Collection #:
SC 2316

BENJAMIN J. GIFFORD
GIFFORD-KERSEY CORRESPONDENCE, 1903–1907

Collection Information

Historical Sketch

Scope and Content Note

Cataloging Information

Processed by:
Ellen Swain and Paul Brockman
21 August 1991
Updated 23 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: 1 folder (7 items)

COLLECTION DATES: 1903-1907

PROVENANCE: William G. Neville, Evansville, Indiana, 11 August 1988

RESTRICTIONS: None

COPYRIGHT: Held by Indiana Historical Society

ALTERNATE FORMATS: None

OTHER FINDING AIDS: None

RELATED HOLDINGS: None

ACCESSION NUMBER: 1988.0634

HISTORICAL SKETCH

Benjamin J. Gifford was born in Plano, Illinois in 1840. After fighting for the Union in the Civil War, Gifford returned to Illinois and in 1873 founded the Havana, Rantoul and Eastern Railroad Company. He later sold the railway to Jay Gould in 1880 and began buying, clearing, and reselling land in Ford County, Illinois. In 1891, Gifford began clearing Indiana swampland with the intention of starting a railroad. His goal was realized in 1900 when the Chicago and Wabash Valley Railroad was organized under his leadership. Charles E. Kersey was a foreman on this railway. Gifford died in 1913.

Sources: Indiana Biographical Series, v. 55, p. 73-76.
Information found in the collection.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The collection, comprising one folder, contains five pieces of correspondence between Benjamin J. Gifford and C. E. Kersey regarding gifts of C. W.V. Railway stock and business matters. A handwritten "History of the Gifford Railroad" and a copy of a photograph of Benjamin J. Gifford are also included.

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 2316).

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