Descriptive Summary
Administrative Information
History
Scope and Content
Related Collections
Descriptive Summary
Title: Kneeland Family Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1820-1961
Creator:
Kneeland family
Extent: 7.75 linear feet
Photographs: In boxes 2 and 9.
Repository:
Henry Madden Library (California State University, Fresno).
Sanoian Special Collections Library.
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Acquisition
The papers were donated by the Viola Gabriel Estate in 1987.
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has been transferred to California State University, Fresno.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Kneeland Family Papers, Sanoian Special Collections Library,
California State University, Fresno.
History
George and Mary Kneeland lived with their first two children, Ira and Althea, in Vermont
in the mid-nineteenth century. They were a poor family who dreamt of a utopian life.
After the Civil War, they moved to Kansas where their two younger children, Flora and
Clarissa, were born. During Clarissa's early childhood, the family moved to Colorado.
There her father and brother discovered some literature on a cooperative colony being
established in Topolobampo, Mexico. Ira became the colony photographer and the rest of
the family gradually moved to the colony.
Much of Clarissa Kneeland's youth was spent in Topolobampo, however in 1913,
disagreements among the colonists led to the collapse of the colony and the subsequent
scattering of its settlers. While in Mexico, Clarissa Kneeland made a promise which set
the course of her future. Her brother, Ira Kneeland, was virtually deaf by the age of
twenty-five and she assured her mother that she would take care of him.
Clarissa Kneeland's sisters, both of whom married men from the colony, moved to
California. Her father went to California to attend a Civil War veterans' reunion and was
unable to return to Mexico due to the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution. This left Ira,
Clarissa and their mother in Mexico and although they were neutral in the conflict, they
feared for their safety. The entire family settled in the Prather area in northern Fresno
County, California, with Clarissa and Ira claiming land on Black Mountain, where they
spent the rest of thier lives.
In October 1913, shortly after returning to the United States, Clarissa joined the
Socialist Party and remained an active member for nineteen years. She broke with the
Socialist Party in 1932, the year the party called for the repeal of the Prohibition Act.
Although her conviction in core Socialist ideals had not changed, she saw liquor as a
curse to the nation and felt that children were safe under Prohibition.
Clarissa Kneeland believed in the equality of all living things. She refused to have her
dog vaccinated, a decision which led to her being put into jail for fifteen days. In
particular, Clarissa harbored a special affinity for birds. She kept copious notes on
birds she sighted on Black Mountain and also saved pictures and articles on this topic
and pasted them into various notebooks. Clarissa Kneeland dreamt of a sanctuary on Black
Mountain, a place where man and beast could live together in harmony. This dream never
became a reality nor did her ambition to become a successful author. Her works, both
fiction and nonfiction, reflected her ideals or dealt with nature or people she knew.
Ira Duane Kneeland shared his sister's strong socialist convictions and also wrote a few
short works on this subject. He also devoted much time to inventions, in particular to
the design of a helicopter. He later withdrew this invention from a company which offered
to fund the building of his helicopter because he thought it would be used for military
gain.
Ira Kneeland contracted pneumonia in 1950; Clarissa nursed him with her own organic
medicine. She became ill herself and they died a day apart in 1950.
Scope and Content
The Kneeland Family papers measure 7.75 linear feet and date from 1820 to 1961. The
papers predominantly cover the life and interests of Clarissa Kneeland and her brother,
Ira Kneeland and are arranged in four series: Clarissa Abia Kneeland, Ira Duane Kneeland,
Socialism and Other family members.
The
Clarissa Abia Kneeland series (1892-1949) predominantly
comprises Clarissa's life after she left the Topolobampo Colony in 1913 and settled on
Black Mountian with her brother. Her interest in nature can be seen by the numerous
notebooks she filled with notes and clippings about the weather, plants and birds. There
are also numerous manuscripts and short works which she wrote over the years as well as
letters from various publishers about the ones which were to be published.
The
Ira Duane Kneeland series (1868-1947) contains sketches of
his inventions and ideas on how they might be put in to practice. There is also
correspondence from the various firms to which he sent details of his inventions. Like
his sister, Ira wrote various short works, although unlike Clarissa, his are all on the
subject of socialism.
Although much of the
Socialism series (1894-1957) consists of
the collection of articles, journals and newspapers which Ira and Clarissa Kneeland
collected after their return from the Topolobampo Colony, other family members also
contributed to this collection.
The
newspaper clippings are in various scrapbooks and are
predominatly about the socialist viewpoint. There are certain articles on womens' rights
and prominent women socialists, for example, Mother Jones and Mary Ellen Lease. There are
also articles written by Ira Kneeland which outline his socialist beliefs.
The Kneeland family collected much information about prominent socialists during their
lifetime.
Eugene V. Debs, a founder of and spokesman for
the United States Socialist Party, ran fives times as the Socialist Party candidate for
president, receiving 6% of the popular vote in 1920. During World War I, Debs, a
pacifist, spoke out against prosecutions under the Espionage Act of 1917. This stand cost
him his citizenship and three years in prison. The folder contains details of Debs's
trial and a copy of his speech to the jurors declaring his innocence. Also included is a
pamphlet about his life and a letter from his brother Theodore Debs to Clarissa, thanking
her for her support in proclaiming his innocence. There is also a photograph in box 9
with two Kneeland women on the top floor of a new adobe store with a poster of Debs and
his running mate, Stedman, showing their support for Debs's candidacy.
The folder on the
O'Hara Family contains issues of
The American Vanguard, the newsletter they founded. Subscribers to the
newsletter were informed of the work of the O'Haras and were encouraged to contribute,
with both money and time to certain causes. For example, the O'Haras helped to organize
the Children's Crusade in 1921 when socialist believers sent their children to Washington
D.C. to speak to the President Harding in the hope of bringing amnesty to all political
prisoners. In 1920, Kate O'Hara became a political prisoner for fourteen months in a
Missouri prison. During her imprisonment, her husband Frank O'Hara sent weekly bulletins
to society members with details of his wife's trial. There are also letters from O'Hara
to her husband and members describing the conditions of her imprisonment.
The
Thomas Mooney folder contains pamphlets describing
his trial. He had been sentenced to death for his alleged role in a bombing at the
Preparedness Day Parade on July 22, 1916, in San Francisco. This bomb killed ten people
and seriously injured forty others. There is a letter to Flora Kneeland during Mooney's
imprisonment from his sister, Anna Mooney and also a letter to Clarissa Kneeland from
Thomas Mooney after his release. Both letters thank the sisters for their support during
Mooney's imprisonment.
Upton Sinclair the novelist, was as famous for his
interest in social issues as for his novels. He temporarily abandoned writing in 1934 and
ran as the Democratic candidate for governor of California. Narrowly defeated, he
relaunched his writng career. This folder contains a pamphlet outlining his views on
socialism and two letters which he sent to Clarissa Kneeland.
The folder on the literature of the Socialist Party contains a leaflet promoting its
causes. There are also two programs in Spanish outlining the views of the party.
There are a few
Other family members (1820, 1852-1961) whose
relationship to Ira and Clarissa Kneeland are indicated. They play a minor role in the
collection and their material consists predominantly of correspondence between family
members.
The photographs of Page Hollow illustrate in great detail the dwellings of Althea and
Clarence Page and also include various family members.
A genealogical chart spanning three generations is at the end of the finding aid. There
is little information on many of these other family members.
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