Processed by
Kathryn Wilmot
September 2007
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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VOLUME OF |
5 document cases, 2 oversized manuscript folders |
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COLLECTION |
1906–1954 (bulk 1930–1954) |
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PROVENANCE: |
Elizabeth Ann Lefler, Indianapolis, IN, April 2001 |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE |
None |
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RELATED |
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ACCESSION |
2001.0576 |
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NOTES: |
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Ora Newton Lefler was born on 6 June 1871 to Isaac Lefler (b. 6 February 1832) and Martha Jane Wire (b. 17 May 1840). On 13 August 1898 in Lancaster, Huntington County, Indiana, Ora married Nettie Stout (b. 12 April 1876). The couple had two children, Ralph W. and Glen J. Lefler.
Ora and Nettie owned a 129 acre farm in Warren, Jefferson Township, Huntington County, Indiana. Ora’s diaries indicate the couple attended a nearby Brethren church. In addition to farming, Ora was involved in soliciting subscribers to the Majenica Telephone Company and attended company meetings. He followed political events and legislation and favored the Republican Party.
Ora died 24 January 1954 after an operation. Nettie died soon thereafter on 4 February 1954.
Sources:
Information in the collection.
“Ancestry Library Edition.” Available online at: http://www.ancestrylibrary.com
“Rootsweb.” Available online at: http://www.rootsweb.com/
The collection consists of 29 diaries in which Ora Newton Lefler made daily notations for the years 1906–1907 and 1930–1954. It is not known whether Lefler kept diaries during the period from 1908–1929. Places mentioned within the diaries include Huntington, Indianapolis, Lancaster, Majenica, Markle, Peru, and Warren. Frequently mentioned neighbors and surnames include Buzzard, Heaston, Neff, Sprinkle, Shideler, Ulrich, and Wire, among many others.
Lefler’s diaries provide information on the daily life of a farmer, including horses and cattle bought, sold, and bred; farms, mortgages, and stocks bought and sold; supplies and machinery purchased, including automobiles; the price of goods; bookkeeping; helping neighbors; and chores such as cultivating, hauling, plowing, sowing, and threshing.
In addition to farming, Lefler noted attendance at church, trials, jury service, Farm Bureau meetings, Ladies’ Aid, Decoration Day celebrations, speeches, commencement ceremonies, weddings, the World’s Fair, plays and musical productions, movies, and numerous funerals for community members. Lefler also kept track of doctors he and Nettie visited, results of examinations, surgeries, and Nettie’s fever, steam bath, and electric “treatments.” In the late 1940s, Lefler reported on the success of the men drilling for oil through the Trenton Limestone on Lloyd Lahr’s nearby farm.
At the local, national, and international levels, Lefler recorded illnesses, accidents, suicides, kidnappings, legislation, weather, politics, elections, and political conventions, and crimes like burglaries, murders, and robberies. Political, economic, and foreign policy issues specifically mentioned include unemployment and bank instability related to the Great Depression in the 1930s, the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, World War II, the administration of President Henry S. Truman, Communism, the Cold War, and the Korean War.
Loose items removed from the diaries consist of correspondence, political newspaper clippings, local election news and sample ballots, agriculture and livestock information, information relating specifically to Lefler’s farm, Federal Farm Board news, letters from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Adjustment Administration, commencement programs for local high schools, receipts, obituaries, and advertisements.
A photograph of Lefler can be found on the “Dedication” page of the 1937 Jeffersonian in Box 3, Folder 1. Additionally, a brief article containing a photograph of Lefler’s farm is located in Box 2, Folder 10.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Diary, 1906 |
Box 1, Folder 1 |
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Loose note removed from 1906 diary |
Box 1, Folder 2 |
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Diary, 1907 |
Box 1, Folder 3 |
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Diary, 1930 |
Box 1, Folder 4 |
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Loose items removed from 1930 diary |
Box 1, Folder 5 |
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Page from the Indianapolis Star, 31 May 1930 removed from 1930 diary |
OM 0458, Folder 1 |
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Diary, 1931 |
Box 1, Folder 6 |
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Loose items removed from 1931 diary |
Box 1, Folder 7 |
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Diary, 1932 |
Box 1, Folder 8 |
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Loose items removed from 1932 diary |
Box 1, Folder 9 |
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Diary, 1933 |
Box 1, Folder 10 |
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Loose items removed from 1933 diary |
Box 1, Folder 11 |
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Diary, 1934 |
Box 2, Folder 1 |
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Loose items removed from 1934 diary |
Box 2, Folder 2 |
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Northwestern trip diary, July–Aug. 1934 |
Box 2, Folder 3 |
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Loose items removed from 1934 Northwestern trip diary |
Box 2, Folder 4 |
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Diary, 1935 |
Box 2, Folder 5 |
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Loose items removed from 1935 diary |
Box 2, Folder 6 |
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Diary, 1936 |
Box 2, Folder 7 |
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Loose items removed from 1936 diary |
Box 2, Folder 8 |
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Diary, 1937 |
Box 2, Folder 9 |
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Loose items removed from 1937 diary |
Box 2, Folder 10 |
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The Jeffersonian, 1937 |
Box 3, Folder 1 |
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Diary, 1938 |
Box 3, Folder 2 |
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Loose items removed from 1938 diary |
Box 3, Folder 3 |
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Diary, 1939 |
Box 3, Folder 4 |
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Loose items removed from 1939 diary |
Box 3, Folder 5 |
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Diary, 1940 |
Box 3, Folder 6 |
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Loose items removed from 1940 diary |
Box 3, Folder 7 |
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Diary, 1941 |
Box 3, Folder 8 |
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Loose items removed from 1941 diary |
Box 3, Folder 9 |
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Page from the News-Sentinel,
Fort Wayne, Indiana, |
OM 0458, Folder 2 |
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Diary, 1942 |
Box 4, Folder 1 |
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Loose items removed from 1942 diary |
Box 4, Folder 2 |
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Diary, 1943 |
Box 4, Folder 3 |
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Loose items removed from 1943 diary |
Box 4, Folder 4 |
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Diary, 1944 |
Box 4, Folder 5 |
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Loose item removed from 1944 diary |
Box 4, Folder 6 |
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Diary, 1 Jan.–30 Sept. 1945 |
Box 4, Folder 7 |
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Loose items removed from 1 Jan.–30 Sept. 1945 diary |
Box 4, Folder 8 |
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Diary, 1 Oct.–31 Dec. 1945 and 1–23 Jan. 1948 |
Box 4, Folder 9 |
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Loose items removed from Oct.–Dec. 1945 and Jan. 1948 diary |
Box 4, Folder 10 |
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Diary, 1946 |
Box 4, Folder 11 |
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Loose items removed from 1946 diary |
Box 4, Folder 12 |
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Diary, 1947 |
Box 5, Folder 1 |
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Loose items removed from 1947 diary |
Box 5, Folder 2 |
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Diary, 1948 |
Box 5, Folder 3 |
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Loose items removed from 1948 diary |
Box 5, Folder 4 |
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Diary, 1949 |
Box 5, Folder 5 |
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Loose items removed from 1949 diary |
Box 5, Folder 6 |
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Diaries, 1950 and 1951 |
Box 5, Folder 7 |
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Loose items removed from 1950 diary |
Box 5, Folder 8 |
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Loose items removed from 1951 diary |
Box 5, Folder 9 |
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Diaries, 1952 and 1953 |
Box 5, Folder 10 |
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Loose items removed from 1952 diary |
Box 5, Folder 11 |
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Loose items removed from 1953 diary |
Box 5, Folder 12 |
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Diary, Jan. 1954 |
Box 5, Folder 13 |
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Loose item removed from 1954 diary |
Box 5, Folder 14 |
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Loose notes and clippings, ca. 1940s |
Box 5, Folder 15 |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://opac.indianahistory.org/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, M 0941).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.