King Family [RG5053.AM]

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID



RG5053.AM:  King Family



Papers:  1896-1995

Nebraska and Iowa:  

Size:  6 boxes; ca. 6.0 cu.ft.



BACKGROUND NOTE



Mary Lucinda Taylor was born on December 7, 1878. On October 23, 1900, she married William Ernest King. They had five children: Helen Gladys, Francis Willard, Clarence Clement, Perle Arthur, and Kenneth Delbert. The Kings made their home and farmed near Arbor, Lancaster County, Nebraska. Mary and Ernest celebrated their fiftieth anniversary at the farm. Ernest died on September 4, 1954, and Mary died February 20, 1966.



Helen Gladys “Gladys” King was born March 24, 1901 in Arbor. In 1915 she entered the Teachers College High School in Lincoln, Nebraska. She began graduate study at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1919, which she in part completed through University of Iowa correspondence courses and a summer at the University of Washington at Seattle. Before graduating in 1936 she taught various elementary grades in school districts 65, 81 and 92, in Ravenna, Nebraska, as well as in Manville, Wyoming. From 1936 until her retirement in 1966 she taught elementary grades in Nebraska and Iowa. From 1936 to 1938 she taught in North Platte; 1938-1941, Randolph; 1941-1950, Oak School in Council Bluffs; 1950-1957, Hoover School in Council Bluffs; and 1957-1966 at Hartley School in Lincoln. After retiring she served the Havelock Women’s Society (W.S.C.S.) as president from 1966-1970. She also traveled extensively, engaged in various hobbies (notably quilting with the Arbor Kensington group), and was involved in religious instruction at Havelock Methodist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska. She died in Lincoln on April 14, 1996.



SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE



This collection consists of papers relating to the King Family. The bulk of the collection documents the life and teaching career of Gladys King, but substantial materials, including diaries and correspondence, relate to her mother, Mary Lucinda King. The collection is arranged in four series: 1) Diaries, 1919-1995; 2) Financial Records, 1925-1967; 3) Correspondence, 1896-1983, and undated; 4) School Documents; 5) Genealogy; 6) Miscellaneous; and 7) Gladys King Scrapbooks, 1956-1973.



Diaries of Gladys King and Mary Lucinda Taylor King form the bulk of the collection. Entries discuss weather, daily activities, and family life. Gladys’ diaries contain brief notes about her teaching activities, while Mary’s include short entries about her life and chores on the family farm in Arbor, Nebraska. One diary contains entries by both women; Gladys used space left over in her mother’s 1963 diary to write her own entries for the years 1967-1970.



The genealogical materials focus mainly on the Taylor Family, but include information about the King, Gates, Folsom, Batchelder, and Templeton Families. The scrapbooks of Series 7 are really combinations of diaries, scrapbooks and photograph albums, as Gladys used artifacts, photographs and postcards, and journal-style captions to create volumes that documented her experiences as a member of a 1956 “U.S. Naval Aviation Orientation Cruise,” and on her various travels.



Note:  See also the photo component [RG5053.PH] for related images.



DESCRIPTION



Series 1 – Diaries, 1919-1995

Subseries 1: H. Gladys King Diaries


Box 1

Folder

    1. 1919 [Photo/Memories Book]

    1. 1925-1926; 1932-1936; 1937-1939; 1950-1951

    1. 1940-1943; 1944; 1946

    1. 1945; 1947

    1. 1947 travel diary, Seattle

    1. 1948; 1949

    1. “1949, 1951, 1953, 1958, 1959, 1957” travel diary


Box 1a

Folder

    1. 1952-1956; 1957-1961

    1. 1962-1966

      1963, and 1967-1970 [Note: This volume contains entries by Gladys King for the years 1967-1970, and by her mother, Mary Lucinda Taylor King for 1963.]

      1971


Box 2

Folder

    1. 1972-1976; 1977-1981; 1982-1986

    1. 1987-1988; 1989-1993; 1994-1995

    1. Travel diaries, 1967-1968; 1973

    1. California, 1939 and 1972-1973; undated diary notes



Subseries 2: Mary Lucinda Taylor King Diaries




    1. 1937-1941; 1942-1945


Box 3

Folder

    1. 1946; 1947-1951; 1952

    1. 1953-1957; 1958-1962



Series 2 – Financial Records, 1925-1967


Box 4

Folder

    1. “Record Book,” 1925-1934

      “Student Account Book,” 1936-1946

      Financial records, 1947-1949

      “Household Budget and Account Book,” 1949-1959

    1. Articles of agreement between H. Gladys King and Cornell & Simpson for construction of a residence, Oct. 10, 1955

      Tax receipts, 1955-1967



Series 3 – Correspondence, 1896-1983, n.d.




    1. 1896-1919 [Invitations for weddings, parties, graduations, etc.]

    1. 1920-1929

    1. 1930-1939

    1. 1940-1949

    1. 1950-1959

    1. 1960-1983

    1. Undated



Series 4 – School Documents




    1. Teaching Contracts, 1926-1968


Box 5

Folder

    1. Teaching Certificates, memberships, awards, 1906-1987; undated

    1. Report Cards; School Transcripts, 1907-1956

    1. School Program Notes, 1929-1932

    1. Diplomas (See OB124)



Series 5 – Genealogy




    1. “The Taylor Genealogy” by Periander Taylor

    1. “Taylor Genealogy 1919-1992”

    1. Ernest Taylor genealogy

    1. “Lucinda Page Taylor. In Memoriam”

    1. “Florence Appauline Taylor. In Memoriam”

    1. Taylor and King genealogy

    1. “The King Family 1976,” two copies

    1. “The Gates Family”

    1. Agnes Gates McKee genealogy

    1. Folsom genealogy

    1. Batchelder, Templeton genealogy, clippings

    1. Map of parcels A and B, Fletcher Ave. to Oakways Blvd.



Series 6 – Miscellaneous




    1. Gladys King, autobiographical notes, funeral card, will notice

      a. Gladys King Recognition of Service at Bryan Hospital

    1. Miscellaneous: Clipping, receipt, biographical note on Rev. Atherton by Gladys King, etc.

    1. Mary Taylor Smith, poems and photos, 1933-1949

    1. Myrtle Blanch Taylor Bump, 1962

    1. Eleanor Swanson, 1963-1965, undated; clipping, 1977

    1. Gladys King biographical materials and documents

    1. Miscellaneous



Series 7 – Gladys King Scrapbooks (see oversize)


Volume


    1. Photo/scrapbook, “U.S. Naval Aviation Orientation Cruise,” 1956 [includes short journal-style entries by Gladys King, and some aviation teaching aids, ca. 1957]

    1. New Orleans, Caribbean, Latin America, 1966 [with diary at back of the scrapbook, and photographs]

    1. Alaska, 1967 [includes photographs]

    1. South America, 1968 [includes photographs]

    1. Northeast Canada and Iceland, 1970 [includes photographs]

    1. Europe, 1973 [includes photographs]

    1. USA, 1973



 


ADDED ENTRIES:

Aeronautics — Study and teaching

Arbor (Neb.) — History

Batchelder family

Bump, Myrtle Blanch Taylor

Davey (Neb.) — History

Diaries

Education — Nebraska

Farm life — Nebraska — Lancaster County

Farm wives — Nebraska

Folsom family

Gates family

King, H. Gladys (Helen Gladys), 1901-1996

King, Mary Lucinda (Mary Lucinda Taylor), 1878-1966

King family

McKee, Agnes Gates

Nebraska Air Age Education Clinic

Swanson, Eleanor

Taylor family

Teachers — Nebraska

Templeton family

United States. Navy



 



SS/kfk   04-09-1998

Revised KFK   05-29-2004

Encoded TMM   05-12-2010

Become a Member!

Our members make history happen.

Join Now

You May Also Enjoy

The Story of Omaha Police Fingerprint Expert Emily Byram

The Story of Omaha Police Fingerprint Expert Emily Byram

Marker Monday: Cather Childhood Home

Marker Monday: Cather Childhood Home

Yutan Tornado – March 23, 1913

Yutan Tornado – March 23, 1913

About History Nebraska
History Nebraska was founded in 1878 as the Nebraska State Historical Society by citizens who recognized Nebraska was going through great changes and they sought to record the stories of both indigenous and immigrant peoples. It was designated a state institution and began receiving funds from the legislature in 1883. Legislation in 1994 changed History Nebraska from a state institution to a state agency. The division is headed by Interim Director and CEO Jill Dolberg. They are assisted by an administrative staff responsible for financial and personnel functions, museum store services, security, and facilities maintenance for History Nebraska.
Explore Nebraska
Discover the real places and people of our past at these History Nebraska sites.

Upcoming Events

View our new and upcoming events to see how you can get involved.

Become a Member

The work we do to discover, preserve, and share Nebraska's history wouldn't be possible without the support of History Nebraska members.

Latest Hall of Fame Inductee

The Nebraska Hall of Fame was established in 1961 to officially recognize prominent Nebraskans.

Listen to our Podcast

Listen to the articles and authors published in the Nebraska History Magazine with our new Nebraska History Podcast.

Nebraska Collections

History Nebraska's mission is to collect, preserve, and open our shared history to all Nebraskans.

Our YouTube Video Collection

Get a closer look at Nebraska's history through your own eyes, with our extensive video collections.

Additional Research Resources

History Nebraska Research and Reference Services help connect you to the material we collect and preserve.

Support History Nebraska
Make a cash donation to help us acquire, preserve, and interpret Nebraska’s history. Gifts to History Nebraska help leave a legacy and may help your taxes, too! Support the work of History Nebraska by donating to the History Nebraska Foundation today.

Volunteers are the heroes of History Nebraska. So much history, so little time! Your work helps us share access to Nebraska’s stories at our museums and sites, the reference room, and online.