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Burdette (Clara Bradley) Letters to Roy B. Wheeler
mssCBB
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Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Clara Bradley Burdette letters to Roy B. Wheeler
Creator:
Burdette, Clara Bradley, 1855-1954
Identifier/Call Number: mssCBB
Physical Description:
3.08 Linear Feet
(7 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1880-1923
Abstract: A collection of letters from Clara
Bradley Burdette to her son Roy B. Wheeler; Clara Bradley Burdette was a Southern California
writer, and social, business, and philanthropic leader.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Clara Bradley Burdette letters to Roy B. Wheeler, The Huntington
Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Mark and Cathy Weber, October 2015.
Cathy Weber acquired this material when she volunteered at a charity thrift shop in
Pasadena, California. An unknown individual donated the material to the thrift shop, which
later planned to discard it. Cathy Weber took possession of the material and kept it in
South Pasadena until October 2015, when she and Mark Weber sold their house at which point,
they donated it to The Huntington Library.
Clara Bradley Burdette (1855-1954) was born in East Bloomfield, New York, the daughter of
Albert H. Bradley and Laura Colville Bradley; she attended Syracuse University, where she
was one of the founding members of Alpha Phi Sorority and graduated in 1876. She first
married Nathaniel Millman Wheeler, a professor of Greek literature in 1878, and they had one
son, Roy Bradley Wheeler (1882-1923); they moved to California for Professor Wheeler's
health, where he died in 1886. Burdette remained in Southern California and in 1890 married
Colonel Presley C. Baker; he died in 1893. She married Robert Jones Burdette (1844-1914) in
1899, who was a humorist, writer, and lecturer; soon after their marriage, he was ordained
as a Baptist minister, and they were founding members of Trinity Baptist Church in Los
Angeles. Clara Burdette became a leader of women's societies and was founder and first
president of the California Federation of Women's Clubs in 1900. She was active in
Republican politics, and a strong supporter of Herbert Hoover. Burdette was a trustee of
Syracuse University, Mills College, and a major backer of the Pasadena Maternity Hospital,
and the Southwest Museum. She was also a supporter of women's suffrage and was an organizer
of the National League of Women Voters. Clara Burdette's son, Roy Bradley Wheeler, attended
Belmont School in California, and Harvard University; he married Helen A. Wheeler
(1888-1970) in 1911 and they had several children before his death in 1923. Clara Burdette
died in Los Angeles, aged 98, on January 6, 1954.
A collection of letters, telegrams, postcards, printed material, and clippings. The main
part of the collection consists of letters from Clara Bradley Burdette to her son Roy B.
Wheeler from the time he went away to boarding school in 1895 until his early death in 1923.
After Roy's marriage in 1911, many of the letters are addressed to "Dear Children" and those
that are addressed to him are often business-related as he oversaw much of Clara's business
affairs while she traveled. The collection also contains letters from Robert Jones Burdette
to Roy from 1898 until Burdette's death in 1914; and a small number of letters from friends
and business associates addressed to Clara B. Burdette as well as Roy B. Wheeler. There is
one manuscript, notes for a talk given by Clara B. Burdette, "Missions -- Cui Bono?" (1880).
Clara traveled extensively throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico for business and
pleasure and many of the letters are written during these travels; the letters describe her
work, the meetings she attended, and the people she met, as well as describing the locations
she visited. In 1910, she traveled with her husband to the Territory of Hawaii, Japan, and
China; the journey lasted four months and she wrote long, detailed letters of her
impressions of the places they visited.
Processed by Gayle M. Richardson in May 2023. Some letters, telegrams, and clippings are
very brittle and damaged and have been placed in mylar. The letters written between 1899 and
1914 often contain sections written by both Clara Burdette and Robert J. Burdette; this was
not noted on the folders. Many of the letters include postmarked envelopes which helped to
date the large number of undated letters. The Burdette family was in the habit of including
clippings, brochures, church bulletins, and other printed material in their letters, this
printed material has been retained with the original letter when possible.
Arranged chronologically.
Clara Bradley Burdette
papers,
mssBurdette papers.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Women -- Societies and clubs -- California -- Los Angeles
Women civic leaders -- California -- Los Angeles
World War, 1914-1918
China -- Description and travel
Hawaii -- Description and travel
Japan -- Description and travel
Mexico -- Description and
travel
Pasadena (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century
Business papers
Ephemera
Letters (correspondence)
Telegrams
Burdette, Robert J. (Robert Jones), 1844-1914
Hoover, Herbert,
1874-1964
Wheeler, Roy Bradley, 1882-1923