Pritchett Family, Papers, 1753-1984 (C4013)
.6 linear feet
INTRODUCTION
The Pritchett Family Papers consist of correspondence, published volumes, genealogical information, legal documents, and various miscellaneous materials of Carr Waller Pritchett, Henry Smith Pritchett, and Ida Pritchett.
DONOR INFORMATION
The Pritchett Family Papers were donated to the University of Missouri by Mary Paige Cubbison on December 22, 2005 (Accession No. 6095).
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Carr Waller Pritchett was born on September 4, 1823, in Henry County, Virginia. His family migrated to Missouri in 1836, and they settled in Pleasant Hill. He was a lifelong educator who earned a degree in Astronomy from Harvard, established the Pritchett School Institute in Glasgow, Missouri, and the Morrison Observatory in Fayette. He taught at Central College, now Central Methodist University, and served with the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington D.C. during the Civil War when his home in Fayette was threatened by Confederate soldiers and “bushwhackers.” He died in Independence, on March 18, 1910.
Carr’s son, Henry Smith Pritchett, was born on April 16, 1857, near Fayette. Like his father, Henry was a lifelong educator who earned a PhD in Astronomy from the University of Munich. He served as the President of the Massachusetts Institute for Technology for six years before becoming the first President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. He retired to Santa Barbara, California, where he died on August 28, 1939.
Henry’s daughter, Ida W. Pritchett, followed in her father and grandfather’s footsteps. She earned a PhD from Johns Hopkins University and spent eight years there as a laboratory assistant. During this time, she assisted in the creation of an anti-toxin for gaseous gangrene. During World War I, Ida was partially responsible for the manufacture and shipping of this anti-toxin to Europe. Later in life, Ida became a noted photographer. She retired to New Hampshire where she died on December 30, 1965.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The Pritchett Family Papers are comprised of personal correspondence from Carr Waller Pritchett and Henry Smith Pritchett along with the diary of Ida Pritchett during her time at college. Wills and other legal documents, biographies and genealogical information for the Waller and Pritchett families are also included. The collection is arranged chronologically, and then by type of material. Miscellaneous correspondence contains letters from various writers, both inside and outside of the family, and spans the life of Carr Waller Pritchett.
FOLDER LIST
| f. 1-11 | Carr Waller Pritchett |
| f. 1 | Correspondence, 1849-1857 |
| f. 2 | Correspondence, 1858-1859 |
| f. 3 | Correspondence, 1864 |
| f. 4 | Correspondence, 1865-1867 |
| f. 5 | Correspondence, 1870 |
| f. 6 | Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1847-1910 |
| f. 7 | Legal Documents, 1753-1863 |
| f. 8 | Biography and Autobiography, 1904-1984 |
| f. 9 | Genealogy, n.d. |
| f. 10 | Pritchett School Institute and Morrison Observatory Materials, 1864-1954 |
| f. 11 | Account Book, 1858-1858 |
| f. 12 | Henry S. Pritchett Miscellaneous, 1983-1945 |
| f. 13 | Henry S. Pritchett Inaugural Address to University of Munich, 1985 and MIT, 1901 |
| f. 14 | Henry S. Pritchett, Book, What is Religion?, 1906 |
| f. 15 | Ida W. Pritchett, Diary, 1911-1915 |
INDEX TERMS
These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff
| Account books--Personal, 1858 | f. 11 |
| Astronomy--Mathematics | f. 2, 6 |
| Beecher, Henry Ward (1813-1887) | f. 2 |
| Carnegie Foundation, New York, New York | f. 12 |
| Civil War | f. 3, 4, 6, 7 |
| Civil War--Correspondence | f. 3, 4, 6 |
| Civil War--Destruction and pillage | f. 3, 4 |
| Civil War--Loyalty oaths, Howard County, Missouri | f. 7 |
| Civil War--Missouri, Boone County | f. 3, 4 |
| Civil War--Missouri, Howard County | f. 3, 4 |
| Civil War--Women | f. 3, 4 |
| Dating (Social customs), 1849 | f. 1 |
| Diaries--Women 1858 | f. 14 |
| Donati's Comet, 1858 | f. 2 |
| Emancipation of slaves | f. 3, 4 |
| Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachussetts | f. 2 |
| Health resorts, spas, etc. | f. 5 |
| Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland | f. 14 |
| Massachussetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachussetts | f. 13 |
| Morrison Observatory, Fayette, Missouri | f. 8, 6, 10 |
| Pritchett School Institute, Glasgow, Missouri | f. 8, 10 |
| Pritchett, Bettie Susan Smith (1827-1872) | f. 1-6, 8 |
| Pritchett, Betty | f. 8 |
| Pritchett, Carr Waller (1823-1910) | f. 1-11 |
| Pritchett, Carr Waller, Jr. | f. 3-5, 8 |
| Pritchett, Henry Smith (1857-1939) | f. 2-6, 8, 12-14 |
| Pritchett, Lizzie M. (1853- ) | f. 2-6, 8 |
| Pritchett, Oswald | f. 3-5, 8 |
| Pritchett, Sadie | f. 3-5, 8 |
| Slave, Stephen | f. 3, 4 |
| Slaves, As inheritance | f. 7 |
| Slaves--Missouri | f. 3, 4 |
| Smith, Bettie Susan | f. 1 |
| Tuberculosis | f. 5, 8 |
| Wills, 18th century | f. 7 |
| Women scientists | f. 14 |
| Women--Diaries | f. 14 |
| World War 1914-1918--Medical and sanitary affairs | f. 14 |
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