Name/Title
Kinkead: Kinkead Family PapersEntry/Object ID
2008.001.001 – 2008.001.139Description
The collection consists of 0.5 linear feet of photographic images of Kinkead family members and ancestors. The collection consists of both original images from the late 1800s and early 1900s and copies of portraits from the 1700s and early 1800s. There are twenty-four folders with documentation from the American Jersey Cattle Club and other organizations that pertain to the Kinkead sisters Jersey cattle herd at Southwood, Poughkeepsie, New York.
The bulk of the collection contains personal journals kept by sisters Jeannie and Elise and their parents. These journals reflect the social, economic and political experiences of the white upper-middle class family in the early to mid-twentieth century. Seventeen journals kept by Jeannie Hamilton Kinkead and thirty journals kept by Elise Hamilton Kinkead with one journal kept by the father, Henry Pindell Kinkead and two by the mother Edith Boyd Hamilton. When the sisters were old enough to write it was a family tradition for the parents to present them with a blank journal each new year. Entries from the sisters' early years include comments on social functions, horseback riding, school, theater performances, family and friends' health. Entries are from the family home in Lexington, Kentucky until their move to Poughkeepsie, New York and Santa Barbara, California. Winters were spent in Santa Barbara until the father’s death in 1921. After 1921 the family resided year-round at the Southwood estate in Poughkeepsie, New York. From 1921 on the tone of the journals changed as the sisters took over management of the family estate and farms. Entries contain references to the health and funerals of friends and family, management of the cows, chickens, dogs, ducks, pigs and other livestock on the properties. Entries also refer to the management of the house and farm properties including discussion of hiring house servants, farm managers and farm workers. Social and recreational activities in the later years included dog shows, flower shows, and work with the Red Cross Canteen. Comments on historical and social events from 1895 to 1968 include the death of President William McKinley, the sinking of the Titanic, the development of automobile travel, radio, movies, World War I and II, the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Many Poughkeepsie names appear throughout the journals.
Related materials may be found at Locust Grove Historic Estate, Poughkeepsie, New York and Maple Grove Historic Preservation, Poughkeepsie, New York.Publication Details
Publication Type
Finding AidAuthor
Gregory Wiedeman, Carla R. Lesh