Laura Biddlecomb Pound, 1841-1928

RG0910.AM:  Laura Biddlecomb Pound, 1841-1928

Papers:  1833-1940, mostly 1890-1928
Lincoln, Lancaster County, Neb.:  Wife, mother, and community activist
Size:  1.0 cu. ft.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Laura Biddlecome Pound was born in Phelps, New York, May 15, 1841. Her parents were descended from families that had come from England in 1630. Laura was educated in the public schools of Phelps; in the academy at Macedon, New York; and at Lombard College, Galesburg, Illinois. She married Judge Stephen Pound January 21, 1869, and came to live in Lincoln that month. Laura attended German language and English literature classes at the University of Nebraska. She was a member of the Ingleside Club, a charter member of the Hayden Art Club, and a founder and charter member of the Deborah Avery Chapter of the D.A.R. She died December 10, 1928, at her home, 1632 L Street. She was survived by her son, Roscoe, and two daughters, Louise and Olivia.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection consists of manuscripts, letters, and articles; two scrapbooks; and a bound volume of piano music arranged in three subgroups: 1) Laura Biddlecome Pound; 2) Judge Stephen Bosworth Pound; 3) Pound Children (Roscoe and Olivia; there are no materials relating to daughter Louise).

Subgroup 1, Laura B. Pound, includes extensive genealogical information about Laura's family, the Biddlecomes of New England (the spelling of Biddlecome varies). Two early letters from her correspondence contain detailed accounts of life in Lincoln before 1870: her future husband described it for her before her arrival, and a letter that LP herself wrote to "Esther" (last name unknown) in 1869 provides her own perspective on the early days in Lincoln. Several 1919 letters congratulate LP on the fiftieth anniversary of her arrival in Lincoln, which had been the subject of a Lincoln Journal article.

There are several similar versions of LP's detailed memoir of her childhood in New York state, a more than one hundred page manuscript that she organized by school years and teachers. It ends with 1855, when she was fourteen. She also wrote an account of her wedding trip from Rochester, New York, to Lincoln in 1869, published in the Sunday State Journal in 1925. Fragmentary notes in shaky handwriting for a tabloid history of Lincoln that she apparently never completed accompany her other manuscripts. Her scrapbook, begun in her student days and completed by someone else after her death, includes a letter of recommendation for her as a prospective teacher and articles that commend her contributions as a Lincoln teacher and member of the City Library Board and other organizations.

Subgroup 2, Judge Stephen B. Pound, contains correspondence requesting that he accept nomination to a district judgeship, signed by the members of the Lancaster County Bar Association. There are also texts in his series of several articles that he wrote for publication regarding Nebraska issues. His scrapbook, which appears to have been compiled by LP after his death, provides accounts of some of his actions as a lawyer and summaries of his legal judgments.

Subgroup 3, the Pound children, consists primarily of biographical and bibliographical information about Roscoe Pound, Dean of Harvard Law School from 1916-1935. It includes a copy of his 1923 text, "The Pioneer Spirit and the Problems of Today."

RELATED COLLECTIONS AT NSHS

RG0909: Pound Family
RG0911: Roscoe Pound
RG0912: Louise Pound
RG0913: Olivia Pound

DESCRIPTION

SUBGROUP 1: LAURA BIDDLECOME POUND, 1841-1928

Series 1 - Biographical materials

Box 1
Folder

1. Biographical materials

Series 2 - Biddlecome Family genealogy/history

Box 1
Folder

1. Genealogical charts
2. Genealogy/history, legal documents
3. LP's applications for D.A.R. membership
4. Genealogical charts (see oversize - WR/MC)
5. Legal documents (see OB125)

Series 3 - Correspondence, 1868-1928

Box 1
Folder

1. Letters received
2. Letter written by LP

Series 4 - Writings; Subseries 1: My Childhood

Box 1
Folder

1. Handwritten manuscript
2. Original typescript with corrections in ink
3. Typescript with corrections in ink
4. Typescript with corrections in ink
5. Typescript with corrections in pencil
6. Typescript of pp. 81-107

Series 4 - Writings; Subseries 2: Writings about Nebraska

Box 1
Folder

1. A Wedding Trip in February 1869
2. Marking the Site of the Lewis and Clark Council at Fort Calhoun
3. Notebooks for Tabloid History of Lincoln, 1867-70
4. Loose notes for Tabloid History of Lincoln, 1867-70

Series 5 - Scrapbook

Scrapbook (see oversize)

Series 6 - Clippings

Box 1
Folder

1. Articles about Laura Pound
2. Clippings collected by LP

Series 7 - Miscellaneous

Box 1
Folder

1. Miscellaneous papers
2. Book of piano music, inscribed "Laura J. Biddlecom" (see oversize)

SUBGROUP 2: JUDGE STEPHEN BOSWORTH POUND, 1833-1911

Series 1 - Biographical materials

Box 1
Folder

1. Biographical materials

Series 2 - Correspondence received, 1875

Box 1
Folder

1. Correspondence received

Series 3 - Writings

Box 1
Folder

1. Typed articles
2. Notes for State v. Hill Impeachment
3. College Lecture Notes

Series 4 - Scrapbook

Scrapbook (see oversize)

Series 5 - Bank books, 1870-1871

Box 1
Folder

1. Bank books

Series 6 - Clippings about Stephen B. Pound

Box 1
Folder

1. Clippings about Stephen B. Pound

SUBGROUP 3: POUND CHILDREN

Series 1 - Roscoe Pound, 1870-

Box 1
Folder

1. Roscoe Pound

Series 2 - Olivia Pound

Box 1
Folder

1. Olivia Pound

 

ADDED ENTRIES

Autobiographies -- Nebraska -- Lincoln
Biddlecomb Family
Daughters of the American Revolution. Deborah Avery Chapter (Lincoln, Neb.)
Genealogy
Impeachments -- Nebraska
Judges -- Nebraska -- Lincoln
Lewis and Clark Centennial (1902)
Lincoln (Neb.) -- History
Manuscripts (for publication)
Phelps (N.Y.)
Pound Family
Pound, Laura Biddlecomb, 1841-1928
Pound, Olivia, 1874-1961
Pound, Roscoe, 1870-1964
Pound, Stephen Bosworth, 1833-1911

 

12-22-2006   Revised TMM

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