A Guide to the Microfilm Edition of
Clara Barton Papers
1822–1912
A UPA Collection
from
Cover: Clara Barton in Washington, D.C., circa 1865. Photograph taken by Mathew Brady
and courtesy of the Clara Barton National Historic Site, National Park Service.
Research Collections in Women’s Studies
General Editor: Anne Firor Scott
Clara Barton Papers
1822–1912
Microfilmed from the Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College
Processed by
Susan Boone
Guide by
Kristen M. Taynor
A UPA Collection from
7500 Old Georgetown Road ● Bethesda, MD 20814-6126
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Clara Barton papers, 1822–1912 [microform] / project coordinators Stephen Want and
Daniel Lewis.
microfilm reels. –– (Research collections in women’s studies)
“Microfilmed form the Sophia Smith collection, Smith College.”
Accompanied by a printed guide compiled by Kristen M. Taynor.
Summary: Consists of Barton genealogical and biographical notes, teaching certificates
(1849–53), her funeral service and will, memorials and tributes, and other
correspondence.
ISBN 978-0-88692-899-5
1. Barton, Clara, 1821–1912. 2. American Red Cross. 3. Nurses––United States.
[1. Women––Biography.] I. Want, Stephen. II. Lewis, Daniel, 1972– III. Taynor, Kristen
M., 1978– IV. Series.
Microfilm XXXX
361.7’634092––dc22
[B]
2007061523
Copyright © 2008 LexisNexis,
a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
All rights reserved.
ISBN 978-0-88692-899-5.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Scope and Content Note .............................................................................................
Source Note..................................................................................................................
Editorial Note ..............................................................................................................
Acknowledgements .....................................................................................................
Abbreviations ..............................................................................................................
v
ix
ix
ix
xi
Reel Index
Series I. Biographical Material
Reel 1
General....................................................................................................................
Memorials and Tributes ..........................................................................................
General cont. ...........................................................................................................
William E. Barton Biography .................................................................................
1
2
2
2
Series II. Correspondence
From Clara Barton ..................................................................................................
To Clara Barton.......................................................................................................
2
3
Reel 2
To Clara Barton cont...............................................................................................
Miscellaneous .........................................................................................................
4
5
Series III. Speeches and Writings
General....................................................................................................................
Handwritten Material in Bound Volumes/Binders .................................................
5
6
Series IV. Civil War and Relief Activities
Civil War.................................................................................................................
American National Red Cross ................................................................................
6
7
Reel 3
American National Red Cross cont.........................................................................
American National Red Cross Insignias .................................................................
7
8
iii
American National Red Cross cont.........................................................................
8
Series V. Memorabilia and Photographs
Memorabilia............................................................................................................
Photographs.............................................................................................................
8
8
Series VI. Kensel-Wells Family
Personal Material ....................................................................................................
8
Reel 4
Personal Material cont. ...........................................................................................
National First Aid Association of America ............................................................
Clara Barton ............................................................................................................
9
9
9
Principal Correspondents Index................................................................................
Subject Index...............................................................................................................
11
13
iv
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
Clara Barton is most well-known for her daring activities as a nurse during the Civil
War as well as her founding of the American Red Cross. The Clara Barton Papers 1822–
1912, held by the Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, document Barton’s work
during the Civil War, with the Red Cross, and with other relief organizations. In
correspondence with family and friends, the collection also details more personal aspects
of Barton’s life.
Clarissa Harlow Barton was born in Massachusetts in 1821. When she was eighteen,
she began a career as a teacher. She took a break from teaching in 1850 and 1851,
studying at the Liberal Institute in Clinton, New York. In 1852 she moved to New Jersey
where she founded the state’s first free, or public, school in Bordentown. In February
1854 she resigned to take up a position as clerk in the Patent Office in Washington, D.C.,
making her possibly the first regularly appointed woman civil servant. Deprived of her
position in 1857 after a Democratic victory, she later returned to the Patent Office in
1860. At the beginning of the Civil War, witnessing the almost total lack of first aid
supplies at the Battle of Bull Run, she advertised for provisions. Using her own limited
quarters as a storeroom, she accumulated supplies and, with a few friends, began in the
summer of 1862 to distribute them by mule team to hospitals and camps on the
battlefields. Between 1862 and 1864, Barton frequently delivered much-needed supplies
to Union troops, winning the respect and admiration of commanding officers and
surgeons. As the U.S. Sanitary Commission and other agencies grew more organized,
Barton’s role diminished, but in June 1864, she accepted an appointment as head nurse in
Benjamin Butler’s Army of the James.
In 1865 she established an office in Annapolis where she and a few assistants sought
to piece together information concerning missing soldiers. In July 1865 she directed the
marking of the graves of almost 13,000 men who died in Andersonville Prison. Between
1866 and 1868, while continuing her missing persons work, she lectured throughout the
North and West. Exhausted by her activities, she went to Europe in 1868 for rest and
recuperation. While there she worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) during the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71). She also distributed funds provided
by U.S. relief committees in France. At the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish war in 1877,
she initiated a five-year campaign for the organization of the American Red Cross
Society. In March 1882, U.S. affiliation with the ICRC was accomplished and Barton
was chosen president of the American Association of the Red Cross. Between 1881 and
1904 she devoted her energies to Red Cross work, providing relief in the United States
and abroad, including aid to Cuban civilians and U.S. soldiers during the Spanish
American War. By 1904, new methods and leadership were needed, and she was forced
to resign by the board of directors. She moved to Glen Echo, Maryland, in 1897, where
v
she organized the National First Aid Association of America (NFAAA) in 1906. She died
on April 12, 1912, and was buried in North Oxford, Massachusetts.
The Clara Barton Papers are organized into six series. The bulk of the papers date
from 1860 to 1912 and consist of letters, pamphlets, speeches, writings, poems, pictures,
and newspaper clippings.
Series I: Biographical Material (1849–1979) contains genealogical and biographical
notes, teaching certificates (1849–53), her funeral service and will, and memorials and
tributes (1869–1917). This series also includes the notes and correspondence of Percy
Epler and William E. Barton, both of whom wrote biographies of Clara Barton.
Series II: Correspondence (1853–1928) is divided into three subseries: letters from
Clara Barton, letters to Clara Barton, and miscellaneous. Most of the correspondence is
personal in nature. Of particular interest are letters and manuscript notes from John J.
Elwell with whom Barton had a romantic relationship in 1863. In 1874–75 Barton
corresponded with doctors and clairvoyants in search of medical advice. Letters from Dr.
Edward B. Foote, Dr. S. C. Hewett, Dr. Charles Main, Mrs. C. M. Morrison, and Dr. H.
B. Storer not only provide information on Barton’s health, but also interesting insights
into late nineteenth-century medicine and spiritualism. Correspondence with her family
provides a look at her close relationship with her brothers and sisters and their families.
The miscellaneous subseries contains correspondence on the settling of her estate.
Series III: Speeches and Writings (1868–1910) contains speeches and writings,
mostly in Barton’s hand. Especially noteworthy are a volume entitled “Work and
incidents of army life” and a volume of Civil War experiences entitled “The Old-OldBook,” both of which were probably used as speeches. These volumes provide an
eloquent and poignant view of life on the battlefields of the Civil War. In one account, for
example, Barton states, “This was afternoon of Monday––Since Saturday noon I had not
thought of tasting food, and we had just drawn around a box for that purpose––then of a
sudden air and earth and all about us shook with one mingled crash of Gods [sic] and
mans [sic] artillery––The lightning played and the thunder rolled incessantly, and the
cannon roared louder and nearer each minute” (Reel 2, Frame 0602). Speaking on
battlefield horrors Barton states, “There, where we now walked with peaceful feet, twelve
hours before the ground had rocked with carnage––there in the darkness-Gods angels of
wrath and death had swept––and foe facing foe. Freedom and treason grappled and the
souls of men went out, and there, side by side, stark and cold in death mingled the
Northern Blue and Southern Grey” (Reel 2, Frame 0616). The final volume,
“International and National Relief in War,” was given as a paper to the Social Science
Association in Saratoga, New York, in 1882, and chronicles the history of warfare and
the Geneva Convention.
Series IV: Civil War and Relief Activities (1861–1916) covers the Civil War,
American National Red Cross, National White Cross of America, and the Woman’s
National Relief Association. The Civil War subseries contains originals and copies of
army passes and authorizations issued to Barton for passage onto battlefields; two reports
to Congress, and material related to Dorence Atwater and Barton’s activities related to
soldiers who died at Andersonville Prison. The American National Red Cross subseries
contains pamphlets and printed material about the activities, history, and origins of the
Red Cross, many written by Barton herself.
vi
Series V: Memorabilia and Photographs, includes seven photographs of Barton and
several photographs of other family members.
Series VI: Kensel-Wells Family focuses on Barton’s relationship to Mary Kensel and
Roscoe Wells. Kensel was Barton’s secretary (and eventually close friend) from 1905
until Barton’s death in 1912. Kensel married Roscoe Wells, treasurer, vice president, and
assistant to the president of the NFAAA, which was founded by Barton in 1906.
Documents in Series VI cover the NFAAA and the Red Cross. One of the Red Cross
documents is an undated handwritten history, The American National Red Cross, Its
Origin and History (1898). Clara Barton gave a portion of the Series VI material to her
secretary Mary Kensel Wells, who supplemented the papers with her own family
material. It then appears that Sally Hooper, with whose family the Kensel-Wells lived,
also added material about Clara Barton to this series.
The Clara Barton Papers in the Sophia Smith Collection provide a significant insight
into Barton’s life and professional accomplishments.
Other collections from LexisNexis that may be of interest include The Margaret
Sanger Papers; Papers of Emma Hart Willard, 1787–1870; Civil War Battles and
Campaigns, Part 1: Eastern Theater, Part 2: Western Theater, and Part 3: General
References and Collected Works; and The Papers of Queen Victoria on Foreign Affairs,
Part 1: Russia and Eastern Europe, 1846–1900, Part 2: Germany and Central Europe,
1841–1900, Part 5: France and Belgium, 1848–1900, and Part 6: Greece, 1847–1863.
(Text for scope and content note has been adapted from Clara Barton Papers Finding Aid,
Sophia Smith Collection.)
vii
SOURCE NOTE
All documents microfilmed for Clara Barton Papers 1822–1912 come from the Clara
Barton Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts.
EDITORIAL NOTE
LexisNexis microfilmed all documents housed in boxes 1–8 of the Clara Barton
Papers held by the Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College. LexisNexis did not
microfilm the flags, medals, and other three dimensional objects that are housed in boxes
9–12 of this collection. The scope and content note in this guide is adapted from the
inventory prepared by Susan Boone, Reference Archivist at the Sophia Smith Collection.
Researchers should note that a significant collection of Clara Barton materials is held by
the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
LexisNexis staff would like to thank Sherrill Redmon, Director of the Sophia Smith
Collection, and Susan Boone, Reference Archivist, for their help in completing this
microfilm project.
ix
ABBREVIATIONS
The following abbreviations are used three or more times in the Reel Index.
ARC
American Red Cross
ICRC
International Committee of the Red Cross
NFAAA
National First Aid Association of America
xi
REEL INDEX
The following index is a listing of the folders that compose Clara Barton Papers,
1822–1912. The four-digit number on the far left is the frame number at which a
particular file folder begins. This is followed by the file title and the date(s) of the file.
Substantive issues are highlighted under the heading Major Topics, as are prominent
correspondents under the heading Principal Correspondents. Topics and correspondents
are listed in the order in which they appear on the film, and each is listed only once per
folder.
Reel 1
Frame No.
Series I. Biographical Material
0001
Contents [2000].
Major Topic: Catalogue to Clara Barton Papers.
0021
Genealogy, Biographical notes, poems, n.d.
Major Topics: Clara Barton biographical information and genealogy.
0043
Pamphlets, 1911–61.
Major Topics: Dorence Atwater and Clara Barton biographical information;
Andersonville Prison; ARC; Unitarian Universalist Church; Barton
biographical pamphlets.
0129
Clippings, articles, obituaries, 1910–79.
Major Topics: Death of Clara Barton; Barton biographical information.
0191
Teaching certifications, 1849–53.
0196
Funeral Service, 1912.
0207
Wills (Clara & Stephen Barton), 1918, n.d.
0217
Clara Barton Literary Committee, 1915.
Major Topic: Clara Barton historic documents and artifacts.
0232
Miscellaneous, 1900–17.
Major Topics: Proposed Clara Barton memorial; House Committee on the
Library (hearings on Barton memorial); public opinion of Barton; Barton
death and funeral.
1
Frame No.
Series I. Biographical Material cont.
Memorials and Tributes
0340
Correspondence, 1903–17.
Major Topics: Clara Barton Memorial Association; proposed Barton
memorial.
Principal Correspondent: John A. Logan.
0353
Andersonville Survivors Association, 1869.
Major Topic: Fundraising.
Series I. Biographical Material cont.
0362
Corresp. of Percy H. Epler to William Barton, 1907–19.
Major Topics: Percy H. Epler biography of Clara Barton; speculation about
Barton romantic relationships.
Principal Correspondents: Percy H. Epler; Clara Barton; Sheldon B. Thorpe.
Series I. Biographical Material cont.
William E. Barton Biography
0403
Notes, 1910–15.
Major Topic: Notes for William E. Barton biography of Clara Barton.
Principal Correspondent: Clara Barton.
0461
Correspondence, 1917–28.
Major Topic: William E. Barton biography of Clara Barton.
Principal Correspondents: William E. Barton; Herbert R. Gibbs.
0479
Correspondence with Stephen Barton, 1912–19.
Major Topic: William E. Barton biography of Clara Barton.
Principal Correspondent: Stephen E. Barton.
Series II. Correspondence
From Clara Barton
0500
Miscellaneous, 1874–76, 1893.
Major Topic: Personal debt owed to Clara Barton.
Principal Correspondent: Clara Barton.
0523
William E. Barton, 1895–1919.
Major Topic: Clara Barton tribute to Julia Ward Howe.
Principal Correspondent: Clara Barton.
0564
Mamie (Barton?), 1903, 1907.
Principal Correspondent: Clara Barton.
0568
Esther P. Barton, 1900, 1902.
Principal Correspondent: Clara Barton.
2
Frame No.
0573
General J. C. Breckinridge, 1898.
Major Topic: War relief to Cuba.
Principal Correspondent: Clara Barton.
0578
E. Herbst, 1908.
Principal Correspondent: Clara Barton.
0580
Secretary of State John Hay, 1903.
Major Topic: ARC.
Principal Correspondent: Clara Barton.
Series II Correspondence cont.
To Clara Barton
0583
A–Z, 1852–92, n.d.
Major Topic: Empress Augusta Institution (Charlottenburg, Germany).
Principal Correspondents: Louis Christianson; George Bancroft.
0643
Unidentified, 1854–74.
0675
David Barton, 1853–57.
Major Topic: Barton family health conditions.
Principal Correspondent: David Barton.
0692
Julia Porter Barton, 1854.
Principal Correspondent: Julia Porter Barton.
0697
Stephen Barton, 1865.
Principal Correspondent: Stephen Barton.
0703
M. A. Denison, 1856.
Principal Correspondent: M. A. Denison.
0715
John G. [sic] Elwell, 1863.
Major Topic: John J. Elwell–Clara Barton romantic relationship.
Principal Correspondent: John J. Elwell.
0751
John G. [sic] Elwell, n.d.
Major Topic: John J. Elwell–Clara Barton romantic relationship.
Principal Correspondent: John J. Elwell.
0778
Dr. Edward B. Foote, 1875.
Major Topics: Edward B. Foote health services; medical treatments; Clara
Barton health condition; Foote death and biographical information; civil
liberties; liberalism; sex education.
Principal Correspondent: Edward B. Foote.
0864
Lucy A. Frayer, 1885, 1886.
Principal Correspondent: Lucy A. Frayer.
3
Frame No.
0896
Dr. S. C. Hewett, 1875.
Major Topics: S. C. Hewett health services; Clara Barton health condition;
spine disorders.
Principal Correspondent: S. C. Hewett.
0907
Louise, Grand Duchess of Baden, 1887–89.
Principal Correspondent: Louise of Baden.
0923
Dr. Charles Main, 1874, 1875.
Principal Correspondent: Charles Main.
0928
Antoinette Margot, 1880, 1888–90.
Principal Correspondent: Antoinette “Kitty” Margot.
0948
Mrs. C. W. [sic] Morrison, 1874–75.
Major Topics: Mrs. C. M. Morrison health services; medical treatments.
0963
Joseph and Abby Sheldon, 1875.
Major Topic: Clara Barton health condition.
Principal Correspondent: Joseph Sheldon.
0974
Dr. H. B. Storer, 1875.
Major Topics: H. B. Storer health services; medical treatments.
Principal Correspondent: H. B. Storer.
0982
George and Mary Tower, 1854–55
Principal Correspondent: George Tower.
0992
Barnard and Irving Vassall, 1853.
Reel 2
Series II Correspondence cont.
To Clara Barton cont.
0001
Frances Childs (Vassall), 1853.
Principal Correspondent: Frances Childs.
0013
Sarah (Barton) Vassall, 1854–56.
Major Topic: Vester Vassall health condition.
Principal Correspondent: Sarah Vassall.
0035
Vester Vassall, 1856.
Principal Correspondent: Vester Vassall.
0040
Elihu Washburne, 1869, 1871.
Principal Correspondent: Elihu Washburne.
0044
Joseph Wheeler, 1898.
Principal Correspondent: Joseph Wheeler.
4
Frame No.
Series II. Correspondence cont.
Miscellaneous
0046
William E. Barton to William Howard Taft, 1906.
Major Topic: Women in armed services.
Principal Correspondent: William E. Barton.
0050
Julian B. Hubbell to Stephen and William Barton, 1920–24.
Major Topics: Biographical information for William E. Barton biography of
Clara Barton; Mabelle Rawson Hirons; spirit communication.
Principal Correspondent: Julian B. Hubbell.
0091
Herman P. Riccius to Stephen E. Barton, 1919.
Principal Correspondent: Herman P. Riccius.
0095
Saidee Riccius to Dr. William Barton, 1916–28.
Major Topic: Writing biographies of Clara Barton.
Principal Correspondent: Saidee F. Riccius.
0122
Francis Atwater to Dr. William Barton, 1916–22.
Principal Correspondent: Francis Atwater.
0127
Hannah McLaren Shepard to Joseph Christie, 1882.
Major Topic: Woman’s National Relief Association.
Principal Correspondent: Hannah McLaren Shepard.
Series III. Speeches and Writings
0132
Cooper Institute, 1868.
0135
Notes made during illness, 1870s.
Major Topics: Missing military personnel; Clara Barton health condition.
0156
Dansville, N.Y., 1879.
Major Topic: Decoration Day.
0182
Saratoga, NY, American Social Science Association, 1882.
Major Topics: History of warfare; war casualties; military health facilities and
services; Treaty of Geneva (1864); Henry Dunant; U.S. ratification of
Geneva Convention; ICRC; ARC.
0297
Boston Music Hall, 1888.
Major Topics: Memorial Day (May 30, 1888); Civil War campaigns and
battles, and casualties.
0317
Girls College at Scuturi [sic], address to alumnae, 1896.
Major Topics: Girls College at Scutari (Turkey); Clara Barton biographical
information; ARC relief activities.
0333
Universalist Church, Oxford (?), Thanksgiving Day, 1905.
5
Frame No.
0342
“To the girls of the teens and twenties,” 1906.
Major Topics: Woman’s Home Companion; women’s rights.
Principal Correspondent: Claire Wallace Flynn.
0355
Natural History Camp, 1906.
Major Topic: First aid.
0386
Place Unknown, 1907.
0392
Oxford Library, 1909.
0397
Oak Park Church, Mother’s Day, 1910.
Major Topics: First Congregational Church (Oak Park, Ill.); Girls College at
Scutari (Turkey); Clara Barton biographical information; ARC relief
activities.
0414
Abraham Lincoln Center, Chicago, 1910.
0425
Universalist Church, n.d.
Major Topics: Religions; ARC.
0454
Woman’s Rights, n.d.
Major Topics: Frances Willard; Susan B. Anthony.
0469
Tribute to Dr. Jackson, n.d.
0485
Verse copied by Clara Barton, n.d.
Major Topic: War casualties.
Series III. Speeches and Writings cont.
Handwritten Material in Bound Volumes/Binders
0503
“The Old-Old-Book,” 1887–1910.
Major Topics: War casualties; Battle of Fredericksburg; Civil War veterans.
0585
“Work and Incidents of Army Life,” n.d.
Major Topics: War casualties; Second Battle of Bull Run; Battle of Chantilly;
Battle of Antietam.
0638
[Unlabeled book of poetry, n.d.]
0716
International and National Relief in War, 1882.
Major Topics: History of warfare; war casualties; military health facilities and
services; Treaty of Geneva (1864); Henry Dunant; U.S. ratification of
Geneva Convention; ICRC; ARC.
Series IV. Civil War and Relief Activities
Civil War
0791
Army passes & authorizations, 1861–65.
Major Topic: Andersonville Prison.
6
Frame No.
0846
Financial report to Congress, 1868; Senate report for appropriations, 1866,
1869.
Major Topics: Missing military personnel; expense accounts.
0854
Dorence Atwater & Union Soldiers, Andersonville Prison, 1868, 1912, n.d.
Major Topic: Military personnel buried at Andersonville Prison.
Series IV. Civil War and Relief Activities cont.
American National Red Cross
0911
Am. Assoc. for Relief of Misery of Battle Fields, letter of Rev. Henry
Bellows, 1866.
Major Topics: American Association for the Relief of the Misery of Battle
Fields; war casualties; U.S. Sanitary Commission.
Principal Correspondent: Henry Bellows.
Reel 3
Series IV. Civil War and Relief Activities cont.
American National Red Cross cont.
0001
Organization, History, and Miscellaneous Printed Material, 1863–1918.
Major Topics: ICRC; Treaty of Geneva (1864); war casualties; war relief;
ARC; Clara Barton speech to International Council of Women; charitable
organizations and the Civil War; U.S. Sanitary Commission; disaster
relief; Barton biographical information.
0296
Mabel T. Boardman/Clara Barton controversy, 1903–16.
Major Topics: House Committee on Foreign Affairs; government
investigation of ARC; gifts and donations to and accounting practices of
ARC; disaster relief.
Principal Correspondent: Mable T. Boardman.
0392
Reports, 1896–1901.
Major Topics: Treaty of Geneva (1864); ICRC and ARC trademark
protection; ARC history and relief activities; Seventh International
Conference of the Red Cross (1902).
0430
Cuban relief, 1898.
Major Topics: Spanish-American War relief; effect of war on children.
Principal Correspondent: William McKinley.
0443
Disaster relief reports, 1896–1901.
Major Topics: Galveston, Tex., hurricane (1900); statistical data on gifts and
donations; Armenia and Turkey.
7
Frame No.
Series IV. Civil War and Relief Activities cont.
American National Red Cross Insignias
0587
Red Cross [n.d.].
Major Topic: ARC flag.
0589
Russian Famine Relief, 1892.
Series IV. Civil War and Relief Activities cont.
American National Red Cross cont.
0591
National White Cross of America, Senate Bill 5583, 1899.
0598
Woman’s National Relief Association, 1880–81.
Major Topic: Woman’s National Relief Association (New York State
Auxiliary) disaster relief activities, and gifts and donations.
Series V. Memorabilia and Photographs
Memorabilia
0615
Postcards and calling cards, n.d.
0631
Miscellaneous, 1822–1911.
Major Topics: District of Columbia tourist information; holidays; Potomac
Relief Corps sixth anniversary.
Series V. Memorabilia and Photographs cont.
Photographs
0701
1888–89, 1903, n.d.
Major Topic: Barton family photographs.
Series VI. Kensel-Wells Family
Personal Material
0748
Correspondence, 1890–1919.
Principal Correspondent: Mary J. Kensel.
0776
Memorabilia––Miscellaneous, 1865–1911.
Major Topics: Grand Army of the Republic (24th National Encampment,
1890); Civil War veterans; Woman’s Relief Corps; Boston, Mass., tourist
information; George A. Kensel; military appointments and promotions.
0816
Memorabilia––Scrapbook, n.d.
8
Frame No.
Reel 4
Series VI. Kensel-Wells Family cont.
Personal Material cont.
0001
Mary Kensel Wells, writing, 1935–60.
Major Topics: Kensel-Wells family history; travel in New England.
0030
Photographs, n.d. [1 of 2].
Major Topics: New Hampshire; Kensel-Wells family photographs.
0073
Photographs, n.d. [2 of 2].
Major Topic: Kensel-Wells family photographs.
Series VI. Kensel-Wells Family cont.
National First Aid Association of America
0108
Annual Reports, 1906–09.
Major Topics: NFAAA; first aid education; Young Men’s Christian
Association (YMCA); railroads; police; firefighters; Salvation Army;
youth; public schools; corporations; ambulance services; churches.
0243
Publications, 1906–20.
Major Topics: NFAAA; first aid education; Clara Barton memorials; military
drills; swimming; fires and fire prevention; anatomy and physiology;
blood circulation; respiration; injuries; First Aid (NFAAA journal);
military health facilities and services; World War I.
0510
Certificate, incorporation papers, and letter from Clara Barton, 1905–07.
Major Topic: NFAAA.
Principal Correspondent: Clara Barton.
0518
Memorabilia [n.d.].
Major Topic: NFAAA button.
0521
Photographs, n.d.
Major Topic: NFAAA photographs.
0529
Red Cross, 1895–96, n.d.
Major Topics: ICRC; ARC history; Treaty of Geneva (1864); war casualties;
hospital ships; naval warfare; military drills; military rules and
regulations; ambulance services.
Series VI. Kensel-Wells Family cont.
Clara Barton
0636
Correspondence, 1906–12.
Major Topic: Holidays.
Principal Correspondent: Clara Barton.
9
Frame No.
0682
Clippings, 1879–1929.
Major Topics: Memorial Day (Dansville, N.Y.); ARC; war casualties; war
relief; Clara Barton biographical information.
0695
Miscellaneous printed material, 1917–82.
Major Topics: Clara Barton Camp (North Oxford, Mass.); children with
diabetes; Barton biographical information; Unitarian Universalist
Women’s Federation; war casualties; war relief.
0753
Memorabilia, 1900–24, n.d.
Major Topics: Clara Barton biographical chronology; Woman’s Relief Corps;
Grand Army of the Republic.
0776
Photographs, n.d.
10
PRINCIPAL CORRESPONDENTS INDEX
The following index is an alphabetical listing of the principal correspondents in this
microform publication. The first number after each entry refers to the reel, while the four-digit
number following the colon refers to the frame number at which a particular file folder
containing the document from the source begins. Hence, 2: 0122 directs the researcher to the
folder that begins at Frame 0122 of Reel 2. By referring to the Reel Index, which constitutes the
initial section of this guide, researchers will find a document list including folder titles and major
topics in the order in which they appear in the film.
Foote, Edward B.
1: 0778
Frayer, Lucy A.
1: 0864
Gibbs, Herbert R.
1: 0461
Hewett, S. C.
1: 0896
Hubbell, Julian B.
2: 0050
Kensel, Mary J.
3: 0748
Logan, John A.
1: 0340
Louise of Baden
1: 0907
Main, Charles
1: 0923
Margot, Antoinette “Kitty”
1: 0928
McKinley, William
3: 0430
Riccius, Herman P.
2: 0091
Riccius, Saidee F.
2: 0095
Sheldon, Joseph
1: 0963
Shepard, Hannah McLaren
2: 0127
Storer, H. B.
1: 0974
Atwater, Francis
2: 0122
Bancroft, George
1: 0583
Barton, Clara
1: 0362, 0403, 0500–0580; 4: 0510,
0636
Barton, David
1: 0675
Barton, Julia Porter
1: 0692
Barton, Stephen
1: 0697
Barton, Stephen E.
1: 0479
Barton, William E.
1: 0461; 2: 0046
Bellows, Henry
2: 0911
Boardman, Mable T.
3: 0296
Childs, Frances
2: 0001
Christianson, Louis
1: 0583
Denison, M. A.
1: 0703
Elwell, John J.
1: 0715, 0751
Epler, Percy H.
1: 0362
Flynn, Claire Wallace
2: 0342
11
Thorpe, Sheldon B.
1: 0362
Tower, George
1: 0982
Vassall, Sarah
2: 0013
Vassall, Vester
2: 0035
Washburne, Elihu
2: 0040
Wheeler, Joseph
2: 0044
12
SUBJECT INDEX
The following index is a guide to the major topics in this microform publication. The first
number after each entry refers to the reel, while the four-digit number following the colon refers
to the frame number at which the file containing information on the subject begins. Hence,
2: 0414 directs researchers to Frame 0414 of Reel 2. By referring to the Reel Index, which
constitutes the initial segment of this guide, the researcher will find topics listed in the order in
which they appear on the film.
ARC
see American Red Cross
Armed services
women in 2: 0046
Armenia
3: 0443
Army
passes and authorizations 2: 0791
“Work and Incidents of Army Life”
2: 0585
Asia Minor
see Armenia
see Turkey
Atwater, Dorence
1: 0043; 2: 0854
Atwater, Francis
2: 0122
Barton family
health conditions 1: 0675
photographs 3: 0701
Barton, Clara
biographical information 1: 0021, 0043,
0129; 2: 0050, 0317, 0397; 3: 0001;
4: 0682, 0695, 0753
catalogue to papers 1: 0001
chronologies 4: 0753
death of 1: 0129, 0232
genealogy 1: 0021
health conditions 1: 0778, 0896, 0963;
2: 0135
historic documents and artifacts 1: 0217
John J. Elwell relationship 1: 0715, 0751
Mabel T. Boardman controversy 3: 0296
memorials 1: 0232, 0340; 4: 0243
Abraham Lincoln Center (Chicago,
Illinois)
2: 0414
Accounting and auditing
ARC practices 3: 0296
Ambulance services
4: 0108, 0529
American Association for the Relief of the
Misery of Battle Fields
2: 0911
American Red Cross (ARC)
accounting practices 3: 0296
flag 3: 0587
general 1: 0043, 0580; 2: 0182, 0425,
0716; 3: 0001; 4: 0682
gifts and donations to 3: 0296
government investigation of 3: 0296
history of 3: 0392; 4: 0529
relief activities 2: 0317, 0397; 3: 0392
trademark protection 3: 0392
American Social Science Association
2: 0182
Anatomy
4: 0243
Andersonville Prison
1: 0043; 2: 0791, 0854
Andersonville Survivors Association
1: 0353
Anniversaries
Potomac Relief Corps 3: 0631
Anthony, Susan B.
2: 0454
Appropriations
see Budget of the U.S.
13
Biographies
Barton, William E. 1: 0403, 0461, 0479;
2: 0050
Epler, Percy H. 1: 0362
writing of 2: 0095
Blood
circulation of 4: 0243
Boardman, Mabel T.
3: 0296
Boston Music Hall
2: 0297
Boston, Massachusetts
tourist information 3: 0776
Breckinridge, John C.
1: 0573
Budget of the U.S.
Senate report 2: 0846
Catalogues
1: 0001
Cemeteries and funerals
Barton, Clara 1: 0196, 0232
Charitable organizations
Civil War and 3: 0001
Charlottenburg, Germany
Empress Augusta Institution 1: 0583
Chicago, Illinois
Abraham Lincoln Center 2: 0414
Children
with diabetes 4: 0695
effect of war on 3: 0430
youth 4: 0108
Childs, Frances
2: 0001
Christie, Joseph
2: 0127
Chronologies
Barton, Clara 4: 0753
Churches
First Congregational Church 2: 0397
general 4: 0108
Unitarian Universalist Church 1: 0043;
2: 0333, 0425
Civil liberties
1: 0778
Barton, Clara cont.
pamphlets on 1: 0043
Percy H. Epler biography 1: 0362
personal debt to 1: 0500
public opinion of 1: 0232
romantic relationships 1: 0362
speeches and addresses 2: 0317; 3: 0001
tribute to Julia Ward Howe 1: 0523
William E. Barton biography 1: 0403,
0461, 0479
will 1: 0207
writing biographies on 2: 0095
Barton, David
1: 0675
Barton, Esther P.
1: 0568
Barton, Julia Porter
1: 0692
Barton, Mamie
1: 0564
Barton, Stephen
1: 0207, 0479, 0697; 2: 0050
Barton, Stephen E.
2: 0091
Barton, William
1: 0362; 2: 0050, 0095, 0122
Barton, William E.
biography of Clara Barton 1: 0403,
0461, 0479; 2: 0050
general 1: 0523; 2: 0046
Battle of Antietam
2: 0585
Battle of Chantilly
2: 0585
Battle of Fredericksburg
2: 0503
Bellows, Henry
2: 0911
Biographical information
Atwater, Dorence 1: 0043
Barton, Clara 1: 0021, 0043, 0129;
2: 0050, 0317, 0397; 3: 0001;
4: 0682, 0695, 0753
Foote, Edward B. 1: 0778
14
Education
first aid 4: 0108, 0243
sex 1: 0778
teachers 1: 0191
Elwell, John J.
relationship with Clara Barton 1: 0715,
0751
Empress Augusta Institution
(Charlottenburg, Germany)
1: 0583
Epler, Percy H.
1: 0362
Exercise
see Military drills
Expense accounts
2: 0846
Families
see Barton family
see Kensel-Wells family
Famine relief
Russia 3: 0589
Field hospitals
see Ambulance services
Finance
report to Congress 2: 0846
Firefighters
4: 0108
Fires and fire prevention
4: 0243
First aid
2: 0355; 4: 0108, 0243
First Aid (NFAAA journal)
4: 0243
First Congregational Church (Oak Park,
Illinois)
2: 0397
Flags
ARC 3: 0587
Foote, Edward B.
1: 0778
Frayer, Lucy A.
1: 0864
Fundraising
1: 0353
Funerals
see Cemeteries and funerals
Civil War
campaigns and battles 2: 0297, 0503,
0585
casualties 2: 0297
charitable organizations and 3: 0001
veterans 2: 0503; 3: 0776
Clara Barton Camp (North Oxford,
Massachusetts)
4: 0695
Clara Barton Literary Committee
1: 0217
Clara Barton Memorial Association
1: 0340
Congress
House Committee of Foreign Affairs
3: 0296
House Committee on the Library 1: 0232
reports to 2: 0846
S. 5583 3: 0591
Cooper Institute
2: 0132
Corporations
4: 0108
Cuba
relief to 1: 0573; 3: 0430
Dansville, New York
2: 0156; 4: 0682
Death and dying
Barton, Clara 1: 0129, 0232
Foote, Edward B. 1: 0778
Decoration Day
2: 0156
see also Memorial Day
Denison, M. A.
1: 0703
Diabetes
children with 4: 0695
Disaster relief
general 3: 0001, 0296
reports 3: 0443
Woman’s National Relief Association
3: 0598
District of Columbia
tourist information 3: 0631
Dunant, Henry
2: 0182, 0716
15
Decoration Day 2: 0156
general 3: 0631; 4: 0636
Memorial Day 2: 0297; 4: 0682
Mother’s Day 2: 0397
Thanksgiving Day 2: 0333
Hospital ships
4: 0529
House Committee on Foreign Affairs
3: 0296
House Committee on the Library
1: 0232
Howe, Julia Ward
tribute to 1: 0523
Hubbell, Julian B.
2: 0050
Hurricanes
Galveston, Tex. 3: 0443
ICRC
see International Committee of the Red
Cross
Illinois
Abraham Lincoln Center 2: 0414
First Congregational Church 2: 0397
Injuries
4: 0243
International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC)
2: 0182, 0716; 3: 0001, 0392; 4: 0529
International Council of Women
Clara Barton speech to 3: 0001
International relief
ARC activities 2: 0317, 0397; 3: 0392
Cuba 3: 0430
Jackson, Dr.
tribute to 2: 0469
Journals
First Aid 4: 0243
Kensel, George A.
3: 0776
Kensel-Wells family
history 4: 0001
photographs 4: 0030, 0073
Liberalism
1: 0778
Louise of Baden (Grand Duchess)
1: 0907
Galveston, Texas
hurricane 3: 0443
Genealogy
Barton, Clara 1: 0021
Geneva Convention
U.S. ratification of 2: 0182, 0716
see also Treaty of Geneva (1864)
Germany
Empress Augusta Institution 1: 0583
Gifts and donations
to ARC 3: 0296
statistical data 3: 0443
Woman’s National Relief Association
3: 0598
Girls College at Scutari (Turkey)
2: 0317, 0397
Government investigations
of ARC 3: 0296
Grand Army of the Republic
3: 0776; 4: 0753
Hay, John
1: 0580
Health condition
Barton family 1: 0675
Barton, Clara 1: 0778, 0896, 0963;
2: 0135
Vassall, Vester 2: 0013
Health facilities and services
Foote, Edward B. 1: 0778
Hewett, S. C. 1: 0896
Morrison, Mrs. C. M. 1: 0948
Storer, H. B. 1: 0974
Herbst, E.
1: 0578
Hewett, S. C.
1: 0896
Hirons, Mabelle Rawson
2: 0050
Historic documents and artifacts
Barton, Clara 1: 0217
History
of ARC 3: 0392; 4: 0529
Kensel-Wells family 4: 0001
of warfare 2: 0182, 0716
Holidays
anniversaries 3: 0631
16
Natural History Camp
2: 0355
Naval warfare
4: 0529
New England
travel in 4: 0001
New Hampshire
4: 0030
New York
Dansville 2: 0156; 4: 0682
Saratoga 2: 0182
Woman’s National Relief Association
3: 0598
NFAAA
see National First Aid Association of
America
North Oxford, Massachusetts
Clara Barton Camp 4: 0695
Oak Park, Illinois
First Congregational Church 2: 0397
“The Old-Old-Book”
2: 0503
Oxford Library
2: 0392
Personal debt
owed to Clara Barton 1: 0500
Physiology
4: 0243
Police
4: 0108
Potomac Relief Corps
sixth anniversary 3: 0631
Public opinion
of Clara Barton 1: 0232
Public schools
4: 0108
Railroads
4: 0108
Relationships
romantic 1: 0362, 0715, 0751
Relief
see Disaster relief
see Famine relief
see International relief
see War relief
Main, Charles
1: 0923
Margot, Antoinette “Kitty”
1: 0928
Massachusetts
Boston Music Hall 2: 0297
Boston tourist information 3: 0776
Clara Barton Camp 4: 0695
Medical treatments
1: 0778, 0948, 0974
Memorial Day
2: 0297; 4: 0682
see also Decoration Day
Memorials
see Monuments and memorials
Military appointments and promotions
3: 0776
Military campaigns and battles
Civil War 2: 0297, 0503, 0585
Military drills
4: 0243, 0529
Military health facilities and services
2: 0182, 0716; 4: 0243, 0529
Military personnel
buried at Andersonville Prison 2: 0854
missing 2: 0135, 0846
veterans 2: 0503; 3: 0776
Military rules and regulations
4: 0529
Missing in action
2: 0135, 0846
Monuments and memorials
Barton, Clara 1: 0232, 0340; 4: 0243
Morrison, Mrs. C. M.
health services 1: 0948
Mother’s Day
2: 0397
National First Aid Association of America
(NFAAA)
annual reports 4: 0108
button 4: 0518
general 4: 0108, 0243, 0510
journal 4: 0243
photographs 4: 0521
National White Cross of America
3: 0591
17
Storer, H. B.
1: 0974
Swimming
4: 0243
Taft, William Howard
2: 0046
Teachers
1: 0191
Texas
Galveston hurricane 3: 0443
Thanksgiving Day
2: 0333
Tourist trade
Boston 3: 0776
District of Columbia 3: 0631
Tower, George
1: 0982
Tower, Mary
1: 0982
Trademarks
protection of 3: 0392
Travel
in New England 4: 0001
Treaty of Geneva (1864)
2: 0182, 0716; 3: 0001, 0392; 4: 0529
see also Geneva Convention
Tributes
to Dr. Jackson 2: 0469
to Julia Ward Howe 1: 0523
Turkey
general 3: 0443
Girls College at Scutari 2: 0317, 0397
U.S. Sanitary Commission
2: 0911; 3: 0001
Unitarian Universalist Church
1: 0043; 2: 0333, 0425
Unitarian Universalist Women’s
Federation
4: 0695
Universalist Church
see Unitarian Universalist Church
Vassall, Barnard
1: 0992
Vassall, Irving
1: 0992
Religions
2: 0425
see also Churches
Reports
financial 2: 0846
general 3: 0392
NFAAA annual 4: 0108
Senate appropriations 2: 0846
Respiration
4: 0243
Riccius, Herman P.
2: 0091
Riccius, Saidee
2: 0095
Russia
famine relief 3: 0589
S. 5583
3: 0591
Salvation Army
4: 0108
Saratoga, New York
2: 0182
Second Battle of Bull Run
2: 0585
Senate
appropriations report 2: 0846
bill 3: 0591
Seventh International Conference of the
Red Cross
3: 0392
Sex education
1: 0778
Sheldon, Abby
1: 0963
Sheldon, Joseph
1: 0963
Shepard, Hannah McLaren
2: 0127
Spanish-American War
relief 3: 0430
Spine disorders
1: 0896
Spirit communication
2: 0050
Statistical data
gifts and donations 3: 0443
18
Wills and probate
1: 0207
WNRA
see Woman’s National Relief
Association
Woman’s Home Companion
2: 0342
Woman’s National Relief Association
2: 0127; 3: 0598
Woman’s Relief Corps
3: 0776; 4: 0753
Women
in armed services 2: 0046
International Council of Women 3: 0001
Women’s rights
2: 0342, 0454
“Work and Incidents of Army Life”
2: 0585
World War I
4: 0243
Writers and writing
biographies of Clara Barton 2: 0095
Young Men’s Christian Association
4: 0108
Youth
4: 0108
Vassall, Sarah
2: 0013
Vassall, Vester
2: 0013, 0035
Veterans
Civil War 2: 0503; 3: 0776
War
effect on children 3: 0430
history of 2: 0182, 0716
naval warfare 4: 0529
World War I 4: 0243
see also Civil War
War casualties
Civil War 2: 0297
general 2: 0182, 0503, 0585, 0716, 0911;
3: 0001; 4: 0529, 0682, 0695
War relief
to Cuba 1: 0573
general 2: 0716; 3: 0001; 4: 0682, 0695
Spanish-American War 3: 0430
Washburne, Elihu
2: 0040
Wells, Mary Kensel
4: 0001
Wheeler, Joseph
2: 0044
Willard, Frances
2: 0454
19
Related UPA Collections
The Margaret Sanger Papers
The Smith College Collections
Collected Documents
Papers of Emma Hart Willard, 1787–1870
Civil War Battles and Campaigns
Part 1: Eastern Theater
Part 2: Western Theater
Part 3: General References and Collected Works
The Papers of Queen Victoria on Foreign Affairs
Part 1: Russia and Eastern Europe, 1846–1900
Part 2: Germany and Central Europe, 1841–1900
Part 5: France and Belgium, 1848–1900
Part 6: Greece, 1847–1863
UPA Collections from LexisNexis®
http://academic.lexisnexis.com
C
lara Barton is most well-known for her daring activities as a nurse during the
Civil War as well as her founding of the American Red Cross. The Clara Barton
Papers 1822–1912, held by the Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College,
document Barton’s work during the Civil War, with the Red Cross, and with
other relief organizations. In correspondence with family and friends, the collection also
details more personal aspects of Barton’s life.
In a letter dated August 15, 1900, to Clara’s cousin Esther P. Barton, Clara discusses her
much-loved Red Cross, “If your hearers wish to know something more of the
organization which I am unworthily trying to lead in this country, tell them to believe in
it if they believe in me, and try to help it along for the sake of the love of God to man and
the love that man should have to other men; for only by loving his fellow-man as a
brother can he be like the Father, only by treating him as such can he serve the Father.
The Red Cross is founded on this spirit; it knows no other. ‘If ye love me, feed my
sheep’” (Reel 1, Frame 0571).
Letters and manuscript notes from John J. Elwell, with whom Barton had a romantic
relationship in 1863, provide interesting material about Barton’s personal life. In an
undated letter, Colonel Elwell writes Clara, “My Birdie, I have had a tough day––when
may I retreat to the Bird’s nest and rest my head? I am tired … many years ago I had a
mother & what a relief … and then I had a wife––always troubled to see care upon my
brow. I have no mother & my wife can’t come to me. So here I am a poor child––
homeless, motherless, wifeless. I’m tired––when may I come to my Bird’s nest?” (Reel 1,
Frame 0759). Elwell later writes, “Unless I see you tonight I shall not sleep a wink
perhaps” and signs the letter “Your child, John” (Frame 0765). Several times John asked
Clara to take rides on the beach with him for they met in Hilton Head, South Carolina
during the Civil War when Elwell was a quartermaster with the Department of the South.
The Clara Barton Papers in the Sophia Smith Collection provide significant insight into
Barton’s personal life and professional accomplishments. This collection would be of
interest to students of a variety of subjects including women’s studies, the American Red
Cross, relief activities, and personal and family relationships in the late nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries.
UPA Collections from LexisNexis®
http://academic.lexisnexis.com