Collection #:
SC 1541

LAURA THOMAS THORPE
MEMOIRS, ca. 1909-1911

Processed by
Chris Harter
29 June 1998
Updated 1 November 2004

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: 2 folders

COLLECTION DATES: ca. 1909-1911

PROVENANCE: Ralph Helsel, Wichita, KS, 6 February 1998

RESTRICTIONS: Notebook is fragile. Researchers should use typescript in folder 2 whenever possible.

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

ALTERNATE FORMATS: None

OTHER FINDING AIDS: None

RELATED HOLDINGS: None

ACCESSION NUMBERS: 1998.0243

NOTES:

Laura Thomas was born in Silver Lake, Indiana (Kosciusko Co.) in 1856. In 1861, the Thomas family moved to Clinton, Iowa, where Laura's father worked as a furniture maker or carpenter. The family returned to Silver Lake two years later, where they lived until moving to Nebraska in 1869.

Laura married Edmund S. Thorpe in 1877 in Glen Allen, Missouri. Her sister, Viola M., married J.S. Ogg, a minister in the Free Methodist Church. Laura had at least five other siblings: William (b. 1858?), Newton (1865), Mary Almeda (b. 1866), Pearl, and Edward(?).

Sources: Material in the collection and in the collection accession file.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection consists of a memoir notebook (68 pages) written by Laura Thomas Thorpe. It covers the years 1859 to 1875, and appears to have been written circa 1909-1911. "Topeka Kansas - 1923 May" is written on the inside of the back cover. In the notebook, Thorpe describes family events, her family's relocations to Iowa, Indiana, and finally Nebraska, family illnesses, her father's enlistment in the Civil War, and her first teaching positions.

Also present is a typescript of Thorpe's memoirs, created by Ralph Helsel. It includes a typed copy of a letter, dated 5 March 1875, from Laura in Emerson, Nebraska, to her grandparents.

FOLDER LISTING

FOLDER CONTENTS

1 Laura Thomas Thorpe's Memoir Notebook

2 Typescript by Ralph Helsel

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, SC 1541).

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

Collection #: SC 1541