samuel and Euna Stone.  Raymond and Nora started dating in December, 1915 and their courtship continued for several years until they married ca. 1919.  During their courtship, Raymond worked on his mother’s farm (his father had died in 1904) and operated a milk delivery route in the Mayfield area.  Nora worked part-time in her father’s drugstore/grocery.  In the fall of 1918, Raymond enlisted in the military, but soon contracted the flu, possibly spread by soldiers from Texas passing through Bowling Green, Ky., the month before.  He spent at least 2 weeks recovering in a hospital in Bowling Green. Following their marriage, Raymond and Nora moved in with her father where they lived for at least the next 20 years.  They had at least one child, Johnnie, born in 1929.  Raymond spent most of his adult life as a farmer in the Milburn area.  He died May 2, 1989.  Nora died March 12, 1983.  Both are buried in the Milburn Cemetery.

Folder List

Folder 1: Correspondence, April 1916 [51 items]

Folder 2: Correspondence, May 1916 [70 items]

Folder 3: Correspondence, June 1916 [73 items]

Folder 4: Correspondence, July 1916 [56 items]

Folder 5: Correspondence, 1-13 August 1916 [54 items]

Folder 6: Correspondence, 17-30 August 1916 [48 items]

Folder 7: Correspondence, September 1916 [81 items]

Folder 8: Correspondence, October 1916 [79 items]

Folder 9: Correspondence, November 1916 [73 items]

Folder 10: Correspondence, December 1916 [80 items]

Folder 11: Correspondence, 1918-1965\ [27 items]

Folder 12: Miscellaneous envelopes, stamps [9 items]

Subject Headings

Courtship – Kentucky.

Dairy farming – Kentucky.

Education – Kentucky.

Farm life – Kentucky.

Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919.

Kentucky – Social life and customs.

Love letters – Kentucky.

Teasing – Kentucky.

Telephone calls – Kentucky.

Women – Employment – Kentucky.

World War, 1914-1918 –Hospitals.

Young adults – Social life and customs.