DATES: c. 1900 - 1919
CREATOR: Martha A. King and Mary L. Hill
EXTENT: Three file folders
SCOPE: This collection contains 17 envelopes, most of which hold multiple pages of correspondence as well as ephemeral items like illustrated trade broadsides, that date between around 1900 and 1919. The correspondence was compiled by Martha A King, nee League (1856-1942) and her daughter Mary L. Hill, nee King (1885-1962), who both lived in Withers Mill, Missouri, a small unincorporated community west of Hannibal.
The earliest correspondence (series 1) includes one envelope that holds receipts concerning the medical care and hospitalization of James E. King (Martha’s husband). He was admitted to the Missouri State Hospital for the Insane in St. Joseph, Missouri from about 1900 until his death in 1909. The next set of nine envelopes (series 2) are all addressed to Martha from a variety of manufacturers of general imports, jewelry, decorative goods, etc. concerning a stock for a gift shop she was planning on opening. These items of correspondence are all from 1916. The last seven envelopes in the collection (series 3) contain correspondence between Mary and her husband, William J. Hill, while they travelled in the Midwest and southern states between 1911 and 1919.
Both the King and Hill families were reportedly close with Mark Twain; Martha’s obituary in the Davenport Daily Times even noted their friendship and the time Twain spent as a printing apprentice with Martha’s father, William T. League, in the 1850s. Mary’s husband William continued working in newspapers in Hannibal and was important in the fundraising effort to build a statue of Twain in Hannibal following his death.
ACCESS: This is collection M-715. This collection is available for on-site use only in the Rare Book and Manuscripts Reading Room. Some of the collection may be photocopied, digitally scanned or photographed, depending on condition. Researchers are advised to call ahead concerning changes in hours due to University intersessions and holidays. The St. Louis Mercantile Library is located on levels one and two of the Thomas Jefferson Library building. More information about conducting research with the archival collections of the Library, including current building hours and reading room policies, can be found on our Research page.
RESTRICTIONS: None
Preferred Citation note: The preferred citation for this collection is “From the Special Collections of the St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri – St. Louis.
INVENTORY
Series 1: One envelope containing receipts concerning the medical care and hospitalization of Martha’s husband at the Missouri State Hospital for the Insane from 1900 until his death in 1909.
Series 2: Nine envelopes addressed to Martha from various businesses and vendors.
Series 3: Seven envelopes containing correspondence between Mary and her husband, William, as they travelled.
