Processed by
Glenn McMullen
3 August 2004
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 manuscript folders and 1 oversize folder |
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COLLECTION |
1855–1911 |
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PROVENANCE: |
Deborah Van Hoy, Fort Hood, Texas, August 1978 |
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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 |
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RELATED |
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ACCESSION |
1978.0827 |
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NOTES: |
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George Kellogg Trask (1832 or 1833–1911) was a journalist who was credited at the time of his death as being the originator of the railroad column in the American press. His first railroad column was published in the Evansville, Ind., Evening Journal in 1870, and he went on to write railroad columns for the Indianapolis, Ind., Journal and the Indianapolis Star from 1871 to 1911.
Trask was born and grew up in Massachusetts; the 1850 census shows him living in Fitchburg, Worcester County. He moved to Indiana around 1860, working on the Indianapolis, Peru, and Chicago Railroad, and then for the American Express Company before becoming a journalist.
Trask was married to Ellen Waite and had two daughters. Trask was affectionately known as “Uncle George” to generations of journalists and railroad men. He died on 26 June 1911.
Sources:
Joe S. Miller, “If I Were a Boy Again, I Would Follow Newspaper Work: George K. Trask.” Indianapolis Star, 29 April 1906.
“Death Ends Career of Noted Reporter.” Indianapolis Star, 27 June 1911.
“Every Official ‘On Railroad Row’ Mourns Death of ‘Uncle George.” Indianapolis Star, 27 June 1911.
“George Kellogg Trask.” Indianapolis Star, 27 June 1911.
(Photocopies of these articles are included in the collection, in OM 0414, Folder 1.)
1850 United States Federal Census. www.ancestry.com (accessed 2 August 2004)
Previous collection list (copy in SC 1468, Folder 1).
The collection includes correspondence of railroad executives with Trask in his capacity as railroad columnist, two contractual agreements (1865, Massachusetts, and 1862, Indiana) assigning patent sales rights on Willis’ Improved Stump Extractor to Trask; and one Civil War–era letter (February 1865).
Correspondents include Elijah Walker Halford, secretary to President Benjamin Harrison (1889); George C. Hitt, vice- and deputy consul of the United States in London, England (1891); F. A. Murray of the Wall Street Journal (1901); M. E. Ingalls of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis Railway Company (1893 and 1895); and Harry S. New (n.d.).
The papers are arranged chronologically. A detailed list of individual items is available in Folder 1.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Detailed list of items in the collection; Papers, 1855–65 |
Folder 1 |
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Papers, 1872–90 |
Folder 2 |
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Papers, 1891–92 |
Folder 3 |
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Papers, 1893 |
Folder 4 |
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Papers, 1894–1908, undated |
Folder 5 |
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Photocopied newspaper articles and obituary, 29 April 1906, 27 June 1911 |
OM 0414, Folder 1 |
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, SC 1468).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.