Special Collections Department
403 Parks Library
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-2140
MS 247
Tilden and Brown Family
Papers, 1837-1996, undated
Descriptive summary
| creator: | Tilden and Brown Family |
| title: | Papers |
| dates: | 1837-1996, undated |
| extent: | 1.26 linear feet (3 document boxes) |
| collection number: | MS 247 |
| repository: | Special Collections Department, Iowa State University. |
Administrative information
| access: | Open for research |
| publication rights: | Consult Head, Special Collections Department |
| preferred citation: | Tilden and Brown Family Papers, MS 247, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library. |
Biographical note
The Tilden and Brown Family ancestors, originally from Rochester, Vermont, settled in Ames, Iowa, when George Tilden moved here in 1869. The Tilden family and related Cooper and Emerson families of Rochester, Vermont, corresponded with their descendants; the Tilden and Brown Families of Ames, Iowa, from 1837 to 1926. George G. Tilden (1842-1892) the son of Julius Clark Tilden (1809-1892) and Eliza Briggs Tilden (1814-1861) was born on November 6, 1842, in Rochester Vermont. He served in the Civil War from 1862 to 1865. In 1867 he entered into a mercantile partnership in Rochester, Vermont, known as Haskins, Pierce and Tilden. In September of that same year he married Lydia Cooper (1842-1925). Lydia, born December 5, 1842, was the daughter of Barna Cooper (1806-1867) and Mary Ann Emerson (1820-1851), who were married on March 14, 1842. At the behest of Henry Huntington, a friend from Rochester, George moved to Ames, Iowa, in April 1869. After arriving in Ames, he entered into partnership with Henry Huntington and D. A. Bigelow in a mercantile business called, Bigelow, Huntington, and Tilden. George Tilden became the sole owner of the firm in 1883. One of George and Lydia Tilden's daughters, Mary (1878-1968), married Harry Brown (1876-1967) in 1908. Mary and Harry Brown's son, Farwell Brown, published a book based on these materials in 1989 entitled, Tilden Family Letters, 1839-1924. A copy of the book has been cataloged and is available in the University Archives Book Collection. The call number is ARCHIVES CS71.T55x 1989. |
Collection description
This collection (1837-1996, undated) includes letters written between family members to and from Rochester, Vermont, China, New York, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, the Wisconsin Territory, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Iowa all detailing daily life and activities; some of Lydia Cooper Tilden's writings; Tilden family genealogical materials, and Farwell Tilden Brown's correspondence concerning his research into his family history. |
Organization
Related materials
Tilden Store Company Records (MS-73) |
Description of series
| Series 1 | Tilden Family Papers - Correspondence |
1837-1926, undated |
| extent: | 12 folders |
|
| description: | The Tilden Family Papers correspondence series contains seven sets of family letters. The earliest set (1839-1850) was written to Mary Ann (Emerson) Cooper (1839-1850) of Rochester, Vermont, by her Emerson Family relatives in Michigan, the Wisconsin Territory, and later Wisconsin. The letters detail living conditions, health concerns and family news. This set of letters contains numerous references to religion in daily life.
The second set of family letters contains Barna Cooper's correspondence (1845-1867) from relatives in New York, Kentucky, Vermont, and Ohio. These letters document family genealogy, weather conditions, family news, politics, slavery, civil war news, and religious activities.
The third set of family letters includes the correspondence of Julius and Eliza Tilden of Rochester, Vermont, (1859). They wrote to their son, George Tilden, while he is away at school in New London, New Hampshire. These letters document family news and family health concerns.
The fourth set of Tilden Family letters contains Civil War Letters (1862-65) written by George Tilden during his military service to his younger brother Fred Tilden, and his future wife Lydia Cooper. In the letters George wrote of health concerns, army maneuvers, and details of battles. As time passes, the relationship between George and Lydia continues and becomes more serious.
The correspondence of Barna Cooper of Rochester, Vermont, comprises the fifth set of Tilden Family letters. He corresponded from 1862-1866 with his daughter, Lydia Cooper, while she was in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1862, where she worked in a mill; and while she attended Mount Holyoke College, in South Hadley Massachusetts, from 1862-1866. Lydia graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1866. The letters contain fatherly advice on health care, and how to live a moral as well as religious life.
The sixth set of Tilden Family letters includes the following correspondence. Following the Civil War from 1867 to 1868, the Tilden Family in Vermont wrote to Fred Tilden who had moved to Iowa in May 1867, and to Julius Tilden who had moved to Iowa in April 1868. The letters document family news and health, as well as financial arrangements and prospects. Other letters dated 1884, 1890, and 1924 were written by relatives remaining in Vermont to report family news and concerns.
The post Civil War period letters also include correspondence from Henry Huntington of Ames, Iowa, (1869) inviting George to come to Iowa and become a partner is his dry goods business, and correspondence from George Tilden to Lydia Cooper Tilden in Rochester, Vermont, (1869), who are now married. George is visiting Iowa looking for land to purchase so that the family can move to Ames, Iowa. He wrote to Lydia and described rail travel after the Civil War, physical descriptions of the land in Iowa, weather and climate conditions, farming practices, the business climate, religious life, and land prices.
The letters in Box 3, in the first three folders, were all received by Lydia Cooper Tilden, and were written primarily by cousins and friends. The early letters are addressed to her in Rochester, Vermont, and later, to Ames, Iowa. |
|
Container list
Box |
Folder |
Title |
Dates |
1 |
1 |
Tilden Family Letters (includes letter by letter listing) |
undated |
1 |
2 |
Tilden Family Letters |
1837-1859 |
1 |
3-4 |
Tilden Family Letters |
1860-1863 |
1 |
5-6 |
Tilden Family Letters |
1864-1865 |
1 |
6 |
Tilden Family Letters |
1865-1866 |
1 |
7 |
Tilden Family Letters |
1867-1868 |
1 |
8-9 |
Tilden Family Letters |
1869 |
1 |
10 |
Tilden Family Letters |
1880-1896 |
1 |
11 |
Tilden Family Letters |
1902-1926 |
2 |
15 |
Correspondence of Lydia Ann Cooper Tilden |
1860-1899, undated |
3 |
1 |
Correspondence of Lydia Ann Cooper Tilden |
1900-1909 |
3 |
2 |
Correspondence of Lydia Ann Cooper Tilden |
1918-1919 |
2 |
1 |
Transcriptions of the letters of George G. Tilden: his letters about plans to settle in Ames, Iowa, in 1869, and his Civil War letters to home, 1861-1865 (2 copies) |
1861-1869 |
Description of series
| Series 2 | Tilden Family Papers - Writings |
1857-1859, undated |
| extent: | 2 folders |
|
| description: | The Tilden Family Papers writings series contain compositions by Lydia Cooper Tilden and assorted writings by other family members. The titles of Lydia's compositions are: "Influence", "The Morning Star", "Nature's Teachings", and "F (Flower) Lovers". The writings of other family members include poetry and compositions relating to their individual lives and interests. Also included in this section is a sheet of algebraic math problems. |
|
Container list
Box |
Folder |
Title |
Dates |
1 |
12 |
Writings by various family members: poems and prose |
undated |
1 |
13 |
Writings by Lydia Cooper Tilden |
1857, 1859, undated |
Description of series
| Series 3 | Tilden Family Papers - Ledger, Certificate |
1869-1904 |
| extent: | 2 folders |
|
| description: | The Tilden Family Papers - Ledger, Certificate series consists of a ledger kept by George Tilden from 1866-1870 and a photocopy of Lydia Tilden's Certificate of Membership to the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle dated August 17, 1904. |
|
Container list
Box |
Folder |
Title |
Dates |
1 |
14 |
Ledger kept by George Tilden |
1866-1870 |
1 |
15 |
Photocopy of Certificate of Membership of Lydia C. Tilden to the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle |
1904 |
Description of series
| Series 4 | Brown Family Papers - Correspondence and Photographs |
1864-1989, undated |
| extent: | 14 folders |
|
| description: | The Brown Family Papers - Correspondence and Photographs series contains family correspondence, envelopes with notes and comments, and photographs from 1864 to 1947. Included are letters from Daisy Brown and Lydia Brown Hipps, who served as missionaries in China. The folder with correspondence of and pertaining to Lydia Brown Hipps concerns the birth of her son, Robert Owen Hipps, in 1922, and her death in 1924. The series also includes typed travel journal letters from Margaret Mitchell Brown when she visited Daisy Brown in China from 1926 to 1927.
In addition, there are envelopes kept by Kendrick and Margaret Mitchell Brown, upon which they noted when the letters had been received and a summary of their contents.
Also in this series is Farwell Brown's correspondence, dated 1968 to 1989, which documents his research on the family history. |
|
Container list
Box |
Folder |
Title |
Dates |
2 |
2 |
K.W. Brown - Family Letters and Papers |
1864-1947 |
2 |
3 |
Correspondence - Farwell Brown regarding family history |
1968-1989 |
3 |
3 |
Letters from Lydia Gates Brown and Kendrick Brown to family in New York |
1866, 1873 |
3 |
4 |
Correspondence from Daisy Brown |
1912 |
3 |
5 |
Envelopes addressed to Kendrick and Margaret Mitchell Brown, with comments |
1915-1918 |
3 |
6 |
Envelopes addressed to Kendrick and Margaret Mitchell Brown, with comments |
1919-1921 |
3 |
7-8 |
Envelopes addressed to Kendrick and Margaret Mitchell Brown, with comments |
1922-1923 |
3 |
9 |
Correspondence from and concerning Lydia Brown Hipps |
1922-1925, 1976 |
3 |
10-11 |
Envelopes addressed to Kendrick and Margaret Mitchell Brown, with comments |
1924-1936 |
3 |
12 |
Letters to Mary Tilden Brown |
1926 |
3 |
13-14 |
Journal letters of Margaret Mitchell Brown and Daisy Brown from China to Ames, Iowa |
1926-1927 |
3 |
15-16 |
Photocopies: Journal letters of Margaret Mitchell Brown and Daisy Brown from China to Ames, Iowa |
1926-1927 |
3 |
17 |
Correspondence |
undated |
3 |
18 |
Photographs: Gates M. and Inez Brown Family (5 b/w photos) |
undated |
Description of series
| Series 5 | Tilden Family Genealogy Research Materials |
1978-1996 |
| extent: | 5 folders |
|
| description: | The Tilden Family Genealogy Research Materials series contains photocopies of four Tilden Family Genealogy Notebooks compiled by Farwell Brown from 1978 to 1990, and an index to the notebooks created by Mr. Brown in 1996. |
|
Container list
Box |
Folder |
Title |
Dates |
2 |
4 |
Index to Tilden Family Genealogy |
1996 |
2 |
5 |
Photocopies of Tilden Family Genealogy, Notebook 1 of 10 |
1978-1990 |
2 |
6 |
Photocopies of Tilden Family Genealogy, Notebook 2 of 10 |
1978-1990 |
2 |
7 |
Photocopies of Tilden Family Genealogy, Notebook 3 of 10 |
1978-1990 |
2 |
8 |
Photocopies of Tilden Family Genealogy, Notebook 4 of 10 |
1978-1990 |
2 |
9 |
Photocopies of Tilden Family Genealogy, Notebook 5 of 10 |
1978-1990 |
2 |
10 |
Photocopies of Tilden Family Genealogy, Notebook 6 of 10 |
1978-1990 |
2 |
11 |
Photocopies of Tilden Family Genealogy, Notebook 7 of 10 |
1978-1900 |
2 |
12 |
Photocopies of Tilden Family Genealogy, Notebook 8 of 10 |
1978-1990 |
2 |
13 |
Photocopies of Tilden Family Genealogy, Notebook 9 of 10 |
1978-1990 |
2 |
14 |
Photocopies of Tilden Family Genealogy, Notebook 10 of 10 |
1978-1990 |