| Summary: | Thomas L. Kane (1822--1883), son of Philadelphia judge John Kintzing Kane, was a lawyer, a social reformer, and an entrepreneur. His friendship with Brigham Young and his aid to the Mormons makes him a key figure of study among historians of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but his legacy extends beyond his friendship with the Latter-day Saints and includes his participation in the abolitionist movement, his service as a decorated Civil War Colonel, and his work in developing western Pennsylvania. His wife, Elizabeth Dennistoun Wood (1836--1909), was beautiful, bright, articulate and left her own legacy. Her writings appear in two important works about the Mormons--; The Thomas L. and Elizabeth W. Kane Family Collection, 1835--1931, contains a series of materials relating primarily to Thomas, Elizabeth, and three of their four children: Harriet Amelia Kane, Elisha Kent Kane, and Evan O--Neill Kane. Among these is an American Civil War pocketbook kept by Thomas L. Kane; an original patriarchal blessing given to Thomas at Council Bluffs by LDS patriarch John Smith and recorded by Wilford Woodruff; a letter sent from Brigham Young to Thomas when the latter arrived in Utah in 1858 to try and prevent a pending war between the Latter-day Saints and the U.S. government; four folders of letters, receipts, and other material related to the development of Kane, Pennsylvania; ten handwritten and two printed copies of journals kept by Elizabeth; and a two-volume history of the settlement of Kane, Pennsylvania, handwritten by Elizabeth for her grandchildren. The collection also contains thirteen of Harriet--s composition exercise books, two of Elisha--s letters, and one of Evan--s medical ledgers. In addition, it includes 168 photographs, many of Kane family members and some of Kane, Pennsylvania. Four tangible artifacts are also located in the collection: a lock of Thomas L. Kane--s beard; a silver creamer belonging to Elizabeth Kane; and two linens, also belonging to Elizabeth and with her initials embroidered on them. A number of printed works were also found in the collection, including a volume of Thomas a-- Kempis--s, John Kintzing Kane: (1795--1858) Born in Albany, New York. Graduated from Yale in 1814. Admitted to the Bar in 1817. Married Jane Duval Leiper on 20 April 1819. Became City Soldier of Philadelphia in 1830. Elected member of the Legislature, 1823--24. Under an Act of Congress, President Jackson appointed him one of three commissioners to settle the claims between the U.S. and France, July, 1831. Attorney General of Pennsylvania, 1845. Judge of District Court, U.S., 1846--58. Jane Duval Leiper: (1796--1866) Wife of Judge John Kintzing Kane and mother of Thomas L. Kane.Thomas L. Kane: (27 January 1822--26 December 1883) Soldier and social reformer; son of Judge John Kintzing Kane and brother of Elisha Kent Kane, famous Arctic explorer; pursued his education in Philadelphia, England, and France; admitted to bar in 1846; employed as a clerk under his father in the U.S. district court for the eastern Pennsylvania district; served as Chairman of the Free-Soil State Central Committee, 1848, and behind the scenes, acted as agent of the Underground Railroad; became a political advocate for the Mormons and was a personal friend to Brigham Young; served as lieutenant-colonel of the Pennsylvania Bucktail Regiment during the Civil War; rose to rank of major general for his gallant and meritorious service; developer of Kane, an area of western Pennsylvania. Elizabeth Dennistoun Wood [Kane]: (12 May 1836--29 May 1909) Physician, teacher, prohibitionist, philanthropist, wife of Thomas L. Kane, and daughter of William Wood; immigrated to America, 1844; married Thomas in 1853; educated in medicine; cared for neighbors and even passed through rebel lines in the Civil War to administer to her husband--s wounds; traveled to Utah with Thomas, 1872; wrote of her experiences in Utah in Twelve Mormon Homes; an avid photographer; finished her M.D. degree in the 1880s; undertook a class in the Presbyterian Sunday School; was a prohibitionist leader in the Women--s Christian Temperance Union; assisted with the hospital in Kane, PA.Harriet Amelia Kane: (10 July 1854--9 January 1896) Physician, daughter of Thomas L. and Elizabeth W. Kane; graduated in medicine in 1885; practiced medicine with her brothers in Kane, PA; retired early from medicine as her strength failed; devoted the rest of her life to working with her mother; together they spent their time in temperance and religious philanthropic work.Elisha Kent Kane: (25 November 1856--1935) Son of Thomas L. and Elizabeth W. Kane. Evan O--Neill Kane: (6 April 1861--1932) Son of Thomas L. and Elizabeth W. Kane. Studied at Jefferson Medical College and became a physician. Established Kane--s Woodside Hospital, which was later moved into Kane, enlarged through Elizabeth--s assistance, and incorporated under the name of Kane Summit Hospital. Here Elizabeth served as treasurer, member of the board of managers, and practiced medicine with her children. Evan credited the establishment of the hospital with the memory of his father--s constant struggle with illness.Sources: Dictionary of American Biography. 20 Volumes, plus supplements. (New York: Charles Scribner--s Sons, 1927--1936); Kane, Elizabeth Wood. --œBrief Biography of the Author, Elizabeth Dennistoun Kane.-- In: Story of John Kane. (J.B. Lippincott Company, 1921). The material in this collection has been divided into fourteen series. The first series contains papers relating to Judge John Kintzing Kane (Thomas L. Kane--s father), and John Kane--s wife, Jane Duvall Leiper Kane. The next five series contain papers relating to Thomas L. Kane, Elizabeth W. Kane, Harriet Amelia Kane, Elisha Kent Kane, and Evan O--Neill Kane, respectively. The remaining eight series contain photographs, oversized materials, and items removed from the collection, such as artifacts and printed books. A more complete description is as follows:Series 1: John Kintzing Kane and Jane Duvall Leiper Kane, 1835--1860. This series contains a booklet of published letters written by John and Jane to their daughter Elizabeth --œBessie-- Kane (Shields) and printed in 1914 by Helen Hamilton Stockton, daughter of Elizabeth Kane (Shields). It also contains one of John Kintzing Kane--s pocketbooks, dated 1860, filled with notes about a land dispute he appears to have been adjudicating while serving on the U.S. District Court of Columbia. Series 2: Thomas L. Kane, 1846--1908. This series contains papers relating most directly to Thomas L. Kane. Among them are several of Thomas--s handwritten manuscripts relating information about his ancestry; a small pocketbook kept by Kane while he was serving in the American Civil War; a patriarchal blessing given him in Council Bluffs by Latter-day Saint Patriarch John Smith and transcribed by Wilford Woodruff; a letter sent to Kane by Brigham Young on Kane--s arrival in Utah in 1858; a botanical specimen book kept by Kane; and four folders full of receipts, letters, and other papers relating to the establishment of Kane, Pennsylvania. It also includes a tangible Kane artifact: a lock of Thomas L. Kane--s beard.Series 3: Elizabeth Dennistoun Wood Kane, 1868--1907. This series contains carbon copies of typescripts of two of Elizabeth Kane--s journals: one was kept from 1858--1860; the other from 1860--1863. In addition it contains ten handwritten journals kept by Elizabeth between the years 1888 and 1907. It includes a two-volume history (between 500 and 600 written pages) in manuscript of the settlement of Kane, Pennsylvania, written by Elizabeth for her grandchildren and containing many interesting details not only about the settlement of Kane, but about herself, her husband, and their relationship. A table of contents of the topics discussed in the volumes is included at the end of this finding aid, in Appendix A. This series also contains a notebook in which Elizabeth collected recipes and recorded instructions for herself on how to complete various domestic tasks, such as knitting; and it includes a printed copy of a series of letters that Elizabeth wrote while on a journey to Mexico as part of the Pan American Medical Congress. Series 4: Harriet Amelia Kane, 1870--1882. This series consists of thirteen composition or exercise books kept by Harriet Amelia Kane, daughter of Thomas L. and Elizabeth W. Kane. Mostly they contain --œletters-- written by Harriet to her mother, father, and others describing the events of her day in a journalistic fashion. Some contain compositions on miscellaneous topics; some a few language exercises. The final notebook in the series is filled with notes taken on medical subjects. Also included in the series are two short, handwritten letters to Harriet: one from her mother, Elizabeth W. Kane, and one from a friend named --œCarrie.-- Series 5: Elisha Kent Kane, 1891. Contains a love letter written by Elisha to one --œFlorence,-- and a typed resolution by Elisha not to pursue romantic associations with his shipping clerk, Zella Hays, for three months, during which time he will try to cleanse himself of his feelings for her. It also includes a printed letter from Nature Magazine, to which Elisha was a subscriber.Series 6: Evan O--Neill Kane, 1928--1931. Contains a medical ledger kept over the years 1928 to 1931 recording patients-- names, dates of visits, and bills. It also includes notes and loose papers found in the medical ledger, some of which are printed on Kane Summit Hospital stationery. Although Evan--s name is not on the ledger, he was the only living physician in the immediate Thomas L. Kane family during the dates when the ledger was kept; so, presumably, it is his. This series also contains two copies of a printed address written by Evan and originally printed in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The article is titled, --œFire Proof Asbestos Surgical Dressing.-- Series 7: Miscellaneous. This series contains miscellaneous material related to the Kane family; namely, a medical periodical featuring an article on Elisha Kent Kane, Thomas L. Kane--s brother and a famous arctic explorer; an untitled map perhaps having to do with Kane, Pennsylvania; and twenty-one pieces of colored paper with European hotel names printed on them. The latter appear to be souvenirs gathered from hotels like collecting cards. Series 8: Photocopies of significant marginalia found in printed books removed from the collection. A number of books found in the Kane collection were removed and catalogued with the other rare books in BYU Special Collections (a list of these books can be found in Series 14: Printed Works Removed from the Collection). While most of the books did not contain a significant amount of marginalia, one book titled Thomas Chalmers: Preacher, Philosopher, and Statesman, contained an interesting note on the first page that discussed the Kane--s relationship to Chalmers. That marginalia has been photocopied and included in this series. Series 9: Photocopies of photographs, ca. mid to late 1800s. This series contains photocopies of all 168 photographs located in the collection. These copies should be consulted before the actual photographs in order to conserve them. A detailed index of the photographs, including the photographer, title, description of photograph, medium, date, place, and other pertinent information, is listed in Series 10: Photographs, ca. mid to late 1800s, transferred to Photoarchives. Series 10: Items (other than photographs) removed from printed works. This series contains any loose items, such as letters, newspaper clippings, receipts, and so forth that were tucked into pages of printed books found in the Kane collection. Any photographs tucked into printed books were catalogued with the rest of the photographs, and the place they were removed from is duly noted. Series 11: Oversized items removed from collection. This series contains items too large to be physically housed with the rest of the Kane materials. These include three items: a printed picture featuring the attack of the Pennsylvania Bucktails (Thomas L. Kane--s Civil War regiment) against Stonewall Jackson--s troops, an undated map of Kane--s Landing, and photocopies made of Elizabeth Kane--s two-volume, handwritten history of the settlement of Kane, Pennsylvania. These photocopies should be consulted before the original in order to preserve the original. Series 12: Artifacts removed from collection. This series contains three Kane artifacts belonging to the collection and requiring their own special storage units: two linens with Elizabeth Kane--s initials on them (E. D. K.); and a silver creamer, also with Elizabeth--s initials on it. Series 13: Photographs, ca. mid to late 1800s, transferred to Photoarchives. This series contains all of the original photographs found in the Kane Family Collection, totaling 168. It includes three albums and a series of loose photographs, some removed from journals, printed works, or gathered from other sources. Most of the photographs were unlabeled and undated, but many appear to be of Kane family members, including one of an elderly Thomas L. Kane and two of Kane at the time of his death. There are many photographs, some purchased, of trips to England and Scotland; some of Kane, Pennsylvania; and a photograph of the Pennsylvania Civil War Bucktail Regiment, 27.5 x 35 cm, with Elizabeth and her children identified on it. This series also contains the original steel printing plate of a well-known Thomas L. Kane portrait, as well as five printings from this plate. Although Elizabeth Kane, an amateur photographer herself, is not clearly noted as the photographer for any of the snapshots in this series, it is probable that she took some of the pictures, particularly the ones of Kane, Pennsylvania. Series 14: Printed works removed from collection. This series contains a list of all of the books belonging to the Thomas L. and Elizabeth W. Kane Family Collection, 1835--1931. Notable among them is a copy of Thomas a-- Kempis--s, Libri Quatuor De Imitatione Christi, Praecipuo Regni Administro, Dicati, which was especially bound and presented to Elizabeth Wood by Thomas L. Kane for her sixteenth birthday, 12 May 1852. (The letters relating the presentation of the volume are in Vault MSS 792, Box 11, Fds. 27--28. The date is written inside the front cover along with her name: --œMiss Bessie Wood.--) Among other books, the series also contains several family bibles, some volumes on infantry tactics, and a children--s reader with stories about Thomas L. Kane--s brother Elisha Kent Kane, a famous arctic explorer. Most of the books do not contain a significant amount of marginalia, although many contain some sort of inscription on the opening pages naming the giver of the book, the recipient of the book, the date, and sometimes a short message. Some of the bibles contain notes. The most significant piece of marginalia has been photocopied and included in Series 8: Photocopies of significant marginalia found in printed books removed from the collection. All of the books have been removed from the collection and assigned their own catalogue numbers, but all are clearly marked as works removed from this collection; namely, VAULT MSS 3190. 1. Kane, Thomas L. and Elizabeth W. Thomas L. Kane and Elizabeth W. Kane Collection, 1762--1982. BYU--s most extensive collection of Kane materials. A two-volume register details the entire contents of the collection (79 boxes or 73 linear feet of material), which includes journals, correspondence, scrapbooks, maps, photographs, and legal documents relating to Thomas and Elizabeth Kane. In addition to the collection register, a detailed description of the holdings can be found in Whittaker, David J. New Sources on Old Friends: The Thomas L. Kane and Elizabeth W. Kane Collection.BYU Studies 27, no. 1 (Spring 2000): 67--94. Vault MSS 792.2. Kane, Thomas Leiper. Autograph, [1846]. Autograph on an extracted fly leaf from a book which was presented to J. C. Little on 17 February [1846]. MSS 991.3. Kane, John Kintzing. Letter, 1846. Handwritten and signed letter dated 1 February 1846 and addressed to --œdear Sir.-- Kane writes that he has recently been visited by a --œMr. Benson and Mr. Little-- of the Mormon Church. They asked Kane--s opinion of a case relating to a Joseph Sidwell. Kane comments on the Mormon plans to emigrate to the West U.S., --œI am thoroughly convinced of the general integrity and right mindedness of this persecuted sect.-- MSS SC 2474.4. Young, Brigham. Letter, 1873. Handwritten and unsigned draft of a letter, dated 6 May 1873, and addressed to Thomas Leiper Kane. Young writes to Kane with advice relating to Kane--s estate. Vault MSS 144.5. Little, Jesse C. Letters Received and Pamphlets, 1844-1892. Letters received, miscellaneous items, and pamphlets composed by Little. These materials largely deal with Little--s activities in the mission field in the 1840s. Letters are from such prominent individuals as Brigham Young (1801--1877) and Thomas L. Kane. MSS SC 1124.6. Allis, Samuel. Statement, 1846. Photocopies of a handwritten and signed statement dated 8 September 1846. Allis affirms that he and others were in Omaha County, Nebraska, before the Mormons arrived. Also included is a letter from R. B. Mitchell stating he has --œnothing to add to my communication made to Colonel Kane-- dated 19 September 1846. MSS SC 187.7. Kane, Thomas L. Thomas L. Kane Diary, 1858. A small pocketbook (8 x 5.5 cm) of approximately 80 pp. kept by Kane during the --œUtah War.-- A transcription of the diary, which is difficult to read because of the small, sometimes disjointed text, and because of the age of the manuscript, has been made. Vault MSS 807. 8. Kane, Thomas L. Pocket Diary and Correspondence, 1852--1900. Pocket diary, 1852, 12 x 7.5 cm, one volume, bound, brass-clasped, black with gold lettering, pencil entries and pencil sketches throughout; Letter of Brigham Young to Kane, 15 Dec. 1859, 7 pp., encapsulated; three additional holographic letters: Thomas L. Kane to his aunt, Mrs. Constable, n.d., 1 p. Kane to Samuel P. Bates, historian of Pennsylvania, 6 April 1867, 2 pp. letter of Elizabeth W. Kane to her son Elisha, 24 February 1900, 2pp. Also a photocopy of letter of Thomas L. Kane to his son Elisha, 15 Dec. 1867, 2 pp. Vault MSS 796. 9. Elizabeth W. Kane Portrait (Oil on Wood), ca. 1903. One oil on wood painting of Elizabeth W. Kane, measuring 24 inches x 36 inches, framed. MSS 2957.
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