Biographical/Historical Sketch
Processed by
Pamela Tranfield
4 October 1996
Revised by Dorothy Nicholson
20 November 2003
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 |
One folder, and one 4x5 acetate negative |
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COLLECTION |
Ca. 1898–ca. 1910 |
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PROVENANCE: |
C. Wesley Smith, Veedersburg, August 1946; C. Rush Young, Veedersburg, March 1948 |
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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 |
None |
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ACCESSION |
1946.0702, 1946.0802, 1948.0309 |
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NOTES: |
C. Wesley Smith, born 10 May 1872, was a woodcarver, builder, grocer, and amateur photographer. His work included tintypes, and stereograph views of Veedersburg, Indiana, and local events. Smith was a Democratic council member in Veedersburg from 1900 to 1914, and keeper of records and seals for the Knights of Pythias Spring Hall Lodge no. 246. He also acted in local plays with his wife Anna (Jessamine Anna Sargent).
Biographical information on C. Rush Young is not available.
Christopher Keeling, Franklin Yerkes, and Peter S. Veeder platted Veederburg (Fountain County), Indiana in 1871. Incorporated as the town of “Veedersburgh” in 1872, the letter “h” was dropped from the place-name in 1896. Veedersburg became a city in 1900, but reverted to town status in 1936. Three railroads ran through Veedersburg at the turn of the century: the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis; the Toledo, St. Louis, and Western; and the Chicago, Attica, and Southern.
Sources:
History of Fountain County Indiana. Fountain County Historical Society, 1983.
Polk’s Indiana Gazetteer and Business Directory. Indianapolis: R. L. Polk and Co., Publishers, 1928.
The collection contains fourteen black-and-white copy prints and one original negative. C. Wesley Smith probably made all but one photograph in this collection. Captions are written on the back of each photograph and include names, locations, and approximate dates.
The photographs are of views in and around the town. These include crowd scenes at a street fair, a parade, and women and children posed on and around a derailed coal train. The brass band in the parade photographs is marching in memory of sailors and officers who died in the explosion of the U.S.S. Maine. Other images show individual buildings such as the Veedersburg Grade School, Presbyterian Church, railroad station, and the John Meeker home. Scenes of rural Fountain County include people posed by a river under the Portland Arch, and a small child standing beside an underground spring on a road south of Veedersburg. There is a photocopied paper on the history of the spring and the old kettle included in the folder of photographs.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Claude Ocheltree as a boy along road with old salt kettle used for spring, ca. 1910 |
Folder 1 |
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Veedersburg Rail Road Station |
Folder 1 |
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Veedersburg Train wreck on C. & E. I., ca. 1900 |
Folder 1 |
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Veedersburg grade school |
Folder 1 |
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Veedersburg Presbyterian Church |
Folder 1 |
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Portland Arch, Fountain County |
Folder 1 |
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Ezra Meeker on trip with covered wagon |
Folder 1 |
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U.S.S. Maine memorial parade in
Veedersburg |
Folder 1 |
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Veedersburg street fair, ca. 1898 (5 views) |
Folder 1 |
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Photocopied story of spring and old kettle in Fountain County |
Folder 1 |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Claude Ocheltree as a boy along road with old salt kettle used for spring, ca. 1910 |
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://157.91.92.2/
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, P 0334).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.