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University of Michigan William L. Clements Library

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Thomas, Frederick, and Robert Hubbard family papers, 1803-1902 (majority within 1810-1869)

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Summary

Creator:
Hubbard family
Abstract:
This collection is made up of correspondence, diaries, writings, documents, and other material related to Thomas Hill Hubbard of Utica, New York, and his sons Frederick and Robert.
Extent:
2.5 linear feet
Language:
English
Authors:
Collection processed and finding aid created by Richard C. Bates, July 2007, and Naomi Herman-Aplet and Meg Hixon, April 2013

Background

Scope and Content:

This collection contains correspondence, writings, documents, and other material related to Thomas Hill Hubbard of Utica, New York, and his sons Frederick and Robert.

The collection's Correspondence is divided into two subseries. Chronological Correspondence (63 items) consists of personal letters to and between various members of the Hubbard family, dated December 12, 1803-April 9, 1902; most of the material is dated 1811-1858. Many letters pertain to personal and family news and travel. The series includes correspondence between Thomas Hill Hubbard and his wife Phebe; from Frederick Hubbard to his parents, Thomas Hill and Phebe Hubbard; and between the children of Thomas Hill and Phebe Hubbard. The subseries also contains incoming letters to "Philinda" from siblings, cousins, and a niece, who wrote in the mid- to late 1850s.

The Letter Books subseries is comprised of 6 volumes.

1. The first letter book contains around 99 pages of extracts from letters by Reverend Robert Hubbard (dated June 1810-May 24, 1840), who discussed religious topics. A poem by Grace D. Litchfield for her grandmother (December 16, 1869) and an unknown writer's poem for their mother ([December] 1888) are laid into the volume.

2. The second letter book has a few outgoing business letters by Thomas Hill Hubbard (July 10, 1841-July 7, 1842, 9 pages), but mostly contains outgoing letters by Robert J. Hubbard about matters related Thomas Hill Hubbard's estate (May 27, 1859-September 11, 1869, 362 pages).

3-4. The first of 2 letter books belonging to Frederick Hubbard contains outgoing letters and financial accounts pertaining to his work for the Northern Indiana Railroad in South Bend and La Porte, Indiana (March 3, 1851-June 18, 1852, 457 pages). His second letter book (June 18, 1852-November 10, 1854, 464 pages) is comprised outgoing letters and financial accounts pertaining to his work for the Northern Indiana Railroad in La Porte, Indiana, and the Michigan Southern Railroad in Clinton, Michigan.

5. One volume contains outgoing business correspondence of Litchfield & Co., often signed by C. H. Manson and E. Darwin Litchfield (letter book "J," February 12, 1857-April 29, 1860, 366 pages), and additional letters by Robert J. Hubbard about his father's estate (June 21, 1861-May 8, 1871, 387 pages).

6. Robert J. Hubbard kept a letter book with outgoing correspondence to family members and acquaintances (November 20, 1855-January 1872, 344 pages). He most frequently discussed finances, property, and business affairs.

The Diaries and Journals series (30 items) pertains to Frances Elizabeth Hubbard and Frederick Hubbard. Frances Elizabeth Hubbard began her two diaries on November 27, 1835 (around 140 pages), and April 25, 1836 (around 100 pages). She commented on her daily experiences, social activities, and travels in and around Richmond, Virginia, and Middletown, New York. The first volume also includes 4 pages of financial records and a list of names.

The Frederick Hubbard travel journals consist of 23 slim bound volumes (approximately 50 pages each), which together comprise a detailed account of Hubbard's travels in the United States and the Caribbean between March 1842 and October 1855. He often traveled on the New York & Erie Railroad.

An additional 5 volumes of writings by Frederick Hubbard recount a Grand Tour of Europe and the East between 1855 and 1857. He created the manuscript later in his life, by copying his earlier travel notes into blank books. He provided detailed observations and descriptions of locations in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Madeira, Malta, Palestine, Rome, Sicily, Spain, Egypt, Nubia, England, Syria, and other areas. Hubbard contributed original illustrations and tipped relevant engravings, prints, and maps into the books. Linnaeus Shecut II transcribed and edited the 5-volume manuscript in Notes of Travel in Europe and the East in the Years 1855-1856 and 1857: a Yankee Engineer Abroad (Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2007).

The Writings series contains approximately 50 compositions, including groups of school essays, descriptions about Florida locales, and book proposals. Robert J. Hubbard composed around 40 of the school compositions at Utica Academy in the mid-1840s. Also included are notes on the history of Christianity; poetry; a manuscript copy of extracts from the Biblical gospels; and a personalized, alphabetical subject index, written in a volume printed for that purpose, belonged to Edward B. Hubbard and Robert J. Hubbard in the 1840s.

Documents and Accounts include Land Documents, Financial Records, and a Passport. The Land Documents subseries contains 2 items: an indenture (1841) and a book recording the disposition and dispensation of lands that belonged to the estate of Thomas H. Hubbard in 1857, with notes dated as late as the early 1880s. Financial Records (49 items) consist of a ledger regarding property and real estate assets in multiple states in the 1830s and 1840s and receipts made out to various persons, including Robert J. Hubbard and his wife, in 1868. The receipts concern various types of household items and services. The Passport dates between 1854 and 1887 and includes documentation from Europe and northern Africa.

The Published Material series is divided into two subseries. The Pamphlets and Tables subseries includes two pamphlets, "A Short and Easy Method with the Deists" by Charles Leslie (1830) and "Conrad and Medora; or, Harlequin Corsair and the Little Fairy at the Bottom of the Sea" by William Brough (undated). A printed table, "Table of Ranges of Temperature on a Journey up the Nile, and through the 'Long Desert' and 'Syria.' January to June, 1857," is also included. The A Yankee Engineer Abroad subseries contains digital versions of Notes of Travel in Europe and the East in the Years 1855-1856 and 1857: a Yankee Engineer Abroad, ed. Linnaeus Shecut II (Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2007).

Biographical / Historical:

Thomas Hill Hubbard was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on December 5, 1781, the son of Reverend Bela Hubbard (1739-1812) and Grace Dunbar Hill (1747-1820). After his graduation from Yale College in 1799 and admission to the bar in 1804, he practiced law in Hamilton, New York (1804-1823), and Utica, New York (1823-1857). Thomas Hubbard held multiple local political offices, was a two-time presidential elector, and served two non-consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives (1817-1819 and 1821-1823). On June 12, 1812, Hubbard married Phebe (d. 1871); their surviving children were Henry (1813-1846), Bela (b. 1814), Frances Elizabeth (1815-1892), Frederick (1817-1895), Grace Hill (1819-1881), Thomas Dering (1823-1855), Mary Smith (1825-1856), Edward Burr (1826-1845), Caroline (1828-1867), and Robert James (b. 1830). Thomas Hill Hubbard died on May 21, 1857.

Frederick Hubbard (1817-1895) graduated from Hamilton College in 1836 and became an engineer, working for the Northern Indiana Railroad and the Southern Michigan Railroad. In later life, he traveled extensively abroad. Robert James Hubbard (b. 1830) and his brother-in-law, E. Darwin Litchfield, worked for Litchfield & Co. in the mid-19th century.

Acquisition Information:
1994-2014. M-3080, M-3258.1, M-3397.5, M-5023 .
Processing information:

Cataloging funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). This collection has been processed according to minimal processing procedures and may be revised, expanded, or updated in the future.

Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in the following series:
  • Series I: Correspondence
    • Subseries I: Chronological Correspondence
    • Subseries II: Letter Books
  • Series II: Diaries
  • Series III: Writings
    • Subseries I: Essays
    • Subseries II: Other Writings
  • Series IV: Documents and Accounts
    • Subseries I: Land Documents
    • Subseries II: Financial Records
  • Series V: Published Material
    • Subseries I: Pamphlets and Tables
    • Subseries II: A Yankee Engineer Abroad

Most series and subseries are arranged chronologically, with undated items placed at the end. The Writings series is arranged by subject, and the Financial Records subseries is arranged by subject and item type.

Rules or Conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

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Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open for research.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright status is unknown

PREFERRED CITATION:

Thomas, Frederick, and Robert Hubbard Family Papers, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan