Group of Letters to Daniel W. Clarke

Group of Letters and a telegram to Daniel W. Clarke: (1) December 20, 1913 Western Union Telegram from Edna to Charles L. Clarke Announcing arrival for Christmas holidays [Edna and Charles were separated]. (2) Holograph letter to Daniel Clarke from his mother Edna Dated Moscow, Idaho, Feb. 25, 1916; single folded sheet in stamped envelope. Among other topics, hoping Daniel (not quite 15) can encourage his sister to come East to be with him and attend school for a year, in order to postpone her matrimony. (3) Holograph letter to Daniel Clarke from his mother Edna Dated Plainsfield, New Jersey, Sept. 15, 1911; single folded sheet in stamped envelope. Glad he's settling in and enjoying Andover. Much news of family and friends. (4) Holograph letter to Daniel Clarke from William Joseph Jenks (family friend and colleague of his father at Edison Company); dated New York, December 12, 1911; single sheet in plain envelope. Sending Daniel a fish trap, instead of books and advising him to keep a journal of his fishing exploits. Enjoy these, the happiest days of your life. Daniel William Clarke (25 Sep 1898 - 5 Jul 1976) was a WWI Army Veteran and a planner for General Electric, Schenectady, NY. These letters were sent to Daniel during his schooling at Andover Phillips Academy. Daniel was the son of Edna Florence Thurston Clarke (26 Aug 1881 -- 15 Jul 1969 ) and Charles L. Clarke (1853-1841), colleague of Thomas A. Edison in the pioneering days of electrical engineering. Clarke was one of the few men present when Edison opened the world's first electric generating plant for electric light operation on Pearl St., New York, in 1882. Clarke in 1881 was appointed chief engineer by Edison of the Edison Electric Light Company, supervised the mechanical engineering involved in establishing the Edison system and was the designer of much of the equipment used. Clarke joined the staff of the General Electric Company at Schenectady in 1913 and served as consulting engineer and research specialist until his retirement in 1931. Daniel's other correspondent William Joseph Jenks another Edison associate. In the Spring of 1883, when construction began at Brockton's generating plant, Jenks was named as its superintendent. Eventually, he was was director of the standardizing bureau at Edison Electric Light Co. These early years of the Edison work were memorialized in "Six Years' Practical Experience with the Edison Chemical Meter" by W. J. Jenks; published in Transactions of the Americ Institute of Electrical Engineers, 1 February 1889.…