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The Filson Historical Society Digital Projects

Browse Items (24 total)

  • Bullitt writes to purchase black silk, gloves, thread, and other mourning goods for Anne Henry Christian after the death of William Christian.
  • "Return of Spies for 1790" listing by name those members of the Jefferson County militia in the Louisville area that served as scouts from June to October, patrolling for possible Native American raiding parties.
  • Tract drawing for Mulberry Hill, the Clark family home in Jefferson County, Kentucky.
  • William Clark writes his brother Jonathan from Redstone Landing [present Brownsville, Pennsylvania] on the Monongahela River updating him on the status of the trip moving Jonathan's enslaved people and some household goods and animals from Spotsylvania County, Virginia, to Jefferson County, Kentucky, ahead of Jonathan's family moving there later in the year. He provides specific information on the difficulties and costs encountered regarding the roads, weather, and enslaved people.
  • Clark writes his brother Jonathan from Fincastle, Virginia, updating him on the status of having the history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition written and published. Gives the route they plan on taking home to St. Louis. Julia and son M. Lewis are well, the latter begins to walk and talk. William Preston plans on visiting Jeffeson County, Kentucky, and probably will move his family there.
  • Report from a court of inquiry on various members of the Jefferson County Militia regarding missed service.
  • Patrick Henry writes to Christian about land transactions, inquiring whether certain individuals are respectable business partners.
  • Letter from Isaac Hite to his father relating his business interests in land speculation, salt works, and iron manufacturing. He discusses Native American hostilities, specifically a raid at Crab Orchard, Kentucky, in which an African American fought off the Natives and saved a white family. Tells of John Floyd's death and its effect on the defense of Jefferson County, Kentucky. Mentions his business dealings with James Sodowski, Walker Daniel, George and John May, Gilbert Imlay, Isaac Kellar, Moses Kuykendall, and George Rogers Clark.
  • Field notes and plat of a survey done in Jefferson County, Kentucky, by George May. Taken from George May's survey book.
  • John May's land entry book. Included are from 1783 to 1786. They include surveys for Samuel Beall, George Mason, John May, Thomas Hughes, James Hickman, and Mary Byrd (for the deceased William Byrd) in areas such as Floyds Fork at Bullskin Creek, Brashears Creek, the Harrods Creek area, near Floyd's Station and other various locales in Jefferson and Nelson Counties. Other people mentioned in the surveys include Alexander Breckenridge, John Cowan, William Pope, and William Breckenridge. There are comments concerning value and conflicts for each plat as well as sketched maps. John May was a land speculator in Kentucky.
  • Muster roll of scouts employed in Jefferson County, Kentucky, from 8 May to 10 August 1792. Length of service, residence, and marital status are included.
  • Return of the scouts ordered for Jefferson County, Kentucky. Names, pay, and comments given.
  • Order from General Charles Scott for Jefferson County to furnish sixteen men and rations for them at three specific locations for the defense of the region.
  • Linen towel, hand-woven in a huckaback pattern, credited to Elizabeth Tyler Sturgeon. Elizabeth married Thomas Sturgeon in 1816. After he died in 1823, she managed their farm and raised three young sons. Her father, Edward Tyler II, enslaved up to fourteen people. Elizabeth herself enslaved seven people whose labor sustained both the household and the farm. This forced labor enabled the production of textiles like this towel. Eliza and/or enslaved laborers cultivated and processed flax into yarn for weaving. Historical records suggest that an unidentified enslaved woman played a key role in managing the household and supervising other enslaved laborers after Thomas’s death. In 1833, Eliza died from cholera, leaving behind three children under the age of eighteen. 
  • Household linen, hand-woven in a huckaback pattern, credited to Elizabeth Tyler Sturgeon. Elizabeth married Thomas Sturgeon in 1816. After he died in 1823, she managed their farm and raised three young sons. Her father, Edward Tyler II, enslaved up to fourteen people. Elizabeth herself enslaved seven people whose labor sustained both the household and the farm. This forced labor enabled the production of textiles like this household linen. Eliza and/or enslaved laborers cultivated and processed flax into yarn for weaving. Historical records suggest that an unidentified enslaved woman played a key role in managing the household and supervising other enslaved laborers after Thomas’s death. In 1833, Eliza died from cholera, leaving behind three children under the age of eighteen.
  • Replace Description with text below:

    Household linen, hand-woven in a huckaback pattern, credited to Elizabeth Tyler Sturgeon. Elizabeth married Thomas Sturgeon in 1816. After he died in 1823, she managed their farm and raised three young sons. Her father, Edward Tyler II, enslaved up to fourteen people. Elizabeth herself enslaved seven people whose labor sustained both the household and the farm. This forced labor enabled the production of textiles like this household linen. Eliza and/or enslaved laborers cultivated and processed flax into yarn for weaving. Historical records suggest that an unidentified enslaved woman played a key role in managing the household and supervising other enslaved laborers after Thomas’s death. In 1833, Eliza died from cholera, leaving behind three children under the age of eighteen.
  • Household linen, hand-woven in a huckaback pattern, credited to Elizabeth Tyler Sturgeon. Elizabeth married Thomas Sturgeon in 1816. After he died in 1823, she managed their farm and raised three young sons. Her father, Edward Tyler II, enslaved up to fourteen people. Elizabeth herself enslaved seven people whose labor sustained both the household and the farm. This forced labor enabled the production of textiles like this household linen. Eliza and/or enslaved laborers cultivated and processed flax into yarn for weaving. Historical records suggest that an unidentified enslaved woman played a key role in managing the household and supervising other enslaved laborers after Thomas’s death. In 1833, Eliza died from cholera, leaving behind three children under the age of eighteen.
  • Household linen, hand-woven in a huckaback pattern, credited to Elizabeth Tyler Sturgeon. Elizabeth married Thomas Sturgeon in 1816. After he died in 1823, she managed their farm and raised three young sons. Her father, Edward Tyler II, enslaved up to fourteen people. Elizabeth herself enslaved seven people whose labor sustained both the household and the farm. This forced labor enabled the production of textiles like this household linen. Eliza and/or enslaved laborers cultivated and processed flax into yarn for weaving. Historical records suggest that an unidentified enslaved woman played a key role in managing the household and supervising other enslaved laborers after Thomas’s death. In 1833, Eliza died from cholera, leaving behind three children under the age of eighteen.
  • Unfinished cotton counterpane credited to Elizabeth Tyler Sturgeon. Elizabeth married Thomas Sturgeon in 1816. After he died in 1823, she managed their farm and raised three young sons. Her father, Edward Tyler II, enslaved up to fourteen people. Elizabeth herself enslaved seven people whose labor sustained both the household and the farm. This forced labor enabled the production of textiles like this counterpane. As cotton wasn’t generally grown in Jefferson County, Kentucky, Eliza likely acquired already-made cotton fabric, cotton yarn, or raw unspun cotton from a local merchant. Eliza drew a floral design onto the cloth using a pencil, and she attached a very coarse, loosely woven fiber onto the back. She then hand-stitched around the penciled design. This work was never finished as the stems would have been stuffed with yarn to give them dimension, and all the flowers would have been stuffed with cotton or wool batting in a style known as trapunto. Either she or someone else cut a rectangular piece out of the unfinished work. Historical records suggest that an unidentified enslaved woman played a key role in managing the household and supervising other enslaved laborers after Thomas’s death. In 1833, Eliza died from cholera, leaving behind three children under the age of eighteen.
  • Hand-woven cotton coverlet credited to Elizabeth Tyler Sturgeon. Elizabeth married Thomas Sturgeon in 1816. After he died in 1823, she managed their farm and raised three young sons. Her father, Edward Tyler II, enslaved up to fourteen people. Elizabeth herself enslaved seven people whose labor sustained both the household and the farm. This forced labor enabled the production of textiles like this coverlet. As cotton wasn’t generally grown in Jefferson County, Kentucky, Eliza likely acquired cotton yarn or raw cotton from a local merchant. She and/or enslaved laborers would have processed raw cotton and spun it into yarn for weaving. Two 36-inch-wide woven panels were sewn together by hand to make a textile large enough for a bed. Historical records suggest that an unidentified enslaved woman played a key role in managing the household and supervising other enslaved laborers after Thomas’s death. In 1833, Eliza died from cholera, leaving behind three children under the age of eighteen.
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