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[NB: This is a TEMPORARY finding aid for an IN-PROCESS collection; some restrictions apply]. The Handy Papers document the lives and professional activities of four generations of the Handy Family of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. The collection largely revolves around James Henry Handy (1789-1832), Isaac William Ker Handy (1815-1878), Moses Purnell Handy (1847-1898), Sarah Matthews Handy (1845-1933), Frederick Algernon Graham Handy (1842-1912), Egbert G. Handy (1858-1938), Rozelle Purnell Handy (1871-1920), Sarah V. C. Handy (1876-1963), and H. Jamison Handy "Jam Handy" (1886-1983). The Handy family were largely educated, politically active, literary southerners, who were a part of many of the social and intellectual currents of especially the mid- and late-19th century. The papers offer resources for study of the Civil War, particularly its effect on Virginia civilians and southern prisoners of war at Fort Delaware; the history of southern families; late nineteenth-century American politics; Presbyterian history; late nineteenth-century newspaper journalism; the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1892-93; and genealogy. In its current, temporary housing, the papers include 30 boxes of correspondence, 27 boxes of family papers and topics files, six boxes of World's Columbian Exposition papers; eight boxes of photographs, plus separately housed images; four boxes of newspapers and newspaper clippings; 12 boxes of Jam Handy and Jam Handy Organization papers; 60 boxes of scrapbooks; and six boxes of books and serials (plus many loose books and other printed items).

[NB: This is a TEMPORARY finding aid for an IN-PROCESS collection. This current scope note pertains almost entirely to Handy family papers acquisitions of the 1980s (an estimated 60-65 boxes of the total 153 boxes). Among the in-process materials are 60 boxes of scrapbooks, largely kept by Rozelle P. Handy and Sarah V. C. Handy].

The Handy Papers document the lives and professional activities of four generations of the Handy Family of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. The collection largely revolves around James Henry Handy (1789-1832), Isaac William Ker Handy (1815-1878), Moses Purnell Handy (1847-1898), Sarah Matthews Handy (1845-1933), Frederick Algernon Graham Handy (1842-1912), Egbert G. Handy (1858-1938), Rozelle Purnell Handy (1871-1920), Sarah V. C. Handy (1876-1963), and H. Jamison Handy "Jam Handy" (1886-1983). The Handy family were largely educated, politically active, literary southerners, who were a part of many of the social and intellectual currents of especially the mid- and late-19th century. The papers offer resources for study of the Civil War, particularly its effect on Virginia civilians and southern prisoners of war at Fort Delaware; the history of southern families; late nineteenth-century American politics; Presbyterian history; late nineteenth-century newspaper journalism; the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1892-93; and genealogy.

In its current, temporary housing (see the box listing in this finding aid), the papers include 50 boxes of correspondence, 26 boxes of family papers and topics files, six boxes of World's Columbian Exposition papers; eight boxes of photographs, plus separately housed cased images; four boxes of newspapers and newspaper clippings; 12 boxes of Jam Handy and Jam Handy Organization papers; 60 boxes of scrapbooks; and six boxes of books and serials (plus many loose books and other printed items).

The following is a former description by Curator of Manuscripts Galen Wilson, for the Handy Family Papers acquisitions of the 1980s (50-60 boxes of materials):

"Isaac Handy's fondness for history led him to the belief that he lived at an important moment in the life of the nation, and every wrinkle of the sectional crisis of the 1850s and 60s seemed to confirm. His correspondence and diaries from the eve of the war through its conclusion are a reflection of a well-educated southerner's reaction to the events unfolding about him and provide insight into the development of his political sympathies. Even after his arrest in July 1863 and his incarceration at Fort Delaware, Handy remained conscious of being part of "history in the making," not only continuing his twenty-five-year habit of keeping a diary, but in planning for a future book on Fort Delaware, soliciting memoirs of war service from his fellow prisoners. Handy saved these manuscripts, plus the correspondence he received while in prison (much of it from Confederate civilians), pasting them into two large scrapbooks. These have been disbound and the material cataloged item-by-item and interfiled chronologically in the collection's correspondence. Drafts and copies of the book which Handy wrote about his confinement, United States Bonds, are present in the collection.

Among the many individual areas of American Civil War interest are Isaac W. K. Handy's description of the battle between the ironclads Monitor and Merrimac, and the journal which Moses Handy kept during his service in the Confederate army in 1865. The soldiers' reminiscences collected by Isaac Handy at Fort Delaware include several exceptional accounts, including biographical and autobiographical sketches of M. Jeff Thompson, the mayor of St. Joseph, Missouri, turned "Swamp Rat" militia commander. Thompson played a major role during the summer of 1861 in defending Missouri's slave system from John C. Frémont's emancipation proclamation.

Other Civil War war-related materials include Isaac Handy's 1861 sermon on "Our National Sins" and fast-day sermons from the same year. The reminiscences of a myriad of former Confederate officers are scattered throughout Handy's correspondence of the late 1870s, all intended to be used in a history of the war planned by the Philadelphia Times. Also present is some documentation of Frederick A. G. Handy's father-in-law, Edwin Festus Cowherd, a Confederate soldier.

While the Handy collection provides thorough documentation of life among the eastern Handys, it also contains a significant body of correspondence from the westward sojourn of Isaac and Mary Jane Handy from 1844 to 1848. Isaac and his wife wrote over 100 letters from Missouri, in which they described the powerful ideological lure of the west, their family's adjustment to new surroundings, and the social and political climate of the old southwest. An index to these letters, prepared by Isaac Handy, is present, along with an original binding. Isaac's diary for the years spent in Missouri provides a valuable point of comparison for the letters.

Political and social commentary flows throughout most of the collection, from Jesse Higgins' campaign for reform of the federal legal and judicial systems, 1805-1806, through the fin de siècle political interests and involvements of Moses Handy.

The political impact of Reconstruction plays a major role in the collection, particularly in the letters of Congressman Samuel Jackson Randall (1828-1890) of Pennsylvania. The election of 1896 is well documented and the collection includes much correspondence with the Republican President-maker Mark Hanna. For his efforts on behalf of the Republican Party in this election, Moses Handy had hoped to net a foreign consulate through Hannah but was disappointed. Handy's transition from Confederate soldier to Republican politico is subtly documented and provides an interesting case study in political opportunism.

The Handy Family Papers are an important resource for the history of the Presbyterian Church during the 19th century. The 2nd Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., was a major focus of James Henry Handy's life, and the early history of this congregation is well documented in correspondence dating from the 1820s. Rev. Daniel Baker was the first pastor of the congregation, and although Baker's tenure was controversial, James remained a close friend of Baker's for the rest of their lives. The collection thus contains items concerning Baker and his relationship with the 2nd Church, and several letters written by him after he left to assume a pastorate in Savannah, Georgia.

Isaac Handy's vocation as a Presbyterian minister and his avocation as an historical researcher merge in this collection, deepening the documentation of the church. Perhaps spurred by being asked to contribute some biographical sketches to William B. Sprague's Annals of the American Pulpit, Handy sought out primary documents relating to the colonial Presbyterian clergy and congregations. Aspects of his own career in the church is documented through a scattered series of letters from former parishioners--many of which were received during his imprisonment at Fort Delaware--and in letters written by Isaac to his sons. A thick file of Isaac's sermons is present, several of which were published. Among these sermons is "The Terrible Doings of God" (23:31), which concerns the Yellow Fever Epidemic near Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1855. He delivered this eulogy at a Baptist church for members of several different Portsmouth churches. Handy earned acclaim during the crisis by staying to help the victims rather than fleeing to safer ground.

Isaac Handy's literary flair was inherited by Frederick and Moses, and both pursued careers in newspapers. Moses' career is more thoroughly documented than Frederick's, and much of the correspondence written between 1869 and 1890 concerns Moses' efforts in the newspaper business. There are several folders of general newspaper correspondence dating from 1865 to 1897, an entire box of unsorted clippings by and about the Handys, and boxes of mounted clippings of Moses, Sarah, and Rozelle Handy's published writings. Journalistic endeavors of other family members are also present.

One of Moses Handy's greatest claims to fame was his role as chair of Department O (Publicity and Promotion) for the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1893. His involvement with the Exposition is documented in correspondence, reports, financial papers, brochures, photographs, and memorabilia. The advertising campaign begun in 1890 has been cited as the prototype of modern publicity strategies, and the Handy Papers offer an unparalleled view into the inner workings of the key department. The collection also contains information about the San Francisco Mid-Winter Exposition (1893), a sort of subsidiary event to the main Chicago attraction, and the general correspondence for 1891-93 contains some references to the World's Fair.

Isaac Handy's lifelong ambition was to publish "The Annals and Memorials of the Handys and their Kindred." Beginning in the 1850s, he gathered genealogical data on all descendants of "Samuel Handy, the Progenitor," an Englishman who emigrated to Maryland to farm tobacco. Three drafts of this work, in increasing thickness, were completed in 1857, 1865, and the 1870s. Isaac was prepared to publish the work in the 1870s and had an advertising flier printed, but when subscriptions did not meet expectations and Handy died in 1878, the project foundered. The manuscript then passed to Moses Handy, whose own intentions for publishing the book never reached fruition, possibly due to his untimely death at the age of fifty. In 1904, Isaac's youngest surviving son, Egbert, acquired the manuscript from Moses's widow, Sarah Matthews Handy, but his publication plans did not gather momentum until 1932.

With a great deal of vigor, Egbert attempted to update the manuscript, now sixty years out of date, and had a new advertising circular printed. Again, death removed the Annals' main advocate. The manuscript remained in the possession of Egbert's widow, Minerva Spencer Handy, and in the 1940s she gave it to Frederick A. G. Handy's widow, Lelia Cowherd Handy, then living in Arlington, Virginia. Before her death in 1949, Leila entrusted the material to her granddaughter Mildred Ritchie. The Clements Library acquired the manuscript from Mrs. Ritchie along with other family papers. A century and a third after Isaac began the project, the Annals were published by the Clements Library in 1992. The Handy Family Papers contain various drafts of the manuscript, plus many notes and letters concerning its publication."

[NB: This is a TEMPORARY finding aid for an IN-PROCESS collection. This current scope note pertains almost entirely to Handy family papers acquisitions of the 1980s (an estimated 60-65 boxes of the total 153 boxes). Among the in-process materials are 60 boxes of scrapbooks, largely kept by Rozelle P. Handy and Sarah V. C. Handy].

The Robert M. Vogel collection of historic images of engineering & industry contains approximately 22,890 photographs (including 18,500 stereographs), 1220 prints, 13 photograph albums, 11 books, 117 pieces of ephemera, and 15 pieces of realia documenting a wide range of subjects primarily related to 19th-century civil engineering, industrial processes, and mechanization.

The Robert M. Vogel collection of historic images of engineering & industry contains approximately 22,890 photographs (including 18,500 stereographs), 1220 prints, 13 photograph albums, 11 books, 117 pieces of ephemera, and 15 pieces of realia documenting a wide range of subjects primarily related to 19th-century civil engineering, industrial processes, and mechanization.

Particularly well-represented topics within the Vogel collection include images of different types of civil infrastructure such as bridges, canals, roads, dams, and tunnels as well as images showing construction projects, various types of machinery, modes of transportation (such as railroads, steamboats, automobiles, etc.), agricultural pursuits, natural resource extraction (including oil drilling, quarrying, mining, and lumbering), textile operations, electrical and hydraulic power generation, manufacturing, metal working, machine shops, and various industrial factory scenes. Many images of important and iconic structures are included such as the Brooklyn Bridge, Panama Canal, Hoosac Tunnel, and SS Great Eastern. Other represented topics include general architectural views, scenes of disasters/accidents, and portraits of notable individuals (such as Thomas Edison, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and Robert Stephenson). While predominately United States-focused, the materials are international in scope overall and especially include many images of industrial sites and civil infrastructure in Great Britain. The order of the collection's original arrangement has largely been kept intact.

Examples of items of particular interest include salt prints possibly taken by civil engineer Montgomery C. Meigs documenting the construction of the U.S. Capitol and Washington Aqueduct in Washington, D.C.; a series of portraits of early Baldwin Locomotive Works locomotives; images documenting the SS Great Eastern and USS Niagara steamships; a group of 4 colored stereoviews on glass produced by Frederick Langenheim showing the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge ca. 1850s; images related to specific railroads including the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Mauch Chunk, Mount Washington Cog Railway, and New York City elevated railroad; and half-frame proof prints of stereographs produced by Underwood & Underwood as well as H. C. White & Co.

The following list represents the general subject categories found across the Vogel collection along with relevant box and folder numbers:

• Box 07.2
• Box 14.1
• Box 14.2
• Box 14.3
• Box 31.2
• Box 52
• Box 56
• Folder 2.10
• Folder 3.08

• Box 06.2
• Box 06.3
• Folder 1.08
• Folder 2.15

• Box 01.1
• Box 03.3
• Box 06.3
• Box 07.1
• Box 28.2
• Box 28.3
• Box 46.2
• Box 57
• Box 58
• Box 59
• Box 61
• Box 63.10
• Folder 1.04
• Folder 2.04
• Folder 2.09
• Folder 2.14
• Folder 2.15
• Folder 2.16
• Folder 3.08

• Box 06.1
• Box 06.2
• Folder 2.06

• Box 03.1
• Box 03.2
• Folder 2.17
• Folder 3.08

• Box 03.3
• Box 04.1
• Box 04.2
• Box 04.3
• Box 05.3
• Box 05.4
• Box 06.1
• Folder 3.08

• Box 05.1

• Box 01.1
• Box 01.2
• Box 01.3
• Box 02.1
• Box 02.2
• Box 28.3
• Box 43.2
• Folder 3.02
• Folder 3.08
• Folder 3.10

• Box 02.3
• Box 05.2
• Box 06.1
• Box 49.1
• Box 49.2

• Box 09.1
• Box 09.2
• Box 36.1
• Box 36.2
• Box 39.1

• Box 08.2
• Box 08.3
• Box 18.4
• Box 28.1
• Box 28.3
• Box 46.1
• Box 53.2
• Box 58
• Box 61
• Box 63.08
• Box 63.11
• Folder 1.03
• Folder 2.16
• Folder 2.17

• Box 06.3
• Box 17.3
• Box 20.1
• Box 24.3
• Box 25.1
• Box 28.1
• Box 41.1
• Box 54
• Box 57
• Folder 1.07
• Folder 2.16

• Box 11.2
• Box 45.2

• Box 27.1
• Box 27.2
• Box 27.3
• Box 39.2
• Box 46.1
• Box 46.2
• Box 56
• Box 57
• Box 58
• Box 59
• Box 63.02
• Box 63.03
• Box 64.1
• Folder 1.05
• Folder 1.11
• Folder 1.13
• Folder 2.04
• Folder 2.11
• Folder 2.17
• Folder 3.08

• Box 07.2
• Box 07.3
• Box 08.1
• Box 08.2
• Box 28.1
• Box 28.2
• Box 43.2
• Box 46.3
• Box 52
• Box 54
• Box 56
• Box 57
• Box 59
• Box 63.04
• Box 64.2
• Box 64.4
• Folder 1.09
• Folder 2.05
• Folder 2.10
• Folder 2.12
• Folder 2.17
• Folder 3.08

• Box 07.1
• Box 07.2
• Box 13.2
• Box 13.3
• Box 14.1
• Box 27.2
• Box 27.3
• Box 31.2
• Box 32
• Box 33.1
• Box 33.2
• Box 34
• Box 35
• Box 36.1
• Box 37
• Box 39.2
• Box 40
• Box 41.2
• Box 42
• Box 43.1
• Box 43.2
• Box 46.2
• Box 53.1
• Box 53.2
• Box 60.1
• Box 61
• Box 63.01
• Box 63.03
• Box 64.1
• Box 64.3
• Folder 1.03
• Folder 1.07
• Folder 2.05
• Folder 2.06
• Folder 2.11
• Folder 2.15
• Folder 3.03
• Folder 3.08
• Folder 3.09
• Folder 3.12

• Box 15.1
• Box 43.2
• Box 44
• Box 55.1
• Box 55.2
• Box 60.1
• Box 60.2
• Box 62
• Folder 1.01
• Folder 1.02
• Folder 1.12
• Folder 3.07

• Box 11.2
• Box 11.3
• Box 12.1
• Box 12.2
• Box 13.2
• Box 23.1
• Box 61
• Folder 2.05

• Box 11.2
• Box 12.2
• Box 14.2
• Box 63.07

• Box 12.2
• Box 12.3
• Box 12.4
• Box 13.1
• Box 13.2
• Box 37
• Box 46.2
• Box 57
• Box 58

• Box 21.3
• Box 22.1
• Box 22.2
• Box 22.3
• Box 28.1
• Box 39.2
• Box 61
• Folder 2.14
• Folder 2.15
• Folder 3.08

• Box 23.1
• Box 23.2
• Box 23.3
• Box 24.1
• Box 24.2
• Box 40
• Box 41.2
• Box 50.1
• Box 50.2
• Box 51
• Box 52
• Box 55.1
• Box 55.2
• Box 61
• Folder 1.03
• Folder 2.02
• Folder 2.05
• Folder 2.14
• Folder 3.02
• Folder 3.10

• Box 29.1
• Box 29.2
• Box 30
• Box 46.1
• Box 57
• Folder 1.07

• Box 24.3
• Box 25.1
• Box 25.2
• Box 25.3
• Box 26.1
• Box 26.2
• Box 26.3
• Box 27.1
• Box 27.3
• Box 37
• Box 38
• Box 39.2
• Box 40
• Box 41.1
• Box 42
• Box 46.3
• Box 64.1
• Folder 3.06

• Box 10.3
• Box 11.1
• Box 11.2
• Box 41.2
• Folder 3.05
• Folder 3.12

• Box 01.1
• Box 10.3
• Box 28.3
• Box 39.1
• Box 46.3
• Box 56
• Box 64.2
• Box 64.3
• Folder 2.15
• Folder 3.06
• Folder 3.07

• Box 08.1
• Box 28.1
• Box 46.3
• Box 64.2

• Box 09.3
• Box 10.1
• Box 10.2
• Box 10.3

• Box 39.1

• Box 34
• Box 42
• Box 56
• Box 63.07
• Folder 2.16

• Box 15.1
• Box 28.2
• Box 31.2
• Box 33.2
• Box 36.2
• Box 54
• Box 58
• Box 64.3
• Folder 2.16
• Folder 3.04

• Box 19.1
• Box 19.2
• Box 19.3
• Box 20.1
• Box 20.2
• Box 20.3
• Box 21.1
• Box 21.2
• Box 21.3
• Box 28.2
• Box 45.2
• Box 46.3
• Box 57
• Box 59
• Box 63.09
• Folder 2.08
• Folder 2.11
• Folder 2.14
• Folder 3.05
• Folder 3.07
• Folder 3.08

• Box 15.1
• Box 15.2
• Box 15.3
• Box 16.1
• Box 16.2
• Box 16.3
• Box 16.4
• Box 17.1
• Box 17.2
• Box 17.3
• Box 18.1
• Box 18.2
• Box 18.3
• Box 18.4
• Box 28.1
• Box 28.2
• Box 31.1
• Box 35
• Box 46.2
• Box 47
• Box 48.1
• Box 48.2
• Box 49.1
• Box 56
• Box 57
• Box 58
• Box 59
• Box 61
• Box 63.05
• Box 63.06
• Folder 1.06
• Folder 1.10
• Folder 2.01
• Folder 2.03
• Folder 2.04
• Folder 2.06
• Folder 2.07
• Folder 2.10
• Folder 2.13
• Folder 2.16
• Folder 3.04
• Folder 3.07
• Folder 3.10
• Folder 3.11
• Folder 3.12

• Box 28.2
• Box 43.1
• Box 43.2
• Box 45.1
• Box 45.2
• Folder 2.06

• Box 08.1
• Box 08.2
• Box 25.1
• Box 28.3
• Box 39.1
• Box 39.2
• Box 46.3
• Box 53.2
• Box 56
• Box 57
• Box 59
• Box 64.2
• Box 64.4
• Folder 1.04
• Folder 2.04
• Folder 2.15
• Folder 2.16

While the Vogel collection general subject categories are generally comprehensive there are still numerous instances of items that could feasibly belong to multiple categories other than the group they are classified under. For instance, there are disaster images found in several groupings other than "Disasters," while bridge construction images can be found in all of the various "Bridges" categories as well as within the "Construction" category. For more detailed descriptions of specific materials, see the box and folder listing in the Contents section below.