Collection ID: LMC 1687
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
McClure, S. S. (Samuel Sidney), 1857-1949
Abstract:
The McClure mss., 1865-1949, consists of the correspondence and papers of editor S. S. (Samuel Sidney) McClure, 1857-1949.
Extent:
1 folio (oversize), 4 folio, and 23 Boxes (16 standard, 7 custom)
Language:
Materials are in English .
Preferred citation:

[Item], McClure mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

Samuel Sidney McClure was born on February 17, 1857 in County Antrim, Ireland, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Gaston) McClure. In 1864, his father died, so in 1866 his mother emigrated to the United States and settled in Porter County, Indiana. McClure attended Valparaiso high school from 1871 to 1874. He then enrolled in Knox College, graduating in 1882, and he would be elected a trustee of the College in 1894. He married Harriet Sophia Hurd, whom he had met at Knox College, on September 4, 1883, and they had five children: Eleanor, Elizabeth (Bess), Mary, Robert and their adopted son Enrico. From 1882 through the end of 1883, McClure edited the Wheelman, a bicycling magazine. The following spring he worked at the DeVinne printing house before moving on to work for The Century Company from April to October 1884. On November 16, 1884 McClure started McClure's Syndicate, the first newspaper syndicate in the United States. In 1893, McClure founded McClure's Magazine which was famous for its "muckraking" journalism and fiction pieces written by such respected writers as Jack London, Ida Tarbell, Upton Sinclair, Rudyard Kipling, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, Willa Cather, and Lincoln Steffens. McClure would also use his magazine to promote the pedagogical theories of Maria Montessori after meeting her in 1910. After McClure's Magazine was met with a series of staff changes and financial difficulties, McClure turned to his own publishing pursuits. In 1914, he published My Autobiography, ghostwritten by Willa Cather who had worked as a managing editor at McClure's Magazine. During World War I he was concerned with matters of peace, joining Henry Ford aboard his "Peace Ship" in 1915 and publishing a book entitled Obstacles to Peace in 1917. From 1915 to 1917, McClure also became co-owner with Edward A. Rumely of The Evening Mail. McClure traveled frequently throughout his life, crossing the Atlantic 149 times and making trips to Europe, Palestine, Egypt, and China. McClure's Magazine and McClure's syndicate were both eventually sold, and McClure himself died on March 21, 1949. He is buried in Galesburg, Illinois.

Further biographical material relating to Samuel Sidney McClure may be found in My Autobiography (New York, 1914) and Success Story, the Life and Times of S. S. McClure (New York, 1963) by Peter Lyon.

Scope and Content:

The McClure mss.,1865-1949, consists of the business and family correspondence and papers of Samuel Sidney McClure, 1857-1949, editor, and family letters and papers of his wife, Mrs. Harriet Sophia (Hurd) McClure, 1855-1929.

McClure's papers in the collection consist chiefly of correspondence with poets, novelists, journalists, editors, publishers, artists, lawyers, physicians, clergymen, educators, prominent political figures, his lecture tour manager, and members of his family, particularly his wife. The letters relate primarily to the operation of McClure's newspaper syndicate, 1884-1901, including correspondence with the London office of the syndicate; and to McClure's Magazine, 1894-1926. There are letters and papers concerned with The Evening Mail, with McClure's numerous trips abroad, with Knox College, and with materials for articles, books, and lectures. In addition, two letter copybooks, 1891-1892 and 1892-1896, of McClure are included.

The collection also contains complete and incomplete speeches, articles and notes on various subjects. Two undated and unidentified typescripts of manuscripts with the titles, "Golden Hinde" and "Roman Mythical History," are included. Individual cards for complete articles and speeches are filed in the Manuscript Index.

Mrs. McClure's letters and papers in the collection consist of correspondence, particularly with her husband and members of her family, especially her sister, Mary Charlotte Hurd, 1859-1949, and her father Albert Hurd, 1823-1906, both of whom were on the faculty of Knox College; writings; and nine diaries and memorandum books, 1888-1929. The collection also includes diaries and memorandum books, 1903- 1936, and account books of Mary Charlotte Hurd.

Included also are pictures of Samuel Sidney McClure, members of the McClure, Hurd, Heck, and Pennock families, and friends. The Hecks and Pennocks were related to the Hurds.

Printed material with the collection consists of clippings, 1882-1958; writings of McClure, 1908-1944; material on the Hurd and Heck families; material on miscellaneous subjects; a few issues of McClure's Magazine, 1884-1925; four scrapbooks of publicity for the syndicate, 1885-1902; and an unbound scrapbook, 1885-1937.

The first box in the collection contains biographical and genealogical material relating to Samuel Sidney McClure and Mrs. Harriet Sophia (Hurd) McClure and their families.

Correspondents include: William Jennings Bryan, Andrew Carnegie, Willa Sibert Cather, Grover Cleveland, Calvin Coolidge, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edward Miner Gallaudet, Henry James, Rudyard Kipling, Mrs. Marie Adelaide (Belloc) Lowndes, Maria Montessori, Ralph Pulitzer, Theodore Roosevelt, Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson, Ida Minerva Tarbell, and Booth Tarkington.

Note on Indexing Term - "Education": In 1914 McClure endorsed the pedagogical theories of Maria Montessori and there are a number of letters concerning this educational method.

Note on Indexing Term - "Women": Contains papers of his wife, Harriet Sophia (Hurd) McClure (1855-1929), includes eight of her diaries and correspondence. Also includes the correspondence of authors Ida Tarbell and Marie (Belloc) Lowndes.

Arrangement:

This collection is organized into the following series: I. Biographical, II. Correspondence, III. Writings, IV. Photographs, V. Printed, VI. Scrapbooks and Miscellaneous.

Physical location:
ALF (Auxiliary Library Facility) (Box 22, 23, 26); ALF (Auxiliary Library Facility) - OVFlat; Lilly - Stacks

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is open for research.

Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[Item], McClure mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
1200 East Seventh Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
(812) 855-2452
liblilly@indiana.edu