Clara Barton correspondence, 1850-1890

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Summary

Creators:
Barton, Clara, 1821-1912
Abstract:
Correspondence of Clara Barton, American nurse and founder of the American Red Cross.
Extent:
1.17 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Clara Barton correspondence, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of correspondence between members of the extended Barton family, almost half of which was written between 1863 and 1864, and some pieces of ephemera. Topics addressed within the correspondence include the Civil War and wartime medical conditions, Clara's humanitarian efforts and the Barton family's affairs. One of the letters mentions Abraham Lincoln, Stephan A. Douglas and the 1860 presidential election. Correspondents include Clara Barton, her brother, Stephen Barton, and his wife, Elizabeth Rich Barton; their son, Samuel Rich Barton, and his wife, Amelia Barton; and other relatives of the Barton family including Stephen Emery Barton, Leander T. Poor, Bernard Barton Vassall and Irving S. Vassall Barton.

Biographical / historical:

Clara Barton (1821-1912), the founder of the American Red Cross, began her humanitarian career by organizing a relief agency for wounded soldiers while working in the Patent Office in Washington, D.C., in 1861 and served in the later years of the Civil War as a superintendent of nurses with the Army of the James. After travelling in Europe from 1869 to 1873, during part of which time she was active in the International Red Cross in Geneva, she returned to the United States and revived an earlier movement to establish an American chapter of the organization. The National Society of the Red Cross was founded in 1881; Barton served as president from its inception until 1904. She died in Maryland in April 1912.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Carleton B. Swift, May 1945 and purchased from Robert K. Black, May 1960.
Processing information:

Processed by Mimi Dunkle in the 1970s. In October 2023, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Clara Barton correspondence, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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