Collection #

M 0667

OM 0099

 

 

Caroline dunn
collection, ca. 1870–1992

Collection Information

Biographical Sketches

Scope and Content Note

Series Contents

Cataloging Information

 

 

 

Processed by

Charles Latham and Pamela Tranfield
1995
Revised by Dorothy Nicholson
June 2007

Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269

www.indianahistory.org

 

COLLECTION INFORMATION

VOLUME OF
COLLECTION:

Manuscript Materials: 2 document cases, 2 oversize folders
Visual Materials: 1 box of photographs, 4 folders of color photographs, 1 OVA box of graphic works
Artifacts: 2 items

COLLECTION
DATES:

Ca. 1870–1992

PROVENANCE:

Mary Dick and Caroline Dunn, no date; Caroline Dunn, Greenwood, Ind., 1975, 1980, 1991; Estate of Caroline Dunn, 1994; Robert G. Barrows, Indianapolis 1995

RESTRICTIONS:

None

COPYRIGHT:

 

REPRODUCTION
RIGHTS:

Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society.

ALTERNATE
FORMATS:

 

RELATED
HOLDINGS:

Jacob Piatt Dunn Collection (M 0089); See catalog for published works.

ACCESSION
NUMBER:

0000.0714, 1975.0706, 1980.0711, 1991.0787X, 1994.0992, 1995.0709

NOTES:

Some visual materials were formerly located in P0004 and P0062.

BIOGRAPHiCAL SKETCH

Caroline Dunn (1903–1994) was born in Indianapolis, the daughter of Jacob Piatt Dunn and Charlotte Elliott Jones Dunn. Her father was State Librarian, secretary of the Indiana Historical Society, and author of Greater Indianapolis (1910) and Indiana and Indianans (1919).

Caroline Dunn attended Benjamin Harrison School #2 in Indianapolis and graduated from Shortridge High School and from Butler University (A.B. 1923). While in college she worked in the Children’s Department of the Indianapolis Public Library. After college she worked four years in the School Libraries Department of the Indianapolis Library; she then went to Columbia University, earning a library science degree in 1928.

From 1928 to 1936 Caroline Dunn was librarian of the public library in Connersville. In 1936 she returned to Indianapolis as reference librarian at the State Library, and from 1939 to 1973 she was also librarian of the W. H. Smith Library of Indiana Historical Society. She also served from 1940 to 1990 as secretary of the Society of Indiana Pioneers.

In 1970 Indiana University, as part of the dedication of its new library, gave Miss Dunn the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. She was a longtime member of the First Presbyterian Church, and an active member of the Indianapolis Woman’s Club. She wrote many short articles. Her longest work was a booklet published in 1937 on her father’s work on the language of the Miami Indians.

Jacob Piatt Dunn, Jr., (12 April 1855–6 June 1924) was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana and moved to Indianapolis in 1861. He graduated from Earlham College (1874) and the University of Michigan. Dunn’s career included practicing law in Indianapolis, and prospecting for silver and working as a news reporter in Colorado. Dunn is recognized as a historian, journalist, politician, and ethnologist. He published a large number of historical works, and as an ethnologist he studied the Miami language and created a dictionary.

Aquilla Jones a native of North Carolina born 8 July 1811 spent his later years as a state treasurer and member of the legislature. A personal friend of vice president Thomas Hendricks, he was also appointed postmaster at Indianapolis. He was married twice, first in 1836 to Sarah Ann Arnold, she died soon after, then in 1840 he married Harriet Cox. They were the aunt and uncle of Caroline Dunn’s mother.

Sources:

Materials in the collection.

Ancestry.com United States Federal Census

Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Bloomington: IU Press, 1994.
Reference Room Collection: F534. I55 E4 1994

Dunn, Jacob Piatt. Greater Indianapolis, Vol. II. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1910. General Collection: F534.I55 D8 1910

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection contains correspondence, club and church papers, historical notes, travel materials, and photographs and prints from the period 1875–1992.

Series 1 contains Correspondence arranged chronologically, 1887–1992. Within it are postcards written by her father to her when she was a child. There are also Christmas cards from various years including some made by her friend Indiana artist Floyd Hopper.

Series 2 Papers hold some records of Dunn’s school and college work. There is a copy of her 1937 booklet on her father’s work in the Miami language, records of her honorary doctorate at Indiana University in 1970, a Woman’s Club paper of 1992 containing reminiscences of older club members including Dunn.  

Series 3 Historical Notes contains historical notes, several of these are about personal experiences, records of the Society of Indiana Pioneers, and families.

The collection concludes with Series 4, Visual Materials and Artifacts. The photographs date from the 1870s to the 1960s. The formats represented include cabinet cards, cartes de visite, tintypes and studio portraits. There are photographs of Caroline Dunn alone and in groups, of family groups, of summer resorts in New York and Wisconsin. There are also portraits of Caroline’s parents and other family members, including Aquilla and Harriet Jones, as well as friends of her parents.

Other photographs include early views of Indianapolis and the Dunn home, and color snapshots of the City-County Building and tunnel to the State Office Building under construction in 1960. The collection also contains postcards of Indiana scenes and the 1913 flood in Indianapolis, and original and reproduction graphic works.

The two artifacts are an Onyx clock and candelabra. These were gifts to Jacob Piatt Dunn, Jr. and Charlotte Elliott Jones from officials at the State House at the time of their marriage on 23 November 1892.

series CONTENTS

Series 1: Correspondence 1887–1992, n.d.

CONTENTS

CONTAINER

Correspondence: 1887–1918

Box 1, Folder 1

Postcards: 1887–1910

Box 1, Folder 2

Correspondence: 1920–1925

Box 1, Folder 3

Correspondence : 1927–1929

Box 1, Folder 4

Correspondence : 1930–1935

Box 1, Folder 5

Correspondence : 1936–1937

Box 1, Folder 6

Correspondence : 1938

Box 1, Folder 7

Correspondence : 1939

Box 1, Folder 8

Correspondence : 1940–1945

Box 1, Folder 9

Correspondence : 1946–1949

Box 1, Folder 10

Correspondence : 1950–1952

Box 1, Folder 11

Correspondence : 1953

Box 1, Folder 12

Correspondence : 1960–1992

Box 1, Folder 13

Correspondence : n.d.

Box 1, Folder 14

Christmas cards, 1927, 1941, n.d.
[Frederick Polley and others]

Box 1, Folder 15

Christmas Greetings 1956 Frederick Polley 606 East Edwards Ave. Indianapolis, First State Capitol at Corydon [color woodcut print]

OVA Graphics:
Box 1, Folder 1

Series 2: Papers, 1915–1992

CONTENTS

CONTAINER

School and college grades and graduations,
1915–1928

Box 1, Folder 16

School and college papers, 1919–1928

Box 1, Folder 17

Speech at Butler graduation, 1923

Box 1, Folder 18

Booklet on J. P. Dunn’s Miami Language research, 1937

Box 1, Folder 19

Special Library Association conference, 1940

Box 1, Folder 20

World War II ration books

Box 1, Folder 21

Library newsletter, 1944

Box 1, Folder 22

Correspondence concerning honorary degree at Indiana University, 1970

Box 1, Folder 23

Honorary degree at Indiana University, 1970

OM 0099, Folder 1

Honorary degree congratulatory letters,
10/4/1970­10/12/1970

Box 1, Folder 24

Honorary degree congratulatory letters,
10/13/1970–11/6/1970, n.d.

Box 1, Folder 25

Caroline Dunn in cap and gown, [1970]

Color Photographs:
Folder 1

Indiana University Alumni Association, 1971

Box 2, Folder 1

Retirement, 1973

Box 2, Folder 2

Certificate, Society of Indiana Pioneers, 1975

OM 0099, Folder 2

Trips—Aurora and Lawrenceburg , Indiana, 1975

Box 2, Folder 3

European trip, 1975

Box 2, Folder 4

Snapshots of European trip, 1975

Color Photographs:
Folder 2

Scandinavian trip, 1976

Box 2, Folder 5

European trip, 1977

Box 2, Folder 6

Election of Jacob Piatt Dunn to Indiana Academy, 1978

Box 2, Folder 7

Indianapolis Woman’s Club October 16, 1992 “Past Friday’s Voices” [paper about Caroline Dunn and other members]

Box 2, Folder 8

Series 3: Historical Notes,

CONTENTS

CONTAINER

Historical notes, n.d.

Box 2, Folder 9

Paper and notes on Connersville

Box 2, Folder 10

Papers: “History,” “Fords I Have Known”, “April 3,” Old Union Cemetery [1975]

Box 2, Folder 11

Notes for talk on historical sources

Box 2, Folder 12

Notes on the song “Home on the Range”

Box 2, Folder 13

Short paper about Indianapolis Public Library from 1919–1923

Box 2, Folder 14

Notes: Markle family of Vigo County

Box 2, Folder 15

Notes : Mount Vernon, Ind., ca. 1960

Box 2, Folder 16

Notes : Wishard family, ca. 1988

Box 2, Folder 17

Notes : Zionsville, Ind., 1987

Box 2, Folder 18

Notes from journals at Indiana State Library

Box 2, Folder 19

First-Meridian Heights Presbyterian Church,
1944–1975

Box 2, Folder 20

Society of Indiana Pioneers, 1930–1992

Box 2, Folder 21

Notes for Pioneers handbook

Box 2, Folder 22

Portfolio Club: papers laid in programs, 1984–1988

Box 2, Folder 23

Studebaker Family Association, 1967–1978

Box 2, Folder 24

Mary E. Studebaker and Robert Carleton Fox on his birthday 7 Oct. 1976
Mary E. Studebaker photo from Christmas card, 1977

Color Photographs:
Folder 3

Transcript of letters of Dr. William Sackville,
1874–1907

Box 2, Folder 25

Piatt Castles, West Liberty, Ohio

Box 2, Folder 26

Clippings, 1892–1972, n.d.

Box 2, Folder 27

Series 4: Visual Materials and Artifacts, ca. 1875–1979, n.d.

CONTENTS

CONTAINER

Caroline Dunn, 1941–1979

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 1

Caroline Dunn and family, ca. 1900–1910

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 2

Caroline in family groups, 1920s

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 3

Caroline Dunn in groups, 1926–1946

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 4

School groups, ca. 1910–1919

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 5

Jacob Piatt Dunn, ca. 1880–ca. 1919

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 6

Jacob Piatt Dunn [metal plate engraving, n.d.]

OVA Graphics:
Box 1, Folder 5

Charlotte Jones Dunn, ca. 1875–ca. 1890

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 7

Charlotte Jones Dunn and Jones family members, ca. 1875–1890 [tintypes]

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 8

Robert Jones, brother of Charlotte, ca. 1870s

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 9

Aquilla and Harriet Jones, ca. 1870, uncle and aunt of Charlotte

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 10

Aquilla Jones, ca. 1870 [enhanced photograph]

OVA Graphics:
Box 1, Folder 2

Women friends of Charlotte Jones, ca. 1890s

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 11

Men friends of Charlotte Jones, ca. 1890s

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 12

Children of Charlotte’s friends or relatives?, ca. 1890s

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 13

Caroline Jane Lines, 1938–1953

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 14

Dunn residence at 915 N. Pennsylvania St., ca. 1890
1st Presbyterian Church, ca. 1890
Elevated view of Indianapolis, taken near University Park (NW of Second Pres. Church at Vermont/Pennsylvania) looking SE toward Marion County Courthouse, ca. 1890

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 15

Groups: not family, ca. 1920–1940s

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 16

Individuals: not family, 1915–1940s

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 17

Dunn family excursion in Morgan County, ca. 1910

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 18

Dunn family excursion at Plum Lake, Wisconsin,
ca. 1910

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 19

Waldheim Camp, Big Moose, New York, photographs and postcards, ca. 1915

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 20

Fish Creek, Wisconsin, postcards, 1921

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 21

Caroline Dunn at Pokagon State Park, 1939

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 22

Postcards of Indianapolis during the 1913 Flood

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 23

Bedford, Indiana postcards, ca. 1960,
Snoddy’s Mill, Fountain County, ca. 1960

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 24

Portrait of Caroline Dunn, unidentified photographs of women and couples, group portrait of Pennsylvania Railway workers, ca. 1910–1940

Photographs:
Box 1, Folder 25

Construction photos of tunnel to State Office Building, State Library and Historical Building, April, May 1960
Excavation for new City County Building, May 1960

Color Photographs:
Folder 4

Defrichemens (cleared land) [etching and relief half tone of rural scene with log cabin, three men clearing land of logs, print from book, 2 copies] n.d.

OVA Graphics:
Box 1, Folder 3

The Mustacheless Stranger [ink drawing of a man seated at desk smoking a cigar, on verso note written “Gaar Williams. Cartoon in News. White Jape was City Controller. Mr. Williams sent it to me J.P.D.”] n.d.

OVA Graphics:
Box 1, Folder 4

Onyx clock and candelabra, gifts to Jacob Piatt Dunn, Jr. and Charlotte Elliott Jones at the time of their marriage, 23 November 1892

Artifacts:
1991.0787X

CATALOGING INFORMATION

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 0667).

5.      When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.