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 |
Manuscript Materials: 1 document case |
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COLLECTION |
1883–1942 (bulk 1920s–1930s) |
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PROVENANCE: |
Martha Siurua, Indianapolis, Indiana, November 1984 |
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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 |
1984.1114 |
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NOTES: |
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On 9 January 1852, Daniel Boone Clapp was born in Jennings, Indiana, to Henry Boone Clapp and Elizabeth Amick. On 30 August 1899 in Indiana, Daniel married Mary B. Wynn, the daughter of James M. Wynn and his wife, Margaret. Mary was born on 17 June 1865. James and Margaret Wynn also had four other children: John, Carrie, Margaret, and Frank.
Daniel Boone Clapp and Mary B. [Wynn] Clapp lived in Scipio, Indiana. Per the federal census and information in the collection, Daniel worked as farmer, county surveyor, and civil engineer. The couple had two children: D. Wynn (b. ca. 1906) and Carolyn “Carrie” Barbour Clapp (b. 16 August 1908). Carrie Barbour attended the Indianapolis Teacher’s College. The 1930 census shows Carrie living with her parents and teaching grade school. She died in February 1988.
Sources:
Information in the collection.
“Ancestry Library Edition.” Available online at: http://www.ancestrylibrary.com
The collection is divided into the three series outlined below and contains materials belonging to the Clapp and Wynn families.
Series 1: Papers and Correspondence, 1900–1932 contains three letters, a few poems, Carrie B. Clapp’s high school commencement invitation, and her English composition class assignments.
A 1910 letter written by Daniel B. Clapp describes his stagecoach ride and business trip to Beaumont, Kentucky. A 1924 letter written to Carrie B. Clapp by Carrie Meredith of the Indianapolis News provides advice on studying the United States Constitution and mentions the Clapp family’s recent episode of scarlet fever.
The various compositions written by Carrie B. Clapp from 1931–1932 provide biographical and genealogical information on the Clapp and Wynn families, as well as information on Carrie’s childhood adventures. She mentions the family’s domestic helpers, including Agnes Ross, whose name appears with the family on the 1910 census. The titles of Carrie’s compositions are: “Why I Like Pike’s Peak,” “My First Ambition,” “The Swing Under the Big Beech Tree,” “Shivers Up the Spine,” “Motoring,” “My Ancestors,” “Autobiography: My Maternal Ancestors,” “Autobiography: All About Me,” “A Path Through the Woods,” “Tomorrow,” “Good Susie,” “A Coquette’s Heart,” “A Campus Cad,” “Shoes,” “The New Harmony Movement,” “A Portrait,” and “Character Sketch of Dara.”
Series 2: Diaries and Journals, 1883–1942 consists of Mary B. [Wynn] Clapp’s 1883–1931 journal and her 1919 diary, and diaries kept by Carrie B. Clapp from 1921–42.
Mary wrote most of her journal entries before she married Daniel B. Clapp. From 1883–88, the journal contains notes taken during a bible topics class. In 1893, Mary began using this journal as a diary, albeit sporadically. Most of the entries are from 1893–95, with one entry for 11 November 1909 and a few entries for May–June 1931. In the earlier entries, Mary recorded information on visitors and relatives, parties attended, sleigh rides, weather, holidays, letters received, her brother John’s attendance at Purdue University, and her sister Carrie Louise’s activities. She utilized spirituality to cope with personal difficulties and loneliness. Loose items removed from this journal include an essay entitled “A Description of Our Schoolhouse,” a booklet entitled “Favorite Quotations,” some handwritten poetry, newspaper clippings, some leaves that were pressed into the journal pages, and a small photograph of an unidentified boy.
Mary’s 1919 diary relates to a trip the family took to Glacier National Park in Montana. Mary describes the train trip to Montana, mountain climbing experiences, and scenery. She mentions standing near the spot where Dr. Calvin I. Fletcher from Indianapolis fell to his death in 1913. Loose items removed from this diary consist of tickets and receipts from the trip.
The first two of Carrie B. Clapp’s three small diaries cover the period from 1921–27, although she wrote in them infrequently. Her notations reference attendance at bible school and church, visits to and from relatives, trips to Indianapolis and Wisconsin, parties, school plays, names of schoolteachers and pupils, cooking for threshers, and other daily activities. Notations in the 1942 diary are few and relate to a boat trip taken.
Series 3: Newspaper clippings, 1922–23; n.d. relate to the death of Dr. Frank B. Wynn from a climbing accident in Glacier National Park. The brother of Mary B. [Wynn] Clapp, Dr. Wynn lived in Indianapolis. An undated obituary for Mary B. [Wynn] Clapp’s stepmother Mary Shera Wynn is also in this folder.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Correspondence, 1900–24 |
Box 1, Folder 1 |
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Poems, 1925–n.d. |
Box 1, Folder 2 |
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Scipio High School commencement announcement, 1927 |
Box 1, Folder 3 |
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Carrie Barbour Clapp’s English
compositions, |
Box 1, Folder 4 |
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Carrie Barbour Clapp’s English compositions, |
Box 1, Folder 5 |
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Carrie Barbour Clapp’s English compositions, |
Box 1, Folder 6 |
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Carrie Barbour Clapp’s English compositions, |
Box 1, Folder 7 |
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Carrie Barbour Clapp’s English compositions, n.d. |
Box 1, Folder 8 |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Mary B. [Wynn] Clapp’s journal, 1883–1931 |
Box 1, Folder 9 |
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Loose items removed from Mary B. [Wynn] Clapp’s journal |
Box 1, Folder 10 |
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Photograph of unidentified boy removed from Mary B. [Wynn] Clapp’s journal, n.d. [one small sepia tone photo] |
Photographs, |
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Mary B. [Wynn] Clapp’s Glacier National Park trip diary, 1919 |
Box 1, Folder 11 |
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Loose items removed from Mary B. [Wynn] Clapp’s 1919 diary |
Box 1, Folder 12 |
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Carrie Barbour Clapp’s diaries, 1921–25, 1925–27, and 1942 |
Box 1, Folder 13 |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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News clippings, 1922–23; n.d. |
Box 1, Folder 14 |
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 0942).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.