Archives

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator: Salmagundi Club

Title: Records, 1962-2004

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

Size of Collection: 0.33 cubic feet

Locator Number: Mss. BP S171

Scope and Content Note

Records consist primarily of membership documents, including membership lists, nominee lists and ballots, and hosting schedules for monthly club meetings. Correspondence documents Salmagundi’s participation in the centennial celebration of Louisville’s Olmsted parks, including the club’s donation of funds for parks signage. Other correspondence relates to Grady Clay’s Louisville Encyclopedia entry on Salmagundi. Of particular interest are two club histories written by member Alexander Booth, one of which includes list of founding members, original constitution and a comprehensive listing of hosting schedules and topics presented from 1912-1982.

Historical Note

Founded in 1879 in Louisville, Kentucky, the Salmagundi club was an all-male social and literary devoted to conversation and the exchange of ideas. The club’s constitution restricted membership to 24, with new members nominated by club members and elected by secret ballot. Members rotated responsibility for hosting meetings at which the host presented an essay on the topic of his choice. Topics ranged from parks, to business practices to literature. As members of Louisville’s elite, Salmagundians possessed the resources to put ideas they explored into practice. In 1887, Salmagundi joined with the Commercial Club of Louisville and was instrumental in creating the legislation that established the Louisville parks system.

Folder List

Folder 1: Membership Documents 1962-1990 (49 items)

Folder 2: Membership Documents 1991-2004 (88 items)

Folder 3: Salmagundi Histories (27items)

Folder 4: Salmagundi and Louisville Parks System (82 items)

Folder 5: Salmagundi Entry in Louisville Encyclopedia (26 items)

Folder 6: Salmagundi Essays (99 items)

Folder 7: Miscellaneous (21 items)

Subject Headings

Clay, Grady

Clubs – Kentucky – Louisville

Parks – Kentucky – Louisville

Salmagundi Club

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator: Rapp-Idleman family

Title: Papers, 1861-1883

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

Size of Collection: 0.66 cubic feet

Locator Number: Mss. A R221

Scope and Content Note

The collection largely consists of letters written by their siblings and close friends to William Rapp and Clara Idleman Rapp during the Civil War and the post-war years up to 1883. Two of William’s brothers served in Ohio infantry regiments and their letters describe daily military life and movements and engagements of their regiments. A third brother living in Terre Haute, Ind., and San Francisco, Calif., writes of personal experiences in those cities and events occurring between 1861 and 1883. William kept a diary during 1864 in which he describes daily life in the 121 st Ohio Infantry Regiment and early engagements of the Atlanta Campaign. Other Ohio soldiers in Union regiments write to Clara, a number of whom are apparently courting her. After the war, several relatives and friends write to Clara, relating family events and activities related to Smithville Academy, a teacher preparatory school in Ohio. Clara kept a diary during 1870, in which she describes daily family events, chronic personal health problems and teaching activities.

Separation Note: Tintypes from this collection have been transferred to the photo department.

Biographical Note

William C. Rapp was born in July 1844 in Wurtemberg, in what is now Germany. He and several brothers and sisters immigrated to the U.S., probably in the early 1850s and presumably with their parents. They settled in Marion County, Ohio. William enlisted in the 121st Ohio Infantry Regiment in August 1862. In the Atlanta Campaign, he was wounded in the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain (June 1864) and spent the rest of the war recuperating in military hospitals. After being discharged in April 1865, he moved to Richland County, Ill. and became a storekeeper. By 1871, he had returned to Marion County and married Clara R. Idleman. Clara was born in Marion County, 7 April 1847, the daughter of S. and C. A. Idelman. . She had one sister, Lydia, and two brothers, Will and Cicero. She attended Smithville Academy in Ohio and became a schoolteacher. She and William had one child, a son, Orlando. Clara had a long history of health problems and by 1873 her health had markedly deteriorated. She died 8 Jan. 1874 at the age of 26, presumably from tuberculosis. In 1883, William was remarried to Ida M. Walters, a 32 year-old widow with 3 children. William died between 1900 and 1910.

Jacob J. Rapp, William’s older brother, was born ca. 1837. In 1861, he was in the newspaper circulation business in Terre Haute, Ind. By 1866, he had moved to San Francisco, Calif, where he held numerous jobs, primarily as a rooming house clerk. Another brother, George David, enlisted in the 4th Ohio Infantry Regiment in 1861, serving as corporal. A fourth brother, Louis Frederick, was born ca. 1839 and enlisted as a private in the 82nd Ohio Infantry Regiment in 1861. Little is known regarding a fifth brother, John. There were at least 3 sisters, Margaret Rapp Yager (Jaeger), Caroline Rapp Franklin and Elizabeth (Lib) Rapp Myers.

Folder List

Folder 1: Correspondence to William C. Rapp; 1861

Folder 2: Correspondence to William C. Rapp; January – April 1862

Folder 3: Correspondence to William C. Rapp; May – November 1862

Folder 4: Correspondence to William C. Rapp; 1863 – 1865

Folder 5: Correspondence to William C. Rapp; 1866 – June1868

Folder 6: Correspondence to William C. Rapp; July 1868 – 1869

Folder 7: Correspondence to William C. Rapp; 1870 – 1883

Folder 8: Correspondence to William C. Rapp; undated

Folder 9: Correspondence to Clara Idleman Rapp; 1862 – 1865

Folder 10: Correspondence to Clara Idleman Rapp; 1866 – 1868

Folder 11: Correspondence to Clara Idleman Rapp; 1869 – June 1870

Folder 12: Correspondence to Clara Idleman Rapp; July 1870 – 1871

Folder 13: Correspondence to Clara Idleman Rapp; 1872 – 1873

Folder 14: Correspondence to Clara Idleman Rapp; undated

Folder 15: Miscellaneous correspondence

Folder 16: William C. Rapp diary, 1864 – 1865

Folder 17: Clara Idleman Rapp diary, 1870-71

Folder 18: Business, tax documents, Confederate currency etc.

Folder 19: Miscellaneous Civil War era poems, one by Pvt. W. C. Rapp

Folder 20: Dance, wedding invitations; teaching certificate, newspaper clippings etc.

Folder 21: Oversize documents: annual newspaper greetings to subscribers; advertisements by Civil War bounty, claims agents

Subject Headings

Atlanta Campaign, 1864

Bounties, Military – United States

Broadsides

Confederate States of America. Army. Morgan’s Cavalry Division

Diseases

Eye – Diseases

Georgia – History – Civil War, 1861-1865

Indiana – History – Civil War, 1861-1865

Indiana – Newspapers

Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875 – Political and social views

Kennesaw Mountain, Battle of, Ga., 1864

Letterheads

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 – Death and burial

Love-letters

Love poetry, American

McDowell, Battle of, McDowell, Va., 1862

Migration, Internal – United States

Military pensions – United States – Civil War, 1861-1865

Money – Confederate States of America

Ohio – History – Civil War, 1861-1865

Ohio – Newspapers

Ohio. Union Light Guard (1863-1866)

Payne, Lewis, 1845-1865

Psychiatric hospitals – Ohio

Railroads – United States

San Francisco (Calif.) – Description and travel

Seward, William Henry, 1801-1872 – Assassination attempt, 1865

Silver mines and mining – Nevada

Smithville Academy (Smithville, Ohio)

Steamboats

South Carolina – History – Civil War, 1861-1865

Teachers – Education – Ohio – History – 19th century

Terre Haute (Ind.) – Description and travel

United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865

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

United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 – Destruction and pillage – South Carolina

United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 – German Americans

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

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

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

United States. Army – Military life – History – 19th century

United States. Army – Pay, allowances, etc

United States. Army. Ohio Infantry Regiment, 4th (1861- 1865)

United States. Army. Ohio Infantry Regiment, 82nd (1861-1865)

United States. Army. Ohio Infantry Regiment, 121st (1862-1865)

Virginia – History – Civil War, 1861-1865

War poetry, American

West Virginia – History – Civil War, 1861-1865

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator: Schmidt family

Title: Papers, 1858-1895

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

Size of Collection: 2 cubic feet

Locator Number: Mss. A S349

Scope and Content Note

The collection contains 209 letters written between 1858 and 1895 by or to members of the Henry Schmidt family and their relatives living in Ohio and Kansas. The majority was written by Henry to his fiancee and wife, Kate, while he served with the 15th and 37th Ohio Infantry regiments in the Civil War. The letters reflect the deep affection that Henry had for Kate and his concern for her financial well being, her living conditions during his long absences and that she become a faithful member of the Catholic church. Some letters reveal his feelings about the Copperhead movement in Ohio and his ambivalence regarding slavery. They also provide many details of military engagements involving the 37th Ohio Infantry Regt., particularly the siege of Vicksburg and the Atlanta Campaign. He also provides a description of his experiences while a paroled prisoner in camps near Columbus, Ohio in 1862. Additional letters were written by Kate while she waited for his return after the war and by fellow soldiers in the 37th regiment.

Biographical Note

Joseph Henry Schmidt was born in Wapakoneta, Auglaize County, Ohio, on 18 December 1839, the son of Caspar Schmidt, a German immigrant. In April 1861, he enlisted for three months service with Company K of the 15 th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.) and served as a sergeant. On 22 August 1861, following the mustering out of the 15 th Ohio, he re-enlisted with Company C of the 37th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, a primarily German regiment. He was appointed 2nd Lieutenant of Company C on 7 September 1861 and promoted to 1st Lieutenant of Company A on 31 March 1862 and to Captain of that company on 4 March 1863. He saw action in West Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia and the Carolinas before being mustered out in August 1865, in Little Rock, Arkansas. After the birth of their first child in November 1861, Henry married Mary Katherine (‘Kate’) Nye in May 1862. After the war, Henry returned to Wapakoneta where he and Kate eventually had 9 children, 3 of whom survived infancy. He died 23 December 1925 at the age of 86 and Kate died 16 May 1926 at the age of 82. Both are buried in St. Joseph Cemetery, Wapakoneta, Ohio.

Folder List

Folder 1: Correspondence 1858 – 1861

Folder 2: Correspondence January – June 1862

Folder 3: Correspondence July – September 1862

Folder 4: Correspondence October – December 1862

Folder 5: Correspondence January – April 1863

Folder 6: Correspondence May – December 1863

Folder 7: Correspondence January – May 1864

Folder 8: Correspondence June – August 1864

Folder 9: Correspondence September – December 1864

Folder 10: Correspondence January – April 1865

Folder 11: Correspondence May – June 1865

Folder 12: Correspondence July 1865

Folder 13: Correspondence August 1865 – 1895

Folder 14: Military papers

Folder 15: Miscellaneous, undated papers

Folder 16: Transcriptions for correspondence in Folders 1-3 [click to access PDF]

Folder 17: Transcriptions for correspondence in Folders 4-6 [click to access PDF]

Folder 18: Transcriptions for correspondence in Folders 7-9 [click to access PDF]

Folder 19: Transcriptions for correspondence in Folders 10-13 [click to access PDF]

Subject Headings

Atlanta Campaign, 1864

Catholic Church – Ohio

Georgia – History – Civil War, 1861-1865

Kansas – Description and travel

Lookout Mountain (Tenn.), Battle of, 1863

Love poetry, American

Marriage – Ohio

Ohio – History – Civil War, 1861-1865

Schmidt family

Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891

Sherman’s March to the Sea

Tennessee – History – Civil War, 1861-1865

United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 – Participation, German American

United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 – Prisoners and prisons

United States – History – Civil War, 1861-1865 – Public opinion

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

United States. Army – Military life – History – 19th century

United States. Army. Ohio Infantry Regiment, 15th (1861-1865)

United States. Army. Ohio Infantry Regiment, 37th (1861-1865)

Vicksburg (Miss.) – History – Civil War, 1861-1865

War poetry, American

West Virginia – History – Civil War, 1861-1865

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator: Shaw, Milton Theodore, 1924-2010

Title: Mechanical and Architectural Drawings, 1965-1983

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

Size of Collection: 1 oversize folder

Locator Number: Mss. AR S

Biographical Note

Milton Theodore Shaw was born in Louisville, KY on June 30, 1924. His parents were Edward and Nettie Shaw, both natives of Kentucky. After graduating high school, Milton enlisted in the Army in 1943 and served in the Army Air Corps until the end of the war. In 1945, making use of the newly enacted G. I. Bill, Shaw enrolled in the J. B. Speed School of Engineering at the University of Louisville. In 1949, Shaw graduated as a Mechanical Engineer, and worked professionally until his retirement. Milton’s wife Patricia donated the collection to the Filson Historical Society upon his death in 2010 at age 86.

Institutional History Note

Arthur Gustave Tafel (1891-1974) and Edward Jacob Schickli (1928-) were partners in the firm Tafel & Schickli, Architects and Engineers, with offices located at 222 S. 1 st Street and 310 W. Liberty Street in Louisville, KY. The pair designed two of the projects in the Milton T. Shaw Mechanical and Architectural Drawings Collection, as well as other locally and regionally significant projects, including Brodschi Hall (the International Center) on the campus of the University of Louisville. Edward Schickli graduated from MIT in 1950, and went on to design Cherokee Park’s Hogan’s Fountain tee pee in 1964, helped with the Standiford Field expansion in 1970 (now the Louisville International Airport), and designed the original Louisville Zoo in 1968. Arthur G. Tafel was the son of German immigrants and before partnering with Schickli, Tafel designed the Bauhaus style (also called International Style) façade of the American Printing House for the Blind on Frankfort Avenue in 1955, and the Coca-Cola plant in Shelbyville, KY that has now been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Scope and Content Note

The collection consists of four mechanical and architectural project plans designed by Louisvillian mechanical engineers and architects between 1965 and 1983. The collection provides a view into mechanical engineering design practices, as well as architectural design principles prevalent during the collection’s period of creation.

Subject Headings 

Architecture – Kentucky – Louisville

Bethesda Manor (Louisville, Ky.)

Building – Kentucky – Louisville

Hillcreek Nursing Home (Louisville, Ky.)

Mechanical drawing – Kentucky – Louisville

Mechanical engineers – Kentucky – Louisville

Springdale Presbyterian Church (Louisville, Ky.)

St. Alban’s Episcopal Church (Louisville, Ky.)

Tafel & Schickli, Architects & Engineers (Louisville, Ky.)

Additional Authors:

Tafel & Schickli, Architects and Engineers (Louisville, Ky.)

Held by The Filson Historical Society

Creator: Rowe-Myers family

Title: Papers, 1940-1970 (bulk 1942-1946)

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

Size of Collection: 4 cubic feet

Locator Number: Mss. A R878a

Scope and Content Note

The majority of the Rowe-Myers family papers are made up of correspondence between Jesse Myers, a sergeant on various American bases and in Guam during World War II, and his wife Wanda Rowe Myers, a secretary for the Girdler corporation in Louisville.  Letters from Jesse to Wanda discuss the training he received on the various bases as well as the USO shows and films that he attended while stationed around the United States.  After the war ended, Myers was sent to Guam for a few months.  Letters during this period discuss the reconnaissance missions he participates in there as well as the discharge policies of the US Army after World War II.  Wanda’s letters to Jesse detail events that occur in the Louisville area during the wartime period.

Other letters in the collection are correspondence to and from the Rowe brothers, Charles, Owen, and Skeeks.  Letters to Besse Rowe (mother to Wanda and the brothers) are from her children.  After the death of Owen, whose plane was shot down in Germany, she writes frequently to a Swedish family who cares for Owen’s grave in their country.  

The collection also contained photographs of members of the Rowe-Myers family which have been transferred to the Filson’s photographic archives.

Biographical Note

Wanda Rowe Myers was born Grace Wanda Rowe on March 23, 1917 in Herrin, Illinois to parents Hetsley Rowe and Bessie Katharine Acton Rowe.  She was the second of seven children.  She married Jesse Burge Myers of Louisville, Kentucky on June 22, 1942, just five days after Jesse had enlisted into the Army Air Force during World War II.  Her brothers, Albert Owen, Herbert “Skeeks” Oren, and Charles Everett also served in the military during World War II.  At the time of her marriage to Jesse Myers, Wanda worked as a secretary for the Girdler Corporation in Louisville, Kentucky.  In 1944, she left Louisville to join Jesse at his base on Long Beach, California, but returned six months later when Jesse was shipped to Guam.  Jesse was relieved from duty in 1946 and returned to Louisville, where he had worked at LG&E prior to the war.  

Folder List

Folder 1: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, June 1942

Folder 2: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, July 1942

Folder 3: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, August 1942

Folder 4: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, September 1942

Folder 5: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, October 1942

Folder 6: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, November 1942

Folder 7: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, December 1942

Folder 8: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, January 1943

Folder 9: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, February 1943

Folder 10: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, March 1943

Folder 11: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, April 1943

Folder 12: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, May 1943

Folder 13: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, June 1943

Folder 14: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, July 1943

Folder 15: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, August 1943

Folder 16: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, September 1943

Folder 17: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, October 1943

Folder 18: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, November 1943

Folder 19: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, December 1943

Folder 20: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, January 1944

Folder 21: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, February 1944

Folder 22: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, March 1944

Folder 23: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, April 1944

Folder 24: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, May 1944

Folder 25: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, June 1944

Folder 26: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, July 1944

Folder 27: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, August 1945

Folder 28: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, September 1945

Folder 29: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, October 1945

Folder 30: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, November 1945

Folder 31: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, December 1945

Folder 32: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, January 1946

Folder 33: Correspondence from Jesse Myers to Wanda Myers, February 1946 and misc.

Folder 34: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, June 1942

Folder 35: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, July 1942

Folder 36: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, August 1942

Folder 37: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, September 1942

Folder 38: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, October 1942

Folder 39: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, November 1942

Folder 40: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, December 1942

Folder 41: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, January 1943

Folder 42: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, February 1943

Folder 43: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, March 1943

Folder 44: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, April 1943

Folder 45: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, May 1943

Folder 46: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, June 1943

Folder 47: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, August 1943

Folder 48: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, November 1943

Folder 49: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, December 1943

Folder 50: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, January 1944

Folder 51: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, February 1944

Folder 52: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, March 1944

Folder 53: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, April 1944

Folder 54: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, May 1944

Folder 55: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, June 1944

Folder 56: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, July 1944

Folder 57: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, August 1944

Folder 58: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, October-December 1944

Folder 59: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, 1945

Folder 60: Correspondence from Wanda Myers to Jesse Myers, 1946 and Misc.

Folder 61: Miscellaneous Correspondence to Wanda Myers, 1940-1942        

Folder 62: Miscellaneous Correspondence to Wanda Myers, Jan – July, 1943

Folder 63: Miscellaneous Correspondence to Wanda Myers, August – December 1943

Folder 64: Miscellaneous Correspondence to Wanda Myers, 1944

Folder 65: Miscellaneous Correspondence to Wanda Myers, 1945-1970

Folder 66: Christmas Cards to Wanda Myers

Folder 67: Birthday Cards to Wanda Myers

Folder 68: Greeting Cards to Jesse Myers

Folder 69: Correspondence to Charles Rowe

Folder 70: Correspondence to Albert Owen Rowe

Folder 71: Correspondence to H.O. “Skeeks” Rowe

Folder 72: Correspondence to Bessie Rowe

Folder 73: Newspaper Clippings

Folder 74: Genealogy

Folder 75: Jesse Myers, Diary

Folder 76: Miscellaneous

Folder 77: Miscellaneous Christmas Cards

Folder 78: Miscellaneous Easter Cards

Folder 79: Miscellaneous Greeting Cards

Folder 80: Empty Envelopes, June-July, 1943

Folder 81: Empty Envelopes, August – September, 1943

Folder 82: Empty Envelopes, October – December, 1943

Folder 83: Empty Envelopes, 1944

Folder 84: Empty Envelopes, 1946

Folder 85: Miscellaneous Empty Envelopes

Subject Headings

Boardinghouses – Kentucky – Louisville

Germany – History – 1945-1955

Kentucky Derby

Long Beach (Calif.)

Louisville (Ky.) – Social life and customs

Myers, Jesse

Myers, Wanda Rowe

New York (N.Y.) – Description and travel

United Service Organizations (U.S.)

United States. Army Air Forces

Women’s Army Corps Foundation

World War, 1939-1945

World War, 1939-1945 – Economic aspects