Series: Katharine J. Howard Martindale (1827-1905). Papers, circa 1850-1906
Biography/History: Katharine Howard Martindale, wife of Stephen III and mother of Stephen IV, Ned, and Anna, was born in Benson, Vermont, 18 October 1827 into an old established New England family. She was educated at the Castleton Seminary in Vermont and the Emma Willard Academy in Troy, New York. In 1855 she moved to La Crosse as the young bride of Stephen III, the first La Crosse Martindale. She was an early member of the First Congregational Church in which she was active until old age. It was Katharine who in 1868 or 1869 purchased the Martindale home at 10th and Cass Streets with the inheritance from her father's estate. She died 19 December 1905 at the age of 79.
Scope and Content Note: The largest group of Katharine's papers consists of lively and articulate letters to various family members. These generally concern family matters, daily life, travels, etc. There is one folder of correspondence to Katharine from miscellaneous friends and relatives. The Business Papers include correspondence with and notices from banks concerning her holdings tax receipts, fire insurance policies for the house, and a few other items. The Miscellany folder contains a number of poems written to Katharine, an 1899 report on kindergartens, and a newspaper obituary.

Personal Correspondence, 1850-1904

Stephen Martindale III (husband), 1856, 1868-1900

Stephen Martindale IV (son) and family, 1877-1900

E. S. H. “Ned” and Anna Martindale (son and daughter), 1874-1896

Howard family, 1866, 1880-1901

Friends and relatives, 1850-1904

Business papers, 1858-1906

Miscellany, circa 1850-1905