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Sarah King Papers

Dates

Late 1800s - late 1900s

Creator

King, Sarah

Summary/Abstract

These are the personal papers of Sarah McKelley King, wife of Walter Hughey King. Mrs. King was a distant relative of the Collier family, original owners of the historic Collier-Crichlow House on East Main Street. Much of the papers relate to this family and their home. Mrs. King was also heavily involved in the Daughters of the American Revolution. The remainder of the papers relate to her activities and administrative positions within the DAR, both locally and nationally.

Quantity/Physical Description

Approximately 3 linear feet

Language(s)

English

Repository

Albert Gore Research Center, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 37132, (615) 898-2632

Restrictions on Access

None

Copyright

It is presumed that corporate and individual copyrights in manuscripts, photographs, and other materials have been retained by the copyright owners. Copyright restrictions apply. Users of materials should seek necessary permissions from the copyright hol

Preferred Citation

(Box Number, Folder Number), Collection Name, Albert Gore Research Center, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Acquisition

Donated by Sarah King, 2004

Processed By

Original processor undetermined

Arrangement

These papers are arranged into five series: Collier Family Papers, King Publications, King Subject Files, King Ephemera, and King Business Records. Items in King Publications and King Business Records appear to be arranged chronologically, while other ser

Biographical Note

Mrs. Sarah King belongs to the extensive and illustrious Collier clan, a prominent family in Rutherford County history. As a result, a portion of this collection consists of old Collier family correspondence and financial records.

The majority of the family information in Series I pertains to a Mr. Ingram Blanks Collier III, who was born in 1838. The heir of a rather successful line of namesakes, I.B. Collier worked as a farmer and cotton broker in Rutherford County. In addition, he served as cashier at the First National Bank of Murfreesboro. Collier’s wealth increased as he began to purchase shares of his bank’s stock as well as shares in the N&C Railway. After marrying young Kentucky widow Anna Cushman Jones in 1869, Collier built three cotton stores along North Maple Street, which still stand today. Collier also served as mayor of Murfreesboro from 1872-1873.

I.B. and Anna Collier had three children—Nama, Carmine, and I.B. IV. Nama, the oldest, was born in 1870. She attended school at both the Haynes’ Institute and Mrs. Price’s School in Nashville. Gifted with a pleasant voice, Nama performed at the Opera House as the character Beauty in the musical “Beauty and the Beast.” Much like her sister, younger Carmine (1872) possessed artistic talent. She was particularly well-known for her oil paintings. Carmine too attended school, although she went to the local Soule College in Murfreesboro. Ingram Blanks IV, the youngest of the children, was born in 1874, just two years after Carmine.

Mr. Collier commissioned the Collier-Crichlow mansion on East Main Street in 1878. Unfortunately, what was to become the three-story Second Empire house was not yet completed when I.B. Collier III died from leukemia in 1879. However, the first floor was finished, so Anna and their children reluctantly moved into their new home. Tragedy struck again, however, when son I.B. Collier IV died from diphtheria at age six. Mrs. Collier was devastated by the loss of her loved ones. She continued, however, to reside at the mansion with her remaining two children and her late husband’s brother, Newton, and his family.

Nama Collier lived to be sixteen years old. She died of typhoid fever on November 4, 1886. Carmine, on the other hand, survived into adulthood. She continued to live at the Collier mansion with her mother and hosted many social events. It was through these events that Anna met Colonel Horace Ready. They married on April 13, 1888. Carmine lived with her family until her mother’s death in January 1924 (Ready died in 1904). She never married and passed away in November 1954.

Sarah King is a distant cousin of Carmine Collier. The daughter of James McKelley and Lutie Osborn, Sarah was born on November 7, 1921, in Nashville. She married Walter Hughey King in 1941 and lived with him for some time on the grounds of the Sam Davis Home. Mrs. King possesses an honorary chair for life with the Daughters of the American Revolution, having served in the DAR at the Chapter, State, and National levels. She was Honorary State Regent of Tennessee from 1968-71, Curator of the National Society of the DAR from 1971-74, and President General of the National Society DAR from 1983-86. Under Mrs. King’s leadership, the NSDAR published a book entitled “Black Courage 1775-1783,” which contains information on black soldiers and patriots who aided the cause of American independence. Mrs. King also ran as a candidate for the United States Congress in 1976.

In addition to her duties with the DAR, Mrs. King served as a Charter appointee to a bipartisan commission in the Coalition for the Peace through Strength Caucus and served by appointment of President Ronald Reagan as an advisor to the United States Congress. Albert Gore Jr. also appointed Mrs. King as an advisor during his congressional, senatorial, and vice presidential terms. Sarah King was honored at a reception by the United States Congress as a Tennessean serving the nation as well.

Scope and Content

The Sarah King Papers contain materials pertaining to both the Collier and King families. Mrs. King, a distant relative of the Colliers, received the Colliers’ late nineteenth and early twentieth century photographs, letters, financial documents, and business records as they were passed down through the generations of her family. The second portion of the collection of papers consists of primary sources that document Mrs. King’s activities in the Daughters of the American Revolution during the 1970s and 1980s in relation to the Rutherford County Sesquicentennial Celebration of 1976, the Sam Davis Home in Smyrna, and the Treaty of Paris Celebration of 1983.

Series 1: Collier Family Papers (1 box, 20 folders)

The correspondence and financial records of I.B. Collier III and immediate family encompass the majority of this series. Dating from the 1860s to 1954, this expansive series contains primary source items such as letters, bank deposit slips, wills, funeral notices, deeds, clippings, and miscellaneous financial documents. A majority of the correspondence and financial information dates back to the nineteenth century.

Series 2: King Publications (1 box, 9 folders)

Special-edition newspapers form the bulk of the Publications series. Three editions featuring the Civil War as well as a replica edition of a July 1862 Murfreesboro paper highlight nineteenth-century Middle Tennessee. This series also contains newspapers about Rutherford County’s Sesquicentennial Celebration and the former Sewart Air Force Base in Smyrna. The second edition of Hearthstones: The Story of Rutherford County Homes and a Collier family genealogy, compiled in 2000, complete this series.

Series 3: King Subject Files (1 box, 8 folders)

This series contains an assortment of clippings and miscellaneous documentation concerning the King family. In addition to newspaper articles and photographs relating to Mr. and Mrs. King, this series contains clippings and scrapbook materials about the Sam Davis Home, which the Kings held near and dear to their hearts. Speeches and speech fragments document Mrs. King’s involvement with the National Society of the DAR. A copy of the Colonel Hardy Murfree Chapter of the DAR’s constitution and by-laws from 1915, as well as a Treaty of Paris Celebration booklet from 1983, are also in this series.

Series 4: King Ephemera (1 box, 12 items)

The ephemera series largely consists of items denoting Sarah King’s involvement with the DAR and her election to the NSDAR. Scrapbooks concerning the Sam Davis Home and a Wyoming Chapter of the DAR are in this series, as well as a memento from King’s attendance at the Reagan-Bush Inaugural. Most of the items date to the 1970s and 1980s. However, six Tennessee Central Fair Association tickets date back to 1872.

Series 5: King Business Records (1 box, 3 items)

An 1860 business record from the Green & Copeland Dry Goods store, as well as two volumes of the W.H. King business record (1912-1915, 1917-1935), compose this series.

Photographs #1-76 of the Sarah King Photo Collection are digitized only.

The Collier Family: 1643-2000 genealogical book of the King Publications Series is being stored with the King Business Records (Box 5)

Sam Davis “1^st Day on the Farm” slides from the Sarah King Collection are located in the slide collection.