Diaries and papers 1820-1942.

ArchivalResource

Clark Family. Diaries and papers 1820-1942.

Diaries and papers 1820-1942.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122410959

The collection offers a perspective on the personal, social, and professional lives of the Clark and Madeira families in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. It is reflective of a rich and vibrant piece of upper class Philadelphia family history. It describes a family whose relationship with the University of Pennsylvania spans several generations. Their affection for learning, travel as well as their undying affection for each other is apparent in their writings. The bulk of the collection consists of sixty-four volumes of diaries and journals written by four members of the family. The primary diarist was Edward White Clark, whose writings extend to fifty-three volumes of dairies and journals. The entries are consistent and detail his daily activities from the year 1851 to 1863 and 1871 until his death in 1904. His journals begin with a description of Egypt and the Holy Land; his diaries cover his personal and social life in daily detail, such as his comments on sermons at the Germantown and Philadelphia Unitarian churches and the opening of the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. There is some information on his business career, but relatively brief. Three volumes of diaries, covering the years 1870-1871 and 1904-1905, were written by Edward's wife, Mary Todhunter Sill Clark. Two volumes of diaries, covering the years 1883 and 1890, were written by Edward's daughter, Marion Clark Madeira. Six volumes of diaries, covering the years 1873 - 1876, were written by Edward's grandson, Louis Childs Madeira, Jr. Letters and other manuscripts are also included in the collection, documenting the lives of Mary Todhunter Sill Clark, Marion Clark Madeira, son-in-law Louis Childs Madeira, Sr., Louis Childs Madeira, Jr., and grandsons Edward Walter Madeira and Crawford C. Madeira. Marion C. Madeira's collection includes manuscript letters and photographs from her children, primarily from Edward and Crawford, but also from Louis. They span a few years from 1916-1919, which includes their service in the 1st Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry during General Pershing's punitive expedition to Mexico; the correspondence documents military life during the turn of the twentieth century. Her collection documents her creative and artistic expression. This is evident by the numerous poems, conundrums and scrapbook postcards she created throughout her lifetime. The collection also includes genealogical research and notes detailing the Clark and Madeira family. There is material and correspondence regarding the Clark family's ancestors in England dating back to the fourteenth century. A family history book includes several personal items from the Madeira family children, such as a locket of hair. Included with the personal items are several noteworthy legal documents such as the copies of the wills several Clark and Madeira family members. Another noteworthy item in the collection includes Edith Madeira's (1865 - c. 1951) transcribed correspondence during her service with the American Red Cross in Palestine, which span from 1917 to 1919.

6 cubic feet.

University of Pennsylvania, Archives & Records Center