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Collection

Alexander family papers, [1863]-1969 (majority within 1894-1927)

1 linear foot

Online
The Alexander family papers document the family, life, and early career of pianist Margaret June Alexander (also known as Vonya Alexandre) throughout the early 1900s. The collection is made up of two journals kept by her mother, Myrilla M. Anderson, plus letters, writings, artwork, family photographs, printed programs, sheet music, and other materials related to this Decatur County and Indianapolis, Indiana, family.

The Alexander family papers document the family, life, and early career of pianist Margaret June Alexander (also known as Vonya Alexandre) throughout the early 1900s. The collection consists of two journals kept by her mother, Myrilla M. Anderson, plus approximately 1 linear foot of letters, writings, artwork, family photographs, printed programs, sheet music, books, newspaper clippings, and other materials related to this Decatur County and Indianapolis, Indiana, family.

Margaret's mother, Myrilla Anderson Alexander, wrote two journals during Margaret's early life and stages of her musical career. The first, kept between 1894 and 1896, documents Myrilla's experiences during Margaret's infancy and a list of musical lessons, associated fees, and required books. The second journal covers 1907 to 1917, and focuses primarily on Margaret's musical performances, complemented by enclosed newspaper clippings, correspondence, and programs.

The Alexander family papers include Myrilla M. Anderson Alexander's sketchbook of ink, watercolor, and charcoal illustrations. A hand bound book appears in the collection, written for Myrilla Alexander by R. E. Sylvester, which contains poetry and sketches.

The collection includes 4 letters by Myrilla Alexander, picture postcards, calling cards, 2 blank living wills from the state of Florida, and a 1945 marriage certificate for Carl F. Grouleff and Vonya Kurzhene. A typed document titled "Remembrances of Anna Stover and Edith Surbey" recounts the friends' lives from their early education through their ongoing religious charity work. Other items include a handwritten description of Margaret June Alexander's 1913 performance at Carnegie Hall, a list of quotations, and a certificate regarding the eligibility of Mary Alexander Tarkington and Caroline Anderson Haugh to join the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Approximately 110 photographs depict Margaret June Alexander, her performance partner Mischel Kurzene, and members of the Alexander, Anderson, and Tarkington families. An address book kept by Myrilla Alexander includes addresses and birthdays of family and friends.

The collection's printed items include programs for musical events, sheet music, newspaper clippings, and two books. Approximately 50 programs reflect Margaret June Alexander's musical career between 1907 and 1927. Obituaries for members of the Alexander and Tarkington families appear within the collection's newspaper clippings. Multiple copies of an undated, printed advertisement for "Dr. Alexander's Effervescing Headache Powders" are also present. The collection's 2 books are G. W. H. Kemper's A Medical History of the State of Indiana (Chicago: American Medical Association Press, 1911) and Joseph Tarkington's Autobiography of Rev. Joseph Tarkington (Cincinnati: Curts & Jennings, 1899).

Collection

Andrews' Raid scrapbook and telegraph ledger, 1885-1888

1 volume

The Andrews' Raid scrapbook and telegraph ledger contains newspaper clippings dating from 1887 that recount the story of Andrews' Raid written by William Pittenger. Other clippings, almost all of which focus on the United States Army, are also included in the scrapbook. The majority of these clippings are glued onto the page, but some are loose. This scrapbook, whose compiler is unknown, was originally used as a telegraph ledger book for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and more than half of the volume still has these records visible.

The Andrews' Raid scrapbook and telegraph ledger contains newspaper clippings dating from 1887 that recount the story of Andrews' Raid written by William Pittenger, a Union soldier who survived the raid and was awarded the Medal of Honor. Other clippings, almost all of which focus on the United States Army, are also included in the scrapbook. Most of these are Civil War related but they include some Indian Wars material as well, including an account of Sitting Bull and Running Bear's raid on Fort Buford on August 20, 1868. The majority of these clippings are glued onto the page, but some are loose. This scrapbook, whose compiler is unknown, was originally used as a telegraph ledger book for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and more than half of the volume still has these records visible.

Collection

Arthur Welch letters, 1916

0.25 linear feet

This collection consists of letters, postcards, and photographs related to Private Arthur E. Welch of the United States Army, who served with the 1st Regiment, Company L, in and around Nogales, Arizona, between July and October 1916. Welch discussed everyday life along the United States-Mexico border, his work in a military ice house, and developments in the region's military conflicts.

This collection consists of 100 letters, 2 postcards, and several photographs related to Private Arthur E. Welch of the United States Army, who served with the 1st Regiment, Company L, in and around Nogales, Arizona, between July and October 1916. Welch wrote his first 2 letters to his mother, Mrs. M. J. Welch of Willimantic, Connecticut, while in training at Niantic, Connecticut, about his life in camp. His next 5 letters recount his journey to Nogales, Arizona, and describe the scenery in Ohio, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico.

The bulk of the collection consists of Welch's daily letters to his mother from July 4, 1916-October 2, 1916, about his experiences while stationed in Nogales, Arizona. He reported news of recent military developments, commented on his accommodations in camp, and discussed several aspects of his life in the army, including his training, his work in an ice house, and his attendance at Catholic religious services. He also described the area and discussed a lengthy march his unit made to Fort Huachuca, Arizona, where he remained for much of August. Welch occasionally mentioned relations with the Mexicans and their independence celebrations on September 16, as well as the actions of Pancho Villa. One of his friends, Ed Ryan, wrote a letter to Mrs. Welch about his experiences after being wounded in the arm; he also mentioned Arthur's work in the ice house (September 21, 1916). By early October 1916, Welch began to anticipate his return to the East Coast. Two photographic postcards depict Arthur E. Welch in uniform and in a pair of overalls.

The non-correspondence items are 1 photograph of a group of soldiers, as well as 3 scrapbook pages containing 31 photographs of Nogales, Arizona, and United States soldiers in uniform and at leisure.

Collection

Barnum, Bailey & Hutchinson scrapbook, [circa late 19th century]

1 volume

This oversized scrapbook consists of sections of Barnum, Bailey & Hutchinson circus advertising posters. The imagery includes circus tents, musical wagons (including the "Silver-Tubed Caliope" and "Sacred Chimes"), camels and horses, animal trainers, artillerymen seemingly of Middle Eastern descent (possibly part of the "Bedouin Arab" performers), acrobats, minstrel performers, African American musicians, and portraits of P. T. Barnum, J. A. Bailey, and J. L. Hutchinson.

This oversized scrapbook consists of sections of printed Barnum, Bailey & Hutchinson circus advertising posters. The imagery includes circus tents, musical wagons (including the "Silver-Tubed Caliope" and "Sacred Chimes"), camels and horses, animal trainers, artillerymen seemingly of Middle Eastern descent (possibly part of the "Bedouin Arab" performers), acrobats, minstrel performers, African American musicians, and portraits of P. T. Barnum, J. A. Bailey, and J. L. Hutchinson. The back cover bears the print "Toilers of the Sea - Trawling on t[he Dogger Bank]," showing fishermen at sea.

Collection

Bartlett family papers, 1839-1931

1.5 linear feet

The Bartlett family papers contain correspondence, documents, photographs, and a scrapbook related to Lieutenant Washington A. Bartlett of the United States Navy and to his descendants, including his granddaughter, author Lina Bartlett Ditson.

The Bartlett family papers contain correspondence, documents, photographs, and a scrapbook related to Lieutenant Washington A. Bartlett of the United States Navy and to his descendants, including author Lina Bartlett Ditson, his granddaughter.

The Correspondence series contains letters written to various members of the Bartlett family. The earliest items concern Washington A. Bartlett's naval career, including several letters between Bartlett and his wife Ruth. In a letter from May-June 1845, Washington Bartlett discussed political and military conflicts between the United States and Mexico. Much of his other correspondence is contained in a letter book, which covers the years 1835-1862.

Other items in the series are incoming personal and business letters to George L. Ditson, Bartlett's son-in-law. Some of these pertain to his appointment as United States Consul in Nuevitas, Cuba, a few of which are in Spanish. Later material includes a letter from Ronald Lodge to his mother, Oralie Ditson Lodge (Washington A. Bartlett's granddaughter) about his successful fitness examination for the United States Navy, enclosing a photograph of Lodge in uniform (April 17, 1917), and a letter on stationery from the White Star Line ocean liner Olympic (November 14, 1928).

The Documents and Financial Papers relate to several generations of the Bartlett family. Of note are a certificate about Washington A. Bartlett's qualification as a United States Navy midshipmen, signed by Martin Van Buren (November 20, 1839), and an authorized copy of Washington A. Bartlett and Ruth Budd Bloom's marriage certificate (June 17, 1861). The series also contains receipts and accounts.

The Writings series primarily contains typed copies of poems and stories composed by Lina Bartlett Ditson. Included are 8 poems, 1 group of poetry "Fragments," and 7 short stories. Two items, which may not be by Ditson, are in French, including an acrostic poem based on Ruth Budd Bartlett's name.

The collection's 8 Calling Cards and Invitations include manuscript and printed visiting cards for "Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett" and an invitation to the home of William H. and Frances Seward.

A single Illustration, dated August 1833, depicts the brig Mermaid at sea. A map of a portion of Albany, New York, shows the location of B. Lodge & Company.

The Photographs series has mounted and loose portraits, several cartes-de-visite and cabinet cards, a glass-plate positive of a young girl, and numerous snapshots. Early portraits depict Oralie Ditson Lodge and Lina Bartlett Ditson (occasionally in costume), and 130 20th-century snapshots were taken during a family vacation Eagle Lake in New York.

The Lena Bartlett Ditson Scrapbook contains newspaper articles, programs, and correspondence about Lina Bartlett Ditson, assembled by her sister Oralie after Lina's death. Most items pertain to Lina's artistic pursuits, such as vocal performances and published novels. Incoming correspondence to Lina and condolence letters to her family following her death are also present.

The Printed Items series is made up of postcards, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, and other items. Newspaper Clippings pertain to numerous topics, such as William S. Lodge's political career, interstate commerce legislation, labor news, and members of the Bartlett family.

The collection contains three Pamphlets:
  • Defence of Washington A. Bartlett, Ex-Lieutenant, United States Navy: Read and admitted to Record, by Naval Court of Inquiry... New York: Harper & Brothers, 1857.
  • International Association for the Total Suppression of Vivisection. "The Woman" and the Age: A Letter Addressed to the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., First Lord of the Treasury. London: E. W. Allen, 1881.
  • Olcott, Henry S. The Spirit of the Zoroastrian Religion. Bombay: 1882.

Other printed material includes poems by Barrington Lodge; engravings of Washington A. Bartlett; a colored print showing a woman in a dress that Ruth Budd Bartlett wore during a royal reception; and a campaign poster for William S. Lodge's mayoral campaign in Albany, New York.

The Genealogy series contains information about Washington A. Bartlett's descendants and allied families, particularly the Lodge family.

Collection

Bird family papers, 1821-1947 (majority within 1879-1941)

2.25 linear feet

Online
The Bird family papers are made up of correspondence, documents, ephemera, and other materials related to members of the Bird family of East Smithfield, Pennsylvania.

The Bird family papers are made up of correspondence, documents, ephemera, and other materials related to members of the Bird family of East Smithfield, Pennsylvania. A number of letters written between George Niles Bird and Frances Rowe depict their lengthy, occasionally difficult, courtship in the late 19th century. Letters from other friends and family members are interspersed, including a letter from Hope Rowe recounting the funeral of President James A. Garfield (October 9, 1881).

Nancy N. Bird's correspondence consists primarily of incoming personal letters. Nancy's cousins wrote many of the letters, with the family's religiosity influencing much of their writing. The Bird family papers include many of Nancy N. Bird's speeches, including a series of talks delivered to fellow members of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) between 1886 and 1912. She discussed temperance, religion, and topics of local interest, including the history of Smithfield, Pennsylvania. Nancy N. Bird's printed materials consist primarily of ephemera, programs, and newspaper clippings, largely related to her work with the WCTU and to the Bradford Baptist Association. Also present are three items written by Nancy: a short book entitled A History of the Sunday Schools in East Smithfield, PA. Since 1822, and two copies of The History of the Baptist Church of East Smithfield, PA. Other materials related to Nancy include journal pages, a photograph, and Sunday School papers.

Helen Bird's letters, written to her mother, chronicle her year at the West Chester Normal School, 1912-1913, and include frequent complaints about the atmosphere, the people, and the food.

Materials relating to George Bird consist primarily of incoming correspondence from friends and from his cousin Geraldine ("Jerry"). Jerry, who financially supported George during his time at Pennsylvania State University, also offered advice and updates on her academic life at Cornell University, while George's friend Eugene Edgar Doll discussed his experiences at the University of Chicago and his patronage of the arts. The collection also includes reports from George Bird's early studies and from his time at Pennsylvania State.

Personal letters from other members of the Niles and Bird families include early letters from Hannah Niles to her husband Samuel, and letters addressed to George N. Bird, his wife Frances, and their daughter-in-law Carrie. Two printed letters from "Robert and Bernie" in Impur, India, describe the country and their educational and missionary work; on January 7, 1921, they mentioned Gandhi's non-cooperation movement.

The collection contains diaries and journals, account books, and albums. The diaries include an 1844 unsigned journal, Hannah Minor Niles' 1866 diary, Nancy Niles Bird's 1851 diary, and Carrie M. Bird's 1921 diary. An account books tracks John Bird's expenses between 1846 and 1858, and a record book kept by Nancy Niles Bird includes the meeting minutes from the Soldiers Aid Society during the Civil War and household accounts. George Bird's autograph album covers the years 1879-1881 and Nancy Niles Bird's scrapbook, kept between 1850 and 1925, contains newspaper articles about her mother Hannah, members of the Bird family, and acquaintances from Pennsylvania and Kansas.

Other miscellaneous items include a printed map, a document related to the military chapel at Ellington Field, Texas, genealogical items, and manuscript poems.

Collection

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

7.5 linear feet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TheDiaries and Notebooks Series includes the following:

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

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

The Bundled Documents and Financial Records sub-series includes:

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

The Ledgers sub-series includes:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Realia series includes the following items:

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

Collection

Calvin Durfee scrapbook, 1851-1879

1 item

This collection contains the disbound contents of a scrapbook that Massachusetts minister Calvin Durfee kept during the mid-19th century. The scrapbook includes Durfee's journal about a trip through New York and the upper Midwest in 1851, newspaper clippings containing biographical sketches he composed, and manuscript sermons.

This collection contains the disbound contents of a scrapbook that Massachusetts minister Calvin Durfee kept during the mid-19th century. The first item is Durfee's 14-page journal describing his domestic travels from April 22, 1851-June 20, 1851. He embarked from South Dedham, Massachusetts and travelled, often by steamboat, across northern New York, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin. The journal records Durfee's daily activities, including delivering sermons and making social calls in numerous cities, and also contains a genealogical record of his sister's family, the Lashiers of Maine, New York (page 10).

The journal is followed by biographical sketches of pastors from Pittsfield and Lanesboro, Massachusetts, clipped from the Berkshire Courier (approximately 14 pages); the clippings include manuscript annotations. Two additional clippings are a history of the pastors of the Presbyterian Church at Whitfield, Massachusetts, and a note regarding the marriage of Durfee's son Charles. The collection also contains 7 sermons that Calvin Durfee delivered by between 1852 and 1876, consisting of 6 manuscripts and one newspaper reproduction. Four of the sermons are between 18 and 30 pages long.

Additional printed material includes a program from Charles S. Durfee's ordination in Newburyport, Massachusetts, on September 8, 1869; a related letter of congratulation; and a printed invitation from the First Presbyterian Church of Newburyport (August 24, 1869). The original scrapbook cover is housed with the collection.

Biographical Sketch Subjects: Pittsfield
  • Thomas Allen
  • William Allen
  • Thomas Penderson
  • Heman Humphrey
  • Rufus William Bailey
  • John W. Yeomans
  • Chester Dewey
  • H. N. Brinsmade
  • John Todd
  • S. A. Allen
Biographical Sketch Subjects: Lanesboro
  • Daniel Collins
  • John De Witt
  • Noah Sheldon
  • Ransome S. Cook
  • John Furgerson
  • Edward Joab Brace
  • Martyn Tupper
  • Chauncey Eddy
  • Charles Newman
Collection

Celebrity portraits scrapbook, ca. 1880s

1 volume

The Celebrity portraits scrapbook contains numerous clipped engraved portraits of actors, actresses, singers, musicians, entertainers, politicians, writers, and other famous individuals that were compiled by an aunt of Florence C. Everett (wife of Norwood, Massachusetts-based journalist William Winthrop Everett) during the 1880s.

The Celebrity portraits scrapbook contains numerous clipped engraved portraits of actors, actresses, singers, musicians, entertainers, politicians, writers, and other famous individuals that were compiled by an aunt of Florence C. Everett (wife of Norwood, Massachusetts-based journalist William Winthrop Everett) during the 1880s.

The volume (32 x 19 cm) has brown leather covers (front cover detached) and contains 176 pages, all of which bear pasted-in engravings that were clipped from various newspapers, magazines, journals, advertisements, etc. Two inscriptions are present on the inside of the front cover; one states “This book is the property of W. W. Everett - 76 Winter St. Norwood, Mass.” while the other reads “The book was made by Mrs. W. W. Everett’s aunt Helen, probably in the 1880s. WWE.” The volume appears to have originally served as some type of accounting ledger before being repurposed.

Notable individuals represented within the volume include Joseph Jefferson, Sarah Bernhardt, P. T. Barnum, Lillie Langtry, Genevieve Ward, J. H. Haverly, E. A. Sothern, Sol Smith Russell, Ada Gilman, James H. Wallick, Adelaide Neilson, Buffalo Bill, Mittens Willett, Henry Clay, Susan B. Anthony, Wendell Phillips, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Louis Pasteur.

Collection

Charles H. Foster collection, 1898-1967

3 linear feet

This collection is made up of correspondence, military records, photographs, newsletters, scrapbooks, and other items pertaining to the military career of Charles H. Foster, who served in the United States Navy from 1898-1934.

The Charles H. Foster collection consists of correspondence, military records, photographs, newsletters, scrapbooks, and other items pertaining to the military career of Charles H. Foster, who served in the United States Navy from 1898-1934.

The collection's correspondence (144 items) primarily relates to Foster's naval service after 1902. Letters, memorandums, orders, and reports concern his ship assignments and work at the Naval Gun Factory (Washington Navy Yard) during World War I. One group of letters from the early 1920s relates to the acquisition of dependent's pay for Foster's mother. A series of World War II-era documents respect Foster's fitness for active duty. After World War II, he received letters from military acquaintances and veterans of the Spanish-American War.

Charles H. Foster's 1918-1919 diary concerns his travel on the Huron between the United States and France. Notes, newspaper clippings, and a telegram laid into the volume regard deaths, the military, and historical inquiries.

The papers include 4 of Charles H. Foster's scrapbooks, which contain materials related to the USTS Alliance's 1897-1898 training mission; naval ships, personnel, and theatrical and musical programs and performances; the Mexican Revolution and Mexican politics in the mid-1910s; and naval equipment, camps, and weapons tests.

Sixty-three photographs depict U.S. Navy sailors and vessels. One group of pictures show scenes from the Huron's voyage between France and the United States during World War I. The collection also features photographic postcards sent by Charles H. Foster and others from Mexico, the Philippines, Japan, Germany, and Borneo.

Financial records, legal documents, and service records primarily pertain to Charles H. Foster, with a focus on his time on the USS West Virginia in the 1920s and his mother's financial dependency. Documents, blueprints, photographs, and other items relate to devices patented by Charles H. Foster and others. Two service ribbons appear in the collection, mounted onto a wallet printed with "United States Battle Fleet, Sydney, 1925," which also contains a travel pass and membership card for Charles H. Foster.

The collection includes 429 typescripts about early American history, the Civil War, South Carolina Confederate soldiers, the Spanish-American War, aviation, and the US Navy. Rosters of American Navy ships and personnel include information on Union vessels during the Civil War; casualties from the 1898 USS Maine explosion; USTS Alliance naval apprentices in 1898; USS West Virginia officers in 1926; and the names and addresses of members in several naval veterans' associations.

A "Personal Log" by Royal Emerson Foster relates to his service on the SSAC Bedford in early 1919, with descriptions and illustrations of naval equipment, ship construction, signaling, personnel, and other subjects. The navy publication Rules to Prevent Collisions of Vessels also appears in the Log.

US Naval Ex. Apprentices Association materials include copies of Trade Winds, the association's newsletter, from 1939-1964. The newsletters are accompanied by a list of Alliance apprentices in 1898. A copy of Rocks and Shoals, a publication for former crewmen of the USS Memphis, is also present. Other printed works include military publications about equipment and procedures, a handbook on medicine, the Mariner's Pocketbook, A History of Guantanamo Bay, newspaper clippings, a souvenir book from the US Naval Training Station in Newport, Rhode Island, a death announcement, and a map of Arlington National Cemetery.

Notes, reports, and a bound volume concern the history of the Foster, Yates, and Lindstrom families.

Collection

Coffin family and Mathew Doyle journal and album, 1828, 1852-1888 (majority within 1852)

1 volume

This volume contains D. Coffin's daily account of the first leg of a sea voyage from New York City to California, covering the progress of the clipper ship Grecian between New York and Cape Horn in early 1852. The journal also includes drawings of scenery made during the voyage, newspaper clippings, penmanship exercises, and children's sketches.

This volume contains a 20-page daily account of the first leg of D. Coffin's voyage from New York City to California, covering the progress of the clipper ship Grecian between New York and Cape Horn in early 1852. The journal also includes 18 coastal profiles drawn in pencil during the voyage. A newspaper clipping at the beginning of the volume concerns the clipper ship Grecian's arrival in San Francisco. It provides names of passengers, names of three people who died during the voyage, a list of goods shipped onboard, and names of consignees.

The journal begins on February 19, 1852. The following day, Coffin arrived in New York, where he purchased a ticket for the ship Grecian, which set sail on March 2. In his first entry, he detailed the ship's specifications, including its size and number of passengers. He kept a daily record of weather and events onboard and frequently mentioned his negative opinion of "immoral" passengers who enjoyed alcohol and gambling. Several of the entries concern medical problems, such as the death of passenger John Morrison from smallpox on March 12, the author's own bout with side and bowel pain, and several other cases of smallpox reported by the ship's doctor on March 21. Though many passengers suffered from illness, they were allowed to go onshore after the ship's arrival at Rio de Janeiro on April 12. Coffin wrote lengthy descriptions of the fort and the city, including its geographical surroundings and a visit by the emperor. On April 15, he reported on local markets and made brief observations about slaves. The Grecian departed Rio de Janeiro on April 19 and Coffin's continued to make daily entries until April 24.

Newspaper clippings, penmanship exercises, and children's sketches make up the rest of the volume. The first 42 pages have pasted-in newspaper clippings of proverbs, humorous anecdotes, informational articles, news articles, and poetry. The creator pasted the clippings over earlier, mostly inaccessible pen writing. Some of the clippings relate to farming, housekeeping, nature, and recent gold discoveries. Two of the articles are a report on a lecture given by Lucy Stone on women's rights, and a brief feature on an "Emancipation Movement in Virginia."

Penmanship exercises and notes (two dated 1862 & 1888), signatures, and children's sketches (three associated with Edna Jane Coffin) are scattered throughout the volume. A pencil sketch of a three-masted sailing ship was signed by Mathew Doyle.

Collection

Committee on Legislation for the International Exposition of 1892 minutes and scrapbook, 1889-1890

1 volume

The Committee on Legislation for the International Exposition of 1892 compiled meeting minutes, correspondence, reports, and other material between September 1889 and April 1890. Under the leadership of Senator Chauncey Depew, the committee worked with the New York-based Committee for the International Exposition of 1892 in an attempt to persuade the United States Congress to award an upcoming world's fair exhibition to the city of New York.

The Committee on Legislation for the International Exposition of 1892 compiled meeting minutes, correspondence, reports, and other material between September 1889 and April 1890. Under the leadership of Chauncey Depew, the committee worked with the New York-based Committee for the International Exposition of 1892 to attempt to persuade the United States Congress to award an upcoming world's fair exhibition to the city of New York.

The Committee on Legislation met periodically between September 19, 1889, and January 21, 1890, and discussed various cities' efforts to win congressional approval for the country's upcoming world's fair. At its first meeting, the group chose Senator Chauncey Depew as its chairman and millionaire William Earl Dodge Stokes as its secretary, among other officers. Throughout its existence, the committee regularly discussed the work of the larger Committee for the International Exposition of 1892, with whom they often coordinated their efforts, and reported developments from Washington, D. C., with respect to determining the fair's location. Among other actions, the committee suggested distributing pamphlets to damage Chicago's reputation and, therefore, its chances of winning the exposition (November 25, 1889, p. 35). The group also reacted to reports that the city of New York did not actually desire to host the event.

Correspondence, reports, a drafted legislative act, and a newspaper clipping are pasted into the volume. William McMurtrie Speer, journalist and secretary of the Committee for the International Exposition of 1892, frequently sent typed letters about cross-committee cooperation and recent developments. The legislative committee also received typed and manuscript letters from local supporters, such as Luigi Palma di Cesnola of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (November 19, 1889, p. 19), other related committees, and United States congressmen. Also included are reports that William Stokes composed a 14-page printed draft of a "Proposed act of Congress" that would award the fair to New York (October 4, 1889, p. 13). The newspaper clipping, from the New York Herald, urges the committee to send representatives to Washington, D. C., a tactic already employed by competing cities (December 7, 1889, p. 83). The final item is a 4-page report concerning the Committee on Legislation's financial expenditures (April 7, 1890, p. 117).

Collection

Crime Clippings Scrapbook, 1891-1903

1 volume

The Crime clippings scrapbook contains newspaper clippings compiled between 1891 and 1893 that are related to various criminals, court proceedings, and executions.

The Crime clippings scrapbook contains newspaper clippings compiled between 1891 and 1893 that are related to various criminals, court proceedings, and executions.

The volume (23 x 15 cm) has brown paper covers and appears to have originally been a copy of Joseph Emerson Worcester’s A Pronouncing, Explanatory, and Synonymous Dictionary of the English Language. Containing 210 pages total, the volume begins with a clipped engraving of New York City Police Department Superintendent Thomas F. Byrnes pasted on the inside of the front cover. Byrnes’ portrait is accompanied by an inscribed caption reading “of New York City April 22 1892.” An additional inscription states that the volume was “Presented to the officers and Men of the 13th street Police station - Chicago Ills. by Wm. H. [Benton?] - 126 Fleming St., Aug 22d 1903.”

Subsequent clippings highlight numerous criminals, trials, and executions, many of which were highly publicized incidents involving crimes such as murder, robbery, swindling, and kidnapping. Many of the clippings include engravings that depict portraits of criminals, courtroom scenes, and crime scenes. Stories of crime and punishment in the eastern United States are most frequent, but transnational and international stories are also included.

Clippings are arranged in a chronological sequence with the first dated December 7th 1891 and the last dated September 4th 1893; as a result, many clippings that pertain to certain long-running criminal trials appear in multiple places throughout the volume.

Individuals/topics represented over the course of the volume include:
  • Martin D. Loppy [murderer; executed by electric chair] (pgs. 1-3)
  • Darwin J. Messerole [murderer] (pg. 3)
  • Isaac B. Sawtelle [murderer] (pg. 4)
  • Henry L. Norcross [blackmailer, attempted murderer] (pgs. 5-9)
  • Carlyle W. Harris [murderer; condemned to execution by electric chair] (pgs. 12-15, 22, 25, 30-35, 40, 54-58)
  • Charles E. Waterbury [kidnapper] (pgs. 17-21, 26-29, 37-40)
  • August Lentz [murderer] (pgs. 11, 12, 21, 24, 35, 36)
  • Alfred Parkes [murderer] (pg. 23)
  • Nicola Trezza and Charles McElvaine [murderers; latter executed by electric chair] (pgs. 23, 24, 40)
  • Edward W. Hallinger [African American man; murderer] (pgs. 35, 145)
  • Alice Jessie Mitchell [lesbian woman; murderer] (pgs. 35, 41, 147, 158)
  • Thomas “Buncoer” O’Brien [conman] (pg. 37, 105-107, 125, 126, 129-131, 133-136, 139)
  • Maurice Curtis aka Maurice B. Strelinger [accused murderer; acquitted] (pgs. 41, 42)
  • Oliver Curtis Perry [train robber] (pgs. 42-53, 126-129)
  • Burton C. Webster [accused murderer; hung jury] (pgs. 47, 58-83)
  • John Francis [Native American man; murderer] (pgs. 53, 54)
  • Louis Harriot [murderer; hanged] (pgs. 81, 82, 101-104)
  • Jim Lyons and Mickey Sliney [murderers] (pgs. 84, 86, 87, 124, 125)
  • Death of George C. Searing (pgs. 84, 85)
  • F. B. Deeming [murderer and one-time Jack the Ripper suspect; hanged] (pgs. 87, 88-93, 114, 115, 131-133, 140, 141, 145, 146, 151-153)
  • Jack the Ripper, “The Nine Bad Jacks” (pgs. 89-93)
  • Jeremiah Cotto [murderer; executed by electric chair] (pgs. 93-95)
  • Frank C. Almy aka George Abbott [murderer] (pgs. 95, 96, 120, 121, 206-208)
  • James Alexander Farmer [accused murderer] (pg. 95, 96)
  • William Myer [murderer] (pg. 97)
  • “Origin of Lynch Law” (pgs. 97-99)
  • John Lewis Osmond [murderer] (pgs. 99-101)
  • Annie Walden [murderer] (pgs. 107-114, 136, 139, 153-155)
  • Fred McGuire [murderer; executed by electric chair] (pgs. 116-119)
  • Ferdinand Ward [Banker/Ponzi scheme runner] (pgs. 121-123, 141-145)
  • Henry W. Jaehne [corrupt politician] (pgs. 121-123)
  • Lieut. James Henry Hetherington [U.S. Navy officer; murderer] (pgs. 136-139)
  • Charles Reilly [murderer] (pg. 139)
  • Murder of Lizzie Farrell [African American man falsely implicated] (pgs. 139, 140, 143, 144)
  • Capt. Chris Rath [recounting of execution of Lincoln’s assassins] (pgs. 146, 147)
  • “The Murderer’s Hand” [story regarding supposedly distinct features of hands of killers] (pg. 148)
  • Guillotine history and contemporary usage (pgs. 148-151, 155-158)
  • Col. H. Clay King [murderer] (pgs. 158, 159, 161)
  • Lizzie Borden [accused murderer; acquitted] (pgs. 158-170, 172-180, 187-189, 191-205)
  • Dr. T. Thatcher Graves [accused murderer; hanged himself while incarcerated] (pg. 159, 191, 208-210)
  • Murder of Luigi Barri (pgs. 167, 168)
  • Frank Glowinski [murderer] (pgs. 168-171)
  • James Nolan [murderer] (pgs. 171, 172)
  • J. M. Brown shootout (pgs. 180-187)
  • George Craig [murderer] (pgs. 190, 191)
Collection

David A. Day scrapbook, ca. 1897

89 pages and 34 photographs

The David A. Day scrapbook was assembled shortly after Rev. Day's death in 1897 to commemorate one of the most renowned American missionaries in West Africa. It includes photographs and illustrations of the mission and its missionaries, accompanied by captions providing background on the activities of the mission, the way of life of its inhabitants, and biographical notes on some converts. Laid into the front cover is a seven-page typed memoir of Day's life.

The David A. Day scrapbook was assembled shortly after Rev. Day's death in 1897 to commemorate one of the most renowned American missionaries in West Africa. The thirty-four silver print photographs are supplemented by half-tone illustrations of the mission and its missionaries (excised from an unidentified publication), and are accompanied by hand-written and typed captions providing background on the activities of the mission, the way of life of its inhabitants, and biographical notes on some converts. Laid into the front cover is a seven-page typed memoir of Day's life. Based upon writing inside the front cover, the scrapbook appears to have been assembled at or for the mission within a few years after Day's death.

Although the creator of the scrapbook is unidentified, the book remains a valuable record of the Lutheran missionary enterprise in Liberia and missionary responses to the inhabitants of that country. The series of images and captions seem equally concerned with religious "progress" (Christianization) and the material improvement of native lives as gauged by their adoption of western dress, methods of production, and attitudes toward work. Singled out for special note are a seven year old girl from "one of the tribes 100 miles north of the mission" who took pride in her dress and ability to use a broom, and a particularly devoted convert, Henry Stewart, and the author of the scrapbook included several views of particularly well-dressed groups of converts assembled and posed in orderly fashion. Along with views of the tidy mission complex itself, there is a secondary emphasis on the unconverted, with illustrations of their method of travel (by hammock), "half-civilized" natives at a saw mill, and semi-nude men standing by the river, awaiting a canoe. The typed captions offer a somewhat more extended, but still relatively brief commentary on native (Grebo) life and their lack of western attitudes and advantages.

Due to the highly brittle paper and exceptionally delicate nature of the scrapbook, researchers are requested to consult with the curatorial staff before beginning their research.

Collection

David Nash collection, 1928-2008

3.25 lin. ft.

This collection is made up of diaries, correspondence, documents, scrapbooks, photo albums, negatives, yearbooks, awards, artifacts, and regalia of career U.S. Navy officer David Nash. Much of the content relates to Lieutenant Nash's naval career and his time as a prisoner of war in the Pacific during World War II.

This collection is made up of diaries, correspondence, documents, scrapbooks, photo albums, negatives, yearbooks, awards, artifacts, and regalia of career U.S. Navy officer David Nash. Much of the content relates to Lieutenant Nash's naval career and his time as a prisoner of war in the Pacific during World War II.

The Diaries include two volumes (380 pages) by David Nash, detailing his experiences as a prisoner of war for over three and a half years during World War II. These are illustrated copies made after the war from original diaries and notes (one of his shipmates buried the first portion of the original diary in a 5-gallon tin can on Luzon in order to recover it later). Lieut. Nash's almost daily entries reveal his activities, health, mentality and moods, plus information on the activity around him and any rumors or gossip. Most entries conclude with a note to his "darlings," his wife Honoria and daughter Julie. Detailed illustrations of the prison camps and ships appear throughout the diaries. Nash also included relevant drawings in the margins (guards, a shower, turkey dinner, himself reading, playing cards, etc.).

The first diary is an alphabet-sectioned ledger with 300 lined pages, covering December 1, 1941, to May 29, 1944. It also contains lists of USS Mindanao personnel and occupants of Barrack #9 Camp. The diary opens with two watercolor maps of the China Sea entitled "Cruise of U.S.S. Mindanao, 1941" and "Corregidor and Vicinity, 1942." David Nash described his time on Mindanao, stationed at Corregidor during its surrender and capture by the Japanese forces, and as a prisoner of war at Bilibid Prison, Cabanatuan, USAFFE Camp 91st Division, a second time at Bilibid Prison, and the Davao Penal Colony.

The second diary has 80 lined pages and spans October 13, 1944, to October 10, 1944. This volume continues Nash's account of life as a prisoner of war. He described his experiences on the hell ship Oryoku Maru, at Hoten Camp in Mukden, Manchuria, and during the camp's liberation on August 19, 1945.

The Naval Documents, Correspondence and Articles series contains letters, reports, newspaper clippings, personal notes, awards, an illustration, and ephemera relating to David Nash's naval career and POWs in general; the bulk of which ranges between 1934 and 2005. A portion of the documents in this series relate to the family of a fellow naval officer named Heisinger.

  • USS Hornet files: Nash's correspondence requesting aircraft reports, aircraft action reports from the Hornet's carrier air group 11 bombing the hell ships Nash was held on, and Hornet Club ephemera, 1944-1945, 1972-2000.
  • Prisoner of War files: Nash's postwar correspondence with a fellow POW, who wrote on the band and entertainers at one of Nash's camps. Other papers include reports on how to survive as a prisoner of war, healthcare for survivors, articles relating to prisoners of war, pamphlets on American Japanese internment camps and the misuse of the term 'internment,' and Nash's personal notes, 1972-2008.
  • Heisinger files: Correspondence between the Heisinger family and David Nash, printed materials relating to World War II, official Navy photographs, and personal photographs.
  • Awards and Commendations: Awards given to David Nash by the Navy and the President of the United States and correspondence upon his retirement from the Navy.
  • Illustration of USS Mindanao
  • Map of a Western Pacific Cruise and a pin-up.

The Scrapbooks series consists of two scrapbooks.

  • [Personal Moments, 1928-1948]. This scrapbook tracks David and Honoria's life from high school until 1948. Much of it focuses on David Nash's career and his time as a prisoner of war. It contains photographs, newspaper clippings, letters, awards, telegrams, and ephemera, with captions or notes on most pages. Of particular note are letters and telegrams to Honoria Nash from the Navy informing her on her husband's status as missing and later as prisoner of war.
  • "Scrapbook, Hong Kong 1939-Dec. 1964." This scrapbook primarily traces David Nash's naval career through photographs, newspaper clippings, invitations, and ephemera from 1939 to 1964. It includes a few references to his wife Honoria's volunteer work and his daughter Julie's engagement.

The Photographs series contains four photo albums and many negatives.

Subseries: Photo Albums

  • "Aug. 1939 to 1941 En Route and at Hong Kong." This album consists of personal photographs from David and Honoria's honeymoon in the Grand Canyon in 1939, their travels to Hong Kong by way of San Francisco and Honolulu, life in Hong Kong up until the evacuation of dependents in 1940 and his assignment on USS Mindanao in 1941. Other locations photographed include Kowloon, Shameen, Canton, and New Territories. Each page is captioned with a date and/or description. Also included in this album is an envelope with duplicates and a telegram to David Nash's father informing him that his son's name was on a list of personnel at Camp Hoten in Mukden, Manchuria.
  • [Navy Photos, 1952-1960]. This album contains 40 photographs from 1952 to 1960, highlighting various events in David Nash's career, changes in command, reunions, an inspection trip, and naval ceremonies. It also includes individual and group portraits with fellow officers and staff. Some photographs include descriptions and dates.
  • [Navy Photos, 1960-1961, 1966]. This album is comprised of U.S. Navy photographs, largely from the period of David Nash's Naval Intelligence posting. Additional images include aerial photographs, Navy ships, two postcards from 1966, a Navy certificate, and an envelope containing miscellaneous negatives and photographs. Many of the photographs include notes with names and descriptions.
  • "Navy 1959-1965." This album consists of personal photographs from David Nash's Navy assignments. The three primary groupings include "Corregidor & Ft. Hughes 1959," "Comdesron 5 Deployment 1960," and "District Intelligence Officer 1961-65." Locations featured are Thailand (including Bangkok), Singapore, Saigon, Philippine Islands, Hong Kong, and California. Most photographs include notes on locations and names.

Subseries: Negatives. This subseries contains negatives from photographs of wide-ranging dates and topics, all related to David Nash's personal life and career.

The Yearbooks series contains four Lucky Bag United States Naval Academy yearbooks from 1932, 1933, 1934, and a 50 Year Rendezvous USNA-1935 anniversary yearbook.

The Artifacts and Regalia series contains objects from David Nash's career including his desk name plate, two plaques, a naval uniform belt, a bronze star, dog tags, and various other uniform accessories (ribbons, medals, pins, buttons, etc.).

Collection

D. M. Osborne & Co. scrapbooks, 1873-1874

2 volumes

These two scrapbooks contain newspaper and magazine clippings of stories and poems pasted into 1873 and 1874 editions of German-language trade catalogs for D. M. Osborne & Co., manufacturers of farm equipment at Auburn, New York.

These two scrapbooks contain newspaper and magazine clippings of stories and poems pasted into 1873 and 1874 editions of German-language trade catalogs for D. M. Osborne & Co., manufacturers of farm equipment at Auburn, New York.

Clippings from the 1873 edition include "Sister Therese," a story about a prima donna and colonel in Paris, "A Miner's Love Story (from Temple Bar)," "A Fairy Gift," "The Story of a Valentine," and more. The volume features floral fabric lining around the cover's edges and spine.

The 1874 edition includes stories titled "The Wreck," by William H. Thomes, "The Doctor's Peril," "Alexander and the Africans," "A Short Fight," and more.

Collection

Eastern Educational Bureau record book, 1885-1887

1 volume

The collection consists of completed application forms dated from 1885 to 1887 for the Eastern Educational Bureau of Boston, Massachusetts, which placed teachers in open positions at various schools for a fee. The forms include the teacher's name, address, educational background, professional history and teaching specialty, religion, age, marital and health status, preferences for location and salary, and references. Applicants included both men and women, the bulk were unmarried and residing in Massachusetts, but several applicants were from other New England states as well as New York. Later forms required a photograph and the section where teachers could underline "branches which you can teach" or "can teach especially well" was expanded to include additional areas in math, sciences, English, languages, music and art, and miscellaneous. In addition to more common subject areas, the forms also note topics like surveying, astronomy, political economy, Sanskrit, harp and banjo, telegraphy, and military tactics, among others. Many include annotations, likely of the names or locations of school placements, as well as indications whether fees were paid.

The collection consists of completed application forms dated from 1885 to 1887 for the Eastern Educational Bureau of Boston, Massachusetts, which placed teachers in open positions at various schools for a fee. The bureau was managed by M. T. Rogers, who claimed that his "extensive acquaintance in New England, together with the fact that I am constantly travelling in the interest of my publishing business, greatly increase my ability to help all grades of teachers, to secure good schools."

The forms include the teacher's name, address, educational background, professional history and teaching specialty, religion, age, marital and health status, preferences for location and salary, and references. Applicants included both men and women, the bulk were unmarried and residing in Massachusetts, but several applicants were from other New England states as well as New York. At least three applicants appear to have been immigrants, as their prior education or experience was from Denmark, Belgium, and Germany. Later forms required a photograph and the section where teachers could underline "branches which you can teach" or "can teach especially well" was expanded to include additional areas in math, sciences, English, languages, music and art, and miscellaneous. In addition to more common subject areas, the forms also note topics like surveying, astronomy, political economy, Sanskrit, harp and banjo, telegraphy, and military tactics, among others. Many include annotations, likely of the names or locations of school placements, as well as indications whether fees were paid.

The materials are pasted into a "Patent Back Scrap Book," and several pages appear to have been removed. In addition to the application forms, several pieces of accompanying correspondence or related notes are also present.

Collection

Eastern Educational Bureau record book, 1885-1887

1 volume

The collection consists of completed application forms dated from 1885 to 1887 for the Eastern Educational Bureau of Boston, Massachusetts, which placed teachers in open positions at various schools for a fee. The forms include the teacher's name, address, educational background, professional history and teaching specialty, religion, age, marital and health status, preferences for location and salary, and references. Applicants included both men and women, the bulk were unmarried and residing in Massachusetts, but several applicants were from other New England states as well as New York. Later forms required a photograph and the section where teachers could underline "branches which you can teach" or "can teach especially well" was expanded to include additional areas in math, sciences, English, languages, music and art, and miscellaneous. In addition to more common subject areas, the forms also note topics like surveying, astronomy, political economy, Sanskrit, harp and banjo, telegraphy, and military tactics, among others. Many include annotations, likely of the names or locations of school placements, as well as indications whether fees were paid.

The collection consists of completed application forms dated from 1885 to 1887 for the Eastern Educational Bureau of Boston, Massachusetts, which placed teachers in open positions at various schools for a fee. The bureau was managed by M. T. Rogers, who claimed that his "extensive acquaintance in New England, together with the fact that I am constantly travelling in the interest of my publishing business, greatly increase my ability to help all grades of teachers, to secure good schools."

The forms include the teacher's name, address, educational background, professional history and teaching specialty, religion, age, marital and health status, preferences for location and salary, and references. Applicants included both men and women, the bulk were unmarried and residing in Massachusetts, but several applicants were from other New England states as well as New York. At least three applicants appear to have been immigrants, as their prior education or experience was from Denmark, Belgium, and Germany. Later forms required a photograph and the section where teachers could underline "branches which you can teach" or "can teach especially well" was expanded to include additional areas in math, sciences, English, languages, music and art, and miscellaneous. In addition to more common subject areas, the forms also note topics like surveying, astronomy, political economy, Sanskrit, harp and banjo, telegraphy, and military tactics, among others. Many include annotations, likely of the names or locations of school placements, as well as indications whether fees were paid.

The materials are pasted into a "Patent Back Scrap Book," and several pages appear to have been removed. In addition to the application forms, several pieces of accompanying correspondence or related notes are also present.

Collection

Edward C. Randall papers, 1922-1935 (majority within 1904-1935)

4.5 linear feet

The Edward C. Randall papers are largely correspondence and writings of Buffalo, New York, attorney E. C. Randall, who studied and wrote extensively on spirit mediums, spiritualism, and eschatological subjects in the first decades of the 20th century. The collection includes complete, partial, and drafts of essays and books by Randall, around 250 incoming letters (many with retained copies of responses attached), materials by or belonging to Virginia and Mai Randall, and other items.

The Edward C. Randall Papers are largely correspondence and writings by Buffalo, New York, attorney E. C. Randall, who studied and wrote extensively on spirit mediums, spiritualism, and eschatological subjects in the first decades of the 20th century. The collection includes around 250 incoming letters to Randall, most of them accompanied by retained copies of his responses, 1908-1935 (bulk 1917-1935). Also present is a bundle of documents pertaining to Delaware Laundry, Inc., including its articles of incorporation and stockholder minutes, as well as materials pertinent to E. C. Randall's resignation from the Board of Directors, 1930-1934. Other documents include a bundle of seven items related to the estate of Edward Porter as probated by attorney E. C. Randall (including Porter's last will and testament), 1931-1932.

The bulk of the papers is drafts, partial, and complete writings by E. C. Randall; and a few items by/belonging to Mai Howard Randall and Virginia Randall. E. C. Randall's typescripts and drafts include the following works:

  • "Frontiers of the Afterlife" (1922)
  • "Philosophic Discussions with a Living Dead Man"/"Coloquy with an Etherian" (1923-1924)
  • "Told in the After Life" (1927)
  • "Mission Work" (April-May 1928)
  • "Heritage of the Dead : Biographical Sketches of the Living Dead in the Earthbound Zone" (1928)
  • "Taps and the Dawn" (1931)
  • "The Living Dead" (1931-1932)
  • "Miscellaneous Essays" and "Miscellaneous Psychic Memorandum" (early 1930s)
  • "Nero's Redemption" (early 1930s)
  • "Drama – Nero's Redemption" (early 1930s)
  • "Memoirs of an Eschatologist" (four volumes plus additional chapters, circa 1934-1935?)
  • Additional essays, book chapters, interviews, and notes. Many or most of these appear to be drafts, typed copies, or extracts from works listed above.

The collection includes two volumes pertinent to E. C. Randall's daughter Virginia Randall, who died at age 21 on February 3, 1925, after a week-long illness. A two-ring volume contains cuttings of printed artwork depicting Biblical scenes with manuscript scriptural passages written beneath them. Virginia apparently created the volume while attending the Dobbs Ferry school or Mrs. Wickham's school in New York, around 1920. The other volume is a typed collection of "Virginia Randall's Letters" with added supplementary newspaper articles. The original letters [not present] dated between 1922 and 1927—both before and after Virginia's death in 1925.

Two manuscript volumes in the collection apparently belonged to Mai Howard Randall, containing manuscript writing dating between 1904 and 1915, and around 1921. The papers also contain two circa 1920s-1930s typescripts sent to E. C. Randall by William Smith titled "Philosophic Teachings of Spirit People" and stated to have been received through automatic writing by Smith. One printed item accompanies the collection: The Origin of Life; or Where Man Comes From. The Evolution of the Spirit from Matter, through Organic Processes; or How the Spirit Body Grows. Fourth Edition. By M. Faraday . . . T. C. Budington, Medium. Springfield, Mass.: Star Publishing Company, 1887. This item has a round hole all the way through it, middle left.

Collection

Edwin F. Conroy scrapbook, 1918-1921 (majority within 1918-1919)

0.25 linear feet

This collection consists of the contents of a scrapbook kept by Effie M. Conroy of the Bronx, New York, who documented the army service of her son, Edwin F. Conroy, a member of the 114th Infantry Regiment during World War I. The scrapbook contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ephemera related to Conroy, to the 114th Infantry Regiment, and to the 29th "Blue and Gray" Division.

This collection consists of a 54-page scrapbook and 24 related items kept by Effie M. Conroy of the Bronx, New York, who documented the army service of her son Edwin, a member of the 114th Infantry Regiment during World War I. The first pages of the scrapbook mainly hold newspaper clippings, including a collection of humorous anecdotes from Conroy's time working as an attaché at the West Farms Court and later articles documenting the 114th Infantry Regiment and the 29th Division. These clippings, though undated, concern the infantry's service throughout and just after the war, and one item from the Bronx Home News relates Effie's thoughts upon hearing that Edwin had been wounded (p. 13). Several other clippings contain poetry, including a sheet of contributions by soldiers (p. 16), and one is a comic strip about service at the front lines (p. 19).

Correspondence includes a printed letter from Corporal Jos. H. Shea describing his journey to France onboard the SS Princess Matoika (p. 3), a printed letter from General John J. Pershing thanking soldiers for their service (p. 5), and many letters that Conroy wrote to his mother while in training at Camp McClellan, Alabama. Between May and June 1918, Conroy described his railroad journeys to the base, his life at the camp, and his journey to his unit's embarkation point at Newport News, Virginia. While in training, he discussed his daily activities and his anticipated voyage overseas. He wrote one letter on YMCA stationery with a letterhead composed of photographs (p. 29), and two of his postcards depict scenes from Camp McClellan. Though most of his letters date to his time in training, Conroy wrote later letters to Anna Gernand, with whom he shared his impressions of destruction near the front (p. 53), and to his aunt and mother.

Most ephemera items are printed programs, though the collection also holds a pamphlet of songs sung by the American Expeditionary Forces (p. 53) and a medal citation for service in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive (loose ephemera). One program relates to event honoring General Ferdinand Foch in 1921 (loose ephemera).

Collection

Emerson C. Ives collection, 1932-1970

0.25 linear feet

This collection is made up of about 140 letters that New York resident Emerson C. Ives wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt, United States congressmen and public officials, and several newspaper editors between 1932 and 1970. Ives provided his opinions on a variety of contemporary issues, such as Roosevelt's economic policies during the Great Depression, the Lend-Lease program, solutions for the aftermath of World War II, and the presence of United States forces in Vietnam in the late 1960s. Some newspaper clippings, including reprints of Ives's editorials, are present in the collection.

This collection is made up of about 140 letters that New York resident Emerson C. Ives wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt, United States congressmen and public officials, and several newspaper editors between 1932 and 1970. Ives provided his opinions on a variety of contemporary issues, such as Roosevelt's economic policies during the Great Depression, the Lend-Lease program, solutions for the aftermath of World War II, and the presence of United States forces in Vietnam in the late 1960s. Some newspaper clippings, including reprints of Ives's editorials, are present in the collection.

The bulk of the collection consists of retained copies and drafts of Ives's outgoing correspondence regarding domestic and international political issues affecting the United States in the mid-20th century. Ives pasted around 90 of the letters in a scrapbook, most of which were written between 1932 and 1945; he also added newspaper clippings. He sent essays to several New York newspaper editors, particularly to those at the Sun, Herald-Tribune, and New York Times. Many correspondents sent brief notes acknowledging the receipt of Ives's letters and commenting on his views.

Ives, who worked for a Wall Street firm, frequently commented on economic affairs throughout the Great Depression, and often attacked President Roosevelt's policies, including the New Deal. In his earliest letters, he defended the character of Wall Street brokers, and shared his belief that they were not solely to blame for the economic crisis. He also discussed the gold and silver currency standards and the presidential elections of 1936 and 1940. Later in the 1930s, he wrote about the Lend-Lease program, and, in at least one letter (December 12, 1940), he directly advocated support for Great Britain's military efforts against Nazi Germany. During the war, Ives offered his opinions on how the United States should treat Germany after the war, and dismissed Russia's potential as a postwar military threat. In 1943, he also voiced his opposition to a threatened railroad strike. After the war, he wrote less frequently, but continued to comment on economic and military affairs, such as a proposal to ensure universal military training in the United States. During the late 1960s, Ives strongly advocated the unconditional removal of U. S. troops from Vietnam, and in one letter he anticipated China's potential as a dominant international political force (February 3, 1970).

Collection

Examination of Benjamin W. Greene scrapbook, 1866

1 volume

This scrapbook, titled "The Examination of Benjamin W. Greene," contains clippings of three short articles published in the Hartford Courant newspaper of testimony given at the trial of accused murderer Benjamin W. Greene in early 1866. Greene was charged with the murder of Eunice North Greene, his wife, on November 5, 1865, and the court sought to determine whether the homicide (and Benjamin's subsequent suicide attempt) was due to insanity.

This scrapbook, titled "The Examination of Benjamin W. Greene," contains clippings of three short articles published in the Hartford Courant newspaper of testimony given at the trial of accused murderer Benjamin W. Greene in early 1866. Greene was charged with the murder of Eunice North Greene, his wife, on November 5, 1865, and the court sought to determine whether the homicide (and Benjamin's subsequent suicide attempt) was due to insanity.

An investigation of the Greene household allowed witnesses to piece together the progression of events on November 5, 1865. As Eunice was reading, Benjamin approached her from behind and cut her neck with a razor. She was able to call for help after Benjamin fled and to name him as the perpetrator, but her wounds were too severe to overcome. After a brief search, two men found Benjamin inside of a locked room, lying next to the same razor used to kill Eunice. Despite having cut his own wrists and neck in a suicide attempt, he was able to be stabilized and survived.

The loss of Eunice and Benjamin's eldest daughter, Harriet North Day (1831-1864), was consistently cited as the reason for the sharp decline in Benjamin's mental and physical health. The family physician, Dr. Beresford, held Benjamin's "singular and peculiar delusions with regard to his domestic affairs" (p. 2) as evidence of his mental instability. Often centered around Eunice, or supposed financial burdens, the validity of those claims was challenged by what Dr. Beresford and other witnesses observed prior to the homicide (p. 7, 11, 12, 14).

Before the murder, Benjamin repeatedly denied help from his family and friends, blocking at least one attempt by physicians to inform Eunice (p. 4) of his mental state. His nephew, William D. Wyatt (1828-1884), tried several times to intervene and help his uncle—both at his own behest and at Eunice's—but ultimately failed. William did not deem it safe to be alone with Benjamin, and testified that during one visit, Eunice told him that her husband was "a crazy man" and "had been a deranged man for years" (p. 11).

The scrapbook does not include the final ruling of the court, but the following is a quotation from an article [not present] containing the verdict, published in the Hartford Courant on March 14, 1866:

"The finding that Mr. Greene was insane at the time he killed his wife, will undoubtedly render his will, which was made in July last, and which was referred to in the testimony offered during his examination, of no account. In this will he bequeathed all his property to Robert E. Day, his son-in-law, and Mr. Day's little daughter. His action, in this respect, would seem to show that he labored under the delusion claimed that his whole family, with the exception of Mrs. Day, was leagued against him. After her death he said he had lost his best friend, and from that time forward declined in health rapidly."

Collection

Florence Romaine collection, 1822-1985 (majority within 1843-1907)

0.75 linear feet

The Florence Romaine collection is comprised of correspondence, documents, genealogies, photographs, scrapbooks, and newspaper clippings related to the Brossard, Draper, and Smith families throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and to the acting career of Florence Smith Romaine.

The Florence Romaine collection (1 linear foot) is comprised of correspondence, documents, genealogies, photographs, scrapbooks, and newspaper clippings related to the Brossard, Draper, and Smith families throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and to the acting career of Florence Smith Romaine.

The Correspondence series (59 items) contains personal letters between members of the Brossard, Draper, and Smith families; many are written in French. Most of the material is dated from 1843-1907; the collection also includes 3 early letters to members of the Brossard family, as well as postcards that Florence Smith Romaine wrote to Grace Maxwell from 1962-1963. The series includes letters to Claude Ferdinand de Brossard from various correspondents; to Ferdinand de Brossard and Jenny de Brossard Draper from their mother, Elizabeth de Brossard; to Elizabeth Brossard from her sister-in-law, Julie de Brossard; to Jenny de Brossard Draper from Seth Enos Smith; and to Florence Smith Romaine from her mother, Jenny Draper Smith, and grandmother, Jenny de Brossard Draper. Other items include 6 letters to C. C. Randall.

The Writings series consists of 3 items by Florence Smith Romaine: a rumination on night written around 1905, a play entitled "The Silver Bell of Hat-Shep-Sut's Cat," and Whistling Bill, a children's book published in 1937.

Documents are divided into three subseries: Legal Documents (7 items), Business Documents (3 items), and Awards and Diplomas (2 items). Legal documents include birth certificates, marriage certificates, and passports related to Claude and Elisabeth Brossard and their descendants, as well as a copy of Florence Smith Romaine's will. Business documents are related to Brossard family accounts. The award and diploma concern Jenny Draper's academic achievements at the Chegaray Institute and a Brossard family member's receipt of the Fleur de Lys.

The Photographs series has two subseries: Photograph Album and Loose Photographs. The photograph album (26 pages) contains 104 cartes-de-visite and tintype studio portraits, including portraits of members of the Brossard, Draper, and Smith families. Two pages from a photograph album of the Romaine family are housed separately. Loose photographs (32 items), including 2 cased items (one housed in the Graphics Division), mostly show Florence Romaine in theatrical costumes; several photographs show members of the Smith and Draper families.

Two Scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings, programs, notes, and other items regarding Florence Romaine's acting career, as well as articles, children's stories, and puzzles that she wrote for The Christian Science Monitor in 1924 and 1925. The Newspaper Clippings (3 items) concern the career of Worthington L. Romaine and the deaths of Seth and Seth E. Smith.

Genealogies and Family Histories consist of a pamphlet about the descendants of Henry and Elizabeth Smith, including Seth Enos Smith and Florence Smith Romaine; manuscript and typed notes pertaining to the Draper and Stull families and to the life of Florence Romaine; and pages from Thomas Waln-Morgan Draper's 1892 genealogy The Drapers in America.

Miscellaneous Items and Fragments (17 items) include notes and poetry (in French), 2 invitations, a copy of a recommendation letter for Father Marie-Joseph de Geramb to the governor of Cairo, and a promotional pamphlet for "Florence May Smith."

Collection

Frank H. Schofield collection, 1891-1935 (majority within 1913-1923)

0.5 linear feet

This collection is made up of correspondence and other items related to United States Navy Admiral Frank H. Schofield and his wife, Claribel. The bulk of the collection consists of personal letters that Frank and Claribel Schofield received from acquaintances, family, and each other between the mid-1910s and the early 1920s.

This collection is made up of correspondence and other items related to United States Navy Admiral Frank H. Schofield and his wife, Claribel.

The Correspondence series, which comprises the bulk of the collection, largely consists of personal letters that Frank and Claribel Schofield received from 1913-1923. Frank wrote to Claribel while stationed in Italy, Mexico, Washington, D.C., and other locations; in 1914 and 1915, he served on the Delaware along the East Coast and in Veracruz, Mexico. His letter of March 26, 1918, pertains to military developments during World War I. Frank Schofield's incoming correspondence includes many letters from personal and professional acquaintances, who discussed his career, navy personnel and affairs, the U.S. Naval War College, and nonmilitary subjects. Perry Schofield occasionally wrote to his father about his schooling and everyday life. In July 1923, Frank Schofield received several letters of congratulation after the announcement of his promotion to rear admiral. The series includes an early letter from Anna L. Peck to her cousin Mary (July 6, 1891) and a letter by E. L. Schofield about family genealogy (March 16, 1935). Some of the letters are in French.

The Receipts, Printed Program, and Cards series contains a group of receipts from the Army and Navy Club restaurant and barber, a list of lecture courses and conferences offered by the Institute of Politics in the summer of 1923, cards from friends, and an invitation to a reception at the U.S. Naval War College. One item includes pencil drawings of Frank H. Schofield's monogram.

The collection includes three Scrapbooks. The first volume (85 pages) contains newspaper clippings, with articles about science and medicine, horses, Shakespeare, Swedenborgianism, opium usage, and American history. A large number of clippings are poems about various subjects, sometimes related to religion. Manuscript quotations were written directly onto the first few pages. Visual materials include portraits of members of the Polk family, historic homes and churches, horses, and the stages of development for trilobites. Several items pertain to Frank H. Schofield, including an article about his travels with the navy, photographs from his trip to Guam in 1903, and informal portraits of his wife and son. M. H. P. Cox received the volume from "Miss McGill" in April 1887.

Two large scrapbooks, both with canvas colors, bear the titles "U.S. Fleet Visit to Melbourne, August 1925" and "U.S. Fleet Visit to Lyttelton and Christchurch, New Zealand, August 1925." Each contains programs, invitations, visiting cards, and other ephemera related to the voyage, commanded by Frank H. Schofield. The bulk of each volume is newspaper articles and entire newspapers concerning the fleet's destination. The clippings frequently include information about the sailors' relationships with local residents. The New Zealand volume includes clippings from The Star, The Press (Christchurch), The Sun, and The Lyttelton Times, as well as a full issue of The Weekly Press and N.Z. Referee. The Australia volume contains full issues of The Sun, Punch, Table Talk, The Leader, and The Australasian. The New Zealand album also contains images of native Maoris and others in Maori costume.

Collection

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

1.75 linear feet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Collection

George Edward Burr Scrapbook, ca. 1840s-1850s

1 volume

The George Edward Burr scrapbook contains over 130 labels for various alcoholic products, assorted clippings mainly related to facets of the alcohol industry, handwritten notes including recipes for alcoholic beverages, and several patent designs by Burr.

The George Edward Burr scrapbook contains over 130 labels for various alcoholic products, assorted clippings mainly related to facets of the alcohol industry, handwritten notes including recipes for alcoholic beverages, and several patent designs by Burr.

The scrapbook (33.5 x 21 cm) has marbled paper covers with "Spiritual Guide No. 1" written on the front and contains approximately 100 pages. Labels for an extensive array of different alcoholic products can be found pasted in between pgs. 1 and 52. The majority of labels are for various French wines and brandies, though other alcoholic products (predominately spirits) from the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, England, Italy, Jamaica, Switzerland, Mexico, and the United States are also represented. Of particular note are a number of labels for products imported by George Edward Burr into Mexico. While it remains unconfirmed, this may have been the same George Edward Burr who was involved with the management of the Pedrigal Mining Company in Mexico.

Other items of note include the following:
  • Clippings mainly related to various aspects of alcohol production such as the manufacture of syrups, vinegars, acids, the use of yeast, etc.; use of essential oils, extracts, bitters, sweeteners, etc.; clarifying, bottling, and barreling processes; and descriptions of various types of spirits such as Tuscaloosa whiskey, apple brandy, New York gin, Jamaica Rum, etc.
  • A set of clipped engravings illustrating the stages of bottling champagne
  • Handwritten recipes (including several credited to other individuals including B. A. Auger of New Orleans) for various alcoholic products including absinthe, Jamaica rum, Scotch whiskey, Curacao, pale ale, stout, Eau de Noix, and more. Recipes for non-alcoholic products such as colored inks, sealing waxes, salted meat, Duffield hams, toilet soap, candles, etc. are also included
  • Handwritten descriptions in English and Spanish for various patent designs by Burr including cylindrical candles, white wax, and yellow wax. The candle descriptions also contain illustrations
  • A hand-drawn diagram of a 150 gallon still
  • A tipped-in advertisement from 1856 for Dr. H. James's tincture made from cannabis indica that includes a recipe, description, and testimonials
  • Clippings and labels related to various patent medicines

Collection

George Howland Cox scrapbook, 1860-1928 (majority within 1860-1914)

47 items

This collection contains unbound material from a scrapbook compiled by George Howland Cox, a banker in Cambridge, Massachusetts, around the turn of the 20th century. Materials include a series of letters written by cadet William A. Simpson during his time at the United States Military Academy as well as Cox family correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ephemera.

This 47-item scrapbook was compiled by George Howland Cox, a banker in Cambridge, Massachusetts, around the turn of the 20th century. The book contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ephemera.

The first 38 pages contain 21 letters that Cox received from cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Elbert Wheeler wrote the first letter on July 26, 1872, and William A. Simpson wrote the remaining letters between 1872 and 1873 and on June 17, 1914. Wheeler and Simpson discussed life at the academy, as well as the pursuits of their classmates; Simpson also related news of officer appointments and class rankings. Other correspondence includes letters to Cox from his parents and his letters to his father. One item is a letter of introduction for James Valentine Cox from Charles W. Seabury, which mentions the elder Cox's service in the Civil War and his desire to visit his son in the army (January 19, 1865). One partially printed letter from the United States Treasury Department grants George H. Cox permission to receive money owed to his recently deceased mother (September 6, 1886).

Other material includes a financial account, a concert program, and a menu, as well as newspaper clippings and 2 printed copies of speeches: a talk delivered by William H. Seward to the United States Senate on February 29, 1860, regarding Kansas, slavery, and other issues in domestic politics; and an annotated copy of a speech that George Howland Cox delivered at a school reunion in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Newspaper clippings concern local interests, such as state of the schoolhouse in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, around 1902 (2 pictures), and a small facsimile of the Chicago Evening Journal from February 7, 1878. The collection also contains the front pages of 2 newspapers: the Republican Standard of New Bedford, Massachusetts, which reported on a reunion of the Nye family (August 13, 1908); and The Cambridge Tribune, about Cox's plan to continue composing a series of reminiscences for the newspaper (September 15, 1928).

Collection

George T. and Harriet Stevens papers, 1850-1920

5.5 linear feet

The collection consists of correspondence, primarily between George T. Stevens and Harriet W. Stevens of Essex County, New York , as well as documents, writings, a scrapbook, printed materials, and realia reflecting the Civil War service of surgeon George T. Stevens of the 77th Regiment N.Y. Volunteers, Harriet W. Stevens' experiences on the home front, and George T. Stevens' post-Civil War medical career in Albany and New York City, New York.

The collection consists of correspondence, primarily between George T. Stevens and Harriet W. Stevens of Essex County, New York, as well as documents, writings, a scrapbook, printed materials, and realia reflecting the Civil War service of surgeon George T. Stevens of the 77th Regiment N.Y. Volunteers, Harriet W. Stevens' experiences on the home front, and George T. Stevens' post-Civil War medical career in Albany and New York City, New York.

The Correspondence Series is divided into two sub-series. The Chronological Correspondence Sub-Series spans from 1859 to 1866 with over 560 letters. While a few other correspondents are represented, the bulk of this series reflects both sides of the correspondence between George T. Stevens and Harriet ("Hattie") W. Stevens. Beginning with their courtship in 1859, the letters reflect George's early efforts to set up medical practice in Keeseville, New York, in 1861, his entry into the army, and their relationship and experiences throughout his service during the Civil War.

George's letters give a detailed glimpse into the practices of Civil War surgeons. Beginning with his efforts to secure an appointment as an Assistant Surgeon and the internal jockeying for position that caused infighting, George's letters to Hattie provide insight into the interpersonal conflicts and partnerships that undergirded his experience as an officer. Miscommunications about a medical furlough he took from May to October 1862 due to a case of typhoid fever led to his dismissal, and George's letters speak frankly about his efforts to reenlist as well as his frustrations with barriers to accomplishing this goal. Writing reports, securing transportation and goods, and tending to administrative details also pepper George's correspondence, shedding light on the clerical demands on his time.

George wrote frequently of daily life and tasks in camp, noting food, music and reading, camaraderie, mud, weather, camp health, and more. His detailed descriptions of camp life and activity also provide glimpses of others, including those who worked for him, like Dall Wadhams, who entered the army with him and stayed until March 1862, and James Mages, a young German-American, who worked for George from September 1863 to around June 1864 when he was taken prisoner of war.

George's commentary on camp life also at times reflects information about African Americans' experiences and white soldiers' opinions on race, slavery, and emancipation. Example references include:

  • African American workers (March 12, 1863; September 6, 1863; November 23, 1863; December 20, 1863; June 25, 1864)
  • "Contrabands" and refugees (March 25, 1862; June 20, 1863; August 2, 1863; October 17, 1863)
  • African American residents in Virginia who George encountered during marches (April 9, 1862; April 13, 1862; April 25, 1862)
  • Rumors of arson in Charleston (December 19, 1861)
  • Emancipation Proclamation (January 3, 1863; January 7, 1863)
  • African American soldiers (June 27, 1864)
  • Violence perpetrated against African American soldiers at Plymouth and Fort Pillow (April 26, 1864; May 3, 1864)

George T. Stevens' letters also reflect on marching conditions, as well as details about setting up hospitals and tending to the sick and wounded. Letters describing battles reflect not only on military movements and engagements but also on the fieldwork undertaken by surgeons, amputations in particular, and the dangers to which they were exposed. He commented on medicine, transport of the wounded, illness, and death. For much of May 1864, he was stationed in Fredericksburg tending to soldiers wounded during the Overland Campaign, before returning to his regiment late in the month, and his letters reflect this work.

In addition to passing references to additional battles, the military engagements or their aftermath that George T. Stevens' letters reflect on include:

  • Siege of Yorktown and Battle of Lee's Mill (April 1862)
  • Battle of Williamsburg (May 1862)
  • Chancellorsville Campaign and Second Battle of Fredericksburg (April and May 1863)
  • Battle of Franklin's Crossing (June 1863)
  • Battle of Gettysburg (July 1863)
  • Bristoe Campaign (October 1863)
  • Battle of Rappahannock Station (November 1863)
  • Battle of Mine Run (December 1863)
  • Battle of the Wilderness (May 1864)
  • Battle of Spotsylvania Court House (May 1864)
  • Battle of Cold Harbor (June 1864)
  • Siege of Petersburg (June 1864)
  • Shenandoah Valley Campaign (August 1864)
  • Third Battle of Winchester (September 1864)
  • Battle of Fisher's Hill (September 1864)

George and Harriet discussed their own health in good detail. George experienced a difficult bout of typhoid fever beginning in May 1862 and another illness in April 1864, which brought Harriet to tend to him during his recoveries. George and Harriet both commented on military and political events. Harriet was an avid reader of the news, tracking the 77th Regiment's movements and engagements. George commented several times that she was better informed than he was. "The rumors you have in regard to our moving are only the reports of the soldiers in camp who know as much of our future movements as they do of the next arctic expedition in search of Sir John Franklin," he wrote on January 24, 1862. Both were candid in their criticisms of military leaders.

As his regiment was periodically stationed near Washington, D.C., including for several months in late 1861 and early 1862, George's letters contain commentary about conditions in the city. Harriet's occasional trips to visit George in camp or to tend to him during bouts of illness also found her staying in D.C. She remained in the city hoping to visit George while the Battle of Gettysburg was being fought. Her letters during these times provide additional insight into how women and camp followers experienced D.C. and how residents responded to war news.

Harriet's letters written while she was staying with family at Wadham's Mills and Crown Point provide information about the home front. Discussions of finances, family news, anxiety for George's wellbeing, military events, health, music and reading, and more pepper her letters. As she and George wrote each other frequently, both sides of their conversation are often represented, showing the back-and-forth dialog that the couple sustained throughout the war. Notes written on envelopes by Harriet W. Stevens in later years identify letters that were of interest to her or provide clarifying information, hinting at George and Harriet's ongoing consultation of their wartime correspondence. George and Harriet's interest in botany is also well represented in the series. They discussed plants and sent each other pressed flowers and leaves.

Frances ("Frankie") Wadhams Davenport Ormsbee is also well reflected in the series. While she contributed only a small handful of letters, George T. and Harriet Stevens commented regularly on her and her husband George Davenport, beginning with a reference to their courtship in a letter from May 13, 1859. George T. Stevens discussed visits with George Davenport while they were both in active service, as well as with Frances while she was visiting him in camp. Letters referencing Frances, as well as George's own letters detailing his preparations for Harriet to visit him in camp, provide insight into officers' wives' experiences staying in the military encampments. Upon George Davenport's death at the Battle of the Wilderness, George T. Stevens wrote home with news he had about the nature of his death and burial, and corresponded with Harriet and Frances as they worked to recover his body and process their grief.

Several letters from other members of the Stevens and Wadhams families are also present. Additionally, as Wadham's Mills was located near the Canadian and Vermont borders, the series at times reflects on affairs in those regions. For example, Harriet W. Stevens' letter from December 19, 1861, states, "...the most prominent business men in Canada were drilling men three times a week. Frankie & I think that if we go to war with England, we shall just put on pants & go to." She also wrote of news regarding St. Albans Raid (October 20, 1864; October 23, 1864; October 30, 1864; November 2, 1864).

Correspondence from after George's service is far less frequent. It includes a letter from a former patient whose arm he saved during the war (February 19, 1865), a few letters from other members of the 77th Regiment, and material relating to the Stevens's move to Albany. One item written by James McKean on May 3-June 8, 1865, outlines reactions to news of the Civil War in Honduras, including references to an African American man and young indigenous Honduran boy.

George T. Stevens included sketches and drawings in some of his letters to Harriet. Letters that include pen-and-ink illustrations are listed below:

  • February 20, 1861: wedding ring designs
  • December 17, 1861: George T. Stevens' furnishings at the Regimental Head Quarters
  • December 29, 1861: decorated encampment of the Vermont 4th
  • January 8, 1862: sketch of Fredericksburg and vicinity
  • January 12, 1862: map of cross-roads where he got lost in D.C.
  • January 21, 1862: portrait of Dall Wadhams to illustrate weight loss
  • January 29, 1862: sketch of his quarters
  • February 2, 1862: possum
  • February 5, 1862: sketch map of Washington and Georgetown area
  • February 9, 1862: hospital wards
  • December 19, 1862: principal building of the Soldiers' Home in Virginia; chain bridge that slowed their march
  • March 11, 1862: makeshift tent while on march near Fairfax Courthouse
  • March 18, 1862: camp scene with makeshift tent near Alexandria
  • March 29, 1862: agricultural tools used by African Americans; wooden gun with hog's head placed in the muzzle
  • April 3, 1862: sketch map of march route in Virginia
  • April 9, 1862: musical notations and sketch of buildings
  • April 25, 1862: birds-eye-view of three farms and sketch of a farmhouse's steps and door
  • April 25, 1862: sketch of three farms
  • November 18, 1862: pattern for chevrons and illustration of where they will be attached to sleeves
  • November 27, 1862: steaming plum pudding served at Thanksgiving
  • December 25, 1862: camp for the 77th Regiment decorated for Christmas
  • February 24, 1863: snowball fight in camp
  • April 9, 1863: sketch of military insignia on the hat worn by a young girl who accompanied Abraham Lincoln on a review of the army
  • October 17, 1863: sketch map of troop positions
  • September 8, 1864: traced floral patterns

The Bundled Correspondence Sub-Series reflects the original bundling of these sub-sets of letters, with each then arranged chronologically. One bundle consists of nine letters and documents from ca. 1859-1860, as well as undated items, relating to Miss Slater's School for Young Ladies in Lansingburgh, New York. The other bundle includes six letters from 1868 relating to resolving an incident when George T. Stevens received double payment while in the service in 1864.

The Documents Series is divided into four sub-series. The Chronological Documents Sub-Series consists of eleven items ranging in date from 1856 to 1864, including Castleton Medical College admission tickets; a subscription receipt toFlag of Our Union ; a partially printed notebook listing voters in the town of Keene in 1858; a small leather wallet containing notes documenting George and Harriet's travels in 1861, money received, and letters; an 1864 document from the Office of the Chief Medical Officer relieving Stevens of duty; General Orders 222 from 1864; a partial copy of the regiment's participation in military campaigns from May to July 1864; undated GAR Roster; and an undated list of three people, "not paid."

The bundled documents sub-series represent the original bundling of the documents as they arrived at the Clements, but each grouping was then arranged chronologically. The Bundled Military Documents Sub-Series consists of:

  • Five Civil War Passes, 1861-1862
  • Six Reports of Sick and Wounded, compiled by George T. Stevens, December 1861- May 1862
  • Approximately 66 documents relating to "Monthly Reports of Hospital Supplies &c," February 1863- March 1865
  • Seven lists of casualties and enlisted men, primarily for the 77th Regiment, 1864-1865

The Bundled G.A.R. Documents Sub-Series consists of the following bundles:

  • "Papers relating to Soldiers & Sailors Union," with three petitions, 1866-1867, to charter subordinate unions in Eastchester, Utica, and Newburgh, New York, respectively, and one letter stating why the Yonkers Soldiers' and Sailors' Union would not be represented in a convention. A note written by Harriet W. Stevens in 1920 states that the Soldiers' and Sailors' Union merged into the Society of the G.A.R. in George T. Stevens' Albany office in 1867.
  • "Papers relating to the formation of the society of the Grand Army of the Republic of the state of New York," with approximately 23 documents dating between December 1866 and December 1867. These include general orders and circulars from the Headquarters Department of New York as well as undated petitions to apply for a charter for a post of the G.A.R. All of the petitions are blank, except one with a single signature.
  • "Special Orders [GAR], 1867," with 11 documents, written by Frank J. Bramhall or George T. Stevens regarding G.A.R. procedures
  • "1867," with approximately 25 documents dating between September 1866 and November 1867, many relating to G.A.R. charters, membership applications, reports and rosters, and other business.

The Miscellaneous Bundled Documents Sub-Series consists of two rolled bundles:

  • 8 appointments, certificates, and diplomas for George T. Stevens, 1864-1881, including his Army appointments to Assistant Surgeon and Surgeon, Army discharge, diploma from Castleton Medical College, certificate for his honorary degree from Union College, as well as several certificates for medical societies and the military organizations
  • 3 genealogical documents, including a blank genealogical form, "Ancestral Chart, 1879;" a copy of the chart filled out for Charles Wadhams Stevens' ancestry; and a small version of the Charles Wadhams Stevens genealogy.

The Writings Series includes:

  • George T. Stevens manuscript drafts of autobiographical writings. Dated notes range from 1910 to 1914. Sections include: Childhood; The School at Chazy; Elizabethtown; Personal Reminiscences: My First Wage Earning; My First Engagement as Schoolmaster; School at Keeseville; My First Field of Practice; [Leaving Keeseville and Entering the Army]; My Time as a Soldier; Notes of the Life in the Army; Williamsburgh; Albany Beginnings of Botanical Experiences; The Nature Club; [A Trip to Europe].
  • George T. Stevens biography, a brief two-page manuscript outlining his Civil War service and professional and academic achievements, particularly in relation to ophthalmology.
  • George T. Stevens typed reply to a G.A.R. questionnaire with manuscript additions, providing information about his military service and post-war career. Includes additional text, "Beginnings of the Grand Army of the Republic in the State of New York."
  • Harriet W. Stevens, "Some War Time Recollections by the Wife of an Army Surgeon," a 42-page typed draft with manuscript corrections of a paper she read before the National Society of New England Women. Particular attention is paid to the Peninsular Campaign of 1861, her visits with George T. Stevens in camp in 1863, stays in Washington, D.C., and tending to George during his bouts of illness. A shorter, 13-page copy is also present.
  • Frances Davenport Ormsbee, "A War Reminiscence," a 12-page typescript that relates George Davenport's service, her visits with him during the war, his death, and efforts to locate his grave and recover his body. Also includes a photocopy of a transcribed letter from June 10, 1865, from Frances describing the retrieval of George Davenport and Captain Ormsbee's bodies.
  • "Army Papers Written by Members of the Sixth Corps," with three different unattributed and undated items: "June 20th Fight at Mechanicsville," 2 pages, and two partial military recollections, 4 pages and 16 pages respectively.

The Scrapbook Series consists of one volume with material primarily relating to George T. Stevens' post-Civil War life and career tipped or pasted in. Dated items range from 1861 to 1918. Material relates to his work with the Albany Medical College, Nature Club of Albany, the Albany Institute and its Field Meetings, the Grand Army of the Republic, military reunions, the Troy Scientific Association, the Soldiers and Sailors Union, and some references to his publications. Some material relates to his medical career, primarily ephemera from medical associations, lectures, and notices of his awards and achievements. Two Civil War-era items include an 1861 newspaper clipping from Keeseville announcing George T. Stevens' appointment in the Army and an 1861 printed circular calling to organize a Bemis Heights Battalion. Only a handful of items relate to Harriet W. Stevens and their social life. Formats include newspaper clippings, postcards, disbound pages, fliers, programs, advertisements, business or calling cards, and circulars, among others.

The Photographs Series features the following:

  • 10 cartes-de-visite of "Officers of the 77th Regt. NYS Vols." Named individuals include Winsor B. French, Henry J. Adams (of the 118th Infantry), David J. Caw, [Isaac D.] Clapp, Martin Lennon, and "Robert."
  • Approximately 12 photographs of George T. Stevens appear in a variety of formats, including cartes-de-visite, cabinet cards, studio portraits, a framed photo, among others. The tintypes, ambrotypes, and daguerreotypes are detailed separately below.
  • 10 photographs of Harriet W. Stevens dating from 1861 into her older age.
  • 15 photographs of Frances Virginia Stevens Ladd, ranging from when she was a baby through her older age. Dated items range from 1866 to 1922, and several show her wearing theatrical garb.
  • 5 photographs of Charles Wadhams Stevens, ranging from when he was a baby into his middle age. Dated items range from 1868 to 1880.
  • 2 photographs of Georgina Wadhams Stevens, one a tinted reproduction of a photo on a cabinet card, and another a cyanotype of an interior scene displaying a framed painted portrait of her, likely anteceding her death.
  • 3 photographs of George Trumbull Ladd.

In addition to the above, the Photographs Series also includes two tinted ambrotypes of George T. Stevens; one tinted tintype of George T. and Harriet W. Stevens with George and Frances Davenport; one tinted daguerreotype of Frances and George Davenport; and a ca. 1864 tintype of George T. Stevens in the field in Virginia, wearing his uniform while mounted on a horse, with his groom, Austin, standing with his mule.

The Printed Materials Series primarily consists of pamphlets dating from 1850 to 1915 and includes material relating to the Sons of Temperance, Castleton Medical College, the Independent Order of Good Templars, Masons, and an Ex-Soldiers' Handbook. One pamphlet includes George T. Stevens' address to the Survivors' Association of the 77th Regiment, "The First Fighting Campaign of the Seventy-Seventh N.Y.V." There are also 165 copies of the print, "The Chimneys - April 5, 1862. Drawing by George T. Stevens." Six books are located in the Clements Library's Book Division. Please see the list in the Additional Descriptive Data below for a complete list.

The Realia Series includes the following items:

  • Pair of white leather gloves, with note by Harriet W. Stevens: "These white kid gloves were G. T. Stevens worn when we were married."
  • George T. Stevens Civil War uniform items, including dark green silk surgeon's sash, white cotton gloves, blue shoulder strap, and golden hat ornament.
  • Pair of white cotton gloves, with note by Harriet W. Stevens, "worn by Chas. W. Stevens when he was a drummer boy at Albany Academy."
  • Pair of children's leather gloves and shoes. Note by Harriet W. Stevens suggests they belonged to Frances V. Stevens Ladd.
  • Pair of knitted white and blue socks with ribbon, in envelope labeled "These were Little Georgies socks," likely referring to Georgina Wadhams (1871-1882).
  • 1910 G.A.R. badge.

Collection

Grace Adele Pierce scrapbook, [1890-1894]

1 volume

Writer, lecturer, poet, and playwright Grace Adele Pierce compiled this stab-stitched volume of newspaper and other serial cuttings, autographs, manuscript texts, portraits, and drawings around 1890-1894 while she lived at home with her parents in Randolph, New York. The newspaper/serial clippings include announcements for Pierce's lectures, talks, and readings, as well as printed portraits of women writers and original poetry. Two drawings include a sailboat with very finely drawn seaweed; and a pencil portrait of Grace Pierce at her desk, reading a book (by Helen A. Winsoe). Several clipped autographs include those of Jane Mead Welch, Christine Terhune Herrick, and J. Ellen Foster. Pierce also pasted in a handwritten list of books by writer Margaret E. Sangster, titled "Best in my judgement."

Writer, lecturer, poet, and playwright Grace Adele Pierce compiled this stab-stitched volume of newspaper and other serial cuttings, autographs, manuscript texts, portraits, and drawings around 1890-1894 while Pierce lived at home with her parents in Randolph, New York. The newspaper/serial clippings include announcements for Pierce's lectures, talks, and readings, as well as portraits of women writers and original poetry. Two drawings include a sailboat with very fine seaweed; and a pencil portrait of Grace Pierce at her desk, reading a book (by Helen A. Winsoe). Several clipped autographs include those of Jane Mead Welch, Christine Terhune Herrick, and J. Ellen Foster. Pierce also pasted in a handwritten list of books by writer Margaret E. Sangster, titled "Best in my judgement."

The volume includes one pasted-in autograph letter signed by J. E. Croly, editor of The Home-Maker monthly journal, respecting a submission by Pierce (December 11, 1890).

Collection

Grace Chandler Footlight Club scrapbook, 1886-1898 (majority within 1894-1898)

1 volume

The Grace Chandler Footlight Club scrapbook contains correspondence, photographs, plays, and ephemera related to the club's activities in the mid- to late 1890s. The amateur theatrical company performed in Eliot Hall, a theater in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.

The Grace Chandler Footlight Club scrapbook contains around 45 pages of correspondence, photographs, plays, and ephemera pertaining to the club's activities in the late 19th century. Most items are dated between 1894, when Chandler joined, and 1898.

Chandler collected numerous programs from the Footlight Club's many performances, including several in which she participated as a member of the cast and a few that served as charity events for a convalescent home and other causes; tickets for performances and dress rehearsals are also included. Chandler received official correspondence regarding her membership and directors' reports, as well as manuscript letters congratulating her for recent performances; most are still in their original envelopes. Of particular interest is a letter from Horace Vale to "Miss Verrinder" calling off their engagement after hearing rumors of her "desperate flirtation" with another man (postmarked March 20, 1895). The album includes 7 photographs of sets on a stage. Other items include newspaper clippings, printed copies of plays, an advertisement, a dried rose, and copies of the Footlight Club's constitution as amended in December 1888 and January 1895.

Collection

Grosvenor L. Townsend Scrapbooks, 1893-1910

7 volumes

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

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

Volume 1 (1893-1894--New York; New Jersey)
  • This volume contains materials related to Townsend's service in the New York National Guard, 7th Regiment, Company D, between 1893 and 1894. Items of particular interest include a Grand Army of the Republic report regarding the 7th's service record in the Civil War and during various New York City riots (pg. 1); a group portrait of 7th NYNG Co. D soldiers, including Townsend (figure furthest to the right), at an encampment in Peekskill, New York in June 1893 (pg. 5); clippings related to a mock Civil War battle held at Van Cortlandt Park (pg. 11); clippings related to Townsend's promotion from private to lance-corporal (pg. 13); clippings from the New York Herald and New York Tribune regarding the 7th NYNG relocating to the Seventh Regiment Armory (pgs. 42-45); a group portrait of 7th NYNG members at Sea Girt, New Jersey, in July of 1894 during a visit with New Jersey National Guardsmen (pg. 67); and Townsend's Lance Corporal chevrons (pgs. 92, 93).
Volume 2 (1896--New York)
  • This volume contains materials related to Townsend's service in the New York National Guard, 7th Regiment, Company D, during 1896. Items of particular interest include an engraving depicting Company D winning a chariot race at the 7th Regiment games (pgs. 28, 29); a New York Herald clipping from May 31st 1896 regarding the 7th NYNG's victory over West Point in a baseball match (pg. 39); an American Lithographic Co. halftone reproduction of a Jay Hambidge painting showing the 7th NYNG marching in uniform titled "For Love or War?" (pg. 43); clippings regarding the new regimental clubhouse at the Creedmoor Rifle Range (pg. 45); a private circular for NCOs regarding a regimental parade in honor of Chinese viceroy Li Hongzhang as well as a halftone portrait of Li (pgs. 46, 47); and cartoons from the 7th Regiment Gazette of December 1896 comically depicting track and field events (pg. 61).
Volume 3 (1897-1898--New York)
  • This volume contains materials related to Townsend's service in the New York National Guard, 7th Regiment, Company D, from 1897 to May of 1898. Items of particular interest include a photographs of 7th NYNG officers and NCOs (pgs. 2, 3); halftone images from a 7th NYNG camp (pg. 7); a New York Sun clipping from October 10th 1897 regarding a mock battle at Van Cortlandt Park replete with a topographical map of the park (pg. 11); a New York Herald clipping from October 10th 1897 showing engravings related to "The Battle of Van Cortlandt Park." (pgs. 12, 13); a Harper's Weekly clipping from October 1897 showing halftone reproductions of paintings related to the mock battle at Van Cortlandt Park (pgs. 14, 15); camp scene photographs from June 1897 including one portrait of Townsend in uniform (pg. 23); halftone images showing interior rooms of the Seventh Regiment Armory (pgs. 25-28); a halftone reproduction of an engraving showing 7th NYNG uniforms from 1802 to 1897 (pg. 33); a halftone reproduction from Harper's Weekly vol. 42 no. 2157 of a painting by T. De Thulstrup showing the 7th NYNG being reviewed by Major General Charles F. Roe at the Seventh Regiment Armory (pgs. 76, 77); and multiple clippings related to the 7th NYNG's decision to refrain from allowing members to individually enlist in the regular US Army at the outset of the Spanish-American War so as not to disintegrate the unit (pgs. 82-91).
Volume 4 (1899--New York; Fort Monroe; Washington, D.C.; Cuba)
  • This volume contains materials related to Townsend's service in the 201st Infantry Regiment of New York Volunteers as well as in the US Army 1st Infantry Regiment covering the period from March of 1899 to February of 1900. Items of particular interest include clippings related to Townsend's promotion from Captain of Company M 201st NY Volunteer Infantry Regiment to Second Lieutenant in the US regular army (pg. 5); letters from Townsend to his parents regarding exams he must take at Fort Monroe, Virginia, in order to achieve his promotion (pgs. 8, 9); a picture book containing halftone images from around Fort Monroe (pg. 11); a photograph showing a Fort Monroe examination room black board coupled with text of the example question present on the board (pg. 17); a copy of Townsend's commission as Second Lieutenant (pgs. 22, 23); clippings related to the naval transportation of American troops to Cuba (pg. 33); photographs of various Cuban scenes including an ossuary outside of Havana, Cuban huts and houses, Cuban soldiers being paid, American camps and barracks, a Cuban funeral, Afro-Cubans, underbrush near the mountains, a general view of Pinar del Rio, American military officers and their wives, and American troops in formation (pgs. 36-46, 48-55); a memorandum concerning the administrative use of officers' photographic portraits (pg. 59); photographs showing scenes of Guanajay and Pinar del Rio, Company K rifle ranges, American officers including Lt. McCue, Lt. Tebetts, Lt. Reams, Lt. Beacham, Lt. Wilcox, Dr. Dunchie, and Lt. Reeder, child golf caddies (including a Chinese boy named Ah Soy), a Cuban house being constructed out of palm tree materials, American officers and their wives, a Cuban burial party, soldiers on the march and drilling, an American military graveyard, Cuban ox carts, a railroad station, and churches (pgs. 60-66, 68-82); a clipping including an advertisement for "Mahara's Minstrel Carnival" (pg. 84); and more photographs showing American officers and their wives, Chinese-Cubans, a man posing with a white owl, a well-dressed Cuban man named "Mr. Usavraga", 2nd Battalion shelter camps, American barracks at Guanajay, a group of American officers and several women that includes both Townsend and his mother Emma, the fort at Mariel, a Cuban ship named Alphonso XIII sinking in Mariel Harbor, street scenes in San Antonio and Guanajay, and golf links at Guanajay (pgs. 91-115).
Volume 5 (1900-1901--Cuba; Fort Leavenworth; San Francisco; Philippines)
  • This volume contains materials related to Townsend's service in the US Army 1st Infantry Regiment covering the period from April 1900 to December 1901. Items of particular interest include photographs showing 1st Infantry Company K assembled in uniform at Guanajay and the aftermath of a major storm at Guanajay, (pgs. 1, 2); clippings related to the potential ordering of the 1st Infantry from Cuba to China as well as Yellow Fever outbreaks among American soldiers stationed in Cuba (pgs. 4, 5); a fragment of an envelope bearing an official stamp from a US military surgeon indicating that the parcel had been "Disinfected and Passed" (pg. 9); clippings from August 1900 detailing the ordering of troops to Manila, Philippines, instead of China (pgs. 13-17); photographs showing various scenes from around Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, including the US Army Disciplinary Barracks (pg. 19-24); clippings from October 1900 regarding the capture and subsequent rescue of Capt. Devereux Shields (pgs. 28-30); clippings regarding the launch of the Samar Expedition and insurgent fighting tactics (pgs. 31-33, 40); photographs showing buildings occupied by American troops in Catbalogan, US Army officers and headquarters at Tacloban in February 1901 (pgs. 40-42); a clipping showing a map of the "Peaceful Districts in the Philippines" highlighting areas deemed unsafe for Americans to venture (pg. 46); photographs showing street scenes, Filipino villages and villagers, and landscape views (pgs. 50-54); a letter and associated hand-drawn map sent by Townsend to his mother describing an ambush against American forces in southern Samar in April of 1901 during which Townsend came under fire from a rifle he believed to have belonged to an American soldier who had deserted (pgs. 55, 56); a letter from Townsend to his mother in April of 1901 describing the visit of a group of Palauan tribesmen and counterinsurgency operations (pg. 57); photographs taken by Townsend of the Palauan tribesmen (pgs. 58-60); photographs from around Guiuan, including the U.S. Army headquarters, a 200 year old church door, Lt. Downes and Townsend's quarters, and images of a church and locals in Mercedes (pgs. 62, 63); clippings related to the death of Lt. Downes and Lt. McClure (pg. 68); a typescript copy of a letter initially sent by Townsend to Capt. Willard C. Fisk from July 1901, which the latter forwarded to Townsend's parents, describing engagements in Samar including one that led to Townsend being stabbed in the forearm (pg. 70); clippings related to the death of Lt. Downes and the Balangiga Massacre (pgs. 71-76); a letter from Townsend to his mother dated Oct 5 1901 describing the Balangiga Massacre and how his detachment were very nearly sent there (pg. 77); Townsend's Second Lieutenant bars (pg. 78); and a clipping describing innovative traps used by the Moros against American soldiers (pg. 79).
Volume 6 (1905-1907--Fort Brady; Canada; Philippines)
  • This volume contains materials related to Townsend's service in the US Army 1st Infantry Regiment covering the period from 1905 to September 1907. Items of particular interest include a group portrait showing Townsend, other U.S. Army officers, and several women (including Cornelia T. Getty) standing in front of a house in Canada with snowshoeing equipment (pg. 3); clippings related to Fort Brady and a roster of troops serving in the Department of the Lakes as of August 15th 1905 (pgs. 5-7); clippings related to renewed unrest in China and the shipment of more U.S. troops to the Philippines (pg. 10, 12); clippings related to the transportation of American troops to the Philippines (pgs. 18, 19); clippings related to the celebration of George Washington's birthday at a ceremony in Gibraltar in February 1906 (pgs. 24, 26); a letter from Townsend to his mother from aboard the USS McClellan near Sri Lanka in April 1906 describing the conditions of the ship and the progress of the journey thus far (pg. 36); a typescript summary of Townsend's military career as of July 1906 (pg. 49); panoramic views of Camp Stotsenburg (pgs. 58, 64); a clipping regarding an earthquake in the Philippines in April 1907 (pg. 69); a typescript copy of a memo from September 1907 titled "Regarding the Government of the Philippine Islands With Special Reference to the Subject of Police Protection" (pg. 80); and photographs by Pedro Casanave of the S.S. Mindoro and of "Calle Gen. Hughes" in Iloilo City (pgs. 87, 88).
Volume 7 (1909-1910--Fort Leavenworth; New York)
  • This volume contains materials related to Townsend's service in the US Army 23rd and 1st Infantry Regiments covering the period from August 1909 to August 1910. Items of particular interest include a roster of officers and troops on duty at the Army Service Schools, Fort Leavenworth and the US Military Prison as of November 1909 (pg. 5); a studio portrait of Townsend in uniform taken at Fort Leavenworth (pg. 7); a copy of the September 1910 issue of the Infantry Journal by The United States Infantry Association containing an article written by Townsend titled "The Use and Effect of Flying Machines on Military Operations" (pg. 25); clippings related to practice maneuvers at Pine Camp, New York (pgs. 28-39, 49-58); halftone images showing camp scenes at Pine Camp (pgs. 47, 48); and photographs showing Townsend in uniform, Townsend's parents Malcolm and Emma, and what may have been the Townsend family residence (pg. 59).

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

Collection

Haiti collection, 1761-1826, 1856, 1895, 1954

0.5 linear feet

The Haiti collection contains approximately 132 items related to the social, military, and economic history of Haiti from the mid-18th century through the 19th century. The collection includes correspondence, documents, and a scrapbook. The scrapbook, compiled by Victor Advielle, chronicles the history of the island from 1803, during the last stages of its revolution, through the 1890s.

The Haiti collection contains approximately 130 items related to the social, military, and economic history of Haiti from the mid-18th century through the 19th century. The collection includes correspondence, documents, visual material, and a scrapbook. The scrapbook, compiled by Victor Advielle, chronicles the history of the island from 1803, during the last stages of its revolution, through the 1890s.

Selected items include:
  • Bonneau et Avril DS, Journal des travaux..., September 1780. La Grande Plaine, [St. Domingue]. Beginning with a list of enslaved persons by profession/type of labor or other details (six women, for example, are indicated as free per the will of M. Baugé). The journal follows, indicating plantation events and the distribution of enslaved workers at different labor or at the hospital. With content related to mill work, sugar production, placing persons in irons, and more.
  • Lory, Plombard & Co. ALS to Mr. Guillaumier; November 6, 1783. Cap. News of his brother, finances, and matters relating to enslaved persons (including their health).
  • [Jean-Baptiste] Arnaudeau ALS to Madame Veuve Fleuriau, January 26, 1788; Bellevue, [Saint Domingue]. To his aunt, offering condolences on the death of her husband. Recommends buying the Fortin land as it is good for cultivating sugar cane. Purchase of enslaved persons for a good price (10 men and 2 women). Production of sugar and land on the Fleuriau plantation.
  • Legal document from 1790 relating to the complicated distribution of Pierre Douault's estate, including the coffee plantation he owned in Saint Domingue.
  • Delaire, Painparay & La Maiguere ALS to M. Peyrac, 1791 December 24; Nantes, [France]. 2 pages. Has received news from Port-au-Prince about the ratification of the treaty between "les Blancs & les Gens de couleur." Comments on how the gens de couleur have dictated the law, which is harsh against whites, but upholding it supports peace and protects property holders.
  • [Pierre-César-Charles, marquis de] Sercey Partially Printed DS to "l'enseigne St. Prix," 1793 September 1; [New York, New York], 1 page. In French. Written near the New York harbor aboard theÉole . Orders from Commander of the Leeward Islands, "Le Commandant de la Station des Iles de L'Amérique Sous Le Vent," to embark on the frigate Surveillante to continue the ship's service. On illustrated letterhead with a decorative header; the portion featuring three fleurs-de-lis is inked out. N.B. Sercey commanded a fleet of ships carrying colonists fleeing from St. Domingue during the Haitian Revolution to New York and then on to France.
  • British officer L. Dichter letter, describing Haiti as the "Devil's own Country"; July 4, 1796.
  • An autographed letter by Toussaint L'Ouverture, written on his personal stationery; [1796].
  • Citoyen Dodge Gorham and Dodge Gorham et Compagnie partially printed certificates (2) and manuscript document (1) pertinent to the shipment of goods, including beef, on the ship Zéphir (Zephyr) September 12, 1797. Le Cap.
  • A deposition providing a firsthand account of revolutionary activity in 1793; October 25, 1799.
  • Lovise Munroe manuscript protest, 14 Fructidor [September 1, 1800]; Môle Saint-Nicolas, Saint Domingue. 6 pages. Official notary copy of the protest of Lovise Munroe, captain of the Schooner Two Brothers of Boston, which sailed out of Philadelphia bound with goods consigned to merchant John Lewis at Cap Français. Was forced into the port at Môle Saint-Nicolas, "having been Contraried by the Winds & Weather." General Hyacinthe Moïse ordered that Munroe would "be so good to land All the Articles Useful to the State, such as, Tar, Pitch, Gun-Powder, Muskets, Swords, Pistols, Lead, Bunting, Tin and Flints, these articles will be deposited in the Arsenal in the Manner Order'd and Citn. [Mansey] Colin charged with the sale of the Surplus of the Cargo, will take the Arrangements he shall think most suitable with General Moyse, for the reimbursement of these Articles and the best of his Interest." After the goods were sold, Lewis claimed that he did not receive any compensation for the long sojourn in Môle Saint-Nicolas, but instead needed money to pay for flour, cloth, and cordage for the vessel's use.
  • Robert McTaggart letter to Philadelphia merchants [John Reed, Standish Forde, and Samuel Israel]; January 18, 1804. Cap Français. Respecting trade issues, stagnant markets, spoiled produce, government restrictions on coffee purchases. Reference to ships at harbor and difficulties with French privateers.
  • Letter to Martin[-Pierre] Foache, April 6, 1804. Au Cap. Describes persecution of white residents preceding the massacre ordered by Jean-Jacques Dessalines.
  • A ca. 1815 legal summary of a case regarding the difficulties of collecting bills in post-revolutionary Saint Domingue. References the inability of the French merchant Reveliere to establish a trading house in Saint Domingue around 1802, which forced him to sell his cargo with a military contractor, but payment was later suspended by a governmental decree. Notes the impact on third-party bearers of the bills.
  • B[elfast] Burton [draft letters?] to [Richard Allen?], [1825]; Semana, Haiti. 2 pages. Two letters on opposite sides of a single sheet. Discussion of issues with Pierre Joseph Marie Granville (Jonathas Granville), governance, authority, "there is nothing equal to truth & honesty and industry..." Politics, meddling of Alexander, support but apprehensions regarding President Jean-Pierre Boyer, and the campaign to promote African American immigration to the Republic of Haiti.
  • Eugène-Léopold-François Pesnel DS petition to Faustin Soulouque, [1856?]; Cherbourg, [France]. 14 pages. Petition by Pesnel, requesting Empereur Soulouque to grant compensation to Marie Jeanne Pesnel, his mother, for property and proceeds lost as a result of the Haitian Revolution. Marie's father Thomas de Launay owned dwellings north of Cap Français and in Borgne. He had lived in Saint Domingue for 45 years before his death in 1781. The properties, including a cafeterie, had an annual profit of around 300,000 francs. The capital was 6,000,000 francs, which would have increased considerably in the hands of merchant de Launay and his descendants. Pesnel's request include a lengthy affirmation of his Republican sentiments, love of freedom, and dislike of slavery. The last page of the petition includes a transcription of a baptismal record of Marie Jeanne de Launay.

Other items are two photographs, a copy of L'Écho de la Timbrologie that traces the history of Haiti (January 31, 1954), a Carte de l'Isle de Saint Domingue ([1759], housed in the Map Division), a 1788 postmark from "Cap Haitien," and a newletter about French colonial postmarks.

Victor Advielle compiled the scrapbook, entitled Notes sur Haiti, in Paris in 1895. In addition to newspaper clippings, speeches, correspondence, and government documents, the volume has a piece of music entitled "Les paroles sont de Mr. de la Soriniere danjou, Et la Musique de Mr. Boran de St. Domingue." The scrapbook pertains to Haiti's 19th-century history. The section entitled "Ma Correspondence avec Légitime" contains personal correspondence between Victor Advielle and François Denys Légitime, who later became president of Haiti (1888-1889). The material within the scrapbook is in French.

Collection

Handy family papers, 1670s-1980s

77 linear feet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Collection

Helen Buchanan papers, 1906-1937 (majority within 1906-1919)

5 linear feet

The Helen Buchanan papers contain incoming correspondence, financial records, ephemera, and photographs related to the life of Helen Buchanan (later Jones) in the early 20th century. Much of the correspondence is from her friend Juliana Conover, who discussed women's issues and her life in Princeton, New Jersey, during World War I, and from Buchanan's suitor and eventual husband, Walter McKnown Jones, who wrote about medical treatments he experienced and life on his coffee plantation in Puerto Rico.

The Helen Buchanan papers contain 5 linear feet of incoming correspondence, financial records, photographs, printed items, ephemera, and writings pertaining to the life of Helen Buchanan (later Jones) in the early 20th century. Much of the correspondence is from her friend Juliana Conover, who discussed women's issues and her life in Princeton, New Jersey, during World War I, and from Buchanan's suitor and eventual husband, Walter McKnown Jones, who wrote about medical treatments he experienced and life on his coffee plantation in Puerto Rico.

The Correspondence series comprises the bulk of the collection and contains incoming letters and postcards addressed to Buchanan between 1906 and 1919, while she lived at Ayrshire Farm in Upperville, Virginia; Washington, D. C.; Rome, Italy; and Hacienda Limon (near Villalba, Puerto Rico).

Helen's friend Juliana Conover wrote 258 letters advising her much younger friend on love and courtship, providing updates on her life in Princeton, New Jersey, and commenting on current events. In one early letter, she shared her horror at the recent Titanic tragedy (April 16, 1912). Much of Conover's correspondence concerns Helen's courtship with and engagement to Walter McKnown Jones; she often reported on his health, and she supported the relationship despite misgivings on the part of Helen's father. Conover dispensed candid advice on a variety of topics, including intimacy and birth control (April 12, 1916). Along with sending personal updates and news of friends in Princeton, she sometimes mentioned the war and the families whose sons served in the military (May 14, 1917). After the war, she worked with the American Library Association's Library War Service at Camp Dix, New Jersey.

Walter McKnown Jones, Helen's friend, fiancé, and (later) husband, wrote approximately 200 letters to her between 1914 and 1919, largely concerning their courtship and engagement. Early in their acquaintance, he spent considerable time attending to his ill health and undergoing medical treatments. After recovering in the United States, he returned to his coffee plantation in Puerto Rico, where he described his work and efforts to sell coffee; these included trips to New York City and other destinations throughout the late 1910s. Many of his later communications with Helen are telegrams reporting his current location and attempting to make plans to meet his wife.

The Family Correspondence subseries holds letters from many different writers, including several regular correspondents. James A. Buchanan, Helen's father, wrote 45 letters between 1906 and 1919, often regarding her financial situation and family news. He described his European travels, which included witnessing a review of German military troops in Berlin (September 2, 1908) and visiting a military cemetery in Brest, France, where war casualties and influenza epidemic victims were buried (March 4, 1919). John and Francis Buchanan, Helen's brothers, shared stories of their academic and athletic experiences. John wrote about Yale's stringent entry requirements and his preparation for entrance exams (August 14, 1911). Other family correspondence includes letters from aunts, cousins, and extended family members, who told Helen about their lives in various New York cities and in Ilchester, Maryland.

Much of the Friends Correspondence subseries consists of letters by Etta Dunham de Viti de Marco and her daughter Etta, with whom Helen lived while studying in Rome, Italy. The elder Etta frequently discussed her work with Italy's Montessori movement, and her daughter provided Helen with updates on her life at school in Ascot, England. Etta Dunham di Viti de Marco shared her opinions of the war and expressed her desire for U.S. intervention (July 4, 1915). Nora Davis Farrar, the wife of Frederick Percival Farrar, an English chaplain to King George V, wrote 44 letters between 1908 and 1914, describing her life in Pennsylvania and British Columbia. A variety of other correspondents related news of their lives in various European countries and in the United States. Several postcards depict black-and-white views of "Il Cerro" in Italy.

The Financial Records series (140 items) consists of bank receipts, notifications of charitable donations, and additional receipts for clothing, books, and household items, dated from 1908-1918.

The Photographs and Negatives series includes approximately 50 individual portraits of Helen Buchanan's friends, family members, homes, and properties. One photograph album contains 375 pictures taken between 1928 and 1935, depicting scenes from family vacations in Canada and people, dogs, and horses. Many photographs show men and women in equestrian competitions, and some later images depict Ayrshire Farm in Upperville, Virginia.

A "Theatre Record" chronicles Helen's theatrical excursions in Washington, D.C., between December 25, 1907, and December 25, 1908. She recorded her opinions of productions and players. Programs are pasted and laid into the volume.

The Printed Items and Ephemera series consists of calling cards, picture postcards, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, and other items. Ephemera includes pamphlets and printed letters related to the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Drama League of America; postcards and programs related to the Societa Romana della Caccia alla Volpe; and other materials. Twenty-nine picture postcards from Italy and Puerto Rico are present.

The collection contains approximately 15 Writings and Fragments. These are poems, a manuscript speech on the play Candida, an inventory of articles owned by Helen, and other items.

Collection

Henshaw and Gaspar family collection, 1880-1958

3 volumes

This collection is comprised of a scrapbook, a diary, and an autograph album related to the family of Elizabeth Henshaw Gaspar Brown. The scrapbook contains newspaper clippings and ephemera regarding Horace W. Henshaw of Chicago, Illinois, and his immediate family and descendants. The diary and autograph album belonged to Elizabeth H. G. Brown, his granddaughter.

This collection is comprised of a scrapbook, a diary, and an autograph album related to the family of Elizabeth Henshaw Gaspar Brown. Many items relate to Brown's grandfather, Horace W. Henshaw of Chicago, Illinois; to his parents, Horace and Martha Montgomery Henshaw; and to his daughter, Marguerite Henshaw Gaspar.

The Diary is a partially completed five-year line-a-day volume kept by Elizabeth Henshaw Gaspar from 1930-1934. Her brief diary entries largely concern her education, social life, and other daily activities.

The Autograph Album belonged to Elizabeth Henshaw Gaspar. The entries are dated largely in 1925 and they include contributions from teachers at the Lake View Institute in Chicago, Illinois. Most writers included brief personal messages to "Betty," including one entry in French.

The Scrapbook first belonged to Horace W. Henshaw in the 1880s. The majority of its contents are newspaper clippings, though ephemeral items such as programs, a Christmas cards, advertising cards, stamps, and ticket stubs are also present. The programs concern events held in England around 1880-1881. A group of ephemeral items, several clippings, and some visual materials relate to steamship travel and the St. Clair Tunnel Company. Also included are a copy of Horace W. Henshaw's will, a brief biography of Henshaw, and condolence letters and telegrams regarding his death in 1925. The two card photographs are portraits of Horace W. and Lily Henshaw. Other visual materials include a clipping with an image of a locomotive, clippings with printed drawings of animals, and a comic strip set on a golf course.

The scrapbook's newspaper clippings date from the early 1880s to 1958. Many are obituary notices, birth announcements, and similar articles regarding members of the Henshaw, Gaspar, and Brown families. Several items relate to Horace W. Henshaw's business career in Chicago, Illinois, and to the American Farm Products Company. A copy of the W. F. Roos Company's Daily Trade Bulletin is laid into the volume (July 22, 1905). Among the items that relate to the Civil War are a reprint of the Gettysburg Address and a facsimile reproduction of a letter from General Ulysses S. Grant to General Simon Bolivar Buckner (original dated February 16, 1862).

Collection

Herbert Brigdon Syrett papers, 1942-1947 (majority within 1943-1945)

2 linear feet

This collection contains letters that Lieutenant Herbert Brigdon Syrett wrote to his mother while serving with the United States Army during World War II, as well as a scrapbook about Syrett's military experiences. Syrett, a member of the 102nd Medical Battalion, described his training in the United States and Hawaii and his experiences in the Pacific Theater.

This collection contains around 580 letters that Lieutenant Herbert Brigdon Syrett ("Brig") wrote to his mother while serving with the United States Army during World War II, as well as a scrapbook (around 60 pages) about his military experiences.

The Correspondence series contains Syrett's letters to his mother from January 6, 1943-December 11, 1945; and 13 letters from Syrett to Howard and Miriam Cusack, January 10, 1944-August 23, 1945. He first described daily life and training exercises at Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Arkansas. In April 1943, he was transferred to Camp Barkeley, Texas, where he participated in an officers' training program and recorded details about his daily schedule and courses. By August 1943, he had graduated and had joined the 102nd Medical Battalion for training at Camp Grant, Illinois, filling his correspondence with descriptions of the scenery and his travels. In December 1943, Syrett reported his safe arrival in Hawaii and his unit's preparations for campaigns in the jungles of the Pacific Theater. While in Hawaii, Syrett became a member of the Outrigger Canoe Club on Waikiki Beach, and he also wrote about his training, military life, officer duties, and leave periods in Honolulu.

After May 1944, Syrett wrote from Saipan, where he participated in active combat during the Allied invasion. He recounted some of his experiences during the battle, such as living in a foxhole and witnessing bombing raids. After the battle, he commented on native life, the impact of the fighting, and insects. Syrett also reported his increasing religious faith and mentioned his religious activities, particularly after his first experiences in active combat. On December 3, 1944, he wrote about non-United States citizens who had joined the country's military forces. In April 1945, Syrett was transferred to Okinawa, Japan, and he compared the United States Army and United States Navy during his voyage. Throughout the summer of 1945, he anticipated the end of the war and wrote about the power of the atomic bomb, while expressing his hope that the war would end soon. After the Japanese surrender, he served in Okinawa, Muramatsu, and Niigata, Japan, which he described. An avid souvenir hunter, Syrett discussed his acquisitions throughout his military service. He also responded to news from home, provided information about other servicemen with whom he corresponded, and discussed the military's encouragement of V-mail services. An undated photograph of an unidentified soldier is housed at the end of the series.

Syrett occasionally enclosed items such as dried flowers, magazine articles, and newspaper clippings in his letters. In his correspondence with the Cusacks, Syrett occasionally sent snapshot photographs of himself, fellow soldiers, destroyed buildings, and scenery (November 24, 1944, 3 photos; January 25, 1945, 6 photos; March 1, 1945, 7 photos). He often wrote on stationery depicting the logos of the United States Army, United States Navy, Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Camp Barkeley, and Camp Grant, as well as stationery with scenes from Camp Barkeley and Hawaii. In 1945, Syrett sometimes composed letters on paper he took from Japanese soldiers. Some letters are V-mail letters, including pre-printed Easter and Mother's Day greetings.

The Scrapbook (around 60 pages) is comprised primarily of newspaper clippings and ephemera from Syrett's World War II service. The items are arranged roughly chronologically. He also collected newsletters, programs, and tickets during his time in the United States, as well as currency during his time abroad. Official documents such as Syrett's draft cards, military orders, and vaccine records are also present. Newspaper clippings relate to the 27th Army Division, jungle training exercises in Hawaii, the Battle of Saipan, the Battle of Okinawa, and the Pacific Theater. Christmas cards are also pasted into the volume.

Collection

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

3 linear feet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Collection

Hubble family scrapbooks, ca. 1870s-1880s

2 volumes

The Hubble family scrapbooks consist of two volumes containing trade cards, clipped engravings, and other scrapbook materials compiled by members of the Hubble family of Monroe, Michigan.

The Hubble family scrapbooks consist of two volumes containing trade cards, clipped engravings, and other scrapbook materials compiled by members of the Hubble family of Monroe, Michigan.

Volume 1: The first volume (35 x 25.5 cm) was originally a copy of the 1876-77 Autumn and Winter edition of Mme. Demorest’s Illustrated Portfolio of the Fashions and has red cloth covers and gilt embossing work on the front and back. “Monroe Hubble” is inscribed on the volume’s first page, while “Willie Hubble” is written on the inside of the back cover; both inscriptions appear to be written in a child’s hand. Two engravings by Kimmel & Voigt made for Demorest’s Monthly Magazine appear towards the front and were part of the original volume. Subsequent pages also reveal numerous illustrations and descriptions of various articles of clothing listed in Demorest’s fashion catalog, though much of this has been obscured by scrapbook items that were pasted in. Compiled materials mainly include various trade cards and scrapbook decorations, but also include several engravings showing scenic and rural landscapes, women’s fashions, portraits, and performance artists (including Smith’s Swiss Bell Ringers). Of particular note are Uncle Tom’s Cabin-related illustrations and cartoons involving racial caricatures of an African American regiment called “The South 5th Rangers.”

Volume 2: The second volume (25 x 20 cm) has red paper covers with “Scrapbook” and decorative designs embossed in gold on the front. A photomechanical reproduction of a portrait of N. B. Hubble as an adult appears on the inside of the front cover. Subsequent materials mostly include trade cards and scrapbook decorations, several of which also appear in the first volume. Many of the trade cards were produced by the Calvert Lithograph Co. of Detroit. Items of note include Shakespeare-related cartoons; an ad for “Mme. Fontaine’s Bosom Beautifier” that incorporates a portrait of Oscar Wilde; a photographic portrait of a baby made to look like a stamp; and scrapbook cutouts including one of a black man (likely supposed to be a Haitian soldier) wearing one boot and components of a French Army uniform as well as one of two women embracing and kissing.

Collection

Huntington family scrapbook, 1763-1893

1 volume

This scrapbook contains correspondence, documents, maps, and ephemera related to the family of Jabez Huntington of Norwich, Connecticut, including his sons and other descendants. The items pertain to the American Revolution, education, family history, and life in Connecticut from the 1770s to the 1830s.

This scrapbook (55 pages) contains correspondence, documents, and ephemera related to the family of Jabez Huntington of Norwich, Connecticut, including his sons and other descendants. The earliest item is a poem dedicated to Kitty Fell, written by William Apthorp in 1763, followed by a letter from William Hubbard to Andrew Huntington concerning Thomas Hutchinson's order to surrender Castle William to Colonel Dalrymple (September 13, 1770). During the Revolutionary War, Andrew Huntington received letters from his brothers Jedidiah and Joshua, who discussed escalating tensions in Boston in 1775, the gathering of Continental forces, and the progress of the war; he also received a note from Jonathan Trumbull excusing him from military duty (September 1, 1775). Other items from the late 18th century include love letters and poems to Maria Perit, cards admitting Perit to balls held at Yale College, and letters from "Lucy" at "Bethlehem" (possibly Bethlehem Female Seminary) to her brother.

A small number of items from the early 1800s pertain to the will and estate of Pelatiah Webster, Charles P. Huntington's father-in-law, and an 1802 return for the 20th Connecticut Militia Regiment. In 1814, Samuel Huntington wrote to his son Julian about his other sons' academic progress. In the 1820s and 1830s, Samuel received letters from acquaintances who discussed political issues, and in the late 1830s he wrote to his son William, discussing William's education at Wesleyan University and the possibility of his attending Harvard College. Some letters are addressed to Huntington family women, including letters from Lydia Sigourney to Mrs. Hannah Huntington (likely Andrew's wife); Maria Perit Huntington letters, often regarding literature and poetry; and letters to Ruth L. Huntington. One letter from P. H. Huntington to "Miss Perkins" contains genealogical information about the Webster, Perit, and Leffingwell families (August 13, 1891).

The scrapbook also contains documents, maps, and other materials related to the Huntington family. Visual items include property maps (cataloged separately); a photograph of Ebenezer Huntington's home in Norwich, Connecticut; a card photograph of Benedict Arnold's birthplace; and engravings of Norwich Bridge, women at leisure, and "Cromwell at Ripley Castle." Genealogical notes, poems, instructions for making a doll, and legal documents (many of which relate to property ownership) are also present. Newspaper clippings pertain to the history of the Huntington family, particularly to Jabez Huntington and his sons.

Collection

Illustrated scrapbook, 1850s-1870s

1 volume

This scrapbook includes clipped articles and images, original drawings, and written entries within the pages of a 1850s blankbook of receipts. Contextual clues indicate that individual(s) added to the volume at later dates, pasting clippings over used pages, and internal evidence suggests at least one compiler may have lived in Maine. Original drawings primarily center on themes of violent encounters between scouts and Native Americans, romantic entanglements, and conflict. Sometimes illustrated newspaper and magazine clippings are pasted throughout the volume, many relating to themes of marriage, love, women, family, and memory. Several pages were used to copy a portion of an undated letter, an essay, and a manuscript poem.

The individual(s) who created this scrapbook pasted items, drew scenes, and wrote entries within the pages of a 1850s blankbook of receipts, seemingly created for use by a Boston shipping or exportation company. Contextual clues indicate that persons added to the volume at later dates, pasting clippings over used pages, and internal evidence suggests at least one compiler may have lived in Maine.

Penmanship exercises and short notes are written on many of the pages, either where no additional content has been added or where clippings have been pasted on top. The names James Randall Reeves and Orren Cunningham appear on some of these pages, as well as place names of Bennington and Windsor, Maine, possibly indicating one of the early owners of the volume. The handwriting appears to match the text that accompanies the original illustrations.

Original drawings made using pencil, colored pencil, and ink can be found throughout the volume, sometimes with dates added, ranging from 1863 to 1869. Remnants of clippings that had previously been affixed to the page indicate that an owner of the volume must have pasted items into the scrapbook at a later date than the drawings were originally produced. Many of the images depict scenes of conflict or relate to two fictional characters, Hezekiah and Ezekiel. The two men appear to be scouts, and the images depict their encounters with villains, Native Americans, and a love interest, Flora. Violence, unrequited love, and emotional disappointment are central themes, and the concept of a "gas of hope" that spontaneously streams from Ezekial's head appears several times when the character experiences excitement or distress.

The following is a complete list of original drawings:
  • Page 1: "Back Villains for your lives, says Peter, or you shall all die at the break of day by Cats." At the base of the page: "Indifference.". The illustration shows a man carrying a revolver in one hand while a woman holds his other arm. She extends an arm out behind her towards two men following them, one with a darker complexion and a machete raised over his head and the other pointing a musket at them.
  • Page 3: "As the Villains again leaped against the door, an arm was thrust through the broken hand, and a voice cried out." The illustration is a nighttime scene with three men with a battering ram striking at a closed door of a house, where a man points a pistol out of an opening at them.
  • Page 6: "Rescued from fire..." (the text is partially obscured by remnants of a newspaper clipping). The drawing depicts a firefighter descending a ladder from second story that is ablaze, holding a woman in his arm.
  • Page 8: "...burly scout. A Sioux Chief captured" (the text is largely obscured by affixed clippings). The drawing shows a mustachioed man in military garb, a fur hat, and a cape who is holding a knife covered in blood. He is grabbing the arm of a Native American man who has dropped his knife and who is bleeding from a wound in his arm. Two ink drawings of insects (a beetle and a dragonfly) are pasted on the page.
  • Page 10: "Perrilous adventure of Hezekiah the Scout, under cover of the darkness at the haunted schoolhouse." The image is a nighttime scene of a small building with a man climbing through a window. Another man runs behind him saying, "stop villain stop."
  • Page 12: "The fate of Hezekiahs beaver is inevitable" and "Wonderful adventure of the Scout, Hezekiah cries out with a loud voice Ezekiel come here, help me bind these knaves." The drawing is of a bare-chested man in a green hat, holding two Native American men by the throat, one in each hand. A pencil marking indicates the year 1865.
  • Page 16: "...The robber of the Rhine" (at least one additional word is partially obscured). The drawing depicts a balding man smoking a long pipe, wearing a musket on his back, and holding a bloody sword in front of him. A pencil marking indicates the year 1866.
  • Page 18: "Death of Heavy [?]" and "Desperate adventure of Hezekiah, Slatt down in Kintuck..." The image is of a shirtless man (with a green hat) facing off with a Native American man, the former wielding his musket overhead and the latter his tomahawk each to strike the other. They stand over three dead or dying Native American men.
  • Page 21: "Ezekial, & he knows who, on sunday eve, at the schoolhouse coming from meeting, by cats." The drawing depicts a man kneeling beside a seated woman who is holding a handkerchief or piece of cloth. One of his hands is on her shoulder, the other holds one of her hands. Another man lies face down in the corner.
  • Page 24: "Weep stricken one your sorrows will have an end." Text at the bottom of the page is largely obscured by clippings, but "Ezekiel" and "Flora" are both visible. The drawing shows an upset man with mussed hair and arms akimbo, holding a handkerchief. One of the clippings over the man's head is "FIRST LOVE." A pencil marking indicates the year 1866.
  • Page 26: "A streak of hope for Ezekial." The drawing shows a smiling man wearing a yellow hat that is releasing a stream of green gas, labelled "gas of hope."
  • Page 27: "weep on str[i]cken one thy sorrows shall never end." The image depicts two men standing before a small grave with headstone reading "Dead Hope." Ezekiel, wearing a yellow hat from which "gas" spews, points down to the grave, saying, "What Have You Buried There Hezekiah." Hezekiah, barefoot, wearing a green hat and ragged pants, and holding a shovel, replies, "A. Dead Hope. I. Thought. She. Loved Me. But. She Did. Not Oh. Dear. What. Shall. I. Do Boo Hoo Boo Hoo." The illustration is marked in ink: "Drawn by Ezekiel himself in 1867."
  • Page 30: "N.E. View of the royal oak of Shag Town, May 2d 1867." The drawing is a landscape featuring a large barren tree with a wooden plank/case/contraption and musket leaning against it. A sun smiles in the sky.
  • Page 32: "View of Mud Pond, & Poccihog Hill, Sketched on the eastern rock, At half past three O'Clock." A landscape drawing shows a lake and a heavily wooded hillside. A smiling sun is in the sky and a person rows a boat on the lake.
  • Page 36: Portrait of a bearded man in military uniform, with blue and gold epaulettes.
  • Page 38: "A sorrowful meeting of the two scouts, Dialogue. Ezekial - 'Oh the letter, the letter, she loves me not.' Hezekiah - "Weep not Bro Scout, I pronounce it a forgery, by cats." The image is of two men wearing hats, muskets, and powder horns. One holds a slain animal in his hand, and the other cries while holding a letter and gas spews from his hat.
  • Page 40: "Tallow plenty, or courting by candle-light, Stebbins telling Flora about his farm, out west." The drawing is an interior scene of a room with wallpaper, curtains, chairs, and a table. A man and woman embrace while holding candles, and additional candles are located on the table, chair, and floor.
  • Page 44: Text at the top of the page is partially obscured but reads in part, "Bachelor . . . the famous scout," while additional text at the bottom reads "The inocent subject of my contempt by day, and my dreams by night." The drawing is a portrait of a man in a rumpled green hat, shirt, and suspenders, likely representing Hezekiah. A printed, pasted-on caption reads "THE GHOST OF OAK GROVE."
  • Page 46: The letters "P.L.L." appear at the top of the page, and the note "Signed in the first degree, P.L.L." appears beside a highly stereotyped pencil portrait of an African American man.
  • Page 48: Portrait of a bearded man.
  • Page 50: Portrait of a man with moustache and goatee, with the text, "Art. Miller, California" written beside him.
  • Page 52: "Poor old maniac, but once powerful scout, now dwindled away with sorrow for the lost Flora." The image shows Ezekial holding a wooden cane and a large "grief bag" on his back that has a vent spewing gas. On the bag is a printed, pasted-on caption reading "THE HAND OF FATE". He is wearing ragged pants and his hat spews green gas. Hezekiah wears his green hat and proffers something to Ezekial, saying, "Poor old fellow you must be hungry. Can I do anything for you, you seem to be weary of life. I guess I take you to a place of safety at once." Ezekial: "Answers with great vigor. I'm not hungry it is grief that gnaws like hunger at my very vitals. No never. You are the man that ruined me, if I was a smart man as I [...] I would kill you."
  • Page 54: "Ezekial goes home with -- gets near home when the old scout jumps through the gateway inclosed in a sheet, See the consequences, of his rush act." The image shows a man draped in a white sheet standing in the doorway of a round stone structure. A well-dressed man and woman run apart from each other, leaving their hats on the ground. On the opposite page, several notes are written: "The identical hat worn by Hezekiah at the siege of Tattletown"; "The hat worn by Hezekiah at the destruction of Troy"; and "The sad effects of first love."
  • Page 56: A man wearing a feathered hat and cape brandishes a sword while standing with one foot on the back of a slain man who has dropped his sword. He continues to fight with a man in a robe with a cross on it. A woman sits on the ground with a hand to her head. A printed, pasted-on caption reads "WHO''S TO WIN." A pencil marking indicates the year 1869.
  • Page 58: "The burly scout, the stabbed scout, & Frankrifle, outscouted, by the bank scout at the old barn . . . gets valuable information concerning the conspiracy, by cats." The image shows four men in a hayloft, one, likely Ezekial, wears a yellow hat that is expelling gas. A printed, pasted-on caption reads "HUNTED DOWN."
  • Page 60: "In dishabille," and at the bottom of the page: "Stebbins - 'Get out of my bed, Oh get out of my bed!" The drawing is of a woman wearing a shift and draped with a blanket reclining in a bed. A man in a nightshirt is seated on floor gesticulating at her.
  • Page 62: "Who's Been here?" The drawing shows a woman looking out the window, while a man in a nightshirt, carrying the rest of his clothes, flees from the open door. A nicely dressed man with cane approaches him. A printed, pasted-on caption reads "TAUGHT BY EXPERIENCE."
  • Page 64: "My idea of domestic bliss. or High life in the Lowlands." Text at the bottom of the page reads, "Stebbins about played out. 20 years hence." The drawing shows a man holding a hatchet in one hand, while wearing ragged clothing and a green hat spewing gas. A woman hits him over the head with a broom, while many small children are strewn about the floor and pull on the adults. A pencil marking indicates the year 1864.
  • Page 66: A flying lizard/dragon with a shouting sun.
  • Page 90: A checkerboard.

Newspaper and magazine clippings are pasted throughout the volume. While content varies, many relate to themes of marriage, love, women, family, and memory. Poetry is heavily represented. A fair number of the clippings include jokes, humor, and wordplay. Several are directions for household maintenance or preventing pests, and a number of others relate to scientific topics.

In addition to articles and written text, the compiler also pasted in clipped illustrations from newspapers and magazines. Several feature Union Army officers, most of whom appear to have a connection to New York State. Landscapes of New York City and the Amazon River are also included, as well as several satirical illustrations and animals.

A number of the printed images relate to women, including Tennie C. Claflin, Victoria C. Woodhull, and Elizabeth R. Tilton. Rev. Henry Ward Beecher's image appears twice in the volume, including once where he is placed facing Elizabeth R. Tilton and a chain connecting the figures by the nose has been added in by pen (page 14). A short poem written in ink appears below it, reading:

Henry W. B., so buoyant with glee,

And Lizzie R. T., so innocent and free,

As happy as bees in the sweet apple trees

Raised a slight (?) breeze and made the whole world sneeze!

Several pages appear to have been used to copy a portion of an undated letter, which referenced a trip from Portland to Augusta, Maine, on the Maine Central Railroad, attitudes towards funerals, the teaching profession, arguments, and placebos (beginning page 57). Another passage appears to be an essay entitled, "to old Bachelors & maids" (pages 86-88) and a manuscript poem is written on the back inside cover that seems related to scouts and Native Americans.

Collection

James B. Pond papers, 1863-ca. 1940s

1 linear foot and 5 volume

This collection is made up of autobiographical manuscripts, correspondence, documents, and family photograph albums related to James B. Pond, Sr. and Jr. Some of the items pertain to Pond's service during the Civil War and both father and son's lecture business.

This collection is made up of autobiographical manuscripts, correspondence, documents, and family photograph albums related to James B. Pond, Sr. and Jr. Some of the items pertain to Pond Sr.'s service during the Civil War and both father and son's lecture business.

The Pond Family Papers series includes one box containing miscellaneous correspondence ranging in date from 1896-1932, Civil War related material, autobiographical sketches, family photographs, and personal photograph albums.

The Civil War related material includes a few items relating to James Pond's Civil War service in the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry, among which are a typescript of official reports relating to the massacre at Baxter Springs, Kansas, a printed poem on the massacre, and a printed notice of the death in the 1880s of William T. Brayton of the 3rd Cavalry. Pond also collected other reminiscences of the war, including an autobiographical account of Mrs. Horn, wife of a Missouri surgeon, which includes a description of Quantrill's raiders pillaging town and taking her husband prisoner, and a memoir of Edward P. Bridgman, a soldier in the 37th Massachusetts Infantry who served with John Brown in 1856, and may have known Pond.

More than half of this series consists of autobiographical manuscripts, parts of which, at least, were published as magazine articles. Most of these focus on his early years (prior to 1861) when he and his family were living a marginal existence in frontier Wisconsin and when he was a young man in search of a livelihood. The collection includes three major manuscripts, each present in several copies or versions, all of which are related to each other - "A Pioneer Boyhood," "The American Pioneer: My Life as a Boy," and "Pioneer Days" - plus there are less polished manuscripts of childhood and Civil War reminiscences. All appear to have been written initially in 1890, though some copies were apparently made several years later. In addition, there is an autobiographical sketch "How I got started in the Lecture Business" in which he describes his part in Anna Eliza Young's "apostatizing" and entering onto the lecture circuit.

The collection also contains 5 photograph albums. These volumes contain over 800 personal photographs taken between 1896 and 1902, including many pictures of family members at leisure both indoors and outdoors and Pond's business acquaintances from his lecture agency. Travel photographs include views of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Winnipeg, Manitoba, as well as a group of pictures taken during a visit to England, Switzerland, and Germany in 1901. European items include a series of colored prints, located in Volume 4. The albums contain images of locomotives, railroad cars, and steamships. Volume 1 contains images of the inauguration of William McKinley and Volume 2 contains images of crowds gathered for a GAR parade in Buffalo, New York. Throughout the albums are glimpses of various lecture tours and clients including John Watson (Ian Maclaren) and Anthony Hope in Volume 2 and Francis Marion Crawford in Volume 3. Other notable figures include Sam Walter Foss and William Dean Howells in Volume 1, Charles W. Blair and Edward William Bok in Volume 3, and Sir Henry Morton Stanley, Charles William Stubbs, Robert Stawell Ball, Horace Porter, Frank Thomas Bullen, and Israel Zangwill in Volume 4. In addition to the albums, there are loose photographs of family, James B. Pond Jr., and the Adventurers' Club of New York. Oversized photographs are housed in Box 3.

The Pond Lecture Bureau Papers series consists of one box containing client files (arranged chronologically), loose photographs, and ephemera. Much of the content consists of correspondence between clients/prospective clients and photographs of clients (likely for promotional material). This series spans from 1877 to the 1940s covering periods of ownership from both James B. Pond, Sr. and Jr. Some of these clients are as follows: Henry Ward Beecher, Reverend Joseph Parker, Thomas DeWitt Talmage, Leon Pierre Blouet, Reverend John Watson (Ian Maclaren), William Winter, Edward Rickenbacker, Harry A. Franck, Gunnar Horn, Maurice Brown, and Major Radclyffe Dugmore. Unidentified oversized photographs and a scrapbook are housed in Box 3.

Collection

James H. Baker collection, 1861-1956 (majority within 1861-1863)

29 items

The James H. Baker collection contains items related to his Civil War career in Company C of the First Regiment of United States Sharpshooters. The collection includes photographs, ribbons, newspaper clippings, and a scrapbook, among other items.

The James H. Baker collection contains items related to his Civil War career in Company C of the First Regiment of United States Sharp Shooters. The collection includes photographs, ribbons, newspaper clippings, and a scrapbook, among other items. A small, leather-bound Notebook lists members of Company C of Hiram Berdan's 1st United States Sharpshooters Regiment, including their dates of resignation or death. The book also contains a short history of the company and an extensive list of engagements at which the company was present. The notebook also includes a short note regarding the history of a "Stars and Bars" banner acquired by James H. Baker, with accompanying song lyrics. A short newspaper clipping entitled "Eli Perkins Gets a Good Story from Gen. Sherman" and a number of pressed leaves are also included among the notebook's contents.

Four Photographs include three Civil War-era portraits and as well as a later, black and white portrait. At least one of the older items is of James H. Baker.

The collection's 15 Ribbons include the following items:
  • Berdan's U. S. Sharp Shooters [Reunion] (1891)
  • Berdan's U. S. Sharp Shooters [Reunion] (1894)
  • The Governor's Guard of Memphis, Tenn. (1894)
  • "I Will March for Sound Money" (1896)
  • Large American flag, Berdan's U. S. Sharp Shooters [Reunion] (1896)
  • 17th Reunion Co. B. 2nd U. S. Sharp Shooters (1897)
  • 7th Annual Reunion Berdan's Sharp Shooters (1897)
  • 1st Michigan Sharp Shooters Association 25th reunion (1908)
  • U. S. Berdan S[harp] S[hooters] (1908, 3 items)
  • Small ribbon with American flag decoration (undated)
  • Large yellow ribbon reading, "Marshal" (undated)
  • Lansing Republicans (undated, 2 items)
Printed Items and Ephemera include the following items:
  • A card certifying Clarence O. Skinner's membership in the Civil War Book Club
  • A photograph of University of Michigan swimmer James Skinner, taken from Michigan: Champions of the West
  • Printed program from the "First Reunion of Co. K Berdan's Sharpshooters," 1889
  • Printed "Address of Comrade Judge Charles J. Buchanan" at a reunion of Berdan's Sharp-Shooters' Association, 1908

Newspapers and Clippings include an item describing the presentation of a ceremonial sword to James H. Baker, a photographic portrait of Baker printed just after his death, and a copy of the New York Herald from August 1, 1863.

Essays and Reminiscences include a rewritten copy of "Grandfather's Best Story of the War," detailing the involvement of a man nicknamed "California Joe" during the early years of the Civil War, and two copies of a typed biography of James H. Baker that focuses on his Civil War service.

A Scrapbook compiled in the 20th century contains a number of items related to James H. Baker's Civil War service. Items within the scrapbook include numerous letters written by Baker to his parents, wife, and sister, documents, and newspaper clippings. Many of the newspaper clippings date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and detail reunions of Berdan's regiments. The scrapbook also encloses a copy of the Philadelphia Inquirer (September 26, 1861), and includes a photograph of Clarence O. Skinner taken in Ringen, Germany, in 1919.

Collection

James W. Piatt scrapbook, 1892-1896

1 volume

James W. Piatt compiled this one-volume scrapbook of newspaper clippings, letters, admission tickets, and ephemera documenting cases he tried as an attorney, his interest in the Freemasons and local politics, and other judicial, legal, and miscellaneous local affairs in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania. Prominent among the newspaper clippings is extensive coverage of the 1892 trial and execution of Charles Wall for the murder of his wife, Julia Wall; and the 1893 trial and execution of Isaac Rosenweig and Harris Blank for the murder of Jacob (Jakey) Marks, all three Jewish peddlers.

James W. Piatt compiled a one-volume scrapbook of newspaper clippings, letters, admission tickets, and ephemera documenting cases he tried as an attorney, his interest in the Freemasons and local politics, and other judicial, legal, and miscellaneous local affairs in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania.

The scrapbook features clippings related to local criminal trials. Prominent among them is extensive newspaper coverage of the 1892 trial and execution of Charles Wall for the murder of his wife, Julia Wall. Piatt served as the prosecuting attorney for the case, reported to be the "First Legal Execution in Wyoming County." Several articles relate to Wall's contention that Piatt acted dishonestly during the trial.

Newspaper coverage of the 1893 trial and execution of Isaac Rosenweig and Harris Blank for the murder of Jacob (Jakey) Marks, all three Jewish peddlers, is also prominently featured. Piatt served as a defense attorney during the trial. Piatt pasted in four letters addressed to him by Rabbi Adolph M. Radin, Visiting Chaplain of the New York Board of Jewish Ministers, who attended Blank and Rosenweig prior to their execution. Two letters addressed to Piatt from Harris Blank, one annotated as being written in the hand of Isaac Rosenweig, are also featured.

Piatt included clippings related to two other murder trials for which he served as an attorney: the trial of Adelbert Harford for the murder of George Kelley with an axe, and the trial of Fred Wall and Bert Pratt for the murder of C. Washington Werman.

Two of James Piatt's Sheriff's Office admission tickets for executions are also pasted into the volume, one for the execution of Charles Wall on March 8, 1892, and the other for the execution of Isaac Rosenweig and Harris Blank on May 18, 1893.

Later clippings and ephemera relate to local politics, judicial affairs, contested judicial elections, Freemasonry and the Knights Templar, and miscellaneous local affairs.

Collection

J. F. Beyer sketchbook and scrapbook, 1837-1895

1 volume

This combination sketchbook and scrapbook belonged to J. F. Beyer, an immigrant from Germany who moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, sometime in the 19th century. The volume contains pencil sketches, pasted-in newspaper and other types of clippings, autographs and friendship-album-like entries in German (Kurrentschrift), French, and English.

This combination sketchbook and scrapbook belonged to J. F. Beyer, an immigrant from Germany who moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, sometime in the 19th century. The volume contains pencil sketches, pasted-in newspaper and other types of clippings, autographs and friendship-album like entries in German (Kurrentschrift), French, and English.

The newspaper clippings appear to be mostly from Worcester, Massachusetts, and contain a variety of topics ranging from social events to poetry, local news, and more. A clipping dated December 18, 1882, celebrates the Turn Verein Society's new hall, and another undated clipping describes a hot air balloon basket being woven by J. F. Byer for an upcoming marriage.

Much of the artwork within the volume is signed, and many signatures also feature the word "Basel." Of the two Stevengraph woven pieces, one is of the Pope (dated 1846) and one features a woman with the name "Halle.Hoffmann.Basel" at the bottom. Many of the sketches are of houses with trees or flowers nearby, and some are more pastoral in nature.

Collection

J. F. Beyer sketchbook and scrapbook, 1837-1895

1 volume

This combination sketchbook and scrapbook belonged to J. F. Beyer, an immigrant from Germany who moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, sometime in the 19th century. The volume contains pencil sketches, pasted-in newspaper and other types of clippings, autographs and friendship-album-like entries in German (Kurrentschrift), French, and English.

This combination sketchbook and scrapbook belonged to J. F. Beyer, an immigrant from Germany who moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, sometime in the 19th century. The volume contains pencil sketches, pasted-in newspaper and other types of clippings, autographs and friendship-album like entries in German (Kurrentschrift), French, and English.

The newspaper clippings appear to be mostly from Worcester, Massachusetts, and contain a variety of topics ranging from social events to poetry, local news, and more. A clipping dated December 18, 1882, celebrates the Turn Verein Society's new hall, and another undated clipping describes a hot air balloon basket being woven by J. F. Byer for an upcoming marriage.

Much of the artwork within the volume is signed, and many signatures also feature the word "Basel." Of the two Stevengraph woven pieces, one is of the Pope (dated 1846) and one features a woman with the name "Halle.Hoffmann.Basel" at the bottom. Many of the sketches are of houses with trees or flowers nearby, and some are more pastoral in nature.

Collection

John and Charles Francis collection, 1869-ca. 1905

1 linear foot

This collection consists of condolence letters, newspaper scrapbooks, a letter book, a published memorial volume, and a photograph album related to John M. Francis of Troy, New York, and to his son Charles. The letters, which are addressed to Charles Francis, express sympathy following his father's death in June 1897; the memorial volume contains biographical sketches and published tributes to John M. Francis; and the newspaper scrapbooks chronicle John M. Francis's travels around Europe and the world between 1869 and 1876.

This collection (1 linear foot) consists of condolence letters, newspaper scrapbooks, a letter book, and a published memorial volume related to John M. Francis of Troy, New York, and to his son Charles.

The Condolence Letters series contains 211 items addressed to Charles S. Francis between June 5, 1897, and January 18, 1898. One letter from Hallie M. Brown concerns her regret about missing an opportunity to visit, and the remaining correspondence is made up of letters expressing the authors' condolences after the death of John M. Francis on June 18, 1897. Writers included Charles Francis's friends and family members and John Francis's personal and professional acquaintances. Many writers reminisced about their relationships with John M. Francis and shared stories about their experiences at the Troy Daily Times.

The Letter Book, Scrapbooks, and Published Memorial series (6 volumes) pertains to John M. Francis's travels around the United States, Europe, and Asia in the 1870s and to Charles S. Francis's career and business affairs. Four scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings of letters that John M. Francis sent to the Troy Daily Times while traveling abroad. Each contains lengthy descriptions of local people, customs, politics, architecture, geography, and history, and some also have accounts of transoceanic and transcontinental travel.

Journeys:
  • Western Europe, June 12, 1869-October 15, 1869, including England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and France (21 letters; 38 pages)
  • Western and Southern Europe, July 18, 1871-December 28, 1871 (published August 2, 1871-January 3, 1872), including England, Wales, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria-Hungary (now the Czech Republic and Austria), Italy, and Greece (20 letters; 28 pages)
  • Around the world, July 5, 1875-June 6, 1876, including the western United States, Japan, China, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India, Egypt, Greece, Italy, and France (2 volumes containing duplicate clippings, 115 pages and 71 pages)

The letter book (282 pages), which belonged to Charles S. Francis, has retained copies of his outgoing correspondence from October 25, 1897-July 29, 1901. The letters pertain to personal and business affairs, such as Francis's editorial work for the Troy Daily Times and land he owned in Mississippi. Several newspaper clippings relate to Francis's appointment as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Greece, Romania, and "Servia."

The published memorial (125 pages), entitled In Memoriam: John M. Francis, March 6, 1823-June 18, 1897, contains an engraved portrait, a brief biographical sketch, reminiscences, essays, poetry, and reprinted newspaper obituaries commemorating the life and death of John M. Francis.

The Photograph Album (ca. 1905?) contains 14 images of a new automobile, family members, and pets (possibly in New York state); and 144 vacation photographs showing landscapes, buildings, and persons in Europe. The photos are not labeled or identified, but appear to show Switzerland or Austrian lake districts, as well as urban environments. The photographer captured many of these images with a panoramic camera.

Collection

John D. Townsend scrapbooks, 1869-1893

2 volumes

New York City lawyer John Drake Townsend kept these two scrapbooks between 1869 and 1893. Numbered seven and eight and totaling approximately 340 pages, they contain pasted-in newspaper clippings chronicling his court cases or cases that interested him. The bulk of volume seven pertains to the removal of N.Y.C. police commissioners by Mayor Edward Cooper in 1879. Much of volume eight regards the 1879 murder of socialite Jane Lawrence DeForest Hull, who was accidentally suffocated while being robbed by her former lover Chastine Cox, an African American man.

Volume 7, 1869-1879
  • Miscellaneous clippings, 1869-1877 (pp. 1-12)
  • Clippings related to the indictment of New York City Aldermen, for usurping authority they did not legally possess, 1878 (pp. 13-33)
  • Clippings related to the removal of police commissioners by New York City Mayor Edward Cooper, 1879 (pp. 34-173)
Volume 8, 1869, 1869-1893
  • Affixed to pastedown: Manuscript letter from 11 persons to John D. Townsend, June 16, 1879: request to represent them in the case of the death of Jane Lawrence DeForest Hull
  • Clippings pertinent to the murder of Jane Lawrence DeForest Hull, 1879 (pp. 1-118)
  • Carte-de-visite portrait of Dr. Alonzo F. Hull (between pp. 18 and 19)
  • Clippings pertinent to the murder of Louis W. Guttermuth, 1882 (pp. 120-129)
  • Cabinet card portrait of Louis W. Guttermuth (between pp. 120 and 121)
  • Clippings related to a libel suit against the publishers of Truth, 1882 (pp. 131-144)
  • Clippings related to the Joseph Hart-George Alfred Townsend libel case, 1884 (pp. 146-149)
  • Clippings pertinent to the bigamous marriage of Nathaniel Hawes to Anna E. Wetmore, 1884 (pp. 153-156)
  • Clippings related to John D. Townsend's defense of William H. Mumler, 1869 (pp. 160-163)
  • Miscellaneous clippings, 1884-1893 (pp. 164-165)

Collection

Joseph K. and George C. Wing collection, 1863-1930 (majority within 1863-1864, 1872-1924)

1.25 linear feet

This collection is made up of correspondence, writings, a journal, a scrapbook, and published material related to George Clary Wing of Bloomfield, Ohio, and two account books kept his father, Joseph Knowles Wing, during his military service in the Civil War. George C. Wing's correspondence pertains mostly to his career in the United States government in the late 19th century, and his writings cover topics such as history, literature, and travel.

This collection is made up of correspondence, writings, a journal, a scrapbook, and published material related to George Clary Wing of Bloomfield, Ohio, and two account books kept by his father, Joseph Knowles Wing, during his military service in the Civil War.

The Correspondence series (32 items) consists of personal and professional correspondence related to George C. Wing. Most items are incoming letters that Wing received from acquaintances and politicians who discussed Wing's career in the United States Department of Justice and the United States Department of State from 1872-1884. Some items are signed by prominent politicians, including George Henry Williams, Charles Devens, Benjamin Brewster, and Frederick T. Frelinghuysen. The series also contains a small number of draft letters from Wing to various individuals, also concerning his career in Washington, D.C. George C. Wing received personal letters from his father, Joseph K. Wing, and one letter and one telegram from his brother, Francis J. Wing; both provided news from North Bloomfield, Ohio, and offered professional advice. The final item is a brief personal letter from "George" to "Julia" (July 23, 1923).

The Journal and Notebooks series contains 2 notebooks and 1 journal. George C. Wing kept two notebooks from 1872-1924 (280 pages) and 1884-1920 (150 pages, not all of which are used). These contain quotations, essays, and notes about many subjects, including lectures at Georgetown Law School, English-language literature, classical history and literature, American history, and scientific subjects. Wing also composed some poetry. The second volume includes some one-line journal entries about Wing's business trips and family news from 1884-1910. He laid newspaper clippings, loose essays, photographs, and notes into the volumes.

George C. Wing's journal includes 51 pages of daily entries describing the scenery during his railroad and steamship journey from Ohio to Valdez, Alaska, and back between June 5, 1901, and July 9, 1901. He mentioned his daily activities and sometimes noted the types of plants prevalent in different areas of the country. The later pages (around 15 pages) contain a drawing of "Jake," a sketch of the Alaska coastline along a glacier, additional trip notes, memoranda, a railroad ticket and steamship purser's ticket, and a photograph of a woman.

The Writings series consists of three items. George C. Wing compiled a group of manuscript writings and draft letters in a volume entitled "Brands- from the Burning!" from the mid-1880s to the mid-1910s. Included are stories, essays, translations, and poems about history, literature, and other topics. Wing's draft letters include an opinion piece about the country's relationship with Germany in 1915. The series also includes a manuscript draft of Wing's book, The Western Reserve Home and The Manuscript Letters of Ephraim Brown and Family, 1805-1845 (1915, later published as Early Years on the Western Reserve) and a group of correspondence and essays about a road in Bloomfield, Ohio, and a related property dispute, entitled "The Lane in Section Sixty, Bloomfield, Trumbull County, Ohio" (1925).

The Joseph K. Wing Account Books (320 total pages, fewer than half of which are used) contain financial records and supply lists related to Wing's service in the 16th Army Corps during the Civil War (1863-1864). Wing, a quartermaster, compiled records about purchases of horses, including the price of each animal; lists of supplies, including the number of items and occasional remarks about items' condition; lists of clothing items available, including remarks about whether each item was damaged or new; a list of forage vouchers cashed by Wing, including the name of the soldier who claimed each voucher; and lists of supplies held by various regiments. Notes regarding prison returns mention a few female prisoners. The volumes also contain notes about army transportation and food supplies.

The collection's Scrapbook (27 pages) primarily contains newspaper clippings about many different subjects, including articles and photographs pertaining to steamship travel to and around Alaska, particularly regarding the ships Dolphin and Bertha. Other clippings concern various members of the Wing family, such as George C. Wing and Francis J. Wing, and the history of Bloomfield, Ohio. Items laid into the back of the volume include printed Personal Instructions to the Diplomatic Agents of the United States in Foreign Countries (1874), George Wing's manuscript report about "Proceedings for the Extradition of Criminals (June 14, 1883), George Wing's drawing of "The Encyclopedant" (February 1895), and a menu for the Alaska Steamship Company vessel Dolphin (July 4, 1901).

Printed Items (4 items) include a copy of George C. Wing's book Early Years on the Western Reserve with Extracts from Letters of Ephraim Brown and Family, 1805-1845 (Cleveland, 1916), inscribed to his sister Elizabeth and to a niece, and a copy of Neighborhood: A Settlement Quarterly containing several articles about pottery (July 1930). George C. Wing also collected court briefs from his time with the United States Court of Claims (1879-1882), and received a United States Senate report about the relationship between Great Britain and the United States with regard to each country's naval presence on the Great Lakes between the War of 1812 (1892).

Collection

Joseph LaVille Young collection, 1858-1947 (majority within 1898-1946)

1 linear foot

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, photographs, printed items, and genealogical papers related to Joseph LaVille Young, who served in the Virginia Militia, United States Army, and United States Navy from the 1890s to the end of World War I. Most of the materials pertain to Young's military career, particularly during the Spanish-American War and World War I.

This collection (1 linear foot) is made up of approximately 200 letters and documents, 15 photographs, 30 printed items, and genealogical papers related to Joseph LaVille Young, who served in the Virginia Militia, United States Army, and United States Navy from the 1890s to the end of World War I. The bulk of the collection is comprised of a partially disassembled scrapbook; the loose items from the scrapbook have been arranged into series of correspondence and documents, photographs, printed items, and genealogical materials.

The majority of the Correspondence and Documents relate to Young's service in the Spanish-American War and World War I. They include commissions, orders, memorandums, and financial records. One small group of items pertains to Theodore Roosevelt's efforts to raise volunteer troops during World War I, including a signed letter from Roosevelt to Young, who had wanted to raise a Virginia regiment (May 25, 1917). Joseph LaVille kept a small memorandum book while stationed in France from January to February 1918. Most of the notes concern his expenses and other financial affairs, and he also copied information about converting English measures to metric units.

Additional manuscripts include some personal letters that Young wrote to his sister Linda while in France during World War I and a small number of documents related to the military service of Joseph LaVille Young, Sr. The later letters and documents concern Young's desire to return to the military during World War II, his real estate career, and the genealogy of the Pritchard family.

The Photographs include group portraits of the "Richmond Light Infantry Blues" during their Spanish-American War service in Cuba, and studio and informal portraits of Joseph LaVille Young as a young man, a Spanish-American War soldier, a member of the United States Navy, and an older man. One image shows Young posing in front of the family home in Portsmouth, Virginia, and another shows an unidentified man flexing his biceps and upper back muscles.

The Printed Items series is made up of 9 picture postcards, featuring scenes from multiple French towns; newspaper clippings, including obituaries for the elder Joseph LaVille Young and other family members; advertisements for real estate in Richmond, Virginia; and a pamphlet titled La Langue Anglaise sans Màître (1915).

The Genealogical Papers series includes histories, tables, and notes related to the Hollowell, Bacon, Hunter, Pettit, Godfrey, Swift, James, and Pritchard families. Included is a family tree showing Joseph LaVille Young's ancestors and a binder containing information on heraldic crests.

Collection

Katharine Prest scrapbook, 1930-1954 (majority within 1941-1945)

1 volume

This scrapbook contains correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, and ephemera related to the soldiers' canteen that Katharine G. Prest hosted at her home in Lancaster, Massachusetts, between June 1941 and August 1945.

This scrapbook contains around 120 pages of correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, and ephemera related to the soldiers' canteen that Katharine G. Prest hosted at her home in Lancaster, Massachusetts, between June 1941 and August 1945.

Soldiers stationed throughout the United States and in both major theaters of war frequently wrote to Prest, expressing their gratitude for her hospitality and sometimes reporting on their experiences after leaving Massachusetts; soldiers' wives and mothers occasionally thanked Prest as well. Emily J. Nichols, who worked for the American Red Cross at Fort Devens, corresponded with Prest about upcoming events for wounded men. The servicemen sent manuscript letters, V-mail letters, postcards, and Christmas cards. Many of the postcards include cartoons and other illustrations, most frequently regarding military life. Snapshots and formal portraits show groups of young men and women relaxing at the Prests' home, often near the pool, and soldiers in uniform at various locations.

Prest collected newspaper clippings about her wartime activities and about the war, particularly related to soldiers' experiences in the European Theater. Some clippings include photographs of Prest. The scrapbook contains a small number of printed programs, song lyrics, insignia patches, and a pin from the 101st Cavalry Regiment. One page consists of several soldiers' drawings, including a caricature of Adolf Hitler with target values printed on various parts of his body. A colored illustration commemorating the 101st Cavalry Regiment and several portraits of unidentified individuals are drawn directly into the volume. Later items include awards and certificates of thanks that Prest received from various organizations (undated, WWII era), an award celebrating her commitment to fighting cancer (1951), and a birth announcement (written on a photograph) (January 25, 1954).

Two items pre-date United States involvement in the war: a 1930 group photograph of the "Lawyer's Club" (including William M. Preston), and a 1940 book entitled Yuletide in Many Lands.