Hardinge family collection, 1787-1999.

The Hardinge Family Collection contains documents, ephemera, paintings, photographs and objects created or collected by three generations of the Hardinge family. The bulk of the documents in this collection were either produced by or relate to the following people: Sarah Ann Lillie (Bumstead) (Hardinge) Daniels (1824-1913), Sarah's son Harry "Hal" Williams Hardinge (1855-1943), Hal's wife Bertha (Wilson) Hardinge, and Harry and Bertha's son (Sarah's grandson) Harlowe Templer Hardinge (1894-1984).

Sarah (Bumstead) (Hardinge) Daniels (1824-1913) is represented in the Harding Family Collection by personal, business and genealogical documents. Sarah’s personal documents include “Rhymes for 1847” (a volume of poetry and acrostics) and an autograph book, a gift to Sarah from her Sunday School class in Buffalo, containing signatures dated from 1875 to 1884. The core of Sarah’s personal documents, correspondence and her diary, require further explanation. While this collection contains 128 letters received by Sarah (Bumstead) (Hardinge) Daniels, the notebooks in folders 38, 63, 65, 66 contain notes by Sarah describing her practice of recording extracts from the letters she received into these notebooks then burning many of the original letters. For example, Sarah noted in 1908 (see folder 66) that she had received 166 letters from son Harry between 1899 and 1907. While Sarah had retained 64 of these letters in 1908, these were further culled and the collection now contains 36 letters sent from Harry Hardinge to his mother during this time period. The extant letters received by Sarah (Bumstead) (Hardinge) Daniels include two from her father, four from her mother, 83 from her second husband Rev Daniels, 106 from her son Harry, two from Harry’s wife, and three from her grandson Harlowe. The letters from her father concern spiritual matters. The letters from her mother discuss spirituality and motherhood, especially caring and worrying for ill children. Sarah’s mother also provides brief updates on the activities of friends and family. The letters from Harry concern his health, business activities, inventions, and updates concerning his family. Her personal correspondence also includes letters exchanged between Sarah and her family while she lived in Texas. The letters concern Sarah’s health, birth announcements and updates concerning the children’s growth, descriptions of the violent relations with the local Native American tribes, and a brief description of the local wildlife.

Sarah followed a similar system with her diary as she did with her correspondence. Sarah’s diary for the years from 1848 to 1899 originally consisted of 52 volumes. Extracts of entries Sarah originally wrote from 1848 to 1879 were recorded into the notebook in folder 31 and the entries for 1880 to 1899 were recorded into the notebook in folder 32. Sarah describes these two notebooks as “really my autobiography”. Sarah notes in her diary for 1911 -- “The [other volumes of her diary] from 1900 on may or may not be kept as they are (in my trunk) the 52 original smaller size diaries destroyed”. The only volumes of her diary still extant are for the years 1873, 1900, 1910, and 1912. The entries in her diary record social visits; births, marriages and deaths; illnesses of herself, family and friends; trips by relatives and friends; employment; expenses including yearly summaries; and she sometimes records her thoughts and opinions, though often in shorthand. The account book in folder 23 contains a record of Sarah’s summer and winter address changes 1884-1911 which document her travel and lodging and thus supplement her diary.

The copy of Bogatzky's A Golden Treasury (box 19) is heavily annotated by Sarah, and in addition to theological notes, these annotations include diary-like entries concerning the visits and deaths of friends and family. The 1873 diary (folder 34) contains a handwritten genealogy on the Bumstead family, especially the fifth to eighth generations, added to the memoranda section the diary by Sarah in 1893. The memoranda section of the 1873 diary also contains a handwritten copy of "A German Trust Song" that Sarah pinned up in her room after her son Edward drown. In 1895, Sarah produced another more comprehensive handwritten genealogy on the Bumstead family (folders 3 and 4). Other genealogical documents include five letters received in 1904 from Charles Whitter of Boston requesting and exchanging information concerning the Bumstead family.

Sarah’s business activities are documented by an order book for her studio (1877-1889), receipts, the certificate for her patent, trade bills, and eleven samples of her Pearletta Pictures including one of Molly Fancher, the “Brooklyn Enigma”. Twelve paintings by Sarah are preserved in the collection as well. During Sarah’s periodic reviews to reduce the volume of her collection of personal papers, she often added brief additional comments which are dated and initialed. These notations often provide insight into why these remaining documents were so valued by Sarah that they warranted permanent retention.

Harry “Hal” William Hardinge (1855-1943) is represented in the collection by personal, business, and genealogical documents. The genealogical documents include a few letters from Lieut. Col. Henry Reginald Hardinge of Bombay, India who sent two typescript genealogies on the Hardinge family (folders 432 & 433). Hal’s personal documents include correspondence, a passport, invitations, ship passenger lists, and a copy of his will. “Mosaics” in folder 96 is a scrapbook of clippings produced in his youth. His personal letters consists of 39 letters from his mother, primarily providing moral and spiritual support, and seventeen letters from his son Harlowe. The penmanship sample includes a paragraph written long hand and the same paragraph written in shorthand.

His business documents include correspondence, letters of introduction and recommendation, magazine and newspaper articles concerning him, and material documenting his many professional awards and honors. The photograph album attributed to him in box 19 contains photographs of landscape scenes taken at and traveling to various mines in California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, and Mexico. There are several folders of notes and drafts for a couple of unpublished books called Tales from Grandfather’s Clock and The Making of an Engineer. These are non-fiction works which describe his life as an engineer and the family in general.

Bertha (Wilson) Hardinge (1869-1966), wife of Harry Williams Hardinge, is represented in the collection by a friendship album (1880-1883); a prophecy called “The Revelation” produced for the students in Bertha’s 1888 graduating class at the Female Academy in Jacksonville, Ill. (now McMurray College), deeds, passport, correspondence, and photographs. The bulk of Bertha’s correspondence consists of letters received from son Harlowe beginning with 87 letters written from the Tome School and 144 letters written from Cornell University that describe his studies and activities. The correspondence written during his schooling is followed by an additional 43 letters written by Harlowe to his Mother from 1919 to 1926. Bertha’s correspondence also includes eighteen letters from her husband, fifteen letters from her daughter Arlene, and two letters from son-in-law Richard Kiliani. Although the first letter from her husband concerns a legal case on a mine claim, most of the letters contain very brief and general descriptions on whether business was successful or not, travel troubles including being homesick and difficult communication, and his trip schedule. A couple of letters also describe visits to friends and family. Arlene's letters include descriptions of her activities especially sailing and dancing, some mention of her husband's work and health, and she forwards news from letters that she has received from family and friends.

Harlowe Templer Hardinge (1894-1984) is represented in the collection by school papers, military records, diary, correspondence, photographs, and various magazine and newspaper articles. There are report cards, programs, memorabilia, and bills that document Harlowe’s education at the Jacob Tome Institute (Port Deposit, Maryland) and Cornell University. There is a photo album with images taken while Harlowe was a student at Cornell University, an officer in the military during World War I, and during some family vacations. The collection documents Harlowe’s interest in painting with programs and correspondence about art exhibits, especially with the York [Penn.] Art Association in 1967, 1971, 1977, and 1980. His correspondence consists of eleven letters written to him from his father and some business letters. The first three volumes of his diary were written at ages nine, eleven, and fourteen. The volume covering 1917-1918 was written while he served in the army.

The Hardinge Company is represented in the collection by a record book of accounts for 1891-1892, news clippings, company publications, and notes, drawings, and photographs of Hardinge Company mills. There is also a bound version of the Hardinge History 1877-1977, a corporate history.