Manuscripts

The collection includes leases, receipts, and correspondence from the Carpenter family.

John Louis Florville Levonle later William Florville (Fleurville) (1807-1868) was Haitian-born. After his parents died, he moved from Haiti to Baltimore, Maryland where he attended Catholic school and was an apprentice in a barber shop. He moved to New Orleans to set up a barber shop and then St. Louis. He arrived in Springfield in 1831. In 1832 he married Phoebe Roundtree, a former slave.  He was a barber and businessman whose shop on Adams Street between Fifth and Sixth streets became a regular meeting place for Springfieldians, including Abraham Lincoln. The surname has a variety of spellings Floriville, Fleurville, De Fleurville.

Women in Communications, Inc. was founded in 1909 and the Springfield Chapter was founded in 1977.

A collection consisting of 24 audio cassettes of 17 local individuals interviewed by Glenn Kniss regarding their experiences during the war.