Shirley family

While the Eaton-Shirley family papers primarily focus on John Eaton, Jr., the collection also contains a significant amount of information regarding other members of the Eaton and Shirley families. These members include John Eaton Jr.’s wife, Alice Eugenia (Shirley) Eaton, one of their children, Elsie Eaton, and several of John's siblings: Lucien B., Nathan A., Charles, Frederick, and Christina Eaton. Papers regarding John Eaton Jr.’s uncle, Horace Eaton, and his aunt, Ruth Dodge Eaton, are also present. The primary Shirley family members represented in the collection are Alice E. (Shirley) Eaton’s parents, James and Adelaine Shirley; her uncles, Robert and Edward Shirley; and her brother, Quincy Shirley. Though the Eaton family was from New Hampshire, the bulk of the papers in this collection are from places where members of the family relocated - most prominently, Vicksburg, Mississippi; Toledo, Ohio; and Memphis, Tennessee. The most prominent figures in this collection are John Eaton, Jr., Lucien B. Eaton, and various members of the Shirley Family.

John Eaton Jr. (December 5, 1829-February 9, 1906) was born in Sutton, New Hampshire, to John and Janet Cole (Andrews) Eaton. He was the eldest of 9 children. At the age of 16, he became a district schoolteacher. His mother died when he was 17 (in 1846). Eaton attended classes at the Thetford Academy in Vermont, and then graduated from Dartmouth in 1854. For two years after graduation, he served as principal of Clinton Street (Ward) School in Cleveland, Ohio.

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