Scope and Content Note
The papers of the Tunnicliff, Rigby, and Staton families span the years 1854-1990, with the bulk of the material dating from 1877 to 1920. The papers contain correspondence, genealogical material, notes, printed material, and writings.
The papers consist chiefly of correspondence between John Cooper Tunnicliff, his wife Cornelia Hunter Tunnicliff, and their six children. Also included is Cornelia’s mother, Sarah Ellen Hunter. The first part of the correspondence documents the courtship and early family life of John and Cornelia in Galesburg, Illinois, where John worked for George W. Brown & Company as a designer and construction expert in farm equipment, especially planting machines. Occasionally, he traveled to Kansas City as a sales and service representative for the company. In 1896 he moved his family to Moline, Illinois, where he continued his career. The latter part of the correspondence includes the letters of the Tunnicliff children as they attended college, married, and had careers and families of their own. The letters reflect the family’s participation in the Methodist Church and the temperance movement. Other subjects include hydropathy in 1859, trips to England in 1878 and 1909, and the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis.
Genealogical material provides information on the Cooper, Hunter, Rigby, Smith, and Tunnicliff families. Notes and printed matter contain items relating to the Methodist Church, schools, travels, holidays, and the wedding of John and Cornelia Tunnicliff in 1879. Writings consist of an essay by Cornelia Tunnicliff; prose by her daughter, Sara Tunnicliff; and a poem and a speech by another daughter, Grace Tunnicliff.