David Clark Everest, Wausau paper mill executive, civic leader and philanthropist, was born in Pine Grove, Van Buren County, Michigan, to John Henry and Gertrude Clark Everest on October 13, 1883. [See the finding aid on this site for the David Clark Everest Papers (Mss 279) for a biographical sketch of Everest.]
Everest began a lifelong interest in collecting autographs and historical manuscripts in 1900 when, on assignment as an office boy for the Bryant Paper Company of Kalamazoo, Michigan, he purchased a few bales of waste paper. These bales turned out to be of historical importance, containing documents and letters bearing messages and signatures of notable American historical figures. Although Everest sold most of these in order to support his family, he began to subscribe to catalogues and periodicals on historical collecting, and to participate in various purchases and sales. He continued these practices throughout his life.
