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Louise Tubbs Family Papers

An inventory of Louise Tubbs and her family's papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MAS
Date: 26 April 2022

Biographical History

Louise Vellonia Tubbs (1888-1962), life-long resident of Cayuga County, was born in Owasco, NY, to Samuel Eighmey (S.E.) Tubbs (1846-1925) and Anna Helen (More) Tubbs (1859-1954). Her sister, Nellie Grace (1890-1958), was born two years later. Louise never married and, following her father's death, continued living with her mother. She remained in the Auburn area until her death on February 9, 1962. Her sister Nellie married James Henry Neno (1895-1961) who was a mine superintendent at the Cayuga Rock Salt Co. in 1922 in Cayuga County. They had three sons: James Henry, Jr. (1923-2004), John Arthur (1925-2010), and Roderic (1932-2009).

Samuel Eighmey (S.E.) Tubbs, a native of New York, married Anna Helen More in Champaign, Illinois, in 1887. The pair resided in Cayuga County until their deaths. S.E. Tubbs was a photographer by trade and was operating his own studio by 1910.

S.E. Tubbs had two siblings: Calla Dore Tubbs (1854-1943) and Reginald Heber Tubbs (1850-1932). Calla Tubbs was an artist and writer. During the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo in 1901, the Canadian government commissioned a painting of Niagara Falls from her. In 1938 Calla published The Gnome of Niagara and Poems. Between 1900 and 1920 Calla moved from her brother's home in Owasco, NY to Los Angeles, CA where she lived unmarried until her death in 1943.

Reginald Heber Tubbs was a printer, exhibitionist, and circus owner. He and his family -- his wife, Abbie, and their five children -- moved to the Columbus, Ohio area around the turn of the 20th century. His circus originally bore the name of the Tubbs family, but he changed his name to Reginald C. Heber. The show gained fame as the Heber Brothers Greater Show Circus. Reginald's family participated as performers, including his son Reginald (1883-1943) and Reginald Jr.'s wife, Avanell (1886-1985), who was an artist as well as a performer. Reginald Jr.'s other son, Ben (1881-1947), supervised the printing shop, where the family produced their own advertisements.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Louise Tubbs Family Papers consist of correspondence, financial documents, memorabilia, writings, and miscellaneous items. The family papers span several generations beginning with Gardiner Stow Tubbs and his wife Jane, continuing through his son S.E. Tubbs to later generations, primarily his daughters Louise and Nellie.

Correspondence is the largest series. The series contains letters between different members of the Tubbs family as well as letters and newsletters from religious societies. The only bound book is a letter book of correspondence created by Gardiner Stow Tubbs which dates from 1845 to 1846. The rest of the correspondence is on loose leaf stationery and scrap paper, and is predominantly addressed to Louise and Anna Tubbs from Nellie, Calla, Ed V. More, and Avanell Heber. Much of it is in pencil and difficult to read, and the paper is brittle and fragile. Religious societies represented include Soul-Savers, Home Prayers, Back to the Bible Broadcast, and others.

Financial documents contain checks signed by Ed V. More, various unknown ledgers, and a few receipts.

Memorabilia contains artwork, Calla Tubbs material, printed material, and photographs. The artwork consists of a cut silhouette of a woman and three cross stich embroidery pieces. Calla Tubbs material various items written by her as well as invitations to her exhibition. Printed material includes flyers, religious pamphlets, recipes from the World War II era, newspaper clippings, etc. Photographs are likely of various family members; few are dated and even fewer have names.

Writings contains diaries, family recipes, hand-written notes, a "Books I have Read" notebook, poetry, and sermon notes.

Miscellaneous includes blueprints for a house door drafted for Ed V. More, contracts, business cards, etc.

Arrangement of the Collection

The collection is arranged alphabetically by type and then chronologically.The diaries had a large amount of material laid in. For preservation reasons these items were taken out, numbered, and filed in separate folder. Inserted in the original location is a numbered slip of paper which corresponds to the numbered item in the second folder.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Subject Headings

Persons

Heber family.
Heber, Avanell, 1886-1985.
Heber, Benjamin C., 1881-1947.
Heber, Reginald C., 1850-1932.
More, Edward V.
Neno family.
Neno, James Henry, 1895-1961.
Neno, James Henry, 1923-2004.
Neno, Nellie Grace, 1890-1958.
Tubbs family.
Tubbs, Anna Helen, 1859-1954.
Tubbs, Calla Dore.
Tubbs, Gardiner Stow, 1808-1883.
Tubbs, Jane Vellonia, 1826-1886.
Tubbs, Louise Vellonia, 1888-1962.
Tubbs, S. E. (Samuel Eighmey), 1846-1925.

Subjects

Christianity and culture.
Evangelicalism -- 20th century.
Photography -- 20th century.
Women artists -- United States.

Places

Auburn (N.Y.)
Cayuga County (N.Y.)
Columbus (Ohio)
Los Angeles (Calif.)
New York (State) -- History.

Genres and Forms

Checks (bank checks)
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Diaries.
Ledgers (account books)
Negatives (photographs)
Photographs.
Poems.
Postcards.
Recipes.
Religious literature (genre)
Tracts.

Occupations

Artists.
Photographers.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Louise Tubbs Family Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Purchase, circa 1964.

Table of Contents

Correspondence

Financial documents

Memorabilia

Writings

Miscellaneous

Inventory