Dunlap family papers, 1836-1942 | Louisiana Research Collection

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Collection Overview

Title: Dunlap family papers, 1836-1942

ID: LaRC/Manuscripts Collection 530

Primary Creator: Dunlap, Martha Smart Bates.

Extent: 6.0 Boxes

Arrangement: The collection is arranged as follows: correspondence and papers, arranged chronologically, and photocopies. The collection is made up of six boxes.

Date Acquired: 05/16/1977

Subjects: Bates, Eliza Mason., Boarding schools -- United States -- History -- 19th century., Dunlap, Charles E., Dunlap, Charles H., Dunlap, Martha Smart Bates., Dunlap family., United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives.

Forms of Material: Business records., Correspondence., Postage stamps., Receipts (financial records)

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The collection is made up primarily of the letters from Martha Smart Bates Dunlap to her foster mother, Mrs. James V. Bates. The letters begin with Dunlap's first year at boarding school in 1852 and continue from her student days through to her tenure teaching in Indiana and Virginia, and on through to her years as a wife and mother, until the death of Mrs. Bates in 1909. There are also papers collected by Charles H. Dunlap, Martha Smart Bates Dunlap's husband, which include family letters, receipts, and business papers from the 1870s and 1880s concerning their farm and the Red Sulphur Springs, in which they had a one-third owner's interest and which they spent about ten years trying to sell. Other papers and letters written to and from later Dunlap generations, including Martha Smart Bates Dunlap's children and grandchildren, are also included. There are reproductions of family photographs and a long descriptive account written by Charles E. Dunlap, Martha Smart Bates Dunlap's grandson, about his recollections of the West Virginia farm, as well as a Civil War medal and postage stamps.

Biographical Note

Martha Smart Bates Dunlap attended boarding school beginning in 1852 in Ipswich, Massachusetts and then was a young mother and rural farm wife in West Virginia during the 1860s and 1870s. She was a well-educated woman for her time, valedictorian of her class at Ipswich and an author of several poems and essays. Dunlap wrote in her letters to her mother about her life at boarding school as well as about her implicit acceptance of her position and duties as a woman, wife, and mother, such as sewing clothes for the family, canning autumn fruits and vegetables for the winter, her acceptance of her husband's decisions concerning their farm and other business interests. She and her husband Charles H. Dunlap owned a farm and the Red Sulphur Springs, in which they had a one-third owner's interest and which they spent about ten years trying to sell.

Subject/Index Terms

Bates, Eliza Mason.
Boarding schools -- United States -- History -- 19th century.
Dunlap, Charles E.
Dunlap, Charles H.
Dunlap, Martha Smart Bates.
Dunlap family.
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives.

Administrative Information

Repository: Louisiana Research Collection

Access Restrictions: Collection is open to the public. No known restrictions.

Use Restrictions: Physical rights are retained by the Louisiana Research Collection. Copyright is retained in accordance with U.S. copyright laws.

Acquisition Source: Dr. and Mrs. Charles E. Dunlap.

Acquisition Method: Gift.

Preferred Citation: Dunlap family papers, Manuscripts Collection 530, Louisiana Research Collection, Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118.

Processing Information: Collection processed in 1977.

Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid information entered in Archon by LAC Group in 2011.

Other Note: OCLC Number: 764690846

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Box:

[Box 1: Correspondence and papers, 1836-1859],
[Box 2: Correspondence and papers, 1860-1868],
[Box 3: Correspondence and papers, 1869-1875],
[Box 4: Correspondence and papers, 1876-1910],
[Box 5: Correspondence and papers, 1911-1942 and undated],
[Box 6: Photocopies],
[All]

Box 2: Correspondence and papers, 1860-1868

Tulane University Special Collections