Guide to the Katherine Crampton Cochrane Papers

Introduction:

The Cochrane Collection contains material ranging from the pre-American Civil War period through the first half of the twentieth century. The material came from the estate of Mrs. John T. Cochrane, nee Katharine Crampton, and contains a considerable amount of material on Mrs. Crampton's family including Dr. Guy Chester Crampton, Katharine's step-brother. Personal letters between the two fill several files, and date from the early 1900s through Dr. Crampton's death in 1951. There is also correspondence between Katharine and Guy and other family members, especially their parents. The files are very family oriented, with detailed family histories of the Crampton line. There is also correspondence between Katharine and John T. Cochrane Sr., before and after marriage. Brief biographies for the principal correspondents are available. Family information concerning earlier eras may be found in the family files. The collection is housed in 11 boxes.

Description:

Boxes 1 through 5 contain items of a personal nature. These include scrapbooks, awards and educational diplomas, and small personal items such as address books. There is also a selection of family Bibles.

Box 6 contains items related to John T. Cochrane. These include letters between the Cochrane family, information on the Cochrane Bridge, and political items. The political items include a pass to the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson in 1868 and note cards with wax seals from the White House in 1897. There is also a file on Clarence Matthews, the Cochrane's chauffeur, who organized the first African-American Boy Scout troop. Another interesting file relates to Federal Land Grants, issued by authority of some early presidents. Pencil drawings, of what might be the Cochrane family home in Mobile, including floor plans, are also in this box. Information gathered from outside sources are within each file relating to that topic.

Box 7 contains newsclippings on both the Cochranes and Cramptons, including announcements relating to deaths and marriages, as well as society news. The files also include drawings of floor plans, possibly of the Cochrane home in Mobile. Photographs of the Cochrane home are in the photograph files. One file contains notices and reviews of performances given by Mrs. Crampton for the Clara Schumann Club (a file in Box 8 contains her recital programs). Mrs. Crampton was a charter member of this organization according to records of the Schumann Club (see our MANUSCRIPT GUIDE for inventories of the club).

Box 8 contains files relating to the Crampton family and includes family history and information about Dr. Crampton's military service. Correspondence dates from the late 1800s through the 1900s. The correspondence between Katharine and Guy in the 1950s relate the thoughts of Mobilians concerning the Korean War, as well as dissatisfaction with the administration in Washington, DC. The correspondence of O. L. Crampton gives the personal thoughts of a medical doctor assigned with the Federal Army after the Civil War, while stationed in Mobile and other parts of the South.

Boxes 9, 10, and 11 contain photographs. These date from pre-American Civil War through the 1900s. Every size and type is represented in the collection. Filed photographs are listed by person whenever possible. Some are dated. Pictures that were housed in albums were left in their respective album. The photographs included tintypes and porcelain pictures. Ms Frances Osborn Robb, a specialist in photographic history, dates the porcelain photographs from the late 1860s and 1870s. One file includes photographs of Ft. Morgan and Ft. Gaines, some of the oldest local pictures available (possibly pre-Civil War). Research on these pictures and the photographer, Saucier, is filed with them. See also the Archives' vertical file on Saucier.There are also WWII military photographs depicting Jewish detainees who had been tortured and murdered. Research on these photographs is included. Some of the pictures have tax stamps on the reverse.  

1. Scrapbook of newspaper clippings 1925-38
2. Cochrane coat of arms (Framed) 1938

1. "Letters in Honor of Guy Chester Crampton" Mass. State College, 1911-47
2. Scrapbook of newspaper clippings, 1864(?) - (?)
3. Travel diary of Katharine Cochrane
4. Address book of (?)
5. Deeds and agreements
6. Articles of Agreement, 1871-75
7. Imperial Life Insurance Company, Advertising Specialty (First Aid Booklet)
8. Prescription pad of O. L. Crampton
9. Spiritual book of (?)
10. Framed newspaper clipping of John Cochrane's death
11. Passport of Katharine Simpson Cochrane, 1927

1. Small pocket knife engraved with "John T. Cochrane"
2. Metal engraved stationary plates for Mrs. O. L. Crampton
3. Board Day Book of (?) - Italy
4. Address book of (?)
5. Locket of hair belonging to Cleffie De LaTourette

Box 4 - Certificates and Diplomas

1. Orson L. Crampton
1a. (Gold Stamped - Round Tube) Bellevue Hospital Med. College 1865, Reipublirae Novi Eborari - Medicinae Doctoris gradum
1b. (Framed) Certificate of Private Instruction in Ausculation and Percussion by Austin Flint, M.D., February 15, 1865

2. Guy Chester Crampton (Black/Blue Round Tube)
2a. Academiae Ludovico-Maximilianeae
2b. Konigl. Bayer. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universaitat, April 29, 1907
2c. Praeses et Curatores Universitatis Princetoniensis
2d. Cornell University at Ithaca - Master of Arts, June 22, 1905
2e. Cornell University (Transcript), August 27, 1906
2f. Universitas Harvardianae "Scientiae Magistri in Zoologia"
2g. Universitatis Litterariae Fridericae Guilelmae ( 3 copies)

3. Guy Chester Crampton (Loose)
3a. Universitatis Fridericae Guilelmae Berolinensis (2)
3b. Universitatis Friburgensis
3c. Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat 1908

4. Kate Simpson
4a.   Northwestern University - Conservatory of Music, June 19, 1883

5. Frances (Fannie) Simpson (Brown Tube)
5a. Bachelor of Literature - Northwestern University, June 19, 1884
5b. Master of Literature - Northwestern University, June 21, 1888
5c. Bachelor of Library Science - University of Illinois, June 10, 1903

6. Daughters of the American Revolution Certificate, Issued to Katharine Simpson Crampton January 4, 1902

7. Katharine Crampton
7a. The Ossining School - Academic Course Diploma, June 6, 1916
7b. The Ossining School - Post-Graduate Dramatic Art, June 12, 1917

8. John T. Cochrane (Framed Cover), January 11, 1938
8a.   Certificate of Re-Election to Board of Directors of Merchants National Bank

1. The Quill The Ossining School, 1916
2. Bible 1845 (Published 1844)
3. Bible, Jane Simpson
4. Bible, Katharine Crampton

1. Cochrane Bridge, 1927-1937
2. Cochrane Family - Misc.
3. Cochrane, John T. - Correspondence, 1910-1938
4. Cochrane, Mrs. John T. - Correspondence, 1925-1928
5. Cochrane, Mrs. John T. - Correspondence, 1934-1938
6. Cochrane, Mrs. John T. - Correspondence, 1942-1949
7. Cochrane, Mrs. John T. - Correspondence, 1950-1964
8. Cochrane, Mrs. John T. - Correspondence with J. L. Bedsole, 1950-1953 and n.d.
9. Correspondence - General, 1939-1967
10. Correspondence - Railroad, 1848
11. (A) Land Grants - Federal - Copies of Originals, 1840-1849
11. (B) Land Grants - Federal - Originals, 1840-1849
12. Matthews, Clarence, 1985
13. Misc.
14. Political - Senate Impeachment Pass, 1868 (photocopy; original in Box 9, File 29)
15. Political - Presidential Memorabilia Package, 1894
16. "Some Colonial Houses of Tuscaloosa" by Henry Wailes, 1931 (paper)

1. Bedsole
2. Clara Schumann Club
3. Cochrane and Crampton
4. Cochrane, John T.
5. Cochrane Family
6. Crampton Family
7. Crampton, Guy Chester
8. Crampton, Guy Chester (Cont)
9. Crampton, Katharine
10. McDuffie
11. Miscellaneous
12. Miscellaneous
13. Political
14. Simpson Family

Box 8 - Crampton

1. Campbell - Correspondence
2. Clara Schumann Club, 1894-1909
3. Crampton/Campbell/Thompson - Family Records
4. Crampton - Fernald Club, 1948
5. Crampton - Fernald Club, 1950-1952
6. Crampton, Guy Chester - Correspondence From, 1903-1948
7. Crampton, Guy Chester - Correspondence To, 1899-1951 and n.d.
8. Crampton, Guy Chester - Correspondence with Katharine, 1899-1951
9. Crampton, Guy Chester - Correspondence with Katharine, c.1950
10. Crampton, Guy Chester - Legal and Professional, 1881-1952
11. Crampton, Guy Chester - Memberships and Awards, 1908-38
12. Crampton, Guy Chester - "Who's Who In America," 1951 and undated
13. Crampton, Harriet, 1885-1895
14. Crampton, John, 1838-1843
15. Crampton, Katharine - Outgoing Correspondence, 1902-1926 and n.d.
16. Crampton, Katharine - Incoming Correspondence, 1915-1924
17. Crampton, Katharine - Outgoing Correspondence, 1925-1951
18. Crampton, Katharine - Legal and Professional, 1920-1921
19. Crampton, Katharine - Ossining School, 1907-1917 and n.d.
20. Crampton, Kenneth W., 1993
21. Letter [unidentified], 02-26-1947
22. Crampton, Orson L., 1815-1897
23. Crampton, Orson L. - Correspondence, 1902-1907
24. Crampton, Orson L. - Correspondence, 1908-1919
25. Crampton, Orson L. - Correspondence, 1922-1958
26. Crampton, Mrs. O. L. - Correspondence, 1852-1903
27. Crampton, Mrs. O. L. - Correspondence, 1904-1925
28. Crampton, Mrs. O. L. - Correspondence, 1926-1931
29. Crampton, Mrs. O. L. - Correspondence, 1932-1951
30. Financial, 1885-1951
31. "Guy Chester Research Fund," 1948-1953
32. LaTourette, Cleffey Burk, 1878-1881
33. Military, 1864-1950
34. Misc.
35. Misc. Correspondence
36. Postal Marks and Stamps
37. Simpson - Correspondence (Misc.)
38. Simpson, Elizabeth
39. Simpson, Francis
40. Simpson - General (Misc.)
41. Simpson, John
42. Simpson - M.R. 1886

1. Cochrane Bridge
2. Cochrane, Mrs. George Searcy
3. Cochrane, J. T.
4. Cochrane, William Hardew
5. Crampton, Guy
6. Crampton, Henry B.
7. Crampton, Katharine
8. Damaged/Incomplete Photographs
9. Groups
10. Houses
11. Identified by Photographer - Local & State
12. Identified by Photographer - General
13. Identified by Photographer - General
14. Matthews, Clarence
15. Men
16. Military - Forts Morgan and Gaines
17. Military - General
18. Military - World War II
19. Misc.
20. Places of Interest
21. Portraits
22. Restricted Use
23. Simpson, Fannie
24. Simpson, L. D.
25. Simpson, Mrs.
26. Special Interest
27. Tintype Photographs
28. Women
29. Women (Cont)
30. (Small Box) Porcelain Photographs

1. Cochrane Home, Mobile
2. Cochrane Home - Interior
3. Cochrane, John
4. Cochrane, Katharine Crampton
5. Cochrane, Mrs.
6. Misc.

4 photograph albums with photographs dating from c.1880s. Also 2 smaller albums housing two photographs each.