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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

Burd-Shippen papers, 1738-1847

0.5 linear feet

The Burd-Shippen papers contain personal and business documents concerning Edward Shippen, Edward Burd, and their families and Philadelphian colleagues. Many of Major Edward Burd's items concern the 1st Battalion of the Pennsylvania Regiment of Foot in the early years of the Revolutionary War.

The Burd-Shippen papers (184 items) contain personal and business documents concerning Edward Shippen, Edward Burd, and their families and Philadelphian colleagues. Many of Major Edward Burd's items concern the 1st Battalion of the Pennsylvania Regiment of Foot in the early years of the Revolutionary War.

The bulk of the collection is comprised of approximately 75 letters addressed to Edward Burd and his son Edward Shippen Burd, with a small group of correspondence from Edward Shippen. The collection also contains ten items concerning Edward S. Burd and his legal colleague William Tilghman. The remainder of the collection is composed of receipts and various legal documents, most relating to Edward Shippen, including a receipt for a slave and a woman's petition against her husband for abandonment of their child.

Edward S. Burd's legal notebook (95 pages) covers from 1817 to 1846, and contains real estate transactions, illustrated plans of lots, title briefs, and cost lists.

Collection

Cornelison papers, 1796-1929 (majority within 1887-1895)

0.5 linear feet

This collection contains letters, diaries, documents, and other materials related to William G. and Carrie King Cornelison, a Pennsylvania couple who lived in Queensland, Australia, in the early 1890s. Additional items pertain to John and William King, Carrie's grandfather and father.

This collection (0.5 linear feet) contains letters, diaries, documents, and other materials related to William G. and Carrie King Cornelison, a Pennsylvania couple who lived in Queensland, Australia, in the early 1890s. Additional items pertain to John and William King, Carrie's grandfather and father, respectively.

The Correspondence series (37 items) comprises the bulk of the collection and is mostly made up of the incoming and outgoing correspondence of William and Caroline King Cornelison. The series begins with 3 letters that William wrote to Caroline during their courtship about his work in Batoum (now Batumi), Georgia, between December 1887 and April 1888. He also received a letter from an acquaintance in Baku, Azerbaijan, in June 1889. From 1891-1893, Carrie wrote 22 letters to her family in Pennsylvania, each of them typically over 3 pages in length. She described her journey to Australia and discussed aspects of life in the country, such as her housing, her husband's work, and cookery. After the Cornelisons' return to the United States, they received 7 letters from friends in Australia. Other items include a letter from an acquaintance in New York (June 16, 1895), one from "Rash" King to his father and sister (November 8, 1896), and one from L. Ellen Wright to William K. King, her cousin (January 11, 1902). William sent the last letter of the series to Carrie on October 1, 1899.

The Diaries series contains 2 bound volumes and 3 groups of loose manuscripts in which William and Carrie Cornelison recorded details about their passage to Australia and their lives there. The first bound volume (183 pages) covers June 8, 1888, through February 11, 1893, and also contains the Cyrillic alphabet and Slavic phrases (pp. 179-183); a fragment from a drafted letter and a newspaper clipping on Leander Starr Jameson are laid into the back cover. The third group of loose manuscripts, dated 1928-1929, is Carrie Cornelison's record of her daily activities in Pennsylvania, which included sewing, washing, and other household tasks. The other diaries pertain to Australia and cover the dates December 25, 1891 (loose manuscript), March 1-August 4, 1892 (bound volume 2), and August 6-December 11, 1892 (loose manuscript).

Items in the Documents series (5 items) concern the King family's land ownership in northern Pennsylvania, a tax payment made by John King in 1829, and William Cornelison's account with the First National Bank of Shingle House, Pennsylvania. On the back of the account Carrie Cornelison recorded some of her thoughts about traveling to Australia.

John King kept 2 Arithmetic Books in 1796 and 1797. He copied and solved mathematical problems and principles, frequently related to practical applications of mathematical concepts.

The Photographs series (4 items) has card photographs of Mary King Mann, an unknown man, a home in Isisford, Queensland, and two of John King's descendants.

Ephemera (3 items) includes a newspaper clipping with extracts from Carrie Cornelison's Australian diary, William Cornelison's ticket for the Zealandia, and a clipping with photographs of paintings of Fedor Chaliapin and Grace Coolidge.

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

Handy family papers, 1670s-1980s

77 linear feet

[NB: This is a TEMPORARY finding aid for an IN-PROCESS collection; some restrictions apply]. The Handy Papers document the lives and professional activities of four generations of the Handy Family of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. The collection largely revolves around James Henry Handy (1789-1832), Isaac William Ker Handy (1815-1878), Moses Purnell Handy (1847-1898), Sarah Matthews Handy (1845-1933), Frederick Algernon Graham Handy (1842-1912), Egbert G. Handy (1858-1938), Rozelle Purnell Handy (1871-1920), Sarah V. C. Handy (1876-1963), and H. Jamison Handy "Jam Handy" (1886-1983). The Handy family were largely educated, politically active, literary southerners, who were a part of many of the social and intellectual currents of especially the mid- and late-19th century. The papers offer resources for study of the Civil War, particularly its effect on Virginia civilians and southern prisoners of war at Fort Delaware; the history of southern families; late nineteenth-century American politics; Presbyterian history; late nineteenth-century newspaper journalism; the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1892-93; and genealogy. In its current, temporary housing, the papers include 30 boxes of correspondence, 27 boxes of family papers and topics files, six boxes of World's Columbian Exposition papers; eight boxes of photographs, plus separately housed images; four boxes of newspapers and newspaper clippings; 12 boxes of Jam Handy and Jam Handy Organization papers; 60 boxes of scrapbooks; and six boxes of books and serials (plus many loose books and other printed items).

[NB: This is a TEMPORARY finding aid for an IN-PROCESS collection. This current scope note pertains almost entirely to Handy family papers acquisitions of the 1980s (an estimated 60-65 boxes of the total 153 boxes). Among the in-process materials are 60 boxes of scrapbooks, largely kept by Rozelle P. Handy and Sarah V. C. Handy].

The Handy Papers document the lives and professional activities of four generations of the Handy Family of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. The collection largely revolves around James Henry Handy (1789-1832), Isaac William Ker Handy (1815-1878), Moses Purnell Handy (1847-1898), Sarah Matthews Handy (1845-1933), Frederick Algernon Graham Handy (1842-1912), Egbert G. Handy (1858-1938), Rozelle Purnell Handy (1871-1920), Sarah V. C. Handy (1876-1963), and H. Jamison Handy "Jam Handy" (1886-1983). The Handy family were largely educated, politically active, literary southerners, who were a part of many of the social and intellectual currents of especially the mid- and late-19th century. The papers offer resources for study of the Civil War, particularly its effect on Virginia civilians and southern prisoners of war at Fort Delaware; the history of southern families; late nineteenth-century American politics; Presbyterian history; late nineteenth-century newspaper journalism; the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1892-93; and genealogy.

In its current, temporary housing (see the box listing in this finding aid), the papers include 50 boxes of correspondence, 26 boxes of family papers and topics files, six boxes of World's Columbian Exposition papers; eight boxes of photographs, plus separately housed cased images; four boxes of newspapers and newspaper clippings; 12 boxes of Jam Handy and Jam Handy Organization papers; 60 boxes of scrapbooks; and six boxes of books and serials (plus many loose books and other printed items).

The following is a former description by Curator of Manuscripts Galen Wilson, for the Handy Family Papers acquisitions of the 1980s (50-60 boxes of materials):

"Isaac Handy's fondness for history led him to the belief that he lived at an important moment in the life of the nation, and every wrinkle of the sectional crisis of the 1850s and 60s seemed to confirm. His correspondence and diaries from the eve of the war through its conclusion are a reflection of a well-educated southerner's reaction to the events unfolding about him and provide insight into the development of his political sympathies. Even after his arrest in July 1863 and his incarceration at Fort Delaware, Handy remained conscious of being part of "history in the making," not only continuing his twenty-five-year habit of keeping a diary, but in planning for a future book on Fort Delaware, soliciting memoirs of war service from his fellow prisoners. Handy saved these manuscripts, plus the correspondence he received while in prison (much of it from Confederate civilians), pasting them into two large scrapbooks. These have been disbound and the material cataloged item-by-item and interfiled chronologically in the collection's correspondence. Drafts and copies of the book which Handy wrote about his confinement, United States Bonds, are present in the collection.

Among the many individual areas of American Civil War interest are Isaac W. K. Handy's description of the battle between the ironclads Monitor and Merrimac, and the journal which Moses Handy kept during his service in the Confederate army in 1865. The soldiers' reminiscences collected by Isaac Handy at Fort Delaware include several exceptional accounts, including biographical and autobiographical sketches of M. Jeff Thompson, the mayor of St. Joseph, Missouri, turned "Swamp Rat" militia commander. Thompson played a major role during the summer of 1861 in defending Missouri's slave system from John C. Frémont's emancipation proclamation.

Other Civil War war-related materials include Isaac Handy's 1861 sermon on "Our National Sins" and fast-day sermons from the same year. The reminiscences of a myriad of former Confederate officers are scattered throughout Handy's correspondence of the late 1870s, all intended to be used in a history of the war planned by the Philadelphia Times. Also present is some documentation of Frederick A. G. Handy's father-in-law, Edwin Festus Cowherd, a Confederate soldier.

While the Handy collection provides thorough documentation of life among the eastern Handys, it also contains a significant body of correspondence from the westward sojourn of Isaac and Mary Jane Handy from 1844 to 1848. Isaac and his wife wrote over 100 letters from Missouri, in which they described the powerful ideological lure of the west, their family's adjustment to new surroundings, and the social and political climate of the old southwest. An index to these letters, prepared by Isaac Handy, is present, along with an original binding. Isaac's diary for the years spent in Missouri provides a valuable point of comparison for the letters.

Political and social commentary flows throughout most of the collection, from Jesse Higgins' campaign for reform of the federal legal and judicial systems, 1805-1806, through the fin de siècle political interests and involvements of Moses Handy.

The political impact of Reconstruction plays a major role in the collection, particularly in the letters of Congressman Samuel Jackson Randall (1828-1890) of Pennsylvania. The election of 1896 is well documented and the collection includes much correspondence with the Republican President-maker Mark Hanna. For his efforts on behalf of the Republican Party in this election, Moses Handy had hoped to net a foreign consulate through Hannah but was disappointed. Handy's transition from Confederate soldier to Republican politico is subtly documented and provides an interesting case study in political opportunism.

The Handy Family Papers are an important resource for the history of the Presbyterian Church during the 19th century. The 2nd Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., was a major focus of James Henry Handy's life, and the early history of this congregation is well documented in correspondence dating from the 1820s. Rev. Daniel Baker was the first pastor of the congregation, and although Baker's tenure was controversial, James remained a close friend of Baker's for the rest of their lives. The collection thus contains items concerning Baker and his relationship with the 2nd Church, and several letters written by him after he left to assume a pastorate in Savannah, Georgia.

Isaac Handy's vocation as a Presbyterian minister and his avocation as an historical researcher merge in this collection, deepening the documentation of the church. Perhaps spurred by being asked to contribute some biographical sketches to William B. Sprague's Annals of the American Pulpit, Handy sought out primary documents relating to the colonial Presbyterian clergy and congregations. Aspects of his own career in the church is documented through a scattered series of letters from former parishioners--many of which were received during his imprisonment at Fort Delaware--and in letters written by Isaac to his sons. A thick file of Isaac's sermons is present, several of which were published. Among these sermons is "The Terrible Doings of God" (23:31), which concerns the Yellow Fever Epidemic near Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1855. He delivered this eulogy at a Baptist church for members of several different Portsmouth churches. Handy earned acclaim during the crisis by staying to help the victims rather than fleeing to safer ground.

Isaac Handy's literary flair was inherited by Frederick and Moses, and both pursued careers in newspapers. Moses' career is more thoroughly documented than Frederick's, and much of the correspondence written between 1869 and 1890 concerns Moses' efforts in the newspaper business. There are several folders of general newspaper correspondence dating from 1865 to 1897, an entire box of unsorted clippings by and about the Handys, and boxes of mounted clippings of Moses, Sarah, and Rozelle Handy's published writings. Journalistic endeavors of other family members are also present.

One of Moses Handy's greatest claims to fame was his role as chair of Department O (Publicity and Promotion) for the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1893. His involvement with the Exposition is documented in correspondence, reports, financial papers, brochures, photographs, and memorabilia. The advertising campaign begun in 1890 has been cited as the prototype of modern publicity strategies, and the Handy Papers offer an unparalleled view into the inner workings of the key department. The collection also contains information about the San Francisco Mid-Winter Exposition (1893), a sort of subsidiary event to the main Chicago attraction, and the general correspondence for 1891-93 contains some references to the World's Fair.

Isaac Handy's lifelong ambition was to publish "The Annals and Memorials of the Handys and their Kindred." Beginning in the 1850s, he gathered genealogical data on all descendants of "Samuel Handy, the Progenitor," an Englishman who emigrated to Maryland to farm tobacco. Three drafts of this work, in increasing thickness, were completed in 1857, 1865, and the 1870s. Isaac was prepared to publish the work in the 1870s and had an advertising flier printed, but when subscriptions did not meet expectations and Handy died in 1878, the project foundered. The manuscript then passed to Moses Handy, whose own intentions for publishing the book never reached fruition, possibly due to his untimely death at the age of fifty. In 1904, Isaac's youngest surviving son, Egbert, acquired the manuscript from Moses's widow, Sarah Matthews Handy, but his publication plans did not gather momentum until 1932.

With a great deal of vigor, Egbert attempted to update the manuscript, now sixty years out of date, and had a new advertising circular printed. Again, death removed the Annals' main advocate. The manuscript remained in the possession of Egbert's widow, Minerva Spencer Handy, and in the 1940s she gave it to Frederick A. G. Handy's widow, Lelia Cowherd Handy, then living in Arlington, Virginia. Before her death in 1949, Leila entrusted the material to her granddaughter Mildred Ritchie. The Clements Library acquired the manuscript from Mrs. Ritchie along with other family papers. A century and a third after Isaac began the project, the Annals were published by the Clements Library in 1992. The Handy Family Papers contain various drafts of the manuscript, plus many notes and letters concerning its publication."

[NB: This is a TEMPORARY finding aid for an IN-PROCESS collection. This current scope note pertains almost entirely to Handy family papers acquisitions of the 1980s (an estimated 60-65 boxes of the total 153 boxes). Among the in-process materials are 60 boxes of scrapbooks, largely kept by Rozelle P. Handy and Sarah V. C. Handy].

Collection

Joseph Graves notebook, 1826-1855

1 volume

This 109-page volume contains journal entries, notes, and newspaper clippings compiled by Joseph Graves, a farmer who lived in Brentwood, New Hampshire, in the early 19th century. Graves recorded his activities as a notary, kept regular journal entries on events around Brentwood, and compiled notes and newspaper clippings on political topics, medicinal recipes, and contemporary modes of transportation.

This 109-page volume consists of journal entries, notes, and newspaper clippings compiled by Joseph Graves, a farmer who lived in Brentwood, New Hampshire, in the early 19th century. The first 47 pages cover his duties as a notary between 1826 and 1855, and the remaining 62 pages contain semi-regular journal entries, as well as notes and newspaper clippings on various topics.

Pages 1 through 47 hold semi-regular statements regarding Joseph Graves's work as a notary in Brentwood, New Hampshire, between May 1, 1826, and May 1855. Graves kept a sporadic record of his duties, such as administering oaths to members and officers of the New Hampshire Militia's 4th Regiment, witnessing and recording deeds, certifying estate executors, and performing similar tasks. Each statement contains the names of the parties and nature of the legal documentation.

The journal resumes on page 66 (following 20 blank, numbered pages) with a brief essay on the election of a chairman for a convention. The remainder of the volume primarily consists of journal entries Graves wrote between 1845 and 1855; the bulk of them date between 1845 and 1851, with occasional later dated entries interspersed among newspaper clippings and miscellaneous notes, charts, and essays. His brief journal entries pertain to local life around Brentwood, New Hampshire, including births, illnesses, and deaths, particularly those related to the family of his son Lyford T. Graves. Others reflect the author's travels around New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine, and his farm work, such as haying or digging potatoes. Some reflect town meetings, local elections, meetings of the New Hampshire Militia, and other gatherings. Graves recorded his bleeding treatments for various pains and illnesses and noted the health affairs of other family members, including the longevity of his grandmother-in-law (pp. 86 and 98). On November 11, 1846 (p. 88), Graves reflected upon the death of his 3-year-old grandson, William Lyford Graves, whose epitaph he copied on page 91. He also recorded the marriage of Lyford T. Graves to Sarah D. Robinson, sister of Lyford's deceased wife (p. 95), and the accidental death by fire of Joseph's sister, Sarah Robinson, wife of Gilman Robinson (p. 105).

Joseph Graves reported on political events and local news, such as the hanging of a man named Howard for shooting a woman (p. 85). He also noted national political developments, including events at various conventions in 1848 (p. 103) and the 1791 New Hampshire Constitutional Convention (p. 108). Graves frequently remarked on transportation infrastructure, such as the length of railroad track laid down in New England (pp. 102 and 109-110), and he noted the lengths of nearby telegraph lines (p. 104). He glued many newspaper clippings into the volume; they provide information on health remedies, politics, and science. The volume concludes with a list of oaths of office that Joseph Graves administered to members of the New Hampshire Militia (p. 124) and a list of wills (p. 127). A letter Graves wrote on behalf of Timothy Sanborn, who requested that his wife be placed in the New Hampshire Asylum, is affixed to the volume's last page (September 17, 1847).

Collection

Letters, Documents, & Other Manuscripts, Duane Norman Diedrich collection, 1595-2007 (majority within 1719-1945)

3.5 linear feet

The Letters, Documents, and Other Manuscripts of the Duane Norman Diedrich Collection is a selection of individual items compiled by manuscript collector Duane Norman Diedrich (1935-2018) and the William L. Clements Library. The content of these materials reflect the life and interests of D. N. Diedrich, most prominently subjects pertinent to intellectual, artistic, and social history, education, speech and elocution, the securing of speakers for events, advice from elders to younger persons, and many others.

The Letters, Documents, and Other Manuscripts of the Duane Norman Diedrich Collection is a selection of individual items compiled by manuscript collector Duane Norman Diedrich (1935-2018) and the William L. Clements Library. The content of these materials reflect the life and interests of D. N. Diedrich, most prominently subjects pertinent to intellectual, artistic, and social history, education, speech and elocution, the securing of speakers for events, advice from elders to younger persons, and many others.

For an item-level description of the collection, with information about each manuscript, please see the box and folder listing below.

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

Lucius Lyon papers, 1770-1934 (majority within 1833-1851)

12 linear feet

The Lucius Lyon papers contain the public correspondence of Lucius Lyon, United States representative and senator from Michigan, and surveyor general for Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. Letter writers include Michigan governors, legislators, postmasters, physicians, and other local politicians, as well as residents of Michigan, Wisconsin, northern Illinois, and Indiana, and national Democratic Party leaders during the years Lyon served in Congress. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a List of Contributors.

The Lucius Lyon papers (12 linear feet) contain the public and private correspondence of Lucius Lyon, United States representative and senator from Michigan, and surveyor general for Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. Lyon received letters from southern Michigan governors and legislators, as well as postmasters, physicians, and other local politicians. Other contributors include residents of Michigan, Wisconsin, northern Illinois, and Indiana; easterners interested in land speculation, settlement, and Michigan politics; and national Democratic Party leaders during the years Lyon served in Congress.

The Correspondence Series comprises the bulk of the Lyon papers. Topics discussed in the Chronological Correspondence Subseries include Michigan statehood, Wisconsin statehood, Indian relations, government appointments, and local politics. Also included are numerous proposals and requests to the United States government for investments and improvements for harbors, lighthouses, roads and mail routes, safety, and protection on the Great Lakes. As well as letters from government officials, Lyon received letters from citizens of virtually every county in Michigan. Several of these letters relate to pension or bounty lands owed to Revolutionary War and War of 1812 veterans and their families (e.g. January 13, 1834; December 8, 1834; January 24, 1835; March 22, 1838; January 3, 1844; November 30, 1844). Letters written during and following the boundary dispute over Toledo provide an on-the-ground view of how residents of the region experienced the conflict and its subsequent effects. A letter written April 9, 1835, accuses the Toledo Postmaster of designating his office as being in Ohio, which was seen as "having taken an improper part in the controversy now pending, between that State & Michigan Territory, which has created much excitement & dissatisfaction among the people." Though the bulk of the letters are official in nature, the collection also contains personal letters to and from Addison, Anna, Asa, Daniel, Edward, Enos, Ira, Lucretia, Mary, Orson, Sarah Atwater, Truman H., and Worthington S. Lyon. Notably, Lucretia Lyon wrote 111 letters to her brother Lucius between 1827 and 1850.

As a Michigan official and surveyor, Lyon dealt regularly with matters concerning Native Americans and their interactions with settlers and the United States government. Much of this material concerns treaties, such as the 1833 Treaty of Chicago and the 1837 Treaty of St. Peters, as well as claims made by and against Native Americans (see for example August 3, 1838; September 24, 1838; December 28, 1838; and an undated letter signed by [Musk]Rat's Liver, also known as Wazhashkokon). Tribes involved include the Choctaw, Fox, Oneida, Potawatomi, Sac (Sauk), Lakota/Dakota, Saganaw, and Ho-Chunk. Also discussed is the Shawnee Prophet (September 2, 1834) and payments to white doctors who vaccinated the Indians against smallpox (March 8, May, 30, and June 12, 1834). Several letters relate to the Second Seminole War and reference Thomas Jesup, Winfield Scott, and Sam Jones (July 26, 1836; February 8, 1838; March 25, 1838; and April 23, 1838).

Lyon also received 14 anonymous love letters (including one undated Valentine housed in the Miscellaneous series) in 1849 and 1850 signed “Mignonette.” One of these letters by the fellow Swedenborgian admirer is signed L.A. Northup whose possible identity could be Laura Adeline Northrup, daughter of a local blacksmith that Lyon visited at least once. A typescript copy of Lyon’s final reply to this woman indicates that she was much younger than him and that he would prefer to remain friends.

The Typed Copies Subseries contains 32 typed transcripts of letters to and from Lucius Lyon and members of the Ingersoll family not present in original format in collection. Some copies note the location of originals at the time they were made. Original letters date from 1833 to 1850 as well as undated.

The Caroline Portman Campbell and James H. Campbell Correspondence Subseries consists of letters relating to Caroline Belzora Portman Campbell, who donated the Lyon Papers to the University of Michigan, and her husband, James H. Campbell, a lawyer in the Grand Rapids area. Campbell (1859-1926) was active in civic and historical organizations including those related to the history of the state of Michigan. The earliest piece of correspondence is a June 30, 1770, letter written by a Quaker woman, Hannah Jackson, which was previously in the possession of Caroline Portman Campbell’s stepmother, Jennie A. Baley Portman. There is also a January 21, 1849, letter written by Portman Campbell’s great-grandmother, Elizabeth Latham, and great-uncle. Other material relates to James H. Campbell's law practice and Caroline Campbell's historical research as well as ownership and donation of the Lucius Lyon papers to the University of Michigan. The bulk of the material is from 1884-1924.

The Native American Treaty Documents Series contains material primarily related to the 1837 Treaty of St Peters (alternatively known as the Treaty with the Chippewa or White Pine Treaty) as well as additional papers related to other contemporary treaties with Native American tribes in the Midwest. The 1837 Treaty Claims Subseries contains the 189 numbered claims and various un-numbered claims submitted by the Ojibwa who ceded a large plot of land in present-day Minnesota and Wisconsin to the United States in the Treaty of St. Peters (Treaty with the Chippewa or the White Pine Treaty) on July 29, 1837. There are two types of claims for financial compensation per the treaty stipulations. The first type of claims, the Article 3 Claims Sub-subseries, are those made by members of the tribe who were of mixed European and Native American ancestry. The second, the Article 4 Claims Sub-subseries, are claims made by those owed money by the Ojibwa. Also present are powers of attorney for claimants, lists of names of claimants, and other related documentation in the Other Treaty Documents Subseries.

The Notebooks, Recipe Book, and Writings Series contains the following eleven volumes:
  • Manuscript account of Jonathan Kearsley's military service during the War of 1812.

    Written in Lucius Lyon's hand. Kearsley described his job removing dead bodies from the battlegrounds and recounted the death of Major Ludowick Morgan near Lake Erie.

  • Lucius Lyon memo book, 1830-1843
  • Lucius Lyon notebook, 1838
  • Lucius Lyon memo book, 1842-1843
  • Oraculum (manuscript fortunetelling book)
  • Berrien County, Michigan, notebook
  • "Diagram of Salt Wells Sunk at the Rapids of Grand River, Michigan"
  • Lucretia Lyon receipt book

    Lurectia Lyon's receipt book includes recipes for biscuits, cookies, gingerbread, and cakes (palate cake, diet cake, perpetual cake) and household goods such as nankeen dye, food preserves, and cures for cholera morbus, deafness, warts and corns, poisonous vine infections, and dysentery.

  • Account notebook, April 1850-February 1851
  • Eliza Smith / Pamelia Thayer account book, 1835-1849
  • Isaac Bronson Account Book

The Land, Legal, Business, and Financial Papers Series contains documents related to Lyon's business interests spanning 1820 through his death in 1851, along with papers relating to his family's finances after his death. Included are legal documents involving Lyon or officiated by him (these are largely from Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin) as well as Lyon's personal and professional financial records, including receipts, bills, invoices, and account lists (1820s-1840s). An early document is an account of sundries taken by the British and allies after surrender of Detroit on October 16, 1812. The collection includes two maps: a printed Wisconsin Territory map by David H. Burr of the U.S. House of Representatives (1836) and a manuscript map showing nine towns of Jackson County and three of Calhoun County, Michigan, with some of the leading roads, ca. 1830. The series is organized into a Chronological Subseries, Financial Bundles Subseries, a Petitions Subseries, and Maps subseries.

The Pamphlets, Government Documents, Blank Forms, Broadsides, Newspapers, Ephemera, and Other Printed Items Series contains printed legal and legislative documents, advertisements and regulations, invitations, and blank forms, among other items. It also includes newspaper pages and clippings dating from 1833 to 1937. Please see the box and folder listing of this finding aid for a complete list of the items in this series.

The Miscellaneous Series contains various items, including Lyon's commissions as a Regent of the University of Michigan and Surveyor General of Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan; undated caucus ballots; a 1905 typed biographical sketch of Lewis Cass, and more.

Manuscripts in the series include, among others:
  • A description of the village of Lyons
  • The charter of the Illinois and Michigan Canal & Railroad Company
  • List of officers employed in the Quarter Masters Department
  • Proceedings relative to the admission of the State of Tennesse into the Union
  • An undated Knigts of Templar address
  • Various receipes
  • A Valentine sent in 1850
  • Knitting directions

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a List of Contributors for the Lucius Lyon papers. For more information on contributors see the Clements Library card catalog.

Collection

Manuscript Recipe Book collection, 1793-1959 (majority within 19th century)

28 volumes

This collection comprises 28 American manuscript recipe books dated from 1793 to 1959 with the bulk dating from the nineteenth century. One of the books contains portions in German, while the rest are in English. Most regions of the United States are present, with the Northeast and Southern States best represented. Desserts represent the bulk of the recipes, cakes being the most popular. Some recipes include attributes to friends, family, or cookbooks, and some contain notes on quality of the dish. Directions for making medicinal remedies and practical household needs (such as cleaning product recipes or advice on fabric care) may also be included. Many volumes contain handwritten or printed inserts.

This collection comprises 28 American manuscript recipe books dated from 1793 to 1959 with the bulk dating from the nineteenth century. One of the books contains portions in German, while the rest are in English. Most regions of the United States are present, with the Northeast and Southern States best represented. Desserts represent the bulk of the recipes cakes being the most popular. Some recipes include attributes to friends, family, or cookbooks, and some contain notes on quality of the dish. Directions for making medicinal remedies and practical household needs (such as cleaning product recipes or advice on fabric care) may also be included. Many volumes contain handwritten or printed inserts.

All or most of the known authors of these recipe books appear to be by women. A man, James Campbell, authored the accounting portion of the Campbell receipt book and a male writer may have created the Manuscript Recipe Book, [1838]. Emma Hinricks Hilken is the only one known to have resided outside the United States when writing her recipe book (she resided in Frankfurt, Germany, for several years following her marriage). The women range in age from teenagers to the elderly and represent a variety of social backgrounds. Most of the recipe books were written or compiled in the second half of the nineteenth century, with some extending into the early twentieth. Approximately one-fifth of them were written in the first half of the nineteenth century or earlier.

See the box and folder listing below for a complete descriptive list of the recipe books present in this collection.