0.2 linear feet.

De Witt Clinton Clarke (1829-1899) was born in Elbridge, New York. As a young man, he moved to Battle Creek, Michigan where he married Sarah Lack, a native of Northhamptonshire, England, in December 1856. They had their first daughter, Frances, shortly before De Witt left Michigan to serve as a member of the 2nd Missouri Cavalry (also known as Merrill’s Horse), a volunteer regiment organized by Captain Lewis Merill in the American Civil War. Sarah remained alone with Frances in Battle Creek, managing the household until her husband returned. They later had a second daughter, Mary Caroline. In 1871, the Clarke family moved to the newly established city of Le Mars, Iowa, where De Witt Clarke became involved in the hardware and agricultural-implement business, eventually establishing himself there as a leading merchant and businessman and contributing considerably to the development of the city.

The collection consists of De Witt Clarke’s personal correspondence and business correspondence. The bulk of the collection consists of letters from Clarke’s wife Sarah, written from Michigan while Clarke was away with Merrill’s Horse in Arkansas and Tennessee from 1864 to 1865. In her letters, Sarah expresses anxiety for her husband, reports on home and family life, and describes caring for their child in his absence. The collection includes Clarke’s letters to his wife and personal correspondence with other family members and friends during and after the war. Clarke’s business correspondence dates from after the Civil War and includes receipts, ledgers, price lists, notices, and advertisements, as well as Clarke’s correspondence with typewriter manufacturers in New York and Ohio.

Finding aid