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The George Rae
papers include letters about Rae from individuals who served as
character references for him, letters from Rae’s relatives in
Scotland, and many family records. The collection also includes tax records, receipts,
obituaries and two diaries.
The correspondence
contains farewell letters Rae received when he departed from Kettle
Bridge, Scotland, in 1861.
He received many letters of recommendation from his peers
such as John Angus from King’s Kettle Young Men’s Mutual Improvement
Association. The Madras
School Committee sent Rae a letter commending him for his work as
secretary. This folder also contains an anonymous poem entitled,
“Farewell to George Rae.”
Rae’s diary
recounts his migration from Saco, Maine, beginning April 10, 1865 to
Dow City, Iowa, December 28, 1865.
Among other things, he describes cities and countryside he
traveled through, farms and pieces of land he considered buying, and
train and riverboat travel on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.
The diary also includes his expense list, sawmill records,
and teaching notes and rules.
Rae worked in a sawmill for some time and became a teacher once he
reached Iowa. The
second diary is one his daughter Jenny kept of a trip to Los Angeles
1904-1905. The diary
mentions sight-seeing in the Los Angeles, California, area, but it
primarily recounts visits with relatives and details of various
evangelistic services she attended.
The financial
records contain Rae’s tax records from Crawford and Harrison
Counties, Iowa, for the years of 1865 –1886.
In addition, the folder includes insurance forms and assorted
contracts and letters from the Iowa Railroad Land Company in 1874.
The biographical
information consists of Rae’s obituaries and family records.
It includes a family genealogical list and a letter from Rae to
friends “Sam” and “Lizzie.”
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