By Zachary R. Jones, Archivist
Collection Overview
Title: Connie H. Paddock Papers, 1942-2004
ID: MS/021
Creator: Paddock, Constance H. (1920-2011)
Extent: 1.0 Boxes
Date Acquired: 09/03/2009
Scope and Contents of the Materials
This collection consists of one box of Connie H. Paddock’s personal papers. Included is her incoming and outgoing correspondence, personal writings about life in Alaska, clippings, as well as other papers documenting her and her family’s lives. The bulk of the collection consists of Paddock’s outgoing correspondence, spanning 1968 to 2004, to friends and family. Paddock wrote colorful and detailed letters that discussed her life and the observations she made. The correspondence documents the life of an educated Alaska Native women residing in Southeast Alaska during the latter twentieth century. Topics include Alaska Native history, Alaska women’s history, Alaska political history, Juneau history, Tenekee Springs history, and other similar topics.
Regarding the collection, correspondence has been organized into outgoing (arranged chronologically) and incoming (arranged alphabetically). Other papers in the collection consists of clippings, awards, papers concerning Paddock’s ancestry, yearbooks from the Haskell Institute, and stories written by Paddock about life in Alaska.
Note: Approximately 30 photographs of Paddock’s were donated with this collection. These photographs have been arranged as their own collection, which can be viewed at SHI by asking to see the Connie H. Paddock Photograph Collection.
Note: Biographical/autobiographical information about Constance Harper Paddock and her family has been published in; Jan Harper-Haines, Cold River Spirits: Whispers from a Family’s Forgotten Past (Epicenter Press, 2012).
Biographical Note
Constance ‘Connie’ Helen Harper (1920-2011) was born on June 18, 1920 on a small Tanana River island near Nenana, Alaska. She was part Athabaskan Indian. Connie was educated in the common schools of the area and in 1940 she was awarded a business scholarship to attend the Haskell Institute, Lawrence, Kansas, from where she later graduated with honors. After completing her studies at the Haskell Institute, Connie returned to Alaska and settled briefly at Juneau. There she met Thomas Oren Paddock (1913-1981) who she married in 1943, though Thomas spent the next two years in the Pacific working as a US Navy Seabee building marine installations. During this period in Juneau Connie worked as a secretary to the Welfare Director in the Alaska Office of Indian Affairs. After Thomas completed his military service, he and Connie moved to Tenekee Springs, Alaska in 1946 where Connie worked for the Federal Government completing census records for approximately five years. In 1951 Connie and her husband moved back to Juneau where Connie found work in the Alaska State Legislature as an Assistant Clerk, and Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives. She worked in this capacity for approximately 20 years until her retirement. During her life Connie was also involved in the Alaska Native Sisterhood and worked to secure lands for Alaska Native villages left out of ANCSA. She is also a Sealaska Corporation shareholder. She is the mother of three children, Maxine, Tom Jr., and Anna Louise. She passed away in March 2011 at the Sitka Pioneers Home.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Source:
Connie H. Paddock
Acquisition Method:
The material in the collection was donated to SHI on September 3, 2009 from Connie H. Paddock.
Box and Folder Listing
- Box 1: Connie H. Paddock Papers
- Folder 1: Outgoing correspondence, 1942.
- Folder 2: Outgoing correspondence, 1968-69.
- Folder 3: Outgoing correspondence, 1975-77.
- Folder 4: Outgoing correspondence, 1978-79.
- Folder 5: Outgoing correspondence, 1980-82.
- Folder 6: Outgoing correspondence, 1983-84.
- Folder 7: Outgoing correspondence, 1985-89.
- Folder 8: Outgoing correspondence, 1990-91.
- Folder 9: Outgoing correspondence, 1992-93.
- Folder 10: Outgoing correspondence, 1994-95.
- Folder 11: Outgoing correspondence, 1996-97.
- Folder 12: Outgoing correspondence, 1998-99.
- Folder 13: Outgoing correspondence, 2000-2004.
- Folder 14: Outgoing correspondence, undated and incomplete letters.
- Folder 15: Incoming correspondence, A-Z.
- Folder 16: Incoming correspondence, Flo Kenny, Emmit Creek, Alaska, 1991-97.
- Folder 17: Incoming correspondence, Mary “Toots” Harper Denton, Waycross, Georgia, 1984-2006. (Denton is the Paddock’s youngest sister).
- Folder 18: Writings of C. Paddock.
- Folder 19: Writings about C. Paddock and her family and ancestors.
- Folder 20: Certificates of achievement and similar papers.
- Folder 21: Newspaper clippings.
- Folder 22: Two copies of The Indian Leader, Haskell Institute, Kansas, 1940 and 1943.