Born shortly after the deaths of his two eldest brothers, William and Channing Moore Bulkley, who fought and died in the Civil War, Olcott grew up cherished by a family deeply marked by both loss and resilience. His letters offer an extraordinary window into daily life, family dynamics, and social change from Higginsville, Missouri to Lancaster, California, between 1883 and 1910.
Here, we share:
-
Letter transcriptions capturing the voice of 19th-century America — filled with family dramas, courtship, education, health struggles, and civic life.
-
Family histories that trace a lineage back to Rev. Peter Bulkley, founder of Concord, Massachusetts and early supporter of Harvard University.
-
Artifacts and memorabilia including a Civil War diary, naval uniforms from WWI, Depression-era journals, WWII service flags, ration books, and 19th-century photographs.
Our Mission
Our goal is to digitize, preserve, and share material of historical, cultural, and educational interest.
The Bulkley story embodies key threads of American life:
-
Founding of early New England and Revolutionary activism
-
Civil War sacrifice and postwar Southern loyalties
-
Women's education and the rise of female professionalism
-
Westward migration and frontier civic building
-
Service in major U.S. wars: War of 1812, Civil War, World War I, World War II, and Vietnam
-
Social justice leadership in the Civil Rights era through YWCA activism
-
Innovation and preservation in the digital age
All woven together through one family’s extraordinary network across centuries.
Explore With Us
We invite historians, students, descendants, and the curious public to explore this unfolding American story. New transcriptions, photos, and family artifacts are added as the digitization project continues.
Together, we honor the memories — and lessons — of those who lived, loved, served, and dreamed before us.