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This collection contains correspondence, documents, financial records, reports, and other items pertaining to Gilbert L. Thompson. The material relates to Thompson's work as the United States Navy's chief engineer from 1842-1844, and his involvement in the coal and transportation industries in the mid- to late 19th century.

This collection (1 linear foot) contains correspondence, documents, financial records, reports, and other items pertaining to Gilbert L. Thompson. The material relates to Thompson's work as the United States Navy's chief engineer from 1842-1844, and his involvement in the coal and transportation industries.

The Correspondence series (155 items) is mostly made up of incoming business letters to Gilbert L. Thompson; outgoing drafts by Thompson and business letters between other persons are also present. The first group of items concern Thompson's service as the United States Navy's chief engineer from 1842-1844, addressing many topics related to naval engineering and United States Navy vessels. The remaining correspondence, dated 1850-1861 and 1865-1872, largely pertains to Thompson's business interests and his stake in various ventures. Thompson wrote and received letters about coal and oil industries, railroads, domestic commerce, and attempts to establish regular steamship trade between the United States and Europe after the Civil War. Many of the latter items pertain to the Norfolk and St. Nazaire Steam Navigation Company and to commerce in the South during the early years of Reconstruction. Thompson's prominent correspondents included Secretary of the Treasury Walter Forward, Secretary of the Navy Abel Parker Upshur, and Virginia governor Francis Harrison Pierpont.

The Documents series is divided into two subseries. The Legal Documents (34 items), which include copies of legislation, by-laws, indentures, and other items, pertain to naval engineering, transatlantic trade between the United States and Europe, and Gilbert L. Thompson's business affairs. Several items relate to the Norfolk and St. Nazaire Steam Navigation Company and to the American Iron Shipbuilding, Mining, and Manufacturing Company. One indenture relates to land that Thompson and his wife owned in Fairfax County, Virginia, and includes a manuscript map of the property (December 13, 1844). Financial Documents (14 items) are made up of accounts and other items pertaining to the Western Virginia Coal Company, the Coal Oil and Paraffin Company of Baltimore, steamship construction and operation, the USS Missouri, and other subjects.

Reports and Drafts (53 items) pertain to the Norfolk and St. Nazaire Steam Navigation Company, steam boiler explosions, coal lands in Pennsylvania and Virginia, the United States Navy, and transportation. Some memorials addressed to the United States Congress mention relevant legislation.

The Notes and Drawings series (90 items) contains technical drawings, manuscript maps, and notes about steam engines, mining and drilling equipment and practices, and other subjects.

Three Newspaper Clippings from the early 1870s concern the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, a property dispute involving General Bradley T. Johnson, steamships, and the sale of an iron furnace.

The James A. Whipple papers contain correspondence, documents, and drawings related to Whipple's career as an engineer during the mid-19th century. Whipple's interests in submarines and naval engineering are documented throughout the collection, which includes correspondence, documents, drawings, and patents.

The James A. Whipple papers contain correspondence, documents, and drawings related to Whipple's career as an engineer during the mid-19th century. Whipple's interests in submarines and naval engineering are documented throughout the collection, which includes correspondence, documents, drawings, and patents.

The Correspondence series contains incoming items to Whipple. Most pertain to business affairs and to Whipple's family and acquaintances. Letters often pertain to submarines, Whipple's salvage business, and Whipple's trips abroad. A few items originally belonged to George L. P. Taylor, a United States consular agent.

The Financial Records series consists of receipts, accounts, and other documents concerning Whipple's business dealings, which reflect his interest in submarines and naval affairs. Many documents relate to his schooner Arcade. The series includes a pocket diary of financial notes and figures for 1855.

The Documents series contains a variety of items related to Whipple's business affairs, personal life, and interests in submarines and naval engineering.

• An explanation of an illustration (not present) showing improvements in submarine armor (March 2, 1848)
• A document from the council of Charleston, South Carolina, thanking Whipple and his associates for salvaging a statue of John C. Calhoun (November 19, 1850)
• A passport from the Republic of Venezuela (13 December 1852)
• Documents authorizing several journeys of James A. Whipple and his associates
• A receipt from the United States Patent Office for Whipple's application for "pumps for forcing water" (January 18, 1854)
• "Result of experiments on dissolving Scale in Boilers made at Beyrout" (March 31, 1855)
• A patent application for a submarine trumpet, made jointly by William H. James and James A. Whipple (April 30, 1855)
• "Report on the efficiency of the [submarine] armour for the U. S. Navy"
• Documents regarding "Whipple's patent double acting momentum pump," including advertisements, diagrams, and Whipple's patent application (October 21, 1859)
• Diagrams for a "process for driving Piles Posts or Timbers in Earth or other yielding Material" (May 25, 1859)
• 22 contracts made between James A. Whipple and other parties
• Several drawings of mid-19th-century underwater diving suits
• James A. Whipple's United States passport (May 30, 1849)

Two Journals include an "Extract from the Journal of J[eremiah] Murphy whilst working in the Liberty Banks" (April 21-May 24, [1857]) and a journal kept by William A. Dodge, J. R. Wheeler, and James A. Whipple during their time salvaging wrecks off Santo Domingo.

The Essays series contains 2 unattributed items: "Sub Marine Work" and "My Brother Capt. James A. Whipple…"

The Drawings and Sketches series has schematic figures for various inventions, such as a device consisting of a large wheel powered by a horse and a device for making cigars. Several other drawings show views of unlabeled inventions.

Printed Material includes 8 Newspaper Clippings and 6 Other Printed Materials. Newspapers include a full issue of Boston's Evening Gazette (July 2, 1859), as well as several short articles regarding trials for steam-driven fire engines. Other items include Whipple's business card, a "Circular of James A. Whipple. Submarine Engineer, Boston, Mass" (1857), printed descriptions of naval-related inventions, and printed drawings of mechanical inventions.