46.3 linear feet
The papers of Talbot Smith have been divided into the following series: Personal and early career material, Judicial career, Case files and related, Research and topical Files, and Other materials.
1 volume, plus 98 loose manuscript
The Ulster Iron Works records consist of two parts, a bound volume that includes retained copies of out-going correspondence, and a series of approximately 100 miscellaneous items, mostly consisting of correspondence between the owners of the company and John Simmons, the on-site manager. The collection provides documentation of the financial, management, and technical aspects of iron production during the 1830s and 40s, with particularly interesting information on governmental contracting and on technology transfer from English and Welsh mills.
Both the bound volume and loose manuscripts include sets of technical specifications, and some plans and figures for various aspects of refining and iron production. The owners of the iron works were keen on importing the latest English and Welsh technology to make Ulster more efficient in production, with a specific interest in improving the rolling operations, furnace technology, steam power, and -- as might be expected for a works situated not far from the coal regions of Pennsylvania -- integrating anthracite into the operation as a fuel source. Among the miscellaneous manuscripts at the end of the collection are yield estimates and statements of production costs for various manufacturing processes, some production records, price comparisons with products from other works in the United States and Britain, and tests and specifications for various iron products.
The collection contains a number of items relating to labor and labor relations at the Saugerties mills. Scattered throughout the collection is correspondence relating to the hiring of both skilled and unskilled hands, with some particularly items relating to efforts to locate highly skilled English and Welsh workers and persuade them to emigrate, both to fill labor needs and to bring workers experienced with new technologies. In 1839, when William Young was traveling in Britain to examine iron works, Simmons argued that compared to English mills, Ulster could offer higher wages for several positions for boys, and argued that this might be an effective tool for luring emigrants in the face of an expected shortage of labor. There are also a number of items relating to workmen's wages, including some vouchers, receipts, and labor contracts for individual workers. Of a more personal nature, the collection includes a subscription list forwarded by John Simmons to provide relief to the widow of a mill hand (1830 August 25), and a letter from a former mill employee, Walter Kearny, requesting a loan to help purchase the business of a deceased partner. There are several references, though none terribly substantive, to "disturbance and dissatisfaction" among the employees of the mill in 1831. An 1842 letter relating to the New Jersey Iron Works, another operation managed by the owners of the Ulster Iron Works, contains even greater evidence of labor unrest. The unidentified writer insists that the workers accept a 25% reduction in wages without negotiation, and concludes, "we have orders on hand to execute, which may take another month to complete. We shall then stop, until the Workmen submit to our terms" (1842 January 16). A few letters relate to Simmons' own dissatisfaction with his position at the iron works and his feeling that his authority was being undermined by the actions of the owners.
Like many "business" collections from the early Republic, the Ulster Iron Works Records contain some personal correspondence of the mill owners and executives, particularly of the supervisor, John Simmons. Among the most poignant letters in the collection is a letter from Simmons to a bar owner, Samuel Oaks, in which Simmons writes that his father had been frequenting Oaks' "works" and been seen "in Places and in Condition highly Discreditable to the humane race" (1834 August 8). Simmons professed to finding the situation "mortifying" and pleaded with Oaks to persuade his father to return home.
12 items
This collection is made up of correspondence and financial records related to vessels active in the United States Revenue Cutter Service, United States Navy, and United States Merchant Marine in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The materials relate to crews' wages, ships' cargoes and expenses, cutter construction, privateering, and other subjects. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for more information about each item.
The donor has collected, arranged, transcribed, and annotated each document and has written a well-researched collection description.
2 volumes
The US Frigate Potomac collection is made up of a letter book and log book concerning the ship's service along the Atlantic coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean in the mid-1840s.
The Letter Book contains 107 pages of copied outgoing letters that John Gwinn wrote to various United States Navy personnel, such as Secretaries of the Navy John Y. Mason and George Bancroft, from October 11, 1844-December 29, 1847 (primarily in 1844 and 1845). The first letter is a copy of the Navy Department's official order for Gwinn to assume command of the Potomac, and the remaining letters pertain to the ship's service along the Atlantic coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean. Gwinn discussed the ship's movements, personnel, and maintenance. Many letters concern a leak sustained by the Potomac and its repair, and another group of letters addresses Gwinn's concern about possible cases of yellow fever on another ship. Gwinn wrote far less frequently after the Potomac's arrival at the Gosport Shipyard in December 1846, and his later correspondence includes a lengthy letter from Philadelphia with his opinions regarding possible improvements to the Pensacola Navy Yard (February 2, 1846). A letter by Gwinn dated July 3, 1847, is laid into the volume's back pages, alongside a transcription written directly into the book.
The Potomac's Journal (198 pages) is a log of the ship's movements and incidents onboard, with daily entries covering October 16, 1844-December 17, 1845. Entries written while the Potomac was at sea include charts with hourly records of the ship's course and wind direction, and every entry has prose remarks, often concerning weather conditions. The remarks also address issues such as activities at various ports, encounters with other ships, rations and cargo, and crew discipline and deaths. This log was compiled while the Potomac visited ports such as Norfolk, Pensacola, Port Royal, Port-au-Prince, Havana, and Veracruz. The final entry was written as the ship entered dry dock at the Gosport Shipyard. Two sheets of blotting paper are laid into the volume.
3 linear feet — 1 oversize volume
The papers of William K. Anderson consist primarily of materials relating to his life-long interest in boating, navigation, and other marine activities. Most heavily documented are those files detailing his involvement with various powerboat groups, the United States Power Squadrons and the Detroit Power Squadron being the most prominent. The collection has been divided into six series: United States Power Squadrons, Boating Organizations, Writings, World War II Activities, Miscellaneous and Personal, and Photographs.
1 volume
The William L. Culbertson, Jr., scrapbook consists of one volume containing numerous newspaper clippings, documents, photographs, hand-drawn maps and illustrations, correspondence, and various ephemeral items related to the career of US Navy officer CDR William Linn Culbertson, Jr., between 1905 and 1918.
The volume (25.5 x 19 cm) has 146 pages and is bound in red marbled paper covers. The covers and spine are in poor condition. Inside of the front cover there is a loose diplomatic passport for Culbertson, Jr., issued by the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France, from August 1916 that contains personal descriptive information as well as a photographic ID portrait. The scrapbook begins with newspaper clippings from ca. 1905 and subsequent materials proceed in chronological order for the most part. Numerous items collected during Culbertson, Jr.’s time abroad contain text in foreign languages including French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, German, Arabic, and Greek.