Benjamin Rush Strong Scrapbooks
Collection consists of two scrapbooks documenting the travels of Benjamin Rush Strong. Strong traveled extensively during the late 19th century. His travels were often the subjects of articles he wrote for local newspapers, some of which are placed at the beginning of the first scrapbook. The majority of the collection includes itineraries, letters and telegraphs, fare tickets, post cards and photographs, receipts, and other documents from European countries in the 1880s and 1890s. Handwritten notes are found alongside many items in the scrapbooks.
Dates
- 1880s-1890s
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Conditions Governing Use
The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Extent
0.5 Linear Feet (2 flat boxes)
Abstract
Collection consists of two scrapbooks documenting the travels of Benjamin Rush Strong.
Biographical/Historical Note
Benjamin Rush Strong was born to Joseph Churchill and Sophronia Marrs Strong in Knox County, Tennessee, on March 24, 1847. B. R. Strong studied at Spout Hollow, Walnut Grove Academy, the University of Tennessee, and Eastman's Business College in New York. He began his business career by investing in a sawmill with his brother-in-law, W. O. Monday, but sold his share after six months. He then invested in a store in Ellistown. Construction exhausted his finances, and to earn money to buy stock, Strong taught school in Spout Hollow. He later moved to Straw Plains and finally to Knoxville where he opened a shop on Market Square. Strong eventually took on a partner and changed the store's name to Strong & Co. He ultimately sold the store and entered the real estate business with W. M. Epps and Barnabas Braine under Strong, Braine, Epps, Monday, & Nelson. Strong was also active in banking and wrote articles for local papers under the pen name Gnorts (Strong spelled backward). Strong died on March 2, 1915, in Florida and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery.
Strong was a staunch supporter of public education; his will included grants to the University of Tennessee for the construction of a women's dormitory named after his mother, Sophronia Strong, and for the acquisition of an agricultural campus. Other bequests were directed to seven county school systems, the Knox County Industrial School, and also provided for the construction of an art center museum.
Arrangement
This collection is in two flat boxes.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository