Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

The Gray family papers document the family relationships of William and Eckley Gray, while serving in the Union Army, and Lucy Doan Gray, William's wife and Eckley's mother, as she managed the family farm in New Salem, Illinois.

The papers of William and Eckley Gray present an unusual view of side-by-side service of a father and son during the Civil War. As a junior officer and enlisted man, respectively, the Grays present strikingly different personalities, the stable and directed father paired with his unstable and seemingly rudderless son. Information on military aspects of the war is relatively scarce in the Gray papers. However, the collection provides excellent insight into the effect of the war on family relationships, hinting obliquely at some of the long term effects that the war had on some of its participants.

In a sense, the heart of the collection is the letters written by Lucy Gray. More than anything, the anguished tone of her letters stands out, as she pleads with the men to return home and assist the family and farm, or as she complains about the Eckley's profligacy, drinking and gambling. The tension between mother and son, and his occasional, half-hearted efforts to patch things between them take on a particularly tragic tone given the apparent aimlessness of his later life and his death by drug abuse.

Among the more interesting individual letters in the collection are three letters from Eckley to his mother, one describing a night-time bombardment at Vicksburg (1863 July 9), another discussing the anti-Lincoln attitudes of the soldiers of the Veterans Reserve Corps (1864 October 10), and an extraordinary letter (July 19, 1864), bemoaning Lincoln's latest call for troops and his apparent inhumanity.

The Gray Family Papers include a manuscript receipt book dating circa 1840s-1860s, which belonged to William Gray. The recipes are largely medicinal, including entries for treatment of influenza, Dr. Thomas Hopes remedy for cholera morbus, a powder of mandrake, plaster for a lame back, Beeches Black salve, saline laxative, Beeches emetic, anti-billious powder, lotion for "Falling of the hair & Impetigo," a treatment that "cured Mr Gess's boy of Epilepsy of five years Standing The boy is 9 years old," mild counter-irritating linaments, ipicac, lotion for "falling of The hair and all scaly Eruptions," paste for piles, Dr. White's Toothache Drops, diaphoretic powder, a treatment "for Secondary Syphilis," and a treatment for cholera. Opium is an ingredient in multiple recipes. Non-medical recipes include an entry for making gunpowder from sawdust and several short recipes for corn bread and tea bread.

The John R. Goldsborough papers contain 21 letters from a Civil War officer to his wife, dated 1861-1867, and one document from his command of a freed-slave colony on St. Simons Island, Georgia. Goldsborough discussed news and politics of the day and described his Civil War activities, especially related to the Atlantic blockade of South Carolina and Georgia and his time in charge of St. Simons Island. The 1866-1877 letters cover Goldsborough's travels with the Asiatic Squadron in Africa and Asia.

The John R. Goldsborough papers contain 21 letters from a Civil War officer to his wife and one document from his command of a freed-slave colony on St. Simons Island, Georgia. Goldsborough's letters range in length from 4 to 30 pages, date between 1861 and 1867, and cover a wide range of topics. Goldsborough discussed news and politics of the day and described in great detail his Civil War activities, especially related to the blockade of South Carolina and Georgia, and his time in charge of St. Simons Island. He candidly offered his observations on military matters, his interactions with slaves and freed slaves, and his official and leisure activities. The 1866-1877 letters cover Goldsborough's travels with the Asiatic Squadron in Africa and Asia.

The collection contains 17 Civil War era letters spanning May 1861 to September 1863. These cover Goldsborough's departure from Delaware on board the Union and his service at Port Royal, South Carolina, and Wassaw Sound, Georgia. In his letter of May 19, 1861, he commented on the culture of the navy, writing that while his officers are all gentlemen, his crew needed to be instilled with Christian values. To achieve this, he mandated Sunday morning services and did not allow "swearing, drinking, or any other scandalous conduct." Goldsborough described outfitting the steamboat Florida as a war vessel and sitting for the photographer Matthew Brady (October 11, 1861). Goldsborough described the Union blockade of Savannah and the recent naval victories at Port Royal, St. Philips, and Hilton Head, where Sherman found fertile land, "fine crops of both corn & cotton, besides plenty of 'contrabands' which we set immediately to picking the later" (November 19, 1861). In that same letter, he described General Drayton's deserted mansion at Hilton Head, finding "negroes plundering their masters houses & wearing their masters clothes, this we had to put a stop to and place sentinels to prevent further depredations." The April 16, 1862, regards his visit to Fort Pulaski shortly after its bombardment. In a 24-page letter from May 31, 1862, he discussed Commodore Du Pont at the battle at Port Royal, the fight between the Monitor and the Merrimac, and anticipation of the Union attack on Charleston. He also praised President Lincoln for military successes at Norfolk and Richmond. He wrote with deep affection to his wife and gave her advice on financial matters.

On May 27, 1862, Goldsborough recalled the story of Robert Smalls, a former slave who worked as a pilot on the Confederate gunboat Planter until he commandeered the ship and escaped from Charleston with his family and 12 other slaves, passing a number of Confederate forts before reaching safety with the USS Onward. Smalls brought with him a Confederate codebook and other useful military information. Inspired by the story, Goldsborough wrote:

"I go for selecting the very best among them, like those that ran away with the Planter, put a pair of red breeches upon their legs, a zouve cap upon their head, and a musket in their hand and, with white officers send them forth to free the country of rebel traitors and tyrannical masters. They can do it, and it will not cost the government one half as much as our present army of white men."

The collection contains 4 letters (43 pages) and 1 document from Goldsborough's time in charge of the colony of newly liberated blacks on St. Simons Island, Georgia. He described daily life for the island's inhabitants including plantation work and mandatory church attendance, temperance, and education, as well as news and stories from the war. Goldsborough hoped that, someday, St. Simons would become a self sufficient and prosperous community. The document is an order from Goldsborough setting the "Prices to be charged for the following articles when sold to Officers Messes and sailors by the negroes on St. Simon's Island," issued from the US Steamer Florida (July 1, 1862). Listed are prices for fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, liquor, and supplies.

One long letter, dated August 18-25, 1862, was written immediately after relinquishing his administrative authority of the island. He wrote that after "all the trouble and all the responsibility of managing and governing so extensive a settlement[,]" he was pleased to return to command at sea. He also described the ships under his command, interactions with news reporters, troops in Charleston, ideas on the arming of black troops, general laziness among African American soldiers, anti-abolitionist sentiments, the strength and condition of the Confederate Army, and the state of affairs on St. Simons Island. Despite his negative remarks on the Garrison, Beechy, Sumner and Furniss schools, Goldsborough spoke positively about several former slaves seeking protection by the Union Army, one of whom (Rosa) he directed to the Philadelphia home of his wife's mother for work as a housekeeper.

Two letters written in 1863 include content respecting the weather, descriptions of Confederate privateer being outfitted at Mobile, frustrations with how low the privateer sits to the water (making it hard to see), war news from Virginia and the Southern confederacy, news secured through a "Rebel lady" informant (spy), the psychological value of trusted military surgeons, the costs of goods and services at Pensacola, the political climate of the Confederacy, and details about his efforts to purchase the personalized printed envelopes he used for his correspondence. The August 23-September 1, 1863, letter also contains references to the Know-Nothings, squabbles between Jefferson Davis and Robert Lee, and deep love for Mary Goldsborough.

John R. Goldsborough's nine post-war letters (1866-1867) were originally sent in three bundles to his wife at home in Philadelphia. These provide Goldsborough's accounts of his service on the U.S. Steamer Shenandoah in the Asiatic Squadron, during expeditions to colonial Africa and Asia. They were written from the distant ports of the Cape of Good Hope (July 6, 1866), Mauritius (August 1 and August 6, 1866), Hong Kong (March 17, 20, and 25, 1867), and Yokohama, Japan (August 29 and 30, 1867). While he occasionally described his physical surroundings, Goldsborough spent more time writing about his social activities and other men in the squadron. He mentioned engagements with local aristocrats and leaders, English colonists, and Americans living abroad. Goldsborough also discussed local commerce. In Hong Kong, he noted the low prices of many goods and wrote about the significant purchases he wanted to make (or had already made), including a "Mandarin sable robe" he intended to buy for his wife (March 17, 1867). The post-war letters also contain details about the difficulty of the journeys, the stoutness of their ship, and potential missions on the Shenandoah.

The letter from May 18, 1861, is on red and blue letterhead that depicts a globe and flag floating in water labeled "Our Country."

Robert Sherry enlisted in the 21st New York Infantry during the Civil War, a regiment that was beset with discipline and logistical problems, and and by a pattern of mutual animosity between officers and enlisted men. His letters to his wife, Caroline, provide valuable insight into the problems of the regiment and his deep hostility toward officers.

The Sherry papers includes 50 letters written by Robert Sherry to his wife, Caroline, and two to a friend, Oscar. The eight remaining items in the collection include letters and documents addressed to Caroline Sherry regarding the death of her husband and arrangements to receive a widow's pension.

Sherry was a rough-edged man, whose strong personality is reflected in the tintype that accompanies the collection, in which he stands glaring at the camera, leaning casually against his rifle, pistol stashed in his belt. Sherry writes what he feels without reservation, even when those feelings are murderous, and as a result, his letters are always interesting to read. His candor in discussing the problems in the regiment and his deep hostility toward officers provides a particularly valuable insight into the mind of many soldiers subjected to harsh conditions and to the extraordinary military inefficiency and arbitrariness that characterized some units.

Personal finances were among Sherry's greatest concerns, and the money offered to recruits may have been the primary factoring in inducing him to enlist and reenlist. He is vocal about the fact that he is not fighting for "adam nigger" or for the Republican Party, and he berates his wife because she no longer denigrates Blacks in her letters. He relished the opportunity to loot an elegant Virginia home in October, 1861, and wrote proudly of having taken $2,000 in Confederate money from a dead Virginian, which he buried by the banks of the Rappahannock, should he ever return. Sherry talked of returning to Virginia after the war, where he had been assured by a plantation overseer that he could make an easy living and high wages.

This collection holds a series of letters written by Pennsylvania Congressman James Hepburn Campbell from April to August of 1861, in which he described the political and social climate of Washington D.C. during the outbreak of the Civil War. Also present is a series of ten letters written in 1862 and 1863 to Campbell's wife relating interviews with President Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, and letters documenting his post as Minister to Sweden, in 1866.

The James Hepburn Campbell papers are comprised of 98 correspondence, 2 legal documents, 5 newspaper clippings, and 2 miscellaneous items. The bulk of the collection was written between April and August of 1861, when Campbell, then a member of the House of Representatives, rushed to Washington to help defend the capital. Traveling by train, he arrived in the city on April 19, having passed through Baltimore at the height of the riots. Once in Washington, he entered into almost daily correspondence with his wife until his departure for Pennsylvania on August 3, 1861. This tightly-knit set of letters covers the initial panic in the District of Columbia when war broke out, the opening of Congress in July amid the crisis, early attempts of Clement Vallandigham to disrupt the Union, the death of the celebrated Colonel Ellsworth, and the fiasco at First Bull Run.

A series of ten letters, written in 1862 and 1863 to Campbell's wife, relate separate interviews with President Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln and give an account of a hastily formed regiment in the aborted attempt to cut off Lee's escape from Pennsylvania following Gettysburg. Of his hour-long meeting with Mary Todd Lincoln he wrote: "She is an ordinary woman with strong likes and dislikes...[S]he prides herself on being a 'little Southern," hates the angular Yankees" (January 27, 1863). Campbell also discussed family issues and military life. Eight letters and documents are extant from Campbell's years as Minister to Sweden (1865-1866) and Norway, including diplomatic correspondence concerning Lee's surrender and Lincoln's assassination.

The Documents series contains two items from the palace in Stockholm. The Newspaper Clippings series holds five undated articles: two on H.K. Brown, one about Ellis Lewis, Jr., a short poem called Three Calls, and a column on the soldiers stationed at Camp McDowell in Alexandria, Virginia. The Miscellaneous series consists of a seal from the Department of State of Sweden and Norway and a brief note about the collection's contents.

The Gardner B. Clark papers consist of ten letters from a Union soldier to his wife between 1861 and 1864. Also included is a Special Order from Major General Burnside.

The Gardner B. Clark papers consist of ten letters with his wife Mary, and one Special Order from Major General Burnside. In his letters, Clark writes of his feelings for his wife, the dead and wounded among his company, the upcoming draft in Michigan, and seeing fellow soldiers from Michigan. He also discusses a few experiences on the battlefield. In a letter from December 20, 1863, Clark voices his opinions on how the government is running the war:

"By what right have a few who hold the reins of the U.S. Government precipitated a long and cruel war upon thirty-million of their fellow beings. They say to preserve human liberty as our forefathers left it. Is it not just possible they are thrusting a worse bondage upon us than relieving us from tyranny. For certain it is the Military power that now rules[.] This Nation has no parallel, only in the history of the despots of the old world."

The order comes from Major General Burnside to the headquarters of the army of the Potomac's Camp near Falmouth, Virginia. The order is largely a morale-boosting call to the army, commending the "gallant solders" for their "many brilliant battlefield accomplishments and achievements."

A fervent patriot and devout Christian, Benjamin Lincoln's strong abolitionist beliefs led him to take a commission with the 2nd U.S. Infantry (Colored). His papers contain 437 letters written by and to him through the course of the Civil War, revealing the effects of war on the relationships of friends, relatives, and lovers.

A fervent patriot and devout Christian, Benjamin C. Lincoln was also a remarkably regular correspondent. The Lincoln papers contain 437 letters written by and to Benjamin Lincoln between 1861 and 1865, including letters to and from his fiancée, later wife, Dora, letters from his brothers, Sam, Alfred, Irving, Ernest and Eugene, and from friends, Fred Gage, H.O. Walker, Charles H. Mann, Sam Hall, Amy Halliday, and Rev. Samuel Winkley, among others. The high literary quality of much of Lincoln's writing is matched by the quality of his friends' writing. Ideologically, temperamentally, and literarily they are a well matched set. There is a gap in letters written by Lincoln between November, 1863 and October, 1864, caused in part by his visits home. This period, however, is represented by letters to Lincoln, through which some of his activities can be reconstructed. The correspondence ends shortly after Ben's death at the Battle of Natural Bridge in March, 1865.

The collection is a valuable resource for examining the effect that the war had in shaping the relationships of friends, relatives and lovers. Throughout the separations imposed by military service, Lincoln remained in close contact with his fellow members of the Pine Street Chapel Association (many of whom served with him in the 39th Massachusetts Infantry), and his relationship with his brothers remained intimate. The early letters between Lincoln and his then-fiancée Dora provide a depiction of the pain of separation and the psychological hardships placed on these devout and devoted people, and the entire correspondence provides a fascinating portrait of the vicissitudes in their relationship up to and following their marriage in November, 1864. Lincoln and Dora discussed their relationship almost obsessively, whether it was going well or poorly, and the frequency of their letters makes for an unusually dense coverage of the course of one war-time love match. Dora's tendency toward depression was a problem throughout their relationship, and culminated in what appears to have been a mental breakdown early in 1865, probably over the stress of renewed separation from her husband. The collection also includes a wrenching letter from Julia M. (1864 November 21), mourning the loss her fiancé, Sam Lincoln, and several letters from Amy E. Halliday (see especially 1864 November 25) coping with the loss of her fiancé, James Schneider, an officer in the 2nd U.S.C.T.

The military content in the Lincoln papers includes far more on camp life than combat, with a few notable exceptions. During Lincoln's time with the 39th Massachusetts, the regiment was stationed in a comparatively calm part of Maryland or in Washington, D.C., and thus lacks first hand descriptions of skirmishes or battles. Lincoln's letters contain speculation on his own religious convictions, as well as on the spiritual and moral condition of his fellow soldiers, and there are comments on the hostile local citizenry, on his duties as a clerk, and occasionally on the war and the military itself. Once Lincoln receives his commission in the 2nd U.S.C.T. in September, 1863, however, the letters contain more of general interest. The collection is a significant resource for studying the attitudes and activities of a white officer in a "colored" regiment, particularly during the six weeks during which the regiment was filling up at Camp Casey, and during the period in which they were stationed at calm Key West. Lincoln was not always immediately forthcoming in his letters with descriptions of his experiences with his African American troops, partly for fear that Dora would think that he was ignoring her if he discussed anything other than their relationship. Lincoln does, however, provide good descriptions of racial tension surrounding the regiment as it was forming, and some spirited accounts of religious attitudes among the troops, along with several good accounts of their Methodist-style worship. In all, Lincoln's correspondence provides an excellent portrait of the motivations of a white soldier for seeking a commission in a colored regiment, his racial attitudes, and his experiences in camp and, to a lesser degree, in the field.

Equally valuable from the military point of view are the numerous letters from friends and relatives in the service, including those from Ben's brother Sam, a private in the 23rd Massachusetts Infantry and later as a civilian employee of the Quartermaster's Department in New Bern, N.C., and from a friend, Samuel Hall, of Co. G, 39th Massachusetts. Sam Lincoln's letters are filled with information about his regiment, and about life in the garrisoned town of New Bern. His position as a former soldier become civilian makes for an unusual perspective on Union-occupied North Carolina. Letters from Lincoln's other brothers create an impression, somewhat less fleshed-out, of the stresses endured by the members of the Lincoln family during the war, the losses they incurred, and their attempts to cope. The 15 letters from Charlie Brown, initially also a member of the 39th Massachusetts Infantry, but later an officer in the 7th U.S.C.T, are particularly noteworthy. Brown was one of Ben's closest personal friends, as was his wife Ellen, and his writing ability combined with his candor make his letters a particularly important resource for the study of one of the most active "colored" regiments in the Union army. Brown provides a description of the rout at the Battle of Olustee, of engagements near Jacksonville, Fla., and the Battle of New Market Heights, and comments throughout on life in the 7th U.S.C.T.

The 22 letters from Lincoln's civilian friend and fellow Bostonian, H.O. Walker, are also uniformly lively and interesting. A fiery abolitionist and an early advocate of arming African Americans, Walker was a man with strong opinions on the war who seldom demurred from expressing himself. Included among his best letters are a long discussion of electoral politics, radical Republicans, Frémont, Lincoln, and Johnson (1864 June 24 and September 8) and a detailed description of a public meeting held at Cambridge on the subject of conscription (1864 July 26). "We must have black troops," he wrote, "and a limitless number of them too -- paid and treated like their white brothers" (1863 September 5). The four letters from Rev. Samuel Winkley provide an interesting insight both into the powerful force that religious convictions held for some soldiers, but also the bonds of friendship and mutual assistance that tied Winkley and his former Chapel Associates, even across the separations of war. Winkley's letter of September 5, 1863, includes a fine discussion of the duties of a Christian chaplain, written with regard to the African American soldier.

The John H. Graham journals record Graham's experiences as a student at the University of Mississippi as the Civil War began, as well as Graham's service with the 11th Mississippi Infantry in 1862.

The Graham journals cover two non-continuous periods. The first contains an excellent record of the first months of 1861, when Graham was a sophomore at the University of Mississippi. Unusually literate and passionate, Graham depicts himself very much in the image of the southern gentleman whose personal honor is at stake in the war. He is moral and religious, but not strongly moralizing, and he writes with a style and intensity that make excellent reading. Though covering only a brief four months, the journal provides an excellent sense of how the University community became caught up in the emotions of the early secession, forming not only the University Grays, but the Lamar Rifles and other militia units. The standard high jinks of student life in the 19th century seem to have been somewhat accentuated by the political tensions.

Graham's second journal includes an account of his service from the winter doldrums of 1861-62 through the unrelenting summer campaigns of 1862. The entries are brief, but occasionally very informative, and he includes useful accounts of the Battles of Fair Oaks, Mechanicsville, Gaines Mills, Malvern Hill, and skirmishes in the 2nd Bull Run Campaign. His descriptions of forced marches through miserable conditions provide a soldier's perspective on just how much the average soldier endured in achieving the efficiency and mobility for which the Army of Northern Virginia was known. Graham's description of the regiment's camps are somewhat limited, but there is a pervasive sense of the support that Confederate troops felt in northern Virginia in his accounts of wandering away from camp into the fields and homes of Virginians. The journal ends in mid-September, 1862, shortly before Antietam. A note dated January, 1863, indicates that Graham returned to the life of a bachelor on his plantation in Clarke County, but a small number of entries dated between August, 1863, and January, 1864, indicates that he had returned to active mounted service. The journal also includes several pages of quotations and notes on Shakespearian plays made at a later time.

The Parrish family photograph album contains 110 photographs assembled by the Parrish family of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, including images of family and friends, political figures, celebrities, and popular illustrations as well as photographs related to Union efforts to educate freed slaves during the Civil War in the Port Royal Experiment.

The album (15.5 x 24 cm) has embossed brown leather covers and two metal clasps. 63 loose photographs are stored in Mylar sleeves and many appear to have been separated from the album over time. In some cases, it is possible to match loose images with a specific page slot through pairing inscriptions on the photograph with annotations present in the album. However, many loose images do not contain any identifying information, so it is unclear where some may have been located within the album or if they were ever associated with the album in the first place. It is possible that a small portion of the loose images were never originally included in the album since there are more photographs present in the collection than there are available photo slots in the album. At least two portraits from the 1890s do not appear to have belonged to the original family collection.

Compilation of the album may have first begun in the 1860s, but it was most likely completed during in the 1870s with photographs that the Parrish family had acquired over time. Sarah H. Parrish, née Wilson (1836-1892), the wife of Joseph Parrish’s grandson John Cox Parrish (1836-1921), may have been one of the primary creators of the album. She and John had a daughter named Caroline L. Parrish (1863-1915), who may be the “Carrie” whose name is written on the back of some of the photographs. Overall, there appear to be three different styles of handwriting present in the album. Captions for several of the album’s portraits were made in pencil in a flowing cursive while other names appear in a more juvenile-looking cursive hand, and a distinctive third hand also appears sporadically. The two cursive hands may well have been Sarah’s and Carrie’s as mother and daughter worked on the album together in the mid to late-1870s, with an occasional contribution (the third hand) possibly made by one of Carrie’s three younger brothers. One other detail supports this hypothesis: a portrait labelled “Fred” with “Mrs. Parrish, with love of Fred” inscribed on the verso. The individual photographed here was most likely Sarah’s cousin, Frederick Cleveland Homes (1844-1915). Additionally, the portrait on the page next to Fred’s portrait is of a young child identified as “Charlie Homes,” and it is likely that this is Fred’s son Charles Ives Homes (1872-1939).

Parrish family members are well represented in this album, while other unidentified family members may also be portrayed in some of the loose photographs without captions. Likely family friends or acquaintances of the Parrishes whose portraits are present include George and Catherine Truman, James and Lucretia Mott, the Rev. Richard Newton, and Phillip Brooks, all of whom were active in the same abolitionist organizations as the Parrishes. The album also contains many images of admired religious, political, and cultural figures, including Quaker heroes George Fox and Elizabeth Fry; Civil War leaders Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses Grant; George and Martha Washington; social reformers Dorothea Dix and Anna E. Dickinson; actor Edwin Booth; and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. A number of these images are photographic reproductions of painted, engraved, or lithographic portraits. Also present are four hand-colored photographs of Dutch women in traditional dress as well as photographic reproductions of popular sentimental genre scenes such as “The Unconvanience of Single Life.”

Of particular note are a series of photographs related to the Port Royal Experiment, an ambitious effort to provide education for freed slaves following the capture of islands off the coast of South Carolina by Union troops in 1861. Relief committees in the North raised money and sent volunteers to set up schools and other institutions. Among the most successful was the Penn School, established by Laura Matilda Towne with support from the Philadelphia Freedmen’s organization in which the Parrish family was actively involved. People and places are identified with ink captions on the photographs themselves in a hand that differs from other inscriptions in the album. Towne may possibly have compiled these images herself and sent them to supporters back home. This series of photographs includes seven images of Beaufort, South Carolina, (four of which were produced by Sam A. Cooley, photographer to the Tenth Army Corps) captioned “Beaufort Soldiers’ Chapel and Reading Room,” “Path to the river of Smith’s Plantation,” “Beaufort House / Where we Stopped, showing the Beaufort Hotel and nextdoor office of the Adams Express Company,” “Soldiers’ Graves,” “Gen. Saxton’s Headquarters,” “Father French’s House,” and “Our House.” Three cartes de visite produced by Hubbard & Mix show instructors Towne, Ellen Murray, and Harriet Murray respectively posing with freed black children. The photograph with Ellen Murray bears inscriptions identifying her students as “Peg Aiken” and “Little Gracie Chapin (one of Miss Murray’s brightest pupils).” A fourth Hubbard & Mix image captioned “I’m a freeman” shows an African-American man dressed in clothing made from rags and includes an album page inscription that reads: “Young Roslin says, ‘Now I’m free, I go to bed/ when I please I’se gits up/ when I please. In olden times/ I’se help gits de breakfast/ but no’se time to eats it myself/ Ha-ha-I’se happy boy now.” Also present are three cartes de visite produced by photographers based in Nashville, Tennessee, including one portrait by T. M. Schleier of an African-American woman with two children (one of whom has a much lighter complexion than the other) with the recto caption “Lights & Shadows of Southern Life” and verso caption “Aunt Martha and children/ Slaves/ Nashville, Tenn.,” as well as two other images by Morse’s Gallery of the Cumberland that show the same young African-American boy looking sad “Before the Proclamation” and then grinning broadly “After the Proclamation.”

The Hayner family carte-de-visite album contains carte-de-visite and tintype studio portraits taken in Troy, New York, around the 1860s-1870s. The photographs include pictures of many members of the Hayner family and various other families, and some individuals are pictured more than once.

The Hayner family carte-de-visite album (14cm x 21cm), which belonged to Martin H. Hayner, contains 94 carte-de-visite and tintype photographs taken in Troy, New York, around the 1860s-1870s, as well as one lithograph of a young woman and young man. The brown leather cover has a floral design stamped in gold; a floral design is engraved into the sides of the pages. The studio portraits, comprised of 65 cartes-de-visite and 29 tintypes, are mostly pictures of grown men and women of various ages, including members of the Hayner family, Christian clergy, and members of various other families; some were photographed as couples. Smaller groups of items show infants and young children. Nearly all of the individuals pictured are identified, and one carte-de-visite is a photograph of Abraham Lincoln. Some of the tintypes are hand colored. A list of individuals pictured is housed with the album.

The John E. Boos collection consists of over 1,200 personal manuscript recollections or brief notes by persons who met or saw Abraham Lincoln and by persons who experienced the Civil War. John Boos, of Albany, New York, solicited and compiled most of these reminiscences in the early 20th century. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a comprehensive writer index, which identifies each contributor to the collection: John E. Boos Collection Writer Index.

The John E. Boos collection consists of over 1,200 personal manuscript recollections or brief notes by persons who met or saw Abraham Lincoln and by persons who experienced the Civil War. John Boos solicited and compiled most of these reminiscences in the early 20th century. The collection is arranged in four series: Bound Volumes (compiled by and bound for John Boos), Unbound Volumes (binders apparently compiled by John Boos, but never bound), Loose Items, and one Book.

Boos collected autographs and reminiscences on uniquely sized 6.5'' by 9'' paper, and he instructed those he was soliciting to leave a wide 1.5'' left margin for binding. All but one volume in Series I are bound collections of this Boos-standard paper and most contributors in Series II and III contributed a note or autograph on the same size paper.

John Boos's interviewees related an almost uniform admiration or reverence to the President and his memory. Within the first binder of Series II, for example, William Strover (who was not a Civil War veteran, and who never met Lincoln) remarked: "I consider him the greatest man that has come upon the earth since Jesus Christ, and surely the greatest American that lived." Such high praise is featured throughout the entire collection. One example expressing disdain for Abraham Lincoln is a November 24, 1930, letter by Confederate and Presbyterian minister Milton B. Lambdin, who was skeptical about Boos' intent in contacting him. He suspected that Boos made the connection on account of a multi-issue article Lambdin produced for the Confederate Veteran (1929) titled "A Boy of the Old Dominion..."

Series I: Bound Volumes, 1931-1970

Eight of the nine volumes contained in this series are letters and reminiscences compiled by Boos. The volumes revolve around individual persons or themes, including the Lincoln-Douglas debates; Lincoln's assassination; Lincoln's guards; General George H. Thomas, a leading figure in the Western theater of the Civil War who retired to Troy, New York; Johnson Brigham, a fellow Lincoln enthusiast who met the President on several occasions; and the story of Confederate General George Pickett as told by his wife, La Salle Corbell Pickett; and a selection of "Mr. Lincoln's Soldiers."

Boos interspersed the manuscript and typed accounts with ephemeral items and his own narratives of relevant events. He frequently provided an overall account of the volume's theme (usually with lengthy quotations from his correspondents) before presenting the reminiscences and a brief biography of each contributor. In his introductions to these personal accounts, Boos sometimes included a narrative of how he had met and interviewed the individual or linked the person's memories of Lincoln to similar ones. Most of the volumes include a title page, dedication, illustrations, and an index.

The accounts in these bound volumes differ in length, tone, and detail, but they provide insight into how a variety of individuals remembered the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln more than a half-century after the fact. Many of his contributors were Union Army veterans, but he also tracked down individuals who witnessed the Lincoln-Douglas debates as children, Mrs. M. O. Smith who saw Lincoln at Gettysburg,a Confederate soldier, several of Lincoln's personal guards, an actress who had performed in Our American Cousin the night Lincoln was shot (Jeannie Gourley), a man who was in the same Ford's Theater box as Lincoln and who was stabbed by John Wilkes Booth (Henry Rathbone), and the man who recorded the testimony of witnesses to the assassination (James Tanner). The accounts address subjects ranging from the President's dress and style of speaking to the contributors' reflections on his legacy and greatness.

One bound volume, inscribed to John E. Boos by its creator Bernhardt Wall, contains etchings of locations in New York State visited by Lincoln. Three letters from Wall to Boos are enclosed in this 1938 volume.

Series II: Unbound Volumes (extracted from binders), 1905-1941

Series II includes the contents of 13 binders, arranged roughly into thematic categories, apparently by Boos himself (likely with the intention of binding them as he did with the letters in Series I). The order of pages within the binders has been maintained in its present housing.

Boos placed each incoming letter, reminiscence, or autograph into a top-loading page protector with related materials. In some volumes, for example, Boos matched each manuscript with his own typed or handwritten notes, which variously included the veteran's name, where they saw Lincoln, regimental information, where Boos met the veteran, and Boos's impressions of the individual. Boos wrote many of these notes on the back of scrap paper, such as advertising mail received by Boos or sample primary election ballots (some of the scrap paper contains illustrated letterheads).

Binders 1-3: Lincoln's Soldiers (3 binders, 1905-1927). Lincoln's Soldiers largely consists of letters sent to Boos, many with their envelopes still attached. Most contributors utilized Boos-provided paper, though some utilized their own stationery. Despite its title, "Lincoln's Soldiers" is comprised of letters by civilians and soldiers alike. Many contributors had met President Lincoln, and Boos collected as much information as possible about those encounters. Others were unable to meet Lincoln, but shared vivid memories of their times in Andersonville Prison, or interactions with other famous leaders, such as General Sherman (W. H. Jennings) and General Grant (J. E. Parmelee). Some documented their efforts to preserve Lincoln's memory or their involvement in Veteran's organizations.

Binders 4-7: I Saw Lincoln (4 binders, 1911-1928). The bulk of the contributors to I Saw Lincoln met or saw Lincoln during his presidency; a smaller portion interacted with him prior to the presidency; and others saw him while lying in state or en route to Illinois in 1865. The I Saw Lincoln group includes Boos's incoming correspondence and autographs he personally collected while traveling. Glowing praise of Lincoln continues throughout these binders, including an anecdote by Daniel Webster (of Salem, Oregon), in which he described how he was "near being mobbed" in Arkansas in 1871 for calling Lincoln "the brightest star in the galaxy of American statesmen and patriots."

Binder 8: Antietam (1 binder, 1912-1937). The soldiers represented in Antietam were present at the battle; some provided descriptions of the confrontation, though the writers do not all focus on the event. Antietam is notable for having the longest continuous example (in the unbound portion of the collection) of prose by Boos, in which he described the battle and his meetings with the veterans.

Binders 9-11: Lincoln's Soldiers and Where They Saw Him (3 binders, 1911-1933). contains accounts from soldiers who saw Lincoln and soldiers who did not. This group includes a significant number of contributions by soldiers who guarded the President's remains.

Binder 12: Autographs of Abe Lincoln's Soldiers (1 binder, 1910-1917). This binder contains signatures of soldiers, with very brief notes on each veteran. Boos apparently revisited the binder at a later dated and added death dates.

[Unnumbered Binder]: [Additional Lincoln's Soldiers] (1 binder, 1911-1937). This binder includes accounts similar to those found in binders 9-11.

Series III: Loose Items, 1904-1949

This series is comprised of nearly 200 loose letters, disbound book pages, and notes. Many of these items were either part of one of the Clements Library's pre-2015 accessions, or were included with the Dow collection in unarranged binders. The bulk of the series is letters to Boos containing memories of Lincoln. The accounts provided by these eye witnesses include memories of the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln's assassination, hospital visits by the President, his 1860 Cooper Union speech, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and general memories of the Civil War period. The contributors include veterans, Ford's Theater attendees on the night Lincoln was shot, the daughter of Mary Todd Lincoln's personal nurse (Ealine Fay), and a woman who sang in the choir for the ceremony at which Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address (M. O. Smith). This series contains letters by Jennie Gourlay Struthers and James Tanner, who are also represented in the Then a Nation Stood Still volume in Series I.

The series includes writings and other materials that shed light on John E. Boos's collecting practices and editing processes and a 1924 letter from Congregational minister William E. Barton to Walt Whitman expert Emory Holloway, with comments on the growing cult of memory surrounding Lincoln.

A folder of manuscripts and photocopies pertain to Grace Bedell, who is credited with convincing Lincoln to grow his whiskers. These items include photocopies of letters Bedell exchanged with Boos, original letters between Boos and Bedell's heirs, and letters between Boos and Congressman George Dondero, who at one point owned Bedell's original letter to Lincoln.

The Loose Items series also contains correspondence of Donald P. Dow, photocopies of Boos materials offered for sale, and photocopies of letters not present in the Clements Library's collection.

Series IV: Book. A publication containing 103 John Boos letters has been added to the collection: Rare Personal Accounts of Abraham Lincoln, ed. By William R. Feeheley and Bill Snack (Cadillac, Mich.: Rail Splitter Pub., 2005).

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a comprehensive writer index, which identifies each contributor to the collection: John E. Boos Collection Writer Index.