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Collection

Bradstreet family papers, 1776-1881 (majority within 1809-1866)

0.75 linear feet

This collection is made up of correspondence and legal documents pertaining to Martha Bradstreet of northern New York State. Much of the material pertains to Bradstreet's efforts to recover titles to her inherited land along the Mohawk River. The collection also contains materials related to Samuel Bradstreet and a group of Civil War letters from Silas E. Crandall to Phoebe Bradstreet.

This collection is made up of correspondence and legal documents pertaining to Martha Bradstreet of northern New York State. Much of the material pertains to Bradstreet's efforts to recover titles to her inherited land along the Mohawk River. The collection also contains materials related to Samuel Bradstreet and a group of Civil War letters from Silas E. Crandall to Phoebe Bradstreet.

The Martha Bradstreet Papers are divided into subseries of Martha Bradstreet Correspondence (126 items) and Martha Bradstreet Documents (25 items). The correspondence, including letters by and to Martha Bradstreet, largely pertains to her legal and financial affairs. Many items concern disputes over the land she inherited in upstate New York. Bradstreet's personal correspondence includes letters that she received from her children while traveling and letters to her children and others about their personal activities, such as her daughter Sarah's return to an abusive husband (November 26, 1840). Bradstreet's children wrote to one another about their personal lives, their mother's legal difficulties, and finances. The series' legal documents concern Bradstreet's New York property disputes, the will of Elizabeth Livius, and a civil suit between Elizabeth C. Bennett and Washington Garlock. A map of Mary Bradstreet's land along the Mohawk River is housed in the Map Division.

The Samuel Bradstreet Correspondence (138 items), dated 1800-1866, reflects the contentious relationship between Martha Bradstreet, her brother Samuel, and her husband, Matthew Codd, particularly with regard to real property and inheritance. The series includes several items written by Samuel's sons and grandsons.

The S. E. Crandall and Phoebe Bradstreet Correspondence (12 items) largely consists of letters that S. E. Crandall sent to Phoebe Bradstreet, whom he addressed as "Mother," while serving in the 17th Army Corps during the Civil War. He discussed his experiences in and around Atlanta, Georgia. He also sent letters before and after his military service about his life in Minnesota and about possible conflicts with the Sioux Indians (June 6, 1863).

The Photograph is a large portrait of a woman, mounted in a card frame.

Collection

Charles Cogswell papers, 1869-1921 (majority within 1869-1899)

1 linear foot

This collection consists of approximately 1,250 business letters and financial documents concerning the professional affairs of Charles P. Cogswell, a banker and investor based in Norwich, Connecticut, in the latter half of the 19th century. Included are roughly 1,180 letters and financial records, 77 checks and receipts, and 1 photograph. In addition to serving as president of the Second National Bank of Norwich, Connecticut, Cogswell owned stock in several railroads, lumber companies, and other firms in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Cogswell's incoming business correspondence and documents pertain to his relationships with other bankers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York, and to his financial interests in the western states.

This collection consists of approximately 1,250 business letters and financial documents concerning the professional affairs of Charles P. Cogswell, a banker and investor based in Norwich, Connecticut, in the latter half of the 19th century. Included are roughly 1,180 letters and financial records, 77 checks and receipts, and 1 photograph. In addition to serving as president of the Second National Bank of Norwich, Connecticut, Cogswell owned stock in several railroads, lumber companies, and other firms in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Cogswell's incoming business correspondence and documents pertain to his relationships with other bankers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York, and to his financial interests in the western states.

Charles P. Cogswell's incoming Correspondence and Documents (about 1,250 items) cover many of his financial interests and monetary investments between 1877 and 1899, such as the affairs of the Second National Bank of Norwich, Connecticut, and its relationships with other banks throughout the state and in New York and Massachusetts. Early items include receipts and bills for labor and other expenses, dated between 1870 and 1877. In and after 1877, most items are business letters, often brief, related to banking and to Cogswell's financial investments in firms such as the Sibley Machine Company, lumber companies, railroads, and harvester manufacturers in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Later correspondence often concerns stock Cogswell held in various companies, as well as those companies' financial standing and value.

One group of letters from attorney Charles L. Mitchell in Cincinnati, Ohio, written in 1883 and 1884, pertains to a legal action in which Mitchell and other executors of the late Charles D. Coffin's estate sought to invalidate several mortgages; a copy of the action is also included (January 12, 1884). The bulk of the collection ends in 1899. Four later items, dated between 1912 and 1921, are related to C. C. Sterling of Hartford, Connecticut, and to the Hart & Hegeman Manufacturing Company of Hartford. At least two items are personal letters Cogswell received from a member of the Miner family.

The Checks and Receipts series contains 77 checks and receipts signed by and issued to Charles P. Cogswell. His checks were drawn on the Second National Bank. Receipts include 4 for Cogswell's use of naturall gas provided by the Norwich City Gas Company.

The Photograph is a 5.5"x3" black-and-white print mounted on thick cardboard. The picture depicts six people standing in front of a house, identified as grandparents and aunts.

Collection

Ewing family papers, 1773-1937 (majority within 1773-1866)

4.75 linear feet

This collection is made up of correspondence, legal documents, financial records, school essays, ephemera, and other materials related to the family and descendants of Maskell Ewing of Radnor, Pennsylvania. The bulk relates to Maskell Ewing and his son, Maskell Cochran Ewing.

This collection is made up of correspondence, legal documents, financial records, school essays, ephemera, and other materials related to the family and descendants of Maskell Ewing of Radnor, Pennsylvania. The bulk relates to Maskell Ewing and his son, Maskell Cochran Ewing.

The Ewing family correspondence dates between 1784 and 1937, though the bulk falls between 1789 and 1845, with later groups dating from the Civil War and the mid-20th century. The earliest items include letters from Elinor Gardiner Hunter to her son James, written in the late 18th century, and incoming correspondence addressed to Maskell Ewing (1758-1825), often related to his financial affairs. Throughout the 1820s, Maskell Cochran Ewing (1806-1849) received letters from his mother and sisters while he studied at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. These letters reflect his military education and document women's lives in rural Pennsylvania in the early 1800s. Maskell Cochran Ewing occasionally wrote letters from the academy, and received letters from former classmates in the years immediately following his graduation. Several letters addressed to Maskell Cochran Ewing date from the Civil War.

The Ewing family's diaries, journals, school books, and a sketchbook primarily belonged to Maskell Cochran Ewing and James Hunter Ewing. One of Maskell Cochran's journals contains notes from a surveying expedition for the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal (1828). James Hunter Ewing composed 3 journals during the Civil War era.

Legal and financial documents comprise the bulk of the collection, with much of the material relating to the financial, legal, and real estate affairs of Maskell Ewing, with some items concerning Maskell Cochran Ewing's military career. Maskell Cochran Ewing kept a series of account books in 1859, intended for student use. Also of note is a set of United States debt certificates for goods seized for use by the Continental Army between 1780 and 1783. Bonds, receipts, financial records, and legal documents related to specific disputes also appear in the collection.

The Ewing family papers also include essays on many different topics, a manuscript map of West Point, and ephemera postcards, photographs, printed materials, and calling cards.

Collection

Frank J. Hecker papers, 1868-1908 (majority within 1898-1905)

1.75 linear feet

The Frank J. Hecker papers are primarily made up of official letters and documents pertaining to his service during and following the Spanish-American war (1898-1899) as Chief of the Division of Transportation, Quartermaster's Department, and as a member of the Isthmian Canal Commission (1904). The collection also contains scrapbooks and newspaper clippings related to his work in these capacities, plus miscellaneous photographs, printed items, and ephemera.

The Frank J. Hecker papers are primarily made up of official letters and documents pertaining to his service during and following the Spanish-American War (1898-1899) as Chief of the Division of Transportation, Quartermaster's Department, and as a member of the Isthmian Canal Commission (1904). The collection also contains newspaper clippings related to his work in these capacities and miscellaneous photographs, printed items, and ephemera.

Frank Hecker's correspondence and documents begin in June 1898, as he began to manage the purchase of transport ships. Correspondents include Hecker, Russell Alexander Alger (Secretary of War), Charles Patrick Eagan (Commissary General of Subsistence), George D. Meiklejohn, Nelson A. Miles (Commander, U.S. Army), William Giles Harding Carter, and many representatives of companies in business with the government. The letters are all official, mostly regarding the purchase and charter of ships; the inspection of ships; and the procurement of laborers, construction materials, and equipment throughout the campaigns in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere.

The letters and documents include Frank Hecker's appointment as Chief of the Division of Transportation within the Quartermaster Department; J. M. Ceballas and Company's report of expenses for the transportation of prisoners of war from Santiago de Cuba to Spanish ports, September 1898; correspondence regarding proposed stations for U.S. troops in Cuba and the construction of railways and piers; and other communications respecting transportation, supplies, and storage.

Frank Hecker's two letter books consist of retained copies of his official War Department letters to governmental and military personnel and various businesses. This correspondence contains additional detailed information on the purchase, charter, and maintenance of transport ships and equipment, as well as administrative and financial decisions related to them.

From 1899 to 1903, the collection's correspondence and documents follow up on Hecker's work during the Spanish-American War. Among these are legal documents regarding the John C. Calhoun v. Atlantic Transport Company case (including Hecker's testimony before the Supreme Court, New York County). John Calhoun brought suit with the transport company for commission related to the sale of several vessels to the U.S. government during the war. The correspondence and documents also include one small, undated, Spanish-American War-era notebook, marked "Col. F.J. Hecker. U.S. Vols." Each of approximately 50 pages in this volume contains a ship's name, owning company, tonnage, size, speed, claimed capacity, and cost of charter.

The correspondence and documents dated 1904ff. begin with President Theodore Roosevelt's appointment of Col. Hecker to the (second) Isthmian Canal Commission and a letter specifying the responsibilities of the Commission. The bulk of this material is made up of the proceedings of the Isthmian Canal Commission. The proceedings (meetings 1-49, 53-55, 60) consist of minutes and resolutions, awarded contracts, financial distributions, subcommittee appointments, and other administrative paperwork. Hecker's letter of resignation to Theodore Roosevelt (November 11, 1904) is present, as is the President's letter of acceptance and a series of letters to Hecker, lamenting his decision to leave the commission. Several of them (particularly Russell Alger's of December 1, 1904, and George W. Davis' of January 17, 1905) suggest that Hecker's resignation was in part the result of confusion and turmoil caused by the allegations made against him by the newspapers.

The collection also includes two scrapbooks with content largely related to Frank Hecker's unsuccessful run for Congress (Detroit, Michigan) in 1892, his service on the Isthmian Canal Commission (1904ff.), and the World War I service of his son Christian Henry Hecker, in the 338th Infantry. Other materials include loose clippings from Detroit and New York newspapers with content concerning Hecker's resignation from the Isthmian Canal board. Please see the detailed box and folder listing for a complete list of photographs, printed items, and ephemera.

Collection

Laidley family papers, 1838-1886 (majority within 1838-1861)

392 items

The Laidley family papers consist of letters written by members of the Laidley family regarding family news, politics, and life in the military. The collection also contains fiction written by William Sydney Laidley, a travel journal, legal documents, photographs, and genealogical materials.

The Laidley family papers are comprised of letters, a travel diary, miscellaneous documents, creative writing, genealogical materials, business cards, newspaper clippings, and photographs.

Correspondence: The bulk of the letters are from Theodore T.S. Laidley to his father, John Osborne Laidley, between 1838 and 1861. The collection also contains letters from Theodore to his brother William Sydney Laidley, and letters from various friends and family members, including Amacetta Laidley and George W. Summers, to John Osborne Laidley.

Theodore's early letters describe his life at the United States Military Academy at West Point. After graduating from West Point, Theodore spent time at the Watervliet Arsenal near Troy, New York. He wrote to his father monthly about military life, his enjoyment of New York State, and his health. Theodore took an interest in politics, and was very much concerned about bills, policies, and appointments that he felt were detrimental to the future of the army.

Letters from Theodore contain news about his family, his wife's family, and their health. He also wrote to his father with advice about his siblings. Fewer letters exist from the other Laidley children, and Theodore refers to them being infrequent correspondents. Amacetta did write her father from Washington, recounting politicians and writers she had met. Amacetta's husband, George W. Summers, wrote to John Osborne Laidley about legal matters and his future in politics. Laidley's friends and children wrote frequently about faith and church matters. Following John Osborne Laidley's death in 1863, the bulk of the letters are from Theodore Laidley to his brother, William Sydney Laidley.

Diary: The travel diary is the record of an unidentified family member's journey from Charleston, West Virginia, to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1879. It contains several pencil drawings including sketches of bridges, a ship, the Chesapeake Bay, and a chandelier.

Documents: The miscellaneous documents consist of receipts, a bill of sale, and a deed.

Creative Writing: The creative writing series contains two poems and a short novel of the Civil War written by William Sydney Laidley.

Personal and Genealogical Materials: The personal and genealogical materials consist of Thomas Laidley's report cards, including some from West Point, a large family tree, information about individual family members, and records of births, deaths, and marriages.

Business Cards: The business card series is made up of the business cards of Theodore Laidley and William Sydney Laidley. William Sydney Laidley's business card features a pencil drawing of an infant on the reverse.

Newspaper Clippings: The collection includes two newspaper clippings. The first is a report of the sinking of the steamer Sultan and the death of Sarah Laidley Poage. The second is a report of a trip to Europe by a member of the Laidley family.

Photographs: The photographs series is composed of three photographs, including two of William Sydney Laidley and one of an unidentified member of the Laidley family.

Collection

Puffer-Markham family papers, 1794-1910 (majority within 1860-1879)

2.5 linear feet

Online
The Puffer-Markham family papers (1,875 items) is comprised of business letters, personal letters, legal documents, and financial records related to an extended family with business and agricultural interests in Massachusetts, New York, Michigan, and South Carolina. Also present are letters from five Civil War soldiers, containing descriptions of their wartime experiences.

The Puffer-Markham family papers (1875 items) is comprised of business letters, personal letters, legal documents, and financial records related to an extended family with business and agricultural interests in Massachusetts, New York, Michigan, and South Carolina. Also present are letters from five Civil War soldiers, containing descriptions of their wartime experiences.

The Correspondence series (1535 items) contains family business and personal letters. These largely document William G. Markham's business activities in selling wheat, cattle, and sheep, as well as personal letters from Guy Markham's children, grandchildren, spouses, and friends from upstate New York. The family letters report on news, daily life, sickness, and courtship. Also present are letters related to Charles C. Puffer's business activities: as a banker in Massachusetts before the war, and as a plantation manager in Reconstruction-era South Carolina. Among the personal papers are many Civil War-era letters, involving both business carried on during the war and letters from Union soldiers on the frontlines.

The papers concerning Guy Markham and his son William Guy Markham are almost exclusively related to business matters. Guy was involved with farming in and around Rush, New York. William G. Markham, who inherited much of his father's land, established himself in the cattle industry. Throughout the 1870s, he received orders for Durham cattle (shorthorn heifers) from New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, and as far as Denver, Colorado, and Walla Walla, Washington Territory. Letters concerning his interest in cotton are also represented. He was president of the Sea Island Cotton Company, trustee of the Port Royal Cotton Company, and an associate with the United States Cotton Company. Beginning around1880, Markham became heavily involved with wool production and corresponded with other national and international woolgrowers, including the National Wool Growers Association, headquartered in Springfield, Illinois, which lobbied the House of Representatives against a congressional act that would lift overseas wool tariffs. He had multiple dealings with selling sheep and wool in Australia and South Africa.

Other Markham letters relate to William's siblings Wayne and Mary. Wayne Markham described his agricultural activities and his life in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Mary wrote of her experiences at the Music Institute of New London, Connecticut, and frequently requested money to cover her school expenses.

The Charles Puffer letters cover his business interactions with the Shelburne Falls Bank, and the Puffer-Markham partnership, which purchased plantations in Beaufort and Hilton Head, South Carolina (summer of 1865). In 15 letters to his wife Emma Puffer (1870-1876), Charles, while living in Columbia, South Carolina, described managing plantations for his family, working as an activist for the state’s Republican party (particularly in the 4th congressional district), and his relationship with Governor Daniel Henry Chamberlain. He reported on a disorderly state convention in 1870, and of receiving $16,000 from Governor Chamberlain to distribute to county convention attendees with the promise that Charles would become county treasurer (September 4, 1874). By 1876, Charles had declared that he had left politics.

Listed below are the dates of these letters:
  • January 2, 1870
  • January 13, 1870
  • March 11, 1870
  • June 2, 1870
  • July 27, 1870
  • August 1, 1870
  • January 1, 1871
  • February 10, 1871
  • August 22, 1874
  • September 4, 1874
  • October 7, 1874
  • December 1874
  • January 14, 1876
  • April 12, 1876
  • [1870s]

Between 1887 and 1890, the collection focuses on the lives of sisters Linda and Isabel ("Belle") Puffer, daughters of Charles and Emma Puffer. These comprise 12 items sent from and 39 items addressed to the sisters, while they were attending Wellesley College.

The collection contains 22 letters from five Civil War soldiers: Horace Boughton (9th and 143rd New York Infantry), Morris R. Darrohn (108th New York Infantry), Isaac R. Gibbard (143rd New York Infantry), Charles W. Daily (50th New York Engineers), and Samuel P. Wakelee (54th New York National Guard). Horace Boughton, who wrote eleven of these letters, described his regiment's activities and instructed his friend William Guy Markham on how to allocate his paychecks to his family and business interests. Below is a list of Civil War soldiers' letters.

All are addressed to William Guy Markham unless otherwise noted:
  • October 27, 1861: Horace Boughton at Fort Corcoran
  • December 1, 1861: Horace Boughton at Fort Cass
  • May 4, 1862: Horace Boughton at a camp near Fort Davis, Virginia
  • July 27, 1862: Horace Boughton at Westover, Virginia, concerning recruitment problems and arguing that seasoned troops are much more valuable than new recruits
  • July 27, 1862: Horace Boughton at Westover, Virginia
  • August 6, 1862: Horace Boughton at Westover, Virginia
  • October 28, 1862: Morris R. Darrohn on picket duty near Harper's Ferry; at Bolivar Heights he had a view of the house where John Brown took Louis Washington prisoner; he mentioned meeting the enemy at the battle of Antietam; that day he milked a stray cow so they could have cream in their coffee
  • November 14, 1862: Horace Boughton now with the 143rd New York Infantry stationed at Upton Hill, Virginia, and president of a court martial
  • February 25, 1863: Horace Boughton at New York 143rd Infantry headquarters, to Susan Emma Markham, discussing his ideas on womanhood and "the yoke of matrimony"
  • March 27, 1863: Morris R. Darrohn at Falmouth, Virginia, concerning drills, dreaming of home, and being trapped along the Rappahannock River at the Battle of Fredericksburg
  • March 29, 1863: Horace Boughton requesting photographs of the Markham family for his album
  • June 5, 1863: Morris R. Darrohn near Falmouth, Virginia
  • June 13, 1763: Isaac R. Gibbard near Williamsburg, Virginia, concerning leaving Yorktown with a division led by General Gordon; notes that "miasmas and diseases at West Point came very near whipping our regiment out…the Rebels said they would not attack us but let the diseases do it."
  • July 30, 1863: Isaac R. Gibbard sick at the Seminary Hospital at Georgetown, mentioned starting a band of musicians
  • August 16, 1863: Horace Houghton at New York 143rd Infantry headquarters, advising William not to join the war if possible
  • January 3, 1864: Morris R. Darrohn near Stevensburg, Virginia, cautioning against joining the Masons or the military
  • January 31, 1864: Horace Boughton at Bridgeport, Alabama
  • April 16, 1864: Charles W. Daily at Rappahannock Station, Virginia, expecting a march on Richmond that may be "the greatest battle of the war within 10 days"
  • [1864]: Samuel P. Wakelee to Puffer while guarding "Johnnys at Elmira" prison; he paid a prisoner tobacco to mould a Delta Kappa Epsilon ring in silver; he described the prison and wrote: "We have 10,600 Rebs in the Pen [,] Dirty, Lousy, Godforesakin crew[.] The majority of them are stalwart & robust…"
  • January 19, 1865: Horace Boughton on board the ship St. Patrick and discussed traveling by railroad
  • February 7, 1865: Horace Boughton at Bridgeport, Alabama
  • February 26, [1860s]: Cousin William reported on visiting various corps and hearing members of Congress, "the negro minstrels have a dance" and meeting General Fitzgerald
Below is a list of highlights from the Puffer-Markham correspondence:
  • July 1, 1842: School essays by Margaret G. Greenman
  • September 19, 1853: Homer Broughton to Guy Markham concerning picking out a tombstone for their grandmother
  • June 7, 1855: Horace Boughton's description of a trip from Rush, New York, to St. Paul, Minnesota, with details on the town
  • October 14 and 25, 1855: Wayne Markham in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to his brother, discussing moving into a new house, noting the price of meat in Michigan, and reflecting on the moral and industrious character of the citizens of the town
  • December 4, 1860: Mary Markham to her father describing visiting family in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Ionia, Michigan
  • November 6, 1763: Certificate for William Markham joining the Lima, New York, chapter of Freemasons
  • August 18, 1864: A letter from Mt. Morris, New York, concerning a lawsuit over a $50 cow killed at an Avon railroad crossing
  • September 5, 1864: Henry Puffer to Charles Puffer concerning purchasing land in Hilton Head, South Carolina
  • January 15, 1865: This letter from Henry M. Puffer and Company contains a drawing of a house on Gardner Plantation
  • February 11, 1865: News sent to Charles Puffer concerning land purchased for plantation farming in Beaufort, South Carolina
  • March 1, 1865: William Markham concerning returning soldiers purchasing land that is interest free for three years, and other news from South Carolina
  • June 19, 1765: Robert C. Clark to William Markham regarding visiting Oil Creek, Pennsylvania, and noting the failure of the Genesee Valley Oil Well
  • January 6, 1866: George Fisher of Rochester, New York, concerning the state of the local Delta Kappa Epsilon chapter
  • September 13, 1866: Letter from the Cook and Martin Music Dealer in Rochester, New York, concerning the sale of a piano, on letterhead featuring a picture of a piano
  • August 26, 1868: From a St. Louis member of Delta Kappa Epsilon providing for a member who can write in shorthand
  • April 15, 1869: Brooklyn photographer E. Bookhout gives prices for his services
  • [1860s]: M.F. Randolph to William Guy Markham detailing the price of cotton before the Civil War
  • January 5, 1870: Homer Broughton in Topeka, Kansas, to his family in New York concerning his productive new farm on an "old Indian field" and the many new settlers in the area purchasing land at "government prices"
  • January 13, 1871: A pencil sketch of people standing at podiums
  • June 1891: Papers related to shipping ewes and rams to Cape Town, South Africa
  • 1892: Print of an Atwood Ram named Wooly Bill, 1549, bred by C.W. Mason in Vergennes, Vermont
  • December 28, 1893: Instructions for judging sheep at the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago sent to W.I. Buchanan of the Department of Agriculture
  • July 2, 1902: Francis E. Warren of the National Wool Growers Association to William G. Markham concerning a treaty with Argentina that would harm the American wool industry

The Correspondence series contains 172 undated items. Of note is a letter with a hand-sketched map of plots of farm land near St. Joseph, Michigan, and a series of school essays written by Margaret G. Greenman (Mrs. Sumner Clark) on "Broken Friendships," "Penmanship," "Envy and Deceit," and "Buds of Flowers" among others.

The Documents series (114 items) contains legal and business documents relating to the family's land holdings and entrepreneurial endeavors. Included are the land deeds and mortgages of William Markham, Guy Markham, Phoebe Markham, and William Markham (primarily in Genesee County, New York), records for debts, land purchases, whiskey purchases, estate documents, and business agreements between the Sea Island Cotton Company and the United States Cotton Company.

The Accounts and Financial Records series (199 items) consists of material related to the personal and business activities of the Markham and Puffer families, including materials documenting management of the cotton companies during Reconstruction. Personal records amount to accounts and bills for tuition, day labor, magazine and newspaper subscriptions, furniture purchase and repair, insurance, and groceries. The business accounts document the Sea Island Cotton Company, the Hilton Head Cotton Company, and the accounts of C.C. Puffer (1865-1767). Present are accounts for plantation supplies, office expenses, salaries, cotton sold on speculation, sales of stocks, lists of share owners, and various receipts. Of note are the records for salary advances made to South Carolina freedmen in 1866.

This series also contains four account books:
  • April-October 1840: Accounts of C.S. Boughton
  • September-December 1856: Accounts of William Guy Markham
  • 1865-1867: Two accounts of William Guy Markham's accounts with D.W. Powers Bank of Rochester

The Printed Items series (21 items) is comprised of blank Sea Island Company stock certificates, and government records related to the regulation of United States wool and fabric production. These records include the following bills from the 57th Congress: H.R. 6565, H.R. 14643, H.R. 14488, and documents concerning "Shoddy vs. Wool" and the National Wool Growers Association (1901-1902). These items were of interest to William Guy Markham, a wool producer and sheep expert.

The Miscellaneous series (6 items) contains photographs, stamps, and other miscellaneous material. One photograph is of Mrs. Hinkley Williams, Mrs. L. Boltwood, and Mrs. E. Boltwood ("Three Generations") sent to Guy Markham in 1892. The second photograph is of 84-year-old Hinkley Williams of Gorham, Massachusetts (1892). Also of interest is a list of Guy Markham's presidential picks from 1824-1888.

Collection

Ramsey family papers, 1786-1935 (majority within 1827-1935)

7 linear feet

This collection is comprised of correspondence, diaries, documents, financial papers, and other materials of the family of stonecutter and marble worker John M. Ramsey, his wife Cyanea, and their children. The family lived in Greenfield, New Hampshire; Milwaukee and Port Washington, Wisconsin; and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Around 60 Civil War letters and one diary of the Ramseys' son Henry, who served in the 16th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, and around 10 letters of a cousin Ridgeway P. Cragin, of the 32nd Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, are included. Particularly notable are 96 daily diaries of the Ramsey daughters Emily S. and Cyanea H., kept largely while they lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1870s-1920s.

This collection is comprised of 1,182 letters; 98 diaries; 210 documents; 468 receipts, checks, and account books; seven school papers and writings; three photographs; 34 printed and ephemeral items; and other materials of the family of stonecutter and marbleworker John M. Ramsey, his wife Cyanea, and their children. The family lived in Greenfield, New Hampshire; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Around 60 Civil War letters and one diary of the Ramseys' son Henry, who served in the 16th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, and around 10 letters of a cousin Ridgeway P. Cragin, of the 32nd Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, are included. Particularly notable are 96 daily diaries of the Ramsey daughters Emily S. and Cyanea H., kept largely while they lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1870s-1920s.

The Correspondence series includes 1,182 items and opens with the 1827-1830s letters of Caroline and Hannah Ramsey of Greenfield, New Hampshire, and a sister, Sarah Marshall, of Augusta, Maine. A group of letters pertain to the courtship and marriage of John M. Ramsey and Cyanea Stevens--including a letter from Cyanea's parents Lemuel and Reliance about Cyanea's request for their approval of the wedding (August 5, 1836). Letters of the 1850s include correspondence of Collins Hinckley Stevens, regarding the death of Cyanea's mother Reliance in 1858, and incoming letters to Emily Ramsey from her schoolmates. A selection of letters to Emily from E. H. Langdon, a schoolteacher in Milwaukee, are present.

In the 1860s, sisters Emily, Frances "Fannie", and Cyanea carried on correspondence with each other and with friends and family, including:

  • "Hannah" from the Baraboo Female Seminary (Sauk County, Wisconsin) in 1863
  • Fannie to Emily while visiting Stoughton in 1863; Fannie's correspondence while attending the Ripley Female College, 1865-1866; her letters while staying with family in Greenfield, New Hampshire; and correspondence while in Chicago for medical reasons
  • Ora Stevens in Nashville and Louis H. Stevens of Manchester, Vermont
  • Friend "Louise" in Hartford, Connecticut (who moved to Bay City, Michigan, and married Edwin Wood)
  • John M. Ramsey's nephew David Butler Ramsey (1829-1899), from Chicago and Milwaukee, many written while working in the law offices of Palmer, Hooker & Pitkin, later Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company
  • Female friends and family to Emily and Fannie, written from Evanston, Illinois; Milwaukee and Ozaukee, Wisconsin; and Poultney, Vermont

The Ramsey family correspondence includes around 60 Civil War letters of Corporal Henry C. Ramsey of the 16th Regiment Wisconsin Infantry. He wrote from Camp Randall, the steamship Planet, Camp Sabin, Camp near Grand Junction, Camp near Memphis, Camp near Lake Providence, Louisiana, Camp Randall, and Vicksburg. In the mid-1870s, Henry was admitted to the Michigan Asylum for the Insane at Kalamazoo, Michigan, and the family received letters from Dr. E. H. VanDensen about his progress, especially around 1876. Around 10 letters of a cousin Paul Ridgeway Cragin, of the 32nd Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, are included.

Cyanea's and Emily's other correspondents from the 1870s to the 1930s include but are not limited to:

  • Friends, cousins, and other relatives, including the Stevenses in Vermont; Persis Moore of Niles, Michigan; "Augusta" of Allegan and Otsego, Michigan; Almira Marshall in Owasso, Michigan; Frederick Marshall of Saginaw, Michigan; "Lizzie" in Woburn, Boston, and Framingham; Elvira Elizabeth Ramsey in Greenfield, New Hampshire; "David" in Greenfield; Murray J. Hoppock of Fremont, Michigan; and many others
  • William H. Ramsey, Jr., a cousin, employed at the Ozaukee County Malting Company at Port Washington, Wisconsin, in the late 1880s; and as Secretary and Treasurer of the Wisconsin Chair Company in the 1890s
  • Grand Rapids attorneys More & Wilson and bankers Edward M. Deane and Company, following the death of their father in 1897
  • Gertrude P. Newton (Mrs. E. B. Newton) from Newton's Ranch, Colusa, Kansas, early 1900s
  • Cousins James and Sarah (Saidee) Baker, from Ancón, Canal Zone, Panama, 1921-1935

The Diaries series includes 98 daily diaries, 96 of which were kept by sisters Cyanea H. and Emily S. Ramsey between 1873 and 1935, while the two lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The remaining two diaries include Henry C. Ramsey's Civil War diary for the year 1864 and a partial 1921 diary kept by [Howard Stevens?] in a pre-printed 1894 pocket journal. Henry Ramsey's 1864 pocket diary includes entries covering the 16th Regiment Wisconsin Infantry's movements from Vicksburg to Tennessee, to Georgia, with accounts of Kennesaw Mountain and the battle of Atlanta. The diary also covers his experiences as part of Sherman's march to the sea.

The Documents series is made up of 210 legal and financial documents pertinent largely to land and property in New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Michigan, between 1786 and 1919 (bulk 1825-1911). Additional items include tax documents, stock-related items, and other materials.

The Financial and Business Papers includes 300 receipts, around 160 bank checks, and eight account books. The receipts date between 1831 and 1928, pertaining largely to John M. Ramsey's marble and stonecutting business. Additional receipts relate to personal property and tax payments. The 160 checks are drawn largely from Grand Rapids, Michigan, banks between December 1869 and October 1880. The account books include:

  • [John M. Ramsey?] Account Book, 1830-1836. Comprised largely of accounts related to farm labor (haying, plowing, tending stock, etc.) in Greenfield, New Hampshire.
  • John M. Ramsey Ledgers and Account Books, 1854-1886 (7 vols.). Consisting of the accounts of John M. Ramsey's marble and stonecutting businesses. One undated, illustrated manuscript book of monuments designed by N. Merritt for J. M. Ramsey, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is included with the account books.

The collection's School Papers and Writings (7 items) include John M. Ramsey's teacher's book, November 1830-February 1831; a fragment of mathematical rules by J. M. Ramsey; a chronological table by Emily Ramsey, 1851; a reward of merit for Mary Ramsey; two penmanship exercises; and a manuscript issue of The Literary Chip Basket (vol. 111, no. 11), Port Washington, 1861, with list of contributors including Fanny Oatman and Emily Ramsey.

The Photographs series includes one carte-de-visite of Henry C. Ramsey of the 16th Wisconsin Infantry; and one carte-de-visite and one cabinet card of unidentified individuals.

The Ephemera and Printed Items series is made up of invitations, Nashua Manufacturing Company employee regulations (August 31, 1837), advertisements for marble and other products, and torn pages from the History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, ed. Hurd, 1885.

The collection also contains items pertinent to Genealogy (6 items) and an Address Book, Fragments, and Envelopes.

Collection

Revolutionary Cuba and Philippines collection, 1849-1925 (majority within 1895-1903)

2.75 linear feet

This collection consists of 883 letters, documents, an orderly book, printed items, and other materials concerning revolutionary conflicts in Cuba and the Philippines, American involvement particularly, dating largely from the 1890s-1900s. This collection's contents include detailed information from Cuban and Philippine revolutionaries at home and in exile; U.S. Army activities related especially to the Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War, and postwar occupations; American, Cuban, Filipino, and Spanish consular and governmental officials; and civilians (including families of U.S. Army soldiers' and sailors' family members) involved in the events.

This collection consists of 883 letters, documents, an orderly book, printed items, and other materials concerning revolutionary conflicts in Cuba and the Philippines, American involvement particularly, dating largely from the 1890s-1900s. This collection's contents include detailed information from Cuban and Philippine revolutionaries at home and in exile; U.S. Army activities related especially to the Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War, and postwar occupations; American, Cuban, Filipino, and Spanish consular and governmental officials; and civilians (including families of U.S. Army soldiers' and sailors' family members) involved in the events.

Please see the box and folder listing in this finding aid for extensive, detailed descriptions of items and groups of items in the Revolutionary Cuba and Philippines Collection.

Collection

Riley family papers, 1835-1910

4.5 linear feet

The Riley family papers (2,902 items) document the personal and business activities of Ashbel Wells Riley and his son George Stillson Riley of Rochester, New York. The papers concern family relationships and society in western New York, as well as the Riley family's participation in the temperance movement, and George Riley's involvement in the Grand Council of the Iroquois.

The Riley family papers (2,902 items) document the personal and business activities of Ashbel Wells Riley and his son George Stillson Riley of Rochester, New York. The papers concern family relationships and society in western New York, as well as the Riley's participation in the temperance movement, and George Riley's involvement in the Grand Council of the Iroquois.

The Personal Correspondence series (356 items) consists primarily of letters to Ashbel W. and George S. Riley, from friends and family members. Included are several letters from Charlotte to her husband Ashbell, when he was traveling in Europe in the 1840s; letters from Ashbel Riley, Jr., to George during his travels in Cuba and around New York; and letters from Anna H. Riley to her family from the Utica Female Seminary and while living with her husband in Chicago. Of particular interest are letters, written in the 1840s by George's cousin Caleb Hutton Hammond, in which he relayed family news and commented on social happenings in Rochester. These include his criticisms of several wealthy acquaintances who follow the Graham System (September 13, 1840); a description of a lecture and demonstration by Dr. Reid of Philadelphia, who studied phrenology; and a discussion of a lecture on American Antiquities that claimed that Egyptians must have settled Central America and built pyramids there (February 26, 1841). The majority of the letters spanning 1892-1917 are from Belle Hart ("Aunt Belle") to George Riley. She wrote from hotels in New York City and Rochester; the content is personal in nature.

Visual material includes letters on hotel letterhead that feature engraved depictions of the hotel, and a December 25, 1849, letter from Ashbel Riley, Jr., to George Riley that contains a diagram of his invention for a device that holds writing paper.

The Business Correspondence series (494 items) documents the Rileys' business communications, largely concerning property transactions and debts. Both Ashbel and George invested heavily in land but struggled to pay back debts throughout their lives. The bulk of these papers ranges from 1840 to 1895. In addition to letters requesting repayments for loans, the series contains copies and drafts of outgoing letters from George S. Riley to business partners and debtors, with many sent o S. P. Ely concerning property in Diamond, Utah, and in Michigan.

The Personal Writings Papers series (189 items) is comprised of non-correspondence writings, including notes, speech drafts, and fragments (1841-1908). Included are two bundles of items, which are kept in their original order, entitled "Scribblings & odds & ends -- t. c. in reference written mostly 1841, 2, & 3" and "Temperance Convention" from October 1845. These primarily relate to temperance activities with some material concerning the Seneca Indians.

The Financial Records series (1481 items) consists of receipts and accounts, account books, tax records, insurance records, stocks, and other miscellaneous items related to the Rileys' finances. The bulk of these records dates from between 1850 and 1880. In addition to the family's detailed business accounts, the series conatins a 1844 house expense book.

The Documents series (226 items) consists of legal papers (62 items), real estate papers (131 items), Grand Council of the Iroquois papers (14 items), and temperance-related papers (13 items). The legal papers concern Ashbel and George's financial problems related to land owning and paying taxes. It also contains George's patent certificate for "Improvements in smoke consuming furnaces." The real estate papers document the Riley's land holdings, mostly in upstate New York, consisting of land agreements and details on values. The Grand Council of the Iroquois papers are comprised of documents and letters relating to meetings of the Grand Council between 1842 and 1846. These include a description of a Seneca fort and a burial ground that Timothy Sullivan destroyed during his raids in 1779, a petition to Congress concerning Seneca landholdings, and a heavily edited description of a meeting. The Temperance papers contain documents related to various temperance meetings held in Rochester in 1845.

The Photographs series (1 item) contains a photograph of a bearded man, likely George S. Riley, taken by Notman & Fraser of Toronto, Ontario.

The Printed Material series (91 items) is comprised of the following:
  • Newspaper clippings (71 items), mostly from Rochester papers containing topics such as death notices, scientific and philosophical articles, poetry, and news of the day
  • Pamphlet (1 item) entitled, "Inquiries, Respecting the History, Present Condition and Future Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States" [1847]
  • Invitations (9 items) for formal and religious events such as lectures, plays, memorials, weddings, and a piano recital
  • Miscellaneous material (10 items), including a voter registration reminder, and a constitution for the Christian Reform Association of Monroe County, New York.
Collection

Thompson family papers, 1821-1973 (majority within 1821-1934)

8.75 linear feet

This collection is made up of the papers of Arba U. Thompson and his wife Frances Warner Thompson of Farmington and Avon, Hartford County, Connecticut, as well as the correspondence of their children Herbert, William, Lewis, Leila, Charles, and Frances May Thompson. The collection also includes the correspondence of Lucelia "Leila" U. Thompson, an educator who traveled with her husband William P. Baker to India in 1853 to serve for a decade as a missionary and teacher.

This collection is made up of the papers of Arba U. Thompson and his wife Frances Warner Thompson of Farmington and Avon, Hartford, Connecticut, as well as the correspondence of their children Herbert, William, Lewis, Leila, Charles, and Frances May Thompson. The papers include 2,713 letters, plus one linear foot of diaries, legal and financial documents, school papers, a commonplace book, a notebook, poems and writings, photographs, ephemeral materials, and printed items.

The Thompson Family Papers correspondence includes a wide range of writers and recipients. A temporary, rudimentary selection of them is as follows:

  • The earliest portion of the collection is largely comprised of the incoming correspondence of Frances "Frankie" Warner / Frances Warner Thompson, 1850-1851, and the often lengthy, journal-like letters of Lucelia "Leila" U. Thompson who traveled with her husband William P. Baker to India in 1853, where she served as a missionary and teacher until her death in 1864. Lucelia's letters begin with correspondence from Dwight Place Seminary, New Haven, in 1850. By 1852, she served as a teacher at Germantown in a school of Mary Fales, then in 1853 determined to travel as a missionary abroad. From 1853 to 1864, she wrote lengthy, at times journal-like letters from different locations in India, including "Ahmednuggur," "Khokar," Bhingar, "Shingvay" (illustrated letter from Bombay, January 1, 1855). Her recipients included Emmie Gallup (in Essex, Conn.), Lottie R. Andrew, and Emily Hubbard.
  • After Lucelia's death, her husband William P. Barker wrote letters to their parents, daughter Mary, and niece Leila Anna. Barker wrote from Minneapolis and Cottage Grove in the 1860s and 1870s, and from Carbon, Wyoming Territory, in the early 1880s.
  • Early 1850s courtship correspondence of Arba Thompson and Frances Warner.
  • Early 1850s letters from Mary E. Hubbell of Ipswich, Massachusetts; Avon, Connecticut; Baltimore, Maryland; and North Stonington, Connecticut, to Abigail "Nabby" Thompson.
  • Correspondence of Frances Thompson's brother "Baxter" at Yale College, beginning in 1854.
  • Letters by Flora Thompson in Avon, Connecticut, to her siblings beginning in the 1850s, then from Carthage, Ohio, by the 1870s.
  • Letters of Abel M. Thompson of Rockville mid-1850s
  • Correspondence of Pliny F. Warner of Aledo, Illinois, a job printer and publisher of the weekly Aledo Banner, editor of the Mason County Republican out of Havana, Illinois, and then the Havana Republican.
  • Letters by Frances Warner's father Milo Warner of Strykersville, New York, 1850s-1860s.
  • Letters by Frances Warner's sister Cordelia Morrill of Brooklyn, Strykersville, "Shadow Nook," and Java Village, New York, 1860s-1890s.
  • Post-Civil War correspondence to Frances, Abigail "Nabby", and Herbert Wilson Thompson.
  • Letters to Frances and Arba from cousin Dr. C. D. Woodruff of Lima, New York.
  • Letters of E. G. Warner in Amherst, Massachusetts, to cousin Leila Thompson, 1880s.
  • Letters from Charles and Anna Thompson to Frances Thompson from Bridgeport, Connecticut, late 1880s. Charles K. Thompson worked for the American Gramophone Company at Bridgeport.
  • Letters of H. W. Thompson, working at C. H. Smith & Co., loan brokers and western real estate out of Hartford, Connecticut, late 1880s.
  • Correspondence of Edith A. Warner of Brooklyn, New York, while teaching at Granville Female College, Granville, Ohio, in the 1880s.
  • By 1890, the volume of letters to Frances May Thompson, known as May, from siblings and cousins increased dramatically. In the early 1890s, May took a job as a teacher at a schoolhouse in Washington, Connecticut. While there, she received letters from Helen M. Webster (1860-1905), a supervisor at the American Asylum at Hartford, Connecticut; later, Helen married to a man named George Reed and wrote from Hill City, South Dakota, in 1896 and 1897. By the late 1890s, May received letters from her husband, who worked at Harvey & Lewis, opticians and photographic supplies. He also used New York Life Insurance Company stationery.
  • Correspondence between siblings Lewis and Leila Thompson, 1900s.
  • Incoming letters to Leila Thompson from Alice P. Warner of Beloit, Wisconsin, early 1900s.
  • Letters between Leila and Alice H. "Claire" Alderman in Clarkston, Georgia; St. Petersburg, Florida; and elsewhere, 1900s-1910s.
  • Later letters between Beatrice A. Hoskins and her mother Frances Hoskins.

The collection includes two small, unsigned diaries, dated 1848 and 1923. Legal and financial documents include 57 accounts, tax receipts, land indentures, loan receipts, four account books (1824-1927), and other papers, largely from Avon and Farmington, Connecticut. One account book, kept by Guy Thomson in 1824, includes accounts for sawing, mending a halter, plowing, mowing, planting, picking apples, making cider, shoeing horses, mending fences, and other labor, plus monies taken in from a boarder.

School papers include 10 rewards of merit, report cards, school programs, a student's notebook, and a teacher's notebook, all dating from 1851-1925. A commonplace book by Leila U. Thompson dates from the 1840s and includes poetry and excerpts, including a multi-page poem, "The Missionary's Call." A notebook, marked "O.V. Brainerd" contains page after page of scribbles.

Poems and other writings include 42 loose leaf copies of poems on subjects such as temperance, resignation, death and bereavement, friendship, sentimental and religious topics, Christmas, and other subjects. Seventeen photographs include a CDV of Fannie Warner as a young girl, and a selection of snapshots, apparently of members of the Hoskins family.

The Thompson Family Papers include a variety of ephemera and printed items, including 12 visiting cards; 33 invitations and announcements; 46 birthday, valentine, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and other holiday cards; genealogical notes; newspaper clippings, pamphlets, programs, and other items.