About this collection

In the heartland of 19th-century America, Missouri welcomed emigrants from states and countries, near and far, as the central cross-roads of the nation. An American Tale: 19th-century Folkways to Missouri seeks to document and understand that experience through the heritage of one individual, the collection creator.

The scope of the collection spans 100 years. From 1816 to 1916, vintage photographs, primary, and secondary records created in the United States fill the collection. Records were collected through genealogical research in academic, government, or private institutions, by collection creator, or from family members. Types of primary and secondary records found in the collection are vital records, census records, Civil War pension records, newspaper clippings, naturalization and immigration records, and church records.

Three discrete, topical themes form the intellectual boundary of the digital library collection: 1) Slaveholder from Virginia, 2) Union Soldier from Hesse-Darmstadt and 3) Farmer from Iowa. Records of patriarchs Henry M. Ogden (1792-1888), Philip P. Wilhelm (1827-1909), and Jacob Peters (1831-1918), respectively, were chosen in that mission.

Please contact me with any questions about the collection at: Nancy Bronte Matheny, mathenyn@email.arizona.edu or lilacsinthespring@hotmail.com

How to find information in the An American Tale: 19th-century Folkways to Missouri collection

There are 4 ways to find information in this collection:

• search for particular words
• access publications by title
• access publications by subject
• access publications by coverage

You can search for particular words that appear in the text from the "search" page. This is the first page that comes up when you begin, and can be reached from other pages by pressing the search button.

You can access publications by title by pressing the titles a-z button. This brings up a list of books in alphabetic order.

You can access publications by subject by pressing the subjects button. This brings up a list of subjects, represented by bookshelves.

You can access publications by coverage by pressing the coverage button.