Library Record
Metadata
Title |
Covey family papers |
Author |
Covey, Earl William, 1876-1952 |
Author added entry |
Covey, Henry, 1840-1924 |
Year Range from |
1891 |
Year Range to |
1925 |
Object Name |
Manuscript |
Control Number |
12128 |
Call Number |
MS 09-392 |
Physical Description |
2.63 linear ft. (4 boxes) |
Summary |
The collection is comprised of business and personal papers of the Covey family. The bulk of papers were created by Earl Covey, builder and proprietor of Twitchell Lake Inn and Covewood on Big Moose Lake, and his father, Henry Covey, builder and proprietor of Camp Crag on Big Moose Lake. The collection includes correspondence, financial records, account books, legal documents, and photographs. See Notes field for complete finding aid. |
Search Terms |
Covey, Earl William, 1876-1952 Covey, Henry, 1840-1924 Twitchell Lake Inn Camp Crag Hotels, boarding houses, etc. Big Moose Account books World War, 1914-1918 |
Related Publications |
See also: Henry and Earl Covey Papers, 1908-1941 (MS 91-1) Covey, Frances Alden. The Earl Covey Story. New York: Exposition Press, 1964. |
Notes |
Guide to the Covey Family Papers, 1891-1925 (MS 09-392) Collection Number: MS 09-392 Extent: 2.63 linear ft. (4 boxes) Purchased from: Sarah Cohen, December 1992. Inclusive Dates: 1891-1925 Bulk Dates: 1903-1923 Access: Access to this collection is unrestricted. Abstract: The collection is comprised of business and personal papers of the Covey family. The bulk of papers were created by Earl Covey, builder and proprietor of Twitchell Lake Inn and Covewood on Big Moose Lake, and his father, Henry Covey, builder and proprietor of Camp Crag on Big Moose Lake. The collection includes correspondence, financial records, account books, legal documents, and photographs. Catalog Terms: Covey, Earl William, 1876-1952 Covey, Henry, 1840-1924 Twitchell Lake Inn Camp Crag Hotels, boarding houses, etc. Big Moose (N.Y.) Account books World War, 1914-1918 Scope and Content Note: The collection is comprised of business and personal papers of the Covey family. The bulk of papers were created by Earl Covey, builder and proprietor of Twitchell Lake Inn and Covewood on Big Moose Lake, and his father, Henry Covey, builder and proprietor of Camp Crag on Big Moose Lake. The collection includes correspondence, financial records, account books, legal documents, and photographs. The collection also includes a small amount of correspondence created or received by: Addie Covey, the first wife of Earl Covey; Frances (Alden) Covey, second wife of Earl Covey; William Covey, son of Earl and Addie Covey; Sumner Covey, son of Earl and Addie Covey; Emma (Covey) MacEdward, daughter of Earl and Addie Covey. Earl Covey's papers include account books for the Twitchell Inn and miscellaneous business correspondence, including invoices, correspondence with vendors, and occasional requests for Covey's expertise as a builder. Earl's papers also include material pertaining to the sale of Henry Covey's Camp Crag in 1922, personal correspondence from his father, sister, Addie Covey, and future wife Frances Alden, several family photographs, and numerous banking and insurance documents. Henry Covey's papers include correspondence related to the Camp Crag property and Camp Crag business operations, personal correspondence with his legal advisor William Staake, and material pertaining to the nearby Hess Camp, which for a time was operated by Henry's nephew, Edward Duquette. His papers also include material related to local land and community issues. The collection also includes material pertaining to the military service and memorial of Earl's son, William Covey. Documents include William's wartime letters to his parents, correspondence regarding his death and personal effects, and documents pertaining to the memorial bridge built in his honor. Organization Note: Folders are arranged alphabetically by the name of the creator, and then by folder title. Henry Covey's papers came to the library well-organized and his original arrangement has been maintained. The bulk of Earl Covey's papers came to the library in a somewhat disorganized state and have been arranged into general categories. Biographical and Historical Note: Henry Covey was born in 1840 in upstate New York. The son of a blacksmith, Covey pursued his father's craft through the 1880s. In 1874, he married Emma Chase (1860-1890), and the couple had two sons, Clarence (1875-1892) and Earl (1876-1952). With the help of his young sons, he built one of the first camps on Big Moose Lake in 1888, and began a thirty-five year career as the proprietor of Camp Crag. In 1890 his wife, Emma, died of tuberculosis. Two years later, Henry married Margaret Rose (d. 1923), Emma's nurse. There was no road to the camp, and all guests and supplies came by boat to Crag Point. In 1922, Covey sold the Camp Crag property to Edward Morse, a former guest at the camp, and moved to his son's home for the last two years of his life. He died in 1924. Sometime between 1923 and 1930, Cam Crag's main building disappeared. When Edward Morse died in 1930, the Camp Crag property was sold to Robert Guy Harry. It sat empty through the 1930s and 1940s before being sold to J. Ross Paltz in 1951. Currently the property houses a lakeside community development. Earl Covey was a master builder, guide, rustic camp proprietor, and inventor who lived in the Big Moose area for many years. He was born in 1876 in Glenfield, New York. As a boy, Earl helped his father, Henry, build Camp Crag. Earl married Addie Butts (1876-1920) in 1895. The couple would go on to have five children -- William Covey (1896-1918), Emma (Covey) MacEdward (1897-1978), Mildred (Covey) Brownell (1899-1976), Sumner Covey (1901-1963), and Henry Covey (1903-1921). After working in Washington, D.C., Earl and his family came to Camp Crag in 1897 at the request of Henry Covey. In 1899, Covey bought property on the southwest end of nearby Twitchell Lake and began building Twitchell Lake Inn. Covey became a popular host and guide in the area. Covey was also sought after for his expertise in building; he designed Big Moose Community Chapel, as well as other buildings in the area around Big Moose Lake, in Florida, and in Canada. After being widowed in 1920, Covey married Frances Alden (b. 1890) in 1923. The couple had one daughter, Mary Alden (Covey) Williams (1927-). In the mid-1920s, Covey allowed his son Sumner and daughter Mildred to assume operation of Twitchell Lake Inn and began work on Covewood, a rustic camp on Big Moose Lake, which opened for business in 1925. Covey operated the camp for several years until aging and poor health compelled Covey to sell Covewood to Gladys Bourner in 1938. Bourner ran the lodge until 1950, when she sold the camp to C.V. "Major" Bowes. As of 2009, Bowes continues to operate the camp under the Covewood name. From the late 1930s until his death in 1952, Covey lived in Florida during the winter months and returned to Big Moose Lake during the summer. He died at Big Moose Lake in August 1952. Related Collections: See also the Henry and Earl Covey Papers (MS 91-1). Box and Folder Listing: BoxFolderFolder Title 11Addie Covey - Miscellaneous Correspondence - 1917-1920 & n.d. 12Earl Covey - Account Books - Twitchell Lake Inn - 1906 13Earl Covey - Account Books - Twitchell Lake Inn - 1906-1907 14Earl Covey - Account Books - Twitchell Lake Inn - 1909-1910 15Earl Covey - Account Books - Twitchell Lake Inn - 1913-1917 16Earl Covey - Account Books - Twitchell Lake Inn - 1918 17Earl Covey - Account Books - Twitchell Lake Inn - 1919 18Earl Covey - Alden, Frances - Correspondence - 1922 19Earl Covey - Automobile - 1916-1922 110Earl Covey - Banking Documents - 1907-1919 111Earl Covey - Banking Documents - 1920-1922 112Earl Covey - Camp Crag - 1920, 1922 113Earl Covey - Chicago and Great Western Railroad - 1926 114Earl Covey - Covey, Addie - 1912 115Earl Covey - Deeds and Correspondence re: Land - 1908-1921 116Earl Covey - Empty Envelopes - 1919-1922 & n.d. 117Earl Covey - Family Correspondence - 1907, 1922 118Earl Covey - Insurance Documents - 1910-1915 119Earl Covey - Insurance Documents - 1916-1922 120Earl Covey - Legal Documents - 1918-1921 21Earl Covey - Miscellaneous Business Correspondence - 1906-1917 22Earl Covey - Miscellaneous Business Correspondence - 1918=-1921 23Earl Covey - Miscellaneous Business Correspondence - 1922 [1 of 2] 24Earl Covey - Miscellaneous Business Correspondence - 1922 [2 of 2] 25Earl Covey - Miscellaneous Business Correspondence - 1923-1925 & n.d. 26Earl Covey - Miscellaneous Personal Correspondence - 1908-1923 & n.d. 27Earl Covey - Photographs - n.d. 28Earl Covey - Tax Documents 29Earl Covey - Vaccination Certificates - 1914 210Earl Covey - Western Development Company - 1918, 1922 211Earl Covey - White, Bernard - 1930-1931 212Frances [Alden] Covey - 1918-1925 213Henry Covey - Albany Hospital - 1918 214Henry Covey - Bank Books - 1918-1922 215Henry Covey - Banking and Insurance Documents - 1903-1923 216Henry Covey - Beecher, Eleanor and Charles - Correspondence - 1921-1922 217Henry Covey - Big Moose Telephone Company - 1911 218Henry Covey - Camp Crag - Correspondence with Mrs. A.M. Colby - 1917 219Henry Covey - Camp Crag - Correspondence with Townsend and Stebbins re: land - 1891-1892 220Henry Covey - Camp Crag - Inventories - 1908, 1918 31Henry Covey - Citizens Trust Company - Bond Correspondence - 1917-1918 32Henry Covey - Deeds and Mortgages - 1891-1922 33Henry Covey - Duquette, Edward - Death and Estate - 1905 34Henry Covey - Herkimer Lumber Company - 1904 35Henry Covey - Hess Camp Property - 1903-1906 36Henry Covey - Higby Matter - 1903 37Henry Covey - Inlet Post Office - 1905 38Henry Covey - Little Falls Stone Company Matter - 1909-1910 39Henry Covey - Millar, Chas. & Sons - Correspondence - 1904-1905 310Henry Covey - Miscellaneous Business Correspondence - 1893-1923 311Henry Covey - Miscellaneous Personal Correspondence - 1901-1917 312Henry Covey - Tax Documents - 1916-1920 41Henry Covey - Wells Subscription - 1906 42Henry Covey [1903-1921] - 1918-1921 43Sumner Covey - 1918-1921 44William Covey - Correspondence Received by William Covey - 1916-1917 45William Covey - Correspondence Regarding Death and Personal Effects - 1918-1920 46William Covey - Correspondence Regarding Memorial Bridge - 1919-1922 47William Covey - WWI Correspondence with Parents - 1917-1918 48Emma [Covey] MacEdward - 1919-1920 |
Collection |
Adirondack Experience Library |