TERRE HAUTE — Trunks, or traveling chests, have existed for thousands of years in China, but were most commonly used in this country from the late 18th to early 20th centuries. This relatively bulky luggage was generally used for extended stays away from home, or for long journeys. Today the traveling trunk, for the most part, has been replaced by the much cheaper and lighter suitcase.
Trunks have been produced in various styles throughout the last two hundred years. Among the most recognizable trunk styles or types are the Jenny Lind, Saratoga, and Steamer. The Jenny Lind trunk features a distinct hour glass profile and was named for the curvaceous Swedish singer who toured with P.T. Barnum in the mid 19th century. The Saratoga trunk is a rather large “round top” trunk that first became popular among wealthy individuals who vacationed near the spas and racetracks of Saratoga Springs, New York. Steamer trunks, often called “cabin trunks” are flat or round top trunks whose size and shape allow for convenient storage. Steamer trunks were the descendants of earlier compact-sized traveling chests known as “stage coach” trunks.
It is believed that round or curved tops were incorporated into trunk designs in order to prevent damage caused by stacking. However, wise baggage handlers quickly realized that round top trunks could be laid on their sides to allow other trunks to be placed upon them. As a result, the contents of round top trunks were more likely to be scrambled and displaced than the contents of flat top trunks.
On Sept. 9, 1925, Eugene V. Debs, Terre Haute native and influential American labor leader, wrote an impassioned letter to the Terre Haute Tribune to lament the mistreatment of two historic traveling trunks that once belonged to Chauncey Rose. Nick Salvatore, a Debs biographer, wrote about the incident in the following excerpt from his book, Eugene V. Debs, Citizen and Socialist:
In the fall of 1925, Gene and Kate, strolling in the cool evening after dinner, passed the old mansion of Chauncey Rose, now rotted and crumbled, awaiting final demolition. Pausing before the house, they spotted two of Rose’s old trunks amid the debris. Swept with a melancholy for the spirit of his youth, a disturbed and agitated Debs returned home to write a letter to the local paper. “Chauncey Rose did more for Terre Haute than any other man living or dead,” Debs wrote of the city’s major mid-nineteenth-century entrepreneur. “Rose built the first railroad into Terre Haute, and devoted his entire fortune to the growth and development of the city and the prosperity and welfare of the people.” Angry at this defilement of Rose’s memory, it was the condition of the worn and battered trunks that etched Debs’s feeling, “trunks that, no doubt, in crossing the eastern mountains knew the stage coach, the ox-cart and the old canal in their pilgrimage … that share the pioneer life of the Wabash Valley, it’s heroism and hardships, as well as its romance, its simplicity and beauty.” That these relics of an earlier time — symbols of the conquest of nature, of manhood tested and victorious, which evoked waves of adolescent dreams and memories— that these should be scorned and neglected caused the deepest pain. With sad anger, Debs concluded his letter: “This is predominantly a business age, a commercial age, a material and in a larger sense a sordid age, but the moral and spiritual values of life are not wholly ignored by the people. Sentiment, without which men are lower than savages, is still rooted in and flowers in the human soul and makes possible the hope that someday we shall seek and find and enjoy the real riches of the race.”
This week’s Historical Treasure is a round top, low profile stage coach trunk that belonged to the mercantile firm of “Rose and Warren” (1823-1832). It was donated to the Vigo County Historical Society by Mrs. Mary Parker Warren, wife of John C. Warren, in 1945. John C. Warren’s father, Chauncey Warren, was a business partner of Chauncey Rose and used the trunk when traveling for the firm.
History
HISTORICAL TREASURE: Going away? Better make sure you pack your trunk
- History
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Terre Haute Works of Allis-Chalmers closes
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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GENEALOGY: BMD website great for tracing England, Wales
If you have ancestors who trace back to England or Wales within the past 175 years, then the Free BMD website at RootsWeb, at freebmd.rootsweb.com/, is the place to visit.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: WBOW introduced some fine Valley talent
When it first began broadcasting in 1927, station WRPI (Rose Polytechnic Institute) focused on educational programing.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Inventor John B. Deeds and highwayman William G. Murray
Among the many unsolved local history mysteries is the fate of master machinist and inventor John B. Deeds.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: This little-known compromise may have saved the union
When the Constitution was signed in September of 1787 and sent to the Congress that then existed under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was instructed to send that Constitution to the states to be ratified … or not. The message to the states was clear: Accept the Constitution or reject it, but don’t try to change it.
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Traveling Civil War exhibit makes history personal
Civil War history will come alive for visitors to the Sullivan County Public Library who experience “Faces of the Civil War,” a traveling exhibition created and managed by the Indiana Historical Society.
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GENEALOGY: Virginia Historical Society takes on ambitious project
Over the past few months, the Virginia Historical Society has launched an ambitious project to scrutinize more than 8 million 17th, 18th, and 19th century documents in order to identify the enslaved population of those times.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: The Legacy of ‘The Old Silkworm House’
In 1837, and for several years thereafter, a gray sandstone obelisk was installed next to a one-story frame residence at the northwest corner of Sixth and Eagle streets.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: A blast from valentines past
Valentine’s Day — it brings to mind simple paper valentines and the elaborate, fancy store-bought cards with multiple verses and glittery covers.
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Flu outbreak forces Schulte closed
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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Original copy of 13th Amendment at Lincoln Library & Museum
A fully signed and recently restored copy of the Congressional resolution for a 13th Amendment to the Constitution, the official act that would abolish slavery in the United States, will be on display in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum’s Treasures Gallery.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Freedom of religion — beliefs and actions
Because religious faith is, arguably, the quintessential example of our right to privacy, to say nothing of its prominent place in our First Amendment, throughout our history court cases involving the free exercise of religion have been handled with great trepidation and with particular care. One of the milestone “free exercise” religion cases, Davis v. Beason, was decided by the Supreme Court this week (Feb. 3) in 1890.
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GENEALOGY: SoCal Genealogical Jamboree coming up in June
The Southern California Genealogical Society announces its 43rd Annual Jamboree, to be staged for three days on June 8-10, at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel in Burbank, Calif.
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LOOKING BACK: 2002: Disco Ernie featured on Maury
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Flashing the mayor's badge
This mayoral badge was presented to the Vigo County Historical Society by Elizabeth K. Schultz, the granddaughter of Samuel E. Beecher Sr., who served as mayor of Terre Haute from 1936 to 1940.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Deadly tornado devastates York in 1907
John T. Staff loved water and, particularly, the Wabash River.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Notorious Western desperado Ellsworth Wyatt captured in Clay County
In October 1892, Terre Haute police received a circular from the State of Kansas containing a description of Ellsworth Wyatt and offering a $1,200 reward for his capture.
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LOOKING BACK: 2002: ISU students honor Martin Luther King Jr.
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: News letter filled with wonderful local news
We recently received five bound volumes of copies of the “Terre Haute Onizette,” the Owen-Illinois Glass Company news letter for the Terre Haute Plant.
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GENEALOGY: Peyton, Downey, Fifer queries and a plea for help from Scotland
This week, we have several queries.
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Extension plans seminar on land use
The Purdue Extension Land Use Team is hosting a video seminar titled “Welcome to the Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals” from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Kennedy, Camelot, and other myths
This week (Jan. 20) in 1961, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as our 35th president, and his tragic death by assassination notwithstanding, his was a mediocre presidency that, undeservedly, became the stuff of legend — in part because of his assassination.
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Actor to portray Lincoln at dinner for historical society
A special program, “And Lincoln Wrote,” is coming to Harlan Hall in Marshall, Ill., with a featured presentation by Dick Benach as Abraham Lincoln and Chuck Hand as the publisher of the Prairie Beacon.
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GENEALOGY: Celebrate MLK Day with the Indiana Historical Society
On Monday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Indiana Historical Society will offer free admission to celebrate Martin Luther King Day.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Light Guards savor military and social experiences
Never during the Civil War was there a time when the City of Terre Haute was in danger of hosting an armed conflict involving one or more armies.
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: 87 high school hoops teams compete in 47th annual Wabash Valley Tournament
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: A bottle of clove oil at the pharmacy
The Historical Treasure for today is a bottle of Clove Oil.
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LOOKING BACK: 1987: St. Mary’s Parish congregation celebrates 150th anniversary
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Fire up the jukebox for a great night
The jukebox existed long before Glenn Miller’s “Juke Box Saturday Night” swing version.
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GENEALOGY: 1752 is one memorable year for genealogists
The year 1752 is one to remember if you have ancestors who lived in areas controlled by Great Britain; and this includes the American colonies.
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Terre Haute Works of Allis-Chalmers closes
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