Skip to main content

Sarah Carmichael Harrell collection

 Collection
Identifier: L398

Scope and Contents

This collection includes newspaper clippings and scrapbooks from Sarah Carmichael Harrell in Indiana ranging from 1825 to 1927 regarding the Columbian Exposition (or otherwise known as the Chicago World's Fair), Brookville, Franklin County, Indiana history, poetry and stories.

There is also a World's Columbian Exposition Commission appointment certificate and letter to Sarah Carmichael Harrell dated March 18, 1891 (OBC147).

Dates

  • 1825-1927

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

Mrs. S.S. Harrell (or Sarah Carmichael) was born in Brookville, Indiana in 1844. She was a schoolteacher when she was fifteen and in 1873, she married Hon. S.S. (Samuel Sidney) Harrell, who was a county clerk and attorney. They had two children. Harrell was very active in church, social, and educational circles. She was a member of the Child Rescue League, chairman of the 6th District History Department, librarian, writer, and a manager for the Indiana Board of Managers of the 1893 Columbian Exposition (or Chicago World's Fair). She was also the first secretary of the Historical Society in Brookville in 1908.

At the Columbian Exposition, Harrell worked to create an exhibition for the teachers and school kids and she created the "Penny Fund" where people would donate certain change, depending on who they were, like school kids can give a penny, a dime from teachers, etc. "But for Mrs. Harrell's inventive genius and great executive ability many of the Hoosier children would not have been brought to appreciate the advantages of the World's Great Fair, and the educational exhibit would not have been what everyone has reason to expect from it now. Mrs. Harrell is a lady of rare culture and great force of character; and her unselfish and untiring labors to make the educational exhibit a great success are fully appreciated and will long be remembered by the people of Indiana" (Campbell, 81). She passed away in 1929.

Sources:

Ancestry.com. Accessed November 16, 2016. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.

Campbell, James Bartlett. The World's Colombian Exposition Illustrated: March 1892 to March 1893. Architecture, 1893.

Riefel, August Jacob. History of Franklin County, Indiana: Her People, Industries, and Institutions. Windmill Publications, 1915.

Extent

2.36 Cubic Feet (1 manuscript box; 5 custom clamshell boxes, 1 large oversize folder)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by subject.

Custodial History

This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Processing Information

Collection processing completed 2016/11/16 by Kori Nell. EAD finding aid created 2016/11/16 by Kori Nell. Finding aid revised by Bethany Fiechter 2017/01/12; 2021/11/02 by Lauren Patton.
Title
Sarah Carmichael Harrell collection
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