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Pratt family collection

 Collection — Folder: S1075
Identifier: S1075

Scope and Contents

This collection comprises a few items from the Pratt family in Indiana, ranging from 1833 to 1937 and undated, which include: a letter from Mary Pratt to Esther, possibly Esther McNutt, a librarian at the Indiana State Library dated December 5, 1937; transcriptions of two advertisements concerning runaway slaves from 1833 and undated on the back of an institutional advertisingn requisition form from 1937; an undated memoir from Sarah S. Pratt entitled, "Why Doctor Grimes Whispered" concerning the Underground Railroad in Indiana; a print of a drawing, created by Matt Pratt, of Camp Readyville in Tennessee during the U.S. Civil War; and an advertising card for Home Insurance Company of Lafayette, Indiana, with the names of the Busy Bee Society, including S. Smith as president.

Dates

  • 1833, 1937, undated

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Biographical Note

Sarah Green Smith was born on November 3, 1853, to Nicholas (1811-1893) and Catharine (Armor) Smith (1818-1903) in Delphi, Indiana. She grew up in Delphi, one of six children, where her mother was actively involved in the Underground Railroad. Smith married William Dudley Pratt (1851-1919), editor of the Logansport Journal, on December 18, 1878, in Casss Coutny, Indiana, and they had five children: Arthur Dudley (1881-1963), Mary Armour (1882-1943) Ryland Dillard (1885-1972) Marjory Burr (1887-1869), and William Dudley, Jr. (1891-1979). The Pratts lived in Logansport during the 1880s where they co-edited a weekly periodical called the Sunday Critic. The family moved to Indianapolis by 1900. Sarah Pratt wrote a column entitled, "Flotsam and Jetsam" for the periodical. Pratt contributed to several publications, including a column in the Kokomo Journal, and authored several books, including Blue Cashmere Gown: A Story of a Missionary Box (1914), The Old Crop in Indiana (1928), Episcopal Bishops in Indiana; a Churchwoman's Retrospect (1934), Guess This Word (1938). She also founded On Meridian, a publication of the Indianapolis Young Womens Christian Association, and served as its editor for six years. Sarah S. Pratt died on September 10, 1942 in Indianapolis, Indiana and was buried in Masonic Cemetery in Delphi.

Sources:

Items in the collection.

Ancestry.com "Sarah Smith." 1860 United States Federal Census. Accessed November 13, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.

Ancestry.com "Sarah S. Pratt." 1880 United States Federal Census. Accessed November 13, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.

Ancestry.com "Sarah S. Pratt." 1900 United States Federal Census. Accessed November 13, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.

Ancestry.com "Sarah S. Pratt." 1910 United States Federal Census. Accessed November 13, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.

Ancestry.com "Sarah S. Pratt." 1930 United States Federal Census. Accessed November 13, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.

Ancestry.com "Sarah S. Pratt." 1940 United States Federal Census. Accessed November 13, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.

Ancestry.com "Sarah S. Pratt." Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2017. Accessed November 13, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.

Ancestry.com "Sarah G. Smith." Indiana, U.S., Select Marriages Index, 1748-1993. Accessed November 13, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.

Findagrave.com. "Sarah Green Smith Pratt." Find a Grave Memorial. Accessed November 13, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/73190693/sarah-green-pratt.

"Pratt, Sarah Smith (Mrs. W. D.)" 1853-1942." In Indiana Authors and Their Books, 1816-1980. Accessed July 23, 2015. http://purl.dlib.indiana.edu/iudl/inauthors/encyclopedia/VAA5365-01

Extent

0.01 Cubic Feet (1 folder)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by subject.

Custodial History

This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from Mary Pratt in 1943.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Related Archival Material

Materials relating to this collection may be found in the following collections in the Indiana Division and Genealogy Division, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN:

ISLI 917.72 P917O: The old crop in Indiana

ISLG Microfiche LH13064: The old crop in Indiana

ISLI 283 P917E: Episcopal bishops in Indiana: A churchwoman's retrospect

Processing Information

Collection processing completed 2015/07/23 by Linda Gellert. EAD finding aid created 2015/07/23 by Linda Gellert. EAD finding aid revised 2025/11/13 by Brittany Kropf.

Subjects

Related Names

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Pratt family collection
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Physical Storage Information

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository

http://www.in.gov/library/manuscripts.htm
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