IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
CATHERINE SNEDEKER HILL (ca.
1843-1890)
PAPERS, 1854-1871
6 linear inches
|
ACQUISITION: |
The papers
(donor no. 10) were donated by Oneita Fisher in 1974. |
|
ACCESS: |
The papers
are open for research. |
|
COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright
has been transferred to the University of Iowa. |
|
PROCESSED
BY: |
Natalie S.
Brody, 1992. |
Biography
Catherine
Snedeker Hill was born in Trenton, New Jersey, to Samuel and Harriet (Sunderland)
Snedeker and moved as an infant to Jersey County, Illinois, where her family
farmed. She was educated at Monticello
Female Seminary in Monticello, Illinois and moved to Mount Pleasant, Iowa,
after marrying William Hill (1834-1896), a local merchant, on May 10, 1870.
Their three children were: John (b. April 5, 1871); Irma (b. December 11,
1875); and Harriet (b. March 19, 1878 and married to Allen Ott). Catherine Hill died in 1890.
Scope and Content Note
The Catherine
Snedeker Hill papers cover the years 1854 to 1871 and measure 6 linear inches.
The core of
the collection is a series of letters, most of which were written to Catherine
by her mother and close friends while she was attending Monticello Female
Seminary in Monticello, Illinois. According to the school catalogue, Catherine was a senior in
1862. Primarily, these letters detail
family matters and local news and provide a rich view of daily concerns. A few references to Abraham Lincoln,
Illinois politics and the Civil War are revealed in some of these letters. (See
folder listing).
Other items
included in the collection are an 1862 catalogue from Monticello Female
Seminary which describes the course of studies, textbooks, general
requirements, educational goals, rules and regulations, and expenses for that
institution; copies of family biographical information from local histories;
and an 1876 business ledger from William Hill's store in Mount Pleasant. A newspaper article about the Hill home,
from the Mount Pleasant News, March 26,
1961, written at the time the house was being razed, includes transcriptions of
letters William Hill wrote to Catherine in 1871 while she was in Illinois
visiting her family with their newborn son.
These letters concern the construction of their home in Mount Pleasant.
A partial
calendar finding aid prepared by a member of the Special Collections staff
gives brief descriptions of many of these individual letters. It is filed at
the beginning of the collection.
Box no. Description
Box 1
Calendar
Family biographies
Correspondence
Pre-1859
1860 [References to Lincoln, Illinois politics:
letter in June, two undated]
1861 [References to Lincoln: February 11 Fort Sumter
surrender: March 26]
1862 [References to Civil War: March 23, August 11,
October 27, November 22, one undated]
1863 [References to Civil War: January 8, February
8, April 26, November 23, one undated]
1864-1867 [References to Civil War: April 5, 1865]
1868-1871
Undated Correspondence (2 folders)
Catalogue, Monticello Female Seminary, 1862
Business ledger, Hill Store, 1876
Ledger materials
Mt. Pleasant News article, March 25, 1961