Biography of Claire L. Starr
Claire Louisa Beebe was born in East Lyme, Connecticut, on September 20, 1872, the daughter of fisherman Samuel A. Beebe (1843-1897) and his wife, Almeda Littlefield (1848-1876). After the death of her mother in 1876 and with her father frequently away at sea, Claire lived with her grandmother, Louisa Fairbanks Beebe, and other family members. In May 1901, she married Benjamin Singleton Starr (1867-1916), a pharmacist in New London, Connecticut, who died of pneumonia in 1916. The couple had three daughters, Eleanor, Marjory, and Beulah. Starr traced the genealogy of her family to an extensive degree, and became active in local historical and genealogical organizations, including the East Lyme Historical Society, the Mayflower Society, and the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Scope and Contents of the Papers
The Claire L. Starr Papers includes correspondence, genealogical research notes, newspaper clippings and ephemera dating from 1840 to 1958. They are organized into two series, Genealogical papers and Personal papers. The Genealogical papers include two scrapbooks, compiled genealogies, information about Starr’s membership in genealogical organizations, her correspondence regarding genealogy, and notes on her genealogical research. The Personal papers include her correspondence, some family correspondence, information about her husband, Benjamin Starr, and her three daughters, Eleanor, Marjory, and Beulah, mortgages and deeds, insurance papers, accounts and receipts, and miscellaneous items such as name cards, post cards, prose and verse, and brochures.
Restrictions
Restrictions on Access
Available for use in the Manuscripts Division.
Restrictions on Use
Various copying restriction apply. Guidelines are available from the Manuscripts Division.
Related Material
The Claire L. Starr Papers (Coll. 330) were accessioned with the Captain Samuel A. Beebe, Jr., Papers, then separated as a distinct collection.
Index Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the G. W. Blunt White Library. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Persons:
Beckwith Family
Beebe Family
Beebe, Mary
Beebe, Samuel A., Jr., 1843-1897
Fairbanks Family
Henning, Ruth
Leather, Eleanor (Starr)
Otis Family
Starr Family
Starr, Benjamin S.
Starr, Claire L. (Beebe), b. 1872
Vose, Marjory Allen (Starr)
Wood, Beulah (Starr)
Corporate Bodies (Including Vessels):
Daughters of the American Revolution
East Lyme Historical Society
General Society of Mayflower Descendants
Starr Brothers, Inc.
Places:
East Lyme (Conn.)
New London (Conn.)
Subjects:
Genealogy
Document Types:
American poetry
American prose literature
Brochures
Deeds
Genealogical tables
Genealogy–research
Insurance policies
Letters
Printed ephemera
Scrapbooks
Occupations:
Women genealogists
Administrative Information
Coll. 330, Manuscripts Collection, G. W. Blunt White Library, Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc.
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
| Genealogical papers; 1900-1977, n.d. | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Scrapbook (photocopy, original sent to CRC) ; circa 1935 (circa 65 pieces) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Scrapbook; 1947-1950 (1 item) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Genealogy of Bartlett family; 1925 (1 item) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Genealogy of Beebe/Starr family; n.d. (1 item) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Genealogy of Otis family; 1937 (1 item) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Genealogy of Starr family; n.d. (3 items) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Genealogy chart of Starr family; n.d. (36 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Genealogy organizations: Daughters of the American Revolution; 1928-1935, n.d. (5 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Genealogy organizations: East Lyme Historical Society; 1917, 1942, n.d. (10 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 10 | Genealogy organizations: Mayflower Society; 1926-1931, n.d. (12 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 11 | Correspondence about genealogy: Claire B. Starr; 1926-1952, n.d. (14 items) | ||||||||||||
| 12 | Correspondence about genealogy: Ruth Henning; 1930-1957, n.d. (37 items) | ||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | Correspondence about genealogy: Carrie M. Sherman/Percy Stewart ; 1923-1932 (29 items) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Correspondence about genealogy: Miscellaneous; 1900-1938, n.d. (23 items) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Genealogy notes: 2 notebooks; n.d. (2 items) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Genealogy notes; n.d. (26 items) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Genealogy notes; n.d. (18 items) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Genealogy notes; n.d. (27 items) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Genealogy notes; n.d. (29 items) | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Genealogy notes; n.d. (27 items) | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Genealogy notes; n.d. (46 items) | ||||||||||||
| 10 | Genealogy notes; n.d. (30 items) | ||||||||||||
| 11 | Genealogy notes; n.d. (24 items) | ||||||||||||
| 12 | Genealogy notes: newspaper clippings; n.d. (34 items) | ||||||||||||
| 13 | Genealogy notes: Church histories; 1943, 1977, n.d. (5 items) | ||||||||||||
| Personal papers; 1840-1958 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 3 | 1 | Correspondence: Mary Beebe; 1840-1845, n.d. (13 items) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Correspondence: Samuel A. Beebe, Jr.; 1880 (2 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Correspondence: Claire L. Beebe; 1883-1895 (12 items) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Correspondence: Claire Starr; 1909-1910 (5 items) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Correspondence: Claire Starr; 1912-1918 (9 items) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Correspondence: Claire Starr, sympathy for the death of Benjamin Starr; 1916 (34 items) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Correspondence: Claire Starr; 1921-1939 (18 items) | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Correspondence: Claire Starr; 1940-1958 (6 items) | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Correspondence: Miscellaneous correspondents; 1852-1898, 1955, n.d. (5 items) | ||||||||||||
| 10 | Papers about Benjamin Star; 1898-1946 (4 items) | ||||||||||||
| 11 | Papers about Starr daughters; 1912-1945 (13 items) | ||||||||||||
| 12 | Deeds/Mortgages; 1873-1926 (16 items) | ||||||||||||
| 13 | Insurance policies; 1893-1938 (6 items) | ||||||||||||
| 14 | Account books; 1889-1890, 1963 (2 items) | ||||||||||||
| 15 | Receipts/Invoices; 1873-1951 (26 items) | ||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 4 | 1 | Name cards of Claire (Beebe) Starr; n.d. (5 items) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Prose and verse, authors unidentified; n.d. (7 items) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Recipes (possibly compiled by Eleanor Starr); n.d. (10 items) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Miscellaneous volumes: Communion book, “The Old Maid’s Association,” and textbook; 1883, 1906, n.d. (3 items) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Miscellaneous images; n.d. (5 items) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Postcards, unknown senders and recipients; n.d (60 items) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Miscellaneous items, including hair clipping, brochures, and pamphlets; n.d. (13 items) | ||||||||||||