Guide to the Marilynn S. Barks papers
circa 1939-1961
Collection number: HMC-0478.
Creator: Barks, Marilynn S.
Title: Marilynn S. Barks papers.
Dates: circa 1939-1961.
Volume of collection: 0.5 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Collection materials are in English.
Collection summary: Letters and papers of an Alaskan woman who worked in the mining business.
Biographical note:
Marilynn S. Barks was born about 1901. She lived in Alaska from the early 1940s through the 1960s. She was married to Americus “Gus” V. Barks who worked with several mining operations on the Kenai Peninsula and in the interior. Mrs. Barks performed clerical work for L.S. Wickersham (first name alternatively spelled in different sources as Leburn, Lebrun, and Lebrum), who ran the mines where Gus was employed, and nursed him in his old age. She also assisted in the affairs of her neighbor, Charles Seaton Harvard. In addition to her clerical work, she owned and rented property in Anchorage. Upon the death of her husband, she continued working in the mining business until the death of Mr. Wickersham.
Collection description:
This collection contains personal papers and correspondence relating to Marilynn S. Barks’s life in Alaska. The majority of correspondence concerns her husband and his work in the mines, as well as life in Anchorage during WWII. Other correspondents include her brother Jack, Charles Seaton Harvard, L.S. Wickersham, relatives outside of Alaska, merchants, and an astrologer. The personal papers include insurance policies and receipts, as well as tax forms and mining claim information.
Arrangement: The collection is arranged by document type, and correspondence is arranged chronologically.
Digitized copies: Digital copies of collection material are not available online. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights notes: Archives does not hold copyright to materials in this collection.
Preferred citation: Marilynn S. Barks papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Separated materials: A majority of the collection was removed from the Charles S. Harvard papers in 2005.
Custodial history: A portion of this collection was originally given to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska and Polar Regions Archives and Special Collections by Joe Hayes in 1981.
Acquisition note: Part of the collection was given to the Archives in 1994 as part of the Charles S. Harvard collection by Joe L. Hayes. A deed of gift was signed by Hayes in 1995. Additional correspondence was presented to the Archives by Alice Chase, trustee of the Marilynn S. Barks Estate, in 2005. Further materials were transferred from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska and Polar Regions Archives and Special Collections in 2007.
Processing information: This collection was arranged and described by Jeffrey Sinnott in 2005. In 2018, additional materials were added and the collection guide updated by Veronica Denison.
Container list:
| Folder | Description | Dates |
| 1-12 | Correspondence | undated, 1940-1961 |
| 13 | Insurance policies and receipts | 1943, 1957, 1960 |
| 14 | Tax forms and receipts | 1939-1949 |
| 15 | Certificate, Cook Inlet Historical Society Charter Member | 1955 |
| 16 | Wickersham vs. Devault (mining claims): File of Wickersham’s White Creek Placer Claims and Dick Bruce and Marilynn Barks including water rights on Nugget Creek and White Creek from Almer Peterson | 1941-1949 |