The University of Iowa Libraries

Florinda (Flora) Wakefield was born near Colchester, Vermont on May 27, 1839 to Leonard and Rachel Wakefield. At some point, Wakefield and her parents moved to LeClaire, Iowa. Wakefield taught for at least two years before marrying Thomas More on August 17, 1859. Florinda and Thomas More had two children: Charles Wesley More, born January 6, 1861 and Metta Elizabeth More (birth date unknown.) Florinda More died on August 5, 1890 in Gowrie, Iowa.

Florinda More's husband, Thomas More, was born in Buffalo, New York on May 19, 1932 to John and Mary Elizabeth More. In 1849, More moved to Iowa with his parents. Although More initially planned on a career in law, he received his license to preach on June 3, 1854 and served the Upper Iowa Conference of the Methodist Church until his death in 1877. During Thomas More's tenure with the Methodist Church, the family lived in several Iowa towns, including Cascade, Elkader, Nashua and Janesville. During the Civil War, More was unable to join the Union Army as a chaplain due to a childhood injury. More died of congestive fever on September 7, 1877 at the age of forty-five.

Biographical information taken from How Many More: A Record of the Ancestors and Descendants of John and Mary Elizabeth More compiled by Jeanne Harrington, 1978.

The Florinda Wakefield More papers date from 1853 to 1891 and measure 1.5 linear inches. The papers are arranged in two series: Correspondence and Compositions and certificates.

The Correspondence series represents nearly forty years of correspondence. Most of the letters were received by Florinda Wakefield More from her cousins, Clara and William Wakefield, her sister Martha, and friends in both New Hampshire and Vermont. There are several letters written to Florinda More by Thomas More, both before and after their marriage, indicating that Reverend More traveled a lot, leaving Florinda at home with the children. There are also two letters which were written to Florinda More by her brother while he was serving as a soldier during the Civil War. Letters written by Florinda More to her children complete the correspondence series.

The Compositions and certificates series consists of Florinda Wakefield More's teaching certificates from 1858 to 1859, several undated compositions written by More, and an 1869 receipt for the final payment on an organ used in Reverend More's Methodist Church.

Access: The papers are open for research.

Use: Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to The University of Iowa.

Acquisition: The papers (donor no. 773) were donated by Jeanne Harrington Fowler in 2001 and 2004.

Preferred Citation: Florinda Wakefield More papers, Iowa Women's Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City.

Repository:	Iowa Women's Archives
Address:	100 Main Library University of Iowa Libraries Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone:	319-335-5068
Curator:	Kären Mason
Email:	lib-women@uiowa.edu
Website:	http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa

This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.

Personal Names:
More, Florinda Wakefield, 1839-1890
More, Thomas, 1832-1877

Dates:
19th century

Topics:
American Civil War, 1861-1865
Family life
Methodist Church

Occupations:
Homemakers
Teachers
Clergy

Geographic Names:
Cascade (Iowa)
Nashua (Iowa)
Elkader (Iowa)
Janesville (Iowa)

Genre/Form of Materials:
Archives
Correspondence
Personal papers

Browse:
Nineteenth Century Women