Pulaski Club Records Guide to the Pulaski Club Records MS 00097

Guide to the Pulaski Club Records MS 00097


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Special Collections Research Center

William & Mary Special Collections Research Center
Earl Gregg Swem Library
400 Landrum Dr
Williamsburg, Virginia
Business Number: 757-221-3090
spcoll@wm.edu
URL: https://libraries.wm.edu/libraries-spaces/special-collections

Finding Aid Authors: Special Collections Staff.

Repository
Special Collections Research Center
Identification
MS 00097
Title
Pulaski Club Records 1877-2014
Quantity
2.80 Linear Feet
Creator
Pulaski Club (Williamsburg, Va.)
Creator
Williamsburg Historic Records Association (Williamsburg, Va.)
Language
English

Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Use:

Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Conditions Governing Access:

Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Preferred Citation:

Pulaski Club Records, Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries.

Acquisition Information:

Gift via the Williamsburg Historic Records Association. 1990.03      President Carleton Casey 1993.16      Pulaski Club 1994.36      Dr. Carleton Casey 1998.42      Dr. Carleton Casey 2001.33      Susan Prentice 2005.07      Channing M. Hall, III 2005.46      Unknown 2005.60      Channing M. Hall, III 2006.42      Channing M. Hall, III 2007.11      Channing M. Hall, III 2007.14      Channing M. Hall, III 2007.68      Channing M. Hall, III 2007.115    Channing M. Hall, III 2008.66      Channing M. Hall, III

Processing Information

This colleciton ID was changed to MS 00097 in October 2018. It was formerly identified as Mss. Acc. 1990.03.

Accruals

Additions are being added on an ongoing basis.


Historical Note:

In about 1777, a group of Virginians began meeting as a social club at the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg, Virgina. General George Washington mentions the Williamsburg club in some of his letters, and tradition holds that in 1779, the members accepted the General's recommendation to venerate the memory of Casimir Pulaski and name their group in his honor as a tribute to Pulaski's valiant service and personal sacrifice in the cause of American freedom.

Herbert L. Ganter, for years archivist at the College of William and Mary, and Dr. Henry E. Davis of Eastern State Hospital, club members, spent hours in the early 1960s researching the club. Based on the information they collected, including published accounts and the club's surviving minutes, it appears that the organization lapsed sometime during or after the "Late Unpleasantness of 1861-1865." It reappeared in the guise of a college club sometime between 1870 and 1875, when Henry Denison "Den" Cole of Williamsburg was a student.

Cole, evidently, carried the club from the college to his family-operated business-the Cole Shop-on Duke of Gloucester Street. Gradually the group comprised businessmen of the town and college professors, many of them prominent citizens. As the years went by, it was not unusual for members to be found at the Cole Shop sitting around a wood stove in the back room.

The club has records that go back over 100 years. It is probable that any older records were lost or destroyed during the "Late Unpleasantness" of 1861-1865.

Content Description

Records of the Pulaski Club of Williamsburg, a men's social club, named in honor of Count Pulaski of American Revolutionary War fame. Includes minutes, correspondence, photographs, poetry, stationery and clippings. Two letters by John D. Rockefeller are included.

Related Material

Related artifacts described in the Manuscripts Artifact Collection (Mss. 1.03):

Framed Watercolor "Wood for the Pulaski Club Stove" (Mss 2014.005.01)

Separated Material

Related artifacts described in the Manuscripts Artifact Collection (Mss. 1.03):

Framed Watercolor "Wood for the Pulaski Club Stove" (Mss 2014.005.01)


Subjects and Indexing Terms


Significant Places Associated With the Collection

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Container List

Mixed Materials box: 1 id63386
Box 1
1877-1989
Scope and Contents

About fifty items dating from 1877 to 1989 of records of the Pulaski Club of Williamsburg, Virginia, a men's social club, named in honor of Count Pulaski of American Revolutionary War fame. Includes minutes, correspondence, photographs, poetry, clippings. Two letters by John D. Rockefeller are included. An original pen and ink Christmas Card featuring members of the Pulaski Club signed by John C. Osborn and dated December 25, 1931. 1994.36 combined with 1990.03. Photocopy of Will Molineux's letter accepting invitation to join the Pulaski Club, March 27, 1993. Lists of Pulaski Club members from 1992, 1993 and 1994. (Mss. Acc. 1990.03, 1994.36)

Mixed Materials box: 2
Box 2
Mixed Materials box: 3 id214896
Pulaski Club Administrative Records
1926-2013
Scope and Contents

Contains administrative records, scrapbooks, and other material related to the Pulaski Club of Williamsburg, Virginia. Included in the addition are photographs of members and Pulaski Cub Dinners from 1928-2011; scrapbooks containing clippings, photographs, and letters documenting the history of the Pulaski Club; and administrative records consisiting of letters, clippings, and membership rosters from 1976-2011.

Accession 2023.012: Correspondence
2022
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Accession 2023.293: Correspondence and ephemera
Scope and Contents

Correspondence and Annual Sociable ephemera. Ephemera includes memorial toast information for Willard Sheally Gilley.

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Accession 2024.202: Correspondence and general papers
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