Emma Stevenson Black Collection


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Emma Stevenson Black Collection

Wheeler-Carnall-Stevenson Family Papers, 1829-1986

Manuscript Collection 759

Information about the Wheeler-Carnall-Stevenson Families
Information about the Collection
Contents of the Collection

INFORMATION ABOUT THE WHEELER-CARNALL-STEVENSON FAMILIES

John Foster Wheeler (1808-1880) and John Carnall (1818-1891) were early pioneers of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Wheeler, born and educated in Kentucky, moved as a young man to Georgia to become a printer for the Cherokee Nation. When the tribe removed to Oklahoma in the 1830s, he followed them and continued acting as a printer at the new press established at Park Hill. Following a wave of violence between the Ridge and Ross factions of the tribe in 1839, Wheeler moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he established several newspapers. In 1829 Wheeler married Nancy Paschal Watie, a sister of Stand Watie and Elias Boudinot, and the couple had eight children, one of whom was William Watie Wheeler (1848-1915), a cattle rancher in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, and Fort Smith Chief of Police from 1874-1880 and 1890-1892.

John Carnall was a teacher, newspaperman, and real estate broker in nineteenth century Fort Smith, Arkansas. He was a business associate of John Foster Wheeler, operating a newspaper with him in 1871 called the Western Independent. Later Carnall, along with his son, John Henry Carnall, started their own newspaper, the Fort Smith Elevator. Carnall married Frances Turner in 1843, and the couple had nine children, among whom were John Henry Carnall and
Emma Columbia Carnall. Emma married William Watie Wheeler in Fort Smith in 1868. William and Emma Wheeler were pioneer residents of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, and had nine children. Their daughter Daisy married Edgar Stevenson in 1893, and they, too, made their home in Sallisaw. The Stevenson's second eldest child, Emma Wheeler Stevenson Black, is the donor of this collection. Another Carnall descendent of note, Ella Howison Carnall (?-1894), was a teacher at the Arkansas Industrial University at Fayetteville, Arkansas, in the 1890s.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE COLLECTION

The collection represents a sampling of papers from all the named families which Mrs. Black saved over the years. Dr. Homer C. Wheeler, Emma's cousin, had possession of some of the papers from 1984 to 1986, during which time he transcribed a few of the letters and made identifying notations about some others. Many of the correspondents and creators of other documents are related to either John Foster Wheeler or John Carnall, and a copy of a privately published genealogy book, This is the Story of John Foster Wheeler, has been retained with the printed materials in series 2 as an integral part of the collection to aid in identifying
familial relationships. Other genealogical notes have been placed in Literary Productions, series 4. All of the materials have been arranged chronologically and by document type.

Correspondence, literary productions, photographs, legal and financial documents pertaining to the Wheeler, Carnall, and Stevenson families of Arkansas and Oklahoma were donated to Special Collections by Emma Stevenson Black of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, on February 18, 1988.

RESTRICTIONS: Fragile originals, replaced by positive photocopies throughout the collection, have been indicated in the appropriate areas of this finding aid.

Prepared by Kim Allen Scott, Special Collections Division, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville, Arkansas, in March, 1988.

CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTION
199 items (1 box)

Series 1. Correspondence, 1860-1965 (Box 1, Folders 1-8)

Family correspondence between members of the Wheeler, Carnall, and Stevenson families of Fort Smith, Arkansas, and Sallisaw, Oklahoma. The bulk of the family letters are addressed to Emma Carnall Wheeler and are dated from 1880 to 1899. A few examples of business correspondence, primarily to John Carnall, and his son, John Henry Carnall, are included with this series and concern the operation of their newspaper, the Fort Smith Elevator, and John Henry Carnall's term as mayor of Fort Smith. In the early 1980s, Dr. Homer C. Wheeler transcribed some of the letters in this collection and recorded notes on some of the correspondents. These letters have been indicated with a # symbol and the transcriptions and notes have been placed in folder 8. Some fragile originals have been removed and replaced with positive photocopies and have been indicated with the symbol *. Other photocopied letters in folders 1-7 were provided by the donor in that form and no original is available.

Box 1
Folder 1. Correspondence, 1860-1882.

1. November 10, 1860*
Berchold, Smith, & Co. (St. Louis, Missouri) to Wheeler and Sparks (Ft. Smith, Arkansas).

2. August 15, 1868*
Ruben Wright (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) to John Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas).

3. March 4, 1871*
Ruben Wright (Clifton, Virginia) to John Carnall [Washington, D.C.].

4. July 27, 1875
William Watie Wheeler (Ft. Smith, Arkansas) to Emma Carnall Wheeler [Indian Territory].

5. July 30, 1875#
William Watie Wheeler (Ft. Smith, Arkansas) to Emma Carnall Wheeler [Indian Territory].

          6. April 6, 1879#
              Frances Turner Carnall [?] to Emma Carnall Wheeler [Sallisaw, Indian Territory].

          7. January 20, 1880*
              T.M. Gibson (Dardanelle, Arkansas) to John Carnall (Fort Smith, Arkansas).

8. January 13, 1881
George Morris (Warren's Farm, Arkansas) to "Editor of the Elivator" [John Carnall, Ft.Smith, Arkansas]

9. May 5, 1882
William Watie Wheeler (Childer's Station, Cherokee Nation) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

10. August 25, 1882*
Dolton Brothers & Co. (St. Louis, Missouri) to John Henry Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas).

Folder 2. Correspondence, 1883-1885.

1. February 13, 1883
William Watie Wheeler (Childer's Station, Cherokee Nation) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

2. April 5, 1883
Wharton Carnall (Witcherville, Arkansas) to John Henry Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas).

3. May 8, 1883#
William Watie Wheeler (Childer's Station, Cherokee Nation) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

4. August 27, 1883
William Watie Wheeler (Childer's Station, Cherokee Nation) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

5. September 11, 1883#
G.H. Axhand (Siloam Springs, Arkansas) to John Henry Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas).

6. November 26, 1883
William Watie Wheeler (Childer's Station, Cherokee Nation) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

7. September 29, 1884
Ara L. Wyatt (Boggy Depot, Arkansas) to John Henry Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas).

8. April 25, 1885
William Watie Wheeler (Childer's Station, Cherokee Nation) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

9. April 29, 1885#
William Watie Wheeler (Childer's Station, Cherokee Nation) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

10. May 1, 1885#
William Watie Wheeler (Childer's Station, Cherokee Nation) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

11. June 18, 1885
Emile Karst (St. Louis, Missouri) to John Henry Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas).

       12. October 25, 1885*
             W.H. Ritz (Ft. Smith, Arkansas) to John Henry
             Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas).

Folder 3. Correspondence, 1888-1889.

1. March 4, 1888
William Watie Wheeler (Childer's Station, Cherokee Nation) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

2. March 9, 1888#
William Watie Wheeler (Childer's Station, Cherokee Nation) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

3. January 21, 1889#
William Watie Wheeler (Peru, Indiana) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

4. January 23, 1889
William Watie Wheeler (Kokomo, Indiana) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

5. September 16, 1889#
William Watie Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory) to Emma Carnall Wheeler [?].

6. September 18, 1889
William Watie Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory) to Emma Carnall Wheeler [?].

7. October 20, 1889
William Watie Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory) to Emma Carnall Wheeler [?].

Folder 4. Correspondence, 1890-1899.

1. March 15, 1890#
William Watie Wheeler (Hot Springs, Arkansas) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

2. March 16, 1890
William Watie Wheeler (Hot Springs, Arkansas) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

3. April 25, 1890
William Watie Wheeler (Hot Springs, Arkansas) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

4. February 19, 1892
W.W. Perry (Sallisaw, Indian Territory) to William Watie Wheeler [?].

5. June 2, 1894
Theodore Quesenbury (Sallisaw, Indian Territory) to Emma Carnall Wheeler [?].

6. January 27, 1895
Alice I. Hogan (Huntington, Arkansas) to Fannie Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas).

7. January 20, 1896
L.K. McDonald (Boothe, Arkansas) to Fannie Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas).

8. February 21, 1896
Alice I. Hogan (Huntington, Arkansas) to Fannie Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas).

9. March 29, 1896#
Abbie Carnall Warren (Salt Lake City, Utah) to Wharton Carnall [Huntington, Arkansas].

10. November 18, 1896
Alice I. Hogan (Huntington, Arkansas) to Fannie Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas).

11. January 6, 1897#
Alice I. Hogan (Huntington, Arkansas) to Fannie Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas).

12. April 30, 1897#
Alice I. Hogan (Huntington, Arkansas) to Fannie Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas).

13. July 9, 1897#
Alice I. Hogan (Huntington Arkansas) to Emma Carnall Wheeler [Sallisaw, Indian Territory].

14. January 31, 1899
Abbie Carnall Warren (Salt Lake City, Utah) to Emma Carnall Wheeler [Sallisaw, Indian Territory].

Folder 5. Correspondence, 1901-1915.

1. August 25, 1901
Mason S. Avant (Tennessee Colony, Texas) to William Watie Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

2. May 11, 1905
W.J. Weaver (Ft. Smith, Arkansas) to William Watie Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

3. December 25, 1905
W.J. Weaver (Ft. Smith, Arkansas) to William Watie Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

4. January 9, 1907
Scott Shipp (Lexington, Virginia) to William Watie Wheeler (Sallisaw, Indian Territory).

5. February 17, 1915
A.C. Pickens (Tecumseh, Oklahoma) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Oklahoma).

6. February 23, 1915
Alice I. Hogan (Sigler, Oklahoma) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Oklahoma).

7. March 8, 1915
Wharton Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Oklahoma).

8. March 31, 1915
Wharton Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Oklahoma).

9. April 2, 1915
Wharton Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Oklahoma).

10. April 14, 1915
Wharton Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Oklahoma).

11. April 27, 1915
Wharton Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Oklahoma).

12. June 18, 1915
Annie L. Mathies (Wister, Oklahoma) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Oklahoma).

13. July 19, 1915
Wharton Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Sallisaw, Oklahoma).

14. August 5, 1915
Wharton Carnall (Ft. Smith, Arkansas) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Monte Ne, Arkansas).

15. August 6, 1915
Theodore and Mary Wheeler (Fort Smith, Arkansas) to Emma Carnall Wheeler (Monte Ne, Arkansas).

Folder 6. Correspondence, 1918-1965.

1. September 25, 1918
Theodore F. Wheeler (AEF, France) to Emma Wheeler Stevenson (Sallisaw, Oklahoma).

2. February 4, 1919
Theodore F. Wheeler (AEF, France) to Emma Wheeler Stevenson (Sallisaw, Oklahoma).

3. January 21, 1935#
Abbie Carnall Warren (Los Angeles, California) to Daisy Wheeler Stevenson (Sallisaw, Oklahoma).

4. June 6, 1936#
Corrie Foster Wheeler Kobel (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) to Daisy Wheeler Stevenson (Sallisaw, Oklahoma).

5. April 27, 1939#
Ed Perry Wheeler (Norman, Oklahoma) to Daisy Wheeler Stevenson (Sallisaw, Oklahoma).

6. June 30, 1940#
Abbie Carnall Warren (Los Angeles, California) to Annie Carnall Mathers (Wister, Oklahoma).

7. October 12, 1946#
Kate Hecht (Vienna, Austria) to Abbie Carnall Warren (Los Angeles, California).

8. May 11, 1965
Bulah Mae Brown, Evanston, Illinois) to Daisy Edgar [?].

Folder 7. Correspondence, no date.

1. William Watie Wheeler, Jr., to William Watie Wheeler.

2. Lulah Carnall to Emma Carnall Wheeler.

3. Emma Carnall Wheeler to John Henry Carnall.

4. John Henry Carnall to [?].

5. William Watie Wheeler to Emma Carnall Wheeler.

6. Dan Edwards to John Henry Carnall.

7. Lucretia Turner to Francis Turner Carnall.#

8. William Watie Wheeler to Emma Carnall Wheeler.

9. Daisy Wheeler Stevenson to Emma Carnall Wheeler.

10. Bulah May to Emma Wheeler Stevenson.

11. A. Eugene Hileman to Emma Stevenson Black.

Folder 8. Transcriptions and notes, ca. 1980s.

Series 2. Printed Materials (Box 1, Folders 9-11)

Newspaper clippings, certificates, calling cards, invitations, and a privately published booklet pertaining to the Wheeler, Carnall, and Stevenson families. Folder 9 contains original and positive photocopies of newspaper clippings about the Wheeler-Carnall-Stevenson families, Oklahoma and Arkansas history, and general topics. Folder 10 contains calling cards of John Carnall and Emma Carnall Wheeler; two wedding announcements, circa 1900-1910; and two certificates of membership in the Cherokee National Historical Society issued to Emma Stevenson Black, 1985-1986. Folder 3 contains a privately published genealogy booklet, This is the Story of John Foster Wheeler, by Corrie Foster Wheeler Kobel. This booklet contains comprehensive family information and has been retained as an integral part of the collection.

Box 1 (cont'd)

        9. Newspaper clippings (30 items).
      10. Cards, announcements, and certificates (8 items).
      11. Genealogy booklet.

Series 3. Financial Documents, 1856-1905 (Box 1, Folder 12)

Receipts, invoices, promissory notes, and cancelled checks pertaining to the Wheeler-Carnall families. Some of the material documents transactions concerning the Fort Smith Herald, the Weekly New Era, and Wheeler's Independent, all nineteenth century Fort Smith newspapers. All of the materials have been replaced
with positive photocopies and have been chronologically arranged.

Box 1 (cont'd)
12. Financial documents (30 items).

Series 4. Legal Documents, 1829-1907 (Box 1, Folder 13)

Indentures, deeds, and petitions pertaining to the legal transactions of the Wheeler, Carnall, Stevenson, and other families in Arkansas and Oklahoma. These documents have been arranged chronologically and include an 1829 power of attorney issued to John Nicks from Frances McDermott to claim land in Arkansas Territory recently ceded by the Cherokees; an 1830 purchase agreement transacted by John Nicks; and an application by Edgar T. Stevenson for enrollment as a member of the Cherokee tribe dated August 9,1900. All of the materials have been replaced with positive photocopies with the exception of an 1853 indenture between John F. Wheeler and Theodore F. Wheeler. This document was provided in photocopy form by the donor.

Box 1 (cont'd)
13. Legal documents (15 items).

Series 5. Literary Productions, ca. 1850s-1960s (Box 1, Folder 14)

Genealogy notes, poetry, and manuscript obituaries written by or pertaining to the Wheeler-Carnall-Stevenson families. Of particular interest is an April 2, 1894, handwritten resolution of the Arkansas Industrial University faculty honoring Miss Ella Howison Carnall following her death. All of the handwritten manuscripts
in this series have been replaced by positive photocopies.

Box 1 (cont'd)

14. Literary productions (17 items).

Series 6. Photographs (Box 1, Folder 18)

Box 1 (cont'd)

15. Photographs.

1. Queen Victoria, ca. 1860. Portrait. 2" oval mounted on a 4" x 2 3/8" matte with a printed border. "Charles Penton, Lower Town, Paris" printed below photograph. Following notation on verso: "Her Majesty the Queen. For Miss Mat Turner. This is said to be a good photograph of the queen. It was taken on the original-from which this was taken. Was taken one year ago. I thought it looked too young for the queen, but I have been told that she looks very young. She is forty one year old but does not look to be over thirty so said. I have a large picture of the Queen framed, it is very pretty. I will send you a photograph of Prince Albert, her husband, if you want it. We or I like the english go it [sic] on the Queen. I am going to bring a picture of all her family home with me."

2. William Watie Wheeler house, Sallisaw, Indian Territory, ca. 1894. Outdoor informal view of the Wheeler family standing in front of their home. 3 7/8" x
5 1/2", mounted on 6 1/2" x 6 3/4" matteboard. Following notation on verso: "Early home of W.W. Wheeler in Sallisaw, I.T. W.W. Wheeler w/2 youngest sons-Carnall and Theodore (in goat cart). Emma C. Wheeler standing on corner of porch. Others unknown-in 1884! No doubt family members. (1894!)."

3. Daisy Emma Wheeler Stevenson, ca. 1910. Vignette portrait. Photo by Wallace of Sallisaw, Oklahoma. 4 1/2" x 2 1/4" mounted inside a textured paper folder with tissue flyleaf.

4. "The Oaks," William Waite Wheeler residence near Sallisaw, Oklahoma, ca. 1910. 5 1/8" x 7" mounted on 8" x 10" matte.

5. Two unidentified boys and a dog. Informal interior portrait. 4 3/4" x 3 1/8" mounted on 6" x 4 1/4" matte. Photo by B.Z. Gannaway, Fort Smith, Arkansas. Photographer's identification printed on verso.