Pierce-Krull family papers
Collection
Identifier: L353
Scope and Contents
The collection includes family correspondence (both originals and typed transcripts), writings, sheet music, financial records, journals, papers, photographs, ephemera, scrapbooks, clippings, pamphlets, and realia from the Pierce, Krull, Vinton, and Moore families in Indianapolis and other places in Indiana; Genesso, Illinois; California; and the United States, ranging from 1834 to 1963, regarding their family, friends, business interests, education, careers, recreational and social activities, and travels.
Family correspondence includes correspondence of the John Moore family of Ellisville, Geneseo, and Rock Island, Illinois (1834-1870), including letters from family members in St. Louis, Missouri., California, and Madison, Jefferson County and Shelbyville, Shelby County, Indiana. Also included are letters, and transcripts of letters, of W. S. Pierce in Yuba City, California, to his wife and son in Indiana and Illinois (1850-1854). Additionally, the collection contains correspondence between W. S. Pierce in Indianapolis and his son, Henry D. Pierce, at Princeton University (1865-1866), as well as W. S. Pierce’s business correspondence regarding his real estate and railroad interests in Indiana, and state and national Democratic Party politics, particularly in regard to his brother-in-law, Thomas A. Hendricks (1860s-1870s). The collection also includes correspondence of H. D. Pierce with his fiancée and later wife, Elizabeth Vinton (1874-1880s), including letters written during his trips to Europe and California in the 1880s, and correspondence of Elizabeth Vinton while she was a student at Vassar College (1871-1874). Additionally, there are family correspondence of Theresa Pierce (1890s), including her letters from Vassar College (1899-1900); her correspondence with her fiancé, Frederic Krull, while he was in Columbia, Missouri (1904-1906); letters of Douglas Pierce while a student at Harvard Law School (1906-1908). Theresa Krull’s correspondence regarding the Vassar College Alumnae Association, and their work for women’s suffrage, and in training nurses for service during World War I; her correspondence regarding her involvement with Indianapolis organizations, including the Indianapolis Propylaeum, the Indiana Federation of Clubs, and the Indianapolis Women’s Club; her correspondence regarding her historical, genealogical, and patriotic interests; and correspondence regarding Frederic Krull’s work.
The family’s writings include Frederic Krull’s musical compositions; Theresa Krull’s articles and lectures on women’s clubs and Midwestern history; Henry D. Pierce’s articles and speeches (1895-1926), principally on Europe, South America, and Nicaragua; typed manuscript of Booth Tarkington’s story “The Last Sunday;” Charles Holman-Black’s memoirs of growing up in Indianapolis in the late nineteenth century; and an unpublished novel by Frederic Krull.
The collection also includes Theresa Krull’s journals (1892-1947); account books of the Vinton family of Indianapolis (1852-1875); receipts, land documents, and other family business documents of the Moore, Pierce, Vinton, and Krull families (1840-1949); family school essays and report cards (1840-1899); scrapbooks for Theresa and Frederic Krull (1922-1947); newspaper clippings relating to family members and their interests (1867-1963); programs, pamphlets, and other materials relating to Indianapolis organizations (1888-1956); pamphlets and other printed materials regarding the proposed canal across Nicaragua (1893-1928); and genealogical materials. Recordings of Frederic Krull singing “Little Orphant Annie” and “Kissing the Rod.”
There is also an oversize folder containing a broadside of a letter from Thomas Hendricks to his sister May 9, 1885; a negative reproduction of an undated illustration depicting the residence of Judge David P. Vinton at the corner of Greenbush and 19th streets in Lafayette, Indiana; a blank 1860 bond certificate from the Indianapolis Coal and Mining Company; a printed copy of "A Tribute to Indiana" broadcast by General Motors on May 30, 1932; several copies of an advertising sheet for "'Riley Songs' and others by Frederic Krull" with a copy of a letter to Krull on the reverse, 1924-1926; and a handwritten document from the "class of '75" (1875) (OBC075).
Correspondents include George S. Boutwell, Thomas A. Hendricks, Eli Lilly, Horatio Seymour, E.B. Washbourne, and Charles Holman Black.
Family correspondence includes correspondence of the John Moore family of Ellisville, Geneseo, and Rock Island, Illinois (1834-1870), including letters from family members in St. Louis, Missouri., California, and Madison, Jefferson County and Shelbyville, Shelby County, Indiana. Also included are letters, and transcripts of letters, of W. S. Pierce in Yuba City, California, to his wife and son in Indiana and Illinois (1850-1854). Additionally, the collection contains correspondence between W. S. Pierce in Indianapolis and his son, Henry D. Pierce, at Princeton University (1865-1866), as well as W. S. Pierce’s business correspondence regarding his real estate and railroad interests in Indiana, and state and national Democratic Party politics, particularly in regard to his brother-in-law, Thomas A. Hendricks (1860s-1870s). The collection also includes correspondence of H. D. Pierce with his fiancée and later wife, Elizabeth Vinton (1874-1880s), including letters written during his trips to Europe and California in the 1880s, and correspondence of Elizabeth Vinton while she was a student at Vassar College (1871-1874). Additionally, there are family correspondence of Theresa Pierce (1890s), including her letters from Vassar College (1899-1900); her correspondence with her fiancé, Frederic Krull, while he was in Columbia, Missouri (1904-1906); letters of Douglas Pierce while a student at Harvard Law School (1906-1908). Theresa Krull’s correspondence regarding the Vassar College Alumnae Association, and their work for women’s suffrage, and in training nurses for service during World War I; her correspondence regarding her involvement with Indianapolis organizations, including the Indianapolis Propylaeum, the Indiana Federation of Clubs, and the Indianapolis Women’s Club; her correspondence regarding her historical, genealogical, and patriotic interests; and correspondence regarding Frederic Krull’s work.
The family’s writings include Frederic Krull’s musical compositions; Theresa Krull’s articles and lectures on women’s clubs and Midwestern history; Henry D. Pierce’s articles and speeches (1895-1926), principally on Europe, South America, and Nicaragua; typed manuscript of Booth Tarkington’s story “The Last Sunday;” Charles Holman-Black’s memoirs of growing up in Indianapolis in the late nineteenth century; and an unpublished novel by Frederic Krull.
The collection also includes Theresa Krull’s journals (1892-1947); account books of the Vinton family of Indianapolis (1852-1875); receipts, land documents, and other family business documents of the Moore, Pierce, Vinton, and Krull families (1840-1949); family school essays and report cards (1840-1899); scrapbooks for Theresa and Frederic Krull (1922-1947); newspaper clippings relating to family members and their interests (1867-1963); programs, pamphlets, and other materials relating to Indianapolis organizations (1888-1956); pamphlets and other printed materials regarding the proposed canal across Nicaragua (1893-1928); and genealogical materials. Recordings of Frederic Krull singing “Little Orphant Annie” and “Kissing the Rod.”
There is also an oversize folder containing a broadside of a letter from Thomas Hendricks to his sister May 9, 1885; a negative reproduction of an undated illustration depicting the residence of Judge David P. Vinton at the corner of Greenbush and 19th streets in Lafayette, Indiana; a blank 1860 bond certificate from the Indianapolis Coal and Mining Company; a printed copy of "A Tribute to Indiana" broadcast by General Motors on May 30, 1932; several copies of an advertising sheet for "'Riley Songs' and others by Frederic Krull" with a copy of a letter to Krull on the reverse, 1924-1926; and a handwritten document from the "class of '75" (1875) (OBC075).
Correspondents include George S. Boutwell, Thomas A. Hendricks, Eli Lilly, Horatio Seymour, E.B. Washbourne, and Charles Holman Black.
Dates
- 1834-1960, undated
Creator
- Krull, Frederic, 1876-1961 (Person)
Language of Materials
Materials in English and German.
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
The Pierce-Krull family included Theresa Vinton Pierce Krull (1877-1963), a graduate of Vassar College (1900), and an Indianapolis clubwoman, a feature writer for the Indianapolis Star, and a lecturer and writer on educational, historical, and political topics. Her husband, Frederic Krull (1876-1961), was an Indianapolis singer, voice instructor, and composer, whose works included music for James Whitcomb Riley’s poems. Theresa’s father, Henry Douglas Pierce (1848-1929), was an Indianapolis lawyer and businessman who was a director of various railroad companies in Indiana and New York, as well as a director of the Nicaragua Maritime Canal Company, and a journalist writing on European and South American affairs. Her grandfather, Winslow S. Pierce (1819-1888), was a physician in Illinois, California, and Indianapolis (1840s-1888); comptroller of the State of California (1851); businessman involved in real estate; railroad development; and Democratic Party politics in Indiana (1854-1888).
Extent
8.66 Cubic Feet (20 manuscript boxes, 4 small oversize boxes, 1 large oversize folder)
Arrangement
Arranged in the following series and subseries:
Series 1: Correspondence, papers, and photographs, 1834-1960, undated
Series 2: Writings, publications, and music, 1867-1958, undated
Subseries 2.1: Writings and publications, 1867-1958, undated Subseries 2.2: Music, 1898-1954, undated
Series 3: Volumes, 1852-1947, undated
Series 1: Correspondence, papers, and photographs, 1834-1960, undated
Series 2: Writings, publications, and music, 1867-1958, undated
Subseries 2.1: Writings and publications, 1867-1958, undated Subseries 2.2: Music, 1898-1954, undated
Series 3: Volumes, 1852-1947, undated
Custodial History
This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from the Frederic Krull estate on 1966/05/07 and 1966/11/22.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection processing completed 2012/01 by Laura Williams. EAD finding aid created 2018/05/04 by Lauren Patton. EAD findning aid revised 2020/12/15; 2025/02/26 by Brittany Kropf.
- Authors and publishers
- Black, Charles Holman
- Certificates
- Clippings
- Composers
- Congresses and conventions -- Indiana
- Correspondence
- Democratic Party (Ind.)
- Diaries
- Ephemera
- Genealogical research
- Genealogy
- General Federation of Women’s Clubs
- Hair
- Hendricks, Thomas A. (Thomas Andrews), 1819-1885
- Indiana Federation of Women's Clubs
- Indianapolis (Ind.) -- Societies and clubs
- Indianapolis Woman's Club
- Krull family
- Music -- Indiana
- Musicians -- Indiana
- Pamphlets
- Personal memoirs
- Photographs
- Pierce family
- Politics and government
- Programs
- Railroads -- Indiana
- Riley, James Whitcomb, 1849-1916
- Scrapbooks
- Sheet music
- Speeches, addresses, etc.
- Sunday schools
- Tickets
- Transcriptions
- Vassar College
- Vinton family
- Women -- Societies and clubs
- Women -- Suffrage
- Women authors
- World’s Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)
Creator
- Krull, Frederic, 1876-1961 (Person)
- Krull, Theresa Vinton Pierce, 1877-1963 (Person)
- Pierce, Elizabeth Stallo Vinton, 1855-1936 (Person)
- Pierce, Henry Douglas, 1848-1929 (Person)
- Title
- Pierce-Krull family papers
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
