Eliza Coale Funk papers

The Eliza Coale Funk Papers consist of four major series: I) Samuel Chase Impeachment Documents; II) Chase/Coale Family Correspondence & Papers; III) Eliza Coale Funk: Activities & Organizations; divided into two subseries, 1) Colonial Dames, and 2) Other Activities & Organizations and IV) Eliza Coale Funk: Family Papers. The papers in this collection range from 1758-2004.

Due to the variety of materials, the lack of order in which they arrived, and the large number of creators, each series is arranged by subject (e.g. Samuel Chase Coale Divorce Papers) and chronologically.

Series I: Samuel Chase Impeachment Documents, 1804-1805 (Box 1, 6 folders)

This series includes several items pertinent to the impeachment trial of Justice Chase, including a letter from a friend in England concerned for Ann Chase during that period, a copy of Samuel Chase's remarks on the topic of his impeachment, and two editorials written nearly three decades later by the "Friends of Samuel Chase." It also contains a Chase book plate.

Series II: Chase/Coale Family Correspondence & Papers, 1758-2004 (Boxes 2-3, 25 folders)

This series contains a number of letters belonging to various family members, such as Elizabeth Dugan Coale, daughter of Chief Justice and Hannah Chase, Elizabeth's son Samuel Chase Coale, and her daughter, Eliza M. Jackson. Samuel Chase Coale's letters (written from 1845-1854, the bulk from 1850-1852) concerning his divorce from his first wife, Sarah English Coale, chart the course of their separation, but also offer valuable information about the daily life of a woman of means circa 1850, and snippets of the emotional state of a mid-nineteenth century gentleman going through the scandal of divorce. This series is particularly strong for genealogical material. In a genealogical fragment written by Samuel Chase Coale, for example, there is a note that explains why half of it is missing—it was torn off to conceal the birth date of his nephew, Skipwith H. Coale, son of Samuel's brother Isaac (Harford County), to spare him from the draft during the Civil War. In addition to the letters, which comprise the bulk of the series, there are literary pieces, legal documents, and a few materials that provide a window into everyday life, such as recipes, pamphlets, and sections of almanacs.

Series III: Eliza Coale Funk: Activities & Organizations, 1963-2001 (Box 4-5, 19 folders)

This series highlights many of the groups with which Ms. Funk was associated.

Subseries 1: Colonial Dames, 1972-2001 (Box 5, 10 folders)

This subseries represents Eliza Coale Funk's significant participation in the Colonial Dames, Maryland Chapter. It contains several directories (1972, 1986, 1992-3, 1995), bulletins, newspaper clippings concerned with their activities, and nearly fifteen years of the "Clarion," the organization's newsletter.

Subseries 2: Other Activities & Organizations, 1963-2001 (Box 4, 9 Folders)

This subseries contains a variety of items associated with the many organizations with which Ms. Funk was involved. In addition to documents pertaining to docent activities at historic homes like Mount Claire and Dumbarton House, there are papers for the Peale Museum, the Sons of the American Revolution, English First, the St. Paul Cemetery Restoration Project, the Baltimore Country Club, and the Bryn Mawr School, from which Ms. Funk graduated in 1924.

Series IV: Eliza Coale Funk: Family Papers, 1904-2004 (Boxes 6-7, 20 folders)

This series contains papers belonging to Eliza Coale Funk and her parents, Harry H. and Eliza C. Funk. Her personal effects contain a travel diary, a number of postcards, and important family documents, everything from wills to her father's financial records concerned with the Bruce, Co. whiskey distillery.

Container List

The container list provides box and folder numbers primarily, but also includes additional, more specific information to delineate the more complex series within the collection. Each series title is underlined, folder names are in normal print, and individual items, when listed, are denoted by a double hyphen and italics.