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This collection is made up of correspondence, legal documents, financial records, maps, and ephemera related to the descendants and extended family of Dr. Joseph Cole of Sharon, Connecticut; Auburn, New York; and Albion, New York. Among many represented subjects are the educational and social lives of women in New York during the early 1800s, legal aspects of land ownership and estate administration, and land along Long Pond in Rome, Maine.

This collection is made up of correspondence, legal documents, financial records, maps, and ephemera related to the descendants and extended family of Dr. Joseph Cole of Sharon, Connecticut; Auburn, New York; and Albion, New York.

The collection's correspondence includes letters from the children and other descendants of Dr. Joseph Cole of Sharon, Connecticut, and Auburn, New York, between 1817 and 1942. Most of the early letters in the collection are addressed to sisters Laura Altie and Mary Parsons Cole from female friends in New York. Several correspondents, including Mary Ann Kellogg and Chloe Hyde, were students at Troy Female Seminary in Troy, New York, in the 1820s and 1830s. Kellogg provided a detailed description of the school before its main building was constructed (June 24, 1821), and Chloe Hyde later shared information about her coursework and the lives of fellow students. Other acquaintances told the sisters of their religious and social lives in different areas of New York, including Lanesborough, Buffalo, and Albany.

Almeron and Dan Cole received letters from friends, family, and business acquaintances, including their brother-in-law, Hiram Foote Mather. These include 7 letters by Frances M. Elliott, who wrote Dan, her future husband, in 1835 and 1836 about her life in Scottsville, New York, and her anticipation of their upcoming marriage. Letters from the 1840s to mid-1860s are most frequently addressed to the Cole brothers and to their brother-in-law, Hiram Foote Mather, about business affairs. Many regard legal matters in Niles and Grand Rapids, Michigan.

After the mid-1860s, much of the correspondence is composed of personal and business letters between David Hyde Mather, his brother-in-law George McClure Welles, and his brothers Joseph and John Mather, who moved out West in the late 1800s. Mather also received many personal letters from his niece, Harriet Prentiss Welles, during her time as postmistress of Great Bend, Kansas, who discussed her personal finances and loans. The papers also contain some of Daniel H. Cole's business correspondence. Other correspondence from this period includes letters between George McClure Welles and Lewis Hunt about Harriet Prentiss Welles's share of Almeron Cole's estate, and personal correspondence addressed to Mary Jane Cole of Albion, New York. She received letters from many female acquaintances and a series from her cousin, D. Williams Patterson, tracing the genealogy of the Hyde family to the mid-18th century.

A selection of letters from the 20th century relate to Marston Taylor Bogert, Morrison McMath, and Lizette Harrison. Between 1912 and the 1920s, Bogert corresponded with several people in Maine, regarding property along Long Pond near Rome, Maine. Other letters relate to the family of Morrison H. McMath, a lawyer from Rochester, New York. A late series of letters by Elizabeth ("Lizette") P. Harrison of Portland, Oregon, to Ada Howe Kent of California, reflects her financial troubles and emotional state during the early years of the Great Depression.

Legal documents include papers relating to the Newton and North Hempstead Plank Road Company; New York Supreme Court Cases heard between 1848 and 1894; estate administration papers; and financial documents and records. The Cole family papers contain documents concerning taxes paid on land holdings in Rome, Maine, in the early 20th century, including property held by Edward F. Bragg in Belgrade, Maine.

Materials relating to education include six checks from the 1860s made out to Phipps' U. Seminary, a 1906 report card for a student at the United States Naval Academy, and an undated "Report Book" containing two essays. An assortment of ephemeral items and manuscript maps of Marston T. Bogert's property along Long Pond in Rome, Maine, also appear in the collection.

The Cole family papers also contain essays, notes, and poetry. Items of note include an 1850s manuscript response of the County of Orleans, New York, to recent actions of slaveholding states, calling for attendance at a Republican Party convention in Syracuse; a 1925 essay entitled "The Beginnings of Modern Spiritualism in and Near Rochester," by Adelbert Cronised; a lengthy typed travelogue of India; and an essay on the history of the Isthmus of Panama and the Panama Canal.

The Eaton-Shirley family papers consist of personal diaries, correspondence, military papers, legal and business documents, printed materials, and photographs. A primary figure in the collection, John Eaton, Jr., was Civil War Superintendent of the Freedmen and later Commissioner of Education under Grant. The papers also contains substantial material from other Eaton family members, including military papers and correspondence of his brother, Lucien B. Eaton, and papers of the Shirley family (the family of John Eaton, Jr.’s wife, Alice E. Shirley).

The Eaton papers consist of 1,903 items, dating from September 1790 to July 30, 1939. The bulk of the collection falls between 1850 and 1906. The papers contain 318 letters, 9 diaries/journals, 60 personal documents of John Eaton Jr., 275 legal documents and business papers, 112 military documents, 923 photographs, 84 printed items, and 122 miscellaneous items.

The majority of the correspondence is personal and relates to family matters. The 168 letters of John Eaton, Jr., contain extensive biographical information. Of particular interest are 44 Civil War-era letters including information about the freedmen, three letters pertaining to the publication of The Post, and two with content regarding the Ku Klux Klan. The collection also contains 22 letters to and from Alice (Shirley) Eaton, 31 letters to and from Lucien Eaton, and 32 miscellaneous letters from members of the Eaton family. Of the 30 letters written by Alice Eaton's parents (James and Adelaine Shirley), 10 letters regard compensation for the damage done to the Shirley House during the Civil War. Various other members of the Shirley family wrote 15 letters, and 20 letters are from other people unrelated to the Eaton and Shirley families.

John Eaton Jr.’s aunt, Ruth Dodge Eaton, wrote two diaries which consist almost entirely of Christian hymns and essays. John Eaton Jr.'s uncle, Horace Eaton, wrote one diary that contains Christian material written while he attended Dartmouth College. John Eaton, Jr., wrote two diaries, one of which he wrote as a youth, and the other as a student at Dartmouth. Other journals include two by John Eaton Jr.'s brothers, Frederick and Charles, and a household account book, kept by his sister Christina. Of particular importance is Alice Shirley’s diary, in which she described pre-civil war tensions between the north and the south, speculation on the upcoming Siege of Vicksburg, the early stages of the Siege of Vicksburg, and very personal feelings regarding her marriage to John Eaton, Jr.

The 60 personal papers of John Eaton Jr. include 17 documents regarding his appointments and titles, two documents about freedmen, and 41 miscellaneous address cards and invitations (including an invitation to the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge).

Of the 275 legal papers, 74 documents pertain to the sale of land in Mississippi; 7 concern Robert M. Jones’s claim to Choctaw Nation lands; and 25 relate to estate papers, deeds of trust and documents about the proceedings of Adelaine Shirley’s post-war relief claims; and a receipt for the sale of an African American woman. The remaining 176 legal papers are miscellaneous financial documents, such as tax documents, checks, and receipts.

Of the 112 military documents, 58 pertain to John Eaton, Jr., 7 of which are about freedmen. The military documents of Lucien B. Eaton number 54.

The 923 photographs consist of six photo albums, 31 cased daguerreotypes and ambrotypes, 144 cabinet cards, and 421 loose photographs and snapshots all depicting members of the Eaton and Shirley families, scenic locations, and the Shirley House.

Of the 84 printed items in the collection, 49 newspaper clippings pertain to the occupational and personal activities of John Eaton, Jr., and 9 miscellaneous clippings relate to the Eaton family. The remaining 26 items are published pamphlets, including addresses and reports concerning John Eaton, Jr.; a sermon written by Horace Eaton; a report of proceedings of an Ohio Brigade reunion; an Anti-Slavery Almanac from 1838; and an incomplete piece describing the history and restoration of the Shirley House.

The 122 miscellaneous papers of the John Eaton, Jr., collection consist of 53 recipes and 69 miscellaneous items including a partial autobiography of Alice Eaton.

This collection contains the correspondence, legal documents, and financial records of Edward H. Thomson, a lawyer who lived in Flint, Michigan, in the mid-1800s. Many items pertain to Thomson's involvement in mining ventures in the Lake Superior region of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

This collection contains the correspondence, legal documents, and financial records of Edward H. Thomson, a lawyer from Flint, Michigan, in the mid-1800s. Many items pertain to Thomson's involvement in mining ventures in the Lake Superior region of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

The Correspondence series (120 items), the bulk of which is dated between 1844 and 1885, contains personal and business letters, including correspondence addressed to Thomson and his retained letters. Many items pertain to Thomson's involvement with the British and Canadian Mining Company and other mining firms in the Lake Superior region. Other letters relate to his position as commissioner for immigration. A group of Civil War-era letters concerns land claims in Michigan; many of these items bear the letterhead of the Michigan State Land Office. The series also contains 8 letters of recommendation in support of Thomson's candidacy for United States Consul at St. Thomas, Canada, 1885.

The Documents and Financial Records series (117 items) contains indentures and other documents related to land in Massachusetts and Michigan. The series includes receipts and other financial documents, as well as documents related to Edward H. Thomson's mining ventures, including a copy of an agreement between Thomson and others to conduct business as the British North American Mining Company (November 3, 1845). The series also includes Thomson's appointment as consul to Basle, Switzerland, signed by President Andrew Jackson (February 25, 1837), and Thomson's appointment as a captain in the Michigan Militia in 1861 (August 13, 1861); a group of 45 checks includes many drawn on John A. Winston & Company, affiliated with the Bank of Mobile.

The Writings series includes 2 essays composed for debating clubs, several respecting William Shakespeare, brief notes on algebra, and other material. The collection contains 2 Genealogical essays: one traces the history of the Thomson family; the other contains chronology of events in the life of Dr. Douglass Houghton.

A series of Maps mainly contains surveys, including several depicting the Lake Superior region of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Printed Items include pamphlets, printed letters and documents, ephemera, and newspaper clippings. The series includes 2 copies of a printed document pertaining to exploration of the eastern shores of Lake Superior for mineral deposits (November 21, 1845), a broadside for an 1881 dedicatory picnic, and admission and other cards. Most of the 16 newspaper clippings relate to the death of Howard W. Peaslee of Malden Bridge, New York, after he fell from a bridge in 1885; other clippings contain obituary notices and announcements.

The Grosvenor L. Townsend scrapbooks consist of 7 volumes containing newspaper clippings, photographs, halftone prints, correspondence, ephemera, printed materials, maps, realia, telegrams, and other miscellaneous documents and materials related to the military career of Grosvenor Lowery Townsend.

The Grosvenor L. Townsend scrapbooks consist of 7 volumes containing newspaper clippings, photographs, halftone prints, correspondence, ephemera, printed materials, maps, realia, telegrams, and other miscellaneous documents and materials related to the military career of Grosvenor Lowery Townsend. Newspaper and journal clippings were mainly taken from New York-based publications. Most of the clippings are in extremely fragile condition. Many clippings are coupled with inscriptions indicating the name and date of the publication they were taken from. Numerous photographs also bear inscribed captions. Each volume measures approximately 25 x 19 cm in size and has marbled paper covers.

• This volume contains materials related to Townsend's service in the New York National Guard, 7th Regiment, Company D, between 1893 and 1894. Items of particular interest include a Grand Army of the Republic report regarding the 7th's service record in the Civil War and during various New York City riots (pg. 1); a group portrait of 7th NYNG Co. D soldiers, including Townsend (figure furthest to the right), at an encampment in Peekskill, New York in June 1893 (pg. 5); clippings related to a mock Civil War battle held at Van Cortlandt Park (pg. 11); clippings related to Townsend's promotion from private to lance-corporal (pg. 13); clippings from the New York Herald and New York Tribune regarding the 7th NYNG relocating to the Seventh Regiment Armory (pgs. 42-45); a group portrait of 7th NYNG members at Sea Girt, New Jersey, in July of 1894 during a visit with New Jersey National Guardsmen (pg. 67); and Townsend's Lance Corporal chevrons (pgs. 92, 93).

• This volume contains materials related to Townsend's service in the New York National Guard, 7th Regiment, Company D, during 1896. Items of particular interest include an engraving depicting Company D winning a chariot race at the 7th Regiment games (pgs. 28, 29); a New York Herald clipping from May 31st 1896 regarding the 7th NYNG's victory over West Point in a baseball match (pg. 39); an American Lithographic Co. halftone reproduction of a Jay Hambidge painting showing the 7th NYNG marching in uniform titled "For Love or War?" (pg. 43); clippings regarding the new regimental clubhouse at the Creedmoor Rifle Range (pg. 45); a private circular for NCOs regarding a regimental parade in honor of Chinese viceroy Li Hongzhang as well as a halftone portrait of Li (pgs. 46, 47); and cartoons from the 7th Regiment Gazette of December 1896 comically depicting track and field events (pg. 61).

• This volume contains materials related to Townsend's service in the New York National Guard, 7th Regiment, Company D, from 1897 to May of 1898. Items of particular interest include a photographs of 7th NYNG officers and NCOs (pgs. 2, 3); halftone images from a 7th NYNG camp (pg. 7); a New York Sun clipping from October 10th 1897 regarding a mock battle at Van Cortlandt Park replete with a topographical map of the park (pg. 11); a New York Herald clipping from October 10th 1897 showing engravings related to "The Battle of Van Cortlandt Park." (pgs. 12, 13); a Harper's Weekly clipping from October 1897 showing halftone reproductions of paintings related to the mock battle at Van Cortlandt Park (pgs. 14, 15); camp scene photographs from June 1897 including one portrait of Townsend in uniform (pg. 23); halftone images showing interior rooms of the Seventh Regiment Armory (pgs. 25-28); a halftone reproduction of an engraving showing 7th NYNG uniforms from 1802 to 1897 (pg. 33); a halftone reproduction from Harper's Weekly vol. 42 no. 2157 of a painting by T. De Thulstrup showing the 7th NYNG being reviewed by Major General Charles F. Roe at the Seventh Regiment Armory (pgs. 76, 77); and multiple clippings related to the 7th NYNG's decision to refrain from allowing members to individually enlist in the regular US Army at the outset of the Spanish-American War so as not to disintegrate the unit (pgs. 82-91).

• This volume contains materials related to Townsend's service in the 201st Infantry Regiment of New York Volunteers as well as in the US Army 1st Infantry Regiment covering the period from March of 1899 to February of 1900. Items of particular interest include clippings related to Townsend's promotion from Captain of Company M 201st NY Volunteer Infantry Regiment to Second Lieutenant in the US regular army (pg. 5); letters from Townsend to his parents regarding exams he must take at Fort Monroe, Virginia, in order to achieve his promotion (pgs. 8, 9); a picture book containing halftone images from around Fort Monroe (pg. 11); a photograph showing a Fort Monroe examination room black board coupled with text of the example question present on the board (pg. 17); a copy of Townsend's commission as Second Lieutenant (pgs. 22, 23); clippings related to the naval transportation of American troops to Cuba (pg. 33); photographs of various Cuban scenes including an ossuary outside of Havana, Cuban huts and houses, Cuban soldiers being paid, American camps and barracks, a Cuban funeral, Afro-Cubans, underbrush near the mountains, a general view of Pinar del Rio, American military officers and their wives, and American troops in formation (pgs. 36-46, 48-55); a memorandum concerning the administrative use of officers' photographic portraits (pg. 59); photographs showing scenes of Guanajay and Pinar del Rio, Company K rifle ranges, American officers including Lt. McCue, Lt. Tebetts, Lt. Reams, Lt. Beacham, Lt. Wilcox, Dr. Dunchie, and Lt. Reeder, child golf caddies (including a Chinese boy named Ah Soy), a Cuban house being constructed out of palm tree materials, American officers and their wives, a Cuban burial party, soldiers on the march and drilling, an American military graveyard, Cuban ox carts, a railroad station, and churches (pgs. 60-66, 68-82); a clipping including an advertisement for "Mahara's Minstrel Carnival" (pg. 84); and more photographs showing American officers and their wives, Chinese-Cubans, a man posing with a white owl, a well-dressed Cuban man named "Mr. Usavraga", 2nd Battalion shelter camps, American barracks at Guanajay, a group of American officers and several women that includes both Townsend and his mother Emma, the fort at Mariel, a Cuban ship named Alphonso XIII sinking in Mariel Harbor, street scenes in San Antonio and Guanajay, and golf links at Guanajay (pgs. 91-115).

• This volume contains materials related to Townsend's service in the US Army 1st Infantry Regiment covering the period from April 1900 to December 1901. Items of particular interest include photographs showing 1st Infantry Company K assembled in uniform at Guanajay and the aftermath of a major storm at Guanajay, (pgs. 1, 2); clippings related to the potential ordering of the 1st Infantry from Cuba to China as well as Yellow Fever outbreaks among American soldiers stationed in Cuba (pgs. 4, 5); a fragment of an envelope bearing an official stamp from a US military surgeon indicating that the parcel had been "Disinfected and Passed" (pg. 9); clippings from August 1900 detailing the ordering of troops to Manila, Philippines, instead of China (pgs. 13-17); photographs showing various scenes from around Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, including the US Army Disciplinary Barracks (pg. 19-24); clippings from October 1900 regarding the capture and subsequent rescue of Capt. Devereux Shields (pgs. 28-30); clippings regarding the launch of the Samar Expedition and insurgent fighting tactics (pgs. 31-33, 40); photographs showing buildings occupied by American troops in Catbalogan, US Army officers and headquarters at Tacloban in February 1901 (pgs. 40-42); a clipping showing a map of the "Peaceful Districts in the Philippines" highlighting areas deemed unsafe for Americans to venture (pg. 46); photographs showing street scenes, Filipino villages and villagers, and landscape views (pgs. 50-54); a letter and associated hand-drawn map sent by Townsend to his mother describing an ambush against American forces in southern Samar in April of 1901 during which Townsend came under fire from a rifle he believed to have belonged to an American soldier who had deserted (pgs. 55, 56); a letter from Townsend to his mother in April of 1901 describing the visit of a group of Palauan tribesmen and counterinsurgency operations (pg. 57); photographs taken by Townsend of the Palauan tribesmen (pgs. 58-60); photographs from around Guiuan, including the U.S. Army headquarters, a 200 year old church door, Lt. Downes and Townsend's quarters, and images of a church and locals in Mercedes (pgs. 62, 63); clippings related to the death of Lt. Downes and Lt. McClure (pg. 68); a typescript copy of a letter initially sent by Townsend to Capt. Willard C. Fisk from July 1901, which the latter forwarded to Townsend's parents, describing engagements in Samar including one that led to Townsend being stabbed in the forearm (pg. 70); clippings related to the death of Lt. Downes and the Balangiga Massacre (pgs. 71-76); a letter from Townsend to his mother dated Oct 5 1901 describing the Balangiga Massacre and how his detachment were very nearly sent there (pg. 77); Townsend's Second Lieutenant bars (pg. 78); and a clipping describing innovative traps used by the Moros against American soldiers (pg. 79).

• This volume contains materials related to Townsend's service in the US Army 1st Infantry Regiment covering the period from 1905 to September 1907. Items of particular interest include a group portrait showing Townsend, other U.S. Army officers, and several women (including Cornelia T. Getty) standing in front of a house in Canada with snowshoeing equipment (pg. 3); clippings related to Fort Brady and a roster of troops serving in the Department of the Lakes as of August 15th 1905 (pgs. 5-7); clippings related to renewed unrest in China and the shipment of more U.S. troops to the Philippines (pg. 10, 12); clippings related to the transportation of American troops to the Philippines (pgs. 18, 19); clippings related to the celebration of George Washington's birthday at a ceremony in Gibraltar in February 1906 (pgs. 24, 26); a letter from Townsend to his mother from aboard the USS McClellan near Sri Lanka in April 1906 describing the conditions of the ship and the progress of the journey thus far (pg. 36); a typescript summary of Townsend's military career as of July 1906 (pg. 49); panoramic views of Camp Stotsenburg (pgs. 58, 64); a clipping regarding an earthquake in the Philippines in April 1907 (pg. 69); a typescript copy of a memo from September 1907 titled "Regarding the Government of the Philippine Islands With Special Reference to the Subject of Police Protection" (pg. 80); and photographs by Pedro Casanave of the S.S. Mindoro and of "Calle Gen. Hughes" in Iloilo City (pgs. 87, 88).

• This volume contains materials related to Townsend's service in the US Army 23rd and 1st Infantry Regiments covering the period from August 1909 to August 1910. Items of particular interest include a roster of officers and troops on duty at the Army Service Schools, Fort Leavenworth and the US Military Prison as of November 1909 (pg. 5); a studio portrait of Townsend in uniform taken at Fort Leavenworth (pg. 7); a copy of the September 1910 issue of the Infantry Journal by The United States Infantry Association containing an article written by Townsend titled "The Use and Effect of Flying Machines on Military Operations" (pg. 25); clippings related to practice maneuvers at Pine Camp, New York (pgs. 28-39, 49-58); halftone images showing camp scenes at Pine Camp (pgs. 47, 48); and photographs showing Townsend in uniform, Townsend's parents Malcolm and Emma, and what may have been the Townsend family residence (pg. 59).

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has also created the G. L. Townsend Scrapbook Inventory which serves as an itemized list of the contents of each scrapbook.