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The Charles Merriman papers consist of military forms and letters dating principally from Merriman's captaincy of Company F, 1st U.S. Sharpshooters.

Unlike most set of soldiers' letters, the Charles Merriman papers do not consist of personal correspondence, but rather of military forms and letters dating principally from Merriman's captaincy of Co. F, 1st U.S. Sharpshooters. The collection is valuable for gaining an appreciation of the paperwork required of a unit in the field, and of the close accounting practices required of officers to track military property and stores issued to their care. The last item in the collection, chronologically (folder 7), is dated at Merriman's home in New Hampshire, suggesting that nearly three months after mustering out, Merriman was still filing reports and forms to help the government track down some missing tents.

This collection is made up of correspondence written and received by members of the Dall family of Boston, Massachusetts. Included are letters written and received by Caroline Healey Dall, an early feminist; letters between her daughter, Sarah Keene Dall, and Josiah Munro during the couple's courtship; letters from Charles Henry Appleton Dall to his children, Sarah and William, written while he worked as a missionary in India; and letters from Sarah Keene Dall to her brother William, concerning her life in Buffalo, New York, throughout the late-19th century.

This collection is made up of correspondence written and received by members of the Dall family of Boston, Massachusetts. Eighty-eight letters concern the friendship and courtship of Sarah Keene Dall and her future husband, Josiah Munro, between 1867 and 1870. Dall wrote approximately 680 letters to her brother William about her life in Buffalo, New York, 1874-1907. Reverend Charles Dall wrote 10 letters and postcards to Sarah Keene and William Dall when he worked as a missionary in India in the early 1880s. Caroline Healey Dall received approximately 65 letters from friends in the early 20th century. The papers also include 3 receipts, 1 cyanotype photograph, an original illustration, a newspaper clipping, and Caroline Healey Dall's 1898-1907 commonplace book.

The first 88 letters in the Correspondence series relate to the friendship and courtship between Sarah Keene Dall ("Sadie") and Josiah Munro, including 68 letters he received from Sarah and 18 he received from her mother, Caroline Healey Dall. Sarah wrote many of her letters from Baltimore, Maryland, and Boston, Massachusetts, and she regularly corresponded with Josiah about her social life and daily experiences. She spent much of her time traveling, and her letters include observations about steamboat travel in Ohio (May 23, 1868) and about travel around the South. Occasionally, particularly in her earlier letters, she commented on women's affairs and feminist subjects, including women's suffrage and the general difficulties faced by women who wanted to work outside the home. Three of her letters contain enclosures: a newspaper clipping about commemoration of Confederate Civil War casualties (October 16, 1867), a four-leaf clover (October 23, 1867), and two pieces of fabric (October 28, 1869).

Sarah's mother, Caroline Healey Dall, strongly opposed Sarah and Josiah's courtship and engagement. She wrote Munro 7 times between April 2 and April 26, 1870, requesting that he make his intentions clear and discuss the matter with her and with Sarah. Dall claimed that her daughter wished to wait to become engaged, though Sarah told Munro she preferred to marry before the winter (April 11, 1870). The letters surrounding the tense situation provide insight into aspects of late-19th century romantic customs. Munro also received a sympathetic letter of support from William Dall, his future brother-in-law (April 24, 1870), and a friendly letter from his sister Mary (July 31, 1870).

The bulk of the collection consists of approximately 680 letters William Dall received from his sister, Sarah Dall Munro, and mother, Caroline Healey Dall, between 1874 and 1907. Sarah wrote the majority of the letters while living in Buffalo, New York, and regularly shared news of her social life, travel, and daily experiences. Many of her letters concern housekeeping duties, charity work, and her sons, Willis and Charles. The letters also indirectly reflect William's life and travels around the United States and Europe, and occasionally provide insight into current events, such as the procession of President William McKinley's funeral train through Buffalo (September 11, 1901). William's mother wrote similar letters, though with less frequency. She commented on her life and provided family news. Josiah Munro, William's brother-in-law, sent him at least two letters.

Reverend Charles Dall wrote to Sarah and William while living in Calcutta, India, where he worked as a Unitarian missionary. His ten letters include a letter to Sarah dated November 22, 1872, and 9 postcards to William and his wife Nettie between January 2, 1882, and August 31, 1883. Dall's correspondence focuses on his travel between North America and India, and occasionally regards the local weather. He also often requested news of life in Boston and of his family.

Between 1911 and 1912, Caroline Healey Dall received approximately 65 personal letters from her daughter Sarah and from friends and acquaintances, largely pertaining to their social and personal lives. She also received letters of appreciation from libraries, acknowledging her donations of manuscripts or books.

Two later letters are a personal letter addressed to "Mattie" by a woman named Annie in Santa Barbara, California (September 12, 1922), and a letter from Charles Whitney Dall to Willis Dall (June 15, 1942). Charles W. Dall's letter pertains to a group of Dall family papers, including many letters written by his father and his aunt Sarah, that were moved away from Washington, D. C., to protect them in the event of a bombing raid against the capital. An undated, typed newsletter titled "Our Weekly Boston letter," pertains to anniversaries being celebrated throughout the city and to President Theodore Roosevelt.

The Receipts, Visual Materials, and Newspaper Clipping series holds 1 newspaper clipping concerning the commemoration of Sigourney Butler of Boston, Massachusetts; 3 receipts from E. Rollins Morse & Brother to Merchant's National Bank (June and July 1889); 1 cyanotype titled "Our tent. The Dunbars"; and a small drawing of a building in San Michael (San Miguel), New Mexico.

Caroline Healey Dall's Commonplace Book, dated 1898-1907, contains copied poetry, essays, and articles. Though a few early poems were written in the early 1800s, most date to the 1890s, and they concern a variety of subjects, such as memorials, nature, religion, and Theodore Roosevelt. She also recorded 8 pages of thoughts on criticism of William Shakespeare, biographical notes on prominent figures, and an essay on child marriages. Two poems and an article are clipped from printed sources and pasted into the book.

Jacob van Zwaluwenburg's memoir contains a discussion of his experiences during the Civil War along with an account of his childhood in the Netherlands and America.

Jacob van Zwaluwenburg's autobiography contains discussion of his experiences during the Civil War along with an account of his childhood in the Netherlands and America. He discusses his family, schooling, and religious upbringing in the Hervormde Kerk (Reformed Church in the Netherlands). He describes the ocean voyage and Erie Canal journey which brought the family to Michigan.

Van Zwaluwenburg describes his wartime experiences in the 16th U.S. Infantry, from his humorous efforts to volunteer through the end of his enlistment. He provides particularly detailed descriptions of the battles of Shiloh and Stones River and the fighting around Chattanooga. His account centers on the experiences of a private and strays little into the fields of politics and the evaluation of generals. Although there are a few geographical and chronological errors, the account provides an interesting view of the common soldier in the regular army.

The journal is in both manuscript and typescript; however, the two are not entirely the same. The typescript copy, 36 pages long, follows the manuscript copy, 33 pages long, with only minor differences until page 18 of the manuscript and page 22 of the typescript. From this point the copies differ greatly, although they cover roughly the same events. The manuscript is incomplete, lacking an ending.

This volume is a typed journal of a group's canoe and camping trip on Lake George, New York, in the summer of 1892. The typescript is illustrated with 21 photographs of the campers, their equipment, and the scenery.

This volume is a 27-page typed journal of a group's canoe and camping trip on Lake George, New York, in the summer of 1892. The typescript is illustrated with 21 photographs of the campers, their equipment, and the scenery.

The Lake George camping party consisted of at least seven acquaintances: Charles W. Byrnes, Alice B. Byrnes, William L. Brown, Georgia B. Sumner, Edwin W. Andrews, Maybelle Ramsay, and R. C. Sargent. Maybelle and a man referred to as "the Doctor" left the group partway through the trip. The account, titled "Wotlarks: A Camping Journal," opens with an epigraph by William Henry Harrison Murray, followed by 24 pages of recollections. The campers embarked from Caldwell, New York, on July 31, 1892, spent 2 weeks on the lake, and then boarded a train for Boston from the area around Fort Ticonderoga on August 13, 1892.

The author of this typescript (possibly camper William L. Brown), described the scenery, meals, and notable incidents. He or she also quoted poems by P. Buchanan Read and Isaac Ogden Rankin. The 7 party members signed the final page of the typescript. Twenty-one photographs, pasted onto sturdy boards between pages of the journal, depict scenery around Lake George, the campers in their canoes, men and women posing with guns, a man fishing, the group near their tents, and other scenes.

The volume includes a carefully drawn or traced manuscript map of Lake George, marked with the places that the campers visited.

This diary chronicles William Rawle Brooke's service with the Third Pennsylvania Cavalry during the Civil War (he later changed his name to William Brooke Rawle). It begins with Brooke's initial Army commission in May 1863 and concludes in August 1865, shortly before his discharge. Brooke described daily army life, provided detailed accounts of battles, and other events of note.

This diary is a compilation of three daily diaries, bound into a single volume, providing a record of William Rawle Brooke's service in the Union Army from May 5, 1863, to August 16, 1865, with additional notes on events later that year. He wrote every day, providing detailed accounts of battles throughout the Gettysburg, Bristoe, and Overland Campaigns, the Siege of Petersburg, and the pursuit of Lee's Army to Appomattox Court House.

The diary begins with Brooke's receipt of a commission and his journey to join the Third Pennsylvania Cavalry outside of Washington, D.C. Events discussed include Brooke's birthdays, the Presidential election of 1864, and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Brooke fastidiously chronicled his daily army life, with documentation of correspondence sent and received.