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Cartwright Family Papers

 Collection
Identifier: Midwest-MS-Cartwright

Scope and Content of the Collection

Clippings, photographs, and miscellaneous documents of the Cartwright family, 1862-1982.

Includes several scrapbooks of newspaper clippings authored by or collected by members of the Cartwright family, including a book of clippings on Princeton, insurance columns and opinion pieces by C.M. and Levering Cartwright, and a recurring column featuring short stories about contemporary women by Ruth Russell Cartwright; a travel scrapbook with a number of photographs of Levering and Ruth Russell Cartwright; three ledger books originally belonging to Horace P. Keys who had a hardware and lumber business in Waynesville, Ohio; a few photographs, pieces of correspondence, loose clippings, and miscellaneous documents.

Dates

  • Creation: 1877-1982

Creator

Language

Materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The Cartwright Family Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).

Ownership and Literary Rights

The Cartwright Family Papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.

Biography of the Cartwright Family

Three generations of a family that originated in Ohio and moved to Evanston, IL, whose members were primarily journalists, particularly insurance journalists.

The earliest documented progenitor represented in the collection is Seth Levering Cartwright, who served in the Union Army. His sons, Charles Merritt and James O., both worked in insurance journalism. Charles, an 1894 Princeton graduate, worked briefly for the Chicago Tribune and then as insurance editor for the Chicago Inter-Ocean before helping to establish the successful insurance journal, Western Underwriters Magazine (later National Underwriter), from which he retired in 1947. Charles, commonly known as C.M., was well known and respected in the insurance journalism industry. James was the circulation editor at National Underwriter until his retirement in 1949. Charles’ son Stanley Levering Cartwright (known as Levering), also a Princeton graduate (1926) was a reporter for the Chicago Tribune before becoming assistant managing editor of the National Underwriter. He married Ruth Russell, a feature editor and writer at the Chicago Daily News. At Charles’ death in 1951, Levering was the executive editor of the National Underwriter.

Extent

1.2 Linear Feet (3 boxes)

Abstract

Three generations of an Ohio family that moved to Evanston, Ill., in the early 20th century and whose members were primarily journalists, including Charles Merritt Cartwright (Chicago Tribune and Chicago Inter-Ocean editor), Stanley Levering Cartwright (Chicago Tribune reporter and editor of the National Underwriter), and Ruth Russell, Stanley's wife (feature editor for the Chicago Daily News). Papers include biographical information, correspondence, photographs, clippings of Charles Merritt Cartwright's articles for the Inter-Ocean, and articles written by Ruth and Stanley Levering Cartwright.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by the type of document.

Collection Stack Location

1 8 7

Provenance

Acquired through the Newberry Library Book Fair, 2002.

Processed by

Emily Calkins, 2007.

Acknowledgements

This inventory was created with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this inventory do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Title
Inventory of the Cartwright Family Papers, 1877-1982
Status
Completed
Author
Emily Calkins
Date
©2007.
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 08/17/2011: Revisions, additions, and updates were made.

Repository Details

Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
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