This is a finding aid (or, description) of materials available in the La Crosse Public Library Archives.  At this time, none of the materials listed below are accessible over the internet.

Contact the Archives to learn more about using these materials.

Guide to the Dorset Family Papers,1850-1965 (bulk 1870-1952) MSS Z

Guide to the Dorset Family Papers,1850-1965 (bulk 1870-1952)

MSS Z

Summary Information

Abstract
The Colwell-Dorset Family were prominent pioneers in La Crosse, Wis., originating from New England. Key family members include Nannie Hammer who married Capt. Wilson Colwell, who was killed in the Battle of South Mountain in 1862 during the Civil War. They had one daughter together also named Nannie Colwell. The widow Nannie Colwell then married Rev. C. P. Dorset, an Episcopal minister. The couple had several children together: Marian, Helen, and Bernard Dorset. The collection has been divided up into four series: personal correspondence, business correspondence, genealogical notes, and miscellany. Because of the long span of correspondence, everyday family life in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the Midwest is well documented. The papers consist mainly of correspondence among members of the Colwell-Dorset family. There are also some travel diaries, business correspondence, genealogy material, and miscellany.
Collection Title
Dorset Family Papers
Date of Materials [bulk]
Bulk, 1870-1952
Date of Materials [inclusive]
1850-1965
Creator
Colwell family
Creator
Dorset family
Call Number
MSS Z
Amount
6.0 cubic feet
Physical Description
15 archives boxes
Language of Materials
English
Repository
La Crosse Public Library Archives

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Dorset Family Papers, MSS Z, La Crosse Public Library Archives, La Crosse, WI

Return to Table of Contents »

Biographical Note

The history of the Dorset family began soon after the founding of La Crosse and continued until 1965, with the death of Helen Dorset.

The Hammer side of the family were the first to arrive. Joseph and Nancy Hammer and their children settled in La Crosse in 1856. In 1858 Nannie Hammer married Wilson Colwell. Nannie Colwell, their only daughter, was born in 1859. Wilson Colwell had settled in La Crosse in 1857. He was captain of the La Crosse Light Guards when the Civil War broke out, and immediately marched them off to Camp Randall, where they became Company B, 2nd Wisconsin of the Iron Brigade. Wilson Colwell was killed in the Battle of South Mountain in 1862.

The Reverend C. P. Dorset arrived in La Crosse in 1863; he was the new pastor of the Episcopal congregation. He succeeded in building the first Christ Church in 1864. In 1867 Rev. Dorset married Nannie Colwell in La Crosse; they then moved to Chicago where their first child, Marian, was born in 1869. Reverend Dorset served several churches in Chicago in the next five years. Helen Dorset was born in Willamette, Illinois in 1873. Bernard Dorset was born in 1877, in Nashville, Tennessee while his father was rector of the Episcopal Church in Pulaski. He then served as rector of churches in Rome, Georgia and Anniston, Alabama.

The Dorset family returned to La Crosse in 1879, never to leave again. However there were many visits to family and friends, trips abroad, and attendance at schools and universities that generated much correspondence between family members. In 1891, Rev. Dorset accepted a teaching post at St. John’s Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin. In 1896 he went to Texas where he taught a short time before opening his own school, the Texas Military Institute. He was president of the school until 1902. Besides teaching he did quite a bit of missionary work in Texas, before returning to Wisconsin in 1902, where he continued this work. He died in 1904.

Nannie Dorset remained in La Crosse for the most part, receiving letters from her children in their various endeavors. Nannie Colwell made two trips to Europe in 1878 and 1885, and a trip to China and Europe in 1900. She also made many visits to Colwell relatives in Pennsylvania and enjoyed traveling to Washington, D.C., whenever possible. She died in 1952.

Marian Dorset studied Physical Culture in Cleveland and Chicago before returning to teach that subject in La Crosse. She died in 1951.

Helen went to college at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. She worked for the Red Cross during WW I and spent a summer in Europe in 1926. Her death was in 1965.

Bernard attended the University of Wisconsin as an undergraduate and the University of Pennsylvania as a medical student. He lived in Denver for many years before returning to La Crosse, where he died in 1944.

Return to Table of Contents »

Scope and Contents

The Dorset Family Papers consists of personal and business correspondence, diaries and genealogical information from one of the oldest families in La Crosse.

Return to Table of Contents »

Arrangement

Arranged in four series:

Series 1: Personal Correspondence

Series 2: Business Correspondence

Series 3: Genealogical Information

Series 4: Miscellaneous Records

Return to Table of Contents »

Administrative Information

Publication Information

La Crosse Public Library Archives 1988-1989

800 Main St.
La Crosse, Wisconsin, 54601
(608) 789-7136
archives@lacrosselibrary.org

Access to Materials

Materials in this collection are available for patron use.

Acquisitions Information

(Accession nos. 1984.007, 1984.017, 1985.006)

Processing Information

Processed by Peggy Beedle, August 1988, processed by Anita Taylor Doering, March 1989

Return to Table of Contents »

Related Materials

Related Materials

(MISC MSS 280)
 Milwaukee Auction Galleries Present at Public Auction Personal Property from Estate of Helen Dorset and Family Possessions as Found in the Colwell-Dorset Home, 330 S. 6th Street, La Crosse [auction catalog] held at the La Crosse Public Library Archives

Return to Table of Contents »

Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

  • La Crosse County Historical Society (Wis.).

Family Name(s)

  • Colwell family
  • Dorset family
  • Hammer family

Geographic Name(s)

  • La Crosse (Wis.)--Social life and customs
  • Middle West--Social life and customs
  • Middle West--Social life and customs--19th century

Personal Name(s)

  • Colwell, Nannie, 1859-1952
  • Dorset, Bernard, 1877-1944
  • Dorset, C. P., d. 1904
  • Dorset, Helen, 1873-1965
  • Dorset, Marian, 1869-1951
  • Dorset, Nannie
  • Hammer, Malinda

Return to Table of Contents »

OCLC Number

28417926

Return to Table of Contents »

Collection Inventory

 (Series 1) Personal Correspondence 

Scope and Contents

The Personal Correspondence series is the most voluminous series and is subdivided into correspondence to C.P. Dorset, Nannie Dorset, Nannie Colwell, Marian Dorset, Helen and Bernard Dorset, and Malinda Hammer. Letters to each person are grouped by immediate family, extended family and friends. For example, letters to Nannie Colwell first include those from her parents and siblings, then those from aunts, uncles, and cousins from the Colwell, Dorset, and Hammer families, and finally the many letters from friends around the world. Some of the more interesting letters to Nannie are those from Alice Seymour MacHaffie, who lived most of her life in China. There are also letters to her mother, grandmother and aunt in La Crosse, which are very illustrative of the social life in La Crosse in the late 1900’s. The earliest letter is from 1850; they continue until 1965.

The letters to C.P. Dorset are a small group of letters from Nannie Colwell and a few from other friends. The letters to Nannie Dorset are mostly from her children when they were away from home - at school or traveling. Nannie Colwell’s letters from Europe and China are most interesting. Helen’s letters have some very detailed accounts of university life. Letters from Nannie’s husband, Rev. Dorset, are very lively and informative about the life of a teacher and clergyman in Wisconsin and Texas. The letters to Marian Dorset are mainly from her father and her gentlemen friends, and include some pleasant love letters. In addition to the letters from her family, Helen Dorset’s letters are from her wide circle of friends and illustrate her many interests in life. Letters to Bernard contain a few from his father; the rest are from friends. The letters to Malinda Hammer are from her family and one distant cousin. The letters vary a lot in quality and interest. They are usually very formal in tone, as was the time period. At times however, the writer breaks through - some letters are very illuminating about the writer’s personality and attitudes.

 (Subseries 1.1) Correspondence to Nannie Colwell 
Box Folder

Abernathy, C. A., 1876-1880 

 5 19

Announcements and invitations, 1873-1949 

 7 8

At home cards, 1911-1916 

 7 9

Bills and receipts, 1867-1908 

 7 6

Buffington, Joseph, 1871-1923 

 5 20

Calhoun, Hal, 1870-1875 

 4 16

Calling cards, undated 

 7 10

Clarke, Will (and family), 1899-1931 

 5 22

Clarkes, 1886-1937 

 5 21

Clayland, Caroline Meredith and Margaret Meredith, 1887-1952 

 5 2

Clayland, Margaret and Sarah Clayland Shaffer, 1926-1952 

 5 3

Colwell, Amanda, 1869-1910 

 4 17

Colwell, Margaret, 1872-1873 

 4 15

Colwell relatives, 1922-1952 

 5 6

Colwell, Rob, 1869-1871 

 5 5

Crawford, Alex, 1867-1878 

 4 19

Crawford, Madge, 1869-1887 

 4 20

Crawford, Sallie, 1870-1900 

 4 18

Dorset, Bernard, 1883-1929 

 4 14

Dorset, C. P., 1867-1878 

 4 5

Dorset, Helen, 1882-1900 

 4 13

Dorset, Marian, 1878-1900 

 4 12

Dorset, Nannie, 1879-1900 

 4 6-11

Dorset relatives, 1950-1952 

 5 7

Furstenburg, Ludwig (and family), 1885-1887 

 5 23

General correspondence, 1869-1952 

 7 1-4

Greetings, 1885-1952 

 7 11

Hammer, Malinda, 1867-1899 

 5 9

Hammer, Nany, 1866-1877 

 5 8

Hammer relatives, 1867-1930 

 5 18

Hammer, Wilson, 1872-1919 

 5 16

Harries, W. H. (and family), 1883-1951 

 5 24

Hatches, 1883-1897 

 5 25

Howell, T. F., 1878-1880 

 5 26

Lemon, Captain G., 1894-1896 

 5 28-29

Lemon, James, 1886-1896 

 5 30

Lewis, Emma (and family), 1896-1901 

 5 31-33

Lillian, 1927-1952 

 6 1

McCord, Agnes, Cara Bennet, Margaret Cooper, and Ellen Carhart, 1900 

 6 2

MacHaffie, Alice, 1882-1913 

 6 3-8, 10

MacHaffie, Alice and Marjorie MacHaffie Barker, 1908-1950 

 6 9, 11

Martin, Virginia Pike, 1869-1899 

 5 11

Meredith, Eliza, 1868-1887 

 5 1

Meredith, Nana and Alice Storing, 1951-1952 

 5 4

Miscellaneous, undated 

 7 7

Noonan, Eleanor, 1927-1952 

 6 12

Pike, Hester, 1869-1896 

 5 10

Pope, Marion Manville, 1897-1931 

 6 13

Quintards, 1876-1879 

 6 14

Requests for pecuniary assistance, undated 

 7 5

Rivers, 1878-1903 

 6 15

Schruch, M. and F., 1900-1924 

 6 16

Seymor, Mrs., 1886-1908 

 6 17

Shakelford, Maria, 1878-1930 

 6 18

Sherwoods, 1883-1929 

 5 17

Tourtellotte, 1899-1928 

 6 19

Tucker, Hannah Painter and Maribel Tucker Merrill, 1886-1952 

 6 20

Whitney, Lillie Lathrop and Mary Whitney Kingham, 1872-1950 

 5 27

Woodford, Fannie and Mary, 1927-1951 

 5 15

Woodford, Henry (in house), 1951 

 5 14

Woodford, Henry, Jennie, and Sam, 1926-1952 

 5 13

Woodford, S. H. and Georgie, 1869 

 5 12

 (Subseries 1.2) Correspondence to Bernard Dorset 
Box Folder

Colwell, Nannie, 1885 

 10 13

Dorset, C. P., 1893-1897 

 10 12

General correspondence, 1896-1941 

 10 14

 (Subseries 1.3) Correspondence to C. P. Dorset 
Box Folder

Colwell, Nannie, 1872-1878 

 1 1

General correspondence, 1871-1886 

 1 2

 (Subseries 1.4) Correspondence to Helen Dorset 
Box Folder

American Association of University Women (A.A.U.W.), 1926-1956 

 9 16

At home cards, 1912-1915 

 10 8

Christmas cards, 1938-1952 

 10 9

Clarke, Will (and family), 1907-1914 

 9 17

Colwell, Nannie, 1885-1928 

 9 8

Colwell relatives, 1948-1965 

 9 11

Dorset, Bernard, 1896-1919 

 9 10

Dorset, Bernard medical books, 1945-1952 

 9 22

Dorset, C. P., 1896-1897 

 9 6

Dorset, Marian, 1896-1914 

 9 9

Dorset, Nannie, 1897-1914 

 9 7

Dorset relatives, 1899-1965 

 9 12

General correspondence, 1897-1963 

 10 4-7

Greeting cards, 1952-1953 

 10 10

Harries, W. H., 1919 

 9 18

Lillian, 1944-1953 

 9 19

MacHaffie, Alice, 1900-1934 

 9 20

MacMilan, Edna, 1899-1953 

 9 21

Merrill, Maribel Tucker (and family), 1914-1954 

 10 3

Noonan, Eleanor, 1948-1955 

 9 23

Powell, Edith, 1947-1948 

 9 24

Sympathy cards, 1952-1953 

 10 11

Thompson, Tahlulah C., 1946-1954 

 10 1

Thompson, Vernon (governor of Wisconsin), 1957 

 10 2

Woodford, Henry and Jennie, 1905-1958 

 9 13

Woodford, Henry Jr. and family, 1943-1965 

 9 14

Woodford, Mary and Margaret Woodford Rieke (and family), 1948-1954 

 9 15

 (Subseries 1.5) Correspondence to Marian Dorset 
Box Folder

At home cards, announcements, and invitations, 1911-1945 

 9 5

Baker, Eva, 1902-1938 

 7 22

Billy, 1929 

 7 23

Colwell, Nannie, 1885-1907 

 7 15

Colwell relatives, 1906-1911 

 7 18

Colyer, Will, 1899 

 7 24

David, Frank, 1891 

 7 25

Dorset, Bernard, 1886, 1928 

 7 17

Dorset, C. P., 1886-1902 

 7 12-13

Dorset, Helen, 1886-1899 

 7 16

Dorset, Nannie, 1896-1903 

 7 14

Dorset relatives, 1907 

 7 19

Eberling, Clarence, 1899-1901 

 8 1

General correspondence, 1892-1949 

 9 4

Goss, Peyton, 1891-1899 

 8 2

Hill, Lewis, 1898-1899 

 8 3

Holbeck, W. C., 1907 

 8 4

Houston, Frank, 1901-1903 

 8 5

Howard, Herbert, 1898-1899 

 8 6

Kit, 1916-1917 

 8 7

Lanscombe, Gaylord, 1900 

 8 8

Latsch, John, 1903 

 8 9

Linnell, W. M., 1906-1907 

 8 10

Mills, Ward, 1904-1908 

 8 11

Newell, Henri, 1906-1907 

 8 12

Pike, Hester and Virginia Pike Martin, 1889 

 7 20

Remicks, 1908-1949 

 8 13

Robertson, Robbie and Mrs. Von Brause, 1907-1933 

 8 14

Sherwood, Lenore, 1899 

 7 21

Tucker, Maribel and S. A., 1907 

 8 15

Weaver, Frank, 1896-1897 

 8 16-18

Weston, Frank, 1891-1892 

 8 19-21

Wood, John A., 1893-1902 

 9 1-3

 (Subseries 1.6) Correspondence to Nannie Dorset 
Box Folder

Anderson, Samuel W., 1916-1928 

 3 18

At home cards, 1901-1915 

 3 24

Birthday cards, 1919-1932 

 3 24

Colwell, Nannie, 1865-1912 

 1 5-20

Colwell relatives, 1895-1933 

 3 8
Box Folder Box Folder

Dorset, Bernard, 1886-1928 

 2 13-17 3 1-7
Box Folder

Dorset, C. P., 1872-1904 

 1 3-4

Dorset, Helen, 1886-1927 

 2 3-12

Dorset, Marian, 1886-1927 

 2 1-2

Dorset relatives, undated 

 3 9

General correspondence, 1872-1929 

 3 22-23

Greeting cards, 1913-1927 

 4 1

Hammer, Malinda, 1862-1907 

 3 10

Invitations and announcements, 1878-1924 

 4 3-4

MacHaffie, Alice, 1899-1928 

 3 19

Martin, Virginia Pike, 1896 

 3 11

Nobles, 1878-1881 

 3 20

Rieke, Margaret Woodford, 1919-1928 

 3 17

Sherwood, Kate Brownlee, 1883-1886 

 3 12

Tucker, Anna, 1896 

 3 21

Visiting cards, 1898 

 4 2

Woodford, Fannie, 1919-1923 

 3 15

Woodford, Henry and family, 1923-1929 

 3 14

Woodford, Mary, 1919-1929 

 3 16

Woodford, S. H., 1916-1923 

 3 13

 (Subseries 1.7) Correspondence to Malinda Hammer 
Box Folder

Colwell, Nannie, 1885-1900 

 10 15

General correspondence, 1850-1858 

 10 18

Hammer relatives, 1910-1911, 1918 

 10 17, 19

Laird, Mary Wilson, 1898-1910 

 10 16

Return to Table of Contents »

 (Series 2) Business Correspondence 

Scope and Contents

The Business Correspondence series is divided into correspondence directed to Nannie Dorset and that directed to Nannie Colwell. The letters date from 1858 to 1952. Those to Nannie Dorset deal mainly with her real estate holdings in La Crosse. Nannie Colwell’s business correspondence concerns her as a legatee of the Lemon Estate, which began in 1896 and continued until her death. There are also papers from some Colwell family estates.

 (Subseries 2.1) Correspondence to Nannie Colwell 
Box Folder

Canceled checks, 1899-1900 

 12 15

Colwell, J. A., 1878-1879 

 11 9

Colwell relatives' estates, 1882-1947 

 12 13

Last will and testament, 1952 

 12 17
Box Folder Box Folder

Lemon, Captain estate, 1896-1954 

 11 16-18 12 1-12
Box Folder

Martin, Eben and Virginia Pike, 1902-1903 

 12 14

Meredith, W. B., 1876-1923 

 9 10-15

Miscellaneous, 1926-1950 

 12 16

 (Subseries 2.2) Correspondence to Nannie Dorset 
Box Folder

Bliss, H. I., 1868-1876 

 11 3-4

Bliss, H. I. accounts, 1864-1880 

 11 5

Colwell, J. A., 1868-1878 

 11 7

Howe and Tourtellotte accounts, 1880-1882 

 11 6

Pension papers, 1874-1926 

 11 8

Real estate papers, 1858-1898, undated 

 11 1-2

Return to Table of Contents »

 (Series 3) Genealogical Information 

Scope and Contents

The Genealogical Information series consists of family data, correspondence carried on with distant relatives, and answers to queries. There is information on the Dorset/Palmer family and the Hammer Family. The Hammer family lines are separated into Hammer/Otto/Brice and McClure/Fruit divisions. The interest in genealogy in the Dorset family began in the 1890’s when Malinda Hammer and Nannie Dorset and her three daughters joined DAR. Malinda Hammer wrote to many of the Hammer relatives during the 1890’s seeking further family information. Helen Dorset did more research later, mainly in the 1920’s and 1930’s, attempting to trace more family lines back to the Revolutionary period. There are copies of several letters written by relatives of the Hammer family, describing life in La Crosse in the early 1850's that are of historical interest.
Box Folder

Bray, Helen Pollock, 1901-1924 

 13 11

Correspondence of miscellaneous family members, 1894-1896 

 13 10

Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Newside Cemetery, 1922-1924 

 13 12

Dorset addresses of relatives, undated 

 13 1

Dorset family data, undated 

 13 2

Dorset notes and rough drafts, undated 

 13 4

Dorset replies to queries, 1918-1958 

 13 3

Fruit, Lucretia P., 1894-1896 

 13 13

General genealogy, 1909-1956 

 13 17

Hammer-Otto-Brice family data, undated 

 13 5

Hammer-Otto-Brice notes and rough drafts, 1911-1916 

 13 7

Hammer-Otto-Brice replies to queries, 1893-1958 

 13 6

McClure-Fruit family data, undated 

 13 8

McClure-Fruit replies to queries, 1896-1958 

 13 9

Miscellaneous DAR papers, 1928-1958 

 13 19

Miscellaneous genealogy, undated 

 13 18

Roberts, Katherine, 1925-1931 

 13 14

Smith, Frances E., 1924-1953 

 13 15

Smith, Orrin F., 1926-1936 

 13 16

Return to Table of Contents »

 (Series 4) Miscellaneous Records 

Scope and Contents

The Miscellaneous Records series contains papers about some family members, such as Bernard Dorset’s school papers and letters of sympathy written on the death of J. T. Crawford, one of Nannie Colwell’s uncles. There are several diaries of trips taken by family members, the most complete being that of Nannie Colwell’s first trip to Europe in 1878. There are also notes made by Helen Dorset on her work with the Red Cross and plans made to convert the Dorset family home into a home for the elderly. There are several folders of Helen Dorset’s college notes while at the University of Wisconsin - Madison and Columbia University. Lastly is a folder on Lillian Kosanda who graduated in 1887 and taught in the La Crosse school district. These are mainly related to her teaching in the area.
Box Folder

Clippings of family, undated 

 15 6

Colwell, Nannie travel log to Europe, 1878, 1885 

 14 5

Colwell, Wilson, 1860s 

 14 1

Crawford, J. T., 1862 

 14 2

Dorset, Bernard, 1896 

 14 3

Dorset, Bernard diaries, 1893 

 14 6

Dorset, Bernard financial record, undated 

 14 8

Dorset, C. P., 1872-1930 

 14 4

Dorset, Helen, undated 

 14 14
Box Folder Box Folder

Dorset, Helen college notes, undated 

 14 15 15 1-4
Box Folder

Dorset Home for the Aged, 1960-1965 

 14 9

Dorset, Marion, undated 

 14 13

Dorset, Nannie travel log to Vancouver, 1899 

 14 7

Kosanda, Lillian teaching miscellany, undated 

 15 5

Red Cross papers, 1951-1958, undated 

 14 10-12

Return to Table of Contents »