Laflin family papers

  • Creator Names Laflin, Josephine Knowland, 1862-1949.
  • Title Laflin family papers [manuscript], 1830-1974.
  • Physical description
    • 6.25 linear ft. (15 boxes)
    • 1 oversize folder.
  • Collection summary
    • Family papers, including correspondence (1869-1949) and diaries (1890-1907) of Josephine Knowland Laflin of Chicago and Lake Forest ( Ill.), relating to schooling genealogy, illness, death, servants, theatrical and literary figures, such as Julian Street and George Gibbs, travel in Europe and the Middle East, and other social and family matters; and smaller amounts of personal and business correspondence of other family members, chiefly concerning real estate in Chicago and Lake Forest (Ill.), owned by the family. Family members represented included George Laflin, Louis Ellsworth (1861-1922), Louis Ellsworth (b. 1898), Mary Laflin, and Matthew Laflin, III. Includes papers (1899-1935) of John McCartney Kennedy, relating to legal affairs, genealogy of Frederick Knowland and his wife, and the history of Parnassus and Westmoreland County (Pa.).
    • Includes correspondence between George and his son Louis, Sr., about family and business matters, advice on marriage and setting up house; Mary Laflin's letters to her son Louis, Sr., and his wife Josephine about family affairs and her travels abroad as well as in the United States, information about finding a house and establishing residence in Chicago appears in the letters of 1886-87. Also includes Mary Laflin's travel journal, 1897-1901, describing her trip to Europe and Egypt in 1897-98 and trips to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and Florida. One volume lists stocks and real estate owned by the Laflin family, ca. 1888-1904.
    • Includes two motoring logs of L. E. Laflin, Sr., 1901-03/1903-05, 1909, along with a series of letters from Edwin F. Brown of Chicago, an early automobile dealer; invoices from the Winton Motor Carriage Company of Cleveland, Ohio; a 1902 Chicago operator's permit; and a few items relating to a tour by automobile in 1912 from Genoa, Italy, to Southampton, Great Britain.
    • Includes Josephine Knowland Laflin's letters and diary entries about the family's winter stays in Pasadena, California (1904-12) and in Prince ton, New Jersey (1913-22); scattered letters from MA. and Mrs. Edward W. Blatchford (ca. 20 items, 1918-38), while Mr. Blatchford was a missionary in the Middle East and, at the end of the 1930s, consul-general in Palestine; correspondence with writers Julian Street (1879-1947), ca. 35 letters, 1922-39, and George Gibbs (1870-1942), ca. 20 letters, 1923-35.
    • Includes letters and grade reports from Louis E. Laflin, Jr.'s years at the Lawrenceville School (1913-18), which he wrote about in his first book, The Anxious Bench; several plays by Laflin and his adaptations for garden theater performances; and research for his genealogy of the Laflin family.
  • Location of Other Archival Materials Note Related materials at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include the Laflin family photograph collection (1980.0307).
  • Finding Aids Note Descriptive inventory available that does not include box 15.
  • Acquisition information Gift of Mrs. Louis Ellsworth Laflin, Jr. (M1976.0039) and Mary Jo Field in 1995 (1995.0101).
  • Names
    • Laflin family Archives.
    • Laflin, Josephine Knowland, 1862-1949 Archives.
    • Laflin, Matthew, 1803-1897.
    • Gibbs, George Homes and haunts.
    • Street, Julian Homes and haunts.
    • Laflin, George Hinman.
    • Laflin, Louis Ellsworth, b. 1861.
    • Laflin, Louis Ellsworth, 1898
    • Laflin, Mary Brewster.
    • Laflin, Matthew III.
    • Lawrenceville School.
    • Laflin family
    • Knowland family.
    • Kennedy, John McCartney, b.1873.
    • Laflin, George Hinman.
    • Laflin, Louis Ellsworth, b. 1861.
    • Laflin, Louis Ellsworth, 1898
    • Laflin, Mary Brewster.
  • Subjects
    • Authors, American.
    • Automobiles United States.
    • Amateur theater Illinois Lake Forest.
    • Families Illinois Lake Forest 19th century.
    • Families Illinois Lake Forest 20th century.
    • Families Illinois Chicago 19th century.
    • Genealogy.
    • Real property Illinois.
    • Voyages and travels.
    • Women Illinois Lake Forest.
  • Geographic coverage
    • Chicago Metropolitan Area (Ill.) Social conditions.
    • Chicago Metropolitan Area (Ill.) Social life and customs.
    • Europe Description and travel.
    • Lake Forest (Ill.) Social life and customs.
    • Middle East Description and travel.
    • Parnassus (Pa.) History.
    • Westmoreland County (Pa.) History.
  • Genre
    • Correspondence. aat
    • Diaries. aat
    • Logs (records) aat
    • Motoring log books. chs
  • Geographic name United States Illinois.