PAPERS, 1927-1989

7.5 linear inches

ACQUISITION:	The papers» (donor no. 803) were donated by Mary Stuart Clark in 2001.
ACCESS:		The »papers are open for research.
COPYRIGHT:		»Copyright held by the donor has been retained.
PROCESSED BY: REVISIONS:		Emily Broeckling, 2003 [Pierce-Stuart Family.doc]Your name, year [filename]». Janet Weaver, 2003.

Biography»

Donald Robberts Stuart, contractor, and Helen Kathryn Pierce, schoolteacher, both natives of Harlan, Iowa, were married on August 1, 1916. Pierce was the last to bear the family name in a genealogical line that began in colonial America during the seventeenth century, and spans thirteen generations. The Stuarts lived in Harlan until 1924, when they moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa. In 1926, the family packed up and moved to Omaha, Nebraska. The Stuarts had five children: Mary Ann, Martha Alice, David Orr, Donald Robberts, and Helen Katherine.

Mary Ann Stuart, born in 1918, married Kelley Winston Clark in 1940. Mary Stuart Clark inherited the diaries of her grandmother Mary Catherine Speece Pierce. In addition, Clark’s sister Martha Stuart Helligso documented the family lineage, going back ten generations, in several genealogies.

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Scope and Content Note

Begin text here:The Pierce-Stuart» Family papers date from 1927» to 1989 and measure 7.5» linear inches. The collection includes a series of diaries written by Mary Catherine Speece Pierce from 1927-1947, which are primarily about Harlan, Iowa. An introduction to the diaries was written by her granddaughter Mary Stuart Clark and consists of a brief biography of Pierce’s life. Also included is a letter written by Pierce to her sister-in-law in 1934, charting her life experiences including the trials of traveling by covered wagon. The diaries document Pierce’s day-to-day household activities, the weather, and various community events. Included in the diaries are descriptions of her work as a deaconess in the Congregational Church, as well as efforts to establish a library in Harlan. In addition to Pierce’s diaries, the collection also contains four Pierce and related genealogies compiled by Martha Stuart Helligso and a memoir written by Mary Stuart Clark which includes accounts of early twentieth century medical crises such as fighting the flu epidemic of 1918 before antibiotics and saving a premature baby before incubators. » »»

Related Collections

Dallner-Peterson Family Papers

The Dallner-Peterson family is associated with the Pierce-Stuart family through the friendship of Mary Stuart Clark and Pauline Dallner.

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Box no. Description

Box 1

Biographical sketch of Mary Catherine Speece Pierce by Mary Stuart

Clark

Diaries of Mary Catherine Speece Pierce

1927-1938 (4 folders)

1931-1933

1938-1941

1942-1947

Box 2

Genealogies compiled by Martha Stuart Helligso

“Captain Michael Pierce, Including One Line of Descent,” 1981

“A Tale of John Mason, Including One Line of Descent,” 1982

“George Mason, Including One Line of Descent,” 1983

“John Deming of Wethersfield, Connecticut, Including One Line

of Descent,” 1985

Memoir by Mary Stuart Clark

“Who Am I, Anyway?” 1989