Crane family and
Lillie family papers, 1833-1978 (bulk 1890s-1960s)
Descriptive Inventory
for the Collection at Chicago History Museum
By Mindy C. Pugh, 1989; rev.
Please
address questions to:
Chicago
History Museum, Research Center
1601
North Clark Street
Chicago,
IL 60614-6038
Web-site:
http://www.chicagohistory.org/research
© 2008 Copyright Chicago Historical Society
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Title: Crane family and Lillie family papers [manuscript], 1833-1978 (bulk 1890s-1960s).
Main entry: Lillie, Frances Crane, 1869-1958.
Inclusive dates: 1833-1978 (bulk 1890s-1960s)
Size:
10 linear feet (24 boxes)
1 oversize folder.
Restriction: Research use of this collection is
governed by the standard rules and regulations of the Chicago History Museum
Research Center.
Accession number: 1972.0059; 1977.0026; 1977.0054; 1978.0033
Provenance statement: Gift of Mary Prentice Lillie Barrows (M1977.0026), Dr. Margaret Gildea (M1978.0033), and other members of the family (M1972.0059; M1977.0054).
Terms governing use: Copyright may be retained by the creators
of items, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law,
unless otherwise noted.
Please cite this collection as: Crane family and Lillie family papers (Chicago History Museum) plus a detailed description, date, and
box/folder number of a specific item.
This descriptive inventory contains the
following sections:
Summary
description of the collection,
Description
of some material related to the collection,
List of
online catalog headings about the collection,
Arrangement
of the collection,
Detailed
description of archival series in the collection,
List of
contents of the collection.
Summary description
of the collection:
Correspondence, financial papers, news clippings, diaries, notebooks, biographical materials, and genealogical items by and about Frances Crane Lillie, a daughter of Richard Teller Crane (founder of the Crane Company), her husband Frank Rattray Lillie, and other family members, especially materials of Frances' brother Charles Richard Crane, her younger sister Emily Crane Chadbourne, and Frances' daughter Margaret Crane-Lillie Gildea. Includes correspondence with Frank Lillie's relatives in England during both world wars.
Topics discussed in the collection include family relationships; the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 in reminiscences of Mary Crane Russell; European travel in 1870s; courtships; Charles R. Crane's appointments as minister to China and his life-long involvement with Russia; Frances Crane Lillie's social welfare, socialist strike (1915), and Catholic activities; management of the University of Chicago's experimental projects at Buffalo Creek Farm (Wheeling, Ill.), which became the Childerly home for widows and children and was eventually transferred to the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago; the Crane Fund for Widows and Children; the Crane Company and its shift from family control (1930s onward). Correspondents include Ellen Gates Starr.
Includes a typescript memoir by Charles Richard Crane (ca. 348 p., undated); book-length manuscripts of "Charles Richard Crane, Ulysses from Chicago" and "God and My Mother, A Biography of Frances Crane Lillie," both written by Mary Prentice Lillie Barrows. (Mary Prentice Lillie Barrows was the niece of Charles R. Crane and the daughter of Frances Crane Lillie.) Also includes financial papers of Emily Crane Chadbourne's longtime advisor and friend, Ellen N. LaMotte.
The memoir by C.R.C. is probably a duplicate of ones at Columbia University (in the Crane family papers at the Bakhmeteff Archive, which also appears to hold an earlier draft of the memoirs) and at the Hoover Institution in California.
Description of some material related to the
collection:
Related materials at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include the Richard Teller Crane family photograph collection (1980.0145); and other materials by or about members of the family or the Crane Co. (a manufacturer of plumbing and heating equipment), cataloged separately.
List of online catalog headings about the
collection:
Crane family--Archives.
Lilly family--Archives.
Lillie family--Archives.
Barrows, Mary Prentice Lillie, 1906-
Chadbourne, E. Crane, (Emily Crane)
Crane, Charles Richard, 1858-1939.
Crane, Richard Teller, 1832-1912.
Lillie, Frances Crane, 1869-1958.
Lillie, Frank Rattray, 1870-1947.
Starr, Ellen Gates, 1859-1940.
Childerly Farm (Wheeling, Ill.)
Childerly (Retreat center : Wheeling, Ill.)
Crane Co.
Crane Fund for Widows and Children.
Northwestern Women's Medical College (Ill.)
University of Chicago.
Catholics--Illinois--Chicago--19th century.
Catholics--Illinois--Chicago--20th century.
Diplomats--United States--20th century.
Families--Illinois--Chicago--19th century.
Families--Illinois--Chicago--20th century.
Family-owned business enterprises--Illinois--Chicago--19th century.
Family-owned business enterprises--Illinois--Chicago--20th century.
Great Fire, Chicago, Ill., 1871--Personal narratives.
Plumbing--Equipment and supplies--Illinois--Chicago
Women--Illinois--Chicago.
Women physicians--Illinois--Chicago--19th century.
Women social reformers--Illinois--Chicago--20th century--Biography.
World War, 1914-1918--Great Britain.
World War, 1914-1918--Russia.
World War, 1939-1945--Great Britain.
Chicago (Ill.)--Social conditions--20th century.
China--Foreign relations--20th century--United States.
China--Description and travel.
Czechoslovakia--Politics and government--1918-1938.
Middle East--Politics and government--1914-1945.
Russia--Politics and government--1894-1917.
Wheeling (Ill.)--Social life and customs.--20th century.
United States--Foreign relations--1909-1913--China.
Autobiographies.
Biography.
Correspondence.
Diaries.
Genealogies.
Memoirs.
Barrows, Mary Prentice Lillie, 1906- . Charles Richard Crane, Ulysses from Chicago.
Barrows, Mary Prentice Lillie, 1906- . God and my mother, a biography of Frances Crane Lillie.
Chadbourne, E. Crane, (Emily Crane)
Crane, Charles Richard, 1858-1939.
Crane, Richard Teller, 1832-1912.
Lillie, Frank Rattray, 1870-1947.
Masaryk, T. G. (Tomáš Garrigue), 1850-1937
Starr, Ellen Gates, 1859-1940.
Crane Co.
Crane Fund for Widows and Children.
Canada--Ontario--Toronto.
Great Britain--England.
United States--Illinois.
Arrangement of the collection;
Series 1. Material on early Crane family members (box 1)
Series 2. Crane-Lillie family subject files (box 1-18)
Subseries 1. Charles Richard Crane files
Subseries 2. Frances Crane Lillie files
Subseries 3. Emily Crane Chadbourne, Ellen N. LaMotte, and Margaret Crane-Lillie Gildea files
Series 3. Crane Company business papers (box 18-23)
Detailed description of archival series in
the collection:
Series 1. Material on
early Crane family members (box 1)
The material in this series contains diaries and letters produced in the nineteenth century by members of the Crane family, as well as genealogical materials on the family through several generations. The written reminiscences of Mary Crane Russell, second daughter of Richard T. and Mary F. Crane, discuss her family and neighborhood, and various events such as the Chicago Fire of 1871.
The life of the family in the nineteenth century is contemporaneously described in the letters and diaries of Richard T. Crane's first two wives, Mary Prentice Crane (died 1885) and Eliza Prentice Crane (died 1902). The family's European travels in the late 1870s are amply recorded, along with domestic details back in Chicago. One folder contains articles and poetry verses composed by Cornelia Workman Smith Crane (1862-1939), a daughter-in-law of Richard Teller Crane.
Series 2.
Crane-Lillie family subject files (box 1-18)
This series is divided into three subseries, each containing material on a major twentieth century member of the Crane family.
Subseries 1. Charles
Richard Crane files
This subseries is mostly compose of photocopies or typed transcripts. It includes a typescript memoir (ca. 348 p., undated) of Charles Richard Crane, Chicago philanthropist, businessman, Arabic scholar, and American minister to China (1920-1921). Relates to business and political conditions in the United States, and to American relations with Russia, China and the Middle East. Crane traveled extensively on business and pleasure trips throughout Europe and Asia, especially in Russia, the Balkans, Arabia, and China. Crane was also active in Woodrow Wilson's presidential campaign of 1912; served on the diplomatic mission to Russia, 1917; worked with President Wilson during the 1919 Peace Conference, and was head of the Crane-King Commissioner in 1919 for mandates of Turkey, including Palestine. In 1935 Crane founded the Institute of Current World Affairs.
This memoir is probably a duplicate of ones at Columbia University (in the Crane famiily papers at the Bakhmeteff Archive, which also appears to hold an earlier draft of the memoirs) and at the Hoover Institution in California.
This subseries also includes a typed copy of Mary Prentice Lillie Barrows' biography of her uncle: "Charles Richard Crane: Ulysses from Chicago"; drafts of this biography; and copies of some of Charles R. Crane's letters from the early twentieth century that describe his international travels and interest in diplomacy.
This material mostly was donated to Chicago Historical Society by Charles Crane's niece, Mary Prentice Lillie Barrows (1977.0026).
Subseries 2. Frances
Crane Lillie files
This subseries is rich in original material, revealing of the life and attitudes of Frances Crane Lillie, fifth child of Richard Teller Crane. Her journals (1886-1895) were mostly written during her years at the Northwestern Women's Medical College, and contain reflections on male/female obligations and natures; later entries describe her first meeting with Frank R. Lillie and her post-graduate studies at the University of Chicago. Several boxes of correspondence trace Frances' development from childhood to an adulthood filled with strong convictions. Many letters from her elder brother Charles reveal his strong interest in her welfare; letters written to her father touch upon the delicate subject of his seeming unwillingness to fund her education as amply as he had funded her brothers'; courtship letters exchanged with Frank Lillie are mixed in with letters from family members regarding the marriage.
Letters exchanged with family members describe the births of the Lillie children and Frank's appointment at the University of Chicago at the beginning of the new century; letters from the period of the First World War demonstrate Frances' growing interest in social justice and labor issues, as well as the beginning of her long association with Ellen Gates Starr; correspondence from the final decades of her life reflect her devotion to Roman Catholicism, a devotion shared by Ellen Gates Starr. Correspondence with Ellen Gates Starr is filed separately from the rest of the correspondence.
Also included in this subseries are miscellaneous writings on social issues, art, and religion, as well as Frank R. Lillie's correspondence and papers relating to his management of the University of Chicago's experimental Buffalo Creek Farm at Wheeling, Illinois. The subseries ends with materials which illustrate Frank and Frances' management of the Crane Fund for Widows and children and the Childerley home for widows and children (the former Buffalo Creek Farm), which was eventually transferred to the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.
Subseries 3. Emily
Crane Chadbourne, Ellen N. LaMotte, and Margaret Crane-Lillie Gildea files
These materials consist primarily of incoming and outgoing financial correspondence of Emily Crane Chadbourne, mostly from the 1950s and early 1960s; Ellen LaMotte (as friend and advisor) and Margaret Crane-Lillie Gildea (as a concerned niece and financial advisor) also figure largely in these matters. Management of Mrs. Chadbourne's Crane Company stock, her tax returns, and stock transactions are the main areas of concern. Some materials are exclusively those of Dr. Gildea, and pertain to the settlement of the estate of her aunt Emily Chadbourne.
Series 3. Crane
Company business papers (box 18-23)
These materials have been separated from the rest of the Crane family material as being especially illustrative of the Crane Company. Business correspondence of various family members (Frances and Frank Lillie, Emily Chadbourne, Margaret Crane-Lillie Gildea) which pertains directly to the management of the company is included in this series along with Crane Company financial statements, annual reports, and other publications (1935-1971).
Archival processing note:
J. Martin's handwritten notes on yellow legal sheets are stored with the collection. However, the box/folder numbers on Martin's sheets are no longer correct because the collection has been organized since he made the notes.
List of contents of the collection:
Series 1. Material on
early Crane family members (box 1)
Box 1
folders:
1 Essays
2 News clippings/obituaries
3 Memorial essays on Richard T. Crane, 1912-1915
4 Reminiscences by Mary Crane Russell
5 Mary Prentice Crane and Eliza Prentice Crane, 1861-1894
6 Mary Prentice Crane letters and travel diary, 1877-1885
7 Eliza Prentice Crane diaries, 1833-1902
8 Cornelia Workman Smith Crane writings
Series 2. Crane-Lillie
family subject files (box 1-18)
Subseries 1. Charles
Richard Crane files
Box 1 continued
folders:
9-10 "Charles Richard Crane: Ulysses from Chicago," by Mary Prentice Lillie Barrows
Box 1a
Memoir by Charles R. Crane (photocopy of typescript, ca. 348 p., undated)
[staff:
this box is shelved separately from the main collection]
Box 2
folders:
1-10 Drafts for C. R. Crane biography by Mary Prentice Lillie Barrows
11 Charles Richard Crane correspondence: re. Russia, 1903-1910, 1917
12 Charles Richard Crane correspondence: appointment as U.S. Ambassador to China, 1909
13 Charles Richard Crane correspondence: travels in China, 1918-1921
14 Charles Richard Crane correspondence: the Balkans and the Middle East, 1911-1923
15 Charles Richard Crane correspondence: Arabia, 1919-1922
16 Charles Richard Crane correspondence: to Mildred N. Page re travels in Middle East, 1922-1931
Subseries 2. Frances
Crane Lillie files
Box 2 continued
folders:
17 Frances Crane Lillie autobiographical and biographical notes
18 Frances Crane Lillie journals, 1886-1895
Box 3 "God and my mother: a biography of Frances Crane Lillie," by Mary Prentice Lillie Barrows
Box 4
folders:
1 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, 1878-1885
2 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, 1886-1887
3 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, 1888-1890
4 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, 1891
5 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, 1892-1893
6 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, Apr.-Aug. 1894
7 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, Sept. 1894
Box 5
1 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, Sept.-Oct. 1894
2 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, Oct.-Nov. 1894
3 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, Nov.-Dec. 1894
4 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, Jan.-Feb. 1895
5 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, Feb.-Mar. 1895
6 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, Mar.-Apr. 1895
7 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, May-June 1895
Box 6
1 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, July-Dec. 1895
2 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, Jan.-June 1896
3 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, July-Sept. 1896
4 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, Oct. 1896
5 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, Nov.-Dec. 1896
6 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, Jan.-June 1897
7 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, Aug. 1897-June 1898
Box 7
1 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, July-Dec. 1898
2 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, Jan.-July 1899
3 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, Aug. 1899-Nov. 1900
4 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, Mar. 1902-Dec. 1906
5 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, Feb.-June 1907
6 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, July 1907-June 1914
7 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, Apr. 1915-Dec. 1919
Box 8
1 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, 1920-1922
2 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, 1923-1929
3 Frances Crane Lillie correspondence, 1931-1948; n.d.
4 Religious writings and notes on household staff members
5 Children of Frances Crane Lillie: General
6 Children of Frances Crane Lillie: Albert Reed Little
7 Children of Frances Crane Lillie: Catherine Crane Lillie Bacon (called "Kiffie")
8 Children of Frances Crane Lillie: Emily Ann Lillie Walton/Cramer
9 Children of Frances Crane Lillie: Ethan Aiken Lillie
10 Children of Frances Crane Lillie: Karl C. Jenkins Lillie
Box 9
1 Children of Frances Crane Lillie: Margaret Lillie Egloff (later: Gildea)
2 Children of Frances Crane Lillie: Mary Prentice Lillie Bacon (called "Penty"), later: Barrows
3 Letters to Frances C. Lillie from Katherine Norcross Beck, Helen Norcross, and Ralph Beck
4 Scrapbook of news clippings on Frances Crane Lillie's socialist agitation, 1915
5 Correspondence regarding social issues, 1912-1944
6 Papers on religious art
7 Miscellaneous papers
In Oversize folder: Certificate from Illinois Board of Health for Frances Crane to practice medicine, May 18 1892
Box 10
folders:
1 Correspondence and writings regarding Catholicism, 1920-1958
2 Writing on education
3 Bail bonds and other charities, 1921-1947
4 Correspondence on religious topics, 1921-1945
5 Writings on religion
6 Upon This Rock, He Became Poor: works compiled by Frances Crane Lillie
7 Two notebooks on religion, with Missal
8 Ellen Gates Starr: Background information
9 Ellen Gates Starr: Frances Crane Lillie letters to Ellen Gates Starr, 1906-1940
10 Ellen Gates Starr letters to Frances Crane Lillie mentioning Ellen Gates Starr
11 Ellen Gates Starr letters to Frances Crane Lillie, 1919-1939
Box 11
1 Ellen Gates Starr: Articles by or about Ellen Gates Starr
2 Frank R. Lillie: obituaries and memorials
3 Frank R. Lillie: biographical sketch for Who Was Who in America, 1950
4 "Our Life Together (written for our children)," by F.R.L. & Frances Crane Lillie
5 Frank R. Lillie: genealogical information on Lillie and Rattray families
6 Frank R. Lillie: autobiographical sketches by Frank R. Lillie and Frances Crane Lillie
7 Frank R. Lillie correspondence, 1894-1916
Box 12
1 Frank R. Lillie correspondence, 1917-1923
2 Frank R. Lillie correspondence, 1930-1942
3 Frank R. Lillie correspondence, 1942
4 Frank R. Lillie correspondence, 1943-1947
5 Emily Rattray Lillie (mother of Frank R. Lillie), 1894-1921
6 Buffalo Creek Farm, May-Aug. 1908 (accn. 1972.0059 re. most of the farm)
7 Buffalo Creek Farm, Sept.-Dec. 1908
8 Buffalo Creek Farm, 1909
Box 13
1 Buffalo Creek Farm, 1910-1911
2 Buffalo Creek Farm, 1912-1913
3 Buffalo Creek Farm, 1914-1915
4 Buffalo Creek Farm check stubs, 1912-1915
5 Buffalo Creek Farm, 1916-1917
6 Buffalo Creek Farm, 1980-1919
7 Buffalo Creek Farm, 1920-1924
Box 14
1 Crane Fund for Widows and Children, 1911-1929
2 Crane Fund for Widows and Children, 1930-1933
3 Crane Fund for Widows and Children, 1934-1945
4 Childerley: Background and plans
5 Childerley: Chronicle and scrapbook
6 Childerley, 1939-1945
7 Childerley, 1946-1958
Subseries 3. Emily
Crane Chadbourne, Ellen N. LaMotte, and Margaret Crane-Lillie Gildea
Box 15
folders:
1 Essay by Margaret Crane Lillie Gildea discussing Crane family relations with the Crane Company, with emphasis on Emily Crane Chadbourne (1871-1964), written 1978
2 Emily Crane Chadbourne donations to art museums, 1918, 1924, 1938, 1947-1951
3 Emily Crane Chadbourne income tax returns and custody account records, 1956-1957
4 Emily Crane Chadbourne bank statements, 1955-1960
5 Emily Crane Chadbourne bank statements, 1962
6 Emily Crane Chadbourne financial correspondence, 1956
7 Emily Crane Chadbourne financial correspondence, 1957
8 Emily Crane Chadbourne financial correspondence, 1958
Box 16
1 Emily Crane Chadbourne financial correspondence, 1960
2 Emily Crane Chadbourne financial correspondence, 1961
3 Emily Crane Chadbourne financial correspondence, 1962
4 Emily Crane Chadbourne will, 1959
5 Emily Crane Chadbourne accounts, 1961 with 1960 income tax returns
6 Emily Crane Chadbourne miscellaneous accounts, 1952-1963
7 Emily Crane Chadbourne miscellaneous accounts, 1959-1964
8 Emily Crane Chadbourne: Gildea correspondence re Chadbourne estate, 1961-1966
9 Emily Crane Chadbourne: Condolences on death of Emily Chadbourne, 1964-1975
In Oversize folder: Certificates of Emily Crane Chadbourne (1977.0054)
Box 17
1 Ellen N. LaMotte financial correspondence, 1956
2 Ellen N. LaMotte financial correspondence, 1957
3 Ellen N. LaMotte financial correspondence, 1959
4 Chadbourne, LaMotte, Gildea correspondence, 1947-1959
5 Margaret Crane-Lillie Gildea: Morgan Trust, 1957-1959
6 Margaret Crane-Lillie Gildea: Miscellaneous rental properties, 1956-1966
7 Margaret Crane-Lillie Gildea: Blair House, 1965-1968
Box 18
1 Empty envelopes
2 Japanese medals awarded to Emily Chadbourne
Series 3. Crane
Company business papers (Boxes 18-23)
Box 18 continued
folders:
3 Newspaper clippings: 1855-1900
4 Newspaper clippings: 1901-1933
5 Newspaper clippings: 1916-1952
6 Richard T. Crane will 1909 & agreement of Charles R. Crane / Richard T. Crane, Jr. 1914
7 Business correspondence: Mrs. Frank Lillie, 1914, 1937
8-9 Business correspondence: Frank Lillie, 1935-1947
Box 19
1 Business correspondence: Mr. And Mrs. Frank Lillie, 1932-1934
2 Business correspondence: Frank Lillie & Securities and Exchange Commission, 1935-1947
3-4 Crane Company registration statements with Securities and Exchange Commission
5 Business corres.: Margaret Gildea, Emily C. Chadbourne, Robert B. Crane, 1958-1960
Box 20 (Accession: 1972.0059)
1-5 J.L. Palmer's
1935 Study for the Reorganization of the
Crane Company
6 Crane Company financial statements, Jan.-July 1935
Box 21 (Accession: 1972.0059)
1 Crane Company financial statements, Aug.-Dec. 1935
2 Crane Company financial statements, Jan.-Dec. 1936
3 Crane Company financial statements, July-Nov. 1937
4 Crane Company financial statements, July-Nov. 1937
5 Crane Company financial statements, Jan.-June 1938
6 Crane Company financial statements, July-Dec. 1938
7 Crane Company financial statements, Feb.-June 1939
Box 22 (Accession: 1972.0059)
1 Crane Company financial statements, July-Dec. 1939
2 Crane Company financial statements, Jan.-June 1940
3 Crane Company financial statements, July-Dec. 1940
4 Crane Company financial statements, Jan.-June 1941
5 Crane Company financial statements, July-Dec. 1941
6 Crane Company financial statements, Jan.-June 1944
7 Crane Company financial statements, July-Dec. 1944
8 Crane Company financial statements, Jan.-Apr. 1947
9 Crane Company publicity, 1915-1947
Box 23
1 Crane Company publicity, 1958-1959
2 Crane Company publicity, 1960-1961
3 Crane News, 1960-1961
4 Crane News and financial reports, 1962
5 Crane Company publicity, 1963
6 Crane Company publicity, 1964
7 Crane Company publicity, 1965-1971
IN OVERSIZE FOLDER:
Certificates of Emily Crane Chadbourne (1977,0054)
Certificate from Illinois Board of Health for Frances Crane to practice medicine, May 18 1892