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Collection

George Wray papers, 1770-1848

16 volumes (4 linear feet)

The George Wray papers contain orders, receipts, correspondence, documents, muster rolls, returns, and several bound volumes relating to Wray's work as commissary of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, primarily during the Revolutionary War.

The George Wray papers contain 11 volumes of correspondence and documents, 3 journals of stores, a volume of muster rolls, an orderly book, a volume of land titles, a trigonometry notebook, two maps, and a blank book. The materials span 1765 to 1848, with the bulk concentrated around 1770-1782.

The Correspondence and Documents series contains 11 volumes of military documents and business correspondence related to Wray's positions with the British Army, first as the Royal Regiment of Artillery's clerk of stores, and later its commissary of stores. The series spans 1765 to 1794 (bulk 1770 to 1783) and contains approximately three linear feet of material. The letters and documents provide ample information about the Royal Artillery during the Revolutionary War, as well as the stores disbursed by the commissary. The materials consist of about 500 orders to issue ordnance signed by Major Peter Traille, who was commander of the Royal Regiment of Artillery in North America; an approximately equal number of receipts for the supplies issued and goods delivered into the regimental storehouse; dozens of letters concerning supplies written between Wray, merchants, and Army officers; approximately 50 muster rolls of companies within the Royal Artillery; and returns of artificers, laborers, and African Americans employed by the regiment, as well as many returns documenting the issuance of weapons, tools, and other items.

The first two volumes in the collection concern Wray's activities as clerk of stores for the Royal Artillery, a position which he held until December 1775; more generally, they pertain to the business of the regiment. Included are muster rolls for various companies of the Royal Regiment of Artillery commanded by David Standish, John Williamson, Anthony Farrington, William Martin, William Johnston, Thomas Davies, and George Anderson. These provide the names of each company's members, as well as their designations as commissioned and non-commissioned officers, bombardiers, gunners, and matrosses. Also present are numerous receipts for items purchased from merchants by the regiment, including cloth (which was often purchased from women--see March 3, 1775 for an example), wood, stones, wheels, shingles, and other items. Many documents also record the ordnance bought for the regiment, such as gunpowder, great guns, small arms, musket balls, and chests for storage (filed under March 31, 1775).

After Wray's promotion to commissary of stores in December of 1775, the documents become more diverse and include a wide variety of returns and other document types. They take account of such matters as the ordnance and stores destroyed and left at Boston (March 12, 1776); the movement of supplies from Boston to Newport, Rhode Island, in 1777; and deliveries made by ordnance transport ships. Major John Grant of the Royal Artillery wrote much of the early correspondence of the period. In one letter, he criticized Wray for drawing on the wrong accounts to cover subsistence pay to a detachment of the regiment (September 13, 1777). In another, he commented on the scarcity of cash in New York and instructed Wray on what to pay for rebel arms brought in by American deserters (February 14, 1779). Wray's incoming correspondence sheds light on the problems and challenges faced by the regiment's commissary, as well as the specifics of the commissary's functioning. Volumes 4 through 9 of the series primarily cover Wray's administration of the commissary while stationed in Charleston, South Carolina, from December 1779 to December 1782. Included are near-daily orders for the issuance of ordnance and stores by Peter Traille, which provide a huge volume of detail on the supplies required by the artillery, as well as records of the items brought into the commissary, including brass ordnance and carriages captured at the Battle of Eutaw Springs (September 18, 1781) and at the Battle of Combahee Ferry (September 10, 1782). Also of interest are numerous inventories of "spare" supplies held by the commissary, a few additional muster rolls for Royal Artillery companies, and other documents relating to the administration of the department.

The Military Journals, Notebooks, and Other Bound Items series contains nine items within five volumes, spanning 1778-1848. Of particular note is a 52-page volume of muster rolls of the civil branch of the artillery in Charleston, which covers 1781 to 1783 (located in Volume 14). In addition to providing names, pay, and remarks on the various white laborers and tradesmen brought in to support the artillery, it also gives basic information on both enslaved and free African Americans, whom it refers to as "Negro servants." The volume classifies them by trade (including carpenters, smiths, "wheelers," sawyers, and general laborers), provides their names and the identities of their masters when applicable, and gives places of residence. Also present is a list of African Americans who acted as servants to particular officers in the Royal Regiment of Artillery.

Another item of interest is an orderly book kept by Wray while in Charleston, South Carolina, 1780-1781 (Volume 13). The book contains orders by Major General Alexander Leslie, Major Peter Traille, and Wray himself, given at the general, regimental, and company level. Wray's orders primarily concern the distribution and transportation of ordnance and supplies, as well as associated logistical issues. Other orders document courts martial, discipline among the enlisted men, personnel matters, and the duties of men in the company. An order of June 9, 1780, offers a reward for information about soldiers who have committed "depredations" against "the unprotected property of the Subjects." An August 23, 1780, order discusses a "parade" of "all the Negroes for Muster." Many later orders in the book specify a training regimen for new recruits.

Other items in the series mainly record stores issued and received by Wray at Charleston. These include an expense book for stores issued at Charleston in 1781 and 1782, a journal of stores received at Charleston in 1780-1782, and two journals of stores issued by Wray in 1778-1779 and1782-1783, with associated receipts and accounts laid into the volume. The latest item in the collection is an 1848 volume of land titles for property in New York, kept by a descendant, John Wray. The volume features surveys of the Wray property, as well as a map entitled, "Survey And Partition of the South Half of Lot No. 93 In the Artillery Patent In the Town of Fort Ann In Washington County And State of New York." A 1784 notebook on trigonometry rounds out this series.

The Map series contains a single map, drawn by Mathew Carey in 1794, and entitled A General Atlas for the Present War: Containing Six Maps And One Chart ... Including Every Place In Europe And the West-Indies, In Which the War Has Been Carried On. This atlas is housed in the Map Division.

Collection

Woods family papers, 1704-1994

1.5 linear feet

The Woods family papers chronicle the establishment of an important family in western Virginia during the 18th and early 19th centuries. While the bulk of the collection pertains to Archibald Woods' (1764-1846) activities as a surveyor and land speculator in Ohio County, the collection also contains several letters from later generations of the family, and documents relating to military and public affairs, including the War of 1812.

The Woods family papers chronicle the establishment of an important family in western Virginia during the 18th and early 19th centuries. While the bulk of the collection pertains to Archibald Woods' (1764-1846) activities as a surveyor and land speculator in Ohio County, the collection also contains several letters from later generations of the family, and documents relating to military and public affairs. A series of land surveys of the Ohio Valley, prepared by Archibald Woods, has been arranged and placed at the end of the collection, and two land documents relating to Woods property are also present in Oversize Manuscripts, a 1774 deed signed by Dunmore granting lands in Botetourt County and an 1820 grant signed by James Monroe for lands in Ohio.

The collection includes a petition relating to the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798. Addressed to the Senate and House of Representatives of Virginia from the citizens of Ohio County, the petition includes thirty nine signatures protesting the Acts. The signers expressed their concern regarding what they saw as a violation of the Constitution, and asserted that the acts were a "serious cause of alarm" for the citizens of Ohio County, whom, they noted, continued to adhere to the Democratic principles of the American Revolution.

During the time that Andrew Woods served as sheriff of Botetourt County, 1777-1780, he kept a small, deerskin-bound notebook of his activities including receipts and notes on the collection of taxes and fees. There are also sporadic family business records. Included are an agreement for disposition of property including land, livestock, and enslaved persons (named Herod [Bin?], Sip, Ceasar, and Nanas). A copy of a contract between siblings Andrew, Martha, and Archibald (likely Andrew Woods' children) for the care of Martha Poage Woods and arrangements for the purchase of an enslaved person for Elijah Woods is also present. The contract provided for clothing, food, and shelter and, if Martha chose "to go back over the mountains," to provide an enslaved person to care for her.

Over fifty surveys and treasury warrants document Archibald Woods' importance as a surveyor and land speculator in the Ohio River Valley. Many of these can be positively traced to land that today lies in the state of West Virginia, mostly in the panhandle, but, Woods owned property throughout Ohio County, which then included parts of Ohio and a corner of Pennsylvania. A contemporary range and township map assists in situating Woods' land holdings.

Seven printed orders, each unique, or nearly unique, include information about troop recruitment and deployment during the War of 1812, and about demobilization at the end of the war. Among other documents in the collection are Archibald Woods' commissions and resignations.

There is little true correspondence in the Woods family papers, although one item, a letter from Joe Woods, is of some interest. In this letter written to his mother, Woods summarizes his reasons for transferring to Princeton, assuring her of his sound character and his decision. William Woods' ledger and daybook from 1828 and Hamilton Woods' cypher book from ca. 1820s are also present in the collection. The collection contains a photograph album with cartes-de-visite, cabinet cards, and other photos from around the 1870s and 1880s, as well as approximately 0.5 linear feet of photographs of Woods family members, particularly Ruth Woods and Charles Moss from the early 20th century, and the Woods family homestead.

Finally, the collection contains useful information about the Woods family estate, Woodsdale. Three documents from 1815-1816 provide floor plans and a record of construction costs, and there are two copy photographs of the house as it stood before its demolition in 1949. In 1976-77, Ruth Moss described the physical layout of the home and grounds as she recalled them, as well as her memories of life at Woodsdale in the early part of the century. An additional 0.25 linear feet of Ruth Moss's genealogical research on the Woods family is also present.

Collection

Wood family papers, 1846-1951 (majority within 1846-1925)

4 linear feet

The Wood family papers contain correspondence and other items related to the family of James A. Wood of Lebanon, Connecticut, and his descendants from the mid-19th to the early 20th century. Much of the content pertains to education, family news, and politics.

The Wood family papers (4 linear feet) contain correspondence and other items related to the family of James A. Wood of Lebanon, Connecticut, and his descendants from the mid-19th to the early 20th century.

The Correspondence series comprises almost all of the collection. Early items are incoming letters to James A. Wood, Rebecca D. Pillsbury (later Wood), and their daughter, Helen Elizabeth Wood, from family members and acquaintances. James A. Wood's siblings wrote with updates on their lives, such as Caroline E. Wood's teaching career in numerous towns throughout New York. Rebecca D. Pillsbury also received letters from her brothers and sisters, and both Wood's and Pillsbury's correspondents discussed family matters, religion, and local news. Margaret Ann's letter of December 3, 1860, concerns her affection for a deceased baby sister, and an unidentified author's letter of September 4, 1861, describes the recent death of a grandmother. James A. Wood received an increasing amount of business-related correspondence, including letters from Charles W. Pierce, in the 1870s.

After the 1870s, most letters are addressed to Rebecca D. Wood and her daughter, Helen Elizabeth Wood. Rebecca's children often wrote letters to their mother, and Helen received letters from cousins and friends from around the East Coast. George P. Wood, Helen's brother, often shared stories of his young son James and of his life in Baltimore, Maryland; Washington, D. C.; and Peekskill, New York. In one letter, George included a map showing the location of his home in Washington, D. C. (November 13, 1899).

In addition to family and social news, letters occasionally referred to current events. "Dana," one of Helen E. Wood's cousins, wrote from his United States Army post during World War I (December 28, 1917), and other friends discussed the impact of the war. Among Helen's correspondents were Ida McCollister of New Hampshire and Harry Sawyer, an old friend who shared news of his life in Kearney, Nebraska. In one later letter, George P. Wood expressed some of his political views about the 1924 presidential election (October 27, 1924). Correspondence was less frequent after Helen E. Wood's death in 1933, with most incoming letters addressed to Winchester R. Wood of Lynn, Massachusetts, a member of the family's Connecticut branch. Undated items include similar family correspondence, as well as one letter written on a printed program for the Public Meeting of the Philadelphian Society at Kimball Union Academy at Meridian, New Hampshire, on June 12, 1878.

The Essays series includes an "Autobiography of a Sofa," written by R[ebecca] D. Pillsbury, as well as a manuscript draft of the "Common School Repository...Published semi-monthly by L. J. Boynton & R[ebecca] D. Pillsbury," containing 8 pages of short pieces attributed, often only by first name, to various contributors.

Among the six Receipts, addressed to A. Wood (1 item) and Helen E. Wood (5 items) are two receipts for Helen E. Wood's educational expenses and two slips crediting her account at Citizens National Bank, Boston.

Maps and Blueprints comprise 7 items. These are several drawings of house layouts, one map showing the locations of two buildings, and two blueprints.

The Newspaper Clippings series has 6 items, one of which is an article entitled "What They Say: How Girls of Various Cities Behave When They are Kissed."

The Ephemera series contains 52 Christmas cards, greeting cards, postcards, calling cards, programs, and other printed items. Specific items include 2 Red Cross membership cards, a pamphlet advertising The Art of Living Long by Louis Cornaro, and a blank order sheet for Sears, Roebuck and Co. from the 1920s.

Collection

Wissahickon Paper Mill papers, 1844-1845

7 items

This collection contains 2 letters and 5 documents concerning the operation of a paper mill on Wissahickon Creek near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1844 and 1845. These include an indenture for the property, financial records and receipts, and correspondence regarding the mill's output and potential technical improvements.

This collection contains 2 letters and 5 documents concerning the operation of a paper mill on Wissahickon Creek near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1844 and 1845. These include an indenture for the property, financial records and receipts, and correspondence regarding the mill's output and potential technical improvements.

Among the financial records are a handwritten receipt between George Weiss and the Bank of Germantown for equipment (March 25, 1844) and the report of a committee assigned to sell equipment left over from the grist mill that once occupied the property (March 25, 1844). Two items relate to a contract between H. H. Bottom & Company and William Sherer concerning improvements to be made to the facility: the original agreement between the parties includes a list of materials to be furnished by the company (February 17, 1844), and a later document relates the findings of a group assigned to arbitrate a disagreement over the refitting of the mill (January 6, 1845). The remaining 3 items concern Charles Magarge and the paper mill's ownership and operation. These are a brief letter Magarge wrote to Samuel Harvey, the Bank of Germantown's president, in which he reported the mill's production figures between November 1844 and February 1845 (March 8, 1845); the indenture in which the Bank of Germantown agreed to lease the mill and surrounding property to Magarge and to Edwin R. Cope of the Philadelphia Paper Manufacturers and Dealers (July 22, 1845); and an undated letter from John H. Caulking to Charles Magarge regarding the dimensions of a water wheel to power the mill's engines, based on Caulking's recent observations of a mill at Trenton, New Jersey.

Collection

Wilson family papers, 1704-1884

16.25 linear feet

The Wilson papers contain letters and documents relating to the lives and careers of three generations of the family of William Wilson, residents of Clermont, N.Y. in the mid-Hudson River Valley.

The Wilson family papers contains over 4,000 letters relating to the lives and fortunes of three generations of the family of William Wilson, residents of Clermont, N.Y, in the mid-Hudson River Valley. Virtually all of the letters in the collection were received by members of the Wilson family, with only a very few out-going drafts. Together, these present an impressively detailed perspective on many aspects of family life, political culture, agriculture, commerce, and the economy of Columbia and Dutchess County, N.Y., in the fifty years following the end of the American Revolution. As well being educated, energetic members of the social elite, the Wilsons engaged in a variety of pursuits, from the legal and medical professions, to land proprietorship, farming, and politics, and they commented extensively at every turn. A genealogical chart of the Wilson family, detailing the relationships of all those mentioned in the collection can be found in box 42:11.

The core of the Wilson papers consists of the letters received by William Wilson, who shouldered a wide variety of responsibilities in Columbia and Dutchess counties and knew their residents intimately. The breadth of his interests brought him into contact with many of the state's leading citizens, but also with the tenant farmers, medical patients, merchants and clerks. William's major pursuit in life was medicine, and his surviving papers contain seven medical daybooks (40:3; 47:9-14), providing a chronological record of his visits, diagnoses and prescriptions, as well as his fees. He also kept two notebooks dealing with the causes and symptoms of various diseases (47:15, 16), and scattered throughout his papers are letters from patients discussing their illnesses. Of particular importance are the letters relative to the deaths of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston and his wife, for whom Wilson was the attending physician (18:6-10; 19:15, 21, 23). Wilson was also a founding member of the Medical Society of Dutchess and Columbia Counties in 1796, and was associated with the founding of the New York Medical Society, as well as with the effort to establish a medical college (15:69; 16:17, 24, 44, 46, 52, 66, 70, 76, 80; 17:3, 13, 17, 23, 29; 45:19).

William Wilson was also employed as an administrator of landed property, usually for members of the Livingston family, and particularly Henry Livingston (1752/53-1823). The wide-spread unrest among "General Livingston's" tenants is discussed in many of the letters, along with more general discussions of land tenure, proprietary power, and tenant satisfaction. Wilson also served as administrator for the property of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, especially during the latter's appointment to France, for two absentee landlords from New York City, Walter Rutherford and J. Stark Robinson (41:1, 2); and he was an executor or administrator for the estates of Robert Cambridge Livingston (1742-1794) (42:1), Peter Robert Livingston (1737-1794) (42:7), and the Chancellor (42:3-6). The materials relating to Livingston rental properties consists largely of receipts for rents received, but also include lease agreements, about twenty account books relative to the Chancellor's lands, and negotiations for the sale of land, especially the Chancellor's property in New Jersey after his death. A section of the estate documents for Robert R. Livingston relate to payment of medical, boarding, and clothing bills for Isabella and her son, Stephen, who were enslaved by Livingston (42:4). Some of the documents refer to her as Isabella Bond.

In 1791, Wilson added the office of Deputy Postmaster to his collection of responsibilities, becoming the first such agent for the town of Clermont. He was reappointed in 1803, and continued at his lucrative post until surrendering it to his son in 1825. As with everything else, Wilson saved all of his papers (42:12-15), and this the collection includes Wilson's original appointment commissions, signed by Post Master General Timothy Pickering (1:46 and 12:72), as well as the postal accounts and other records, which are generally of an administrative and bureaucratic nature. There are a few scattered items from correspondents critical of the speed and unreliability of the mails.

William Wilson also filled various political appointments in the county, and was active in state politics. As a Jeffersonian-Republican, befitting a friend of Chancellor Livingston, he played an important local role as judge of the county court, yet while many of his letters are addressed to "Judge" Wilson, virtually nothing pertaining to his official judicial activities survives in the collection apart from a series of receipts from various sheriffs and a few examinations of a woman for illegitimacy (43:44; 41:19). However Wilson corresponded with other judges and lawyers in the region, a fair amount of which has been preserved, especially from Peter Van Schaack and members of the prominent Van Ness family. Wilson's role as one of the first school supervisors in the area is represented by some scant records (41:22), as is his position as a commissioner for the granting of tavern licenses (41:23).

Wilson was involved in two other county-wide projects that had an important impact on Columbia County, and for which there is excellent material. One of these was the construction of the Highland Turnpike, which ran from Westchester County to near Albany, with gates in Columbia County. Wilson sat on its Board of Directors, and was a frequent and regular correspondent with its president, Joseph Howland (43:1, 2). Howland's are among the few letters that bear on broader national issues, and are in many ways the most interesting series of letters in the collection (see especially 17:87). Secondly, Wilson was instrumental in the establishment of the Agricultural Society of Dutchess and Columbia Counties, or the "Farm Club," as it was usually called. As (variously) president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer, Wilson was intimately involved in the operation of the organization. Of particular interest is the material relative to the annual county fairs held by the club, and the notifications from potential participants, the standards for awards, and the lists of winners (41:3-11). These records, together with the information to be gathered from the receipts from merchants, presents a detailed picture of agricultural life in the rural Hudson Valley.

In sum, those portions of the Wilson Papers that deal directly with William Wilson and his many activities provides a comprehensive picture of rural life in Columbia County and the state of New York in the forty years after the American Revolution.

The letters from Wilson's children offer insights into other aspects of life in early nineteenth-century New York. Alexander Wilson wrote many letters to his father while a student, and it is from his papers that one gets a good idea of the nature of legal education at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Alexander's early death means there is little material relating to his career as a practicing attorney, but what is lacking from Alexander is more than made up for by the papers of his younger brother, Robert. Robert kept extensive records of his practice, including a register of cases covering the entire period of his independent practice in New York, 1823-1830 (46:17), and his day books and account books, which list his professional duties preformed on behalf of clients, and his expenses, fees, and collections (40:1; 46:15,16). The Wilson Papers also includes file papers for many of the cases in which Robert participated (43:5-30), providing a broad, and occasionally deep insight into one man's legal practice in the early 19th century.

The letters of Wilson's other sons are less numerous than those of Alexander and Robert. William H. spent most of his life in Clermont, and so wrote less often, and Stephen B. was a secretive man, who simply did not write many letters. William H. wrote several letters during his tour of duty on the Lake Champlain frontier during the War of 1812 (18:43, 52; 19:18, 26, 36, 47, 56, 60, 68; 20:16, 18), but these are preoccupied with descriptions of camp life and military "politics" rather than strategy or the social impact of the war. William succeeded his father as Deputy Postmaster in 1825, and kept the same copious records as his father (42:12-15). He was not, however, as active in politics as his father, and except for a few letters relating to his run for a seat in the state senate in 1839, and some candidate lists and election return broadsides (41:25-27), there is little of political interest in William's papers. Stephen's letters are the more interesting for their rarity. When he does write, it is well worth the reading.

In addition to the letters written and collected by William, William H., and Robert L. Wilson, the Wilson Papers contain a vast quantity of documents. The largest category of this material contains an enormous number of accounts and receipts from merchants with whom the Wilsons did business. In terms of the number of items, fully half of the Wilson Papers is comprised of these accounts. Approximately 800 individual laborers, craftsmen, merchants, and business firms are represented as having done business with one or another member of the Wilson family, and the collection includes accounts for nearly every kind of household goods, from furniture to food to building materials, agricultural supplies, from seeds to fruit trees to sheep, and personal goods, from cheap "segars" to an "invalid chair" for Robert L., to wine.

The accounts (box 44 and 45:1-16) are arranged alphabetically by creditor. A complete list of merchants and firms represented in the collection is included under "Merchants" in the subject index. The accounts are a particularly valuable resource for social historians. For example the accounts of Samuel Haner (44:12) document aspects of blacksmithing; those of the Clermont grocers Bonesteel and Broadhead (44:4) reveal aspects of diet and nutrition; those of Thomas Beekman (44:2) document medicine and medical supplies; and those of Peter Outwater (45:6) provide information on transportation and commerce on the Hudson River. Receipts for payment that do not include goods or services are filed by surname (45:20-23). The collection also includes a number of the Wilsons' account books, especially William's and Robert's, which offer a view of the other side of the ledger (40:5; 46:18; 47:1, 2).

A second subdivision of the collection, and one closely related to the merchant accounts, deals with land administration. In addition to the correspondence of Henry Livingston with William Wilson mentioned above, the collection contains several subject files related to this important issue in Hudson River Valley history. Most important are the folders containing information on absentee landlords (41:1, 2); deeds (41:4); land grants (43:4); leases (43:31, 32); mortgages (45:17); various rental accounts (46:1-7); surveys and surveying (46:8); as well as William Wilson's rental account books (46:17-20).

Finally the collection contains a small body of material of an essentially genealogical or local history value, and a wide, if not very deep, collection of letters of the Livingston family. William Wilson was an executor for some of the Livingston family estates, most notably for Robert Cambridge Livingston (42:1, 2) and Robert R. Livingston (42:3-6), as well as for other estates (41:29; 42:7-10). The information included in the "genealogy" folder (42:11) is particularly helpful in interpreting the material relating to estate settlement and administration.

The local history of the town of Clermont and Columbia County appears throughout the collection, ranging from arrest warrants to local taxes, and including a very important group of papers relating to the establishment of Clermont Academy (41:16-23). As for the Livingstons, while the famous Chancellor does not overpower the collection, the Livingston family does play an important part. Over sixty members of the family are mentioned in some significant way in the Wilson Papers. Some -- like "General" Henry with his tenant problems, the administration of the estates of Walter T. Livingston (1772-1827) and the Chancellor (42:3-7), or the letters of Edward Philip Livingston (1779-1843) concerning his trip to France -- are meaningful parts of the collection (9:78, 86, 98; 10:8, 64). Other Livingstons are merely the signers of documents or letters, such as Janet Livingston Montgomery's (1743-1828) announcement that she plans to enter the Farm Club fair, a request from Mary Thong Livingston Wilson for financial assistance after the birth of Wilson's grandson, or the Chancellor's grandson, Clermont Livingston, who signed a quit claim deed for the benefit of Clermont Academy.

In sum, the Wilson papers are primarily a collection of family papers. While some members of the family participated in significant activities, and while the letters relating to those activities are important, there is a strongly personal aspect about them, and whatever broader historical significance that can be gotten from them must be gotten in the mass.

Collection

John R. Williams papers, 1798-1801

112 items

The John R. Williams papers contain correspondence and financial documents related to supplies for United States army troops at Fort Massac and Cantonment Wilkinsonville, on the Ohio River. Also included are documents and financial records related to Williams's mercantile business, based in Detroit, Michigan.

The John R. Williams papers contain correspondence and financial documents related to supplies for United States army troops at Fort Massac and Cantonment Wilkinsonville, on the Ohio River. Also included are documents and financial records related to Williams's mercantile business, based in Detroit, Michigan.

The Correspondence series comprises the bulk of the collection, and includes both incoming and outgoing letters related to the contract agent's work supplying garrisons at Fort Massac and Cantonment Wilkinsonville. Most items are official letters concerning military supplies, including correspondence from Oliver Ormsby and copies of outgoing letters written by John R. Williams. Two personal letters are a French-language letter Williams wrote to his uncle, Joseph Campau (July 24, 1800), and P. McNiff's letter challenging Williams to a duel (October 5, 1800). Williams wrote a brief note to Colonel David Strong stating the army's intention to cede the Wilkinsonville post to Native Americans (April 10, 1801). Two undated letter drafts, which Williams composed in French, discuss the author's army service and his desire to remain in Detroit.

The Receipts and Contracts series (52 items) contains material related to supplies for troops stationed at Fort Massac and Cantonment Wilkinsonville (1798-1801) John R. Williams's business affairs in Detroit, and to John R. Williams's business affairs in Detroit (1805-1816). Inventories, Invoices, and Reports concern supplies at Cantonment Wilkinsonville. The Miscellaneous series is comprised of 2 French-language items; one is a prayer entitled "La Journée Chrétienne."

Collection

Williams family papers, 1823-1896 (majority within 1833-1896)

1.25 linear feet

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, financial records, and other items related to the family of Augustus D. Williams and Julia Ann Chamberlain and to their daughter Fannie. The Williams family lived in Ohio.

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, financial records, and other items related to the family of Augustus D. Williams and Julia Ann Chamberlain, including their daughter Fannie. The Williams family lived in Ohio.

The Correspondence series (137 items) consists primarily of incoming personal letters addressed to Julia Ann Williams (née Chamberlain) and to her daughter Frances ("Fannie"). Julia corresponded with her siblings and other family members, who lived in New Hampshire and Ohio in the mid-19th century. Her sister Louisa, who married Samuel Durgin and moved to Gustavus, Ohio, in the mid-1830s, wrote often, sharing news of her social life and requesting news of relatives who remained in New Hampshire. After Julia moved to Maumee, Ohio, around 1835, she received letters from her mother Betsy (who married Joseph Baker after the death of Julia's father) and from various siblings. The Baker family lived in Boscawen, New Hampshire. Julia's stepsister Amanda shared social updates from Loudon, Ohio, and news of family health and of her experiences working in a school. On September 28, 1839, Joseph Baker told Julia of her stepsister Elizabeth's recent illness and death, and E. B. White, a friend of Julia's from Maumee, Ohio, included a drawing of a woman in a cloak in her letter dated October 1840.

After Julia's marriage to Augustus D. Williams in late 1840 or early 1841, the couple received letters from his siblings and extended family, including several from Mortimer H. Williams, who lived in Irwinton, Georgia. Sophia Williams, then Mrs. Henry Clark of Maumee, Ohio, corresponded frequently with Julia and Augustus. Other early material includes a letter regarding the estate of Reverend Nathan Williams of Tolland, Connecticut (May 19, 1830), and additional letters written by Williams siblings in New Hampshire and Ohio throughout the 1830s and 1840s.

During and following the Civil War period, most correspondence is addressed to Frances ("Fannie") Williams, the daughter of Julia and Augustus. Letters written by female cousins during the war include one from Memphis, Tennessee (September 3, 1864) and one from Ellen, who mentioned the recent death of a friend, then fighting in Alabama (October 27, 1864). Many of the postwar letters regard careers in education and social news in Wauseon, Ohio, home of Fannie's cousins Ellen and Libbie. Fannie Williams also received correspondence from friends, including a series of 10 letters and 2 postcards from Clara B. Whitton of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, written between October 22, 1887, and December 22, 1891. Fannie's cousin J. A. B. Parker sent a swatch of fabric on January 12, 1892, and a series of letters commencing on November 19, 1890, contains a lock of hair. In 1895 and 1896, Fannie received several items related to John Alexander Dowie of Chicago, Illinois, a practitioner of "divine healing." One of her cousins sent newspaper clippings related to Dowie's trial (February 5, 1895); the same cousin included a ticket for the Healing Room at Chicago's Zion Tabernacle (April 10, 1895). Margaret Snell Parsons enclosed newspaper clippings and a poem about the healing practice (June 30, 1896). Other later items include letters from Louisa Durgin to Julia Williams, written at her home in Wauseon, Ohio, and a few letters Burt Williams wrote to his sister Fannie in 1896.

The Documents and Financial Records series (109 items) contains accounts, receipts, and legal documents related to members of the Williams family, including many who resided in Tolland, Connecticut, and New York State during the early 19th century. Some of the legal documents pertain to real estate. A license signed by Mayor Cornelius W. Lawrence of New York City authorized David B. Williams to keep a tavern (May 31, 1834). One undated item documents Julia Ann Chamberlain's conversion to Christianity. An account book (91 pages) may have belonged to L. B. Williams of Murray's Commercial School in Maumee, Ohio. The decorated title page includes a drawing of a bird, and a second ink drawing of a bird is laid into the volume.

The Compositions series (102 items) consists primarily of essays by Julia Ann Chamberlain, Fannie Williams, and Mary F. Williams; poems and floral drawings are also present. Most of the essays concern moral topics, history, and religion, including multiple essays on topics such as "hope" and "morning." The series contains compositions about Native Americans, Christopher Columbus, and John Smith.

The Photographs series (16 items) includes cartes-de-visite, other card photographs, and tintypes. Most images are studio portraits of men, women, and children. Two larger tintypes (6" x 8") show the exterior of a home and a garden; one shows a group of people standing behind croquet wickets. One group photograph of school-age boys and girls, taken in May 1890, includes the names of each of the children present.

The bulk of the Newspaper Clippings (39 items) are poems, household hints, and recipes. Other items pertain to weights and measures and to Benjamin Harrison's return to Indianapolis after his presidency.

The Ephemera (45 items) includes invitations, notes, visiting cards, holiday greeting cards, and other items; most are visiting cards for residents of Ohio, some with illustrations. A series of 4 colored prints shows children's leisure activities. The series contains a large colored die-cut advertisement for Jacob Folger of Toledo, Ohio, showing a girl holding flowers.

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.

Collection

John Trumbull collection, 1768-1829 (majority within 1818-1829)

27 items

This collection contains correspondence, financial documents, and engravings related to American painter John Trumbull. Among other topics, Trumbull's outgoing letters concern prints of his painting The Declaration of Independence.

This collection contains 13 drafts and letters; 11 accounts, receipts, and checks; 1 document; and 2 engravings related to American painter John Trumbull. Among other topics, Trumbull's outgoing letters concern prints of his painting The Declaration of Independence.

John Trumbull composed 12 drafts and letters between 1776 and 1825. He wrote twice to his father, about his army commission (September 2, 1776) and about European opinions on the Revolution (July 8, 1781). Most of the remaining outgoing correspondence pertains to prints of Trumbull's paintings, especially The Declaration of Independence. One letter, from Mathew Carey to Trumbull, December 16, 1825, relates to a book that Carey believed Trumbull inadvertently "pocketed."

Financial records (11 items) include accounts, receipts, and checks, most of which are related to Trumbull's advertising and personal financial affairs. The collection also holds a copied deed concerning Jonathan Trumbull's land in East Haddam, Connecticut (January 30, 1768). Two engravings include a portrait of John Trumbull and his The Declaration of Independence.

Collection

Thomas J. Chew family papers, 1797-1875 (majority within 1802-1857)

777 items (1.75 linear feet)

The Thomas J. Chew papers mainly consist of ingoing and outgoing correspondence of Thomas J. Chew and his wife, Abby Hortense Hallam, in the early 1800s. A significant amount of the collection was written during the War of 1812, and many of the letters relate to Chew's duties as purser of several ships of the United States Navy and in the Navy Yards of Boston and New York. Other personal letters, official documents, and account books are also included in the collection.

The bulk of the collection is the Correspondence series (716 items), which contains the personal and Navy-related correspondence of Thomas J. Chew and other members of his family and together spans the years 1797 to 1875. The Thomas J. Chew family papers also include documents (9 items), financial records and receipts (40 items), account books (3 items), and miscellaneous items (7 items).

Early letters in the collection include an account by Joseph Chew of various branches of the Chew family, including a short history of the different Chew families emigrating from Virginia, accounts of his nieces and nephews (of whom Thomas J. Chew is one), and a mention of the marriage of his sister, who "died last year [and] has left children whose names I do not know;" these included future President Zachary Taylor. A group of letters from 1802 between Thomas J. Chew and Secretary of the Navy Robert Smith discuss Chew's future in the Navy after his return from the West Indies.

Much of the pre-War of 1812 correspondence of Thomas J. Chew consists of autograph copies of Chew's outgoing letters as well as incoming letters regarding his official duties as purser of the John Adams; a main correspondent during this period was Thomas Turner. A letter from Turner at the Navy Department Accountant's Office, dated June 7, 1809, outlined changes to the Naval Regulations, as well as reminding the recipient that "the most minute compliance with all the regulations…will be required." Other letters addressed to Turner regarded payment for sailors onboard the John Adams and the settlement of the ship's accounts.

Thomas J. Chew received another commission as purser from the Navy Department, signed by Paul Hamilton and dated April 29, 1812, and joined the crew of the Constitution almost immediately thereafter (May 20, 1812), serving under Isaac Hull. Most of the letters of late 1812 dealt with issues related to Chew's duties as purser and include copies made by Chew of letters to various clerks and officials within the Navy Department. One of the few more personal items from this period was a letter from Isaac Hull to Chew, dated November 1, 1812. Chew spent the winter between 1812 and 1813 at the Navy Yard in Boston, where he nonetheless kept a consistent professional correspondence as purser in the Yard (February 10, 1813; [April] 1813).

Chew's wife, Abby Hallam, related her esteem for Captains James Lawrence and Isaac Hull in a June 1, 1813, letter to Thomas, anticipating his imminent departure that had, in fact, taken place one day prior. Chew's brief time as a prisoner of the British in Halifax after the capture of the Chesapeake in 1813 is represented by two letters from John Mitchell, one regarding the funeral of Captain James Lawrence and the other regarding his own return to the United States alongside other officers of the Chesapeake (June 7 and 12, 1813). A copy of a letter to William Jones, Secretary of the Navy, informing him of Chew's return to Boston is accompanied by a letter acknowledging its receipt (June 24 and July 5, 1813).

Several letters in the collection concerned the ongoing difficulty regarding the distribution of disputed prize money for the capture of the Volunteer and Liverpool Hero in early 1813. Chew, as purser of the Chesapeake, did not wish to distribute prize money disputed between Captain Samuel Evans and Commodore Stephen Decatur "until it is settled to whom it belongs" (July 16, 1813), noting also that he would obey the ruling of the district court when doing so (July 23, 1813). By September of that year, Chew was prepared to pay an allotted amount of prize money to Decatur, though the matter was addressed again in a draft of April 10, 1819, in which Chew defended his conduct.

The Chews corresponded often with and about high-ranking officers in the Navy. A letter from John H. Elton, dated May 16, 1814, inquired as to the well-being of Abby Hallam and paraphrased Oliver Hazard Perry, stating that the men of the Superior "have seen the foe but they are not ours, neither could we meet them." Likewise, a letter from Charles W. Greene, dated May 16, 1814, discussed various personalities in the Navy including the fact that Commodore Decatur "says Evans is crazy." On June 9, 1814, Isaac Chauncey gave Chew orders to "immediately report to Captain Trenchard [as] the Purser of the Madison--you will also receive the Crew of the Oneida and act as her Purser until further orders." Other letters from prominent figures in the United States Navy include a personal note from Isaac Hull from December 30, 1814.

Post-war correspondence in the collection includes many items addressed to Thomas J. Chew and his wife; these items are mostly of a personal nature, interspersed with correspondence related to Thomas's ongoing duties as purser of the Washington. Letters were written by both Thomas and Abby in this period; hers spoke of home and family while his recounted his experiences on the Washington, including travel to the Mediterranean from June 1816-July 1818. In one letter, Thomas wrote about "the government and the people [being] much occupied at home with the transactions out here. The former have much to do, in my humble opinion, to secure to us the high character we acquired during the short war" and expressed his hope that "[his son] Lawrence will not be inclined to become a Navy officer" (May 9, 1818). Abby discussed the growth of their children, including the sickly Lawrence and a child who died in infancy (May 19, 1816). A letter of January 9, 1821, provided an account of another child's early death: "[God] has call'd home our dear babe, lent only for a season…her life has been a short one, but she has suffered much yet…& now she lies cold & inanimate corpse." Personal correspondence between husband and wife becomes much scarcer in the collection after this date. A letter from Thomas to the Reverend William Bull of Lebanon, Connecticut, related the news of the death of Lawrence and asked Edward to share the news with his wife, Eliza (October 26, 1829).

Thomas's other post-war correspondents included various naval officers involved in his duties as purser, as well as others whose letters were of a more personal nature. The latter include M. C. Attwood, who wrote a letter recounting the USS Cyane's travels through the West Indies and the Caribbean (December 27, 1822) and for whose estate Chew eventually became responsible (September 27, 1823), working closely with Richard Ringgoth of Chestertown, Maryland. Chew's correspondence in 1829 includes many letters from Amos Kendall of the U.S. Treasury department's Auditor's Office discussing Chew's work as purser through 1832. Letters of March 9 and March 29, 1832, discussed the reconciliation of Chew's outstanding accounts as of his retirement at that time.

The collection contains many personal letters addressed to Abby Hallam (later Chew), particularly regarding her daughters. Often signing her letters "Hortensia," she corresponded with both friends and family. Frequent correspondents included Lucretia M. Woodbridge of New London, Connecticut, and Mary Perkins in the early 1810s and a cousin Jacob in 1818. In various letters from the early 1830s, Abby recounted to her daughter Mary, who was staying with Edward and Eliza Bull in Lebanon, Connecticut, the progress of her sisters in school. Other family letters in this period were written between Abby and her children, amongst the children, and to the Bull family. A letter from George Lewis to Thomas Chew, dated December 18, 1843, asked "sanction to my addresses to [Mary Hallam Chew]…no gentleman should address a lady, or make any other attempt to gain her affection, unless assured of her parents approval." The pair were engaged soon thereafter (January 15, 1844), and a letter from A. Lewis, likely George Lewis's sister-in-law Adelaide Lewis, offered assistance to Mary in making plans for her wedding (March 7, 1844).

The focus of the correspondence gradually shifts toward Thomas and Abby's daughters, who wrote to their parents, to their aunt Eliza Bull, and to one another. Abigail, who often signed herself Hortense, and Mary shared vibrant personal correspondence beginning in 1840, including a letter from Abby who offered some helpful advice as Mary began to maintain a household of her own: "I want to know how your nurse & cook come along, don't err in my way & give them too much liberty--require them to do their duty I believe is the secret" (May 1, 1846). Mary's friend Josie wrote on July 28, 1846 to give condolences to Mary upon the death of her father. Other Chew family members represented in the collection include George R. Lewis, Thomas J. Chew's future son-in-law, and Chew's daughters and granddaughters. Also included are scattered letters relating to Harry W. Nelson, Jr., who married a great-granddaughter of Thomas J. Chew; these include a stern reprimand from a godfather dated April 13, 1853, and several undated items.

The correspondence series also contains several items addressed and authored by Mary Norton of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, beginning in the mid-1820s; by 1829, she was a resident of Boston. The collection includes an August 10, 1829 letter from Moses Story, who proposed that Mary "consider [her]self a candidate for my companion in life." Her relationship to the Chew family is unclear.

The series also includes 54 undated items, mostly comprised of personal correspondence, with a significant portion being between Abby and Thomas. One letter from Abby to Thomas foresaw the loss of one of their children: "From every appearance the agony will soon be past with our dear little infant." Much of the correspondence also came from Eliza Bull, addressed to various members of the Chew family. A letter addressed to Abby from a niece, Frances, described the arrival of a baby, Cecilia, and included a poem dedicated to the occasion. Also included are several letters addressed to Harriet Lewis, recently widowed and receiving letters primarily from her sister, Jennette Richards.

The Documents series (9 items) includes several items related to Thomas J. Chew's time in the Navy, including his time as a prisoner of the British, his involvement in Decatur v. Chew, and his resignation from the Navy. Two legal documents are included as well as an inventory for the Protection Fire Insurance Company and a partially-signed petition.

Many of the items in the Financial Records and Receipts series (40 total items) were addressed specifically to Thomas J. Chew, and the series includes receipts for various purchases in New York and Boston. These items span the years 1806-1847, with several items that date to the War of 1812. Several receipts regarded payment for James Lawrence Chew's tuition at the Classical School of New Jersey in the 1820s. A note from Samuel Phillips asked Thomas J. Chew to pay his share of the prize money for the capture of the Plattsburgh to Mrs. Jane Phillips. This was accompanied by a receipt roll, housed with other oversized manuscript items, which listed the distribution of the prize money for the capture of that ship. A pay roll for the officers of the Peacock is also housed in the small oversize area. This series also includes three stock certificates, all pertaining to stock held by Mary F. Hallam.

The Account Books series contains three items: one small account book housed in a red leather wallet and two bound volumes. The first contains various personal records for 1814, and the bound volumes contain records kept by Thomas J. Chew in his capacities as purser for the Washington, treasurer for St. Anne's Church in Brooklyn, and in an unknown capacity for the United States Naval Fraternal Association. One of the bound volumes contains Sunday Accounts for the Navy Department dealing with balances due and paid to various personnel.

The Miscellaneous series (7 items) includes two dated personal items as well as poetry, essays, and a partial family tree.

Collection

Southwest Territory and Mississippi Territory collection, 1794-1818

46 items

This collection is made up of correspondence and documents related to the Southwest Territory and Mississippi Territory. The materials concern subjects such as governance and law, militia units, property ownership and finance, slavery, and Native American tribes. The collection includes post-statehood letters by Andrew Jackson and other prominent politicians and military figures.

This collection is made up of correspondence and documents related to the Southwest Territory and Mississippi Territory. The materials concern subjects such as governance and law, militia units, property ownership and finance, slavery, and Native American tribes. The collection includes post-statehood letters by Andrew Jackson and other prominent politicians and military figures. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for information about each item in the collection.

Collection

Horace Greeley collection, 1847-[1895] (majority within 1847-1875)

18 items

This collection contains 18 items related to Horace Greely, including 11 outgoing letters, 2 incoming letters, 1 receipt for a subscription to the Weekly Tribune, 1 telegram, 1 postcard, and a 2-page offprint from Harper's New Monthly Magazine. The material concerns Greeley's lectures, public appearances, interest in politics and charitable efforts, and his legacy.

This collection contains 18 items related to Horace Greely, including 11 outgoing letters, 2 incoming letters, 1 letter discussing Greeley, 1 receipt for a subscription to the Weekly Tribune, 1 telegram, 1 postcard, and a 2-page offprint from Harper's New Monthly Magazine. The material concerns Greeley's public appearances, lectures, interest in politics and charitable efforts, and his legacy.

Included are 11 letters Greeley wrote between 1838 and 1872, concerning his travel and speaking engagements, and personal advice. He received 2 letters about Irish affairs (February 23, 1847) and a request for his attendance at a Fourth of July celebration (June 6, 1853). The receipt was for a subscription to the Weekly Tribune (May 1, 1858). Other items include a telegram about Greeley's presidential nomination (October 1872); a letter from George A. Beach to his parents, in which he mentions Greeley's charitable pursuits (December 10, 1875); a 2-page offprint from Harper's New Monthly Magazine entitled "Greeley's Handwriting," an editorial by Hayden Carruth, in which he shares an anecdote about Greeley's notoriously illegible handwriting (Volume XC, December 1894- May 1895); and a postcard illustrating Greeley's birthplace (undated). For more information, please see the inventory in the Detailed Box and Folder Listing.

Collection

Nicholas Low collection, 1776-1863 (majority within 1776-1820)

0.5 linear feet

This collection mostly consists of correspondence and documents related to Nicholas Low, a merchant who lived in New York City during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Much of the material concerns Low's financial interests. A small group of letters pertains to General Rufus King.

This collection (199 items) primarily consists of correspondence and documents related to Nicholas Low, a merchant who lived in New York City during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Most of the material concerns Low's financial interests. A small group of letters pertains to General Rufus King.

The Correspondence series (152 items) contains Low's business letters, which concern his relationships with merchants in the United States, the Caribbean, and Europe. Low's correspondents reported on subjects such as local prices, shipments of goods, and trade between Europe and North America. A few writers mentioned political issues, such as Low's participation in the Poughkeepsie Convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution (March 15, 1788), and the Embargo Act (December 28, 1807). Some of the letters are addressed to the firm Low & Wallace. Other letters pertain to Isaac Low's finances, the Society of Useful Manufactures, and Nicholas Low's real property. The series also includes a draft of a letter to the editor of the Commercial Advertiser, written by Nicholas Low in response to an editorial about lottery drawings in Paterson, New Jersey (July 21, 1798). Personal letters include Lewis Littlepage's account of his dispute with John Jay (December 5, 1785) and Henrietta Low's statement of her intention to marry Charles King, written in response to her father's objections [July 1826].

Four letters relate to Rufus King, Henrietta Low's stepson. Willie Fisher, an acquaintance, wrote 2 letters to King about his social life and leisure activities, including a trip to a brothel that resulted in a riot (January 9, 1859). Charles Rebello wrote a personal letter to King in January 1863. Rufus King wrote a letter to an unidentified general in the Union Army about his frustration with a Times article that had criticized officers' conduct during the war (July 22, 1862).

The Documents series (47 items) is comprised of receipts, accounts, contracts, price lists, and other legal and financial records, mainly related to Nicholas Low. Some indentures pertain to land in New York, and at least one legal document concerns the Bank of the United States.

Collection

Nicholas Fish papers, 1775-1844

97 items

The Nicholas Fish papers (97 items) consist of letters and documents that span Fish's career as a Revolutionary War officer and New York City politician. The collection is made up of 87 letters and 10 documents and financial records.

The Nicholas Fish papers (97 items) consist of letters and documents that span Fish's career as a Revolutionary War officer and New York City politician. The collection is made up of 87 letters and 10 documents and financial records.

The Correspondence series (87 items) is comprised of 14 letters written by Fish, 70 letters addressed to Fish, 2 letters to his son Hamilton Fish (1833 and 1844), and one item to the Committee of Defense of New York (August 4, 1815).

The series contains 52 items from Fish's military activities in the Revolutionary war (1776-1786). Forty-one of these letters are addressed to Fish as adjutant general of New York, 1785, regarding the raising and provisioning of troops to aid the first United States Army, commanded by Josiah Harmar on the frontier of the Northwest Territory. Discussed are transporting supplies, maintaining troop levels, defending the settlers of the region from Indians, taking prisoners of war, and punishing deserters. Fish received communications from the War Offices at Fort Schuyler; the Bronx; Albany; Philadelphia; and West Point. Many letters, notably, were from prominent American army officers, such as Secretary of War General Henry Knox, John Morin Scott (his former mentor), Major John Doughty, and Commissary of Military Stores Samuel Hodgdon. Of particular interest is a letter from Captain John Francis Hamtramck, who described catching and punishing 7 troops for desertion from Fort McIntosh in Western Pennsylvania (December 4, 1785), and another letter from Hamtramck, in which he discussed the poor treatment of the Six Nations hostages by the Americans in contrast to the civility shown Indian war prisoners held by the British (June 13, 1785).

A group of 36 letters relate to Fish's activities in New York politics between 1791 and 1830. These provide details of Fish's career as well as New York and American politics in general, including military affairs, the War of 1812, and presidential politics. On February 12, 1791, Fish wrote to President George Washington requesting an appointment as inspector for the district of New York. In his letter from March 10, 1794, fish discussed a dispute between Henry Dearborn and Theodore Sedgwick (March 10, 1794). In a letter to Fish, Jacob Radcliff expressed his support for Fish as New York alderman (November 8, 1810). Among letters written during the War of 1812, William Watson examined the role of Pennsylvania Germans in the Presidential campaign of 1812 (September 16, 1812); Fish wrote to James Madison concerning the punishment of Lieutenant William S. Cox for his part in the Chesapeake incident (after June 1, 1813); and Commodore J. Lewis, Chief Engineer Joseph G. Swift, and General George Izard all wrote letters regarding the defense of New York Harbor (May 8 and October 10, 1813, and August 4, 1815). (For a complete list of contributors, see the controlled access terms section.)

The Documents and Financial Records series (10 items) is comprised of military, personal, and official items.

Included are:
  • Two officer lists of the New York militia: one for the 1st Regiment (1775), and the other for the militia under Colonel John Lasher (September 25, 1776).
  • Fish's bank deposit book with the U.S. Bank from April 1792-June 1793 (8 pages).
  • Seven receipts for duties from the Supervisor's Office, District of New York, all signed by Fish (April 1795-February 1798).

Collection

Continental, Confederation, and United States Congress collection, 1751-1902 (majority within 1761-1862)

0.5 linear feet

This collection contains miscellaneous single items authored by, signed by, or relating to members of the Continental Congresses, the Confederation Congress, and the United States Congress. The bulk of the collection dates from 1761 to 1862, and while some content relates to political positions and actions, most of the items concern congressional representatives' financial and business affairs, legal practices, and various personal matters.

This collection contains miscellaneous single items authored by, signed by, or relating to members of the Continental Congresses, the Confederation Congress, and the United States Congress. The bulk of the collection dates from 1761 to 1862, and while some content relates to political positions and actions, most of the items concern congressional representatives' financial and business affairs, legal practices, and various personal matters. Of particular note are items relating to the military during the American Revolution, including one item from January 27, 1778, that appears to have a separate message visible by backlight. The collection also contains materials relating to wampum and Native American relations, as well as Shay's Rebellion. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing below for more information about each item.

Collection

Thomas Amory collection, 1709-1730

11 items

The Thomas Amory collection is comprised of letters, legal documents, and financial records related to the sugar and wine merchant's business affairs throughout the early 1700s.

The Thomas Amory collection is comprised of letters, legal documents, and financial records related to the sugar and wine merchant's business affairs throughout the early 1700s. Three early items relate to Amory's interests in the sugar and wine trade in Brazil, including a receipt written at Angra dos Reis in 1709, a business letter from 1720, and a document entitled "An Answer to the Objections of each Article that Mr. George Jaffrey makes to my accts.," respecting disputed accounts associated with shipping voyages of the Pinke Bachus ([1719]). Amory received business correspondence from contacts in North America and Great Britain, often related to the shipment of wine and the settling of financial accounts. The collection also holds a contract between Amory and Benjamin Eddy, whom Amory hired to ship "Indian corn" between North Carolina and Boston (April 14, 1726), and a receipt related to the late merchant's estate (July 13, 1730).

Collection

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania collection, 1741-1784

47 items

This collection contains letters and documents related to the early history and economic development of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

This collection contains letters and documents related to the early history and economic development of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Most of the items originated in the town itself, though correspondence addressed to Bethlehem locals also forms a significant portion of the material. Examples of documents are a copy of the original indenture for the plot of land that became Bethlehem (July 18, 1741), an order to open a road through the town (June 7, 1755), and a number of receipts and financial documents. Of interest is a petition sent to the Pennsylvania General Assembly on behalf of a group of Bethlehem residents, who wrote, "...the said Brethren are willing and ready, to contribute whatever sums of Money shall be necessary for the Defence of his Majesty's Person and Government in such Proportion, as such sum is usually rated on other Persons residing in the said Northhampton County" (March 30, 1759). Moravian and other religious influences are apparent throughout the collection, which has a minute book kept by an anonymous religious society between 1745 and 1747. Other material includes a significant amount of correspondence focusing on financial matters, as well as a series of affectionate personal letters written by John Okely of Philadelphia to Heartzel Brownfield in Bethlehem. Also of note is a German-language letter from Peter Böhler to an unnamed group of brethren about Native Americans and treatment of Native Americans in Philadelphia at the close of the French and Indian War.

Collection

Dutilh & Wachsmuth collection, 1769-1833 (majority within 1781-1810)

0.75 linear feet

The Dutilh & Wachsmuth collection is made up of business correspondence, financial records, and documents related to the Philadelphia merchant company in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Many items concern George Louis Stockar, a Swiss merchant living in La Rochelle, France.

The Dutilh & Wachsmuth collection is made up of approximately 160 letters and documents, 250 financial records, and 12 printed items related to the Philadelphia merchant company in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Many items concern George Louis Stockar, a Swiss merchant living in La Rochelle, France.

The Correspondence and documents series contains approximately 160 items, including the incoming business correspondence of Dutilh & Wachsmuth. The firm frequently dealt with food and lumber, and traded with merchants in French port cities, such as Bordeaux and Marseille, and in Philadelphia. Correspondents occasionally reported on the wheat trade and sometimes commented on political events in France and Haiti. Within a group of 14 items related to Captain Jean Christopher Sicard is a chart concerning a shipment of cargo between Marseille and New York, transported by Captain Sicard and signed on May 28, 1793. A group of approximately 10 items dating from 1781 to 1785 relate to George Louis Stockar, and include papers about his establishment of a business in La Rochelle, France. One letter, dated May 27, 1790, is written in German by M. Lang to John Godfried Wachsmuth, detailing a trip from Philadelphia to Fort Pitt. Lang notes the death of a pet dog, being injured by a captive bear, conflict with German settlers, and being persuaded by a wealthy family travelling with slaves to serve as their guide and protector against Native American attacks as they descended to Kentucky.

The Financial papers consist of approximately 250 items, such as account books, loose accounts, receipts, and other types of financial records, mostly related to the Dutilh & Wachsmuth firm's financial affairs. Some of the accounts pertain to John Dutilh's personal finances.

Among the collection's 12 Printed Items are a declaration by King Louis XVI, issued on June 20, 1784, to the citizens of the Canton of Schaffhausen, and a public letter to the citizens of the Pays-Bas region (May 26, 1795).

Collection

Quaker collection, 1700-1888

113 items

The Quaker Collection consists of miscellaneous letters, diaries, and documents relating to the religious and social history of the Society of Friends in America during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Quaker collection consists of miscellaneous letters, diaries, and documents related to the religious and social history of the Society of Friends in America during the 18th and 19th centuries. These items offer insights into Quaker's daily activities and concerns, such as family life, education, and attending meetings, as well as their participation in various social reform movements, such as abolition, treatment of Native Americans, prison improvements, temperance, and pacifism. The collection also documents internal divergences of American Quakerism in the 19th century, particularly the social and doctrinal disputes that culminated in the Hicksite and Wilburite schisms.

Among the collection's notable items:
  • 1707: A manuscript copy of the death warrant of William Leddra, the last of four Quakers (including Mary Dyer) executed in Massachusetts Bay colony for their religious beliefs
  • July 26, 1755: A letter from Alexander Colden to Sir William Johnson voicing frustration with Quakers who refuse to support the war effort in Pennsylvania, and an announcement of General Braddock's defeat
  • August 4-12 and 17, 1761: Two accounts, one by an anonymous woman, of Quaker presence at Treaty negotiations held at Easton, Pennsylvania, between the government of Pennsylvania and the Six Nations tribes. Discussed are the negotiations, Quaker-Indian interactions, and the role of Quaker women in the Society
  • [After 1770]: An account by an anonymous author of a conference with Native Americans, mostly of the Minnisink Tribe
  • October 13, 1829: A letter from Phoebe Post Willis of Jericho, New York, to Isaac Post on the death of John Hicks and strife between Orthodox and Hicksite Quakers
  • March 10, 1843: A letter from Ethan Foster of Westerly, Rhode Island, to Thomas B. Gould on Wilburite-Gurneyite strife in his local meeting, and the disownment of Wilbur
  • [After 1863 July]: A letter describing a meeting between Abraham Lincoln and five Quaker prisoners of war, who had been forced into the Confederate army, captured by the Union, and held at Fort Delaware
  • Various dates: Reports, minutes, and epistles from yearly friends meetings in America and Great Britain
Collection

Book Collectors collection, 1769-1950

1 linear foot

This collection is made up of individual letters and documents related to the trade and collection of rare books in the United States. The majority of the material is correspondence between individuals and dealers, and reflects the history of rare book collecting, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The collection also contains miscellaneous letters pertinent to autograph and manuscript collecting during the same period.

This collection is made up of individual letters and documents related to the trade and collection of rare books in the United States. The majority of the material is correspondence between individuals and dealers, and reflects the history of rare book collecting, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Book Collectors collection includes letters by many prominent collectors, historians, and political figures. A selection of items relates to the collections of the William L. Clements Library and to its namesake, including 2 letters from William L. Clements to Worthington C. Ford, one of which regards Ford's contribution to the newly opened library (June 27, 1923). Clements Library directors Randolph G. Adams and Howard H. Peckham also contributed to the collection. See the box and folder listing below for an inventory of contributors' and subjects' names.

Collection

Science and Medicine collection, 1702-1897

Approximately 150 items (0.5 linear feet)

The Science and Medicine collection consists of miscellaneous items that document various aspects of science and medicine in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Science and Medicine collection contains miscellaneous items that document various aspects of science and medicine in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries. Fields covered include anatomy, astrology, astronomy, botany, dentistry, geography, medicine, paleontology, physics, and physiology.

Discussed are:
  • Agriculture, plants, and seeds
  • Communication and travel
  • Collecting specimens for natural history museums
  • Epidemics (influenza, cholera, yellow fever)
  • Higher education and honorary degrees
  • Inoculations
  • Land surveying
  • Mathematics and navigation
  • Medical techniques and treatments for diseases, wounds, and afflictions
  • Medicinal recipes
  • Mental health
  • Quackery
  • Scientific and medical texts and lectures
  • Technological developments and experiments in machinery, and architectural projects
  • Venereal diseases
Below are some highlights from the collection:
  • April 19, 1788: Description of riot set off by alleged body snatching by medical students in New York
  • August 31, 1792: Order for an inoculation
  • June 30, 1796: Request to Charles Wilson Peale from members of a Paris museum to exchange specimens, including mastodon and opossums
  • January 15, 1826: Thomas Nuttall to a bookseller named Mr. Brown concerning 10 boxes of natural history specimens he is sending from Oahu, Hawaii
  • August 7, 1832: Account of the course and spread of Cholera in Albany, and fears that southern slaves will suffer the most from Cholera
  • September 13, 1833: Description of bright flashing lights appearing in the sky
  • August 24, 1835: Recommendation of a physician of the 'new school' of medicine who does not utilize bleeding, blistering, or calomelization (mercury cure)
  • December 15, 1840: Description of eye surgery performed on a patient at the Medical College of Geneva, New York
  • January 12, 1842: Discussion of constructing a microscope to view bacillaria
  • May 8, 1844: Astrological reading that predicts the recipient will marry a man from the north with light brown hair
  • September 19, 1848: Rules and customs of telegraphing
  • [1895]: Request for a list of names of locals with eye problems on letterhead for Narcissa Waterman, Eye Doctress
Collection

War of 1812 collection, 1806-1860

2.5 linear feet

The War of 1812 collection is a miscellaneous collection of approximately 300 single items relating to the War of 1812. The papers cover many aspect of the war on both the American and British sides, including naval and military operations, regimental matters, trade issues, and state and national politics relating to the war.

The War of 1812 collection (approximately 300 items) contains miscellaneous letters and documents relating to the War of 1812. The papers cover many aspects of the war on both the American and British sides, including naval and military operations, regimental matters, trade issues, and state and national politics relating to the war. Item types include letters, memoranda, reports, orders, documents, reminiscences, financial documents, and returns.

Collection

William Jenks collection, 1794-1884 (majority within 1794-1868)

1.5 linear feet

The William Jenks collection consists of letters, financial documents, prayer notes, and miscellaneous items related to the prominent New England Congregational clergyman, biblical and oriental scholar, and social reformer William Jenks.

The William Jenks collection (975 items) consists of letters, financial documents, prayer notes, and miscellaneous items, related to the prominent New England Congregational clergyman, biblical and oriental scholar, and social reformer William Jenks. The collection includes 887 letters (123 undated), 37 official and financial documents, 37 prayer notes and miscellaneous items, and 14 printed documents.

The Correspondence series (887 items) largely consists of personal letters addressed to Jenks and his wife from friends, colleagues, parishioners, and family members. Religious themes are apparent throughout. Many of the earliest items are from Jenks' brothers John, Samuel, and Francis Jenks; other pre-1805 items from colleagues and concerned parents of students concern his teaching career in Cambridge. For example, Sarah Dunlap of Salem, Massachusetts, described a treatment for her son's "bad quincey" (swelling of the throat), so that Jenks could administer it while her son was under his care (June 4, 1800). Other ministry-related items include an invitation to "dance at the house of Mr. Lyman" from the Committee of the Congregational Society in Bath, Maine, received just before Jenks' move to Maine (December 17, 1805). While in Maine, Jenks received letters from his parishioners and other members of Bath society, as well as from his old friends and business colleagues in Boston and Cambridge. One letter from Jonathan Greenleaf states that he wished to send Jenks some of his books so they can be scattered into the hands of individuals, for the sake of religion and literature, and "where they will be read and preserved", rather than sent to a library (December 24, 1813). Jenks wrote a few of the letters in the collection, including a warm and affectionate letter to his wife (September 7, 1811). In another letter, dated April 15, 1812, Jenks implored someone to care for an African-American friend in need of assistance. Jenks also received a letter recommending John Gloucester (the first African-American ordained Presbyterian priest) as a possible leader of missionary work in Africa (January 31, 1815).

The bulk of the letters related to Betsey Jenks are from her sister, Sally Belknap Russell (later married to a man named Pope). Sally discussed the sickness and death of their father Ezekiel Russell, life in Boston, and other personal matters. Particularly after 1808, various brothers, sisters, cousins, and the Jenks children wrote many of the family letters. Though these are warm and affectionate, they also contain news of the deaths of parents, siblings and spouses. For example, the June 24, 1810, item is from Jenks’ sister Abigail Dana describing her husband's suicide. Also of note are three letters regarding a servant who was trying to hide from her abusive husband (October 26, 1807; November 12, 1807; and November 1807).

Letters from the 1820s through the 1840s contain materials related to various speaking engagements in Massachusetts and invitations to the meetings of area historical societies. Also present are business letters and circulars from the many societies and churches in which Jenks held memberships; these concern diverse topics, such as staffing issues and library collections. During this time, Jenks also maintained correspondence with his children and siblings. His son wrote several letters in 1831 about travels in Spain, Marseilles, Malta, and Sicily. Also of note is a letter in which Jenks discussed a sinking ship near the North Pole (December 3, 1829), and another that contains notes on the "correct" version of the English language Bible (July 17, 1835). Jenks discussed Cotton Mather's Wonders of the Invisible World, referring to it as being "published immediately after the Witchcraft Excitement in 1693" (June 26, 1841).

Many of the items from the late 1840s through the 1860s, and almost all of the letters written after Jenks' death in 1866, are related to Jenks’ son Lemuel. In one, Lemuel described in detail a religious festival in Manzanas, Cuba (April 5, 1848). In another, Craigie Jenks described his service in the 7th Regiment of the Kansas Militia during the Civil War (October 25, 1864). Five items dated after Jenks' death are addressed to William Jenk's daughter, Sarah Judith Jenks, who married Jerome Merritt. One letter dated April 29, 1856, was written by William Buel Sprague (1795-1876) soliciting input about how to write about Rev. Samuel Williams in his forthcoming book, Annals of the American Pulpit.

The Receipts, Documents, Reports, and Notes series (37 items) contains Jenks’ business documents, speeches, and financial papers.

Included are reports for social societies in which Jenks was with a member, such as:
  • Society for promoting historian knowledge (1816)
  • Boston Society for the Religions and Moral Instruction of the Poor (1821)
  • Massachusetts Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (1825)

The series contains addresses delivered to the Delta Young Mens Athenaeum by E. Maxwell Seal (1839) and the Bath Society for the Suppression of Public Vice (undated). This series also holds a copy of the law enacted by the Massachusetts state congress to bring William Jenks and others into the Society for the Religious and Moral Instruction of the Poor (1820) as well as 8 receipts, largely of payments to William Jenks for services rendered. Another item of interest is an 1852 list of Massachusetts church congregations (various denominations) noting increasing numbers of attendance from March 8 and April 12 because of added converts.

The Prayer Notes series (20 items) consists of small slips of paper with prayer requests for sick or recently departed family members of the church community. The minister usually read these during the church service. Though most of the notes are undated, one item is from 1815, when Jenks was at the Bath Congregational Church, and several others are from 1821, when he was at the chapel on Central Wharf.

The Miscellaneous Notes series (17 items) contains a variety of written and visual material. One item is a drawing of the Manana ("Mananas") Island Petroglyph (writing carved in stone by early Native Americans) with a description of the location and the inscription. Another is a two-page description of "Monhegan Island and of the inscription found there" (1851). Other notes include items in Hebrew, Arabic, Latin, and one other language that may be Phoenician or Aramaic. The genealogical item traces the line of Nathan Webb of Charlestown, starting with John Webb of Shrewsbury, England, 1531. Images include a plan of houses to be built on Atkinson St. [Boston] (1825), a sketch of a thatched roof cottage drawn by A.M. Jenks (1882), and a drawing of the Manana Island Petroglyph on a rock. A four-page account of travel to Russia, particularly St. Petersburg, is also noteworthy for its description of Russian landmarks and tourist attractions (undated).

The Printed Material series contains 14 items related to the religious, genealogical, and antiquarian societies with which Jenks was involved. Included are the rules and bylaws of the Eastern Society in Bath, Maine (1811); two religious pamphlets encouraging prostitutes to turn to Christianity (1824); a report of the "Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries to its British and American Members" (1836); a poem entitled The Worker, written by Jenks (1857); and The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 5, Number 4 (October 1851), pages 375-486. Images of William Jenkins and Alpheus Hardy, both undated, are also part of the series .

Collection

James A. Whipple papers, 1846-1862

1.75 linear feet

The James A. Whipple papers contain correspondence, documents, and drawings related to Whipple's career as an engineer during the mid-19th century. Whipple's interests in submarines and naval engineering are documented throughout the collection, which includes correspondence, documents, drawings, and patents.

The James A. Whipple papers contain correspondence, documents, and drawings related to Whipple's career as an engineer during the mid-19th century. Whipple's interests in submarines and naval engineering are documented throughout the collection, which includes correspondence, documents, drawings, and patents.

The Correspondence series contains incoming items to Whipple. Most pertain to business affairs and to Whipple's family and acquaintances. Letters often pertain to submarines, Whipple's salvage business, and Whipple's trips abroad. A few items originally belonged to George L. P. Taylor, a United States consular agent.

The Financial Records series consists of receipts, accounts, and other documents concerning Whipple's business dealings, which reflect his interest in submarines and naval affairs. Many documents relate to his schooner Arcade. The series includes a pocket diary of financial notes and figures for 1855.

The Documents series contains a variety of items related to Whipple's business affairs, personal life, and interests in submarines and naval engineering.

Items of note include:
  • An explanation of an illustration (not present) showing improvements in submarine armor (March 2, 1848)
  • A document from the council of Charleston, South Carolina, thanking Whipple and his associates for salvaging a statue of John C. Calhoun (November 19, 1850)
  • A passport from the Republic of Venezuela (13 December 1852)
  • Documents authorizing several journeys of James A. Whipple and his associates
  • A receipt from the United States Patent Office for Whipple's application for "pumps for forcing water" (January 18, 1854)
  • "Result of experiments on dissolving Scale in Boilers made at Beyrout" (March 31, 1855)
  • A patent application for a submarine trumpet, made jointly by William H. James and James A. Whipple (April 30, 1855)
  • "Report on the efficiency of the [submarine] armour for the U. S. Navy"
  • Documents regarding "Whipple's patent double acting momentum pump," including advertisements, diagrams, and Whipple's patent application (October 21, 1859)
  • Diagrams for a "process for driving Piles Posts or Timbers in Earth or other yielding Material" (May 25, 1859)
  • 22 contracts made between James A. Whipple and other parties
  • Several drawings of mid-19th-century underwater diving suits
  • James A. Whipple's United States passport (May 30, 1849)

Two Journals include an "Extract from the Journal of J[eremiah] Murphy whilst working in the Liberty Banks" (April 21-May 24, [1857]) and a journal kept by William A. Dodge, J. R. Wheeler, and James A. Whipple during their time salvaging wrecks off Santo Domingo.

The Essays series contains 2 unattributed items: "Sub Marine Work" and "My Brother Capt. James A. Whipple…"

The Drawings and Sketches series has schematic figures for various inventions, such as a device consisting of a large wheel powered by a horse and a device for making cigars. Several other drawings show views of unlabeled inventions.

Printed Material includes 8 Newspaper Clippings and 6 Other Printed Materials. Newspapers include a full issue of Boston's Evening Gazette (July 2, 1859), as well as several short articles regarding trials for steam-driven fire engines. Other items include Whipple's business card, a "Circular of James A. Whipple. Submarine Engineer, Boston, Mass" (1857), printed descriptions of naval-related inventions, and printed drawings of mechanical inventions.

Collection

John Wheelwright receipt book and Anonymous recipe book, 1829-1860s

1 volume

New York Harbor shipper John Wheelwright kept this receipt book, documenting money paid out in his deals with ships and cargoes between 1829 and 1834. Payments include purchases of ownership in vessels, ship chandlery, cleaning, molasses, pipes, nankeen, wages for sailors and captains, coal, beef, wood, pork, lifeboats, nails, wharfage, cod, whiting, mackerel, tobacco, flaxseed, blacksmiths, candles, joiners, provisions, a second hand fore-sail, main yard, sugar, blocks, cooperage, painting labor, house rent, newspaper subscriptions, and more. The receiving party signed each receipt. An anonymous, subsequent owner pasted 148 handwritten recipes and 129 printed recipes and formulas over sections of Wheelwright's receipts. Recipes cover or partially cover 110 of 212 pages of the receipt book.

New York Harbor shipper John Wheelwright kept this receipt book, documenting money paid out in his deals with ships and cargoes between 1829 and 1834. Ships mentioned include schooners Washington, 4th of July, Shamrock, Cambridge, Tribune, Gov. Clinton, Delta (Honduras), Active, John Ruggles, Mayflower, Caroline, Hero (Boston), Rufus, Harriet, Transport, and New York; and brigs Betsy, Albert, Henry, Calais Packet, Samaritan (Pictou, Nova Scotia), Levant (Cape Cod), Martha Ann, Only Son, Amazon, Montano (New Orleans), Trumbull, Napoleon, Brilliant, and Asoph. Payments include purchases of ownership in vessels, ship chandlery, cleaning, molasses, pipes, nankeen, wages for sailors and captains, coal, beef, wood, pork, lifeboats, nails, wharfage, cod, whiting, mackerel, tobacco, flaxseed, blacksmiths, candles, joiners, provisions, a second hand fore-sail, main yard, sugar, blocks, cooperage, painting labor, house rent, newspaper subscriptions, and more. The receiving party signed each receipt.

An anonymous, subsequent owner pasted 148 handwritten recipes and 129 printed recipes and formulas over sections of Wheelwright's receipts between the 1830s and 1860s. Recipes cover or partially cover 110 of 212 pages of the receipt book.

Collection

Peter F. Wheeler account books, 1832-1872

2 volumes

These two account books record the income and expenses of Peter F. Wheeler, a palm leaf splitter and farmer who lived in Grafton and Petersham, Massachusetts, in the mid-19th century. One volume primarily concerns the costs of finishing calfskins and other labor performed in Grafton between 1832 and 1847, and the second records Wheeler's finances between 1860 and 1872.

These two account books record the income and expenses of Peter F. Wheeler, a palm leaf splitter and farmer who lived in Grafton and Petersham, Massachusetts, in the mid-19th century. The first volume (84 pages) primarily concerns the costs of finishing animal skins in Grafton, Massachusetts, between September 1832 and September 1849, and the second (170 pages) details Wheeler's finances, including the income he earned as a palm leaf splitter and general laborer.

Volume 1 primarily contains accounts related to the costs of numerous types of labor in Grafton, Massachusetts. The first 79 pages consist of personal accounts Peter F. Wheeler kept between September 1832 and September 1849, pertaining to the cost of working with animal hides. Pages 19 through 75 record Wheeler's accounts with "Captain Jona. Warren," for whom Wheeler finished boots, hides, and other leather products between September 1842 and April 1847. Three pages of accounts note Wheeler's work finishing calfskins and doing other labor in Grafton and Petersham between September 1847 and September 1849. These accounts are followed by 5 pages covering labor done by Samuel W. Flagg, Moses Hook, and Elisha W. Hinds between April 1844 and January 27, 1847, including a record of the days they were absent from work.

Volume 2 contains 170 pages of personal accounts Wheeler kept between February 1860 and October 1872, while he lived and worked in Petersham, Massachusetts. Most of these are double entry accounts that show Wheeler's credits and debits with farmers for whom he split palm leaves and worked as a farm laborer by hoeing, planting, plowing, and haying. He often received payment in foodstuffs, such as apples, potatoes, and butter, and in labor. Employers included Adin Tolman, Josiah B. Goddard, and Moses Gates, and in the late 1860s, Wheeler often worked on boards for the firm Eaton & Dunn. At least four accounts reflect women's expenses; in exchange for their labor, Wheeler provided clothing, whiskey, and similar items (pp. 36-37, 82-83, 102-103, 116-117, 128-129). The accounts on page 158 list the cost for sending mail in Denison, Iowa, between 1867 and 1872. Supplemental financial notes at the end of the volume include cash and other items received (pp. 151-157, July 5, 1867-October 31, 1872), cash paid (p. 160, November 1, 1866-July 6, 1872), taxes paid to Petersham, Massachusetts (p. 161, August 30, 1869-October 31, 1871), and expenses (pp. 166-170, May 7, 1862-May 3, 1864).

Sixteen notes and receipts are laid into the volume, including a page of genealogical information about Justus H. Tillman of Columbia, South Carolina, and two tax receipts from 1868 and 1872.

Collection

Ella St. John Whallon collection, 1863-1923 (majority within 1863-1874, 1903)

63 items

This collection contains Ella St. John Whallon's personal correspondence, including letters from friends and family members in Michigan and love letters from her husband, James M. Whallon of Dowagiac, Michigan. The collection also has letters to Lizzie Wittle of Columbia, Pennsylvania, from Edward E. Seifred, a member of the United States Army's 18th Infantry Regiment who served in the Philippines during the early twentieth century. Other items include financial documents, tintype photographs, a commemorative ribbon, and a leather postcard.

This collection (63 items) contains Ella St. John Whallon's personal correspondence, including letters from friends and family members in Michigan, as well as love letters from her husband, James M. Whallon of Dowagiac, Michigan. The collection also has letters to Lizzie Wittle of Columbia, Pennsylvania, from Edward E. Seifred, a member of the United States Army's 18th Infantry Regiment who served in the Philippines, and another correspondent, dated between 1903 and 1909. Other items include financial documents, tintype photographs, a commemorative ribbon, and a leather postcard.

The Correspondence series (58 items) contains correspondence related to Ella St. John Whallon and Lizzie Wittle. During the final years of the Civil War, Philena Hood of Saline, Michigan, wrote to Ella St. John about her experiences in school; one of her letters encloses a small piece of fabric (October 16, 1864). Several of Ella's cousins wrote to her during the late 1860s, mostly about family news from Clinton and Lansing, Michigan. One cousin, Wallace J. Hunt, commented on his experiences while serving with the Union Army in Winchester, Virginia; his letter of January 31, 1865, encloses a tintype photograph.

From 1871-1874, James M. Whallon wrote 27 letters and postcards to Ella St. John, pertaining to his life in Dowagiac, Michigan, his feelings for Ella, and their anticipated marriage. After their wedding, he sometimes wrote brief postcards while traveling. In 1872, Ella wrote 1 letter to James and received 2 letters from her mother. In August 1876, a relative wrote to Ella about his experiences at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. She received a postcard from her brother Frank in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1917, and a partial letter from a friend in 1923.

The second group of correspondence is comprised of 5 letters to Lizzie Wittle of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Edward E. Seifred wrote 3 letters while serving with Company I of the United States Army's 18th Infantry Regiment in Manila, Philippines, in 1903 and 1904. He discussed his feelings for Wittle, proposed marriage, and reflected on his life as a soldier. In 1909, she received 2 letters from "Andrew," who explained his decision to delay marriage until achieving financial security and reported on a couple who had eloped in York, Pennsylvania. Undated items include a leather postcard addressed to Lizzie Wittle with an ink drawing of a bulldog on the back.

Five receipts are integrated with the correspondence, including documentation of wages paid to James M. Whallon during his Civil War service (October 24, 1863) and 4 receipts for Samuel St. John's contributions to a church building (1869-1872).

The Photographs series (3 items) contains a tintype portrait of Ella St. John Whallon, a tintype portrait of Samuel St. John, and a carte-de-visite portrait of Ella St. John Whallon.

Ephemera items include a poem that Philena Hood wrote for Ella St. John, with a pencil drawing of a bird on the back, and a ribbon from the 11th Michigan Cavalry Regiment's 1889 reunion in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Collection

West family papers, 1697-1880

2.25 linear feet

The West family papers are comprised of approximately 1,400 letters, letter books, documents, and financial records pertaining to Reverend Samuel West and his two sons, Benjamin and Nathan P., of Boston. The bulk of the collection (approximately 900 items) relates to business concerns, particularly to Benjamin West's sugar refining firm.

The West family papers are comprised of approximately 1,400 letters, letter books, documents, and financial records pertaining to Reverend Samuel West and his two sons, Benjamin and Nathan P., of Boston. The bulk of the collection (approximately 900 items) relates to business concerns, particularly to Benjamin West's sugar refining firm.

The Correspondence and documents series consists of approximately 150 items, dating from 1679 to 1880; the bulk of these are dated between 1759 and 1826. Though the majority of the material within the series pertains to business affairs, several groups of letters relate to other topics. One early group of letters concerns Samuel West's move from Needham, Massachusetts, to Boston's Hollis Street Church, and another group to a Boston committee's proposal to alter the municipal government in 1815, which includes its lengthy report [September 25, 1815]. In addition, the series contains personal and family correspondence, though to a lesser extent. Primary correspondents within the series include Caleb and Joshua Davis, Benjamin West, Enoch H. West, Samuel West, Richards Child, Mills Olcott, Samuel and Ephraim May, Sarah Plimpton, George Cheyne Shattuck, and Elisha and Elizabeth Ticknor.

The collection's two Letter books belonged to Benjamin West, and hold copies of 166 outgoing letters, dated 1803-1827, related to his various business affairs and the settlement of his uncle's estate, as well as personal matters.

The Financial records series contains three subseries: Bills and receipts, Sugarhouse accounts, and Account and expense books. The series contains approximately 300 bills and receipts dating from 1748 to 1824, primarily pertaining to labor, repairs, and donations to various Boston societies and institutions. About 600 sugarhouse accounts (1796-1823) record financial transactions associated with Benjamin West's sugar refining business, and include accounts, bills, and receipts. The four books cover Benjamin's West's personal accounts and expenses between 1797-1799 and 1811-1827; the first of these concerns West's service in a local militia, as well as his other financial matters, including numerous accounts for clothing, tobacco, and trips to the theater.

Legal documents within the collection are divided into two subseries, covering Land and real estate (1707-1824) and other Legal documents (1738-1834). The first subseries consists of approximately 60 items, which relate to mortgages, indentures, and other agreements about land around Boston and in Charlestown, New Hampshire. The West family frequently dealt with the Wheelock and Metcalf families when purchasing land. The second subseries is comprised of approximately 75 miscellaneous documents, including material related to Samuel West's interests in Needham, Massachusetts; bills from Nathan P. West's time at Harvard College (1788-1792); and the family's additional business and legal concerns.

The Printed and miscellaneous items series consists of approximately 20 items, dated 1714 to 1825. Among these are broadsides, including programs for Samuel West's internment services and various anniversaries, and partially printed school reports. Miscellaneous manuscript items are 13 statements of Christian faith; manuscript music for several hymns; two books kept by Nathan P. West, including a copybook of mathematical problems and exercises (1792-1807) and a commonplace book (1798-1813) with medicinal recipes West used in his drugstore; and scattered quotations. The copybook also includes a small drawing of a skull next to a bottle of borax on its inside cover.

Collection

Perkinsville (Vt.) School District documents, 1818, 1823-1851

46 documents

The Perkinsville (Vt.) School District documents consist of 46 receipts, committee meeting reports, meeting requests, and grand lists of taxes relevant to operation of the 1st school district in the village of Perkinsville between 1823 and 1851. A single document dated March 10, 1818, grants David Graves permission to open a "publick Hous" in the town of Ira.

The Perkinsville (Vt.) School District documents consist of 46 receipts, committee meeting reports, meeting requests, and grand lists of taxes relevant to operation of the 1st school district in the village of Perkinsville between 1823 and 1851. School expenses reflected in the documentation include payments for teachers' wages, supplies, and services rendered. A single document dated March 10, 1818, grants David Graves permission to open a "publick Hous" in the town of Ira.

Local townspeople covered school costs, labor, and other needs. They cut and delivered fuelwood, boarded teachers, and transported educators to and from the school. They also repaired and cleaned the schoolhouse, and built desks and chairs. Supplies specified in the documents include brooms, blackboards, dippers and pails, nails, and glass. A letter dated August 6, 1841, to Mr. Horace Phelps contains a request for a supply of wool.

The bulk of these documents were generated by district clerks and superintending committee members, including Solomon R. Demary, Benjamin Chillson, J. F. Chillson, Luther Perkins, Charles Barrett, and Earle Woodbury. The receipts were signed and dated with the payment amount on the verso by the recipient. Many committee meeting reports were recorded on lined paper with dates in the left margin.

Two items of note include a meeting request for the purpose of building a house for the convenience of smaller scholars dated September 5, 1846, and a meeting request to discuss the opening a second school in District One, dated January 1, 1848.

Collection

Anthony Wayne family papers, 1681-1913

7 linear feet

The Anthony Wayne family papers contain correspondence, diaries, documents, and accounts relating to several generations of the Wayne family of Pennsylvania. Of particular note is material concerning Anthony Wayne's service in the American Revolution and the Northwest Indian War, and William Wayne's service with the 97th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment in the Civil War. The Manuscripts Division has created a list of the names of the letter-writers in the collection: Wayne Family Papers Contributor List.

The Correspondence and Military Documents series (Volumes 1-17) contains approximately 1,450 items (3.5 linear feet), spanning 1756-1853, and arranged chronologically. The bulk of the series is correspondence, but it also contains various types of documents, including legal materials, military returns, land surveys, and lists.

Anthony Wayne

The 18th-century material in the collection (Volumes 1-10) relates primarily to the career of Anthony Wayne, including his surveying activities; acquisition and maintenance of a plantation near Savannah, Georgia, and the activities of Native Americans in its vicinity; service in the Revolutionary War; and leadership as commander-in-chief of the Legion of the United States during the Northwest Indian War. It includes incoming correspondence from numerous notable government and military officials, as well as a considerable amount of Wayne's outgoing correspondence and memoranda.

A portion of materials in the collection shed light on Wayne's activities and opinions during the American Revolutionary War, in which he served as a brigadier general. On November 22, 1777, Wayne wrote to Thomas Wharton, the "president" (i.e., governor) of Pennsylvania, on the subject of recruitment, arguing that allowing the hiring of substitutes and the paying of an "enormous bounty" would hinder efforts to attract soldiers. He also discussed the importance of uniforms to morale, arguing that they caused "a laudable pride which in a soldier is a substitute for almost every other virtue." Additionally, Wayne exchanged several letters with a friend, Colonel Sharp Delany, in which they discussed various war-related matters. On July 26, 1780, he provided a defense of his raid on Bull's Ferry, which failed and resulted in substantial American casualties. Other letters pertain to Wayne's injury from a musket-ball lodged in his thigh (November 12, 1781), his uniform (May 10, 1783), and the concerns of Savannah merchants who feared the loss of protection after the British evacuation (June 17, 1782). Also of interest is a memorandum spanning the dates June 20, 1777-October 21, 1780, in which Wayne gave his criticisms of the decisions of the Executive Council and of the Continental army in Pennsylvania, and complained of demoralization of the troops, especially the Pennsylvania Line.

A large number of letters and documents, particularly in the late 1780s, pertain to Wayne's rice plantation in the vicinity of Savannah, called Richmond and Kew, which was given to him by the state of Georgia for his wartime service there. Wayne took out large loans in order to revive the estate in 1785, two years after he left it "in a depreciating state" (June 29, 1783) to return to Pennsylvania. Wayne's letters describe his great difficulty in purchasing affordable slaves to work the land, his efforts to produce and sell rice and corn, and the scarcity of currency in Georgia, which compounded his troubles turning a profit. The papers also document Wayne's struggle to repay his loans and his dispute with his creditors, which became particularly intense in 1787, and resulted in his loss of the plantation in 1791. On that subject, he wrote, "I have been in treaty with my Persecutors" (March 1, 1791). His primary correspondents on these matters were William Penman, James Penman, Adam Tunno, Samuel Potts, Sharp Delany, and Richard Wayne.

Several items during this period also refer to the ongoing conflict between white settlers in Georgia and Native Americans there. One letter to Wayne from Benjamin Fishbourn concerns a Creek uprising in Georgia, during which the natives burned homes and absconded with corn and rice ([October 1786]). Although Wayne claimed that "the Indian depredations in this State have been so much exaggerated as to deter any purchasers" (February 20, 1788), he nonetheless kept track of many strife-filled incidents. On October 7, 1788, he wrote, "We are all confusion here on account of the Indians and Spaniards - the first carrying off our Negroes and other property - the latter Countenancing and protecting them!" He also described the imprisonment of his tenants by Native Americans (October 7, 1788), the abandonment of plantations by white settlers out of fear of "depredations" by natives (December 5, 1788), and the arrival of troops in the south to challenge the Creeks (December 5, 1791). On October 21, 1789, he wrote that he and his neighbors expected an "Indian war" at any time. After Wayne left the south permanently, he continued to receive periodic reports on conflicts between natives and white settlers, including an attack on Creeks at "Buzzard Town," during which whites killed and imprisoned many natives, as described in letters dated October 26 and December 17, 1793. Also of interest is a list of settlements in the Upper and Lower Creek Nation, including towns and villages called "The Buzzard Rost," "New Youga," "Swagelas," and "Cowetaws" (July 2, 1793).

The collection also documents several aspects of Anthony Wayne's political career, and includes his notes on the Constitutional Convention, including his assertion that "The Constitution is a Dangerous Machine in the hands of designing men" (filed at the end of 1788). Also of note are his several letters to President George Washington, requesting favors for himself and his friends, and a letter describing Washington's visit to Savannah, during which Wayne escorted him around the city (May 18, 1791). Well-represented is the conflict between Wayne and James Jackson over the election of 1791 for a seat in the 2nd United States Congress to represent the 1st District of Georgia.

A large portion of the collection concerns Wayne's prosecution of the Northwest Indian War as commander-in-chief of the newly created Legion of the United States between 1792 and 1796. Early letters and documents record the Legion's travel across Pennsylvania, gathering recruits en route (June 8, 1792); the smallpox inoculations for the soldiers (July 6, 1792); the arrangement of men into sublegions (July 13, 1792); Secretary of War Henry Knox's decision to delay operations until after the winter (August 7, 1792; August 10, 1792); and the foundation of Legionville, Pennsylvania, the first formal military basic training facility in the United States (November 23, 1792). Numerous letters concern military administration, including provisioning, appointments and promotions, furloughs, and other routine matters. Discipline of the troops was also a frequent concern, and Wayne and his correspondents frequently made references to desertion, disciplinary measures, the distribution of whiskey as a reward for successful target practice, and courts martial. Examples of the latter include the court martial of Captain William Preston, whom Wayne called "a very young Officer-with rather too high an idea of Equality" (June 25, 1795); the case of a private, Timothy Haley, who was convicted but released under pressure from the civil courts (July 1, 1795); and the proceedings against Lieutenant Peter Marks for "ungentleman and unofficer-like conduct" (July 20-21, 1794). A booklet covering July 19-August 2, 1793, contains a number of court martial proceedings, for such offenses as drunkenness while on guard duty and use of abusive language.

The correspondence and documents created during this period also shed some light on various Native American tribes in the Midwest and their encounters with Wayne's forces. In a letter to Wayne, Henry Knox frets over the yet-unknown fate of Colonel John Hardin, who died in an ambush by the Shawnee (August 7, 1792).

Also addressed are the following conflicts:
  • Attack on Fort Jefferson by a Potawatomi force (September 9, 1792)
  • Attack on a forage convoy near Fort Hamilton by Native Americans (September 23, 1792)
  • Attack on Fort Washington, resulting in the capture of three prisoners by native forces (October 2, 1792)
  • Attack on Fort St. Clair by 250 Native Americans under Little Turtle (November 6, 1792)
  • Skirmishes with Native Americans in southern Ohio (October 22, 1793) in which "the Indians killed & carried off about 70 officers leaving the waggons & stores standing"

Also of interest is a description by Israel Chapin of a Six Nations council at "Buffaloe Creek," which lists some of the attendants: "the Farmer's Brother, Red Jacket and Capt Billy of the Senkas; the Fish Carrier, head Chief of the Cayugas,; Great Sky head chief of the Onondagas; and Capt Brandt of the Mohawks; and great numbers of inferior Chiefs" (December 11, 1793). On January 21, 1794, Wayne voiced his suspicions concerning peace overtures from "Delaware, Shawanoes and Miami tribes" and accused them of buying time in order to "secure their provisions, and to remove their women and children from pending distruction." Jean-Francois (sometimes known as John Francis) Hamtramck, commandant of Fort Wayne, wrote very informative letters to Wayne, discussing the Native American traders in the area and the possibility of starting a trading house at Fort Wayne (February 3, 1795), the arrival of Potawatomi at the Fort (March 5, 1795), and a meeting with the Le Gris, chief of the Miamis, whom he called a "sensible old fellow, in no ways ignorant of the Cause of the war, for which he Blames the Americans, saying that they were too extravagant in their Demands in their first treaties" (March 27, 1795).

The Battle of Fallen Timbers receives only minor attention in the collection in the form of letters, expressing praise for Wayne's victory, from army paymaster Caleb Swan (October 19, 1794) and Francis Vigo (February 22, 1795). However, efforts to end hostilities are well documented with such items as a copy of the Treaty of Greenville (August 3, 1795), Wayne's account of the signing and its impact on various tribes and their leaders (August 14, 1795), and letters from several civilians requesting help in locating family members captured by Native Americans (June 1, 1795; July 27, 1795).

Isaac and William Wayne

After Anthony Wayne's death in December 1796, the focus of the series shifts to his son, Isaac Wayne, and then to Wayne's great-grandson, William Wayne (née William Wayne Evans); the activities of the two men occupy much of the material in Volumes 11-16. Early letters mainly pertain to the family matters and finances of Isaac Wayne, including the ongoing settlement of his father's estate and various claims against it. Several items relate to his career, including an acceptance of the resignation of a soldier from Erie Light Infantry Company during the War of 1812 (March 27, 1813), and a circular letter urging support for his candidacy for governor of Pennsylvania (October 3, 1814), which was ultimately unsuccessful. Other topics include his refusal of a nomination to Congress (February 1824); requests for information about his father by historians and biographers; the August 1828 death of his son Charles, who served in the navy; and other political and family matters discussed by Wayne. His primary correspondents include William Richardson Atlee, Charles Miner, Callender Irvine, Samuel Hayman, and various members of Evans family, to whom he was related through his sister Margaretta.

The bulk of the letters postdating 1850 relate to William Wayne. Early correspondence concerns his courtship with his future wife, Hannah Zook, in 1852, the death of Isaac Wayne on October 25, 1852, and various social visits and family concerns. On March 14 and 15, 1860, Wayne wrote to his wife about travel through Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Erie to Meadville, Pennsylvania. Though he stayed in the prominent Monongahela House, he described Pittsburgh as a "dirty village," and unfavorably compared the "Western Penitentiary" to its counterpart in Philadelphia, "the Castle on Cherry Hill." He noted that Cleveland "is said to be the handsomest City in the Union," but reserved his opinion on this point.

The collection also contains six letters written by Wayne during his Civil War service with the 97th Pennsylvania Infantry. On June 27, 1862, he wrote to his wife from James Island, South Carolina, concerning his regiment's role in building fortifications and mounting guns. He also commented on General George McClellan and his cautious strategy. Wayne wrote the remainder of the letters from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. On October 13, 1862, three days after the Confederate raid on Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Wayne wrote about rumors concerning "the movements of 'secesh' along our border" in what he suspected was an attempt to interfere with the election of 1862. In another letter, he expressed disappointment that he had arrived at camp too late to accompany a group of new recruits to Washington (November 3, 1862). Of interest are four letters from Wayne's friend, Joseph Lewis, which relate to Wayne's attempt to resign from the army, as well as five items relating to General Galusha Pennypacker. The Pennypacker correspondence includes a sketch of his service, written by Edward R. Eisenbeis (December 24, 1865), and letters concerning his recovery from severe wounds received at the Second Battle of Fort Fisher in 1865. Also of interest are several postwar letters to and from General George A. McCall concerning his meetings with Wayne.

The Manuscripts Division has created a list of the names of the letter-writers in the collection: Wayne Family Papers Contributor List.

The Letter Books series contains three volumes of Anthony Wayne's outgoing military correspondence. The periods covered are June 4, 1792-October 5, 1793 (Volume 30), April 12, 1792-June 21, 1794 (Volume 31), and October 23, 1793-September 20, 1794 (Volume 32). The letters are official and semi-official in nature and pertain to army administration, encounters with Native Americans, troop movements, provisioning, and other topics.

The Land Documents series (Volume 17) contains land indentures, surveys, and deeds relating to several generations of the Wayne family, 1681-1879. This includes numerous documents relating to the Waynesborough estate and illustrating its possession by various family members. The surveys pertain to such matters as the line between Easttown and Willistown in Pennsylvania, several surveys performed for James Claypool in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and a drawing (including several trees) of the land of James Rice. Also included is a vellum land indenture dated October 3, 1732, between Anthony Wayne's father, Isaac, and a widow named Mary Hutton.

For other land documents, see the following surveys by Anthony Wayne in the Correspondence and Documents series:
  • Land in Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania (December 15, 1764)
  • Wayne property in Easttown and Willistown, Pennsylvania (January 12, 1767)
  • Newtown, Chester County, Pennsylvania (January 12, 1767)
  • Waynesborough, Chester County, Pennsylvania ([ca. 1784])
  • Survey notes on a tract of land reserved by Wayne on the Little Setilla River, Georgia (July 23, 1786)

The Other Legal Documents series (Volume 17) spans 1686-1868 and contains wills, inventories, certificates, financial agreements, and other document types. Included are several documents related to the death of Samuel K. Zook, brother-in-law of William Wayne, at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 2, 1863; certificates related to the Ancient York Masons, Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati, and the American Philosophical Society; and several articles of agreement concerning financial transactions between various members of the Wayne family. Also of note are the wills of Anthony Wayne, Mary (Penrose) Wayne, Elizabeth Wayne, William Richardson, and others.

The Diaries and Notebooks series (Volumes 17-20) contains 19 diaries and notebooks written by various members of the Wayne family between 1815 and 1913. Of these, Charles Wayne wrote one volume, an unknown author wrote one, William Wayne wrote ten, and William Wayne, Jr., wrote seven. The books have been assigned letters and arranged in chronological order. The Charles Wayne notebook, labeled "A," covers 1815-1816 and contains algebraic equations and notes from Charles' lessons at Norristown Academy in Pennsylvania. Volume "B," written by an unknown author, dates to about 1820 and contains a number of medicinal cures for ailments such as cholera, snakebite, consumption, jaundice, and dysentery, as well as notes on the weather and references to agriculture and a few daily events.

William Wayne, the great-grandson of Anthony Wayne, wrote volumes "C" through "L," documenting the years 1858 to 1872, with a gap from November 11, 1861-August 13, 1862. The volumes record Wayne's pre-Civil War agricultural pursuits, his service with the 97th Pennsylvania Infantry, and his postwar activities. Of particular interest are the entries that Wayne wrote while posted on Hilton Head Island in August 1862, as well as his brief descriptions of the arrival and processing of recruits at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in October of the same year. He also referenced Pennsylvania politics, the elections of 1863 and 1864, and the reaction of Philadelphians to the news of Lincoln's assassination. Also worth noting are Wayne's accounts of the Confederate cavalry raids on Chambersburg in November 1862, the Gettysburg campaign, and Wayne's attempts to recover the body of his brother-in-law after Gettysburg. Postwar, Wayne wrote on such topics as Reconstruction (August 14, 1866), a cholera outbreak in New York (November 4, 1865), and election fraud and rioting in Philadelphia (October 14, 1868).

William Wayne, Jr., wrote diaries "M" through "S," 1883-1913, with a gap between September 30, 1902, and April 19, 1911. These contain near-daily brief entries on weather, family life, health, and Wayne's interest in politics. Included is a description of an unveiling of a Sons of the Revolution monument (June 19, 1893), the illness of his wife, Mary (Fox) Wayne (February 28, 1884), and Wayne's work during an election (February 19, 1884).

The Account Books series contains 24 volumes, spanning 1769-1856. The earliest volume ("A") covers approximately 1769 to 1780, and contains accounts for unknown transactions, as well as scattered memoranda concerning travel between Ireland and North America and several references to schooling. Volume "B" is Anthony Wayne's military account book for 1793-1794, which lists monthly pay to various members of the Legion of the United States. Volumes "C" through "S" encompass a large amount of financial information for Anthony Wayne's son, Isaac, for the years 1794-1823. Volumes "T" through "X" are overlapping financial account books for William Wayne, covering 1854 through 1877. Also included is an account book recording tannery transactions and activities of the Wayne family in the 18th century (Volume 29), and a book of register warrants drawn by Anthony Wayne on the paymaster general in 1796 (Volume 34)

The Anthony Wayne Portait and Miscellaneous series contains an undated engraved portrait of Wayne by E. Prud'homme from a drawing by James Herring. Also included are various newspaper clippings, genealogical material, and printed matter representing the 19th and 20th centuries.

Collection

Mary Watts collection, 1917-1918

9 items

Mary Watts received correspondence, receipts, and certifications relating to her participation and engagement with the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Red Cross Nursing Service between 1917 and 1918 (9 items).

This collection is made up of correspondence and receipts received by Mary Watts relating to her certification, participation, and engagement with the American Red Cross Nursing Service between 1917 and 1918. Watts donated funds to the National War Finance Committee of the American Red Cross, completed a course to become certified in preparing surgical dressings to be packaged and shipped abroad for wounded soldiers, and volunteered for the Pittsburgh Chapter Preparedness Branch of the American Red Cross. Throughout this collection, Mary Watts is referred to as "Mrs. Henry Watts," "Mrs. Henry Walls," and "Mrs. Harry Watts." This collection highlights and documents one of the many ways women were able to join and aid in the war effort.

Collection

Mary Watts collection, 1917-1918

9 items

Mary Watts received correspondence, receipts, and certifications relating to her participation and engagement with the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Red Cross Nursing Service between 1917 and 1918 (9 items).

This collection is made up of correspondence and receipts received by Mary Watts relating to her certification, participation, and engagement with the American Red Cross Nursing Service between 1917 and 1918. Watts donated funds to the National War Finance Committee of the American Red Cross, completed a course to become certified in preparing surgical dressings to be packaged and shipped abroad for wounded soldiers, and volunteered for the Pittsburgh Chapter Preparedness Branch of the American Red Cross. Throughout this collection, Mary Watts is referred to as "Mrs. Henry Watts," "Mrs. Henry Walls," and "Mrs. Harry Watts." This collection highlights and documents one of the many ways women were able to join and aid in the war effort.

Collection

Peter Warren papers, 1738-1764 (majority within 1744-1751)

1.25 linear feet

The Peter Warren papers are the letters, documents, and financial papers of Admiral Peter Warren, the British naval officer who led the siege of the French fortress at Louisbourg in 1745. The collection primarily contains material related to the Louisburg expedition in 1745 and the British occupation of the outpost. The Peter Warren papers were originally part of the Thomas Gage papers.

The Peter Warren papers (268 items) are the letters, documents, and financial papers of Admiral Peter Warren, the British naval officer who led the siege of the French fortress at Louisbourg in 1745. The collection primarily contains material related to the Louisburg expedition in 1745 and the British occupation of the outpost. Included are communications with navy commissioners and treasury officials; monthly pay lists of carpenters, masons, smiths, and laborers; accounts of fuel and building materials purchased for the strengthening of Louisburg; and Warren's accounts with his London agents, Samuel and William Baker. Many of the letters and accounts are directed or attributed to both Peter Warren and General William Pepperrell who also commanded at Louisbourg.

The Correspondence series (72 items) is comprised primarily of letters written to Warren concerning trade and money lending interests in London and the colonies, the siege in Louisbourg and its aftermath, and supplying and paying the British navy. Warren received letters from contacts in London, Boston, and Philadelphia. Several letters mention his success in Louisbourg and provide details about his personal accounts and finances. The series contains four memorials concerning troops who fought in Louisbourg and payments made to Warren and Pepperrell by the British Treasury.

Of note:
  • A series of 12 letters from merchants Samuel and William Baker of London, in which they discussed commerce opportunities, details on loans, and news from London.
  • May 26, 1744: the description of the plight of a widow of a "regularly bred" officer who drowned in Antigua.
  • November 2, 1745: A report to Warren concerning the shortage of sailors willing to work on British navy ships. Many of the men impressed into service had fled to Rhode Island.
  • December 14, 1745-May 17, 1746: An 18-page, 21-letter booklet containing "Joint Letters By Admiral Warren and General Pepperrell at Louisburg To be entered in the Admiral's Letter Book." The volume contains letters addressed to several colonial governors (Governor William Shirley of Boston, Governor John Wentworth of New Hampshire, Lieutenant Governor Paul Mascarene of Nova Scotia, Governor George Clinton of New York, Thomas Penn of Pennsylvania, Lewis Morris of New Jersey, Thomas Bladen of Maryland, and William Gooch of Virginia), and merchants Apthorp and Sparhawk. Topics discussed include intelligence on the French Navy, requests for troop provisions and quotas, a description of the inhabitants of Nova Scotia, and news of expected British reinforcements arriving from Gibraltar.
  • October 20, 1747: Reports on the capture of the ship Vigilant and inventories of the stores and guns on board the ship.
  • March 5, 1749: A letter from Warren to William Montague about a dispute over the prize for the ship Union.

The Documents series (35 items) contains legal documents, requests made by the Boston Council of War, estimates for the proposed construction of barracks at Louisbourg, plans relating to attacking French forces in Canada, and meeting notes from the Massachusetts House of Representatives. The series also contains lists of ships in Warren's squadron, and lists of ships under Sir Edward Hawkes and Duke D. Enville's command.

Of note:
  • September 9, 1745: Orders from King George for holding courts martial on Cape Breton Island.
  • September 10, 1745: A signed copy of the council of war held at the Citadel of Louisbourg concerning intelligence on a French squadron reported in the seas around Cape Sable.
  • January 6, 1746: Approval of Warren and Governor Shirley's plan to move on the French forces of Quebec.
  • June 6, 1746: Instructions from the Council of War ordering Warren to take a small group of ships to the Mouth of the St. Lawrence River to blockade French ships from supplying Canada.
  • September 10, 1746: Reports on the wreck of the ship Shirley during a violent storm at Annapolis Royal.
  • September 21, 1746: A request from the Council at Boston for Warren to protect the town from the French navy.
  • October 13, 1746: A request from the Council at Boston to Warren and his ship Bien Amie to defend the fort at Annapolis Royal against the French.
  • Undated: "Signals by Night and Day" for ships in Warren's squadron.

The Financial Records series (161 items) is comprised of the accounts for operations at Louisbourg, including account books, bills of lading for incoming shipments, pay lists for laborers, and other financial records. Also present are items documenting Warren's personal accounts and his interests in money lending.

The Account Books subseries (9 volumes) contains Warren's naval and personal account books.

These include:
  • Account Book 1: August 22, 1738-December 21, 1751: Personal accounts for Warren with Samuel and William Baker and other financiers, accounts for victualling Warren's ships, Navy Commission debts, prize inventories for the ships Vigilant, St. Francis Xavier, La Charmonte, La Notre Dame de la Deliverence, Le Suprenant, Les Deua Amis, La Marie de Grace, St. Andrew (64 pages).
  • Account Book 2: July 15, 1745-May 31, 1746: "Account Of the Disbursements for the Repair and other public Expense of the Garrison of Louisbourg &c." This account includes the names and pay of workers at the fort (22 pages).
  • Account Book 3: July 22, 1745-October 15, 1745: "Second Attested Copies of Accounts for Fuel. Book No. 1." This account volume includes descriptions of orders and lists of the laborers who loaded wood and fuel at Louisbourg (61 pages).
  • Account Book 4: August 2, 1745-September 18, [1745]: "An Account of the Deliverance's Cargo," a prize ship brought to Louisbourg (7 pages and 10 loose documents).
  • Account Book 5: August 31, 1745-May 2, 1746: "Second attested Copies of Accts. for Contingencies. Book No. 3." This account contains the names and occupations for workers at Louisbourg. Laborers worked at the Royal Hospital, mines, and repairing the city and fort after the siege. Others were paid for guarding captives from the Cape Sable (Micmac) Indians (96 pages).
  • Account Book 6: September 6, 1745-May 21, 1748: "Accounts for Contingencies. Book No. 3." This volume contains accounts and descriptions of supplies and labor for projects in Louisbourg, including taking care of the sick and repairing the city. Also present is a list of the sailors on board the ship Vigilant, captained by Sir James Douglas (40 pages).
  • Account Book 7: September 6, 1745-August 20, 1748: "Accts. for Contingencies. Book No. 3." This volume largely duplicates the previous volume but covers accounts into August 1748 (58 pages).
  • Account Book 8: November 18, 1745-May 30, 1746: "Second attested Copies of Acct. for Fuel. Book 2." A continuation of account book three, this volume includes descriptions of orders and lists of the laborers who loaded wood and fuel at Louisbourg (55 pages).
  • Account Book 9: April 27, 1749-December 18, 1764: Peter Warren and Lady Warren's personal cash account book (40 pages).

The Bills of Lading subseries (3 volumes, 93 bills) consists of bills documenting cargo arrived on board ships sent from Boston to Louisbourg. Many of these items are partially printed forms with details on the inventory and crew filled out by hand. See the additional descriptive data for a list of ships and their masters.

The Pay Lists subseries (35 items) contains pay lists for overseers and laborers who worked at Louisbourg. Labor included hauling cannons; repairing roofs, chimneys, and other parts of military and public buildings; constructing pickets, bridges, and gates; and digging wells. Lists are organized by date and by regiment or work group.

The Other Financial Records subseries (123 items) is comprised of content similar to the supply and labor accounts in the Account Book series. Many items are labeled "Second Original" and have signatures from Warren and Pepperrell. These are accounts concerning supplies, such as wood, boards, shingles, and glass, as well as payments to workers for repairing and cleaning barracks, storehouses, guardhouses, gates, and other public buildings at Louisbourg.

Warren left Louisbourg in 1746. The financial records from 1747-1750 document his interests in money lending in Massachusetts and England, and his and his wife's personal accounts. Also present are shipping invoices for the ships Willing Mind, Lydia, and Robert & Molly, and reimbursements to Massachusetts Bay for expenses incurred during the siege and occupation of Louisbourg. Of the 18 undated items is an extract for provisioning troops sailing from Gibraltar to Louisbourg.

Collection

Walker family papers, 1832-1910 (majority within 1838-1880)

2.25 linear feet

The Walker family papers (1,962 items) contain the 19th-century letters and documents of the Walker family of Vermont, Illinois, and Minnesota. The bulk of the papers relate to Houghton Walker's mercantile businesses in Illinois. Other topics covered include the Civil War, the Mexican War, migration and settlement in Illinois and Wisconsin, Indian affairs, and religion.

The Walker family papers (1962 items) contain the 19th-century letters and documents of the Walker family of Vermont, Illinois, and Minnesota. The bulk of the collection documents Houghton Walker's business activities; other topics include the Mexican War, the Civil War, migration and settlement in Illinois and Wisconsin, Indian affairs, and Presbyterianism.

The Correspondence series (248 items) consists of three subseries: Walker Family letters, Peck Family letters, and Miscellaneous letters.

The Walker Family letters subseries (199 items) comprise the bulk of the Correspondence series. The various Walker brothers wrote often about business, land sales, financial distress, and business affairs. Lucius and Houghton both discussed their experiences traveling west from Vermont. Lucius, an Indian agent, mentioned his role in Indian affairs, and described the process of writing the Minnesota constitution in the 1850s. Emeline Walker’s letters typically relate to her religious faith and activities in the Presbyterian Church. Reverend William Walker discussed his experiences in Gaboon, and described the climate, food, homes, lifestyles of the Gabonese people, missionary work, and conflicts with the French government (between 1844 and 1882).

Items of note include:
  • Houghton Walker, 1840: Letter describing witnessing an execution
  • Joel Hamilton Walker, August 16-26, 1846, September 1, 1846 and March 24, 1847: Letters concerning his service in the Mexican War, describing his regiment's movements, fights in the camp with bowie knives, a riot among fellow troops, and available food
  • Lucius C. Walker, August 1857: Letter discussing constitution writing in Minnesota
  • Emeline Walker, August 3, 1862: Letter describing hearing "Douglas the colored barber" lecture on the war; she thought he spoke better on the topic than any white man in the area could
  • William Walker, January 18. 1868: Letter containing comments on contemporary politics in the United States
  • William Walker, April 10, 1882: Letter containing a history of William Walker's forty-year service as a missionary in Gaboon

The Peck Family letters (42 items) consist of the letters of Caroline Walker Peck, her husband Ebenezer, and their children Charles F, Peck and Sarah Wright, covering from the 1850s to the 1880s. These contain news on family and money issues, and document the business relationship between Charles and his uncle Houghton Walker.

The Miscellaneous letters subseries (7 items) contains letters to and from people outside the Walker and Peck families (1860-1905).

The Colonel Joel Walker Diary series (4 items) consists of a weather diary that contains daily temperature data and occasional notes on agricultural and day-to-day family activities (1837-1855). Also present are manuscript and typed copies of the diary, along with a list of excerpts of the non-weather information. Of note are the entries describing Walker's journey from Buffalo, New York, to Belvidere, Illinois.

The Documents and Financial Papers series (1,633 items) contains the business, financial, property, and estate records of the Walker family. Family members represented include Colonel Joel Walker, Joel Hamilton Walker, Francis Walker, George Walker, Francis H. Walker, Houghton C. Walker, Lucius C. Walker, Alice Houghton Walker, and Emeline August Frost Walker. However, the bulk of the series documents Joel Walker and Houghton Walker's business activities. Included are letters to merchants in the Midwest and New York, invoices, receipts, freight bills, orders, stock notes, promissory notes, treasury reports, insurance applications and policies, legal documents, estate papers, and cemetery and coffin bills. Many of the freight bills are for shipments on the Chicago & North-Western Railway Co.

Items of interest:
  • Houghton Walker, 1853-1859: Boone County Mutual Insurance Company records, which contain lists of policy-holders’ belongings with descriptions of their homes
  • Houghton Walker, 1859-1861: Bankruptcy papers for Alexander Neely, in which Houghton Walker was named as receiver
  • George Walker, 1860: Bill from [O']Doul's Restaurant in Springfield, Illinois, documenting nine months of food purchases

The Miscellaneous Materials series (77 items) is comprised of eight subseries, including photographs, scrapbooks, family papers, and genealogical material.

The Photographs subseries (2 items) contains aerial perspectives of Belvidere, Illinois, taken by W. A. Eddy in 1905 with the aid of a kite.

The Walker Scrapbook subseries (1 item) consists of a 33-page disbound volume of newspaper clippings, letters, and other ephemera. The clippings largely concern family members' obituaries and news on the Presbyterian Church in Belvidere, Illinois. Also of note are two newspaper articles written by Francis Houghton Walker in 1916, criticizing the portrayal of historical figures, especially Thaddeus Stevens in The Birth of a Nation. Also of interest are newspaper announcements for the silver wedding anniversary of Houghton and Emeline Walker, along with a list of gifts given to the couple on the occasion of the celebration.

The series contains subseries for miscellaneous items related to the following family members: Colonel Joel Walker, George Walker, Emeline August Frost Walker, Houghton C. Walker, and Francis H. Walker. The bulk of the materials are newspaper clippings that mention family members, calling cards, and fragments of writing. Of note are surveying documents of Joel and Houghton C. Walker, Emeline Walker's notes on missionaries in Africa and religious writings, and a note from Francis H. Walker on seeing Halley's Comet.

The Genealogical Materials subseries (24 items) contains records of the Walker and Houghton families collected by Francis H. Walker, along with two typed transcripts of the material. Also present are letters and genealogical notes compiled by Harry Leslie Walker and John B. Walker in the second half of the 20th century. These trace the Walker family back to the 17th century.

Collection

Levi B. Vilas collection, 1851-1872 (majority within 1851-1861)

46 items

This collection contains 44 letters that lawyer and congressman Levi B. Vilas wrote to his brother and mother after moving from Vermont to Madison, Wisconsin, in 1851. Vilas discussed family finances, politics, and his impressions of the South while traveling in 1856 and 1857.

This collection (46 items) contains 44 letters that lawyer and congressman Levi B. Vilas wrote to his brother and mother after moving from Vermont to Madison, Wisconsin, in 1851. Vilas discussed family finances, politics, and his impressions of the South while traveling in 1856 and 1857. The collection also includes 1 letter by Harrison Vilas and 1 photograph.

Levi B. Vilas often discussed his family's financial situation, particularly related to their estate in Vermont. Between 1860 and 1861, he expressed concern for his mother's health and questioned the impact that her illness would have on the family. He also provided news of his wife and children, his business affairs, politics, and the local Democratic Party.

In 1856 and 1857, Vilas took extended tours through the South and reflected on aspects of southern life such as the importance of cotton and slave labor. During the Civil War, he expressed concerns for his 3 sons serving in the Union Army. Harrison Vilas wrote 1 letter to his wife and mother recounting a journey from Vermont to Wisconsin (April 27, 1853). The collection also includes a photograph taken in Madison, Wisconsin, of a bearded man sitting at a desk in a study; a manuscript note identifies him as "L.B. Vilas."

Collection

Samuel and William Vernon collection, 1742-1797

Approximately 110 items (0.25 linear feet)

The Vernon collection is made up of business correspondence and financial records pertaining to Samuel and William Vernon. The majority of the material concerns merchant shipping between Newport, Rhode Island, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as well as Europe and the West Indies in the mid- to late 1700s.

The Vernon collection is made up of business correspondence and financial records pertaining to the shipping business of Samuel and William Vernon of Newport, Rhode Island. Correspondents wrote from American cities like Boston, Philadelphia, and Providence, as well as European cities like London, Cowes, Bristol, Liverpool, Amsterdam, Bordeaux, and Gottenburg. Several letters from Samuel William, Junior, and other trade partners originated from the West Indies, including St. Eustatia, Lucea, and Montego Bay. The bulk of the correspondence to the Vernon brothers relates to their financial affairs and about shipments and prices of goods. The collection also contains receipts, accounts, invoices, documents, and bills of lading pertaining to the Vernons' business engagements. Material concerns shipments of rum, sugar, and molasses; wood, staves, and shingles; miscellaneous goods like spermacetti oil and candles; and foodstuffs such as flour, rice, cheese, cocoa and chocolate, tea, wine, pickled and salted fish, and pork. Insurance matters are occasionally discussed, including documentation of damaged cargo, and at least two items pertain to salvage efforts (December 8, 1746, and December 29, 1791). Some items are signed by or otherwise concern Josiah Hewes, who worked with the Vernon brothers.

The Vernon family was engaged in mercantile pursuits between North America and the West Indies. The charter between John Evans of Freeport, Massachusetts, and Samuel and William Vernon for the use of his sloop for a voyage to Jamaica, dated January 17, 1774, is present. Other letters comment on West Indian markets (December 12, 1767), or mishaps, such as difficulties with rotting rum barrels (September 19, 1770). Several letters were authored by Samuel Vernon, Jr., detailing his pursuits while in Jamaica in the 1770s.

Several items in the collection directly relate to the Vernon family's involvement in the triangular slave trade. For example, a letter between Thomas and Samuel Vernon dated December 8, 1746, includes a postscript about the sale of two enslaved people, and one unsigned letter makes mention of average sale prices expected to be acquired "per head" (August 5, 1763). A London correspondent referenced insuring the Sloop Rainbow for its voyage from Newport, Rhode Island, to the "Coast of Africa & during her stay & Trade there to Jamaica with Liberty to touch at the Windward Islands" (June 18, 1752). A one-page bill of lading for the Sloop Hare, captained by Caleb Godfrey relates to its voyage from Newport to Africa and lists out its cargo (November 8, 1755). A 2-page draft by the Vernons to Alex. Home and Robert French, requesting assistance in sorting out an error in the sale of enslaved persons through an unwanted dealer and the lack of payment; with content on the Brig Royal Charlotte, owned by Aaron Lopez (August 24, 1768). A Boston correspondent, Sam Brown, wrote in detail about plans to secure a voyage to Mozambique and the Isle of France, noting the need to allow the master of the ship leeway to manage as he saw fit, "as it is highly probably many unforeseen circumstances would turn up of which he might not be able to make any advantage if he should be too strictly confined by orders" (September 21, 1794). He later acknowledged he had received word from a sailor of the vessel's arrival "from Mozambique with Slaves" (March 25, 1795) and that the captain had communicated that "there was neither Rum nor Dry Goods upon the Coast" of Africa (June 4, 1795).

Some items are more suggestive of participation in the slave trade, such as the March 22, 1797, letter by Cyprian Sterry hoping to delay his payment on a note until one of his ships from Havannah arrived "with a property upwards of 60,000 Dollars," a large sum that might indicate trade in enslaved people. Sterry later went on to implore Vernon to delay calling in his debt, as the harsh impact on his credit would be "perticulerly Gratifying to some of the Directers... I mean those of them that belong to the Abolition Society" (March 27, 1797). An undated invoice of "sundries" appears to list out numbers of days worked by about a dozen individuals, including one specifically noted as "Mr. Wait's Negro," but other names reflect names seen in enslaved populations like Ackraw (i.e. Accra), Cesar, and Gash, potentially indicating enslaved or formerly enslaved laborers. An oversized undated financial account for the "Cost & outfitt of the Briggt. Renard & her Cargo" shows that the Vernons held shares in the voyage alongside Peter Dordin, a known slave trader. Further research is needed to determine if this voyage was part of a slaving venture.

Some content reflects mercantile pursuits undertaken during times of war. A letter written May 31, 1744, during King George's War, notes that the Vernons "have not bought one article of war like stories" due to their rarity and high price. Another from the same year, from William Molineux, regards the transportation of goods (via land or water), remarking that he will send goods as soon as the embargo is lifted (February 18, 1744). In that letter, Molineaux indicated that he could not supply a grind stone, brimstone, West India Pilots, hour glasses, and three other items. A correspondent from London commented on possibilities of the bay being cut off and the "uncertain markets for American produce" (June 18, 1752), and another correspondent from Spain mentioned the resumption of trade after the end of the French and Indian War (April 18, 1763). Suggestive of revolutionary-era financial tensions in the British Atlantic, Samuel Vernon, Jr., while working in Jamaica lamented how "Merchants at home have had several meetings to regulate the freights... which the planters are highly exasperated at, and are determined not to comply with, esteeming it a tax upon their Goods... without consulting them" (April 7, 1773). A letter written by French merchants directed to William Vernon at the War Office in Boston sought his recommendation to his business networks, lauding him as being "universally known all over the Continent of America & yr Influence great, 'tis in your power to be of Vast Service to our house" (December 20, 1778).

Collection

Benjamin and William Oliver Vaughan papers, 1774-1830 (majority within 1774-1803, 1816)

144 items

The Benjamin and William Oliver Vaughan papers consist of miscellaneous documents relating to the business affairs of Benjamin Vaughan and a business account book from his son, William O. Vaughan. Benjamin and William were both merchants in Hallowell, Maine.

The collection is comprised of 143 letters and financial documents kept by Benjamin Vaughan and one account book kept by William Oliver Vaughan. The correspondence (19 items) dates from 1774 to 1830 and are related to business matters; many of the letters are fragments. The documents date from 1786 to 1803 and are largely miscellaneous receipts, accounts, and other financial records. The collection contains correspondence and documents respecting business deals, the purchase of goods, and debts; accounts; land agreements; a list of publications; a geometrical drawing; and recipes for industrial goods.

William Oliver Vaughan's account book for 1816 is a record of personal and business expenses. William wrote daily entries, many of which include his expenses. Most notes record only amounts paid or received, with the name of the other party. Some entries some provide information about products such as "Buffaloe skins," clothing, hay, beef, oil, flour, lumber, and various services. Vaughan also kept trip notes, such as for his frequent week-long visits to Boston; he included rates for the stage, food, lodging, and personal items. A few pages in November and October contain written receipts or IOU's signed by various persons to Vaughan.

The account book itself is partially a farmer's almanac for New England with 6 printed pages at the front with information about eclipses, military fines, college vacations, a simple interest table, medical lectures, and lists of local yearly and quarterly meetings of The Society of Friends. An illustrated printed page introduces each month, and displays a list of holidays, a quote about the month, and detailed astronomical calculations.

Collection

Christopher Van Deventer papers, 1799-1925

3 linear feet

The Christopher Van Deventer papers contain incoming and outgoing correspondence and documents concerning the War of 1812, the politics of the 1810s and 1820s, and the political career of John C. Calhoun.

The Christopher Van Deventer papers contain 622 items, including 569 letters, 38 financial and legal documents, 6 newspaper clippings, 5 diaries, an essay, a map, a photograph, and a printed item. The papers span 1799-1925 (bulk 1810 and 1835).

The Correspondence and Documents series contains Van Deventer's incoming and outgoing letters, receipts, certificates, and other documents, spanning 1799-1900. The materials cover various stages of his career, including his role as deputy quartermaster general in the early stages of the War of 1812, his imprisonment in Quebec and attempted escape, his friendship with John C. Calhoun and involvement in national politics, and the scandal which ended his public career.

The series opens with several letters and memoranda about the neutrality of the United States leading up to the War of 1812, including a manuscript essay signed "Gilbert" and entitled "Ought the United States to abandon Neutrality by forming an alliance with either Belligerent?" and the urgency of reconciliation with both Great Britain and France (filed after 1809). Samuel de Veaux, the commissary of Fort Niagara, also contributed several letters on the topic, stating in one, "the maintainance [sic] of a strict neutrality will be at the expense of the honour, the dignity, and the independence of the nation" (March 6, 1810). Upon the outbreak of the war, most letters and documents concern war efforts and Van Deventer's duties with the Quartermaster Department. These include requests concerning British fortifications at Niagara (June 28, 1812), the use of receipts to track expenditures, the construction of boats at Sackets Harbor (February 11, 1813), and a reconnaissance report concerning Fort George ([1813]).

After Van Deventer's capture at the Battle of Stony Creek on June 6, 1813, the collection documents his imprisonment in Quebec from July 1813 to February 1815. Letters received by Van Deventer include assurances from friends that they will get him exchanged (July 9, 1813), updates on his daughter (August 20, 1813), and details of his finances back in New York. Van Deventer also wrote frequently to friends and family members, describing his state of mind and the conditions of his imprisonment. On October 31, 1813, he noted that he was in "close confinement…limited by bolts and bars and locks" along with about 45 other American officers. He also provided a report of American officers confined with him, including names, ranks, corps, and remarks, and noted that they were "arrayed in a suite of upper rooms" with four men per room (November 4, 1813). Several letters contain references to a failed attempt to escape that he tried in late 1813. On December 25, 1813, he wrote, "I now am as miserable a condition as a man can be: in solitary confinement…deprived of my servant cut of[f] from converse with my countrymen." Van Deventer's imprisonment seemed to take an increasing toll on his mental state; on March 26, 1814, he wrote, "You tell me not to be discouraged--'hope!' ha, ha, ha, 'hope,' hope for what?" He also wrote in one letter that he had resolved "to practice the Stoic principle that 'whatever is independent on choice, is nothing to me'" (May 24, 1814).

After ca, February 1815, the date of Van Deventer's release, the collection primarily concerns correspondence relating to his career as chief clerk in the War Department; American politics, including the presidential candidacy of John C. Calhoun; the scandal related to Rip Raps shoal contract; and scattered personal and financial letters. In his role in the War Department, Van Deventer corresponded on numerous military matters. On January 16, 1818, he discussed the peacetime establishment of the United States Army and its reduction in size (January 15, 1818). Around 1819, he noted his support of Andrew Jackson's attacks on the Seminoles in Florida, stating, "we do affirm that neither the Constitution nor the laws have been violated by marching our forces into Florida" [1819].

The collection also contains approximately 12 letters written to Van Deventer by John C. Calhoun between 1818 and 1836. These concern such topics as political appointments (September 2, 1821), Calhoun's predictions of doom for the John Quincy Adams administration (August 12, 1827), the growing rift between Calhoun and President Andrew Jackson (May 12, 1830), and several letters concerning the Rip-Raps affair, including Calhoun's pledge of support of Van Deventer against charges of military contract fraud (March 25, 1825). In a letter dated July 23, 1827, Calhoun responded to Van Deventer's suggestion that Calhoun should visit the north "with the view to remove unfavorable impressions" of him there, commenting that he did not want to undertake such a task simply for the sake of popularity. In addition, Calhoun noted that he foresaw "a great crisis" in United States public affairs. In another letter, of March 24, 1833, he addressed the nullification crisis, writing, "I have no doubt the system has got its death wound. Nullification has dealt the fatal blow." Also included are approximately 15 letters relating to Calhoun's candidacy for president in 1824, including Van Deventer's endorsement of him ([1823]), and a discussion of the upcoming election (September 21, 1824).

Also included are numerous letters and documents relating to the Rip Raps military contract scandal, including substantial correspondence between Van Deventer and Elijah Mix, an assertion of confidence in Van Deventer's character by James Monroe (November 27, 1826), numerous letters of support from friends and colleagues, and a printed report by the U.S. House of Representatives (May 22, 1822). The materials cover many aspects of the scandal and its aftermath.

Also present in this series is a copy of Charles S. Smith's printed map, Map of the City of Quebec (New York: 1796), located in Box 1.

The Diaries series contains five brief, loose-leaf diaries covering the following periods: April 26-May 5, 1819; January 10-March 3, 1825; October 13, 1825-July 3, 1826; July 4-November 3, 1826; and December 2, 1826-April 7, 1827. Entries are terse and business-like in nature and track Van Deventer's activities as chief clerk in the War Department, including the correspondence and reports he received, colleagues with whom he spoke on various matters, and documents that he wrote and sent. In a few entries, he mentioned comments made by John C. Calhoun; for example, on January 10, 1825, he noted that "Mr Calhoun remarked on Mr [DeWitt] Clinton's speech, that Mr Clinton had put himself on his Mr Calhouns ground--that the Radical party was wholly demolished…." In an entry of November 23, 1825, he discussed public perceptions and popularity of Calhoun in Washington, D.C.

Collection

Tadeusz Kościuszko family legal documents, 1843-1860

15 items

This collection is made up of 15 legal documents pertaining to a lawsuit related to Ohio lands claimed by the descendants of Tadeusz Kościuszko in 1855.

This collection is made up of 15 legal documents pertaining to a lawsuit over Ohio lands claimed by the descendants of Tadeusz Kościuszko in 1855.

The earliest manuscript is an English- and Russian-language document respecting claims on Tadeusz Kościuszko's personal property and Ohio real estate (May 7, 1843). The document includes genealogical information about the Estko, Zalkowski, and other families, including a family tree. A contemporary English translation accompanies the manuscript.

Ten documents from 1855 concern the court case George Dawson v. Joseph Crisman ("John Doe v. Richard Roe"). Dawson inherited the Ohio lands on the deaths of the prior owners and evicted all of the tenants residing on the property. The documents include a description of the suit, in which Crisman, a tenant, forced Dawson off of the land at gunpoint; a bill for legal fees; and 8 copies of depositions related to the case and to the ownership of the property. The final items are translated documents about the genealogy of Kościuszko's descendants and legal statements by the translator of the Russian document.

Collection

Dunlap legal papers, 1797-1820

12 items

The Dunlap legal papers are comprised of 12 original and copied documents related to a lawsuit that John Dunlap of Ross County, Ohio, brought against Alexander Dunlap and James Dunlap regarding land along the Scioto River, which was once owned by John Fowler. The documents include receipts, legal depositions, and surveys.

This collection holds 12 original and copied documents related to a lawsuit that John Dunlap of Ross County, Ohio, brought against Alexander Dunlap and James Dunlap regarding land along the Scioto River, which was once owned by John Fowler. The documents include receipts, legal depositions, and surveys.

Fowler initially claimed his right to the land under military warrants, and sold the land to Alexander Dunlap around 1795. In 1818, John Dunlap sued Alexander Dunlap and James Dunlap over the boundaries between their tracts of land, which had been established in 1808. The case, heard by the Seventh Circuit Court, was not resolved until after 1820. This collection contains original receipts between Alexander Dunlap and John Dunlap, Sr., for surveying work done between 1797 and 1811, as well as later documents used in the legal case, including depositions of 4 witnesses: John and James Stevenson (August 17, 1818), Benjamin Hough (January 2, 1819), and Price F. Kellogg (January 7, 1820). The collection also contains 5 surveyors' maps of the disputed lands, including copies of Richard Clough Anderson's original surveys (March 6, 1820 and November 18, 1820), as well as surveys made explicitly for the case. The contemporary copied documents are authenticated by Josiah Meigs.

Collection

United States. Army. 3rd Cavalry Regiment receipts, 1876-1878

9 items

This collection is made up of nine receipts for payments made by 3rd Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army largely in Wyoming Territory (W.T.) and Nebraska between December 11, 1876, and October 31, 1878. The bulk of the receipts were for purchases and expenditures related to the regimental band in 1878. They include receipts for musical instrument supplies such as silver keys and cocoa wood for clarinet, keys and an ivory mouthpiece for flute, keys and an ivory mouthpiece for piccolo, and a bow, case, strings, and rosin for viola. Two receipts are for extra pay to the band leader. A list of property belonging to the band is also present. Other receipts are for purchases of groceries and livestock (corn, onion, peas, beet seeds, turkeys, sheep).

This collection is made up of nine receipts for payments made by 3rd Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army largely in Wyoming Territory (W.T.) and Nebraska between December 11, 1876, and October 31, 1878. The bulk of the receipts were for purchases and expenditures related to the regimental band in 1878. They include receipts for musical instrument supplies such as silver keys and cocoa wood for clarinet, keys and an ivory mouthpiece for flute, keys and an ivory mouthpiece for piccolo, and a bow, case, strings, and rosin for viola. Two receipts are for extra pay to the band leader. A list of property belonging to the band is also present. Other receipts are for purchases of groceries and livestock (corn, onion, peas, beet seeds, turkeys, sheep).

Printed and stamped business headers include D. B. Beemer & Co. (Cheyenne, W.T.), Pole Creek Ranche (W.T.), Pease & Taylor (Cheyenne, W.T., with illustrated street view of the storefront), and Nicholas Lebrun, manufacturer and importer of musical instruments and merchandise (St. Louis, Missouri).

Collection

Joseph J. Tuttle papers, 1831-1963 (majority within 1854-1918)

156 items

Joseph Tuttle enlisted in the 5th Michigan Cavalry in 1862 and fought in several battles before being taken prisoner at Trevilian Station, Virginia, in 1864. His correspondence during the Civil War describes army life and his company's participation in battles and skirmishes. The collection also includes land deeds and indentures, tax documents, photocopies of military documents pertaining to Joseph Tuttle, newspaper clippings, family photographs, and other materials.

The papers of Joseph J. Tuttle consist of 41 letters, 15 photocopies of military documents, 37 documents, 36 tax documents and receipts, 34 items of ephemera, 8 newspaper clippings, 7 photographs, 1 Civil War military pin, and 2 miscellaneous items. These items fall collectively between the dates of October 13, 1831 and April 3, 1963, however the bulk of them fall between November 16, 1854 and August 12, 1918.

The correspondence consists of 35 letters written during the Civil War (most of which are letters from Joseph Tuttle to his sister), and 6 miscellaneous letters. Tuttle writes about army life and his company's participation in battles and skirmishes. In a letter dated Aug. 30, 1863, he describes, in some detail, the execution of 5 deserters from the Union army, and in a letter of Feb. 27, 1864, he mentions the large number of deserters from Lee's army.

The photocopies of military documents all pertain exclusively to Joseph Tuttle, including his muster in/out forms, and documents pertaining to his illness. The 37 documents include 25 land deeds/indentures in Oakland County, Michigan, 5 documents pertaining to the purchase of land in St. Cloud, Florida, 2 Hartford Fire Insurance papers, 1 death record, and 4 other miscellaneous documents. The tax documents are all property tax forms and receipts, in addition to a few receipts for the sale of goods.

The ephemera consists of invitations, birthday and Christmas cards, and calling cards. Two of the newspaper clippings relate to the Michigan Cavalry. Included in the family photographs are at least 2 photos of Joseph Tuttle. The Civil War pin is marked "Grand Army of the Republic 1861 Veteran 1866," and a ribbon commemorates the Nineteenth reunion of the 5th Michigan Association.

Collection

Turner-Whiton papers, 1798-1892 (majority within 1831-1880)

1.5 linear feet

The Turner-Whiton papers contain correspondence, financial records, legal documents, essays, and newspaper clippings pertaining to T. Larkin Turner, a druggist from Boston, Massachusetts, and his wife, Elizabeth D. Whiton. The material primarily concerns the couple's courtship and two of Turner's pharmaceutical products.

This collection contains correspondence, financial records, legal documents, essays, and newspaper clippings pertaining to T. Larkin Turner, a druggist from Boston, Massachusetts, and his wife, Elizabeth D. Whiton. The material primarily concerns the couple's courtship and two of Turner's pharmaceutical products.

The first three subseries in the Correspondence series are grouped by correspondents: Elizabeth Whiton letters to T. Larkin Turner (122 items), Letters to Elizabeth Whiton (121 items), and T. Larkin Turner letters to Elizabeth Whiton (12 items). These subseries are comprised of personal letters written in the mid-19th century, primarily concerning the writers' social lives in Hingham, Charlestown, and Boston, Massachusetts. Elizabeth Whiton's correspondents included her siblings and female friends.

The Letters from H. subseries contains 43 letters that a man named Henry and his wife Marie wrote to his parents while traveling in Italy, France, England, and Germany in 1884 and 1885. Henry wrote the majority of the letters, commented on his life in Venice, Paris, and London, and mentioned a recent cholera epidemic. The subseries also includes a ticket and printed advertisement in French.

The Chronological Correspondence subseries comprises the bulk of the collection. The first 2 items are letters from Reverend Sherman Johnson of Southborough, Massachusetts, to a female acquaintance. Most items from 1833-1880 are personal letters to T. Larkin Turner and Elizabeth D. Whiton (later Elizabeth Turner), including their letters to one another during their courtship (ca. 1837-1843) and later letters from a branch of the Turner family in Lexington, Massachusetts. The courtship-era letters primarily concern Turner and Whiton's daily lives in Boston and Hingham, Massachusetts, respectively. Elizabeth Whiton also received letters from male and female friends in New England and New York, particularly in Charlestown and Boston, Massachusetts.

T. Larkin Turner received letters from several correspondents, including George R. Turner, who wrote a series of letters to Turner about his work for a Massachusetts railroad in 1847 and 1848. He commented on his in-state travels, his co-workers, and the railroad's progress. George W. Prescott of the United States Navy Yard in Pensacola, Florida, wrote personal letters to Turner from 1877-1883. Undated items include additional correspondence between Turner and Whiton and genealogical notes about the Turner family.

Advertisements include printed booklets, fliers, and other advertisements for T. Larkin Turner's medical cures, particularly the "Tic-Douloureux, or Universal Neuralgia Pill" and "Lorraine's Vegetable Cathartic Pills." Manuscript drafts of advertisements are also present. Other clippings are articles on medical conditions such as neuralgia, on Turner's pills, and on other medical topics.

A group of papers related to Turner's Nostrums contains manuscript drafted advertisements and notes about T. Larkin Turner's "Tic-Douloureux, or Universal Neuralgia Pill" and other products. Two lengthy manuscript drafts concern the neuralgia pill and a cure for menstrual discomfort. Notes concern various medical conditions and the importance of sleep, among other topics.

The Receipts and Documents series primarily contains receipts to Captain Larkin Turner and T. Larkin Turner, largely for everyday personal expenses. T. Larkin Turner also purchased a newspaper subscription and hired a horse and buggy on at least one occasion. Indentures and similar legal documents primarily pertain to land in Massachusetts.

The Muster Roll/Town Roster series contains two items: a booklet with names of Boston residents and other annotations, and a booklet containing copied information from a 1757 muster roll.

The Genealogy series has notes and fragments about the Whiton, Turner, and Whitney families, as well as poetry, essays, correspondence, and receipts of payment for copied documents.

T. Larkin Turner composed a 94-page Memorative of Larkin Turner, his father, on the backs of assorted documents, scraps, and ephemera items. The bound volume, the first in a series, covers Larkin's life until about 1812.

Additional Newspaper Clippings pertain to deaths, marriages, and the Fusilier Veteran Association.

The Miscellaneous series contains ephemera, sketches, a lock of Turner's hair, a Tufts library card for "Russell H. Whiting," and other items.

Collection

Turner-Harlan family papers, 1725-1924 (majority within 1799-1924)

3.5 linear feet

The Turner-Harlan family papers are made up of correspondence, legal and financial documents, photographs, scrapbooks, genealogical information, and other materials spanning multiple generations of the Turner and Harlan families of Newport, Rhode Island, and Maryland. The collection particularly regards US Navy Surgeon Dr. William Turner (1775-1837), Commodore Peter Turner (1803-1871), Hettie Foster Harlan née Turner (1850-1937), and their relations.

Collection Scope and Content Note:

The Turner-Harlan family papers are made up of correspondence, legal and financial documents, photographs, scrapbooks, genealogical information, and other materials spanning multiple generations of the Turner and Harlan families of Newport, Rhode Island, and Maryland. The collection particularly regards US Navy Surgeon Dr. William Turner (1775-1837), Commodore Peter Turner (1803-1871), Hettie Foster Harlan née Turner (1850-1937), and their relations. The papers are arranged into five series: Turner Family Papers, Harlan Family Papers, Photographs, Printed Materials, and Turner-Harlan genealogical papers

The Turner Family Papers seriesconsists of 112 letters to and from members of the Turner family and their associates, five log books, and assorted ephemera, with most items dating between 1790 and 1860.

The Turner family Correspondence and Documents subseries contains 112 incoming and outgoing letters and documents of members of the Turner family between 1749 and 1871 (bulk 1799-1840s).

The largest coherent groups within this subseries are 40 letters and documents of Dr. William Turner (1775-1837), revolving largely around his military and medical careers between 1799 and 1837; and 49 letters and documents of Peter Turner (1803-1871), most of them letters to his parents while in naval training and service, 1820-1844. Selected examples from William Turner's manuscripts include:

  • August 2 and 13, 1752, letter by William Turner (1712/13-1754) to his father, written with mirrored lettering. He discussed his fears of small pox in Newark; the tremor in his right hand, which forces him to write with his left; and a 30-pound debt.
  • Christopher R. Perry's appointment of William Turner (1775-1837) as chief surgeon of the frigate General Greene, August 31, 1799.
  • An October 10, 1799, letter by Dr. William Turner from Cap François, Saint-Domingue, in which he relates Captain Perry's description of Toussaint Louverture.
  • A September 20, 1800, letter by Dr. Turner defending his assessment and actions relating to a yellow fever outbreak originating from the General Greene on its arrival in Newport, Rhode Island.
  • Oliver Hazard Perry ALS to his mother, ca. 1807-1808, informing her of the death of Benjamin Turner, who was killed in a duel over an argument about Shakespeare's plays.
  • A letter from Henry Fry respecting the personal effects of Dr. Peter Turner, who died of wounds sustained at Plattsburgh (October 17, 1813).
  • Three letters to Hettie Foster Turner from siblings Lillie and George Turner relate information about the health of family members in E. Greenwich, Rhode Island. One of these letters is dated October 18, 1813, the others are undated.
  • William Turner's December 23, 1814, letter to General Thomas Cushing, explaining that one condition of his current appointment must be permission to continue his private practice while also tending to garrison duty.
  • Three manuscript Portsmouth Marine Barracks countersign-watchword documents from August 22 and 24, and October 31, 1849. The August 24, 1849, countersign "Revolution" matched watchword "Cuba."
  • Family letters of Henry E. Turner, William C. Turner, George Turner, and others

The 49 letters and documents of Peter Turner are largely comprised of correspondence with his parents. Turner wrote as a midshipman aboard vessels in the West Indian and Mediterranean squadrons during the 1820s. He sent his most robust letters from Rio de Janeiro on July 10, 1826, and aboard the US Ship Falmouth on a voyage to Vera Cruz in 1828. Turner met the Erie at Vera Cruz, expecting to find his brother William C. Turner aboard, but the sibling had been left at Pensacola for unspecified reasons. Peter Turner received the disconcerting news of the death of a family member and wrote about his distress at not being able to return home. He updated his parents as he traveled to Pensacola and then the Navy Yard at Charleston, South Carolina. Later in 1828, he joined the US Ship Hornet on a voyage to Brooklyn; yellow fever took the lives of three midshipmen on the trip (November 19, 1828).

From 1828 to 1829, Peter Turner wrote from Brooklyn, where he became an officer in March 1829. The remainder of Peter Turner's correspondence and documents are scattered, including for example:

  • A May 4, 1828, letter respecting the estate of Dr. William Turner of Newport, Rhode Island.
  • A May 11, 1844, letter by Peter Turner from Rio de Janeiro on stationery bearing an engraved view of the "Praca do Commercio" [Praça do Comércio] by Friedrich Pustkow.
  • A letter to Turner respecting a check for $25, which was bequeathed to Turner from commodore Uriah P. Levy, December 1862.
  • Three letters and documents respecting the transfer of ownership for pew 83 in Trinity Church, Newport, Rhode Island, in January 1862.
  • Two documents regarding $1,387 owed to the estate of William Mathews by the US Naval Asylum in June 1863.

The Turner family Logbooks subseries includes five log books from three different United States Navy vessels:

  • US Schooner Nonsuch, August 8, 1821-May 19, 1823. Daniel Turner commanded this vessel on its voyage from the New York Navy Yard to Port Mahon [Minorca] and subsequent service in the Mediterranean. The volume includes five watercolor coastal profiles or views (Corsica, Cape St. Vincent, Milo, and Corvo).
  • US Schooner Nonsuch, September 9, 1824-December 14, 1824. Daniel Turner, commanded this ship from Palermo Bay, south along the African coastline, past the Canary Islands, and to the Navy Yard at New York.
  • US Schooner Nonsuch, November 1, 1824-December 3, 1824; December 11, 1826-December 31, 1826. The remainder of the volume contains illustrated mathematical propositions related to conic sections and spherical geometry.
  • US Schooner Shark, August 5, 1827-October 24, 1827. Isaac McKeever served as commander of the Shark during this voyage from the coast of Nova Scotia to the United States Naval Seminary at the New York Navy Yard. The remainder of the book, beginning at the opposite cover, is comprised of question and answer format essays on aspects of seamanship. The author was an unidentified individual at the Naval Seminary. The essays are followed by a celestial map.
  • US Ship Southampton, December 15, 1850-October 31, 1851. Lieutenant Peter Turner commanded the Southampton during the ship's December 30, 1850-October 31, 1851, voyage. The ship set sail from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, traveled around Cape Horn, and arrived at San Francisco harbor.

The remainder of the Turner family series includes miscellaneous writings and cards. The three pieces of writing include a recipe for "Dr. King's Diarrhoea Mixture" (undated); a note from "Daughter" to her mother, secretly pleading with her to change the daughter's teacher (undated), and "Lines on the Death of Miss Martha Turner" (September 17, 1870). Five calling and visiting cards date from the 1850s to the late 19th century.

The Harlan Family Papers series includes approximately 250 items relating to the lives of the Harlan family. The series includes correspondence, legal and financial papers, and scrapbooks.

The Harlan family Correspondence subseries contains 45 letters to and from members of the Harlan family, 1846-1925, with the bulk of the materials falling between the 1880s and the 1910s. A majority concerns the everyday lives of the Henry and Hettie (Turner) Harlan family, including their siblings and children. The most prevalent writers and recipients include Hettie's brother James Turner Harlan of Philadelphia; William H. Harlan of the law firm of Harlan & Webster in Bel Air, Maryland; and Hettie's aunt Ada H. Turner.

One item of particular interest is a letter from "David" [Harlan?] to Henry Harlan, dated August 12-14, [1846], and written aboard the US Steamship Princeton (during the US-Mexico War). David summarized and speculated about current political matters, including tensions relating to the ousting of President Salinas, the assumption of the presidency by Paredes, and the anticipation of the return of Santa Anna. He also provided a lengthy anecdote about the laborious process of loading sheep and cattle from the shores of Sacrificios onto the Princeton.

The Harlan family Legal and Financial documents subseries contains 165 items, dating primarily between 1815 and 1924, and consisting of land deeds and contracts, estate-related materials, and assorted receipts, accounts, checks, and other financial materials. The bulk of the real property referred to in the documentation was in Harford County, Maryland.

One bundle of 21 telegrams, manuscript notes, and newspaper clippings trace the April 1902 Disappearance and Suicide of James V. P. Turner, a prominent Philadelphia lawyer and son of Commodore Peter Turner.

A group of 12 miscellaneous Writings, Cards, and Invitations date from the 1870s to the 20th century. These include 1877 New Year's resolutions by Hettie F. Turner; an 1886 "Journal of Jimmie & Pansie Harlan's Doings and sayings" [By Hettie Foster Turner Harlan?]; a handwritten program for Darlington Academy commencement entertainments, June 18, 1897; and a typed graduation speech titled "We Launch To-night! Where Shall We Anchor?" ([James T. Harlan?], Darlington Academy, class of 1899).

The Photographs series includes six cyanotypes, three cartes-de-visite, four snapshots and paper prints, and three negatives depicting members of the Turner and Harlan families. The CDVs are portraits of Commodore Peter Turner (unidentified photographer), a 16 year-old Henry Harlan (by Richard Walzl of Baltimore), and Hettie Foster Turner Harlan in secondary mourning attire (by Philadelphia photographers Broadbent & Phillips). The cyanotypes, prints, and negatives include 1890s-1910s images of the family's Strawberry Hill estate, Henry and Hettie Harlan, "Pansy" (Hettie F. Harlan), and other family members.

The Scrapbook subseries is comprised of six scrapbooks relating to different elements of the Harlan family.

  • "Old Harlan Papers" scrapbook, 1750-late 19th century, bulk 1810s-1840s. Includes 19th century copies of 18th century land documents. Land documents, property maps, and other legal documentation largely respecting Harford County, Maryland, lands. The real property includes "Durbin's Chance," "Betty's Lot," "Stump's Chance," and other properties. The original and copied manuscripts are pasted or laid into a picture cut-out scrapbook belonging to Peter Smith, ca. 1960s (Smith may or may not have been the compiler of the "Old Harlan Papers").
  • Harlan Family scrapbook, March 21, 1793-[20th century]. This volume includes land deeds, contracts, documents, letters, printed items, and genealogical materials related to multiple generations of the Harlan family, particularly in Maryland. Of note is a March 6, 1835, legal agreement respecting the sale of Emory, a 17-year old slave, by Anne Page to Dr. David Harlan, Kent County, Maryland.
  • Harlan Family scrapbook, "Furniture References," 1860s-1960s, bulk 1890s-1920s. This volume contains interior and exterior photographs of the Harlans' "Strawberry Hill" farm near Stafford, Maryland. Some of these photographs include notes about the furniture depicted in them. Other significant materials include approximately 15 letters by Hettie F. Harlan, James V. P. Harlan, and others, 1898-1902.; and an 1864 "Great Central Fair" committee ticket for Hettie F. Turner (a "Lady's Ticket"), accompanied by a tintype portrait of two women.
  • James T. Harlan, "Photographs" album, 1906-1913, 1948-1949. Harford and Baltimore County, Maryland. Interiors and Exteriors of Harlan and Stump family homes; travel photos to Perry Point (Perryville), Maryland, in 1910. 1909/1910 motorcycles, 1906, 1909, and 1910 snapshots from the Baltimore Automobile Show; a 1911 trip to Newport, Rhode Island; ca. 1905-1907 trip to Druid Hill Park; snapshots of James T. Harlan's Baltimore office, National Surety Company of New York.
  • Cleveland Commission for the celebration of the Centennial of Perry's Victory on Lake Erie (Perry Centennial Committee of Cleveland, Ohio) scrapbook, 1913. Newspaper clippings, correspondence, real photo and picture postcards, a printed program "The Progress of Woman" (September 16, 1913); printed invitation card for a reception held by the "Committee on Women's Organizations of the Cleveland Commission Perry's Victory Centennial" September 15, 1913); mounted paper portrait photograph of William G. Turner, 1902.
  • Handmade album titled "Harford" by an unidentified compiler. Through pasted-in postcards, snapshots, verses from newspaper clippings, and plant matter, the unidentified compiler documented their sentimental attachment for scenes and people in Harford County, Maryland (particularly Stafford and Darlington).

The Printed Materials series includes:

  • Approximately 20 newspaper clippings (19th-early 20th century) and a single copy of the newspaper Public Ledger (v. 1, no. 1; Philadelphia, Friday Morning, March 25, 1836).
  • In Memory of Elizabeth Dale, Widow of Admiral George C. Read, 2nd ed. (Philadelphia, 1863).
  • Henry E. Turner, M.D., Greenes of Warwick in Colonial History. Read Before the Rhode Island Historical Society, February 27, 1877 (Newport, RI, 1877).
  • [The Quaker Calendar], Westtown 1907 (Philadelphia: Printed by Leeds & Biddle Co. [incomplete]).
  • University of Maryland Annual Commencement. Academy of Music. Monday Afternoon, May Thirty-First at Four O'Clock (1909)
  • William Jarboe Grove, Carrollton Manor Frederick Country Maryland. By William Jarboe Grove, Lime Kiln, Maryland., March 29th, 1921 (198 pages [incomplete]).
  • Charles D. Holland, Some Landmarks of Colonial History in Harford County, Maryland (Baltimore, 1933).
  • "Commodores Belt of Blue Cloth and Gold Embroidery." Addressed to Commodore Peter Turner from the Navy Department. One page, showing design for a commodore's belt and sword sling, and including a manuscript notation "This is correct" (undated).
  • One page "prayer."

The Turner-Harlan Genealogy series consists of a wide array of materials relating to genealogical research of the Turner-Harlan families. Items include handwritten family trees, familial biographies, and professionally-produced genealogical items. Also included are 20th century Harlan family newsletters.

Collection

Lyman Trumbull family papers, 1799-1924 (majority within 1859-1890)

approximately 1.75 linear feet

The Lyman Trumbull family papers contain personal correspondence of United States Senator Lyman Trumbull and of the family of his second wife, Mary Ingraham Trumbull. Letters primarily pertain to personal matters and family life during the 19th century, with a focus on Chicago, Illinois, during the Civil War, and Saybrook, Connecticut, home of the Ingraham family. The collection also contains a number of school notebooks, legal and financial documents, two watercolor paintings, photographs, and ephemera.
The Correspondence series is currently divided into the following five subseries:
  • Trumbull Family Letters
    • Lyman Trumbull Miscellaneous letters (1838-1895)
    • Lyman Trumbull to Julia Trumbull (1844-1855)
    • Julia Trumbull to Lyman Trumbull (1860-1866)
    • Lyman Trumbull to Mary Ingraham Trumbull (1869-1884)
    • Letters to Mary Ingraham Trumbull (1859-1914)
    • Miscellaneous Trumbull family letters (1850-1903)
  • Ingraham-Rankin Family Letters
    • Julia Ingraham and George Rankin letters (1868-1899)
    • Miscellaneous Ingraham family letters (1824-1913)
  • Letters to J. F. Uhlhorn (1860-1869)
  • Mather Family Letters (1837-1893)
  • Miscellaneous Letters (1834-1908)

The Trumbull Family Letters subseries contain the letters of Lyman Trumbull, Julia Trumbull, Mary Ingraham Trumbull, and various other family members.

The Lyman Trumbull Miscellaneous letters (1838-1895) contain personal correspondence, both written and received, by Lyman Trumbull. Among the items written by Trumbull are a letter describing a trip to the Minnesota wilderness, and a draft of a telegram congratulating president-elect Benjamin Harrison. Incoming correspondence includes letters from his siblings and cousins, as well as copies of letters from Abraham Lincoln and J. F. Buchanan. General Nelson Miles sent an invitation to Lyman and Robert Lincoln wrote a lengthy letter regarding the financial history of his late mother, Mary Todd Lincoln.

The Lyman Trumbull to Julia Trumbull letters (1844-1855) contains 12 letters written by Lyman to his first wife. The letters primarily discuss his health and occasionally refer to his social life.

The Julia Trumbull to Lyman Trumbull letters (1860-1866) consist of Civil War-era letters from Julia to her husband regarding her life in Chicago, where she remained while Lyman served in the United States Senate. Most of the letters focus on local social life and on the couple's children. Though some of these letters contain brief remarks on political matters, the focus on family is maintained throughout.

The Lyman Trumbull to Mary Ingraham Trumbull letters (1869-1884) are primarily personal, and include letters written both before and after Lyman's marriage to his cousin, Mary Jane Ingraham. Prior to their courtship and marriage, Lyman's letters show a certain degree of affection, and he often mentioned sending photographs and gave Mary updates about his life in Chicago. Lyman's letters following his wedding recount life in Chicago, while Mary was away visiting her family in Saybrook, Connecticut; he often asked when she planned to return to Illinois. Of particular interest is his letter of February 1, 1881, in which Lyman described the decline and death of "brother John" near Jackson, Michigan.

The Letters to Mary Ingraham Trumbull (1859-1914) comprises the largest unit of correspondence in the collection, containing approximately 290 items. It consists primarily of family letters written to Mary Ingraham (later Trumbull) throughout her life; frequent correspondents included her mother Almira, and sisters Annie and Julia. The center of the Ingraham family was Saybrook, Connecticut, where most of the letters originated. After the 1880s, friends and acquaintances wrote more letters than family members, including a letter of condolence sent on the death of Lyman Trumbull. A letter of May 8, 1910, from Emma Sickles of the Domestic Science Association includes a description and typed copy of a bill to fund educational programs for housewives, a bill the organization attempted to push through the United States Congress. The large volume of letters provides a rich family chronicle.

The Miscellaneous Trumbull family letters (1850-1903) contain correspondence of various Trumbull family members, particularly the children of Lyman Trumbull and Julia Jayne. Several letters are from the couple's sons Perry and Walter, who described various occurrences and interests. Of note are a letter from Julia to her father describing a dinner she had with Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, and a lengthy letter regarding economics from W. H. White, who had recently read Coin's Financial School.

The Ingraham-Rankin Family Letters subseries contains the letters of Julia Ingraham, George Rankin, and various other Ingraham family members.

The Julia Ingraham and George Rankin letters (1868-1899) are the correspondence of Lyman Trumbull's cousin and sister-in-law Julia Ingraham and her husband, George Rankin. The majority of letters date from the 1880s or later, and include a letter describing a family visit to the Trumbulls in Chicago in the summer of 1889. Though most of the letters are between Julia and George, the couple's children as well as George's mother and a cousin also corresponded.

The Miscellaneous Ingraham family letters (1824-1913) contains correspondence of the Ingraham family of Saybrook, Connecticut. Two of the Ingraham daughters, Mary (m. Lyman Trumbull) and Julia (m. George Rankin), are represented extensively elsewhere in the collection, and many of these letters relate to their father, John D. Ingraham, and brother, John D. Ingraham, Jr. John D. Ingraham wrote one letter, dated 1856, to Lyman Trumbull, and various nieces and nephews also sent letters. Much of the correspondence relates to family news and social life during the Civil War. Of particular interest is an envelope dated June 27, 1865, which contains "Folwers [sic] bought the day of Annie's funeral."

The Letters to J. F. Uhlhorn subseries (1860-1869) contains letters between James Uhlhorn; Lyman Trumbull's nephew, John Frederick Uhlhorn; and a woman, Maria, addressed as "sister." John's letters date from the early Civil War period and discuss business matters and his frequent related visits to Washington. Maria, writing from New York after 1862, discussed the declining health of their mother and other family-related news.

The Mather Family Letters subseries (1837-1893) consists primarily of letters written and received by Almira Mather Ingraham, wife of John D. Ingraham and mother-in-law of Lyman Trumbull. Her brother, Samuel Rogers Selden Mather, was one correspondent; he provided family and social news from New York. Almira wrote a letter to her brother and sister-in-law that contains a short description of proceedings surrounding a nearby execution (January 10, 1843). One item is a printed advertisement for an upcoming publication of the genealogy of the Mather family.

The Miscellaneous letters subseries (1834-1908) contains letters that are difficult to attribute, and include several unsigned items. The letters of identified authors are from John Bond to his uncle, from Charlie to a grandmother (one mentioning a death within the Ingraham family), and from M. J. Rankin to an "Aunt Mary." The collection also includes a short poem entitled "A Memory."

The Letter Book series consists of four small notebooks containing manuscript copies of official letters written by Lyman Trumbull, and copied by his second wife, Mary Ingraham Trumbull (1837-1903). Each book is only partially filled, and the volumes have additional writing that does not appear to originate with Trumbull. Several brief thoughts and sayings appear in one volume, as well as a small number of personal financial accounts. Childlike pencil drawings of houses with a few correspondence copies and a short poem are in another. The correspondence in these volumes is not duplicated elsewhere in the collection.

The Diaries, Notebooks, and Autograph Books series (1853-1914) consists of eight items:
  • The Annie Ingraham school report book (1860-1864) of various reports from the author's time at school, with a number of personal inscriptions and reminiscences in the back.
  • The John D. and Annie Ingraham journal (1853; 1859) is 2 pages of journal writing from John D. Ingraham and one page of journal writing by his daughter Annie.
  • The Mrs. John D. Ingraham diary (1900) has entries for the first half of 1900, which focus primarily on family visits and daily life in Saybrook, Connecticut. The diary also includes a page of accounts, several loose pages of additional entries, and letters addressed to the author.
  • The Julia Ingraham autograph book (1866-1892) contains autographs from various acquaintances around Saybrook Sound, Connecticut.
  • The Julia Ingraham Rankin journal and commonplace book (1883-1890) primarily documents family life in Saybrook, Connecticut, and includes entries on poetry, copied excerpts, and inserted clippings.
  • The Mary J. Trumbull diary (1887-1890) documents daily life and has approximately 17 items inserted, including several letters, newspaper clippings, and ephemera.
  • The Julia Ingraham Rankin notes on Shakespeare (1892) consists of various personal notes and thoughts compiled from various works of Shakespeare, including some of his most famous plays, such as "Romeo and Juliet."
  • The [Julia Rankin] notebook (1911-1914) contents primarily consist of academic essays on a variety of topics, readings, and lectures. Laid in the book were a large number of manuscript poems, many attributed to other authors, and four newspaper clippings. One clipping contains a poem dedicated to "La Grippe," written by John Howard, M. D.

The Documents series (1799-1897) is a selection of items related to the career of Lyman Trumbull, including list of candidate endorsements he made, as well as various certificates. Other documents are powers of attorney, a manuscript copy of "The Whole Finance Bill," and a school report for Julia Ingraham.

The Financial papers series (1838-1913) covers a variety of topics, some of which concern the Ingraham family's involvement in shipping. A handful of documents regard the sloop Connecticut, though the majority consists of various receipts and invoices, many addressed to Mary Ingraham Trumbull after the death of her husband Lyman. Other items of interest are an inventory of Lyman's estate (February 1, 1882) and a cure "For Ivy Poisoning," written on the back of a document dated May 24, 1902.

The collection's Photographs (8 items) include a tintype, a cabinet card, and 5 photographic prints, most of which are informal pictures and studio portraits of unidentified women and children. The cabinet card photograph shows a group of men posing outside of a hardware store.

The Photographs series consists of the following items, many of which are unlabeled:
  • Several people in front of Vose & Co. Hardware Store
  • A portrait of two girls
  • Two small, individual photographs of babies
  • Three children waving American flags
  • A woman in a garden
  • A woman accompanied by a dog
  • William W. Patton photograph album

The final item, a carte-de-visite album belonging to William W. Patton, contains 159 captioned photographs and prints, including studio portraits, pictures of Renaissance statues, reproductions of religious paintings, and illustrated views of the Alps and Switzerland; captions are also present for items that are no longer extant. Groups of studio portraits show famous persons such as John Ruskin, Thomas Carlyle, and Charles Dickens; residents of Edinburgh, Constantinople, and Cairo in native dress; and members of Patton's traveling party during an 1866 visit to Palestine. Also present are 3 images of Venetians with vibrant artificial coloring and a picture of a "Chinese Convert, Ah Ting, San Francisco." Pictured works of art include statues and paintings from collections in Venice, Florence, Rome, and the Vatican, including items by Raphael and Michelangelo; one carte-de-visite shows an early version of Thomas Ball's Emancipation Memorial statue, differing slightly from the version erected in Washington, D.C. The remaining items consist of groups of photographs and artificial illustrations of Alpine mountains and Swiss scenery; some of the Swiss scenes are colored. Additional items include a carte-de-visite collage of several landmarks within the Giant's Causeway (Ireland), a photograph of Cairo, photographs of monuments in Alexandria, and a print labeled "Procession over human bodies in Egypt."

The Watercolors series (2 items) is comprised of two paintings of pastoral scenes.

The Ephemera, Cards, and Invitations series (13 items) contains four invitations and wedding announcements (1874, 1893, 1909, and undated), two greeting cards (1900 and undated), a 1912 postcard, five calling cards (1879 and undated), and a cooking pamphlet entitled "One Master Recipe for Ten Delicacies, with many serving suggestions," by "the Lady with an Apron."

The Miscellaneous series consists of printed materials, writings, and billfolds. The printed materials (1858-1924) are newspaper clippings, a printed copy of a petition, four speeches made by Lyman Trumbull, advertisements for the Mediterranean Express Line and "The Ormond," an astrological booklet called "Were You Born in September?" (1909), reports and a constitution of the Washington Union Brotherhood, a recipe book, and a 1924 recipe card with various recipes for gelatin desserts. Several of the writings are related to Lyman Trumbull, the Ingraham family, and housekeeping. Of note are an account of the brief life of Alma Ingraham Trumbull, daughter of Lyman Trumbull and Mary Ingraham; a set of knitting instructions; several poems, including a child's work entitled "The Cake Shop Romance;" and an astrological chart. Also present is a leather Billfold with metal adornments that contains a small newspaper clipping and a calling card for Mrs. Lyman Trumbull.

Collection

Trimble family papers, 1795-1901 (majority within 1808-1861)

5.75 linear feet

This collection is made up of correspondence, legal documents, and financial records related to Alexander and Chilion A. Trimble of Crown Point, New York. The materials pertain to the Trimbles' financial affairs, Chilion's service as Essex County sheriff, state politics and elections, and other subjects. Many family members wrote of their lives in New York, Illinois, Iowa, and Montana.

This collection is made up of correspondence, legal documents, and financial records related to the Trimble family of Crown Point, New York.

The collection contains two groups of Correspondence . Family Correspondence(approximately 2.75 linear feet) largely consists of incoming correspondence to Alexander Trimble and his son Chilion, both of Crown Point, New York. Alexander's siblings shared personal and local news. James King, an acquaintance in Albany, New York, frequently discussed Alexander's financial affairs. From 1816 to 1841, King corresponded with Chilion Trimble, in which he discussed news from Albany, property ownership, legal disputes, wheat sales, and other business matters. Chilion and his wife Charlotte also received letters from their siblings and other family members in New York, Virginia, Illinois, Iowa, and Montana. The personal letters often concern religion, health, bereavement, farming, and other aspects of the writers' daily lives.

Frank and Hiram Stone, Charlotte's brothers, traveled to California during the 1849 Gold Rush, and Frank later wrote to Charlotte from Helena, Montana, in the late 1860s. Mary L. Cheney and her husband, L. P. Cheney, lived in Chicago, Illinois; their earliest letters describe the Illinois terrain, including prominent corn crops, and their later letters describe the growth of Chicago. Some of the family correspondence pertains to national and local political issues, such as the 1856 and 1860 presidential elections and John Brown's raid on the United States arsenal at Harper's Ferry. A small number of letters from the Civil War era mention the war, occasionally revealing the writers' fears for the union's survival. Charlotte Trimble received condolence messages following her husband's death in 1862, and she continued to receive personal letters until the late 1860s.

The Business Correspondence subseries(approximately 2 linear feet) includes a few early items (1800s-1810s) addressed to Alexander Trimble, concerning finances, real estate, and decedents' estates; the bulk of the material consists of incoming letters written to Chilion Trimble after 1820. Some items pertain to Chilion's involvement in the New York Militia and to political issues and elections. From 1843-1846, the materials relate to Chilion's service as sheriff of Essex County, New York; these often refer to the results of court cases and request assistance in collecting payments or performing other actions related to court judgments. After 1846, Chilion's correspondents often wrote about financial and business affairs such as property ownership, and he received a series of personal letters from John S. Rice of Maquoketa, Iowa, in the early 1860s. The series includes a facsimile letter by Samuel J. Tilden requesting information about New York voters (September 25, 1866) and late letters addressed to George Brown.

The Documents and Accounts series (approximately 0.75 linear feet) contains legal documents, financial records, and account books pertaining to several generations of the Trimble family, particularly Chilion Trimble. Materials include indentures related to property in New York, records concerning real property and decedents' estates, and accounts between James King and Chilion Trimble, often related to sales of wheat. Other groups of items relate to insurance policies, Essex County elections, and Trimble's service as Essex County sheriff. One account book contains entries dated 1894-1901.

The Writings and Ephemera series (approximately 0.25 linear feet) contains fragments, lists, poems, and other materials. Poetry includes an item entitled "Destruction of Pompeii," a religious poem, and a revised version of the Lord's Prayer related to soldiers' experiences during the Civil War.

Collection

Charles H. Townsend papers, 1849-1870

0.5 linear feet

The Charles H. Townsend papers are made up of correspondence between Captain Charles Hervey Townsend and his family, who lived in New Haven, Connecticut, in the mid-19th century. The letters concern Townsend's career as a merchant ship captain, the Civil War, and family news. Also included are receipts, newspaper clippings, and a lock of hair.

This collection is made up of correspondence between Captain Charles Hervey Townsend and members of his family, who lived in New Haven, Connecticut, in the mid-19th century. The letters concern Townsend's career as a merchant ship captain, the Civil War, and family news. Also included are receipts, newspaper clippings, and a lock of hair.

The Correspondence series contains letters between Charles Hervey Townsend and members of his family. He wrote approximately 80 letters to his mother from 1849-1859 and received letters from family members throughout the 1850s. Townsend reported on his health and on travels to and from the United States, the Caribbean, and Europe on various merchant vessels, and his family often shared news from Connecticut. Townsend also wrote and received some letters about his finances. From 1860-1865, his correspondence with his mother and brothers largely concerns the Civil War and its influence in Connecticut and London. Members of the Townsend family mentioned the expectation of war as early as November 1860 and commented on military developments throughout the conflict. Their war-era letters are often composed on patriotic stationery. Charles's sister Eliza, who lived in England, wrote about the impact of the war in Europe, and his brother-in-law William mentioned the war's negative effects on trade. In his letters to his family, Charles Townsend discussed the progress of the war, perceived pro-Confederate sentiments in Great Britain, and California's increasing importance to the United States. He continued to receive business correspondence during the war. After the war, the Townsend family corresponded about family news, travel, and Charles's career.

The Financial Records series is made up of 19 bills, receipts, accounts, and other financial records pertaining to Charles Townsend. Many of the transactions took place in Le Havre, France, and related to ship repairs and purchases such as clothing and wine.

The Newspaper Clippings series has undated articles about a Connecticut Civil War soldier wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville, the possible relocation of the Connecticut state capital, and a letter that General James C. Rice wrote to his mother prior to the Battle of the Wilderness.

The Realia series is comprised of a lock of Eliza Mulford Townsend's hair.

Collection

Henry Toggenburger collection, 1885-1937 (majority within 1885)

22 items

This collection contains two notebooks and 20 letters, documents, and receipts related to the unsolved hatchet murder of Henry Toggenburger on August 15, 1885, in Sedalia, Missouri. The papers include notebooks related to Henry Toggenburger's final months, his death, and the transportation of his body; letters preceding his death; and materials dating after his decease.

The collection contains two notebooks and 20 letters, documents, and receipts related to the unsolved hatchet murder of Henry Toggenburger on August 15, 1885, in Sedalia, Missouri. The papers include notebooks related to Henry Toggenburger's final months, his death, and the transportation of his body; letters preceding his death; and materials post-dating his death. A few examples include:

  • Account and Note Book, [ca. 1885], relating to housing, food, building supplies, and travel expenses.
  • Account and Note Book, [ca. 1885], including costs related to Henry's funeral, amounts paid for the coffin and undertaker, and railroad fees for transporting the body from Missouri to Ohio.
  • Henry Toggenburger letter to his brother, Samuel Toggenburger April 22, 1885. Currently in Eureka, Kansas, Henry relates his travels from Polk City, Iowa, through Nebraska and Kansas.
  • Henry Toggenburger letter to his friend, Cal[vin], August 2, 1885. Henry, now in Sedalia, Missouri, describes leaving Eureka, Kansas, on July 4, traveling to Texas, where he "did not stay long," noting that he has "seen lots of Indians when I was going through the nation." Now, in Sedalia, at telegraph school, he ends his letter stating that he was "going down town to see my girl."
  • Henry Toggenburger letter to his brother, Samuel, August 14, 1885, from Sedalia, Missouri. Written the day before he was murdered, Henry's penmanship is strikingly void of its typical flourish. He tells his brother that his "catarrh" is quite painful and beseeches his brother to send money promptly.
  • Western Union Telegraph sent by Sam[uel] Toggenburger, August 18, 1885.
  • Lowell letter to Samuel Toggenburger, August 19, 1885. Claiming to be a private detective, he asserts his belief that Henry's death was not a suicide, as the jury initially concluded but was, in fact, murder. He offers his services as a means of locating the guilty party or parties involved.
  • Invoice from Dr. W. C. Overstreet, Jr., August 19, 1885, for fees related to the inquest into Henry's death.
  • H. W. Barrier to Samuel Toggenburger, August 23, 1885. A previous employer of Henry's from Eureka, Kansas, Barrier disputes the suicide ruling, stating that Henry was "a good, trustworthy young man" and hopes those guilty are brought to trial.
  • Receipt from McLaughlin Bros., undertakers, August 25, 1885.
  • Affidavit of I. Jennings attesting to the death of Ulrich, Henry, and Elizabeth Toggenburger, April 16, 1937, relating to property held by the family members. Recorded within the document are details of Henry's funeral in Bluffton, Ohio.

Collection

Gilbert L. Thompson papers, 1842-1872

1 linear foot

This collection contains correspondence, documents, financial records, reports, and other items pertaining to Gilbert L. Thompson. The material relates to Thompson's work as the United States Navy's chief engineer from 1842-1844, and his involvement in the coal and transportation industries in the mid- to late 19th century.

This collection (1 linear foot) contains correspondence, documents, financial records, reports, and other items pertaining to Gilbert L. Thompson. The material relates to Thompson's work as the United States Navy's chief engineer from 1842-1844, and his involvement in the coal and transportation industries.

The Correspondence series (155 items) is mostly made up of incoming business letters to Gilbert L. Thompson; outgoing drafts by Thompson and business letters between other persons are also present. The first group of items concern Thompson's service as the United States Navy's chief engineer from 1842-1844, addressing many topics related to naval engineering and United States Navy vessels. The remaining correspondence, dated 1850-1861 and 1865-1872, largely pertains to Thompson's business interests and his stake in various ventures. Thompson wrote and received letters about coal and oil industries, railroads, domestic commerce, and attempts to establish regular steamship trade between the United States and Europe after the Civil War. Many of the latter items pertain to the Norfolk and St. Nazaire Steam Navigation Company and to commerce in the South during the early years of Reconstruction. Thompson's prominent correspondents included Secretary of the Treasury Walter Forward, Secretary of the Navy Abel Parker Upshur, and Virginia governor Francis Harrison Pierpont.

The Documents series is divided into two subseries. The Legal Documents (34 items), which include copies of legislation, by-laws, indentures, and other items, pertain to naval engineering, transatlantic trade between the United States and Europe, and Gilbert L. Thompson's business affairs. Several items relate to the Norfolk and St. Nazaire Steam Navigation Company and to the American Iron Shipbuilding, Mining, and Manufacturing Company. One indenture relates to land that Thompson and his wife owned in Fairfax County, Virginia, and includes a manuscript map of the property (December 13, 1844). Financial Documents (14 items) are made up of accounts and other items pertaining to the Western Virginia Coal Company, the Coal Oil and Paraffin Company of Baltimore, steamship construction and operation, the USS Missouri, and other subjects.

Reports and Drafts (53 items) pertain to the Norfolk and St. Nazaire Steam Navigation Company, steam boiler explosions, coal lands in Pennsylvania and Virginia, the United States Navy, and transportation. Some memorials addressed to the United States Congress mention relevant legislation.

The Notes and Drawings series (90 items) contains technical drawings, manuscript maps, and notes about steam engines, mining and drilling equipment and practices, and other subjects.

Three Newspaper Clippings from the early 1870s concern the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, a property dispute involving General Bradley T. Johnson, steamships, and the sale of an iron furnace.

Collection

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

8.75 linear feet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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