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Newkirk family collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: S1939

Scope and Contents

Folder one of this collection contains correspondence and documents of the Newkirk family ranging from 1878 to 1889, including three letters written by Fred Newkirk from Cochran, Indiana to his wife and daughter in Indianapolis; two letters from William Leive of Aurora, Indiana; a letter from Emily Middleworth of Indianapolis; two letters and a partial letter from Minnie Newkirk's sister (Helen) Lee Forbis; a card of rememberance of David B. Moe of Indianapolis who was interred in Kenosha, Wisconsin along with a 2-stanza poem with the first line, "Fare thee well my noble husband"; Ella Newkirk's certificate of promotion from 11th to 12th grade at Aurora High School; an advertisement distributed by John Ullrich, an Aurora druggist, for for "Dr. McLane's Celebrated Liver Pills" which had pictures of Levi P. Morton and Benjamin Harrison on the front and statistics about presidential elections; and instructions for talking pills prescribed by Dr. Hadley, printed on a cardboard circle and distributed by Indianapolis druggist L.(Louis) H. Mueller (undated).

Folder two contains six pocket size booklets used by Fred Newkirk from 1880 to 1885 to record transactions with J.M. Wheeler, a grocery merchant in Cochran, Indiana. Also included is a pocket size booklet for an account with Louis Vondersaar that was also used to record friends and family births, marriages, and deaths (circa 1880).

Dates

  • 1878-1889

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

Frederick "Fred" W. Newkirk was born September 3, 1844 in Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1866. He worked as a carpenter, cabinetmaker and pattern maker. Newkirk married Minnie Rammler and they had one daughter, Ella. Fred Newkirk died on April 2, 1911.

Minnie Rammler was born on June 29, 1850 in Germany and came to America with her family in 1851. Her daughter, Ella Newkirk, was born December 2, 1871 in Aurora, Indiana. She became a well-known piano teacher on the southside of Indianapolis, Indiana played the organ for several churches in the city, and was one of the founders of the Indianapolis Piano Teachers Association. Newkirk and her mother continued to share the family home until Minnie's death on December 9, 1943. Ella Newkirk died at the age of 80 on December 11, 1951.

Sources:

Ancestry.com. "Minnie Newkirk." 1900 United States Federal Census. Accessed September 29, 2020. https://www.ancestry.com.

FindaGrave.com. "Frederick W. Newkirk." Find a Grave Memorial no. 45979667. Accessed September 25, 2020. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/45979667/frederick-w.-newkirk.

Popular South-Side Piano Teacher Dies." Indianapolis News (Ind.), December 12, 1951.

Extent

0.02 Cubic Feet (2 folders)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection is arranged chronologically.

Custodial History

This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from Mrs. W. E. Williams in 1979/03.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Processing Information

Collection processing completed in 1998 by Philip N. Williams. EAD finding aid created 2020/09/29 by Laura Eliason.
Title
Newkirk family collection
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository

Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671