Clendenen Family Papers: Finding Aid
Processed by Olga Tsapina.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
© 2002
Manuscript Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.
Title: Clendenen Family Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1855-1972
Collection Number: mssClendenen family
Creator:
Clendenen (Family)
Extent:
113 pieces in 2 boxes
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscript Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection contains papers of Clemens L. Clendenen and his family, chiefly consisting of correspondence from the 1850s-1860s
and including sentiments about
the American Civil War and the life of the common soldier, as seen primarily in letters from Clendenen to his wife in Beverly,
Ohio.
Language: English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities.
The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the
researcher.
[Identification of item]. Clendenen Family Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Gift of Col. Clarence C. Clendenen, 1948, 1969 and 1973.
The Clendenens were a farming family in Beverly, Ohio. In the mid 1850s, Hyram Clendenen, son of James Clendenden, moved to
a Gold Rush town of Iowa
Hill, California. In August, 1863, his brother, Clemens L. Clendenen, an Ohio farmer, enlisted in the 4th West Virginia Cavalry.
This one-year
regiment was on duty at Parkersburg, Clarksburg, Grafton, New Creek and other points on Baltimore & Ohio Railroad till June
1864, guarding railroads
and operating against guerillas. Clemens L. Clendenen served as a cook and barber. Captured during the action at Williamsport,
January 30, 1864, he died in the
Andersonville prison in summer of 1864. Willard Lambden Clendenen was a farmer and laborer in Kansas in 1880's. Col. Clarence
Clemens Clandenen,
a prominent military historian and grandson of Clemens L. Clendenen, was curator of special collections, Hoover Institution
on War, Revolution and Peace.
Clenenden family correspondence and the 1859 pocket diary kept by Clemens L. Clendenen cover Clendenen family affairs, farming,
and property,
including and a rift between Hyman Clendenen and his father over the land in Iowa and a homestead grant.
The Civil War letters from Clemens L. Clenden to his wife Louisa Shinn Clendenen posted from Parkersburg, Clarksburg and
New Creek, West Virginia. (Aug. Sept. - 1864) and a
letter from Andersonville prison deal with camp life and comprise some discussion of war politics, Vallandigham and Copperheads.
This portion of the collection
also includes letters to Louisa from John V. Clendenen, and members of the 4th W. Virginia Cavalry about her husband's fate.
Letters from William Lambden Clendenen to his fiance Mary Cowan (1887-1888) (32 pieces) describe his life in Ashland, Kansas,
as a farmer and laborer.
Correspondence between Colonel Clarence Clemens Clendenen and Confederate Historical Society (London) (1969-1972, 18 pieces)
deal with history of the Civil War,
especially in the West and border states, and discuss affairs of the Confederate Historical Society. Correspondents include
Michael A. Rich, Robert Fowler, and Kenneth M. Broughton.
The collection consists of correspondence, one manuscript, and ephemera and organized in the following manner:
- Box 1. Clendenen family correspondence. 1855-1870. 62 pieces.
- Box 2. Clendenen, Willard Lambden, To Mary Cowan (1887-1888); Confederate Historical Society, Correspondence with Clarence C. Clendenen (1969-1972); ephemera. 53 pieces.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Clendenen, Clemens L., -1864 -- Correspondence.
Clendenen famiy -- Archives.
Vallandigham, Clement L. (Clement Laird), 1820-1871.
Clendenen, Clarence C. (Clarence Clemens) -- Correspondence.
United States. Army. West Virginia Cavalry Regiment, 4th (1863-1864)
Andersonville Prison -- Personal narratives.
Confederate Historical Society (London)
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives.
West Virginia -- Description and travel.
Kansas -- Description and travel.
Letters (correspondence) United States.
Diaries United States 19th century.
Family papers United States.
Ephemera United States.
Clendenen, Clemens L., -1864.
Clendenen, Willard Lambden, active 1887-1888.
Clendenen, Clarence C. (Clarence Clemens)
Clendenen, Louisa Shinn, active 1863-1864, correspondent.
Cowan, Mary, active 1887-1888, correspondent.
Confederate Historical Society (London).
Box 1
Clendenen family correspondence. 1855-1870
Box 2
Clendenen, Willard Lambden, To Mary Cowan (1887-1888); Confederate Historical Society, Correspondence with Clarence C. Clendenen (1969-1972); ephemera.