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Fay Family Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MsC0045

  • Staff Only
  • Please navigate to collection organization to place requests.

Scope and Contents

These papers cover several generations of the Fay family and contain several different threads.

Included are legal documents, deeds, land grants, stock certificates, insurance policies, and contracts in several names, Fay and Darrah among them. There are two books, one a printed book of poetry, the other a book of handwritten poetry written to Calista [Darrah]. There are two folders of materials from the Fay Diamond Incident, including statements from people involved, some exhibits from one of the trials, and letters from George Burrier and his mother.

There is also a folder on "Granny" Oldaker who, at 106, was the oldest living Iowan in 1946. There is a file containing a postcard of the old stone farmhouse in Clinton, which is called "the old Fay farm." This was a stop on the underground railroad, and there are four pictures of the cellar of the woodshed, which apparently served as a hiding place for escaped slaves.

Also included is a collection of 250 -- 300 colored postcards of various tourist sites.

Finally, there is a scrapbook with newspaper clippings of travel stories. There is no byline, but they are possibly from the Clinton County Advertiser and may have been written by one of the Fay brothers. In the middle of this scrapbook there are clippings pertaining to the Fay Diamond Incident.

Dates

  • Creation: 1837-1956
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1900-1940

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright restrictions may apply; please consult Special Collections staff for further information.

Extent

0.50 Linear Feet (400 items)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Correspondence and papers relating to the Fay diamond case. Other papers include an indenture agreement dated 1837, several land warrants and deeds dating from the 1850's. A collection of about 300 postcards from various points in Iowa and the U.S.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Fay Family, 1958 (?)

Related Materials

For more information on Horace Amdsen Fay and his descendents, see this webpage.

Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Repository Details

Part of the University of Iowa Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Special Collections Department
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA 52242 IaU
319-335-5921
319-335-5900 (Fax)