Search

Back to top

Search Constraints

Start Over You searched for: Formats Letters (correspondence) Remove constraint Formats: Letters (correspondence) Formats Diaries. Remove constraint Formats: Diaries. Formats Financial records. Remove constraint Formats: Financial records.
Number of results to display per page
View results as:

Search Results

Collection

Brownell family papers, 1823-1969 (majority within 1850-1940)

7.5 linear feet

The Brownell family papers contain correspondence, diaries, documents, writings, illustrations, and other materials documenting the family's experiences from the 1820s into the 1960s.

The Brownell family papers contain correspondence, diaries, documents, writings, illustrations, and other materials documenting the family's experiences from the 1820s into the 1960s.

The Correspondence Series includes letters written to and by the Brownell family, primarily in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Louisiana, New York City, Cuba, and France between 1823 and 1969, with the bulk dating from the 1850s to 1940s.

Approximately 296 letters are letters to Charles Brownell and his wife Henrietta [Nettie] from Charles' mother, Lucia [Mummy], and his three brothers, Edward [Ned], Henry, and Clarence, often written with notes added and sent on as a "round robin" correspondence which ended with Charles.

The collection contains over 100 letters written by Ned Brownell, with additional notes in other family members' letters. His earliest letters start when he is finishing medical school in New Orleans and continue with his move to rural Louisiana, near Alexandria and Plaisance. These are high-spirited letters with humorous pen and ink drawings of his adventures chasing wild horses (January 29, 1855); mishaps while duck and geese hunting at Lake Catahoula (November 12, 1855; November 10, 1856); and futile attempts to flag down a river steamer (January 29, 1855). But his letters also deal with the problems involved in setting up a medical practice at the same time he, a Northerner, is trying his hand at cotton cultivation. He married a southern woman of French descent whose father was a slave owner (19 slaves in 1850 and 30 in 1860). Ned describes bringing up his bilingual children in a culture very different from his own. The marriage s was troubled, and by 1858, he sold out his cotton interests and was considering his brother Clarence's offer to take over Clarence's practice in East Hartford, Connecticut. He moved to Cloutierville, Louisiana, for a while. Two letters of introduction written in 1864 (April 4 and April 25) refer to his allegiance to the Union. By June of 1866, he was involved in legal separation hearings and working with his brothers on a testimony about his wife's "violent scenes and words.” Both during his practice in Louisiana and later in Rhode Island, his letters describe his patients and treatments (cotton gin accident resulting in amputation of an enslaved person's arm - October 26, 1857; treating yellow fever and typhoid - October 14, 1853 and January 12, 1855). He also suggests treatments for family members with diphtheria (n.d. November 8), excessive menstrual bleeding (December 17, 1866), prolapsed uterus after childbirth (February 8, [1867]), and a prescription for a cholera prevention pill (n.d. September 27). He made a trip to Florida with his dying brother Henry in 1871-1872, in the hopes that the warmer climate might make Henry feel more comfortable.

Only a handful of letters and notes are from Clarence Brownell. Seven of these are affectionate letters to his friend Henrietta Angell [Pierce] [Brownell], before and during her first unhappy marriage. The rest of his letters are to his family and include descriptions of his 1861 visit to Ned and family in Cloutierville, his excitement and satisfaction in building a boat in his workshop, and playing chess by mail with brother Charles. Another letter describes his travels in Egypt. He went by horseback from Alexandria to Cairo, 130 miles across the Delta. A map he drew while with the Pethernick Expedition on the White Nile was sent home posthumously ([May 12], 1862). On it he notes their location by date and the location of certain flora and fauna.

Over 100 letters and notes are from Lucia D. Brownell ("Mummy"), most of them dealing with local affairs, real estate arrangements, and concerns for her sons' health. Several of these letters mention mediums and the spirit world. After the death of her son Clarence in Egypt, Lucia, Ned, and Henry become interested in reports of mediums and "spiritual pictures.” One item is a copy of a letter that a medium claimed was dictated to him by Clarence's ghost. Ned describes watching a medium who claimed to see "words in fiery letters in the illuminated smoke of my cigar when I puffed" [13 May]. Lucia made several visits to a medium (November- December 1862), ending when the medium was proved a fake.

Correspondence with Henry H. Brownell is well represented. The letters mostly come from Hartford, Connecticut, but letters from Bristol, Rhode Island, are also included. He describes visiting Ned and his family in Louisiana in the 1850s, and accompanying Ned on three of his annual duck and geese hunting expeditions to Lake Catahoula. He seems to have acted as agent for the sale of his brother Charles' paintings when Charles was away in Cuba or Europe - "two little Charter Oaks for $20." [n.d. December 26]. Other letters deal with business matters concerning an inheritance from his grandfather De Wolf involving real estate that he and Charles shared, but unequally. These letters contain little mention of Henry's own writing of poetry and the publication of his books. Two copies of letters to Henry written by Oliver Wendell Holmes praising his work are included [January 13 and February 6, 1865]. A typed copy of a letter from Ernest H. Brownell, dated April 6, 1935, lists letters written by Holmes to Henry H. Brownell. Correspondence to Charles DeWolf Brownell represent his work to honor and publish his brother's writings after his death [late 1880s].

Another part of the Brownell Papers consists of three batches of letters from abroad - the Procter Wright letters from Europe, the Charles and Nettie Brownell letters from Europe, and the Don Martin Ibarra letters from Cuba and Spain. Procter Wright wrote 25 letters (1876-1884) to Mrs. Charles Brownell (Nettie) from Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. He gives good descriptions of his walking and climbing tours as well as his visits to various cities. A few letters discuss religion, including matters of purgatory [April 28, 1880] and creation or Darwinisn [August 18, 1883]. Wright also mentions the death of the artist Jean Louis Hamon, and the auction of his things [July 26, 1876, December 28, 1876]. He reminds Henrietta how much he treasures Charles' painting of "Witches' Cork Tree" that the Brownell's had given him some years earlier [April 9, 1883].

The twenty letters written by Charles and Nettie in Europe (1872-1874) to family at home talk of their travels, their children, and anything unusual that catches their eye - "Creche" day care system in France [August 20, 1873] or a trip to the "Crystal Palace" in London [August 29, 1873]. Charles made small pen and ink drawings on three of the letters - a bird on a branch [July 28, 1872], an Egyptian "cartouche" [May 6, 1873], and a dental molar [March 27, 1874]. Three other letterheads have hand tinted designs - an animal head [August 9, 1872], a ship [May 8, 1874], and boys on a ship's mast [May 13, 1874]. Two letterheads have landscape lithographs by Henry Besley - "St. Michael's Mount from Lower Tremenheere" [August 20, 1873] , "Penzance from Guvul" and "St. Michael's Mount, Cornwall" [August 22, 1873].

The Don Martin Ibarra letters (1855-1872) consist of 86 letters written in Spanish to Charles Brownell. They are mainly from Cuba, but the last several are from Barcelona, Spain. They are warm letters to a good friend and "compadre,” but also contain figures on the production of sugar from at least two "ingenios" or sugar mills near the Cardenas area of Cuba.

A small group of 17 letters from the poet Lucy Larcom (1862-1870, n.d.) were written to Henrietta Angell Pierce Brownell [Mrs. Charles Brownell], and cover the years of Larcom's decision to stop teaching school and to concentrate her energy on her own writing. Her September 19, 1868, letter mentions proofreading a volume for publication, "my cricket-chirpings of verse.”

Eight letters from Henrietta S. Dana (1861-1863) in New Haven, Connecticut, to Henrietta A. Pierce [Brownell] mention Mrs. Dana helping her famous Yale professor husband by taking dictation from him for his most recent book, Manuel of Geology [April 7, 1862]. Her letters also describe the death of two of their children from diphtheria, and her safely nursing one other child through it [December 21, 1861].

Twenty-five letters from Esther Pierce to her divorced and remarried mother, Henrietta Brownell, were written from 1875-1877, when Esther was 14-16 years old and living with her father, Dr. George Pierce, in Providence. Several years earlier, she had been living with her mother and her step-father, Charles Brownell, and had accompanied them on their trip to Europe. Her nickname was "Kit,” and she is frequently mentioned in her mother's letters. The letters from Esther [Kit] tell of a trip to Canada, local people and visits, and her new clothes, sometimes with accompanying pen and ink drawings. Two letters include swatches of fabric [February 6, 1876, and April 23, 1876].

More correspondence to and from the Brownells can be found in the Scrapbook Pages series and the Genealogical Notes and Copies series.

Beginning in the 1880s, the correspondence focuses more on Annie May Angell, who would marry Ernest Henry Brownell in 1891, and her family. Virginia McLain (1867-1953), who lived in the Bahamas as the daughter of the United States Consul Thomas J. McClain, was a frequent correspondent into the 1890s. One letter dated October 11, 1887, includes a carte-de-visite of Virginia. Other letters in the 1880s relate to Charles DeWolf Brownell's efforts to publish his brother Henry Howard Brownell's poetry. Several letters from 1882 and 1883 relate to Charles DeWolf Brownell, his work on the Charter Oak, and his paintings. One letter by Oliver Wendell Holmes, dated February 11, 1883, indicates one of Charles' paintings was displayed in his library.

Correspondence from the 1890s-1910s centers around Annie May and Ernest Brownell, as well as their family circle and acquaintances. Letters written by Bertha Angell to Lewis Kalloch are also well represented in this period. Ernest's letters provide details about May and Ernest's children and marriage, as well as Ernest's work as a Civil Engineer in the United States Navy. Many of his early letters are addressed from the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Navy Yard. Ernest was also stationed in the Philippines and Bremerton, Washington.

Around 1905 Ernest Brownell became involved with the Brownell Building in Providence, Rhode Island, which the brothers inherited, and in the following years corresponded with his brothers Carl and Edward about various matters relating to family properties. Several letters from 1912 refer to a large fire at the Brownell Building.

Two items from August 1915 were sent to the family of John K. Rathbone relating to the Galveston Hurricane.

Correspondence between Dorothea DeWolf Brownell and Clifford Kyler Rathbone begins around 1918. Clifford Rathbone's letters also detail his career in construction. Material from the 1920s relates to family finances and handling of Kalloch estate matters. By the 1930s letters by Dorinda Rathbone begin appearing, as well as more letters from the Rathbone family, including Myrtle Rathbone of Denton, Texas, and Rosalie Rathbone.

Correspondence from 1942-1943 reflects Clifford Rathbone's unsuccessful efforts to join the military, and Henry B. Rathbone's preparation for the U.S. Naval Academy entrance exams. Following Clifford Rathbone's death in March of 1944, the collection includes many condolence letters. The bulk of the correspondence post-1945 is written to Dorinda Rathbone.

The Bundled Correspondence Sub-series is comprised of letters arranged by later descendants of the family. The first bundle of seven letters spans from December 20, 1820, to January 29, 1825, relating to Pardon and Lucia Brownell's inheritance from the estate of Lucia's father Charles DeWolf. It includes notes by Dorothea DeWolf Brownell Rathbone. The second bundle includes 16 letters written to Pardon Brownell enclosed in Florence Brownell's January 19, 1931, letter to Dorothea Rathbone, spanning from March 1825 to December 1835 and primarily concern affairs with a DeWolf family property. One letter from Lucia DeWolf Brownell, dated June 11-13, 1827, is also included. The third bundle consists of 26 letters written from Ernest Brownell to his wife Annie May Angell Brownell from 1904 to 1940, along with a blank postcard and a photograph, likely of Ernest and Annie May, with the inscription "In Cuba on The Honeymoon, 1891" written on the verso. The letters commemorate their wedding anniversary, and were written while Ernest was serving in the Navy in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Cavite, Philippines; Bremerton, Washington; Pensacola, Florida; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; and Newport, Rhode Island. The fourth bundle consists of two letters sent by John T. Lewis, Jr., to Dorothea Rathbone in the mid-1960s, enclosing two letters by H. M. K. Brownell from 1881 and 1883, respectively.

TheDiaries and Notebooks Series includes the following:

  • Francis DeWolf Brownell Penmanship Exercise Book, ca. 1833
  • "The Lay of the Cuisinier. A Poem; by the Cook of the Enterprise," 1840. Dedicated to Henry Howard Brownell.
  • Nettie K. Angell 1856 Diary Cover, with miscellaneous clipping and notes
  • Spanish Notebook, 1859
  • Unsigned Diary, 1863, written by a mother. It includes details on family events and social visits, particularly concerning children Ethie [Esther b. 1860] and Harry [b. 1863], indicating the author may be Henrietta Knowlton Angell (1837-1897), who bore Esther H. Pierce (b. 1860) and Henry A. Pierce (1863-1867) during her first marriage to George Pierce. Sections have been cut out of pages. A poem by H. H. Brownell is pasted on the back inside cover.
  • Bundle of miscellaneous disbound diary pages and miscellanea from 1858, 1861-1863, 1879, 1886, 1888-1893, and 1895, with occasional clippings
  • Ernest H. Brownell, "Our Expedition to Falkner's Island, Block Island, and Cuttyhunk," July 1884
  • Bertha Angell, 1886 student notebook, Apgar's Plant Analysis
  • Clifford K. Rathbone disbound diary pages, 1919
  • Construction journal pages, 1922
  • Illustration and writing notebook, undated. Hand-painted drawings of women, a man, and flowers are included, along with literary selections and sayings.

The Chronological Documents and Financial Records sub-series spans from 1824 to 1969 (bulk 1824-1920), documenting the legal, financial, and business affairs of the interrelated Brownell, Angell, and Rathbone families. Items include deeds, bills and receipts, insurance policies, bank and tax records, accounts, construction documents, leases, estate documents, and more. A significant portion of the documents relate to the real estate work of Ernest Brownell, Annie May Brownell, John Angell, and Bertha Angell (later Kalloch) in Providence, Rhode Island.

The Bundled Documents and Financial Records sub-series includes:

  • Bundle 1: Angell family land documents, 1799-1839
  • Bundle 2: John Angell wallet and receipts, 1829-1841
  • Bundle 3: Angell estate documents, 1893-1904
  • Bundle 4: Brownell estate documents, 1908-1942
  • Bundle 5: Clifford K. Rathbone concrete pile documents, ca. 1920s
  • Bundle 6: Clifford K. Rathbone wallet, 1941-1944

The Ledgers sub-series includes:

  • Partial estate inventory, ca. 1841
  • Nancy Angell account book, 1845-1856
  • Nancy Angell rent account book, 1863-1903
  • John A. Angell and Nancy Angell income taxes, 1867-1871
  • John A. Angell estate accounts, 1877-1893
  • [Annie May Angell and Bertha Angell?] account book, 1884-1891
  • Ernest H. Brownell cash book, 1890-1910
  • Annie May Angell Brownell cash book, 1892-1904
  • Annie May Angell Brownell check books, 1892-1893
  • Bertha Angell account book, 1896-1898, and 1908
  • Annie May Angell Brownell account book, 1896-1905 and 1912-1915
  • Blank bank notebook, Undated

The Writings series spans from 1811 to 1958 and includes poetry by Lucia Emilia DeWolf Brownell, a lecture by Henry Howard Brownell, school work of Ernest H. Brownell, poetry by Annie May Angell Brownell (some with painted illustrations), and miscellaneous other items.

The Drawings and Illustrations series includes miscellaneous sketches and paintings, two volumes of Henry B. Rathbone's "History Cartoons," one volume of collected work of Emma DeWolf Brownell, and a child's illustrated notebook. Other illustrations and paintings appear throughout other series in the collection, particularly the Correspondence series and Writings series.

The Scrapbook Pages series consists of loose pages compiled by Dorothea Brownell Rathbone, collecting together letters, clippings, documents, photographs, and notes. Material dates from the 1850s into the 1940s. Correspondents represented include Edward R. Brownell, Henrietta Knowlton Angell Brownell, Ernest Henry Brownell, John Wardwell Angell, Edward I. Brownell, Charles DeWolf Brownell, Carl DeWolf Brownell, S. Edward Paschall, Bertha Angell. Photographs of people feature: Ernest Henry Brownell, Clarence Brownell, Charles Henry Brownell, Clifford K. Rathbone, Charles DeWolf Brownell, Douglass DeWolf, John Wardwell Angell, and Bertha Angell Kalloch. Ernest Henry Brownell features heavily in the scrapbook, including information on his education, work, and personal life. Dorothea Rathbone appears to have copied diary entries from October 1884 to March 1887, with manuscript and printed materials pasted in to it.

The Photograph series includes cartes de visite of James T. Fields, Annie Fields, and a gun crew aboard the Hartford. A signed photograph of Oliver Wendell Holmes is addressed to Henry H. Brownell. Gem tintypes of Ada Perkins Kerby, Rachel Perkins, and Charles Townley are also present. Miscellaneous photos include snapshots of the U.S.S. Hartford, a bridge, a construction project, a painted portrait of Betsy Angell, and a partial photograph of figures in a vehicle. A series of eight photographs and negatives depict gravestones. Photographs also appear elsewhere in the collection, principally the correspondence series and scrapbook pages series.

The Ephemera series consists of tickets, calling cards, business cards, a bank exchange note, and a wrapper.

The Printed Materials series includes newspaper pages and clippings, a 1785 almanac, poetry, a disbound copy of Thomas Church's The History of the Indian Wars in New England (New York, 1881), miscellaneous material related to education, one piece of sheet music, a magazine, a program, and a leaflet.

The Genealogical Notes and Copies series consists of notes regarding family history and letters. The J. A. Brownell sub-series includes over 200 hand-written copies made by Dorothea Brownell Rathbone of letters in the possession of J. A. Brownell. A note in the subseries indicates use of these materials requires the permission of J. A. Brownell. The material dates from 1836-1894 (bulk 1836-1850) and principally consists of letters addressed to or written by Henry H. Brownell, including a sizeable number written by Henry H. Brownell to Charles DeWolf Brownell and Lucia DeWolf Brownell. The Miscellaneous Notes and Copies sub-series includes handwritten copies and photocopies of letters, documents, and genealogical information. It includes copies of three letters from Henry David Thoreau to Clarence Brownell dated 1859 to 1861, as well as copies of several of Henry H. Brownell's poems.

The Miscellaneous series consists of scraps, notes, blank paper, and clippings.

The Realia series includes the following items:

  • A peg wooden doll with hand-made clothes and painted face, possibly in the style of the Hitty doll in Rachel Field's Hitty: Her First Hundred Years (New York: MacMillan Company, 1929)
  • A doll with a dress and bonnet, leather shoes, and painted canvas face
  • Two white doll shifts with smocking enclosed in an envelope labelled "Dolls dresses by RVRC for Dorinda" [Rosalie V. Rathbone Craft]
  • A handmade infant's nightgown enclosed in an envelope labelled "Sample of handiwork of DBR - nightgown made for D & used by D & H"
  • Two ribbons
  • Nine skeins of silk thread wrapped in paper with the following note: "Raised in our cocoonery - E. Hartford. Spun by C. D. W. B. at the mill in West Hartford"
  • A gray Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1920 wallet, possibly owned by Dorothea Rathbone who graduated from the school in that year
  • A shard of wood with a note, "Slivers from U.S.S. Hartford," accompanied by a disbound illustration of the ship
  • A metal Waldorf Astoria cocktail pick

Collection

Charles F. Tew papers, 1837-1905

1.25 linear feet

Online
The Charles F. Tew papers contain letters and documents related to Union officer Charles Tew and his family. The letters document Tew's early career in the navy, his Civil War service, and his family's post-war activities.

The Charles F. Tew papers contain letters and documents related to Union officer Charles Tew and his family (1837-1905). The 1985 series is comprised of 448 letters, 2 diaries, 19 military documents (including orders, supply notes, commissions, and furloughs), 1 roll call notebook, 1 subpoena, 9 financial records (receipts), 3 printed items, and 11 items of ephemera.

The letters begin in 1841, during Tew's early career in the United States Navy, and were written to and from Tew, his mother, and his brother. Tew's letters detail his experiences as a young sailor aboard the Columbus, and include descriptions of ship life. In one letter, Tew complained to his mother that they begin scrubbing the deck early in the morning, and that "if you go below the mate will lick you with out mercy…I am sick of a sailor's life" (September 16, 1841). Several letters deal with his attempts to obtain a discharge. He explained to his mother that if he is not released from service he will simply run away again: "I will never consent to stay here five years on any account whatever I had rather they would throw me overboard with a forty two pound shot tied to my neck" (January 17, 1842). Soon after, the navy agreed to discharge Tew.

Most of the 1850-1860 items are incoming letters to Tew from friends and family, dealing with daily life, town gossip and scandals (such as an illegitimate birth (January 9 and 10, 1851)), firefighting, and cockfighting. Of note is a letter discussing "spirit rappings" (February 22, 1850), and a letter about newly instated fugitive slave laws (November 28, 1850).

The Civil War letters begin on November 5, 1861, when Tew wrote that he and his regiment had reached Annapolis, Maryland. The majority of the letters from this period are from Tew to his wife and family, with some letters addressed to either Tew or Amelia from other friends and family members. The letters indicate that, though Tew missed his family greatly, he was proud of his service for his country: "I am winning an inheritance for my children, and for them a name and a country that they may never be ashamed of" (November 28, 1861). Tew often exhibited frustration at the men who did not enlist, as he believed their reluctance to join the cause only lengthened the war. Tew suggested that their civilian pay should be cut in order to encourage them to enlist (November 21, 1863). Though the series does not include Amelia's letters to Tew, his responses indicate that she was often frustrated by his absence. Tew's letters contain vivid descriptions of army and officer life, battles and expeditions, and his illnesses and injuries. Tew described his part in the capture of New Bern and the ensuing skirmishes (March 16, 1862), Drewry's Bluff (May 22, 1864), Cold Harbor (June 5, 1864), and the siege of Petersburg (June 12-August 11, 1864). Tew wrote that many of his men had grown hard and accustomed to battle: "They are without fear as you may say, heardened to the sight of blood…O Wife you know not what it is to meat death face to face, yet I fear it not…" (April 9, [1862]). Beyond the battlefield, Tew discussed his impressions of and dealings with Southern civilians. He described commandeering houses and burning the homes of those who gave information to the Confederate Army (June 15, 1862). He noted the capture of several Confederate prisoners, mentioning that he wished he could have killed them in revenge for the death of Union soldiers (July 30, 1862). African Americans and slaves are also a frequent topic of discussion, and Tew claimed that, though the people in Maryland have slaves do all of their work, "they cannot be as happy as we are at home with our wives and daughters to do our work so neat for us" (November 1861). Tew occasionally discussed his views of African American troops.

Tew resigned from the service in August 1864, but reenlisted in 1865, to the consternation of his wife. In a letter from March 18, 1865, Tew defended his actions, claiming that he was not a bad husband, nor was he deserting his family. After his reenlistement, Tew felt unwelcome in his new regiment (March 23, 1865). The letters from this period contain a discussion of Lincoln's assassination (April 26, 1865), as well as a first-hand account of the execution of the assassination conspirators (July 10, 1865).

After the war, the series consists primarily of family letters, including several from Charles F. Tew, Jr (1877-1880), who traveled around the United States working odd jobs, including painting, piano tuning, and picking cotton, until he died suddenly in Colorado of an illness. His last letter is dated February 21, 1880, and is followed by a payment for transporting his body back to Massachusetts, and a letter from the hospital containing information on his death (May 17, 1880). Family letters, written primarily by Amelia, Charles, and their children, continue through the next few decades, providing accounts of late 19th century family life. Topics include illnesses, romances and marriages (accounts of Mabel Tew's wedding are provided in letters from January 8 and 15, 1888), work, births, vacations, and general family events.

Also included in the series are several printed documents, including a navy broadside (1837); a pamphlet providing "Instructions for Officers on outpost and patrol duty" (March 25, 1862); and a subpoena to appear at a court martial for men who had gone AWOL (October 19, 1865). Also present are three bound volumes: Tew's roll call notebook for the 2nd Massachusetts Regiment (1862-1865), and two diaries from 1862 and 1865 that contain occasional brief entries.

The 2015 series consists of approximately 250 items, primarily Civil War-era military documents and returns related to ordnance, camp equipage, and clothing. Other military documents concern details, furloughs, and passes for Tew and members of his companies. Application materials for pensions, disability, and other matters area also included. The series also features seven letters from 1849 relating to Charles F. Tew's travels to California to participate in gold mining. Ten letters from Amelia M. Tew to her mother in the mid-1850s detail her young and growing family. These are accompanied by various other family letters, documents, and receipts from 1809 to 1902.

The series also includes several photographs, ephemera, and two essays. One, "An Incident at New Berne, N.C." relates to a Civil War battle in which Tew commanded. The other, "My Childhood Days in the First Third of the Century," is a partial memoir written by a mother for her child. Two autograph albums, one from ca. 1833-1836 and ca. 1874-1878, are at the end of the series.

Collection

Crittenden family papers, 1837-1907 (majority within 1849-1889)

4 linear feet (approx. 1300 items)

The Crittenden family papers contain the letters of a Kentucky family living in the California and Nevada frontiers. The material centers on the family of Alexander Parker Crittenden and his wife Clara Churchill Jones, and includes letters from their parents, siblings, and children. The collection also contains diaries, documents and financial records, and family photographs (daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, cabinet cards, cartes-de-visite, and other paper prints). The collection documents the murder of Alexander Parker Crittenden as well as family members who fought on the Confederate side of the Civil War and who participated in mining and prospecting in the West.

The Crittenden family papers contain the letters and documents of the family of Alexander Parker Crittenden and his wife Clara Churchill Jones Crittenden. The bulk of the collection consists of personal correspondence between members of the extended family, including Mr. and Mrs. Crittenden, seven of their eight (surviving) children, Clara’s parents and siblings (the Jones family), and Mary Crittenden Robinson (Alexander's sister). In addition to correspondence, the collection contains diaries, documents and financial records, and 96 family photographs (daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, cabinet cards, cartes-de-visite, and other paper prints), including one carte-de-visite of Laura Hunt Fair.

The Correspondence series (approximately 1,280 items) covers several topics of interest. The letters by Clara and Alexander Parker Crittenden (hereafter A.P.C.) illustrate the passionate courtship and strained marriage of a couple living in California in the 19th century; Laura Crittenden Sanchez’ correspondence presents a picture of a woman’s life on the 1860s western frontier in California and Nevada; and Ann Northey Churchill Jones’s letters to her daughter Clara provide frank commentary on womanhood. The following summary is a brief description of the collection’s major correspondents and the content of their letters.

The collection includes over 260 letters from A.P.C.to his wife Clara, which span the length of their relationship, from their first meeting until his death. The courtship letters are full of expressions of youthful passion. Especially valuable are A.P.C.'s letters describing San Francisco in the early 1850s, which contain information about the Gold Rush and early statehood, and include discussions about women in California, and troubles he experienced from not having a wife present to care for him. The 1860s letters written from Nevada to Clara in California provide a good account of early Nevada, as well as insight into their deteriorating marriage. However, the twenty letters written during Clara's 1870 transcontinental trip to the East Coast, exhibit an apparently genuine change of heart in Crittenden, who had purchased and redecorated a lavish new home as a surprise for Clara on her return. Almost every letter begs her to cut the trip short and return.

A.P.C.'s eldest son, Churchill, is represented by 62 letters to him from his father, and 62 letters written by Churchill to his parents and siblings, largely from 1858 and 1861, while he was studying at Hanover College. While at Hanover, Churchill developed Union sympathies, which upset his Kentucky-born father. Of note is a letter from A.P.C., who at the time was the leader of the southern wing of the California Democratic Party, to Churchill defending southern rights for secession (December 10, 1860). Churchill wrote six letters while in the Confederate Army. The collection also contains 60 letters from James Love Crittenden. His early letters discuss school life, ante-bellum politics, and family relations. He wrote 10 letters while fighting with the Confederacy.

Clara Jones Crittenden wrote 19 letters in the collection: two to her husband, one to her eldest son, Churchill, and sixteen to her daughter Annie (“Nannie”). The letters to Annie are almost all dated November-December 1864, and reflect the deep gloom Clara felt following the murder of her son Churchill in October 1864.

Laura Crittenden Sanchez wrote 71 letters to her mother, 87 to her sister Nannie, and a few to other family members. They present a view of domestic life on the 1860s western frontier. Of note are Laura’s routine comments that reflect the values of a woman raised to believe in the Southern ideals of gentility and womanhood. However, she also held advanced ideas on women’s rights and divisions of duties in the home. Her husband, Ramon B. Sanchez, shared these beliefs and described his role in housework and his ideas of manhood, in his letter to Nannie Crittenden (July 25, 1862).

This series holds 16 letters from A.P.C. to his daughter Nannie, 6 to her husband Sidney Van Wyck, and many letters of condolence received by the family at the time of Parker’s murder. Van Wyck, who held evangelical beliefs, was deeply concerned about the well-being of his pregnant wife. He sent 117 letters to Nannie between January and May 1870, while she was in San Francisco and was he in Hamilton, Nevada, attempting to strike it rich prospecting for silver. He gave a rich account of life in a snowy Nevada mining town. The collection also includes approximately 40 business letters concerning Sidney's mining interests between 1879 and 1882. After 1874, the collection constitutes letters addressed largely to members of the Van Wyck family, including 8 letters from Nannie's daughter Clara Van Wyck to her brother Sydney Van Wyck, Jr.

Mary Crittenden Robinson, A.P.C.'s older sister, wrote 23 letters to Clara Crittenden, almost entirely in 1863. They are domestic in content, with occasional references to politics and society. Mary also wrote to A.P.C., and to various nieces and nephews, and her children are represented as well: Mary, Kate, and Tod, Jr.

The collection also contains letters from Clara Jones Crittenden's parents and siblings.

Clara's father Alexander Jones, Jr., wrote 5 letters to Clara, including one offering consolation on her husband's murder (November 7, 1870), and 3 to his granddaughter Nannie. Ann Northey Churchill Jones, Clara's mother, sent her seven letters from 1839-1841. She provided a frank commentary on womanhood and discussed childbirth, the proper preparation of breasts for nursing, a mother’s role in fixing children’s values, marital relations and what a wife could do to improve them, and how a woman should deal with an unworthy husband.

Clara's brother Alexander Jones III wrote 21 letters to A.P.C. and Clara (1849, and 1857-1870). These describe frontier Texas, news of the Civil War, and Confederate patriotism. In one notable letter, he described life in Brownsville, Texas, and advised using birth control (January 30, 1860). Clara's sister Mary "Mollie" Farquhar Jones Joliffe wrote 15 letters, 1858-1870, primarily made up of family news. Her wartime letters are a window onto the hardships of Confederate civilian life. William Marlborough Jones is represented by 13 Civil War and Reconstruction era letters, which reflect on the costs of the war to both the family and the nation. Of note is a 12-page account of the war near Jackson, Mississippi (November 7, 1870), and his report on the fall of Vicksburg (July 7, 1863). Sister Rebecca Churchill Jones Craighill, wrote 13 letters (1858-1899) to multiple recipients. In 1866, she composed excellent reflections on the war and criticized a Virginia friend who had eloped with a Yankee officer.

The collection also contains letters from two of Clara’s uncles: 8 from Marlborough Churchill and 2 from George Jones.

The Journals series (2 items) contains an official transcript of a journal of Elizabeth Van Wyck, and a diary kept by Sydney Van Wyck. The Elizabeth Van Wyck journal is a transcript of a reminiscence of her life from age 7 until November 12, 1808, when she was 26. The copy was made in 1925, at the request of Elizabeth's great-grandson, Sidney M. Van Wyck, Jr. The second item is a detailed journal kept by Sydney Van Wyck during his time at school in the 1840s. In it, he described his life at school and many of his family members.

The Documents and Financial Records series is made up of four subseries: Estate Papers, Insurance Papers, Legal and Financial Documents, and Account Books.

The Estate Papers subseries contains 11 items concerning the property of A.P.C. and 24 items related to Howard J. Crittenden. These include A.P.C.'s last will and testament and court records surrounding his murder and the handling of his estate (1870-1875). The Howard J. Crittenden items document Howard's financial holdings at his death and how his estate was divided.

The Insurance Papers subseries (3 items) includes a record of the Hartford Fire Insurance Company (1871) and a fire insurance policy from Pacific Insurance Company for Clara Crittenden (1872).

The Legal and Financial Documents subseries (16 items) consists of bank notes, telegraphs concerning business dealings, receipts for goods and payments, contracts, and personal tax bills. Of note are contracts signing over gold and silver claims in Nevada to Howard Crittenden. These include locations in White Pine, Nevada, such as "Lucky Boy Tunnel" and "Adele mining ground" (1869).

The Account Books subseries (3 items) contains a 12-page account book for A. Hemme (1873), a 20-page account book for S. M. Van Wyck (1873-1874), and a mostly empty National Granit State Bank account book of Thomas Crittenden (1874).

The Photographs and Illustrations series contains 106 photographs of Crittenden family members. These include cartes-de-visite, tintypes, ambrotypes, daguerreotypes, cabinet cards, and several modern reproductions. They depict many of the Crittenden family members, including several Crittenden men in Confederate uniform, Clara Crittenden, Clara Van Wyck, and Laura Fair, among others. See Additional Descriptive Data for the complete list.

In addition to the photograph, this collection also contains an ink sketch of the floor plan of a San Francisco cottage (in the letter dated July 4, 1852).

The Miscellaneous series (9 items) contains school report cards, Laura Van Wyck's application to become a Daughter of the Confederacy (which includes a heroic account of Churchill Crittenden's death in the Civil War), Nannie Crittenden Van Wyck's address book (with contacts in Saint Louis, Chicago, Kentucky, New York, and Brooklyn), a newspaper clipping about mining in Nevada, and 3 unattributed writing fragments.

The folder of supplemental material relates to Robert E. Stewart's publication Aurora Ghost City of the Dawn, Las Vegas: Nevada Publications, 1996, including a copy of the book and 10 photographs taken by Stewart of Aurora and the Ruins of the Sanchez home.

Collection

Cushing family collection, 1790-1934 (majority within 1828-1928)

1 linear foot

The Cushing family collection is made up of correspondence, financial records, and other items pertaining to the family and descendants of Boston merchant Hayward P. Cushing.

The Cushing Family collection is made up of correspondence, financial records, and other items pertaining to the family and descendants of Boston merchant Hayward P. Cushing, including his son, Hayward W. Cushing.

The Correspondence series (124 items) is primarily made up of incoming letters to Hayward P. Cushing, Maria Peirce Cushing, and Hayward W. Cushing. The first item is a letter to Betsy Barber in Epping, New Hampshire (May 9, 1790).

Hayward P. Cushing received personal and professional letters from family members and business acquaintances from 1828-1870. His brother Nathaniel wrote of his life in Brooklyn and Grand Island, New York, in the 1830s and 1840s; one letter concerns his journey to Grand Island on the Erie Canal (August 9, 1835). Jane Cushing, Hayward and Nathaniel's sister, discussed her life in Scituate, Massachusetts, in the mid-19th century. Sophia Cushing, Hayward's cousin and his most frequent correspondent, reported on her financial difficulties, thanked him for his assistance, and shared news from Uxbridge, Massachusetts. Hayward P. Cushing received letters from his wife Maria while she vacationed in Maine, and from his daughter Florence. His business correspondence includes a letter about the sale of the brig Ann Tyler (January 23, 1858).

Maria Peirce Cushing's earliest incoming letters are courtship letters from Hayward P. Cushing, her future husband. After the mid-1850s, he wrote to her from Boston, Massachusetts, while she vacationed in Scituate, Massachusetts, and Frankfort, Maine. He provided news about his life and their children. Maria's sister Caroline discussed her life in Bridgeport, Maine, and a cousin named Abby described her life in Boston. In the mid-1870s, the Cushings' daughters Florence and Jenny wrote to their mother about their courses, textbooks, and experiences at Vassar College.

The final group of dated correspondence consists of incoming letters to Hayward Warren Cushing, including news from Massachusetts medical organizations operating in the 1880s and a series of 10 letters by his wife Martha, who described her trip to Europe in 1928. She discussed her transatlantic voyage and Mediterranean cruise on the Canadian Pacific ship SS Empress of Scotland, as well as her experiences in countries including Portugal, Spain, Cyprus, Turkey, Italy, Israel, Egypt, Monaco, France, and England. She enclosed a postcard from Naples, Italy, in one of her letters.

Undated correspondence includes additional letters to members of the Cushing family, as well as picture postcards showing French surgeons, statues, and buildings.

The Journals and Notebooks series consists of 2 items. Florence M. Cushing kept a diary while visiting London from January 2, 1880-January 18, 1880. Her sightseeing excursions included trips to the British Museum, National Gallery, Windsor Castle, and Westminster Abbey. The notebook contains recipes, instructions, and scientific notes compiled by Hayward W. Cushing. Entries about building animal traps and tying knots are accompanied by explanatory illustrations. Other topics include medicinal formulas and chemistry, instructions for making types of ink (including invisible inks), and lists of items used on camping trips.

The Financial papers series is comprised of account books, receipts, and other records related to members of the Cushing and Peirce families.

The Account Books consist of 5 items:
  • An appraisal of Hayward Peirce's estate in Scituate, Massachusetts, recorded in March 1827, with two sections listing the value of his personal property and transactions involving his land.
  • H. M. Peirce's record of purchases, primarily of school supplies, from May 1834-April 1835. A printed notice about the estate of Silas Peirce is laid into the volume (May 21, 1920).
  • Nathaniel Cushing's account book, pertaining to transactions with Nathan Cushing, from whom he primarily purchased groceries between October 1853 and August 1861.
  • Hayward P. Cushing's account book concerns shares that he and Jane Cushing owned in railroad companies and banks (July 1849-July 1855). Additional financial notes relate to the settlement of related financial accounts.
  • Account book recording Maria P. Cushing's investments and dividends (October 1870-January 1894); she received income from the estate of Silas Peirce, Sr., among other sources.

The Receipts, Checks, and Accounts (over 300 items) are arranged by person and company; each group of items is arranged chronologically. Nathaniel Cushing materials pertain to board, taxation, food, and other miscellaneous expenses. The Cushing, Hall, and Peirce documents concern financial affairs, including stock and bond investments. The group of items related to Hayward W. Cushing includes a large number of personal checks from many different banks, as well as additional accounts and documents. Among the financial papers related to Hayward P. Cushing is a receipt for Jane Cushing's board at the McLean Asylum for the Insane (December 31, 1869). The series contains additional accounts and financial records.

The Documents series (20 items) is made up of legal and financial contracts related to business partnerships, estates, and land ownership. The final item is an "Apple Pest Survey in Worcester County" for 1929-1931 (April 15, 1932).

The Drawings (3 items) are architectural drawings of methods for dropping masts (February 25, 1888), several floor plans (1919-1931), and an overhead view of an orchard (undated).

The Printed Items and Ephemera series includes 3 newspapers (1800-1864), 2 annual reports of the Boston Lyceum (1838 and 1840); a lecture by Benjamin Scott about the Pilgrims (1866); a reprinted love letter from John Kelly to an unidentified recipient (original 1817; printed in 1892); a group of check tickets from the Pullman Company; a printed calendar for 1870; a facsimile of The New-England Courant from February 1723; calling cards and invitations; and an embroidered piece of cloth.

The Genealogy series (14 items) consists of pamphlets, bulletins, newspaper clippings, and other items related to various members of the Cushing family from the 19th century into the early 20th century.

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

Eyre Coote papers, 1775-1925 (majority within 1775-1830)

21 linear feet

The Eyre Coote papers contain the military, family, and estate material of Sir Eyre Coote, a prominent British officer who participated in the Revolutionary war and many military expeditions in the early 19th century. The papers include military commissions, letters and letterbooks, orderly books, journals, notebooks, diaries, financial accounts, genealogical material, estate and legal papers, newspapers, and maps. The following calendar contains item-level description and additional background information on the Coote genealogy: Eyre Coote Papers Calendar.

The Eyre Coote papers consist of 41 boxes containing 1,925 numbered items, covering Eyre Coote’s military papers and family and estate material. These include: 13 Eyre Coote military commissions; 1,160 military letters, mostly to Coote; 22 letterbooks, containing copies of Coote’s correspondence, predominately to military and political figures; 69 orderly books covering Coote’s career from 1775 to 1809; 35 journals, notebooks, and diaries recording expedition details, day-to-day activities, and financial accounts; 14 items of genealogical material; 359 family letters; 200 financial papers; 235 estate and legal papers; 26 bound family and estate volumes; 83 newspapers, nearly all collected by Eyre Coote (1857-1925) with various references to either Sir Eyre Coote or the Coote family; and 40 maps.

The Military Papers series contains the letters, letterbooks, orderly books, and journals of Eyre Coote; these papers are organized into five subseries. See Additional Descriptive Data for a timeline of Eyre Coote's military placements.

The Commissions subseries (13 items) is comprised of Eyre Coote's official military commissions, from his assignment as an adjutant in the 37th Regiment in 1778 to his appointment as colonel of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment in 1810. Such notable officers as William Howe, Henry Clinton, Thomas Townshend, William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, and Thomas Pelham signed these documents.

The Military Correspondence and Documents subseries (1160 items) consists of letters and documents concerning Coote's activities in the British military. These cover his role in the Revolutionary War with the 37th Regiment; his expedition to Egypt and the Mediterranean; his governorship in Jamaica; and his service in England, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Item types include letters from all ranks of the British army and navy; copies of letters written by Coote; accounts and receipts for supplies and payment of Coote's regiments; general orders, instructions, regulations, and memoranda; and copies of addresses given to various military and political audiences. Correspondence topics include notable military events and division maneuvers; regimental management, reviews and inspections; disciplinary actions and courts martial; capture and requests for parole; appointments, promotions, the purchases of ranks; military intelligence; soldier defections; and health and sickness of soldiers and family.

Notable material includes:
  • A Loyalist poem entitled "An address to Americans" [1775]
  • Revolutionary War items concerning the 37th Regiment in Virginia and Pennsylvania (1776-1782)
  • Private six-page memorandum containing Coote's description of landing near Ostend, his destroying the gates, and his subsequent capture (May 1798)
  • Letters between Coote and John Hely-Hutchinson concerning the British/French conflict in Egypt, including 5 reports from Coote on the state of the Abū Qīr Hospital (March 1801)
  • Material documenting Coote's governorship of Jamaica, such as letters from British Administration at Downing Street, including one item from Robert Stewart Castlereagh warning of the likelihood of a "negro insurrection" (April, 4, 1807), and material related to slavery and the slave trade in the West Indies
  • Letters describing the attack and unsuccessful occupation of Walcheren, Netherlands, (1809)
  • Two printed reports on the parliamentary inquiry into the Walcheren expedition (published 1811)

This series contains two printed items: two findings of the parliamentary inquiry into the Walcheren expedition, published in 1811.

The Letter Books subseries (22 volumes) consists of books with copies of letters to and from Coote concerning his military activities (1786-1809).

These letter books largely document Coote's correspondence with other British officers and regiments, while he was stationed at the following locations:
  • Bandon, Ireland, 1796-1798
  • Ostend, Netherlands, 1798
  • Dover, England, 1798-1801
  • Alexandria, Egypt, 1801
  • Southampton, England, 1800-1801
  • Athlone, Loughrea, Castlebar, Fermoy and Cork, Ireland, 1803-1804
  • Jamaica, 1805-1808
  • Walcheren, Netherlands, 1809

Many of the copied letters concern other British officers, including: Major Boulter Johntone, Captain Thomas Neill, Lieutenant Thomas Walsh, and Lieutenant Colonel William Yorke, among others. Of note are copies of messages from the Jamaican House of Assembly with Coote's replies and speeches (21 October 1806 -- 5 April 1808).

The Order Books subseries (69 volumes) consists of regimental and battalion orderly books and rosters, as well as books of general orders.

Below is a list of the regiments and missions documented in this series:
  • 37th Regiment of Light Infantry's activities in Dublin, Ireland; York Island [Manhattan], New York; and Elkton, Maryland; their march towards Chadds Ford, New Jersey; their participation in the Battle of Brandywine; and their efforts at Germantown, Philadelphia, Jamaica [Long Island], and New York City, 1775-1779
  • Battalion Order Book: Staten Island; at sea; James Island; Drayton House; William’s House; Charleston; Monk’s Corner; Philipsburg, South Carolina; and Flushing, New York, 1779-1781
  • 47th Regiment at New York and later at various English cities: Lancaster; Preston; Warrington; Warrington [Cheshire]; Whitehaven [Cumbria]; Whitehaven; Drogheda; and Limerick, Ireland, 1781-1785
  • Also a duty roll of the 56th and 47th Regiments for 6 September 1783
  • Standing orders for the 70th or Surrey Regiment, 1786
  • Standing orders for the Sussex Regiment of militia, 1792
  • General Order Book of the expedition to the West Indies, 1793-1794, with headquarters in Barbados, Guadeloupe, and Port Royal, Martinique
  • General and Garrison Order Book of the regiment garrisoned at Dover, Canterbury, Bandon and Dunmanway, Cork, throughout 1797-1799
  • General Order Book for the expedition to Ostend, Netherlands,1798-1799
  • General and battalion orders for the expedition to Helder, Netherlands, headquartered at Schagerburg and Helder
  • General orders for the expedition to Egypt, at sea on board HMS Kent, and at headquarters in Alexandria, 1800-1801
  • General and district orders for the regiment garrisoned at Dublin, Cork, and the south-western district, Ireland, 1804
  • General orders for the regiment intended for the West Indies, including Jamaica, 1805-1808
  • General orders for the regiment intended for Walcheren Island, Netherlands, expedition, garrisoned at Portsmouth, London, and ‘at sea’ and later at headquarters in Middleburg and on Walcheren Island. Endorsed ‘Lieut.-Colonel [Thomas] Walsh', 1809
This subseries holds 3 printed items:
  • A list of the General and Field Officers, as they Rank in the Army. Printed by J. Millan, London, 1758 (160 pages).
  • Standing Orders to be Observed in the 47th (or Lancashire) Regiment, by Order of Lieutenant-Col. Paulus Æmilus Irving. Printed by Edward Flin, opposite Quay-Lane, Limerick, 1785. (40 pages with additional blank forms of documents).
  • Regimental Standing Orders, Issued by the Field Officers and to be Observed by the 70th (or Surry [sic]) Regiment of Foot. And to be Read to the Men, with the Articles of War. Printed by Catherine Finn, Kilkenny, 1788 (50 pages with additional blank forms of documents).

The Journals and Notebooks subseries (35 items) contains journals, notebooks, and diaries related to both military and personal matters. Eyre Coote kept many volumes that contain his remarks and reflections on regiments, forts, and military expeditions lead by him. Fellow officers, including Major General Archibald Campbell, Major Henry Worsley, and Lieutenant Thomas Walsh, kept the other journals. Of particular interest are two of Walsh's journals kept during Coote's expedition to Egypt; these contain numerous maps of the region and sketches and watercolors of cities, landmarks, and monuments in Egypt and along the Mediterranean coast (June-December 1801). Locations mentioned are Alexandria, Egypt; Ceuta, Spain; Houat, France; Marmaris, Turkey; Tangiers, Morocco; and Valletta, Malta. Monuments pictured include the Grecian mausoleum at Marci; the Great Sphinx; the Great Pyramids of Giza; Pompey’s pillar; Cleopatra’s needle; Porte des Bombes; Palace of the Grand-Masters; and funeral monuments for various Grand Masters of the Order of St. John in Malta. Also of interest are 10 volumes recording Coote’s daily movements and his expenses (1784-1800).

The Family and Estate Material series contains genealogical materials, family correspondence, financial papers, and personal journals and notebooks; these are organized into five subseries.

The Genealogy Material and Notes subseries (14 items) consists of documents relating to Coote family genealogy. Among the 14 items are a 17th-18th century genealogical chart, a volume entitled Memoirs of the Anchent and Noble family of Coote (late 18th century), the wills of Reverend Chidley Coote (1730) and Sir Eyre Coote (1827), and memoranda of biographical information on Coote and the Coote family. The series also contains locks of hair from Eyre Coote's immediate family, and two official Coote seals.

The Family Correspondence subseries contains letters concerning various members of the Coote family.

These letters are arranged by correspondent in the following groups:
  • Coote, Eyre, Sir, 1726-1783, to Susan Hutchinson Coote
  • Coote, Eyre, Sir, 1759-1823
  • Coote, Jane Bagwell
  • Fordingbridge Yeomanry Cavalry (1830-1833)
  • Miscellaneous

The correspondence of Coote’s second wife Jane and his son Eyre are also catalogued under a separate heading. The remaining correspondence concerns Eyre Coote’s (d. 1834) education, and the organization of the Fordingbridge Yeomanry Cavalry.

The Financial Papers subseries contains 200 items largely grouped into bundles of bills and receipts for Eyre Coote and Lady Jane Coote's expenses. These include receipts for a service of china, a list of personal jewelry, and a veterinary bill for Coote's horses.

The Estate and Legal Papers subseries is organized into three groups: the Estates in Ireland (1798-1827); the Estates in England (1807-1828); and the Estate and family papers (1897-1925). These papers include letters and documents concerning leases and rent payments, property sales, land disputes, feuding tenants, land use (agriculture), property development, wills and estate transfers, and banking matters. This subseries also contains published correspondence between Coote's family and their legal representative, A plain statement of facts, relative to Sir Eyre Coote (London, 1816), relating to Coote's prosecution for indecency (1815-1816).

Lady Jane Coote handled many letters concerning the estates in Ireland, including decisions regarding raising or reducing rent and managing accounts that were in arrears. Other Ireland material includes 28 half-yearly accounts prepared by the firm Dublin and Maryborough, covering 1796-1817. The England papers largely concern the West Park property, which were largely handled by Eyre Coote. Of note are the audited income and expenditure accounts for West Park, prepared by William Baldwin (1815-1822) and a wine cellar inventory book (1810-1839 and 1966). Estate and family papers document Eyre Coote's (1857-1925) handling of the Coote properties.

The Family, Estate, and Financial Bound Volumes subseries contains the bound estate papers and the personal journals and notebooks of the Coote family. Estate volumes include an item containing copies of wills and accounts, and 5 lists of tenants at the Coote's West Park estate and their Irish estates. Among the personal items are two journals kept by Eyre Coote (1806-1834) that contain his observations of Italy and Switzerland (1821), and a sketchbook of pencil and ink drawings of coastlines, towns, boats, antiquities, buildings, and volcanoes, which he made while sailing in the Mediterranean. Financial volumes include private account books of Eyre Coote (1830-1864) and of his son Eyre Coote (1857-1925) and accounts for their West Park estate.

The Newspapers series contains 83 newspaper clippings, nearly all collected by Eyre Coote (1857-1925), with various references to either Sir Eyre Coote or the Coote family. These clippings span from 1766-1926 and come from 24 different publications (see Additional Descriptive Data for a complete list). Articles document honors bestowed upon the Coote family, death notices for members of the Coote family, and reports of Eyre Coote's activities in the House of Lords and in the military. Of note is an item mentioning the first Sir Eyre Coote's defeat of Hyder Ali at Porto Novo, Benin (The Gazetteer and New Daily Advertiser, December 18, 1781); a "Law Report" concerning Major Armstrong's attempt to summon Coote for a duel (The Times, June 11, 1801); and 16 items related to the Walcheren Expedition and Coote's attack on Flushing, Netherlands (The Morning Chronicle, July 1809-April 1810).

The Maps series (40 items) consists of maps of England, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, and locations in the Mediterranean, including Egypt and Asia Minor (Turkey). Thirty-three maps are housed to the Map Division (see Additional Descriptive Data for list of maps). Additionally, the collection contains 63 maps found within the military papers, orderly books, journals, and notebooks. These have been cataloged and can be found in the University of Michigan library catalog (search for "Coote Maps").

The Manuscripts Division has detailed a calendar of the Eyre Coote papers. The following calendar contains item-level description and additional background information on the Coote genealogy: Eyre Coote Papers Calendar.

Collection

Hilon A. Parker family papers, 1825-1953 (majority within 1853-1911)

3 linear feet

This collection is made up of correspondence, diaries, documents, ephemera, and other items related to Hilon A. Parker and other members of the Parker family. The papers reflect Hilon A. Parker's life in Plessis, New York; his service in the 10th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment during the Civil War; and his postwar work as a railroad engineer and administrator.

This collection (3 linear feet) is made up of correspondence, diaries, documents, ephemera, and other items related to Hilon A. Parker and other members of the Parker family. Materials pertain to Hilon A. Parker's life in Plessis, New York; his service in the 10th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment during the Civil War; and his postwar work as a railroad engineer and administrator.

The correspondence (464 items) consists mainly of personal letters written and received by Hilon A. Parker between the 1860s and early 1910s. During the Civil War, Hilon A. Parker and his brother Harvey exchanged letters and wrote to their parents about service in the Union Army. Hilon served in the 10th New York Artillery Regiment. Thirza Parker, Hilon and Harvey's sister, provided news from Plessis, New York, while her brothers were away. Much of the correspondence from the late 1860s consists of letters between Hilon A. Parker and Mary Cunningham, his future wife. Hilon described the scenery and his work for railroad companies in Iowa, and Mary wrote about her life in Copenhagen, New York. After their marriage, most of the correspondence is comprised of incoming letters to Hilon A. Parker from personal and professional acquaintances. Parker received many condolence letters following Mary's death in early 1892. Later items include content related to Native American schools and to Parker's career in the railroad industry. A few late items sent to Hilon's daughter Florence in 1911 and 1912 concern his estate.

A group of 36 pencil and colored drawings and 32 letters relate to students at the Rainy Mountain Boarding School on the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache reservation in western Oklahoma. Kiowa schoolchildren gave the drawings as thank you notes to Hilon Parker, general manager of the Rock Island Railway, for a train ride he arranged for them in 1899. The children's ledger drawings show teepees, traditional Native American costume, and animals such as horses and buffalo. The children sent 13 letters to Hilon A. Parker on May 5, 1899. The Kiowa correspondence and drawings are accompanied by a group of 19 letters by grade school children in Chicago, Illinois, to Florence Parker Luckenbill, Hilon A. Parker's daughter, around 1925. The Chicago children commented on the Kiowa drawings and letters.

The Hilon A. Parker diaries (31 items) form a continuous run from 1860 to 1911, with the exception of the years 1896 and 1903. His brief daily entries concern life in Plessis, New York, in the early 1860s; service in the 10th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment during the Civil War; and work for the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company. Lucinda Parker, Hilon's mother, kept 6 diaries covering the period from 1858-1865, excepting 1862. She commented on her daily activities and social life in Plessis, New York.

Hilon A. Parker made entries in a commonplace book from February 1863-August 1863 and in April 1866. The first section of the volume contains poems and brief essays composed at Fort Meigs in Washington, D.C. Many of the entries refer to military life and to the war. The later pages of the volume include diagrams of cannons, mathematics and physics notes, and definitions of military terms. Items glued into this section of the volume include a small paper flag and many clipped autographs.

The collection's military documents (39 items) include orders, passes, commissions, and other documents related to Hilon A. Parker's service in the 10th New York Artillery Regiment during the Civil War; one item pertains to his pension. Undated materials include a casualty list and a blank voucher form.

Nine account books belonging to Hilon's father Alpheus Parker span the years from 1853-1878. Some of the volumes pertain to Parker's accounts with specific banks. Hilon Parker's business papers contain 35 accounts, receipts, and other items related to his personal finances and to his work for the railroad industry; one item concerns his voter registration (October 19, 1888). Most of the later material, including contracts and other agreements, regard business agreements between railroad companies. Some of the accounts are written on stationery of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company.

Mary Cunningham's Hungerford Collegiate Institute papers (40 items) include essays, poetry, report cards, and newspaper clippings related to Cunningham's studies at the institute in the mid-1860s. The papers include a manuscript magazine called The Nonpareil, edited by Mary Cunningham (Vol. 5, No. 8: November 18, 1863).

Approximately 80 speeches, addresses, and essays written by Hilon A. Parker pertain to the Civil War, the Republican Party, and Illinois politics. Parker also composed speeches and essays about the life of Abraham Lincoln and about Native Americans.

The Hilon A. Parker family papers include 8 photographs: an ambrotype image of several members of the Parker family posing outside of the Parker & Fairman storefront in Plessis, New York, and portraits of Derrinda Parker Tanner (tintype), Isaac L. Hitchcock (daguerreotype), Lucinda and Thirza Parker (daguerreotype), two unidentified women (ambrotypes), Hilon A. and Harvey M. Parker in military uniform (card photograph), and Hilon A. Parker as a grown man (photographic print).

A scrapbook contains newspaper clippings, ephemera, and other items related to the life of Hilon A. Parker. Many articles concern Civil War veterans' groups (the Englewood Union Veteran Club and the Grand Army of the Republic) and other topics related to the war, such as an article regarding a reunion of the 10th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment, the fate of John Brown's wife and sons, memorial poems, and a map of entrenchments around Petersburg, Virginia. Other groups of clippings concern Illinois politics, liquor laws, the railroad industry, and the life of Hilon A. Parker.

The papers include newspaper clippings (21 items), biographical notes and writings (18 items), a hand-sewn US flag made by Thirza Parker for Hilon Parker while he served in the Civil War, a silhouette made in Denver, Colorado, in 1903, and other items.

Collection

Jacob Butler Varnum papers, 1811-1888 (majority within 1811-1833)

79 items

The Jacob Butler Varnum papers contain letters and documents related to Varnum's career as a factor at United States Indian trading posts in Sandusky, Ohio, and Fort Dearborn, Chicago; as a captain in the 40th Massachusetts Infantry during the War of 1812; and as a Washington D.C. merchant after he left government service. Included are letters and instructions from government officials concerning trade with Indians, as well as letters from Varnum to his father, Senator Joseph B. Varnum, concerning his activities as factor.

The Jacob Butler Varnum papers (79 items) contain letters and documents related to Varnum's career as a factor at United States Indian trading posts in Sandusky, Michilimackinac, and Fort Dearborn, Chicago; as a captain in the 40th Massachusetts Infantry during the War of 1812; and as a Washington D.C. merchant after he left government service. The collection is comprised of 59 letters, 1 diary, 13 documents and financial records, and 5 miscellaneous items. Included are letters and instructions from various government officials concerning trade with Indians in Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois, as well as five letters from Varnum to his father Senator Joseph B. Varnum (ca.1751-1821) concerning his activities as factor.

The Correspondence series (60 items) comprises the bulk of the collection. Forty-nine items document Varnum's governmental career spanning 1811 to 1826, during his service as Indian trade factor in Sandusky, Michilimackinac, and Chicago; and as captain of the 40th Massachusetts Infantry during the War of 1812. Varnum received instructions from various Indian agents and government officials concerning the regulation of trade with the Munsee, Ojibwe (Chippewa), Ottawa, Sioux, and Wyandot Indians, among others. Many letters came from the United States Office of Indian Trade at Georgetown, including four from Indian Officer John Mason (1812 and 1815), and 21 letters from Superintendent of Indian Trade Thomas Loraine McKenney (1816-1822). These contain discussions of trade operations, types of merchandise, questions arising about the sale of goods, and instructions for the reporting of financial accounts. Also of note are five letters from Varnum to his father, Joseph Bradley Varnum (1750-1821), in which he described his experiences at Sandusky and at Michilimackinac, as well as with the business of the trading house at Chicago (December 3, 1811; January 14, 1812; May 21, 1816; November 3, 1817; March 1, 1818).

Other items of note include:
  • August 8, 1811: Joseph Bradley Varnum to John Mason, accepting the appointment of his son as agent of the United States Indian trading house at Sandusky, Ohio
  • March 1, 1818: Varnum to his father predicting the outbreak of a great war with the Indians "from the Simenoles to the Sioux"
  • February 8, 1820: Thomas L. McKenney letter to Jacob B. Varnum, giving instructions about the handling of money given to Varnum by Government Indian agents

Most of the 1823-1826 material concerns government reimbursements for military expenses at Fort Dearborn. The collection contains 11 letters documenting Varnum's post-governmental career as a merchant in Washington D.C. and Petersburg, Virginia (1826-1860).

These include:
  • February 1827-August 1832: Five items regarding Varnum and John Biddle concerning mutual business interests in Detroit
  • December 17, 1833: John H. Kinzie to Varnum concerning Chicago lands owned by Kinzie, a fur trader

The Diary series (1 item) contains a 26-page notebook with Varnum's description of his trip from Chicago to Dracut, Massachusetts, by way of Detroit and Buffalo (August 17-October 22, 1822), and from Detroit through New York and Philadelphia, to Washington D.C. (May 28-June 22, 1823). Varnum reported on his manner of travel (horse, ship, steamboat) and his travel route, describing stops at many of the major towns along the Erie Canal. He commented on the towns that he passed through including Rochester, New York, which had grown considerably since the opening of the Erie Canal (page 6). He also noted prices for room and board. The final five pages contain financial accounts for Varnum's military expenses incurred from 1813 to 1815.

The Documents and Financial Records series (13 items) contains material documenting Varnum's finances and his service in the War of 1812.

This includes:
  • June 8, 1813: Affidavits (and a fragment of the same item) documenting the capture of Joseph B. Varnum's trunks, taken by the British as they were being transported from Michilimackinac to Detroit
  • 1814: Six military district orders related to promotions, responsibilities, and discipline in the 40th Massachusetts Infantry, in which Varnum was a captain under Acting Adjutant General George P. Peters
  • August 22, 1815: Copy of a bond oath signed by Varnum as factor for Indian trade at Chicago, and a copy of his father, Jacob Butler Varnum's oath of office
  • 1816-1827: Four financial records of debts and receipts for goods purchased by Varnum
  • Undated [1808]: Deposition of Richard Smyth regarding the sale of a lot in Detroit owned by Varnum's father-in-law John Dodemead

The Miscellaneous series (5 items) contains 3 envelope covers, one of which includes a recipe for a "Lazy Daisy" cake (c.1930). Also present are a photograph of a man and two women outside of a tent next to a car (c.1930), and a typed 13-page biography of Joseph Bradley Varnum, undated and unattributed.

Collection

Lewis Cass papers, 1774-1924

3 linear feet

The Lewis Cass papers contain the political and governmental letters and writings of Lewis Cass, American army officer in the War of 1812, governor and senator from Michigan, American diplomat to France, secretary of war in the Andrew Jackson administration, secretary of state under James Buchanan, and Democratic candidate for President. These papers span Cass' entire career and include letters, speeches, financial documents, memoranda, literary manuscripts, newspaper clippings, and a travel diary. In addition to documenting his political and governmental career, the collection contains material concerning relations between the United States and Native Americans, and Cass' role in presidential politics.

The Lewis Cass papers (approximately 1195 items) contain the political and governmental letters and writings of Lewis Cass, American army officer in the War of 1812, governor and senator from Michigan, American diplomat to France, secretary of war to Andrew Jackson, secretary of state to James Buchanan, and Democratic candidate for President. Included are letters, speeches, financial documents, memoranda, literary manuscripts, newspaper clippings, and a travel diary. In addition to documenting his official and governmental activities, the collection contains material related to Cass' influence on Native American policy and his role in presidential politics.

The Correspondence series (approximately 990 items) contains the professional and political letters of Lewis Cass. These reveal details of Cass' entire career and involve many of the most important political topics of the day. Within the series are communications with many prominent American politicians and military officers, including John Adams (2 items), Thomas Hart Benton (4 items), James Buchanan (20 items), John C. Calhoun (3 items), Henry Clay (1 item), Jefferson Davis (3 items), Stephen Douglas (2 items), Secretary of State John Forsyth (5 items), Albert Gallatin (2 items), William Henry Harrison (3 items), Samuel Houston (1 item), Andrew Jackson (23 items), Thomas Jefferson (1 item), Francis Scott Key (3 items), Alexander Macomb (4 items), James Monroe (1 item), Samuel F. B. Morse (2 items), Franklin Pierce (1 item), James K. Polk (8 items), Richard Rush (6 items), William Seward (3 items), Winfield Scott (3 items), Zachery Taylor (2 items), John Tyler (2 items), Martin Van Buren (8 items), Daniel Webster (4 items), and many others. This series also contains a small number of personal letters, including communications with Cass' siblings, his nephew Henry Brockholst Ledyard, and his friends.

The collection's early papers (1777-1811) contain material related to Cass' family, his education, his professional career in Ohio, and relations between the United States government and Native Americans. The earliest item is from Elizabeth Cass' father, Joseph Spencer, relating to his service in the Revolutionary War. Two letters are from John Cass, Lewis' father, concerning business, and five items are from Cass' siblings, written to him at Philips Exeter Academy (1790-1795). His service as an Ohio congressman is represented by a single resolution, drafted by Cass, and submitted by the Ohio Congress to President Jefferson, voicing their commitment to the constitution and the Union (December 26, 1806, with Jefferson's response enclosed). Also present are nine items related to Native American relations, including formal letters to the Chippewa, Delaware, Miami, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Shawnee, and Wyandot tribes, from Superintendent of Indian Affairs Richard Butler, Northern Territory Governor Arthur St. Clair, and Secretary of War James McHenry. Of particular importance is a signed letter from several tribes to President James Monroe, composed shortly after the Battle of Tippecanoe, stressing the importance of treaties and lobbying to employ John Visger on behalf of the Indians (November 13, 1811). Two miscellaneous items from this period are letters from John Adams: one letter to Charles Guillaume Frederic Dumas requesting permission for Adams to return to America after the Treaty of Paris (March 28, 1783), and one to a group of volunteer troops of light dragoons (July 12, 1798).

Eleven letters deal with Cass' role in the War of 1812. Topics discussed include raising a regiment in Ohio (March 23, 1813), concerns with obtaining food and clothing for troops and British prisoners at Detroit (November 1813), and Cass' thoughts on receiving the governorship of the Michigan Territory (December 29, 1813). Of note is a letter containing William Henry Harrison's impressions on Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's victory on Lake Erie, sent to Secretary of War John Armstrong (enclosed in September 13, 1813). For more material relating to the War of 1812 see the Manuscript Writing series.

The collection contains 55 letters from Cass' tenure as governor of Michigan Territory (1815-August 1831). These represent a broad range of topics including territorial administration, expeditions throughout the western territory, western expansion, and studies of and treaties with Native Americans. Contacts include travelers from the east coast interested in Michigan and Indian affairs, officials in outposts throughout Michigan, officials from eastern states, and officials from Washington including presidents, their cabinets, and congressmen.

Of note:
  • November 21, 1816, January 11 and February 2, 1817: A discussion between Cass and Henry Clay regarding opening a branch of the United States Bank in Lexington, Kentucky
  • February 12, 1817: A letter concerning troop service under General Hull in the War of 1812
  • August 14 and 25, 1817: Letters between Cass and President James Monroe relating to travel in the Ohio Territory
  • June 10, 1818: Courts martial for depredations against Indians at Detroit
  • October 20, 1818: A letter from Alexander Macomb concerning the purchase of Cass' servant Sally for $300
  • December 9, 1821, October 14, 1823, and April 24, 1824: Three letters from John C. Calhoun about governmental promotions, the vice presidency, and Indian affairs
  • November 14, 1821 and February 16, 1824: two letters discussing or addressed to John C. Calhoun from Cass.
  • March 21, 1830: A letter from Cass to President Jackson requesting the reinstatement of a Major Clark into the army

Cass communicated frequently with David Bates Douglass, an engineer who worked with Cass in Michigan. In his letters, Douglass often mentions their mutual colleague Henry Schoolcraft, and Douglass' mapping areas of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. Also of interest are five letters to George Wyllys Silliman, a lawyer in Zanesville, Ohio, and nephew of Lewis Cass, from friend William Sibly (November 17, 1827-November 6, 1828) and from cousin Elizabeth Cass (May 1, 1829). Sibly discussed personal and social news and made several comments on women. Elizabeth mentioned a month-long visit from Martin Van Buren and described Detroit as being "in turmoil" because of conflicts between the "Masons & Anti-Masons--Wing men & Biddle men--Sheldonites and Anti Sheldonites . . ."

Cass served as Andrew Jackson's secretary of war from 1831-1836. Most of the approximately 195 items concern Washington politics; department of war administration; affairs of the president and cabinet; and requests for appointments, promotions, and political favors from congressmen and other politicians. Of note are 18 letters and memoranda from Andrew Jackson to Cass and other cabinet members, regarding Indian resettlement (1831-1836), firearms delivered to members of congress (November 3, 1834), and news of generals Samuel Houston and Santa Anna and the war with Mexico (August 31, 1836). Cass was also involved with the administration of West Point; he received news of leadership changes and recommendations for admissions and teaching posts, including one request from author Washington Irving (March 20, 1834). During this period, Cass kept in close contact with Secretary of the Treasury Louis McLane.

Of note:
  • August 1, 1831: A letter from General Winfield Scott voicing support for his appointment as secretary of war
  • August 8, 1831: Cass' acceptance of the secretary of war position
  • August 29, 1831: A long letter from William Henry Harrison discussing his loyalty to Cass, Colonel Shelby's personal jealousy and his attempts to replace Harrison in congress, the presidential aspirations of Henry Clay, and the poor state of Harrison's personal fortunes
  • December 31, 1831: A letter from Susan Wheeler Decatur of Georgetown, South Carolina, concerning her declining finances
  • February 24, 1832: A letter from Henry R. Schoolcraft describing the state of the settlement at Sault Ste. Marie and mapmaking at the mouth of the Mississippi River
  • July 26, 1832: A letter from General Alexander Macomb to Cass offering condolences for the loss of his daughter Elizabeth and informing Cass of a cholera epidemic in western forts
  • December 26, 1832: Callender Irvine, United States Army Commissary General of Purchases, to Cass regarding the design and procurement of Army uniforms
  • January 24, 1833: Cass to Richard Smith, United States Bank cashier, with instructions to close the accounts of the war department and Indian Agency
  • A bundle of letters and enclosures, January 1, 1834-March 5, 1834, written by Gorham Parks to Samuel Farrar, including copies of correspondence and a petition regarding the establishment of a military buffer between Maine and British Canada
  • April 3, 1834: A letter from Cass' brother George Cass concerning his family's finances
  • May 12, 1834: Congressman James K. Polk concerning a general appropriations bill and Indian annuity bill that passed the house
  • June 20 and October 20, 1834: Two letters from Benjamin Waterhouse of Harvard University discussing temperance and early American history concerning General Wolfe's attack on Canada and Bunker Hill
  • April 18- December 24, 1835: Seven letters concerning the territorial conflict between Michigan and Ohio over the Toledo Strip
  • February 22, 1836: A letter from John Henry Eaton to Cass describing the state of affairs in Florida and a revolt of Indians in Tampa Bay
  • July 4, 1836: Edgar Allen Poe to Cass concerning contributions to the Southern Literary Messenger

From 1836 to 1842, Cass served as Jackson's minister to France. Many of the 148 items from this period are letters of introduction from Cass' colleagues in Washington, New York, Albany, Boston, Baltimore, and Virginia, for family and friends traveling in France and Europe. Though most of these travelers were well connected young men from prominent families, two letters were for women traveling without their husbands (August 29 and September 27, 1841). In 1842, before Cass returned to America, he communicated with senators and the President's cabinet regarding negotiations with the British for Canadian boundary lines, and other news from the continent. Throughout Cass' time in France, he received updates on his finances and properties in Detroit from Edmund Askin Brush.

Of note:
  • October 4, 1836: President Jackson's acknowledgement of Cass' resignation as secretary of war, and Cass' appointment as minister to France
  • February 5, 1837: Plans for the Cass family's trip to the Mediterranean on the USS Constitution, including the suggestion that the women wear men's clothing in the Holy Land
  • November 3, 1837: Remarks regarding the reaction in Boston to a visit from Sauk Chief Keokuk (Kee-O-Kuk) and a group of Blackhawk Indians
  • September 10-December 14, 1841: Ten letters about a court of inquiry concerning Assistant Surgeon General Dr. Edward Worrell's record keeping for medicine and supplies at the hospital at Fort Niagara
  • March 14, 1842: A letter from Daniel Webster to Cass relating to the abolition of slavery
  • April 25, 1842: A letter from Daniel Webster to Cass regarding the rights of "visit and search, the end of the African slave trade, the 'Creole Case,'" and the Oregon compromise
  • June 29, 1842: A letter from John Tyler reporting on Congress' activities and further negotiations with Lord Ashburton, the Maine boundary and the "Creole Case"

Between 1842 and 1857, Cass served two senate terms representing Michigan, competed for the Democratic nomination for president in 1844 and 1852, and lost the presidency to Zachery Taylor in 1848. Letters from this time period amount to approximately 278 items. In December 1842, when first arriving back in America from France, Cass received a number of welcoming letters from officials in Boston and Philadelphia, including one that suggested he could be chosen as Democratic vice presidential nominee (December 28, 1842). Cass soon returned to Detroit but kept up with news from Washington. As presidential contender and then senator, Cass was concerned with the biggest issues of the day, including relations with England over the Oregon Territory; relations with Mexico; Indian affairs; and the Wilmot Proviso and the spread of the slavery to new states and territories. In addition to discussions of slavery in the South, Cass received reports on slavery in California, Missouri, Utah, Kansas, and Texas. The year 1848 is dominated with material on the presidential election, consisting of letters expressing support and discussing the landscape of the election. Of note are 45 letters, spanning 1844-1859, from Cass to Massachusetts Congressman Aaron Hobart of Boston, which feature both personal and political content.

Of note:
  • July 8, 1843: A letter from Andrew Jackson regarding relations with France and England and the Oregon Bill
  • May 6 and 11, 1844: Letters from Cass discussing his chances to be nominated to run for president at the Baltimore Democratic Convention, and his thoughts on the annexation of Texas and the "Oregon Question"
  • July 1844: A letter from William Berkley Lewis describing the political climate surrounding Andrew Jackson's campaign and assent to the presidency (30 pages)
  • July 30 and 31, 1845: Letters from Lewis Henry Morgan concerning a council of Iroquois at Aurora, New York, and the education of the Indians of western New York
  • December 24, 1845: A letter from Henry Wheaton concerning commerce and communications through the isthmuses at Suez, Egypt, and at Panama
  • March 19, 1846: A letter from Francis Parkman, Jr., regarding the study of the Indians of Michigan's Upper Peninsula
  • August 5, 1846: A letter from Cass concerning Democratic Party politics and the war with Indians in Florida
  • December 26, 1846: A letter from Cass on the state of the Democratic Party and his intention to run for president
  • January 6, 1848: A letter from Cass discussing the Wilmot Proviso
  • April 6, 1748: A letter from Henry Hunt regarding the war in Mexico and General William Worth
  • May 23, 1848: A letter from W. T. Van Zandt who witnessed the French Revolution, and mentioned that two of the King's grandchildren hid in a nearby boarding house
  • June 13, 1848: A letter from Stephen Douglas reassuring Cass that Southerners are "satisfied with your views on the slavery question, as well as all others"
  • August 24 and November 14, 1848 and January 9, 1849: Letters from President Polk concerning the politics of slavery in the senate and the Wilmot proviso
  • October 25, 1851: A letter from relative Sarah Gillman, whose husband is prospecting in California and is in need of a loan
  • August 9, 1852: A letter from Cass to John George
  • August 30, 1853: A letter from Cass to President Franklin Pierce congratulating him on his election and recommending Robert McClelland, regent of the University of Michigan, for the position of secretary of the interior
  • April 1, 1856: W.W. Drummond of Salt Lake City commented on Mormons, polygamy, slavery, the statehood of Nevada, and local support for the Nebraska Bill. Enclosed is a printed bill of sale for a runaway slave
  • June 24, 1856: Cass' explanation that the Democratic party must work to preserve the Union

The series contains 172 letters from Cass' service as James Buchanan's secretary of state from 1857-1861. During his time, he received communications dealing with political unrest in the South over the slavery issue, and concerning foreign relations with Mexico, England, France, Russia, Nicaragua, and Cuba. Of particular interest are ten letters from the Minister to England George Mifflin Dallas who reported on parliamentary and political news in London (April 28, 1857-February 2, 1858). He discussed the British views on slavery in America and about the Oregon border; activities of the British East India Company; England's conflicts in India, West Africa, and China; the planning of the transatlantic telegraph and the first communication between Queen Victoria and President Buchanan; and American relations with France and Russia. Cass also received frequent memoranda from Buchanan concerning foreign relations, focusing on treaties with Mexico. The series contains 10 letters from supporters, reacting to Cass' resignation from Buchanan's administration for failing to use force in South Carolina (December 14, 1860-January 2, 1861). Also present are three personal letters from Cass to his young nephew Henry Brockholst Ledyard.

Of note:
  • March 19, 1857: A letter from Judah Philip Benjamin relating intelligence on the political situation in Mexico, led by Ignacio Comonfort, and urging the United States to make a treaty with Mexico for control of California without delay
  • April 20, 1857: A manuscript copy of a letter from Lewis Cass to Secretary of the Navy Isaac Toucey, concerning the U.S. commercial agent at St. Paul de Loando, Willis, sent dispatches informing them that "the slave trade on this Coast is flourishing" and that five vessels have lately left with enslaved persons. Willis also reported that "The Congo River and its neighborhood have been the head Quarters, and American gold is now quite plenty there, having been brought in vessels which clear from New York."
  • August 3, 1857: A letter from Jefferson Davis discussing issues in Cuba, Panama, Mexico, and England, and offering his thoughts on states' rights and state creation
  • August 5, 1857: A memo from Buchanan inquiring about the United States' relationship with England and political division in the Democratic Party
  • November 17-20, 1857: Sculpture design for decorations on the Capitol building at Cincinnati, Ohio
  • August 30, 1858: A letter from Francis Lieber explaining his poem celebrating the transatlantic telegraph
  • October 27, 1858: A letter from Rebecca P. Clark, General William Hull's daughter, claiming that she had a long-suppressed pamphlet ready to publish that would redeem her father's reputation and prove that the United States did not invade Canada in 1812 in order to maintain the slave state vs, free state balance of power
  • January 27, 1859: A letter from Buchannan expressing his desire to take lower California from Mexico
  • December 6, 1859: A letter from George Wallace Jones regarding the administration's position on the slavery question and the "doctrine of non-interference"
  • December 19, 1859: A letter from Jeremiah Healy, a prospector from San Francisco, requesting a loan to extract silver and lead ore from his mine to compare it to the "Comstock Claim"
  • April 14, 1760: An unofficial letter from Robert M. McClelland concerning peace with Mexico and dealings with Lord John Russell
  • May 29, 1860: A letter from former Governor John B. Floyd regarding a friend who wants to set up a commercial house in Japan
  • December 6, 1860: An unofficial letter from General John Wool concerning South Carolina's secession and troops to protect the fort at Charleston
  • December 17, 1860: A letter of support from Lydia Howard Sigourney for Cass' resignation

The collection contains only 9 letters written after Cass' resignation from the Buchanan administration until his death, though a few of these are from old connections in Washington. One particularly interesting letter is a response from President Lincoln's office concerning Cass' request that he parole two of Elizabeth Cass' nephews who were Confederate officers (June 30, 1864). Going against his standard policy, Lincoln agreed to the parole out of respect for Cass.

Of the 50 letters written after Cass' death (1766-1917), the bulk are addressed to Cass' granddaughter, Elizabeth Cass Goddard of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Cass' grandson, Lewis Cass Ledyard. These primarily relate to family and business matters and are not related to Lewis Cass. Of note are a letter from William Cook to Lewis Cass Ledyard containing copies of four letters from Cass to J. P. Cook in 1856 (September 15, 1909), and a letter to Henry Ledyard concerning Cass family portraits. Other notable contributors from this period include Ulysses S. Grant (August 18, 1868), Congressman James A. Garfield (1871) Julia Ward Howe (written on a circular for a New Orleans exposition, 1885), and Elizabeth Chase on women's suffrage (October 1886).

This series contains 24 undated letters from all phases of Cass' career, including his time in Detroit, Paris, and Washington. Of note is a letter to Cass from William Seward concerning a social engagement, and three letters to Elizabeth Goddard from Varina Davis, in which she voices her opinions on bicycling and offers sympathy for the death of a child.

The Diary series (1 volume) contains a personal journal spanning June 11 to October 5, 1837, just before Cass began his service as diplomat to France. The 407-page volume, entitled "Diary in the East," documents Cass and his family's tour of the Mediterranean and Middle East. Among the places visited were the Aegean Sea, the Dead Sea, Egypt and the Nile, Cyprus, and Lebanon. Entries, which were recorded daily, range from 3 to 20 pages and relate to travel, landmarks, local customs, and the group's daily activities.

The Documents series (116 items) is made up of financial, legal, military, honorary, and official government documents related to Cass and his relatives. Early documents relate to the Revolutionary War service of Dr. Joseph Spencer, the father of Elizabeth Cass and the military discharge of Cass' father Jonathan Cass. War of 1812 items include 16 receipts of payments to soldiers for transporting baggage, a payment of Cass' troops approved by Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, and a report made up of eyewitness accounts of General Hull's surrender at Detroit (September 11, 1812).

Material related to Native Americans includes a treaty between Anthony Wayne and various tribes (August 3, 1795); the Treaty of St. Mary's with Cass, Duncan McArthur, and the Wyandot Indians; several permission bonds awarded by Governor William Hull to Michigan merchants for Indian trade (1798-1810); and Cass' 48-page report detailing the reduction of Native population in North America (with a population count by region), the agriculture and hunting practices of Native Americans, and the history and future of American Indian relations (July 22, 1829).

Three of the items are official items that mark achievements in Cass' career:
  • March 11, 1826: Cass' oath of office for Governor of the Michigan Territory
  • August 1, 1831: Cass' appointment to Secretary of War by Andrew Jackson.
  • March 6, 1857: Cass' appointment to Secretary of State by James Buchanan.

Cass' personal accounts are documented in three ledgers kept by Edmund Askin Brush's agency, which managed his financial and land interests, including payments on loans, interest, rent, and land sales and purchases (September 1832-March 1843, January 30, 1836, and undated). Honorary documents include memberships in the New York Naval Lyceum, the Rhode Island Historical Society, and the Buffalo Historical Society, and a degree from Harvard.

Of note:
  • 1776: One bill of Massachusetts paper currency
  • January 5, 1795: Power of attorney for Aaron Burr to Benjamin Ledyard
  • December 21, 1816: An item documenting the Bank of the United States opening a branch in Lexington, Kentucky
  • 1836-1841: Twelve items related to the divorce of Mary K. Barton of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from her violent husband Seth Barton
  • November 11, 1842: A menu for a dinner celebrating Cass at Les Trois Frères Provençaux
  • November 5, 1845: A printed protest from the citizens of Massachusetts who met at Faneuil Hall, Boston, concerning the annexation of Texas as a slave state
  • 1850: Three signup sheets to purchase printed copies of a Cass speech on the Compromise of 1850 and a copy of "Kansas--The Territories"
  • February 27, 1878: Lewis Cass, Jr.'s last will and testament
Images within this series:
  • March 17, 1821: A merchant pass for the Bark Spartan, signed by John Quincy Adams, illustrated with a ship and a harbor with a lighthouse
  • July 19, 1833: A membership document from the Rhode Island Historical Society featuring neoclassical imagery of a woman in front of a city and a shield with an anchor inscribed with the word "Hope"
  • 1837: A bank note picturing Greek gods
  • 1858-1860: Three passports with large state department seals

The Speeches series (17 items) contains 16 items related to Indian affairs spanning 1792-1816, and one undated item concerning agriculture in Michigan. The speeches were delivered by individual Native Americans (Grand Glaize, Painted Tobacco, Maera Walk-in-the-Water, Yealabahcah, Tecumseh, and the Prophet); Indian confederacies to the Commissioners of Indian Affairs; and the Indian commissioners to the Cherokee, Chippewa, Ottawa, Potawatomie, Shawnee, and Wyandot tribes.

Of note:
  • November 29, 1796: A speech from George Washington to the Wyandot, Delaware, Shawnee, Ottawa, Miami, Potawatomi, Kickapoo, Piankeshaw, and Kaskaskia Indians
  • August 18, 1807-1810: Five speeches to and from General William Hull and various Indian tribes, including the Wyandot Chief Maera (Walk-In-The-Water)
  • December 21, 1807-January 31, 1809: Four speeches from President Thomas Jefferson to various Indian tribes
  • 1816: A speech from Shawnee Chief Yealabahcah and the Prophet Tecumseh in a council with Lewis Cass

For additional Indian speeches see the Manuscript Writings series. The Clements Library Book Division has several published versions of Cass' political speeches spanning 1830-1856.

The Manuscript Writings series (41 items) consists of Cass' non-correspondence writings, of which 30 are undated. Though Cass did not pursue a formal higher education after his years at Philips Exeter Academy, he received many honorary degrees and published scholarly works on the history of Native Americans and American political issues. This series contains 13 items that reveal Cass' views on Native Americans, including a 104-page item on Indian treaties, laws, and regulations (1826); notes on the war with the Creek Indians in 1833 (undated); undated notes and articles on the Shawnee, Kickapoo, and Miami tribes and lands; a 23-page review of published works on Indians; two sets of notes with corrections by Cass that were later published in the Northern American Review, and a four-page essay on Indian language.

Two items relate to the War of 1812. The first is a notebook entitled "Extracts from Franklin's Narratives," which contains copies of letters, speeches, and documents relating to Tecumseh and The Prophet, Canadian Governor George Prevost, President Madison's speeches to Congress, and Canadian General Henry Proctor, spanning 1812-1813. The second is an eyewitness account of the siege and battles of Fort Erie in 1814 by Frederick Myers (September 27, 1851). Also present are copied extracts from other writers' works, including Charlevoix's Histories and a work on Indiana by an unidentified author.

Of note:
  • April 9, 1858: A memorandum in regard to an interview with Colonel Thomas Hart Benton on his deathbed
  • Undated: 34 pages of autobiographical writings
  • Undated: 42 pages of notes on the creation of the universe and the theory of evolution
This series also contains nine items written by other authors, including:
  • February 10, 1836: A poem by Andrew Buchanan performed at Mrs. White's party
  • August 30, 1858: "An Ode on the Sub-Atlantic Telegraph," by Dr. Francis Lieber
  • Undated: Two genealogical items related to Elizabeth Cass' ancestors
  • Undated: a draft of a biographical essay on Cass' early years by W. T. Young (eventually published in 1852 as Life and Public Services of General Lewis Cass)

The Printed Items series (14 items) is comprised of printed material written by or related to Cass. Many of the items are contemporary newspaper clippings reporting on Cass' role in government and eulogies assessing his career after his death.

Of note:
  • November 4, 1848: A 4-page Hickory Sprout newspaper with several articles on Cass and his presidential bid. This paper also contains pro-Democrat and pro-Cass poetry set to the tune Oh! Susannah
  • 1848: A political cartoon lampooning Cass after his defeat to Taylor in the presidential election
  • March 25, 1850: An announcement for a ball at Tammany Hall in honor of Cass
  • July 17, 1921: A Detroit Free Press article on the dedication of the Cass Boulder Monument at Sault Ste. Marie
  • Three engraved portraits of Cass
  • Undated: A newspaper clipping with recollections of Lewis Cass as a young boy
  • Undated: An advertisement with a diagram of the Davis Refrigerator.

The Autographs and Miscellaneous series (21 items) contains various autographs of James Buchanan (October 10, 1860), Theodore Roosevelt (August 11, 1901), and author Alice French with an inscription and a sketch (September 29, 1906). This series also contains 19 pages of notes from Cass collector Roscoe O. Bonisteel, who donated many of the items in this collection, and four colored pencil sketches of furniture.

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.