Indiana Historical Society - Manuscripts & Archives
User information
Biographical sketch
Scope and Content note
Folder listing
Cataloguing information
Processed by:
Charles Latham
15 February 1993
USER INFORMATION VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 1 manuscript box COLLECTION DATES: Inclusive 1851-1920; bulk 1913-1914 PROVENANCE: Jack McDonald, Indianapolis IN, 12 February 1992 REPRODUCTION RIGHTS: Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing from the Indiana Historical Society RELATED HOLDINGS: M 240-- James Whitcomb Riley and Harriet Eitel Wells Johnson ACCESSION NUMBER: 92.0229
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Edmund H. Eitel ([1887]-1960) was born in Indianapolis. His father was Henry Eitel and his mother was Elva Riley, sister of Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley. Eitel's uncle celebrated him in one poem as "The Knightly Rider of the Knee." Eitel graduated from Shortridge High School in 1903, and earned a degree in mechanical engineering at Cornell University, where he was editor-in-chief of the Cornell Daily Sun. Eitel worked for several years at the Union Trust Company in Indianapolis, but took some time off at the time of Riley's death in 1916 to act as his uncle's literary executor. He worked with Laurence Chambers at the Bobbs-Merrill Company to produce the standard biographical edition of Riley's works. During World War I, Eitel was a lieutenant in the naval air force. He later built one of the first houses in the suburb of Golden Hill. Sources: Indiana Biographical Series, Vol. 56 pages 25 and 28
SCOPE AND CONTENT This collection, filing one manuscript box, contains family correspondence 1856-1900, and correspondence and notes on the genealogy of the Riley family and some of its forebears, notably the Slick, Marine, Wilson, and Harvey families. The name Riley, though it sounds Irish, has Pennsylvania Dutch origins, as Ryland or Reylandt. The genealogical material, in Folders 1-17, came from a thick looseleaf notebook, prepared by Eitel about 1913 when he contemplated doing a book about his uncle's ancestry. Material has been kept in its original order, which follows a numerical series set up by Eitel on a chart in Folder 1. Family letters and papers are in Folders 18-26. They mainly concern Reuben A. Riley, James Whitcomb's father, who was a lawyer with considerable property and a poetical bent. There are also a few letters addressed to the poet, dating from 1870 to 1900. An early portrait, probably of Reuben Riley, and four later portraits, probably of Henry Eitel, are stored in Visual Collections.
FOLDER LISTING FOLDER 1 Genealogical charts 2 Correspondence with W. C. Bobbs about proposed genealogical book 3 Reuben A. Riley 4 Andrew A. Riley 5 Andrew A. Riley-- photostats of documents 6 Re: burial of Margaret Slick Riley 7 James Rylandt 8 Reylandt family 9 From John Slick Riley re: Ryland family 10 Harvey family 11 Slick family I 12 Slick family II 13 Wilson family 14 Marine family 15 From Philip Kabel-- genealogical 16 Laurine Taylor Keyser, "Mother's Memories of Grandfather's Memories of the Rileys Emigrating to the West" 17 Historical notes transcribed 18 Deed to Phenton A. Riley 1851 19 Letter [Joseph A. Riley?] 1861 20 Reuben A. Riley-- letters 1856-1870 21 Reuben A. Riley-- designs 22 [Reuben A. Riley?] essay "Is Death Dreadful?" 23 Letters to James Whitcomb Riley 1870-1900 24 Carbon copies of poems Greenfield 1880 [JWR?] 25 John Riley and Elva Riley Eitel-- letters 26 Poem "The Nativity" by E. A. Richards 27 VC Photo portraits-- 1 of [Reuben A. Riley?] -- 4 of [Henry Eitel?]
CATALOGUING INFORMATION MAIN ENTRY: Eitel, Edmund Henry, 1886-1960 SUBJECT ENTRIES: Riley, James Whitcomb, 1849-1916 Riley, Reuben A. Riley, Andrew A. Riley, Phenton A. Slick family--Genealogy Harvey family--Genealogy Wilson family--Genealogy Marine family--Genealogy Riley family--Genealogy Poets, American--Indiana--Indianapolis Greenfield (Ind.)--Genealogy END