Guide to the Clingman Family Papers and Photographs c.1890-c.1960
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Clingman Family Papers and Photographs
- Creator
- Clingman Family
- Collection Number
- MSS 0768
- Extent
- 2 linear feet (1 box and 1 oversized box)
- Date
- c.1890-c.1960
- Abstract
- The Clingman family moved from New York to the Pittsburgh area in the early twentieth century where Henry Clingman started H. E. Clingman and Son, a printing company. The Clingman Family Papers and Photographs document the family genealogy and the activities of Mildred Clingman Pricer and of Ellen Pricer Niepp and their families with correspondence, a scrapbook, yearbooks, photocopies of newspaper articles and Ellen Pricer Niepp's baby book. The photographs document the Clingman, Bullis and Pricer families in candid photographs and in studio portraits from the late nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This collection has been made accessible as part of an NHPRC-funded Basic Processing grant.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
History
Henry Edward Clingman was the owner of H. E. Clingman and Son, a printing company in the Pittsburgh area. He was born on May 21, 1872 to William and Adelia (Delaurier) Clingman, in Plattsburg, NY. He married Nellie Elvira Bullis, and they had four children: Mildred, Ruth, Eleanor, and Edward. In 1916, Henry and his wife purchased a house in Ben Avon, Pa. Henry Clingman was a Mason and a Bible studies teacher at Emsworth Methodist Episcopal Church. He died on December 31, 1918.
Mildred Clingman Pricer was a social worker in Allegheny County. She was born to Henry and Nellie Clingman, on December 20, 1896 in Glenn Falls, NY. After graduating from Ben Avon High School in 1916, Mildred Clingman went to the University of Pittsburgh where she graduated in 1920 with a Bachelor of Science degree. She went on to become a probation officer for the Allegheny County Juvenile Court, a case worker at the Ward Home for children and a social worker at the Baptist Orphanage and Home. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She married Joseph Phillip Prescott Pricer, who worked for an insurance agency, on January 31, 1929, and they had one child, Ellen Ann.
Ellen Ann Pricer Niepp was an artist and a teacher at Northgate School District. She was born on September 30, 1930. After graduating from Mt. Lebanon High School in 1948, she attended the University of Pittsburgh where she met Frederick A. Niepp, who went on to become the owner of Neon Manufacturing Company and Neonwerks in Pittsburgh's West End. They were married on January 31, 1952, and they had two children; Diana and Leslie. Ellen Pricer Niepp died on December 31, 2001.
Scope and Content Notes
The Clingman Family Papers and Photographs document the lives and genealogy of Clingman family members in the Pittsburgh area. The genealogy materials include lists of family members dating back to 580 A.D., Henry Clingman's obituary, Mildred Pricer's correspondence with her cousin Vern Klingman, dated 1960 to 1961, and a 1916 copy of a deed for the Clingman house in Ben Avon. Mildred's school activities are documented in a 1916 Ben Avon High School yearbook, a 1920 commencement program from the University of Pittsburgh, and Quax University of Pittsburgh: Some Reminiscences of its Founding by the Charter Members.Ellen Pricer's school activities are documented in a 1948 Mt. Lebanon High School yearbook and several issues from 1950-1952 of Panther, a University of Pittsburgh magazine where she was the art editor. The lives of Mildred Clingman Pricer and of Ellen Pricer Niepp are documented by an itinerary of Mildred and Joseph Pricer's honeymoon, Mildred's scrapbook, the guestbook for Ellen Pricer's wedding to Frederick A. Niepp, and Ellen's baby book from 1930. The scrapbook is dated 1920-1952 and shows photographs of Henry Clingman, the Pricers on vacations, Ellen Pricer Niepp's childhood photographs, and news clippings of Ellen Pricer Niepp's school activities. Frederick Niepp's career is documented by newspaper articles about two companies he owned, Neon Manufacturing Company, a manufacturer of neon signs, and Neonwerks, a neon sign retail shop in the West End of Pittsburgh. The photographs include late nineteenth and early twentieth century photographs of the Clingman and Bullis families, Mildred and Joseph Pricer's vacation photographs from the early 1960s, and studio portraits of Mildred and Joseph and of Ellen Pricer. In addition to family photographs, there are photographs of the 1915 and 1916 graduating classes from Ben Avon High School.
Arrangement
The Clingman Family Papers and Photographs are housed in two archival boxes, one of which is oversized. The materials are arranged in five groups: Henry Edward Clingman, Mildred Clingman Pricer, Ellen Pricer Niepp, Photographs and Published Materials. The folders are arranged alphabetically by topic. Materials in the oversized box include Mildred Clingman Pricer's degree from the University of Pittsburgh, photocopies of articles about Neonwerks, Mildred Clingman Pricer's scrapbook, studio portraits of Mildred Clingman Pricer, Joseph Pricer and Ellen Pricer Niepp, and property deeds.
Conditions Governing Access
None.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift from Leslie A. Niepp in 2006.
Archives accession # 2006.0022
Preferred Citation
Clingman Family Papers and Photographs, c.1890-c.1960, MSS 0768, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center
Processing Information
Preliminary processing by Kelly J. Smith on April 16, 2012.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Subjects
- Mt. Lebanon Senior High School (Mount Lebanon, Pa.)
- University of Pittsburgh
- Ben Avon High School (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Clingman, Henry Edward (1872-1918)
- Pricer, Mildred Clingman (1896-1969)
- Niepp, Ellen Ann Pricer (1930-2001)
- Ben Avon, Pa
- Neon signs