Correspondence, clippings, writings, business and legal material, genealogical notes and research, and photographs relating to the Chamberlin and Lutz families of Vermont and Illinois.

The most important part of the Chamberlin correspondence is letters written by Caroline’s brother, George E. Chamberlin of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, to his family when he was a student at Dartmouth College, 1856-1860, clerking in a law firm in St. Louis, and then at Harvard Law School, 1861-1862, and as an officer in the Vermont Eleventh Artillery Regiment, 1862-1864. There are also family letters between his sisters Caroline and Mary and other family members including his widow, Adelia Gardiner Chamberlin, and to and from Vermont friends.

The Lutz correspondence begins after Caroline Chamberlin married John A. Lutz in 1867, and continues until 1992, ending with the death of Adeline Louise Lutz of Chicago. One component of the 19th century Lutz correspondence is of special interest: numerous letters to John A. Lutz from his business partner John T. Stuart, 1863-1866, which yield detailed information concerning the dry goods business during the Civil War period. There is a long series of letters, 1899-1902, from Caroline and John A. Lutz’s son Edward C. Lutz to his fiancee, Annette C. Bates, and letters between other family members. Letters of Annette Lutz to her daughter Marion Lutz Peck, 1949-1955, often deal with the subject of Christian Science. Much of the 20th century correspondence is that of Adeline Louise Lutz of Chicago to and from her friends and relatives, 1935-1992, and letters dealing with the settlement of her sister Marian’s estate in Logan County in 1976. Also, a collection of family postcards, ca. 1895-1990.

The miscellaneous material includes three journals of George E. Chamberlin kept before and during his Dartmouth years, clippings concerning marriages and deaths, genealogical tables, 20th century family research for admittance into hereditary societies, business and legal papers concerning property in Logan county, wills and death certificates, and some Adeline Louise memorabilia. Also, a large collection of family photographs, identified and dated when possible, ranging from ca. 1865-1992, and one Civil War photograph showing George E. Chamberlin’s military post.