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Collection

William Abbatt collection, 1927-1931

5 items

The William Abbatt collection contains correspondence related to Abbatt's authorial and editorial work about the American Revolution.

The William Abbatt collection contains correspondence and a newspaper clipping related to Abbatt's scholarly work about the American Revolution. The four letters in the collection represented Abbatt's efforts to ensure historical accuracy throughout his work. Specific subjects addressed in the collection included the historiography of the American Revolution and of Benedict Arnold's invasion of New York, archival records of two members of the Continental Army, the proper use of military titles for retired officers, and Return Jonathan Meigs' involvement in Montgomery's attack on Québec. The newspaper clipping, mounted on the back of a printed petition from George Wilkes to the House of Representatives (December 10, 1848), commemorated a site related to Benedict Arnold's Québec invasion, which was flooded following the completion of a local dam.

Collection

Abbot family papers, 1887-1905

2 linear feet

Online
The Abbot family papers consist of letters written to Charles Abbot from his wife and family members in Warren, Rhode Island, describing their lives and the development of Abbot's daughter, Grace.

The Abbot family papers consist of letters written to Charles Abbot from his family in Warren, Rhode Island. The majority of the letters are from his wife Marcia, but letters from his parents and friends are also part of the collection.

The letters primarily describe the lives of Marcia and others living in Warren, including news and events, parties and entertainments, and social gatherings with friends and the local elite. What is best documented in this collection is the development and education of the Abbots' daughter Grace. Marcia writes about her involvement as a parent (such as what to read to Grace), and Grace's activities, and sends her daughter's drawings or short notes with many of the letters. Abbot's service and the news about the United States Army are occasionally mentioned.

Included with the correspondence in this collection are numerous drawings by Grace, a few newspaper clippings of local interest, and 6 cyanotypes. The theme of most of the photographs is a Fourth of July parade, two of which include Grace (with letters of Apr. 11, 1903 and July 10, 1898). Also included are two faded images of Grace with a violin (with letter of May 29, 1903).

Collection

Hattie A. Abbott expense book, 1880

1 volume

In 1880 Hattie A. Abbott used this "Common School Writing Book" produced by Cheney & Clapp, Booksellers and Stationers, of Brattleboro, Vermont, for penmanship exercises and to record her personal expenses. Only the first page was used for brief penmanship exercises. Abbott recorded purchases of clothing and fabric, jewelry, writing supplies and postage, sewing and cleaning supplies, a valentine, candy and ice cream, tintypes and pictures, car fare and other travel expenses, and other items.

In 1880 Hattie A. Abbott used this "Common School Writing Book" produced by Cheney & Clapp, Booksellers and Stationers, of Brattleboro, Vermont, for penmanship exercises and to record her personal expenses. Only the first page was used for brief penmanship exercises. Abbott recorded purchases of clothing and fabric, jewelry, writing supplies and postage, sewing and cleaning supplies, a valentine, candy and ice cream, tintypes and pictures, car fare and travel expenses, and other items.

A two-page colored advertisement for "Meteor Set Everblooming Roses" copyrighted in 1889, with illustrations of roses and a front veranda and garden, is laid into the volume.

Collection

John Stevens Cabot Abbott autograph book, 1851-1860 (majority within 1851-1853)

1 volume

The John Stevens Cabot Abbott autograph book contains short notes and autographs from Abbott's acquaintances, particularly from Brunswick, Maine.

The John Stevens Cabot Abbott autograph book contains notes and autographs from a number of Abbott's acquaintances. Most contributors included short, inspirational quotations or poetry. Of particular interest is a letter from Senator Charles Sumner, dated March 29, 1860, in which Sumner gave his opinion on one of Abbott's recent books. Many of the contributions came from Abbott's acquaintances in Brunswick, Maine, and include notes from several family members, including Abbott's brother Jacob. An anonymous party drew a pencil sketch of a man and woman, seen from behind, on the first page of the volume.

Collection

Abbott family papers, 1881-1922 (majority within 1912-1922)

0.75 linear feet

Online
The Abbott family papers consist primarily of the correspondence of Bessie Abbott, an aspiring singer and stage performer, written to her family during the early 20th century.

The Abbott family papers consist primarily of the correspondence of aspiring vocalist Bessie Abbott, written to her parents and other family members in the early 20th century.

The Correspondence series makes up the bulk of the collection, and covers the years 1881-1922. The earliest letters in the collection originated from a variety of Abbott family members and acquaintances. Of particular interest is an item describing Bessie and Stanley's time in a tent city in Coronado, Mexico (June 19, 1907). After 1912, Bessie was the primary correspondent, and in her letters she discussed aspects her life during her late 20s. In the personal, richly detailed letters from 1912-1914, Bessie described her time in Brooklyn, New York, where she studied with a vocal coach. In 1913, she took a vacation to Washington, D. C. for the Wilson inauguration, and, while there, injured her hand and, as a result, initiated an unsuccessful insurance dispute. After her return to California in 1914, Bessie wrote more frequently about her health and, after a subsequent move to Hawaii, her continued professional success. Following her stint in Hawaii, Bessie's correspondence focused more heavily on business interests, and, in a late series of letters written in the early 1920s, she wrote about her travels throughout southeast Asia, including visits to the Philippines and to Saigon.

Other correspondents represented in the collection include Will Abbott, Bessie's brother; Stanley Howland, Bessie's husband; and Tracy and Linnie Abbott, Bessie's parents.

The Photographs and miscellaneous series includes the following three items:
  • A photograph of an unidentified man, taken by Eduard Glaubach in Greifswald, Germany, on March 10, 1880
  • A Christmas card, signed by Billy Warren
  • A program from a music recital in Honolulu, Hawaii
Collection

Garret Abeel papers, 1792-1827

259 items

The Garret Abeel papers are made up of the correspondence and business papers of New York City iron merchant Garret Byvanck Abeel and the firms G. B. & J. Abeel and Abeel & Dunscomb.

The Garret Abeel papers are made up of the correspondence and business papers of New York City iron merchant Garret Byvanck Abeel and the firms G. B. & J. Abeel and Abeel & Dunscomb.

The correspondence exclusively pertains to business matters, such as prices and price comparisons, plans for picking up or shipping merchandise, settling of accounts, and other issues regarding sales and purchases. The business papers consist of orders, invoices, shipment notifications, receipts, accounts, and other commercial documents. The Abeel papers mention many items handled by the company, including bars, bands, hoops, rods, anchor parts, nails and spikes, knives, wagon tires, and many other iron goods.

Collection

Abraham Bell papers, 1812-1901 (majority within 1830-1854)

1.5 linear feet

The Abraham Bell papers contain correspondence and financial documents related to Abraham Bell & Co., an early 19th-century New York City shipping firm owned by Abraham Bell.

The Abraham Bell papers contain correspondence and financial documents related to Abraham Bell & Co., an early 19th-century New York City shipping firm owned by Abraham Bell. The majority of material in the Correspondence series is addressed to either Abraham Bell or to his company, and relates to various business affairs, often concerning payment or delivery of goods. Many of the letters originated from European firms, including a letter from Collman, Lambert & Co. in Liverpool, written on stationery that includes a printed list of current prices for cotton and related goods (February 8, 1837).

The Receipts and financial papers series consists of non-correspondence items related to the operation of Abraham Bell & Co. throughout the early and mid-1800s. These include records of payment and lists of cargo carried aboard Bell's ships, as well as several documents relating to loads of street manure in 1839. Several early items within this series pertain to the ship Josephine.

Fifteen Account and receipt books provide information about Bell's financial endeavors throughout the period in explicit detail, covering the years 1840-1868. A letter book contains copies of letters written by Abraham Bell between October 16, 1833, and August 15, 1834.

Miscellaneous items in the collection include an indenture for land in New Jersey belonging to the Budd family (December 25, 1812), and a record of fiscal accounts between Abraham Bell & Co. and [Malionson] Bell & Co. (June 30, 1836).

Collection

Andrew Adams papers, 1763-1797

45 items

The Andrew Adams papers consist primarily of letters addressed to Adams, an attorney and politician, by his legal clients and colleagues.

The Andrew Adams papers consist primarily of letters, contracts, and bills addressed to Adams by his legal clients and colleagues. Letters come from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Among the letter writers are country store owner Samuel Sheldon, concerning the transfer of land through a deed; lawyer and Connecticut politician Elizur Goodrich, with a request to appear as John Blackburn's attorney; and legal correspondence from fellow Yale graduate and Continental Congress member Jedediah (Jedidiah) Strong.

Collection

Charles Everett Adams diaries, 1874-1940

39 items (2.25 linear feet)

The Adams collection consists of 25 diaries kept by Charles Everett Adams, M.D., describing his life from age 11 to age 77. The diaries provide details about his family, education, employment, interests, and activities, including medical school, gymnastics, forestry, and the impact of the automobile, phonograph, and radio on family life in the 1920s.

The collection consists of 25 diaries (5500 pages) written by Charles Everett Adams between 1874 and 1940. They provide a highly descriptive account of his life from age 11 to age 77, with the exception of the missing diaries of his 13 trips to Europe. The diary entries record Adam's daily activities invariably starting with a report of the weather and including his exercise; what he read, bought, and sold; people encountered; and deaths in his home town. At times he compulsively kept track of the ambient temperatures, sometimes three times a day, and of the books he read and the number of pages for each.

Of particular interest is the impact of the automobile, phonograph and radio upon Adam's life. His first automobile trip was in 1907, which he found wearing and dizzying. In 1912 he bought his own car, and by 1920 he owned two cars and his wife Carrie learned how to drive. In 1923 a phonograph entered the Adams' household and became a regular part of their evening activities until it was replaced with a radio.

The nine notebooks contain school notes, quotations, gymnastics routines, and a register of guests at summer camp. The collection also contains a report of the 50th reunion of his Bowdoin class of 1884, which graduated 25 out of a freshman class of 44. The report contains biographies of the entire class of 1884.

Collection

Mrs. H. C. Adams diary, 1901-1916

1 volume

This pocket diary contains entries written by Mrs. H. C. Adams between 1901 and 1916. Most of the volume is Adams' narrative of her visit to the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo with her friend Alice, describing buildings and exhibits of the Exposition as well as their excursions into the cities of Buffalo and Syracuse.

This pocket diary contains entries written by Mrs. H. C. Adams between 1901 and 1916. Most of the volume is Adams' narrative of her visit to the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo with her friend Alice, describing buildings and exhibits of the Exposition as well as their excursions into the cities of Buffalo and Syracuse.

Mrs. Adams recorded what she saw in many of the buildings, including the "living villages" of the Exposition. They included "genuine" homes of people from the Philippines, Africa, and Japan, as well as Inuit (called Esquimaux Village) and Indigenous North American tribes. In the Japanese Village (called Fair Japan) Mrs. Adams observed a band consisting mostly of women and made note of a theater purported to be the finest in the world. She saw more singers, dancers, and theater productions in the Philippine Village, mentioning some religious practices happening there.

Below is a partial list of exhibits and attractions mentioned by Mrs. Adams:
  • A chair made of horns
  • A list of fish present in the Fishery Building
  • The largest tanned elephant hide in the world (500 pounds)
  • A gold bed
  • A statue representing a Quaker
  • Moveable wooden feet
  • A bear made of raisins
  • An elephant made of English walnut
  • Wood from each U.S. state and from some foreign countries
  • A theater named The Land of the Midnight Sun
  • A house made of butter

During her trip, Adams also visited the Temple of Music, where President William McKinley (1843-1901) was shot. Following Mrs. Adams' diary entries are several lists of names. One is attributed to the Teachers' Institute in November 1906, containing women's names, cities, and states. A similarly formatted list, dated October of 1909, is titled "Institute," but has Xs beside the names. The final list, titled "[Bonnie?] Beach Sandy Creek NY" and dated December 1913, appears to have signatures of individual people.

At the end of the volume is a single-page entry dated January 1927: a list of baked goods with amounts and apparent prices listed.

Collection

Mrs. H. C. Adams diary, 1901-1916

1 volume

This pocket diary contains entries written by Mrs. H. C. Adams between 1901 and 1916. Most of the volume is Adams' narrative of her visit to the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo with her friend Alice, describing buildings and exhibits of the Exposition as well as their excursions into the cities of Buffalo and Syracuse.

This pocket diary contains entries written by Mrs. H. C. Adams between 1901 and 1916. Most of the volume is Adams' narrative of her visit to the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo with her friend Alice, describing buildings and exhibits of the Exposition as well as their excursions into the cities of Buffalo and Syracuse.

Mrs. Adams recorded what she saw in many of the buildings, including the "living villages" of the Exposition. They included "genuine" homes of people from the Philippines, Africa, and Japan, as well as Inuit (called Esquimaux Village) and Indigenous North American tribes. In the Japanese Village (called Fair Japan) Mrs. Adams observed a band consisting mostly of women and made note of a theater purported to be the finest in the world. She saw more singers, dancers, and theater productions in the Philippine Village, mentioning some religious practices happening there.

Below is a partial list of exhibits and attractions mentioned by Mrs. Adams:
  • A chair made of horns
  • A list of fish present in the Fishery Building
  • The largest tanned elephant hide in the world (500 pounds)
  • A gold bed
  • A statue representing a Quaker
  • Moveable wooden feet
  • A bear made of raisins
  • An elephant made of English walnut
  • Wood from each U.S. state and from some foreign countries
  • A theater named The Land of the Midnight Sun
  • A house made of butter

During her trip, Adams also visited the Temple of Music, where President William McKinley (1843-1901) was shot. Following Mrs. Adams' diary entries are several lists of names. One is attributed to the Teachers' Institute in November 1906, containing women's names, cities, and states. A similarly formatted list, dated October of 1909, is titled "Institute," but has Xs beside the names. The final list, titled "[Bonnie?] Beach Sandy Creek NY" and dated December 1913, appears to have signatures of individual people.

At the end of the volume is a single-page entry dated January 1927: a list of baked goods with amounts and apparent prices listed.

Collection

Samson Adams papers, 1767-1794

108 items

Online
The Samson Adams papers are the estate and business documents of Adams, a free African American man living and working in Trenton, New Jersey in the late 18th century. Adams worked as a carpenter and laborer, and produced and traded in a variety of items, including soap, milk, corn, and construction materials.

The Samson Adams Papers is comprised of over one hundred items that offer a rare glimpse into the economic and personal life of a free African-American resident of the mid-Atlantic states during the last quarter of the 18th century. The collection is divided into two series, the first consisting mainly of materials dating between 1780 and 1792, with a few earlier items, and the second containing all materials specifically related to the settlement of Adams' estate. The first series is arranged chronologically, but the second is arranged with the intention of representing the progression of the estate settlement, in an attempt to reconstitute the order placed on the materials by the executors.

The first series of Adams' papers (folders 1-11) contains bills and receipts issued by and to Adams for items ranging from milk and soap to building materials. Also included in this series are a work pass for his sister, Violet, and two important and highly unusual subscription letters seeking assistance for Adams in completing the building of his house. The second series (folders 12-30) includes Adams' will, an inventory and a complete breakdown of the distribution of his estate, bills submitted to the estate with numbered receipts showing their payment, and numerous other estate-related items. This series appears to contain nearly complete documentation of the progress of the estate, and the inventories, evaluations, and itemized list of the distribution of the estate offer an extremely detailed portrait of Adams' financial holdings and personal and business relationships

Collection

John Adlum papers, 1794-1808

16 letters, 9 volumes, and 1 publication

The Schoff Revolutionary War Collection contains the papers of John Adlum, private in the Revolutionary War, Major in the Provisional Army, Brigadier General in the Pennsylvania Militia, surveyor, and viticulturalist. The collection includes 16 items written between 1773 and 1784, and 2 drafts of his memoirs, 1773-1784.

The Schoff Revolutionary War Collection contains the papers of John Adlum, private in the Revolutionary War, Major in the Provisional Army, Brigadier General in the Pennsylvania Militia, surveyor, and viticulturalist. The collection includes 16 items written between 1794 and 1808, and 2 drafts of his memoirs, 1773-1784.

Of the letters, three deal with Adlum's activities surveying the upper Susquehanna River in 1794. The ten items from 1799 relate primarily to his service with the Provisional Army, 11th Regiment. In these letters, Adlum describes his meetings with the Seneca Chief, Cornplanter, who insisted that if the Seneca did not receive annuity payments due them, they would have to resort to hostilities. The 1807 and 1808 items are personal letters from Abel Marple and the undated/unidentified letter discusses relations between whites and Indians.

The memoirs, composed during and shortly after the Revolutionary War, are an account of Adlum's early years and of the period during which he was an active soldier in the war. Writing as a young private taken prisoner at the fall of Fort Washington, he describes British-held New York City from November 1776, until his parole in late 1777. The memoirs also offer glimpses of Nathanael Greene, George Washington, Wilhelm Knyphausen, Ethan Allen, and Hugh Gaine.

Collection

Edward Adolphus correspondence, 1842-1843

8 items

The Edward Adolphus correspondence contains seven letters and a receipt pertaining to commercial interests in New York and Boston in 1842 and 1843.

The Edward Adolphus correspondence contains seven letters and a receipt pertaining to commercial interests in New York and Boston in 1842 and 1843. The collection includes five letters from Warriner, a New York City-based merchant, one receipt for goods shipped on the Florida Blanco, and two letters from A. J. Cameron. In his letters, Warriner wrote Adolphus regarding business in New York, and focused particularly on the trade in indigo and mahogany. In one letter, Warriner mentioned the recent death of his son: "I was at the time much afflicted having that morning lost my youngest boy, who died suddenly of dropsy in the brain … I never knew a real trouble before and shall improve by this one by a firmer faith and determination to place my mind on nothing in the hope of retaining it here" (April 1, 1842). Cameron, based in Boston, also discussed commercial matters. His letter of November 1, 1843, provided his opinions on the prospective education of the Adolphus children and on dentistry.

Collection

A. & H. Jenkins collection, 1847-1851

10 items

The A. & H. Jenkins collection is made up of incoming correspondence to this Baltimore, Maryland, furniture manufacturing/undertaking firm, headed by Anthony H. and Henry W. Jenkins. These letters contain requests for contracts and details about prices, bills, and accounts for various types of furniture.

The A. & H. Jenkins collection is made up of 10 incoming letters (1847-1851) to this Baltimore, Maryland, furniture making/undertaking firm (headed by Anthony H. and Henry W. Jenkins). The correspondence contains requests for contracts and details about prices, bills, and accounts for various types of furniture. The collection offers some insight into the business' clientele, such as their particular furniture needs and specifications about materials and design, their geographical locations (from as far away as Charlestown, Virginia), and various circumstances respecting bills and overdue payments.

Short excerpts from two letters illustrate content. One regards delayed payment from a Charlestown, Virginia, Episcopal Church for a desk and pulpit: "The loss of our beautiful church with all its furniture has been a distressing dispensation to us & compelled us to delay, longer than we desired … " (May 7, 1849). Another, from Revered E. C. McGuire at Fredericksburg, Virginia, provides specifications for the construction of a table ($25.00) and chairs ($24.00 each) made with "crimson plush" rather than "crimson damask" (January 29, 1849).

Collection

Marcus Ahlenfeld papers, 1825-1876

0.75 linear feet

The Marcus Ahlenfeld papers contain correspondence, documents, notes, and other material related to Ahlenfeld's medical education in Germany and to his medical practice in the United States.

The earliest letters in the Correspondence series date to Ahlenfeld's time in Germany, though the series spans most of his time in the United States. Material in this series is written primarily in German, but also includes items in Hebrew and in English. The correspondence series contains incoming correspondence relating to Ahlenfeld's 1832 journey to America and contains many letters of recommendation from various acquaintances, as well as a letter certifying his graduation from the University of Maryland (April 6, 1835). Later items in the series include several personal letters and a certificate of Ahlenfeld's citizenship (June 13, 1845). Items in the series postdating Ahlenfeld's death are addressed to his wife Esther.

The Documents and Receipts series consists of documents related to Ahlenfeld's education in Germany, as well as several receipts related to his life before emigrating to the United States.

The Manuscript prescriptions series contains 8 undated items.

The Medical notes series includes items in English, German, and Hebrew (much of the German and Hebrew writing is written with Yiddish script). The English language notes consist of 34 pages discussing "...Salubrity, Longevity, Mortality and prevalence of diseases in the principal Countries and cities of the civilized world" (undated).

The Notes, fragments, and miscellaneous series includes material written in both German and Hebrew (again, the German and Hebrew texts are written largely with Yiddish script).

Printed items (7 items):
  • Rules for official medical examinations in Berlin (December 1825)
  • French pamphlet regarding cholera (1831)
  • Two reprinted letters of recommendation for Marcus Ahlenfeld ([1835])
  • Rules for "die Königliche Bibliothek" in Berlin (undated)
  • Pages from a German instructional book, possibly in history (undated)
  • Pages from a German medical text (undated)

The German medical textbooks series has 5 items: two books on human anatomy, a medical dictionary, a chemistry encyclopedia, and a Latin dictionary and grammar.

Collection

James Akin collection, 1805

4 items

The James Akin collection contains four items related to an engraving made by him in 1805. The material includes two personal letters and two testimonies.

The James Akin collection contains four items related to an engraving made by him in 1805. The material includes two letters and two testimonies . Both letters, written in the summer of 1805 by John McKown, relate to an engraving of "a very handsome Stone Horse on type metal," requested of Akin by McKown (June 3, 1805). The two testimonies contain statements made by Moses Moody and William Hooker to the Court of Common Pleas reflecting McKown and Akin's dispute about the proper price for the completed plate.

Collection

Isaiah L. Alden diary, 1867-1869

1 volume

The Isaiah L. Alden diary contains the reflections of a medical student and doctor in Michigan and Maine from 1867-1869. Alden provided detailed, near daily accounts of his studies at the University of Michigan and at the Medical School of Maine (now the School of Medicine at Bowdoin College), and described his work at the U. S. Marine Hospital in Portland, Maine.

The Isaiah L. Alden diary contains the reflections of a medical student and doctor in Michigan and Maine from 1867-1869. Alden provided detailed, near-daily accounts of his studies at the University of Michigan and at Bowdoin College, and described his work at the U. S. Marine Hospital in Portland, Maine.

Alden commenced the diary on December 1, 1867, while he was studying medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In his early entries, he reflected on his life as a student, and often included descriptions of lectures given by several professors at the university, as well as accounts of medical cases he saw at various clinics. He also made note of various religious meetings he attended during this time, particularly at Ann Arbor's Methodist church. Alden left Ann Arbor for his native Maine in March 1868, and began working at the U. S. Marine Hospital in Portland, Maine, shortly after his arrival in April. He continued to describe his medical work during the period, as well as a lengthy vacation he took in the summer of that year. Upon his return, he experienced chronic discomfort caused by the complications of tuberculosis, and he tried to obtain a life insurance policy in late September, but was rejected. He left the hospital, and resumed his medical education in mid-February 1869. The remainder of the diary contains accounts of his time at the Medical School of Maine (now the School of Medicine at Bowdoin College), including notes about various professors, lectures, and examinations, and about his deteriorating health. The volume's final entry is dated May 11, 1869.

Collection

Gideon Aldrich collection, 1849-1855 (majority within 1850-1852)

71 items

The Gideon Aldrich collection contains material related to Aldrich's time at the Friends' Boarding School in Providence, Rhode Island, in the early 1850s, the bulk of which consists of his incoming correspondence from family and friends.

The Gideon Aldrich collection contains material related to Aldrich's time at the Friends' Boarding School in Providence, Rhode Island, in the early 1850s. His mother Phebe and several of his siblings, particularly Mary, wrote many of the earliest letters in the collection. In their letters, they updated him on the events that colored their daily lives, and often alluded to their devout Quaker beliefs; several of the letters from December 1850 relate to a measles outbreak reported at the Friends' School. Gideon's friends wrote most of the later letters, in which they expressed their affinity for a variety of personal interests, including baseball (March 17, 1852), sleighing, and other leisure activities. One letter from Huldah H. Sawyer paints a picture of early San Francisco, extolling the weather but lamenting the frequency of death in the city and the questionable morality of local women (February 11, 1853). Together, the letters represent the concerns and daily happenings of Quaker life in mid-19th century Massachusetts. In addition to the correspondence, the collection also holds three books used by Gideon Aldrich while at school; these include two penmanship exercise books and a composition book, which contains essays on topics such as a Quaker quarterly meeting, a description of Uxbridge, and a "Skating Party" (1851). Other material within the collection includes an 1853 valentine, several quotation cards, and a newspaper clipping.

Collection

Levi Aldrich scrapbook, 1841-1849

1 item

This "Scrapbook bound by L. A." contains handwritten final drafts of editorial pieces written by Dr. Levi Aldrich of Shrewsbury, Vermont, as well as several clippings and copies of poems by other authors. The writings occupy 57 of 59 numbered pages in a lengthier blank book. The majority are final drafts of written pieces for The Universalist Watchman (Montpelier, Vermont) and The Rutland Herald (Rutland, Vermont), and other publications. He contributed obituaries, essays on faith, articles on medicine, and editorials on society and technology.

This "Scrapbook bound by L. A." contains handwritten final drafts of editorial pieces written by Dr. Levi Aldrich of Shrewsbury, Vermont, as well as several clippings and copies of poems by other authors, dating between 1841 and 1849. The writings occupy 57 of 59 numbered pages in a lengthier blank book.

The majority of Aldrich's writings are submissions to The Universalist Watchman (Montpelier, Vermont), including obituaries and essays on faith. He also wrote several essays for The Rutland Herald (Rutland, Vermont) under the pseudonym "Philomath," concerning "animal magnetism," intemperance, and other subjects. The remaining editorials cover a range of topics including medicine (The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal), technology (Bellows Falls Gazette), and social critiques (Boston Investigator). A smaller selection of poetic works, including two clippings titled "Woman's Love" and "Man's Love," are also present.

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

Jeanette Alexander papers, 1931-1945 (majority within 1942-1945)

66 items

The Jeanette Alexander papers consist primarily of incoming correspondence from several friends and family members, including correspondence from her son, Earl Alexander, Jr., and his girlfriend Dolores regarding his service in the United States Army Air Forces.

The Jeanette Alexander papers consist primarily of incoming correspondence, from several friends and family members, including correspondence from her son, Earl Alexander,Jr., and his girlfriend Dolores, regarding his service in the United States Army Air Forces. Much of the material within the collection was composed by Earl (19 letters and two telegrams) and Dolores (21 letters), with other contributors including his parents, Earl Alexander, Sr., and Jeanette Alexander, as well as several family members and friends. The earliest items in the collection are three report cards of Earl Alexander, Jr.'s academic progress for second (1931-1932), third (1932-1933), and fifth (1934-1935) grades and a manual answering frequently asked questions for a driving exam. Several other early letters written to the younger Earl Alexander relate his parents' experiences traveling in Florida in February 1938. The letter of February 22, [1938], in which they mentioned their intention to travel to Havana, Cuba, includes several pages of stationary illustrating leisure pursuits in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The remainder, and bulk, of the collection dates to the Second World War, and opens with Earl, Jr.'s correspondence from his year at Rutgers University; he described scenes from his collegiate life and discussed the likelihood of conscription, as well as its effect on his future. Following a May 7, 1943, telegram ordering him to appear for a military mental exam, the collection focuses on his military service, related primarily through the communications of his girlfriend Dolores. Dolores, then a student at Mary Washington College at the University of Virginia, frequently wrote to Jeanette Alexander, providing updates on her life in Fredericksburg and news from Earl, and commenting on the effect of soldiers' absences on those remaining at home. Earl also composed several letters to his parents, the majority of which date from his time in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he awaited his final orders. Six letters from Ella Garza, whose husband Rudolf served with Earl, round out the collection, which concludes with a December 4, 1945, telegram from Earl reporting his expectation of an imminent return home.

Collection

Lucien Alexander papers, 1901-1913

80 items

The collection contains professional papers of Lucien Alexander, a Pennsylvania lawyer and early advocate for standards in law school and bar admissions.

The Lucien Alexander papers are reflective of the cast of mind of a Progressive-era legal reformer, and center on Alexander's work in implementing a system of admissions standards to law schools and to the American Bar Association. Although the correspondence is sparse and very clearly incomplete, it includes some useful individual letters that help document the nature of the concerns shared by Alexander and his colleagues during the period of their most intense efforts to professionalize the law. Among the correspondents represented are Charles Biddle, John Morgan Harris, and S.J. Strauss.

Collection

Russell A. Alger family papers, 1842-1975 (majority within 1863-1865, 1888-1945)

12.5 linear feet

The Russell A. Alger family papers contain personal and professional correspondence of Alger, who served as governor of Michigan (1885-1887), United States Secretary of War (1897-1899), and United States Senator (1902-1907). The collection also includes military correspondence related to the Spanish-American War, materials from a distant branch of the Alger family in Ohio and Missouri, and letters related to United States Representative Bruce Alger's experiences in the Army Air Corps during the Second World War.

The Russell A. Alger papers contain personal and professional correspondence of Russell Alger, who served as governor of Michigan (1885-1887), United States secretary of war (1897-1899), and United States senator (1902-1907). The collection also includes military correspondence related to the Spanish-American War, materials from a distant branch of the Alger family, and letters related to United States Representative Bruce Alger's experiences in the Army Air Corps during the Second World War.

The Russell A. Alger materials series contains three subseries: Correspondence, Documents, and Scrapbooks. The Russell A. Alger Correspondence subseries is made up of 5 sub-subseries.

The Russell A. Alger incoming correspondence sub-subseries (1842-1919; bulk 1863-1865 and 1885-1907) contains 1.5 linear feet of letters, documents, and other items received by Russell Alger during his lifetime, with a particular focus on his military service in the Civil War, his political activities as a leading Republican Party member in Michigan, and his service and legacy as secretary of war under William McKinley during the Spanish-American War. The earliest letters in the collection are official correspondence from military leaders about the 5th Michigan Cavalry's service from 1862-1865. Several post-war letters concern Russell Alger's reputation, which opponents called into question during his rise to political prominence.

Items from the 1880s and early 1890s include many written by the era's leading Republicans, such as Mark Hanna, James G. Blaine, and Benjamin Harrison, who wrote a series of approximately 20 letters about Russell Alger's presidential campaigns in 1888 and 1892. Much of the later correspondence relates to Alger's service as secretary of war during the Spanish-American War, with letters from military personnel and political figures including J. Pierpont Morgan, Nelson A. Miles, William R. Shafter, Leonard Wood, Theodore Roosevelt, and William McKinley. Roosevelt wrote several letters to Alger during his own military service and during his presidency, regarding various political appointments. Two letters illustrate Roosevelt's hopes that Alger will support the reinstatement of the annual army-navy football match (August 17, 1897) and canal-building efforts in Panama (June 18, 1906). Much of William McKinley's correspondence (61 items) respects Alger's service as secretary of war, and includes the president's official acceptance of Alger's resignation from the cabinet (July 20, 1899). Much of Alger's incoming post-war correspondence pertains to efforts to secure his reputation following the Spanish-American War and to his published book on the conflict.

The Russell A. Alger outgoing correspondence sub-subseries contains items written by Russell A. Alger, including a small amount of Civil War-era correspondence and a larger number of letters written during his later political career. The bulk of the series, written from 1884-1907, represents Alger's tenure as governor of Michigan (1884-1887) and as secretary of war (1897-1899). Of interest is a letter of April 13, 1898, regarding the sinking of the Maine in Havana Harbor and the declaration of war against Spain. Other topics in Alger's letters include a shipment of reindeer from Norway (March 21, 1899), affairs in Alaska, the Panama Canal, and political endorsements for both local and national positions.

The items regarding the tour of officers & soldiers in the election of 1896, & the endorsement of Russell A. Alger as a member of President McKinley's Cabinet sub-subseries contains correspondence about Russell A. Alger and William McKinley's tour throughout Michigan during the presidential campaign of 1896, and about Alger's other efforts in the campaign. Of note is a letter from Senator Jacob H. Gallinger, who wrote to William McKinley, "I express the hope that you may invite General Alger into your official family. He will make a model Secretary of War, and will be a strong and reliable man in the Cabinet" (January 23, 1896).

The Letters and Telegrams from General Miles sub-subseries contains 564 once-bound pages of chronologically ordered copies of official military correspondence exchanged during the Spanish-American War. Army generals Nelson A. Miles and William R. Shafter are the most prominent correspondents in the subseries. They provided updates on the Cuban theater of the war. The series spans the entire calendar year of 1898.

The Russell A. Alger semi-official letters, semi-official orders, and telegrams sub-subseries contains 28 bound volumes of carbon copies dating from Alger's service as secretary of war. The series contains 20 volumes of semi-official letters (March 9, 1897-July 24, 1899), 2 volumes of semi-official orders (June 4, 1898-August 1, 1899), 5 volumes of telegrams (July 9, 1897-August 1, 1899), and one volume of letters relating to the GAR (October 1, 1889-November 28, 1894).

The collection also includes 9 volumes of typed transcripts, including incoming and outgoing correspondence as well as documents and materials related to Alger's military service.

The Russell A. Alger documents subseries contains four sub-subseries.

The Russell A. Alger Civil War service documents sub-subseries includes original and manuscript copies of documents related to Alger's Civil War service record and actions during the conflict. The subseries also contains two postwar documents. One of two postwar documents is a list of Civil War battles in which Alger participated.

The Testimony of General Alger Before the War Investigation Committee is a typed copy of Russell A. Alger's testimony regarding the hygiene of American soldiers and camps during the summer of 1898, given before the Dodge Commission later that year. The testimony includes manuscript annotations.

The Gervasio Unson proclamation and affidavits sub-subseries contains the original Spanish text and a translated English copy of Provisional Secretary Gervasio Unson's proclamation and accusations regarding the treatment of guerillas in the Philippines and the general conduct of American officials in the islands. Several documents appended to the proclamation lend factual support to the various allegations.

The Correspondence and documents regarding Florida, Puerto Rico, and Cuba sub-subseries is made up of the following items: correspondence describing rail systems in Florida in the early 20th century; a report on the island of Puerto Rico made on March 14, 1898; letters related to military supplies during the Spanish-American War; several letters regarding the publication of Washington the Soldier by General Henry B. Carrington, including a printed copy of the book's preface; the typescript of an interview given by Russell A. Alger to Henry Campbell of the Milwaukee Journal, March 24, 1900; a booklet on regulations for import/export officers; and a printed copy of the Cuban census of 1900.

The Russell A. Alger scrapbooks subseries contains six volumes of newspaper clippings:
  • Alger's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, April-June 1888
  • Alger's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, February-April 1892
  • "Presented to General Russell A. Alger by the Citizens of Detroit upon his return to his home. August Second, 1899," July-August 1899
  • "Politics: Detroit Newspapers," regarding Alger's campaign for Michigan's vacant Senate seat, August 1902-May 1903
  • "Politics: State Papers," pertaining to Alger's campaign for Michigan's vacant Senate seat, August 1902-May 1903
  • "In Memoriam Hon. Russell A. Alger," January 1907

The Alger family materials series contains eight subseries.

The Alger family correspondence subseries is divided into the seven sub-subseries: David Bruce Alger correspondence, Bruce Alger correspondence, Clare Fleeman Alger correspondence, Oberlin college correspondence and documents, Richard Edwin ("Eddy") Alger correspondence, Albert W. Alger correspondence, and Miscellaneous Alger family correspondence.

The David Bruce Alger correspondence contains numerous letters from Alger to his parents, Richard Edward Alger and Esther D. Reynolds, about David's time at Oberlin College in the early 20th century; the birth and early childhood of his son, Bruce Reynolds Alger; and about St. Louis, Missouri, in the 1920s, including descriptions of "plucky boy" and celebrated pilot Charles Lindbergh. Incoming correspondence consists of Civil War-era receipts; documents and letters of David Baker Alger; a letter from Russell A. Alger, Jr., to a sibling; a letter from an American soldier serving in France in 1917; several letters from David Bruce Alger's father written in 1943; and a 1975 letter regarding recent physical problems.

David Bruce Alger's Oberlin College correspondence and documents consist of items associated with Oberlin College in the 1910s, including ephemera. Of interest are a program from an Oberlin Glee Club concert (1912), three copies of a pamphlet for the "Eezy Cheezers," and an 1882 promotional thermometer.

The Bruce Alger correspondence consists primarily of Bruce Reynolds Alger's letters to his parents, written during his time in the Army Air Corps in the Second World War. Bruce wrote about his training at Kerry Field, Texas, and in California. In a number of letters from 1945, he described the end of the war as he experienced it in the Pacific theater. The sub-subseries also includes the annotated text of a 1937 chemistry examination from Princeton University, reports of Alger's academic progress at Princeton, and a newspaper article about his football career.

The Clare Fleeman Alger correspondence is made up of correspondence and documents related to David Bruce Alger's wife, Clare Fleeman Alger. In letters to her parents and to other friends and family, Clare described her life as a newlywed and, later, as a new mother. Miscellaneous items in this series include several religious tracts, drafts of poetry and essays, and documents regarding Bruce Reynolds Alger's academic progress at Princeton.

The Richard Edwin ("Eddy") Alger correspondence contains incoming letters, 1885-1921, written by family members to "Eddy" or "Cousin Ed." The group also includes a typed collection of several of his short poems.

In the Albert W. Alger correspondence are a number of letters written to various family members by Albert W. Alger.

The Additional Alger family correspondence, documents, and printed items consists of seven Civil War-era documents by various Alger family members, items related to the St. Louis Writers' Guild, invitations to various weddings and graduation ceremonies, a marriage certificate for Melvin C. Bowman and Mary H. Parcell, and a commemorative stamp from Lundy Island. Of note are two pages of a Civil War-era letter by John H. Houghes, who described a military engagement and the burial of a fallen soldier in the surrounding mountains. The group also contains books, pamphlets, and newspapers. Books include the Student's Reference Work Question Manual and Russell A. Alger's copy of Roswell Smith'sEnglish Grammar on the Productive System . The pamphlets are promotional material for a 1904 World's Fair exhibit, issues of various periodicals belonging to Clare Fleeman Alger (many of which contain her writing), and a copy ofAn Outline History of Richfield Township, 1809-1959 . Other items are newsletters from 1916 and 1921, with contributions by Clare Fleeman Alger; a printed map of the Alger Park neighborhood in Dallas, Texas; a newspaper clipping from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch; a program from a piano recital; and scripts for two radio-based language-learning programs (French and German).

The collection includes 40 volumes of Alger family diaries. Six volumes include a book kept by David Bruce Alger and five volumes belonging to Esther Reynolds Alger, written between 1878 and 1881. Among other materials are an early item likely composed by Richard Edwin Alger (1891), a "Note Book for Sunday School Teachers and Workers" probably kept by Esther Reynolds Alger in the late 19th century, and an Esther Reynolds Alger diary from 1900.

The remainder of the series contains material, spanning 1905-1973, that belonged to David Bruce Alger. His early diaries include a "Foxy Grandpa" notebook (1905) and a series of annual daily journals written from 1910 to 1919. Two five-year diaries chronicle 1920-1924 and 1926-1930, followed by single and two-year volumes kept between 1931 and 1937. An uninterrupted series of five-year volumes covers 1938-1975, although his entries taper off around 1973. David Bruce Alger kept his diaries regularly, composing a few lines about the weather and his activities on a near-daily basis.

The Clare Fleeman Alger manuscript submission records are a series of index cards. They are filed alphabetically by poem or essay title. Each record contains the name of a work, the publication to which the manuscript was submitted, and the date. The records pertain to works written in 1917 and from 1931 to 1943. Occasional rejection letters and drafts are interfiled within the subseries.

The Receipts subseries consists of 9 items dating to the 19th century.

In the Documents subseries are manuscript copies of correspondence regarding Alger's Civil War service, made and authorized by the War Department at a later date. The subseries also includes two typed copies of Lieutenant Philip H. Sheridan's "Account of the Battle of Booneville," and two copies of a "Statement of the Military History of Russell A. Alger."

The Photographs subseries contains four photographs. One is a portrait of Russell A. Alger's wife, Annette Henry Alger, labeled "Aunt Nettie."

The Newspapers and clippings subseries contains a small number of short articles, dating primarily in the 1930s. The clippings relate to various members of the Alger family; for example, one item pertains to the death of Russell A. Alger's son, Frederick Moulton Alger, in 1934. The subseries also includes three full size Kansas City, Missouri, newspapers from 1883, 1897, and [1898].

Collection

Allaire papers, 1762-1873 (majority within 1782-1831)

0.25 linear feet

The Allaire papers contain business correspondence, legal documents, and financial documents related to New York City resident Peter Alexander Allaire and his children, Calicia Allaire Wood and George Young Allaire. The collection also includes an anonymous account book from the 1830s, possibly kept by Pennsylvania merchant Thomas Wood.

Several early items in the collection relate to the post-Revolution business and legal affairs of Peter Alexander Allaire, and include a French document authorizing the shipment of several ingredients, including alkali and soap, for the manufacture of white lead (1783). The majority of the collection consists of material related to the financial interests of Calicia Allaire (m. Thomas Wood) and George Young Allaire. Many of these items reflect ongoing financial disputes between the siblings and Calicia's husband, and involved a third party, Cornelius Bogart. In addition to correspondence, financial records, and indentures related to the Allaire family, the collection includes scattered personal items. Also part of the collection is an account book, possibly kept by Thomas Wood, in which the author recorded financial information, including several accounts for everyday goods, "Farming Concerns," and items "Arrived from Foreign Ports." Many of the book's accounts relate to wood and a few mention stock held jointly with George Young Allaire.

Collection

Allaire-Gibbons papers, 1822-1963 (majority within 1822-1856)

28 items

The Allaire-Gibbons papers contain letters, receipts, and other material related to the early steamboat industry and, more specifically, to the 19th-century business affairs of James P. Allaire, Thomas Gibbons, and William Gibbons.

The Allaire-Gibbons papers contain letters, receipts, and other material related to the early steamboat industry and, more specifically, to the 19th-century business affairs of James P. Allaire, Thomas Gibbons, and William Gibbons.

The Correspondence series (16 items) consists primarily of business correspondence addressed to Thomas Gibbons, William Gibbons, and James P. Allaire. The earlier material in the series (1822-1837) is related to the Gibbons family's business affairs and often pertains to the legal disputes between Thomas Gibbons and Aaron Ogden. These include several letters from William Gibbons to his father, in which he discusses the impending court case as well as his own personal affairs. The majority of the series consists of later material (1837-1849) related to James P. Allaire's business interests, including the manufacture of steamboat engines. Interspersed with these items are receipts for parts related to Allaire's industrial operations.

The Documents series (12 items) contains receipts related to steamboats owned by James P. Allaire as well as 20th-century material about the early steamboat industry and the town of Allaire, New Jersey. The series includes 5 receipts for steamboat supplies (1828; 1856), including material for the Swan, the Thistle, and the Emerald, all Gibbons-owned ships whose engines were supplied by Allaire. The series also includes a document signed by the crew of the Swan affirming the receipt of their wages for April 1828. Later material in the collection includes two postcards of watercolor pictures of Allaire, New Jersey, and two articles, from the Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society (January 1949) and American Heritage (October 1963), respectively. These relate to the early steamboat business, and to the role of Thomas Gibbons in its development.

Collection

Shadrach Allard papers, 1845-1865 (majority within 1853-1858)

29 items

The Shadrach Allard papers consist primarily of business correspondence addressed to Allard by Henry Charlesworth, regarding their business carving gravestones and memorial markers. Additionally, the collection contains a receipt book kept by Allard during the late 1840s.

The Shadrach Allard papers consist primarily of business correspondence addressed to Allard by Henry Charlesworth, regarding their business carving gravestones and memorial markers. Additionally, the collection contains a receipt book kept by Allard during the late 1840s. Allard, then living in Gallipolis, Ohio, worked closely with Charlesworth, of Portsmouth, Ohio, to acquire marble and other stone for the markers. Though the letters imply a general agreeability between the men, Charlesworth often chastised Allard for delays, and repeatedly asked him to send money. Other correspondence includes a fragment and a personal letter from Allard's brother in Cincinnati. Financial records within the collection include a receipt book kept by Allard from 1845-1848 and a receipt for a quantity of marble received by Charlesworth.

Collection

Abigail Allen family papers, 1829-1838 (majority within 1837)

8 items

The Abigail Allen family papers contain seven letters written to Allen by various family members, who discussed the economic impact of the Panic of 1837, 19th-century education, and social news from New Haven, Connecticut.

The Abigail Allen family papers contain 8 letters written to Allen by various family members, who discussed the economic impact of the Panic of 1837, 19th-century education, and social news from New Haven, Connecticut. Abigail knew several teachers, who shared information about their schools, including recent lectures; they also remarked about the education of Abigail's younger sister. Her father, James Brewster, mentioned his business affairs several times, including the "dreadful conflagration which we have experienced," which destroyed much of his shop's stock (March 1, 1836). In another letter, he described the economic mood of New Haven just prior to the Panic of 1837, and told Abigail, "It is awful times here, there have been a great many failures" (May 5, 1837). Abigail's mother echoed the sentiments, but concentrated her letters more on family news and on domestic updates about mutual friends, including a discussion about a difficult local birth (May 11, 1837). The letters depict social and economic life in New Haven in the late 1830s.

The final letter in the collection, by Joseph B., relates a lengthy tale about being attached by "a party of Robbers & assassins." The writer walked though a wood near his uncle Lester's farm is near a forest, when he was attacked. " … a party of Robbers & assassins surrounded me … Instead of presenting their pistols to my throat & demanding my purse as I often heard they did--they attacked me with daggers--plainly shewing their object my blood & not my purse." He tried to resist but the group of three robbers had reinforcements, which caused him to flee. He fell in the swamp and sustained injuries from the robbers' knives before nearby farm hands heard his cries for help. In a postscript, Joseph B. reveals his jest when he states that the suspect of the crime "is discovered to be one of that murderous gang, so celebrated in both novels & [?] as the New Rochelle musquitoe" (September 4, 1838).

Collection

Allen family photograph album, [ca. 1875]-1894

1 volume

The Allen family photograph album contains carte-de-visite and tintype portraits of various individuals, including members of the Allen family of Mayville, Michigan.

The Allen family photograph album (13cm x 10cm) contains 22 cartes-de-visite, 13 tintypes, one lithograph, and one printed card. The cartes-de-visite and tintypes are studio portraits of men, women, and children. Most items show a single person, though some, such as a woman and a young baby, were photographed in pairs. The lithograph depicts a young girl holding a dog. An educational card, one of a series of "Little People Lesson Pictures" issued by the American Sunday-School Union (volume IV, number 1, part 5), is laid into the volume. The card has a colored print of a Biblical scene entitled "Beginning of the Hebrew Nation," and the reverse side has questions and answers about Abraham's journey to Canaan. The cartes-de-visite were made by photographers in locations such as Imlay City, Michigan; Owosso, Michigan; and Peterborough, Ontario. The volume's covers are leather, with a Maltese gold-embossed cross stamped in relief on each side.

Collection

Allen family papers, 1814-1893

0.25 linear feet

Online
The Allen family papers contain personal correspondence of the family of Northborough, Massachusetts, preacher John Allen. Allen and his sons, Joseph Henry Allen, Thomas Prentiss Allen, and William Francis Allen, often discussed antebellum politics and other matters, including slavery and abolition.

The Allen family papers contain personal correspondence of the family of John Allen, a preacher in Northborough, Massachusetts. He and his sons, Joseph Henry Allen, Thomas Prentiss Allen, and William Francis Allen, often discussed antebellum politics and other matters of intellectual concern, including slavery and abolition.

The Correspondence series (260 items) consists primarily of personal correspondence between family members. Thomas Prentiss Allen composed many of these letters, though his brothers and their sister Elizabeth also contributed. The well-educated Allens discussed a wide range of personal and political topics, and their letters provide a vivid picture of the politically charged antebellum era. They often shared opinions on local and national politics, emphasizing the conflicts over slavery that eventually erupted into secession and Civil War. Notably, Thomas Prentiss Allen expounded at length on Daniel Webster's famous speech urging support of the Compromise of 1850 and offered his own opinions on the political issues involved, including the Wilmot Proviso (March 24, 1850). Other letters of particular interest concern the Free Soil party and the Fugitive Slave Act (December 10, 1850 and January 9, 1851). Elizabeth Allen wrote a majority of the later items in the collection to Joseph Allen, her father, communicating a view of her life on the home front during the Civil War and occasionally mentioning the war and domestic politics.

The Pamphlets series (2 items) contains the following two items:
  • Fathers and Children, containing manuscript essays based on Biblical verses (September 1842)
  • A Discourse on Occasion of the Death of Hon. John Quincy Adams..., by Joseph Henry Allen (1848)

The Photographs series (2 items) contains two 19th-century portraits printed on thick cards.

The Miscellaneous series (5 items) contains a newspaper clipping regarding the death of William Francis Allen, as well as four manuscripts about various topics.

Collection

Ann Meech Williams Collection, 1809-1865

51 items

This collection contains 55 letters and legal documents related to attempts by Ann Meech Williams (ca. 1776-1857) to secure a widow's pension for the service of Timothy Meech (ca. 1741-1825), lieutenant in 10th Company, 2nd Regiment, Massachusetts Militia (Hampshire Company), during the American Revolution.

This collection contains 55 letters and legal documents related to attempts by Ann Meech Williams (ca. 1776-1857) to secure a widow's pension for the service of Timothy Meech (ca. 1741-1825), lieutenant in 10th Company, 2nd Regiment, Massachusetts Militia (Hampshire Company), during the American Revolution.

The bulk of the collection is 48 letters related to Ann's pension claim, including 27 between Ann's executor and son-in-law Hosea Allen, and attorney Horatio S. Noyes. The remaining items are legal documents, supporting or related to the pension claim.

The documents include:
  • Certificate of marriage, for Timothy Meech and Ann Caldwell (m. April 19, 1809).
  • Partially printed certificate of marriage, for Hosea Allen and Lydia Beech (m. April 8, 1834).
  • Title leaf of the New Testament with genealogical information on the verso, [after 1835].
  • Last Will and Testament of Ann Williams, May 31, 1843.
  • Partially printed widow's pension deposition form, State of Massachusetts, March 11, 1856.
  • Partially printed "Affidavit and Power of Attorney" form for "Revolutionary Pension Claims," 185-.
  • Marriage notice, for Timothy Meech and Mary Brumbly (1743-1807), undated.

The Clements Library holds the Hosea Allen and Rodman Palmer Collection, which is comprised of additional documentation related to Ann Williams's pension claims and Hosea Allen's efforts on her behalf. Finding aid: Hosea Allen and Rodman Palmer Collection.

Collection

Wilfred Ferguson letters, 1944

28 items

This collection is made up of letters that Wilfred Ferguson, Jr., sent to his fiancée, Peggy Allen of Fairfield, Connecticut, while serving in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Despite his frustration with censorship regulations, he discussed his experiences with the 65th Station Complement Squadron in England.

This collection is made up of 28 letters that Wilfred Ferguson, Jr., sent to his fiancée, Peggy Allen of Fairfield, Connecticut, while serving in the United States Army Air Forces in England in 1944. Ferguson wrote regularly about his leisure activities, which included visiting a Red Cross club, playing table tennis, reading, and gambling. Though he attended movies, he believed they often resembled propaganda pieces. He also expressed his frustrations with censorship regulations, which limited his ability to discuss his military work. Ferguson occasionally shared stories about other soldiers and mentioned his correspondence from home.

Collection

Stanton P. Allen Scrapbook, 1864-1889

1 volume

The Stanton P. Allen scrapbook contains clippings, engravings, maps, and drawings related to a recurring newspaper column titled Down in Dixie written by Allen for the Troy Daily Times in which he recounted his experiences serving with the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry during the Civil War.

The Stanton P. Allen scrapbook contains clippings, engravings, maps, and drawings related to a recurring newspaper column titled Down in Dixie written by Allen for the Troy Daily Times in which he recounted his experiences serving with the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry during the Civil War.

The volume (23 x 14 cm) contains approximately 101 pages and has blue cloth covers with the words "Manual and Report, Board of School Commissioners Troy, N. Y., 1883" stamped in gold on the front. The first item to appear is a pasted in sheet on pg. 5 with the words "Down in Dixie, by Stanton Perrie Allen" printed and "Volume IV" handwritten. The first clipping of Down in Dixie appears on pg. 9 and is marked "34," which coupled with the presence of "Vol IV" on pg. 5 would seem to suggest that Allen created multiple volumes in which the columns were sequentially ordered. These volumes were likely used by Allen to finetune his ideas for how he envisioned publishing his account in book form.

The Down in Dixie clippings are given a visual dimension through the inclusion of numerous clipped engravings that directly relate to people, places, and events referenced in the narrative. Engravings include portraits of leading military figures from both the Union and Confederacy as well as numerous depictions of soldiers, battles, camp life, fortifications, buildings, prisoners of war, casualties, mass burials, etc. Also present are several engravings depicting African Americans (pgs. 52, 54, 58-60, 92, 95, & 97) and Apache Indians (pgs. 10 & 11). Two clipped maps are also included, with one showing a general overview of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey (pg. 9) and the other showing a detailed view of the roads, landmarks, and natural features east of Richmond, Virginia (pg. 77). Only one photograph is present, an unmounted studio portrait of Allen's mother Celia juxtaposed with an anecdotal passage about a Confederate and Union soldier bonding over their deceased mothers (pg. 51).

Of particular note are six original drawings signed by Allen. The first, a pen and ink drawing captioned "Down in Dixie Turning Out For Stables," shows a Union cavalryman (presumably Allen) at camp laden with horse care equipment (pg. 20); the second, a watercolor captioned "Down in Dixie. 'How Is That For Beef?' From Memory 1889," shows three Union cavalrymen eating a meal at camp (pg. 25); the third, a watercolor captioned "A Stag Dance. Four Hands Round," shows a group of four Union cavalrymen dancing while another plays the fiddle as two others (including an African American cavalryman) look on (pg. 26); the fourth, a pen and ink drawing captioned "The Sutlers Whisky Barrel Tapped At Both Ends. Down in Dixie," shows a large group of Union cavalrymen getting drunk on whisky after secretly tapping into the sutler's barrel from the outside of his tent (pg. 27); the fifth, a pen and ink drawing captioned "'The Tables Turned.' - Beaver Dam, Va., May, 1864," depicts the anecdotal interaction between a Union soldier and Confederate prisoner who realize they had both stolen rings from each other that had belonged to their deceased mothers (pg. 49); the sixth, a watercolor captioned "Sheridan's Raid - 1864. - Walking to Rest the Horse. - From Memory - 1889," shows a Union cavalryman leading his horse.

A loose two-page typescript draft of a consolation letter dated June 20, 1897, written by Allen to Charles S. Francis after the death of the latter's father John M. Francis can also be found tucked inside the back cover. Allen knew both John and Charles from having worked for the Troy Daily Times, which was founded by John in 1851.

Collection

Robert Stewart and Clara Belle Wood correspondence, 1924-1925

23 items

This collection contains 23 items related to Robert A. Stewart, who served on the USS Mississippi in the mid-1920s. The bulk of the material is comprised of Stewart's letters to his fiancée, Clara Belle Wood of Spokane, Washington. He discussed their relationship and upcoming marriage, his leisure activities, and her friendship with another man.

This collection is made up of 19 letters and 4 printed items related to Robert A. Stewart, who served on the USS Mississippi in the mid-1920s. The bulk of the material is comprised of 18 letters that Stewart wrote to his fiancée, Clara Belle Wood of Spokane, Washington, which mainly concern their relationship.

The Correspondence series (19 items) contains 18 letters that Stewart wrote to Wood during his service on the Mississippi in San Pedro, California; San Diego, California; and Lahaina, Hawaii, from January 4, 1924-June 1, 1925. The correspondence mainly concerns the couple's relationship; Stewart regularly commented on his feelings for Clara Belle and, after their engagement around February 1924, discussed plans for their wedding and married life. He also expressed dissatisfaction with Wood's relationship with another suitor, Ed Allgaier. Some of Stewart's letters concern his military and leisure activities, such as firing practice, a "radioman" exam, shore leave, basketball games, sailing races, and listening to the radio. He also mentioned a visit to a woman in San Francisco whom he had known throughout his military service. In his final letter, dated June 1, 1925, Stewart offered his congratulations on Wood's engagement to Allgaier. The collection also contains 1 letter that Stewart wrote to a friend, discussing his relationship with Wood (January 3, 1925).

Four Printed Items include 3 issues of The Mississippi Bulletin (January 1, 1925-May 30, 1925), which provide navy news and travel advice for sailors in Hawaii. An undated clipping from the Los Angeles Examiner considers the economics of marriage and the advisability of women marrying men who earn low incomes.

Collection

William Allinson journal, 1802-1814

276 pages

The Allinson journal documents Allinson's thoughts on his spirituality and marriage as well as events within the New Jersey Quaker Church, including meetings with Native Americans.

William Allinson's journal spans more than a decade of his adult life, and includes mature reflections on both personal and spiritual matters. Closely written and very dense at over 270 pages long, the journal is an emotional and spiritual barometer of a man driven by as many disappointments as joys in his family circle, and even greater disappointments in his own soul. Allinson apparently intended to keep the journal to provide a marker of his spiritual development and as a means of contemplating his growth. Over the course of twelve years he struggled with whether his life could be worthy of recording, and whether a record of his spiritual progress could ever prove useful. Ultimately, he concluded that one day his diary would most likely to be consigned to the fire.

Seldom discussing worldly matters such as politics or the economy, Allinson examines instead a range of subjects of personal and religious interest from witnessing the crescentic shadows cast by plants during a total solar eclipse to witnessing a group of rowdy boys at meeting. Devout and deeply involved in the Society of Friends, he regularly recorded news of the Burlington Meeting and other meetings he attended as minister, elder, and visitor, as well as news of his family and local community, including disciplinary actions, laodiceanism, weddings, and committee meetings. Throughout, he displays a quintessentially Quaker understanding of the World, of conflict and its resolution, reflecting a deeply held and emotionally powerful attachment to the Society, his family, and community. Allinson was a contemporary and friend of important Quaker figures such as Jesse Kersey, George Dillwyn, Martha Routh, Ann Mifflin, Isaac Bonsall, and Elias Hicks, who appear throughout the journal.

The central point of interest in Allinson's journal, however, is a complex and finely detailed struggle with both sexual and spiritual self-discipline. At times, he indulges in the painful ruminations of a middle aged man on his seemingly eternal bachelorhood, posing a series of Quaker queries to himself: "What am I waiting for?" he asked: "Answer. For an Evidence in my own Mind that it will be right to make an Effort to change my condition, & for some satisfactory degree of Light that such procedure is approbated by Him" (1807 April 4). During the twelve years covered in the journal, Allinson found little peace within himself on spiritual issues. He never married, and did his best to deflect the pains of seeing his brothers seemingly stray from the Quaker path.

Allinson's involvement in Indian affairs stands out for note among other important issues appearing in the journal. As a member of the Committee of Indian Affairs of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (and despite doubting his own preparedness for such a role), Allinson was involved in the procurement of over 500 acres of land in August, 1808, on behalf of the Cattaraugus Indians, and he visited them in September and October, 1809. Of greater interest was his visit with the famed Stockbridge Indian "intercultural broker," Hendrick Aupaumut, while he was imprisoned for debt. Allinson discovered Aupaumut to be "pleasant & conversable" (1805 March 10), even while in prison. After paying Aupaumut's debts and having him released, Allinson bought him a new suit of clothes (in which, he noted approvingly, Aupaumut "prefer[ed] utility to shew"; 1805 March 11). Allinson discusses two stories told to him by Aupaumut, one concerning an "Embassy" that Aupaumut and other Indians had made to western Indians -- probably Stockbridge -- "with design to renew the League of Friendship & promote their acceptance of the Christian Religion -- Improvemt in Civilization &c." The Indians accepted Aupaumut's ministry, and gave him three ears of corn to return with, to have them planted and tended "by their choisest & best young women." Aupaumut also discussed the visions and conversion experiences of two Indians, one Shawnee, the other Seneca.

Collection

Edwin H. Allison autobiography, ca. 1882

277 pages

This collection contains the autobiographical writings of Edwin H. Allison, a scout in the western United States who participated in the capture of The Gall and Sitting Bull.

The Edwin H. Allison autobiography was prepared for publication after he had settled in Dayton, Ohio, in the late 1880s, and is accompanied by several other brief, unpolished essays written at approximately the same time. The autobiography is probably a working draft, and the present manuscript lacks pages 7-23. Further, there are a number of additional, somewhat rougher pages of writing, with some duplicate pagination. Though Allison was not a professional writer, his narrative is an unusually engrossing one, filled with action and insights into his own thoughts in the best tradition of the dime novel. That Allison was a scout in the west and participated in the capture of the Gall and Sitting Bull, of course, makes the material of considerable significance for understanding the nature of "diplomatic" and military relations between the Hunkpapa and whites, but it also provides documentation of variations in white perceptions of the Hunkpapa during the days in which white military supremacy was firmly exerted.

Among the associated essays are ones describing the Great Buffalo slaughter of 1880; one considering the question whether "the Indian" is really lazy; a discussion of the Indian way of life that includes commentary on their religion, dancing, recreation, and hunting; and a piece on Indian sign language and spoken language that includes a brief discussion of Sitting Bull's name.

Collection

Herman Alricks letters, 1838-1839

22 items

The Herman Alricks letters consist of a selection of the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania lawyer's incoming business correspondence, regarding several aspects of his legal practice.

The Herman Alricks letters consist of a selection of the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania lawyer's incoming business correspondence, regarding several aspects of his legal practice. A number of professional acquaintances around Harrisburg and throughout southeastern Pennsylvania often requested legal advice or asked Alricks to take specific actions on their behalf. Some discussed the money collected by Alricks for them. Other writers requested other legal advice; Joel B. Ferree of Mifflin Township inquired, for example, on the legal power of a justice of the peace to make judgments in cases of trespass and related damages. Though the letters are overwhelmingly professional in nature, Alricks maintained friendly relations with several of his correspondents, and they occasionally included brief, more personal notes among their business discussions, such as William Whiteside's musings about local Anti-masonry politics and an upcoming election (August 17, 1838). The letters provide a picture of a lawyer's daily professional concerns in the early 19th century.

Collection

John Alston autobiography, 1789-1932 (majority within 1789, 1811)

1 volume

This volume contains autobiographical sketches composed by John Alston of Glasgow, Scotland, for his children in 1789 and 1811. A descendant later used the volume to record genealogical information about three additional generations of the Alston family.

This volume contains autobiographical sketches that John Alston of Glasgow, Scotland, composed for his children in 1789 (25 pages) and 1811 (5 pages). A descendant later used the volume to record genealogical information about three additional generations of the Alston family (6 pages).

Alston wrote a brief preface to his autobiography, which he signed "John Alston, Junr." The following 25 pages concern his life until 1789, with a focus on his early life and family. He wrote about his failed trip to North America in early 1759 and his journey through Spain after his ship, the Rebecca, was seized by a French privateer and subsequently stranded on the Spanish coast. Alston made his way back home and successfully sailed to Maryland later that year. When remembering his time in North America, he felt guilty about his perceived self-indulgence, and he vowed to prevent his children from leaving home until the age of 20 or 21. After recording his marriage to Patrick Craigie ("Patie") in 1772, he listed the names and birthdates of their children, including one who died after a smallpox inoculation (pp. 7-9). Alston later commented on the effect that the deaths of his wife and parents had on him, and he also discussed the dispersion of his father's estate. The second part of his autobiography, which he added on January 1, 1811, primarily pertains to his family history and genealogy. Genealogical notes concern John Alston's descendants to the generation of his great-grandchildren.

Collection

Amateur Musical and Dramatic Society constitution and minute book, 1878-1879

1 volume

This volume contains the constitution and meeting minutes of the Amateur Musical and Dramatic Society (A.M.D. Society) of East Providence, Rhode Island, as well as apparently unrelated financial accounts.

This volume contains the constitution and meeting minutes of the Amateur Musical and Dramatic Society (A.M.D. Society) of East Providence, Rhode Island, as well as apparently unrelated financial accounts.

The volume begins with the miscellaneous financial accounting before the content switches to that of the Amateur Musical and Dramatic Society. The A.M.D. Society was created to raise funds to purchase books for the Union Grammar School; additional content includes a copy of the Society's constitution, by-laws, and meeting minutes, as well as the names of the elected President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer of the Society.

Also present within the volume is a blank manuscript form for a last will and testament.

Collection

American Bible Society papers, 1819-1855 (majority within 1828-1855)

100 items

This collection consists of American Bible Society reports from agents, often located in rural or frontier areas, and Bible distribution orders from affiliate Bible societies. These letters provide evidence of American Bible Society activity in Georgia, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, and Maine, and several letters provide the names and officers of local Bible societies.

The bulk of this accession consists of orders from subsidiary or affiliate Bible societies, often located in rural or frontier areas, for Bibles for distribution and sale. These orders came from societies ranging in location from Farmington, Maine, in the east to Bainbridge, Georgia, in the south, to societies in the western states and territories. The great number of local societies represented as correspondents and the quantity, quality, and cost of Bibles they ordered can be used to reconstruct patterns of evangelical activity and success on the fringes of the country during the 1840's and '50's. This correspondence provides evidence of American Bible Society activity in Georgia, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, and Maine, and several letters provide the names and officers of local Bible societies.

Included in the correspondence are a few informal reports from local societies of their situation vis-à-vis the needs of the evangelist, their finances, and the success of their efforts to date. Some of these societies served ethnic communities (Welsh, French, German, Native American) or frontier areas where contact was difficult. "You would find that lonely rides with your own conveyance over extensive Prairies and through forrests, is somewhat different from visiting important points by public Conveyances" (April 26, 1842).

A series of correspondence from the Wisconsin Territory to John Brigham in the late 1830's and early 40's is particularly detailed in describing plans for evangelizing in Wisconsin and reveals something of the mentality of the evangelists. The reports, orders, and letters from this quarter are detailed in terms of the numbers and types of Bibles distributed, the means used to distribute them, the finances of the local society, and the clientele served. The correspondents paint a fairly thorough picture of evangelical activity in Wisconsin and their personal experiences as evangelists.

Among their clientele were substantial numbers of Oneida Indians, the 'remnants' of the Iroquois, whom the correspondent, Julius Field, suggests 'are a peacible, Moral, - Industrious, and enterprizing People, - And the best of all Many of them give Satisfactory evidence of conversion & ardent piety' (May 20, 1842). Field continues at some length on the Oneidas and, in other letters, on the Oneida West Mission, 12 miles west of Green Bay. His descriptions of evangelizing among the Oneida are among the most complete in this collection, and his opinions on their life style and future prospects are particularly notable.

Collection

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Prudential Committee minutes, 1848-1892

49 items

This collection contains handwritten minutes, many with revisions and excisions, for 49 meetings of the Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions between 1848 and 1892. Written by multiple clerks, the minutes contain information on attendance, votes, resolutions, current and future missions, letters received, appointees, offers of service, reports from the field, salaries, grants, funding distribution, and other subjects.

This collection contains handwritten minutes, many with significant revisions and excisions, for 49 meetings of the Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions between 1848 and 1892. Written by multiple clerks, the minutes contain information on attendance, votes, resolutions, current and future missions, letters received, appointees, offers of service, reports from the field, salaries, grants, and funding distribution. Other subjects referenced include Native American tribes, the Dakotas "in the new frontier," the need for missionaries to have wives, death or health concerns related to members, legal or domestic issues with foreign officials, and mission work in Hawaii.

Among the Mission Stations referenced are:

  • Cape Town
  • Constantinople
  • Smyrna
  • Beirut
  • Oroomiah
  • Ahmednuggur
  • Canton
  • Amoy
  • Madras
  • Fuh Chau
  • Mosul
  • Shanghai
  • Aleppo
  • Peking
  • Guadalajara
  • San Sebastian
  • Prague
  • and others
Collection

American Home Missionary Society collection, 1835-1851

10 items

This collection contains ten letters written between 1835 and 1851 to American Home Missionary Society Secretary John A. Murray and Associate Secretary Milton Badger. The primary topics are missionaries' efforts in western and central New York, their quarterly and annual reports, appointment approvals, and the requesting of funds for pastors' salaries.

This collection contains ten letters written between 1835 and 1851 to American Home Missionary Society Secretary John A. Murray and Associate Secretary Milton Badger. The primary topics are missionaries' efforts in western and central New York, their quarterly and annual reports, appointment approvals, and the requesting of funds for pastors' salaries. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for more information about each item.

Collection

American Red Cross, 91st Division death reports, 1917-1931 (majority within 1919)

41 items

Colin V. Dyment, Lt. A.R.C., 91st Div. wrote these American Red Cross, 91st Division (World War I) death reports for the benefit of bereaved family members. Written in 1919 and with varying degrees of detail, they describe the circumstances of the deaths of men in the 91st Division - almost exclusively during the Meuse-Argonne and Belgian offensives, September-November, 1918.

The American Red Cross 91st Division death reports consist of 29 reports, each of which documents the deaths within a particular company or companies, battalion, or detachment within the 91st. Every page bearing an American Red Cross letterhead, the documents begin with a list of deceased soldiers' names and emergency contacts and are followed by a description of each man's death. The reports comprise 332 pages and relate the wartime deaths of 781 men.

The author of the reports, Colin V. Dyment, Lieutenant A.R.C, was a "searcher" within the 91st Division. His reports each proceed in a chronological fashion, beginning in the first phase of the Meuse-Argonne offensive and ending variously - as the final deaths suffered by each unit occurred at different times. Some of the units lost their last man in the second phase of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, and others not until their service in Belgium.

With as much detail as he was able, Dyment related the military context, troop movements, geographical surroundings, and precise events that led to the death of the soldiers. The descriptions are at times narrative, sometimes including last words, final dialogues with other men, physical descriptions of the men, and exact burial locations (when known). Where he did not bear witness, he attempted to include the contact information of officers or soldiers who had, so that bereaved family members might query them for information about their loved ones. The individual reports often read like stories, telling of the same battles with a focus on different companies, battalions, and detachments.

One report of non-combat casualties describes a train wreck near Bonnieres, France, in which a French freight train crashed into the rear of a military troop train. The 91st suffered the loss of 30 men from the Machine Gun Company and Medical Detachment of the 362nd Infantry unit.

This collection arrived at the Clements Library with twelve additional items: typescript copies of nine letters and two postal cards from Harry B. Critchlow of the 363rd Ambulance Company, 316th Sanitary Train, 91st Division and one typescript document entitled "Who Won the War," written by William H. Johnston in collaboration with General John J. Pershing. These additional materials relate directly to the 91st Division, but their relationship, if any, to the death reports is unclear.

Harry B. Critchlow of Portland, Oregon, sent these letters to his parents and to his brother Walter, mainly in August 1917, while at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, and Fort Riley, Kansas. In them, he described life in military camp and the activities of his fellow soldiers. In a letter dated June 19, 1918, from Camp Lewis, Washington, he anticipated his deployment overseas. Following the War, he sent two postal cards from France, assuring his family that he was still alive.

William Johnston's typescript copy "Who Won the War" is made up of transcripts of letters between himself and General John J. Pershing, regarding the accuracy of Pershing's portrayal of the 91st Division in his memoir of the war.

Collection

William N. Ames logbook, 1832, 1838 (majority within 1838)

1 volume

This volume largely consists of William N. Ames's logbook entries for the 369-ton whaleship Martha, Master Joseph Wheldon, January 14-March 25, 1838 (14 pages and fragments of pages). The Martha departed Hudson, New York, heading for the Indian Ocean with stops at Gough Island and Madagascar. The remainder of the volume is pages or fragments of pages for the ship Alexander Mansfield, 1832, including the poem "The Yankey Privatear" (4 pages); one letter fragment; and pages of additional accounting and poetry (9 pages).

This volume consists largely of William N. Ames's logbook entries for the 369-ton whaleship Martha, Master Joseph Wheldon, January 14-March 25, 1838 (14 pages and fragments of pages). The Martha departed Hudson, New York, heading for the Indian Ocean with stops at Gough Island and Madagascar. The remainder of the volume is pages or fragments of pages for the ship Alexander Mansfield, 1832, including the poem "The Yankey Privatear" (4 pages); one letter fragment; and pages of additional accounting and poetry (9 pages).

William Ames kept daily entries for the first three months of the Martha's voyage, documenting wind speed and direction, latitude and longitude, shipboard activities, and sightings of marine life. Multiple entries contain sightings of blackfish (pilot whales), finback whales, white whales, and birds. On single occasions, he mentioned seeing a dead whale, whales feeding, and porpoises. On March 6, 1838, he noted: "hard winds hard luck and No Whales is to hard Never mind we live in hopes of beter luck and more whales for the future."

The front pastedown bears six whale stamps, haphazardly applied (three tails and three bodies).

Collection

Jeffery Amherst papers, 1758-1764

2 linear feet

The Jeffery Amherst papers (763 items) consist of the correspondence, documents, and military orders of Jeffery Amherst, British commander-in-chief in North America from 1758-1763. Included are Amherst's letters to General Thomas Gage and the papers given to Gage with the transfer of authority in 1763.

The Jeffery Amherst papers (763 items) contain the correspondence, documents, and military orders of Jeffery Amherst, British commander-in-chief in North America from 1758 to 1763. The collection constitutes the papers given to General Thomas Gage at the transfer of authority in 1763. Also included are letters and petitions addressed to Amherst, Amherst's letters to Gage, and letters addressed to Amherst that arrived in New York City after his departure for England.

The Letters and Documents series (241 items) contains letters between Amherst and Thomas Gage, as well as material left for Gage, and letters that arrived at the New York headquarters for Amherst after his departure to England. Items include administrative letters concerning military matters and news, troop instructions and orders, details on troop movements and the outcomes of battles, court martial reports, intelligence reports on enemy forces, promotions, petitions, memorials, troop returns, and accounts for provisions and other military expenses. These document the French and Indian War, British control over Canada and the western territories after the war, management of Indian Affairs, and dealings with Pontiac. Also discussed are activities and construction at forts Crown Point, Edward, George, Herkirmer, Louisbourg, Niagara, Oswego, Pitt, Stanwix, and Ticonderoga. The letters mention and discuss John Appy, John Bradstreet, William Browning, Henry Gladwin, Frederick Haldimand, William Johnson, supplier Christopher Kilby, Robert Monckton, John Prideaux, Robert Rogers, John Stanwix, and John Stuart, among others.

Of note:
  • August 1758-January 1759: Material related to Amherst's successful siege at Louisbourg, including letters, orders, returns, and a report on the condition of the camp
  • May 7, 1759: Plans for an invasion into Canada and for the taking of Fort Ticonderoga
  • July and August 1759: Preliminary action before the taking of Ticonderoga
  • July 28, 1759: News of the death of Brigadier General John Prideaux
  • August 5, 1759: A description of the design of the proposed fort at Oswego
  • March 31, 1760: A letter describing a great fire in Boston that destroyed one quarter of the city
  • October 18, November 4, 1760, and August 31, 1761: Mentions of Mrs. Gage traveling from Albany to Montreal, of her pregnancy, and of her interactions with "the religious ladies"
  • August 1, 1761: Description of Lieutenant Colonel Grant's success against the Cherokee with details on the attack; consideration of a tax on spirits to encourage spruce beer
  • September-October 1761: Amherst's headquarters at Staten Island
  • December 12, 1761: Lord Egremont stresses the use of gentleness and kindness with the French and Indians in Canada
  • 1762-1763: Letters to Gage regarding provisioning forces in Canada and transmitting news from America, England, and Europe
  • January 16, 1762: Sir William Johnson reports on relations with Seneca Indians
  • October 13, 1762: News of the retaking of St. Johns from the French, making the entire island of Newfoundland British
  • July 1, 1763: Sir William Johnson's report on steps to take to appease the Six Nations
  • August 1, 1763: Report that Michilimackinac has fallen to the Potawatomi Indians
  • November 1, 1763: A letter from Henry Gladwin from Detroit recounting the settlement of peace with Pontiac - enclosed are 8 letters from Neyon de Villiere to Gladwin and the Indians of Detroit and a letter from Pontiac to Gladwin (in French)
  • November 17, 1763: Amherst advices the colonial governors that he is returning to England
  • January 30, 1764: Accounts for Henry Gladwin of Detroit with receipts and account records spanning October 1762-October 1763

The Schedules series (306 items) comprises the "Papers Delivered by Major General Sir Jeffery Amherst, on his giving up the Command of the Troops in North America, to Major General [Thomas] Gage." The letters and documents are organized into 14 "schedules" grouped by geography and sender/recipient. Letters are primarily copies and extracts, and the bulk of the items date from April to October 1763.

Schedule 1 (Volume 1, pages 1-34) documents Amherst's communications with the British administration at Whitehall, primarily with King George III and Secretary of State Charles Wyndham Egremont.

Discussed are:
  • Pages 9-12: The Treaty of Paris
  • Pages 18 (see also Schedule 2 pages 45-47, 51-53): Captain John Dalrymple's petition concerning accusations from North Carolina Governor Arthur Dobbs
  • Pages 19-26: Britain's new acquisitions in America after the Treaty of Paris, and the boarders with the Indian tribes in Canada and Florida
  • Pages 20 and 29: Suspicions of Catholics and priests in Canada

Schedule 2 (Volume 1, pages 35-61) documents relate to Secretary of War Welbore Ellis and Treasury Secretary Henry Jenkinson.

These contain:
  • Pages 38-39: Lists on the makeup of the regiments of Major General Robert Monckton and Lieutenant General James Abercromby
  • 45-47, 51-53: A memorial for Captain John Dalrymple and communications between Amherst and Governor Arthur Dobbs regarding Dalrymple's arrest and trial
  • Page 50: Amherst's report on the troops along the Mississippi and in Canada, including a suggestion that the commander-in-chief's headquarters be either at New York or Philadelphia

Schedule 3 (Volume 1, pages 62-93) documents relate to commanders on the Southern and western frontier, including officers at Pensacola, St. Augustine, Mobile, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, and Fort de Chartres.

These contain:
  • Page 62-68: Instructions for armies across the continent
  • Page 71: A list of transport ships under Lieutenant Colonel Robertson
  • Page 81: Report on the Seneca Indians from Amherst
  • Page 83-87: Provisions and returns for troops stationed at St. Augustine and Pensacola

Schedule 4 (Volume 2, pages 1-29) documents relate to Major Henry Gladwin stationed at Detroit, and Major John Wilkins at Fort Niagara, concerning Pontiac's rebellion.

These contain:
  • Pages 5-9: Intelligence from Detroit
  • Pages 16-17: A description of an Indian attack on the schooner Queen Royal, leaving Niagara for Detroit, and Amherst's response
  • Pages 19-21: Courts of inquiry on soldiers captured by Indians
  • Pages 22-28: Reports on the 60th Regiment at Niagara and Indian relations
  • Page 29: Discussions concerning the offer of a reward of 100-200 pounds to the person who kills Pontiac

Schedule 5 (Volume 2, pages 30-37) contains the letters between Amherst and General Henry Bouquet.

Discussed are:
  • Page 30-31: Plans for troop reductions in the Southern District
  • 34-37: Details on the 60th Regiment at Fort Pitt

Schedule 6 (Volume 2, pages 38-39) letters to Lieutenant Colonel Browning of the 46th Regiment at Niagara concerning a robbery at Fort Pitt, and to Lieutenant Colonel Campbell of the 17th Regiment regarding disbanding regiments

Schedule 7 (Volume 2, pages 40-74) concerns scaling back operations at Fort Halifax, including many accounts and expense reports.

These concern:
  • Pages 41-45: Orders to Otho Hamilton for the 40th Regiment to move to Halifax
  • Pages 46-52: Proceedings of councils of war at Halifax concerning supply stoppages (September 1, 1752, August 3, 1759, September 3, 1763)
  • Page 60: A list of persons "as judged as absolutely neccissary for office at Halifax"

Schedule 8 (Volume 2, pages 75-82) contains information on operations at Louisbourg, primarily with Colonel John Tulleken.

Schedule 9 (Volume 3, pages 1-38) documents operations at the fort at St. John and the troops at Newfoundland, primarily through communications with Captain Stephen Gauly.

Discussed are:
  • Page 5: Expenses for 1762
  • Page 8: Disbursements for September 1762-August 1763
  • Pages 9-38: Accounts for the Newfoundland operations

Schedule 10 (Volume 3, pages 39-42) contains letters between Amherst and Sir William Johnson, concerning Indian relations, including the Seneca and Six Nations tribes in Western New York, Canada, and the Illinois and Ohio territories.

Schedule 11 (Volume 3, pages 43-60) documents communications with John Stuart from Charleston, South Carolina, concerning southern Indian affairs. Of note is a speech from Cherokee Chief Little Carpenter

Schedule 12 (Volume 3, pages 61-80) contains letters from Governor Thomas Boone of South Carolina; Lieutenant Governor Fauquier of Virginia; Colonel Adam Stephen at Winchester, Virginia; Lieutenant Governor James Hamilton and Governor John Penn of Pennsylvania; New Jersey Governor William Franklin; New York Lieutenant Governor Cadwallader Colden; and Amherst. These concern purchasing lands from various Indian tribes, settlement on Indian lands, and troop levels in the various colonies.

Schedule 13 (Volume 3, pages 81-91) concern Henry Bouquet and the regiment organized at Fort Pitt.

Schedule 14 (Volume 3, pages 92-117) contains troop dispositions, expense accounts, military returns, and letters received in New York after Amherst had left for England.

Included are:
  • Page 81: A disposition for all British forces in North America in August 1763
  • Pages 92-95: Reports from Bouquet regarding Fort Pitt (October 24, 1763)
  • Pages 95-110: Reports from John Hopkins of Detroit including accounts and returns
  • Page 111: A letter from Robert Rogers at Detroit who was too deep in debt to pay his creditors
  • Pages 112-115: Letters from Colonel John Bradstreet on the forces at Albany, New York
  • Pages 116-117: Letters from Thomas Hancock of Boston concerning the sale of supplies at Louisbourg

The Commissions, Reports, and Articles of Capitulation series (11 items) contains various treaties and reports relating to the British victory over France in the French and Indian War.

These are:
  • November 24, 1759: Proclamations for the British takeover of Ticonderoga and Crown Point (2 items)
  • September 8, 1760: Articles of Capitulation for the surrender of Canada from Amherst to French Governor Pierre François de Rigaud
  • May 29, 1762: Appointment of Lieutenant Launcelot Hill to the 55th Regiment
  • February 10, 1763: "The Definitive Treaty of Peace and friendship Between His Britannick Majesty, the Most Christian King, and the King of Spain, Concluded at Paris," printed in London, 1763
  • June 8, 1763: "A Report of the Board of Trade" relating to the new British possession in America from France and Spain and the board's "opinion by what regulations the most extensive Advantages may be derived from them" (2 copies)
  • July 9, [1763]: A customs act from George III along with a printed list of ships in Newfoundland and America and additional instructions to the fleet under Captain Graves (4 items)
Collection

William Anderson papers, 1941-1945 (majority within 1943-1945)

0.75 linear feet

The William Anderson papers contain correspondence written by Anderson while he served as a corporal in the United States Army during the Second World War. Anderson remained in the United States throughout the conflict, and spent most of his time in Pennsylvania performing clerical duties.

The William Anderson papers contain correspondence written by Anderson while he served as a corporal in the United States Army during the Second World War. Of the 166 letters in the collection, the vast majority were composed by Anderson to his wife Esther, who remained in Kansas City, Kansas, throughout his wartime service. His letters reflect the daily life and leisure activities of a soldier on the home front throughout the war, and frequently make mention of dances and other leisure activities the soldier pursued during his time in the Army. Anderson, who signed himself "Gilman," began basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, in December 1943, and spent the remainder of the war in Pennsylvania, at Camp Reynolds and Indiantown Gap. Though he attained the rank of corporal, he did not express particular enthusiasm for military service, and his letters focused on news of his friends and on incidents from camp life rather than the war. His letters also reveal that Esther suffered a fairly severe illness while he was away, and imply an occasionally tense relationship between the pair, possibly due to his fondness for dancing with local girls. The bulk of the collection covers Anderson's army service between December 1943 and April 1945, and additional material includes an early letter from a friend, Karl, who enlisted prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor (October 24, 1941), as well as two written by Esther to her husband in late 1945 and a handful of other correspondence addressed to the couple. Among the Anderson correspondence are a Christmas card (December 21, 1944), birthday card (December 21, 1944), and valentine (February 5, 1945), sent by him to his wife.

Collection

William H. Anderson family papers, 1828-1887 (majority within 1852-1875)

0.5 linear feet

The William H. Anderson Family Papers are made up of 177 letters, one manuscript map, 28 printed items, two photographs, and other materials of this Londonderry, New Hampshire, and Lowell, Massachusetts family. William Anderson wrote around 150 letters to his family and friends while at primary school in Londonderry, New Hampshire; Pembroke Academy in Pembroke, New Hampshire; Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts; Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, New Hampshire; and Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut. Anderson's correspondence includes 12 descriptive letters home from the Sligo cotton plantation near Natchez, Mississippi, where he worked as a teacher from 1859 to 1860, with content on plantation life, the enslaved workers, cotton processing, and educational matters. The remainder of the collection is William Anderson's post-Civil War letters, written while a lawyer in Lowell, and letters of Anderson's aunts Annis Nesmith Davidson and Anna B. Davidson Anderson Holmes from Londonderry and Wyoming County, New York.

The William H. Anderson Family Papers are made up of 177 letters, one manuscript map, 27 printed items, two photographs, and other materials of this Londonderry, New Hampshire, and Lowell, Massachusetts family.

The Correspondence Series. William Anderson wrote around 150 letters to his family and friends while at primary school in Londonderry, New Hampshire (5 letters, 1849-1850); Pembroke Academy at Pembroke, New Hampshire (15 letters, 1852-1853); Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts (3 letters, 1853); Kimball Union Academy at Meriden, New Hampshire (19 letters, 1854-1855); and Yale College at New Haven, Connecticut (60 letters). The letters from Londonderry, Pembroke, Andover, and Meriden are filled with details about his curricula, course work, school uniforms, teachers, boarding houses, school uniforms, secret societies, local politics and political events (Whig and Democratic; he ran into Franklin Pierce on October 25, 1852), updates on friends and family, visits to nearby towns, and more. Anderson helped offset the cost of his education by taking on various farm jobs. Detailed letters to his parents, brother, and friend Mary A. Hine from Yale College similarly include content on curricula, course work, professors, societies, examinations, graduation, finances, and other aspects of being a student in higher education.

Upon graduation from Yale, he began work at the Sligo Plantation near Natchez, Mississippi, where he taught a school comprised of students from Sligo and the nearby Retirement Plantation, from 1859 to 1860. During this time, he wrote 12 letters home to his parents and to his future wife Mary A. Hine. He arrived at Bennett's Retirement Plantation in early September 1859, and shortly thereafter settled in at David P. Williams' Sligo Plantation. He described his relative isolation, loneliness, teaching and wages, corporal punishment, thoughts on slavery and the enslaved men and women on the plantation, games he played with his scholars, travel between the Sligo and Retirement plantations, and leisure activities such as hunting and horseback riding. In late December 1859, he provided a lengthy description of a (largely) steamboat trip to New Orleans with his students for Christmas.

Anderson noted that no poor white people lived between Sligo and Natchez; he was uncomfortable with the aristocratic lifestyle of white people living in the south, and expressed this view on multiple occasions in his correspondence (see especially September 30, [1859]). Although his father appears on list of members of the American Anti-Slavery Society, William H. Anderson did not write with disgust at slavery, but rather used racist epithets, accepted the "servants" who assisted him in various ways, and wrote unmoved about abuse doled out to children (see especially June 9, 1860). In one instance, he wrote about enslaved women who gathered near to the house in the evenings before supper to sing and dance (October 25, 1859). One of the highly detailed letters in the collection is William H. Anderson's description of the use of the cotton gin on the Sligo Plantation, which includes remarks on its history, its functioning, the various jobs performed by enslaved laborers, and the rooms in which the jobs took place. He included calls made by enslaved workers between floors of the "gin house" and the roles of elderly men and women in the grueling labor ([October 1859]). In 1860, Anderson planned to take a summer break in Tennessee and then teach another year, but on the death of his oldest scholar Susie (14 years old) by diphtheria, Williams decided against having a school the next year (July 4, 1860).

The remaining letters by William H. Anderson, dated 1861-1887, contain scattered information on family matters, such as visits and health. He wrote little of his law practice or his life in Lowell, Massachusetts. Anderson's correspondence includes a variety of printed letterheads and one inset map: a rough floorplan of the Brother's Society Hall (January 14, 1856); the printed letterhead "INGENIUM LABORE PERFECTUM" "YALE" of Sigma Delta (ca. August/September 1856 and July 10, 1858); a partially printed letter sheet beginning "IN order to secure the regular attendance...", respecting Anderson's discipline (July 20, 1857); and the printed letterhead "STEVENS & ANDERSON, Attorneys and Counsellors at Law" Lowell, Massachusetts (August 16 and September 27, 1872).

The collection includes around 25 letters by William Anderson's aunts Annis Nesmith Davidson (1801-1877) and Anna B. Davidson Anderson Holmes (1798-1875). Anna wrote alternately to her sister Jane Davidson Anderson and her sister-in-law Annis Davidson, from Londonderry, New Hampshire; Pike, New York; and Genesee Falls, New York, between 1828 and 1874. Her letters pertain largely to domestic life, boarders, troubles keeping hired girls (including Irish girls) to help with housework, news of family births, marriages, and deaths, local ministers, and her children's schooling. The few letters by Annis Davidson from Pike and Genesee Falls, New York, regard family updates and visiting.

The collection's Map, Receipt, and Photographs include a partially printed receipt for William Anderson's tuition and fees for the term ending April 14, 1857. The pencil map identifies particular buildings in New Haven, Connecticut, around where College, Temple, Church, Orange, and State streets intersect with Chapel and Crown streets. The photographs are cartes-de-visite of William Henry Anderson and "Annis Davidson Anderson Holmes" [most likely Anna B. Davidson Anderson Holmes].

The Printed Items are made up of materials largely pertaining to William Anderson's time at Yale College. These include:

  • BROTHERS IN UNITY. Prize Debate in the Class of 1859, January 12, 1856. William H. Anderson listed as a participant.
  • JUNIOR EXHIBITION. Class of 1859, April 6, 1858, invitation to Mary Hine, with William H. Anderson listed as a speaker.
  • JUNIOR EXHIBITION. YALE COLLEGE, April 6, 1858 (E. Hayes, printer), program.
  • INITIATION, June 11, 1858, program, with manuscript annotations identifying an oration delivered by W. H. Anderson.
  • James Robinson & Co. (Boston, Mass.) printed letter requesting information about academies, [1858].
  • FIFTY-NINE. 'Oυ δοκέιν αλλ' είναι. Presentation Songs, June 15, 1859 (Morehouse & Taylor, printers).
  • YALE COLLEGE. PRESENTATION OF THE CLASS OF 1859, June 15, 1859 (Morehouse & Taylor, steam printers).
  • "Esto Perpetua." '62. Pow-wow OF THE CLASS OF '62, June 15, 1859 (Morehouse & Taylor, printers).
  • '59. OWLS FROM THE NORTH!, July 17, 1859, flier/advertisement.
  • DE FOREST ORATIONS, June 17, 1859, flier.
  • CATALOGUE OF THE OFFICERS AND STUDENTS IN YALE COLLEGE . . . 1859-60. New Haven: E. Hayes, 1859.
  • JUNIOR EXHIBITION, April 3, 1860, order of exercises. New Haven: E. Hayes, 1860.
  • '61's INITIATION OF '62, pink heavy-stock card with a printed image of two anthropomorphic donkeys boxing.
  • CLASS CIRCULAR, March 20, 1862, seeking feedback from 1859 graduates in anticipation of their triennial meeting.
  • Class '63 Day, June 19, 1863, heavy-stock card invitation.
  • SONGS FOR THE THIRD ANNUAL SUPPER OF THE Yale Alumni Association, January 27, 1868.
  • "INGENIUM LABORE PERFECTUM" Sigma Delta symbol of a wreath surrounding a crown.
  • Annis Davidson visiting card.

The remaining printed items include four copies of an engraved portrait of William H. Anderson by W. T. Bather of N.Y. and published by The Lewis Publishing Co., and five newspaper clippings.

Collection

Same-Sex Affection and Gender Studies Photograph Collection, ca. 1850s-1940s

approximately 150 photographs

The Same-sex affection and gender studies photograph collection contains approximately 150 examples of photographs that illustrate closeness between subjects of the same sex as well as aspects of non-traditional gender presentation.

The collection includes photographic examples in multiple formats with real photo postcards, tintypes, cabinet cards, cartes de visite, and small format mounted photos being the most numerous. 145 images are contained in Box 1 of the collection while an additional 5 photographs on larger format card mounts are stored in Box 2. Images mainly consist of portraits of men posing familiarly with other men, women posing familiarly with other women, and portraits of groups and individuals engaged in cross-dressing. Due to the subjective nature of assessing these images combined with historical differences in what was considered socially acceptable displays of affection and the general lack of verifiable context, many of these photographs remain open to a variety of interpretations.

Numerous photographs show same-sex duos and larger groups holding hands, placing their hands on each other, leaning on each other, or demonstrating affection in some other observable way. Most subjects are unidentified, though occasionally individuals have been identified through the presence of inscriptions. In some cases, individuals pictured together have been confirmed to be relatives.

Numerous photographs of male and female individuals and groups engaged in cross-dressing are also present. In many instances, the cross-dressing most likely occurred for humorous reasons.

Examples of images of interest include:
  • Postcard showing two men embracing with the printed caption "We're looking for girls at Lansing, Mich."
  • Real photo postcard bearing a studio group portrait of two men, one of whom appears to have an unbuckled belt.
  • Cabinet card studio group portrait by Beardsley of Charlotte, Michigan, showing two men, one of whom holds a guitar, whose arms appear to align behind them in a manner that suggests they may have been holding hands.
  • Two different group portraits of the same female couple identified through inscriptions as "Agnes Davis" and "Anna Wickerham."
  • 1940s group portrait of four men included in a souvenir packet for “Swing Rendezvous,” a New York City-based lesbian/gay bar.
  • Real photo postcard bearing a portrait of an unidentified man wearing women's clothing, including a dress, flower-laden hat, and beaded necklace.
  • Postcard showing a man wearing women's clothing sat on a bench with the printed caption "The Male is late!"
  • Outdoor portrait of two women dressed in men's clothing captioned "A pair of Peaches."
  • Real photo postcard captioned "Four of a kind" showing two cross-dressed male-female couples sitting together, with the women sat in the men's laps.
  • Series of four images showing a woman posing in World War I-era soldier's uniform.
Collection

Mark A. Anderson Collection of Post-Mortem Photography, 1840s-1970s (majority within 1840s-1920s)

approximately 1064 items

The Mark A. Anderson collection of post-mortem photography contains approximately 1068 items including photographs, ephemeral items, documents, manuscripts, printed items, and realia pertaining to the visual history of death and bereavement between the 1840s and the 1970s. Photographs make up the bulk of the collection.

The Mark A. Anderson collection of post-mortem photography contains approximately 1068 photographs, ephemeral items, documents, manuscripts, printed items, and realia pertaining to the visual history of death and bereavement between the 1840s and the 1970s. Photographs make up the bulk of the collection. Mr. Anderson assembled this collection from dealers, antique shops, and individuals. His motivation stemmed from a desire to document and to provide historical perspective on various end-of-life practices which, in the 20th century, fell into taboo and disfavor.

The majority portion of the photographic items in the collection are neither dated, nor attributed, although approximate dates can often be determined by when particular photographic formats were in use (see timeline at www.graphicatlas.org.). Consequently, the materials have been organized first to accommodate their sizes, formats, and preservation needs, and second to reflect major subject themes present, though scattered, throughout the entire collection. These non-mutually exclusive subjects are as follows:

  • Post-mortem portraits
  • Post-mortem scenes
  • Funeral tableaux
  • Funerals and funeral processions
  • Floral arrangements and displays
  • Memorial cards and sentimental imagery
  • Cemeteries and monuments
  • Funeral industry
  • Mourning attire
  • Unnatural death

The first three subjects - post-mortem portraits, scenes, and funeral tableaux - all depict the recently deceased, and so fall into the narrowest definition of a post-mortem photograph. Their distinction into three separate subjects is a partly arbitrary decision, made to break up what would otherwise be a large and unwieldy grouping of photos, but also to roughly shape the order of the collection (post-mortem portraits without décor tended to date earlier chronologically than broader, beautifying scenes).

Post-mortem portraits:

The post-mortem portrait photographs, comprising 251 items in the collection, depict the bodies of dead family members and friends. These images show the deceased, sometimes posed with living family members, and for the most part do not include elements of a larger scene, such as floral arrangements, banners, or other décor.

These portraits include the earliest photographic images in the collection, including 28 cased daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes. 78 cabinet card photographs date from the late 1860s to around the turn of the century. Among many notable cabinet cards are two images of Frances Radke, taken and retouched by R. C. Houser, showing her image before and after Houser's post-capture work (3.1 and 3.2). Also of note is a framed crayon enlargement of infant Adelaide Banks by photographer/artist Edward Stuart Tray (26) and a post-mortem carte de visite of an unidentified African American infant taken by photographer S. P. Davis of Danielsonville, Connecticut (4.282u).

Post-mortem scenes:

The post-mortem scene photographs, numbering 155 items in total, are similar to the portraits described above, except that they show the deceased as part of a larger environment, whether in a private home, a funeral home, or out-of-doors. Most of these views are mounted photographic prints from the 1880s to the early decades of the 20th century, frequently centering on the corpse, lying in a casket or coffin, amidst an abundance of floral arrangements, banners or flags, family members or friends, and/or personal belongings. Their caskets are often lined with white cloth.

Many of these images have unique qualities; several examples illustrate the variety of postmortem scenes in the collection. Six photographs by W. Jakubowski and Co. and Jos. Ziawinski, of Detroit, Michigan, include five wedding photographs (of the bride and groom, bridesmaids, and family members) and one post-mortem scene of the wife. She appears to have died within a short time following the marriage; the funeral home scene image contains one of the wedding photographs and a banner marked "Dearest Wife" (18.5-18.10). One mounted photograph depicts a dog, laid on linen, in a homemade casket (14:17). The collection also contains examples of different persons on display in the same funeral home/parlor (e.g. 18.1-18.4). A set of two cabinet card photos of a child in a buggy is accompanied by one of the buggy's metal lanterns (23.1-23.3). Also of note is a photogravure of the 1888 painting "Requiescat" by British artist Briton Rivière showing a dog seated next to its deceased owner (25.2).

Funeral tableaux:

The collection's 35 funeral tableaux photographs show the deceased in an open casket or coffin, typically in front of a church or homestead, with a posed assembly of funeral attendees or mourners. They often show a large group of family and friends, and so are frequently large format prints. Group portraits of this sort were occasionally framed and displayed in the home. Most of the examples in this collection are large prints (many of them mounted), with smaller examples, including a real photo postcard, two snapshots, and one cabinet card. Particular items of note include a framed tableau on the steps of the Church of The Descent of The Holy Ghost in Detroit by Thomas Hoffman (27), a photomontage image of a nun's funeral (28), two tableaux scenes by F. A. Drukteinis taken outside of the same church in Detroit during different seasons and involving the same family (20.12 and 20.15), and three related tableaux scenes (two mounted and one unmounted) involving a presumably Hungarian family that were taken outside of what appears to be a Catholic church in Cleveland, Ohio, during three different funerals (20.16a-20.16c).

Funerals and funeral processions:

The 70 items depicting or pertaining to funeral gatherings show various aspects of the movement of the deceased from the home or funeral home to the cemetery and funeral and burial ceremonies. This group is comprised of real photo postcards (22 items), snapshots (13 items), and a variety of other formats. Examples include an albumen print depicting the Plymouth Church decorated for Henry Ward Beecher's funeral in 1887, and snapshot and postcard photographs of a burial at sea.

Floral arrangements and displays:

Additional documentation of funeral decoration may be found in the collection's 176 still life portraits of floral arrangements and other decorations. A portion of the floral display photographs include pre- or post-mortem photos of the deceased either incorporated into the display or added to the image after printing. One particularly fine example is a large format photograph of a floral arrangement for the funeral of Joshua Turner Mulls; the display included a cabinet card photo of Mr. Mulls and a modified enlargement of the cabinet card. Accompanying the floral arrangement photograph is the cabinet card depicted in the display, with artist's instructions for coloring the enlargement (22.1-22.2).

Memorial cards and sentimental imagery:

The collection includes 105 memorial cards and ephemeral items bearing sentimental imagery. Memorial cards were created as tributes, often displaying birth dates, death dates, and other information about the deceased. Many of these cards include border designs and some bear photographs of the departed. Black-fronted memorial cards gained popularity from 1880 to 1905. Of many interesting examples, the collection includes two examples of memorial cards which haven't yet been personalized (4.306-4.307) and two reflecting World War I-related deaths (4.316 and 4.317). Materials with sentimental imagery include items such as a photograph of an illustration entitled "Momma is in Heaven," a memorial book dedicated to Olive C. Partridge in 1897, and other items.

Note: an advertisement for the Memorial Card Company of Philadelphia is located in the 'Funeral Industry' section of the collection (14.35).

Cemeteries and monuments:

61 photographs, printed items, and realia explicitly pertain to cemeteries, burial markers, or monuments. Some of the cemeteries and monuments are identified, such as the Garfield Memorial at Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio (4.1-4.3). The collection includes examples of cemetery-related realia, including an ovular, porcelain headstone photograph (pre-mortem) of the deceased.

Note: cemeteries may be seen as background for many photographs throughout the collection.

The funeral industry:

The Mark A. Anderson collection of post-mortem photography holds a diverse selection of photographs, ephemera, and printed materials related to the business aspects of death, dying, and bereavement. This group contains around 153 items overall, including receipts (1896-1956); various types of advertising materials (including an undertaker's advertising card, a cabinet photograph of the Arbenz & Co. storefront advertising undertaking as a service, fans from a church and the A. C. Cheney funeral home, a thermometer, and other items); and 118 coffin sales photographs (illustrating a massive selection of different casket models offered by the Boyertown Burial Casket Company of Pennsylvania).

Two photograph albums, that of Clarence E. Mapes' furniture store and funeral home and that of the Algoe-Gundry Company funeral home, provide visual documentation of a rural and an urban funeral home (respectively) in Michigan in the first half of the 20th century:

The photo album and scrapbook of Clarence E. Mapes' furniture store and funeral home in Durand, Michigan, dating from ca. 1903-1930, contains interior and exterior photographs of the furniture and undertaker portions of the shop. The album includes photographs of casket showroom display mechanisms; an example of a "burglar proof" metallic vault; a posed photo of the embalmer standing over a man on the embalming table; images of carriage and motorized hearses; business-related newspaper clippings; and various family and vacation photographs. Several prints, dated August 1903, appear to depict the aftermath of the Wallace Brothers Circus train wreck on the Grand Trunk railroad at Durand. Among these photographs are carriage hearses, a horse-drawn cart carrying ten or more oblong boxes (for transportation and perhaps burial of victims of the wreck), a man standing in an alleyway near three stacked boxes, and a large group of persons standing in a largely unearthed section of a cemetery. The Mapes album is accompanied by a C. E. Mapes Furniture advertising fly-swatter.

The Algoe-Gundry Company album dates from ca. 1924 to 1960 and contains (almost exclusively) 8"x10" photographs of this Flint, Michigan, funeral business. The album includes images of the exterior and interior of Algoe-Gundry buildings, hearses, ambulances, and billboard advertisements.

One album was produced ca. 1939 by the Central Metallic Casket Co. of Chicago, Illinois. Titled "Caskets of Character," the album contains images of patented (or soon to be patented) casket designs as well as a printed cross-sectional view detailing the company's "Leak-Proof" Separate Inner Sealer.

Also of interest is funeral director's license granted by the Michigan State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors to Vincent J. George of Fowler, Michigan, in 1938. (25.1)

Mourning attire:

In America, mourning attire tended to follow trends set in Europe. The bereaved wore mourning clothing according to current fashion trends and societal expectations. Mourning clothing styles, often dark-colored and somber, depended on how close the mourner was to the deceased and local societal expectations. Seventeen portrait photographs show men and women wearing mourning attire without the deceased present. This group includes cabinet cards, a 1/9 plate ambrotype of an adult woman, two tintypes, and one carte-de-visite.

Note: persons wearing mourning attire may also be found scattered throughout the other sections of the Mark A. Anderson collection. While most are concentrated in the funeral photographs, mourners are also present in postmortem portraits, postmortem scenes, and cemetery photos.

Unnatural death:

43 photographs (mostly snapshots) depict "unnatural deaths," deaths not caused by age or naturally occurring disease, such as suicides, accidents, murders, and war. The larger portions of the snapshots are mid-20th century police photographs of crime or accident scenes.

Nine Indiana State Police photographs show a train-automobile accident; a group of eight unmarked photos depict the body of woman, apparently violently murdered, at the location of her death and in a morgue; 14 are of a man struck down, beneath a train; two are of a rifle suicide; and the others are of varying accidents. One World War I-era real photo postcard appears to show a man who was shot dead in a foxhole. A stereoscopic card by photographer B. W. Kilburn shows the burial of Filipino soldiers after the Battle of Malolos, Philippine Islands [ca. 1899].

Note: The photograph album/scrapbook of the Clarence E. Mapes furniture and undertakers shop contains several photographs of what appear to be the aftermath of the Wallace Brothers Circus train wreck, Durand, Michigan 1903 (see above description in the 'Funeral Industry' section of this scope and content note).

Collection

Richard Clough Anderson papers, 1821-1822

10 items

The Richard Clough Anderson papers contain 10 letters from several veterans regarding land in central Ohio and northern Kentucky, granted to them by military warrants.

The Richard Clough Anderson papers contain 10 letters from several veterans regarding land in southwestern Ohio, granted to them by military warrants. The correspondents, writing from a variety of locations in southwestern Ohio, requested Anderson to assist in registering their claims, delineated by military warrants issued by the United States government after their Revolutionary War service. The claims contain specific descriptions of the new property boundaries, often pegged to local geographic features, and one contains a manuscript map of the relevant plots (July 25, 1821). The collection reflects the procedural elements of western settlement in the early 1820s.

Collection

Dorothy Andrew letters, 1944-1945

16 items

The Dorothy Andrew letters consist of 16 letters addressed to her by five of her nephews during their military service in the European and Pacific theaters during the last year of the Second World War.

The Dorothy Andrew letters consist of 16 letters addressed to her by five of her nephews during their military service in the Second World War. Her nephew Francis Earl Smith, a frequent correspondent, reported on his life in Belgium and England in 1944 and 1945. His letters reflect an interest in local currency; when he was in Belgium, he enclosed two local coins in a letter; one was Belgian money and the other was German invasion money (January 12, 1944). In the same letter, he remarked that even though he saw only a "fraction of what is happening," he found no glory in war. In England during the June 1944 "invasion of Hitler's Fortress [Europe]" (June 9, 1944), he expressed his hopes for a quick end to the war and, later, told her of his life in Germany in the early days of the occupation (August 14, 1945). He shared his fear of the atomic bomb following the conclusion of the war in the Pacific: "That new bomb makes one realize how quickly this world could be destroyed. Let's hope they put it to good use instead of destructive power for another war." (Germany, August 14, 1945)

Dorothy's other nephews related similar aspects of military life, including a dislike of the tedium of the army. Richard frequently complained of the swamps near the air base in Alexandria, Virginia, and Dale K. Smith mentioned the weather in the central Pacific. Several of the letters referred to another relation, Dewey; Dale encouraged him to stay out of the army, but Robert (Bob) wanted to know, "what the hell are you waiting for?" (March 23, 1945). Bob described his impression of Indians' opinions of America in his December 1944 letter, written from "somewhere in India," and in a later letter enclosed Chinese money and Japanese invasion money as souvenirs (March 23, 1945).

Collection

James Henry Andrews collection, 1862-1870

3 volumes

The James Henry Andrews collection is made up of three volumes, dating between 1862 and 1870, kept largely while Andrews attended Madison University (grad. 1868) and Hamilton Theological Seminary (grad. 1870). The volumes begin with 34 pages of minutes of The Senate of Brooklyn, a society in which the members donned the roles of U.S. Senators and debated current issues, such as the emancipation of slaves in Washington, D.C., and policies related to the Civil War. The minutes date from March to May 1862. The remainder of the volumes is comprised of original theological and religious poetry and writings by James Henry Andrews, 1866-1870, and Andrews’ extensive notes on Ebenezer Dodge’s theological lectures at Hamilton Theological Seminary, 1869-1870.

The James Henry Andrews collection is made up of three volumes, dating between 1862 and 1870, largely kept while Andrews attended Madison University (grad. 1868) and Hamilton Theological Seminary (grad. 1870). The volumes begin with 34 pages of minutes of The Senate of Brooklyn, a society in which the members donned the roles of U.S. Senators and debated current issues, such as the emancipation of slaves in Washington, D.C., and policies related to the Civil War. The minutes date from March to May 1862. The remainder of the volumes is comprised of original theological and religious poetry and writings by James Henry Andrews, 1866-1870, and Andrews’ extensive notes on Ebenezer Dodge’s theological lectures at Hamilton Theological Seminary, 1869-1870.

Volume 1: The Senate of Brooklyn, Speech, Essays, and Poems, 1862-1870
  • Minutes of The Senate of Brooklyn (34 pages)
  • “Phases of Life,” delivered before Athenaeum Society of Madison University, Friday evening March 11th 1864 (4 pages)
  • [Essays and poems by James Henry Andrews], 1866-1870 (39 pages)
Volume 2: Lectures on Christian Theology by E. Dodge, LL.D. Hamilton Theological Seminary, 1869
  • Introduction (p. 13)
  • Theology, or the Doctrine of God (p. 32)
  • The Nature of God (p. 50)
  • "Part II": Anthropology (p. 115)
  • "Part III": Soteriology (p. 171)
Volume 3: Lectures on Christian Theology by E. Dodge, LL.D. Hamilton Theological Seminary, February 1870.
  • The Work of Christ (p. 17)
  • The Atonement (p. 19)
  • The Theory of the Atonement (p. 50)
  • History of the Doctrine of Atonement (p. 88)
  • Pneumatology or The Doctrine of the Spirit (p. 95)
  • The Continuance of a Divine Life (p. 121)
  • The Divinity of Manifestation (p. 171)
  • "Part the Fifth": Eschatology (p. 174)
  • Pastoral Theology (p. 226)
  • "Sec III": The Ch. Its internal organization (p. 234)

Collection

Joel W. Andrews, Meteorological Observations, 1858-1868

1 volume

Joel W. Andrews of Albany, New York, compiled meteorological records in this volume from December 1858-December 1868. He recorded barometric readings, temperatures, and remarks about weather conditions.

This volume (around 440 pages), titled Meteorological Observations, contains meteorological records that Joel W. Andrews of Albany, New York, compiled from December 1, 1858-December 31, 1868. Andrews took barometric and thermometer readings 3 or 4 times daily, noted the wind direction, reported the day's maximum and minimum temperature, made remarks about weather conditions, and recorded monthly precipitation totals. Andrews made some observations while traveling in northern New York State and in Vermont; many entries mention the offices of Albany newspaper Atlas & Argus.

Andrews's notes occasionally concern astronomical phenomena such as the aurora borealis and meteor showers, and he pasted in newspaper clippings about a severe storm (May 1859) and a record high barometric reading (January 1866). On at least one occasion, his daughter Ada wrote in the volume in his place.

Collection

Helen Curtis Annan journal, 1840-1853

1 volume

This collection contains the journal of Helen Curtis Annan, which records notes on Presbyterian sermons and religious studies, as well as personal journal entries regarding the writer's travels and religious musings.

Helen used this volume as religious text book, journal, copy book, travel journal, and book list, and the result is a hodge podge of scattered entries. Chronic "indisposition and unsettled habits" add to the discontinuity of the volume as a whole, but there are still a few excellent parts; namely her record of Presbyterian sermons during and after the separation, her journal entries recording her struggles with religion, and a small travel journal recording her tour up the Mississippi to view the "natural" world and its "natural" inhabitants in the summer of 1845.

Initially, Helen used the volume to record outlines of the sermons and other religious addresses she heard at lectures, prayer meetings and bible classes. Typically she identified the pastor and the text on which the address was based. Often she also outlined the argument, and very occasionally she included her own opinions about the speaker's success, or some indication of her own state of mind -- "Attended church in the morning but my deep depression & intense anxiety prevented my retaining even the text" -- without any explanation. Helen kept this text book up on a fairly regular basis for over a decade.

Helen considered her textbook and her journal separate things, and she wrote journal entries throughout the rest of the volume without much regard for chronological order. Unfortunately she later cut out four pages on which she had apparently recorded her "disquietude" about something that at the time, had deeply affected her. In the next entry she wrote, "in reviewing what is there written I can't but wonder at the state of mind I then was in -- strange excitable being that I am" (1843 September 18). Many of Helen's entries deal with her constant personal strivings to be closer to God, and how this closeness often proved to be frustratingly elusive. Helen rarely even alluded to her husband, family or friends, and her primary emotional and intellectual relationship, at least as viewed through this volume, appears to have been with God.

The forty numbered penciled pages recording a quick trip up the Mississippi and back down again show that when she chose to be, Helen was as adept an observer of the physical world as she was of her spiritual condition. This travel journal also provides a fascinatingly detailed account of an early tourist jaunt to St. Anthony's Falls and Indian lands. Sadly, Helen wrote notes about English history over the first few pages, rendering the pencil illegible, but we catch up with her before she has gone too far up river. The steamboat's speed impressed the traveler, who commented, "I find it hard to keep pace with all the interesting scenes that crowd upon me" (pp. 12-13). She passed judgment on towns, houses, and islands as she passed them by, and described quick side trips on land and shipboard activities.

When the boat passed the Wisconsin border, things started to get real interesting: "we found ourselves beyond the reaches of civilization surrounded on both sides by the hunting grounds of the Indians" and fierce "moschettoes" [mosquitoes] (p. 15). First they came across Cassville, a white settlement already becoming a ghost town, and an Indian burial ground, which they investigated closely -- some too closely: "they must have been buried very shallow as several of the ladies whose curiosity led them to pry rather closely discovered an unpleasant effluvia" (p. 16). Each view from the river seemed more wild and beautiful than the last, and added to the scenery were a variety of Indian encampments, which the travelers visited as if they were living exhibits. At the first encampment, for instance, she wrote, "after satisfying our curiosity here were walked on & soon joined a more interesting group" (p. 21).

This first visit was to three tents occupied by Winnebagoes, who "presented a specimen of filth & poverty & degradation greater than I could imagine" (p. 19). Helen also observed great "delicacy of feeling" and many similarities with "civilized" people. A hand bag that caught one squaw's eye was passed among the Indians, while the visitors "stood grouped around them enjoying their evident pleasure" (p.22). Meanwhile, a drunken Indian had climbed a bluff and was prepared to hurl a log down on the intruders: "quick as thought the young [Winnebago] man darted up the hill and arrested his arm -- two of them held him to prevent his throwing at the same time making signs to us to withdraw -- we soon took the hint and made good our retreat" (p. 22).

When the boat arrived at Fort Snelling all of the public conveyances, needed to take them to the falls, were in use, so the party improved the time by touring the prison. They shook hands with some Sioux, "rigged out with eagle feathers & embroidered robes beads medals & painted faces," who had been accused of murdering a party of cattle drovers, but would probably be acquitted due to a lack of evidence (p.26). Helen was more deeply moved by the sight of these men than anything she had yet witnessed and "could not refrain from sheddings of deep commiseration for their vices and their degradation -- Far less guilty are they than their more enlightened oppressors" (p.27). Also in the prison were two Chippeways, being held (safely) hostage until the Chippeway who murdered a Sioux was produced and handed over to the dead man's tribe for trial -- possibly, Helen feared, to be "torn in pieces" ( p. 27).

The visit the falls of St. Anthony was not quite The Moment Helen had been anticipating -- being "surrounded by so much mirth and gaiety tending to check the feelings of sublime adoration and praise which the whole scene was calculated to awaken" -- but she soaked up as much sublimity as she could ( p. 30). Soon after, when she heard the Sabbath sermon dryly delivered, Helen was disappointed that the scenery had not "elevated the mind and fired the imagination" of the preacher (p. 35).

The passengers started to get irritated with Captain Backus for constantly hurrying them along, and were peeved when he broke his promise and turned around in the night, instead of taking the St. Croix River up to Lake Superior. Helen mentioned that they took tobacco in on one of the return stops, suggesting that the steamboat was transporting goods as well as forty-odd passengers, and that the commercial timetable was more compelling to the captain than the tourists' desires.

Victimized by the quicker homeward pace, the passengers only got half an hour to visit the Crow village of the Sioux. Helen was enchanted by a group of young women she met, and wanted very badly to take a young Sioux girl home with her, even though her shipmates "pronounced it a romantic whim and wondered at my taste" (p. 34). The steamboat speeded on toward St. Louis with few additional stops, and Helen was back home a mere ten days after departing, having traveled about 1700 miles.

Collection

Beauty and the Beast manuscript play prompt, [1854]

1 volume

This volume contains a manuscript play prompt for the fairytale "Beauty and the Beast," drawn directly from Julia Corner's 1854 adaptation of the same tale.

This volume contains a manuscript play prompt for the fairytale "Beauty and the Beast," drawn directly from Julia Corner's 1854 adaptation of the same tale.

The text largely corresponds with Corner's adaptation, albeit with abbreviated or simplified stage directions. The text appears to have been written by one hand, with a pencil annotation at the end of the volume in a second hand, crediting the performance of this play to "some of the girls that go to Miss Lacy's School."

Although the location of Miss Lacy's School is unclear, the spelling within may indicate contemporary American rather than British expectations. The roles are for a merchant, the Beast, the merchant's daughters, Beauty, and a beneficent fairy with four attendants.

Collection

Plympton (Mass.) First Parish petition, [ca. 1840s-1850s]

1 volume

An undated petition from eighteen men requesting admittance to the first parish in Plympton, Massachusetts, appears on the first page of an otherwise empty nineteenth-century blank book produced by Tappan & Whittemore of Boston, "Wholesale dealers in School Books, School Stationery, Drawing, Letter, Writing and Fancy Paper, Envelopes of every description, Slates, Gold and Steel Pens, Ink, Quills, Wafers, etc." It has printed covers with illustrations of Boys and girls fishing, boating, and flying kites on a riverbank, and "Lessons In Drawing" with sixteen various images of fruit, animals, body parts, and a house and boat.

An undated petition from eighteen men requesting admittance to the first parish in Plympton, Massachusetts, appears on the first page of an otherwise empty nineteenth-century blank book produced by Tappan & Whittemore of Boston, "Wholesale dealers in School Books, School Stationery, Drawing, Letter, Writing and Fancy Paper, Envelopes of every description, Slates, Gold and Steel Pens, Ink, Quills, Wafers, &c." It has printed covers with illustrations of Boys and girls fishing, boating, and flying kites on a riverbank, and "Lessons In Drawing" with sixteen various images of fruit, animals, body parts, and a house and boat.

Collection

Stamp account book, 1889-1890

1 volume

An unnamed employee maintained this account book between 1889 and 1890 for a company producing handstamps, embossing stamps, and stencils. The volume includes the date, name of the patron, fees, and an occasional note about services. Frequently, the finished product for the client is stamped next to the entry.

An unnamed employee maintained this account book between 1889 and 1890 for a company producing handstamps, embossing stamps, and stencils. The volume includes the date, name of the patron, fees, and an occasional note about services. Frequently, the finished product for the client is stamped next to the entry.

The stamps predominantly represent names or symbols of businesses from across the United States, with many from the shoe and clothing industries. Other stamps described the quality of company's wares or noted patents, while some stamps were for individual names. One stamp advertised the one hundredth performance of the play "Oolah" on Broadway (p. 57). While many of the stamps feature graphic typography and embellishments, several stamps include images, such as feet in shoes (p. 54, 101), a dove (p. 73), a belt (p. 91), an American flag (p. 100) and eagle (p. 108), a crown (p. 100), four-leaf clovers (p. 104), a ship (p. 107), and a cow (p. 109). At least one stamp includes backward lettering (p. 101). Several embossed stamps were done on other paper and pasted into the volume or done directly on the paper in the volume.

Collection

Maine account book, 1818-1824

1 volume

An unidentified tradesperson, possibly a cooper or blacksmith within the area of Washington County, Maine, kept this account book between 1818 and 1824. They document debts and credits with several members of the community. Customers' debts included services (mending rakes, pails, and tubs, making tubs, and making a delivery) as well as goods (flax seed, various grains, leather, churns, and tubs). The accounts also record credits, often in the form of bartered services and goods such as chopping acres, setting shoes, making a chisel, and hay and corn. One sheet of paper is laid into the volume, recording births and marriages in Nathaniel C. Kelly and Abigail Kelly's family.

An unidentified tradesperson, possibly a cooper or blacksmith within the area of Washington County, Maine, kept this account book between 1818 and 1824. They document debts and credits with several members of the community. Debts included services (mending rakes, pails, and tubs, making tubs, and making a delivery) as well as goods (flax seed, various grains, leather, churns, and tubs). The accounts also record credits, often in the form of bartered services and goods such as chopping acres, setting shoes, making a chisel, and hay and corn. One sheet of paper is laid into the volume, recording births and marriages in Nathaniel C. Kelly and Abigail Kelly's family.

Collection

Charley's Last Voyage Round the World, 1857

1 volume

A sailor only identified as "Charley" maintained this diary from January 1, 1857, to September 22, 1857, while serving aboard the mercantile clippers Charger from Boston to San Francisco and the Stag Hound from San Francisco to Hawaii and China. The Stag Hound carried 380 Chinese passengers from San Francisco to China, where it loaded a cargo of tea, silk, fancy matting, and other goods, to be returned to New York. Charley wrote about social matters, including descriptions of San Francisco, Hong Kong, Fuzhou, and the coasts of the Yangtze River, as well as shipboard life among sailors, officers, and passengers. He commented several times about one of his crewmates, possibly an African American man who went by the name of "Jim Crow," and noted the presence of captains' wives and children. He included several drawings of Chinese ships (junks) as well as coastal views of places in South America, Hawaii, the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and China. Charley also included a number of poems, mostly relating to sailors and seafaring, several of which appear to be originals.

A sailor only identified as "Charley" maintained this diary from January 1, 1857, to September 22, 1857. He first served aboard the mercantile clipper Charger under the command of Captain Luther Hurd, travelling from Boston, Massachusetts, past Cape Horn, to San Francisco, California. He switched berths in San Francisco to the Stag Hound who carried Chinese passengers under Captain Peterson to Hawaii, Hong Kong, and Foochow (Fuzhou), via the Chang (Yangtze) River. They passed various places in the Philippines and South China Sea without stopping, and returned to New York with a cargo of tea, silk, fancy matting, and other goods. Charley wrote about social matters, including descriptions of ports like San Francisco, Hong Kong, and Fuzhou, and shipboard life among sailors, officers, and passengers. He commented several times about one of his crewmates, possibly an African American man who went by the name of "Jim Crow," and noted the presence of captains' wives and children. He included several drawings of Chinese ships (junks) as well as coastal views of places in South America, Hawaii, the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and China. Charley also included a number of poems, mostly relating to sailors and seafaring, several of which appear to be originals.

Details about the labor of sailing are found throughout the diary, with regular notes about wind, weather, and sea conditions, land sightings, and occasional notations of latitude and longitude. Charley described the Charger as "a new one" (January 1), and several times noted that the ship was outpacing others. He commented on various shipboard tasks like cleaning the deck, handling and repairing sails, managing dwindling food and provisions, and catching sharks, fish, and porpoises to eat. Comments about the difficulty of the work and various demands appear regularly, as well as notes of various mishaps on board, damaging storms, and other dangers, like falls, sails gone awry, the hazards of Cape Horn (March 7), freshwater getting tainted (March 20), waterspouts (August 27), and suspected pirates (September 16). At least one crewmember died, seemingly of illness contracted prior to the voyage, and Charley wrote of his distress at how his body and burial were handled (July 17).

When he switched berths to the Stag Hound, travelling from San Francisco to Hawaii and Hong Kong, Charley wrote of the demands of manning an "outward bound ship":

"Everbody is in bad humor. The officers irritable. the crew more so. words pass between them. everything to do and nobody to do it. Bed clothes. sea boats. jackets. chests. and numerous other things of a sailors outfit tumbled together in confusion. chickens crowing. geese quacking turkeys gobbling. pigs squealing. these are the scenes and noises that must be endured by the outward bound" (May 15). Noting that "people on shore think that a sailors leads an idle life," he detailed the daily labor they typically performed (August 30).

Charley's depictions of shipboard life also reference issues of discipline and management of the crew. While on the Charger, he noted the captain distributing "a lot of tracts" to the crew (January 18 and February 8) and complained of officers making sailors work on the Sabbath (January 25). He wrote a detailed description of the Charger's officers on March 11, including physical and behavioral attributes, and noted that the rest of the crew consisted of 28 men from America, England, Ireland, Scotland, Holland, and Italy. He noted several physical fights and that crew members were imprisoned for matters like theft and violence (February 14 and May 8) or threatened to have their noses wrung by the captain for fighting (April 30). Charley recorded that the third mate confined "one of our boys who goes by the name of Jimmey Ducks" in the hencoop for "not feeding the fowls in the morning" (February 15). On another occasion, "the mate frightened one of the greenhorns nearly to death by hoisting him up to the royal mast head" when he cried when being asked to slush the mast (February 23). As provisions began to run out, Charley bemoaned that the sailors had to drink rainwater that was tainted by the ship's tar and paint, while "the officers can drink and use as much of the Boston water as they choose" and the steward "used two buckets of the good water to wash the cabin floor" (April 19). Upon landing in San Francisco, Charley noted that Captain Hurd was trying to convince the sailors to continue on with him on the next leg of the voyage by withholding wages from the crew, was struck by a passenger who accused him of "ill treatment to his sister," and that "Whenever our crew see him in the streets they are hooting him and throwing stones at him" (May 10-11).

Charley continued to note disciplinary issues when he transferred to the Stag Hound, including reminiscences about being imprisoned in Honolulu for refusing to work while on a whaling voyage aboard the Hobomok in 1852. Others' refusals to work and their punishment were documented (June 14), as well as efforts to manage unruly passengers (May 22). He noted that infighting and complaining "is the custom with sailors... When they cannot find fault with the officers or with the grub they must growl amoung themselves for pastime" (May 26). On the return voyage, Charley noted the "youngsters" were yelled at for being slow in their work (August 24).

The volume contains much detail about issues of race and ethnicity. He wrote about a man "that goes by the name of Jim Crow. he would make a horse smile to hear him singing comic songs and spouting Shakespere &c.," possibly an African American sailor (January 26). Charley made another reference to "James Crow" on February 28, participating in a demonstration by the sailors when their "advance was up" and they "assert[ed] our rights as sailors" and made an effigy that was hung and buried at sea. Charley called him a "courious genious. he makes sport for all hands in the ship. I don't know how we would get along without him" (February 28). Charley was pleased "to see my friend Crow" among those who switched berths to the Stag Hound (May 14). Charley commented on his singing and musical abilities (June 24, August 11), and he wrote about him in a poem (June 12), travelled ashore with him in Hong Kong (July 7), and remarked on his cure for toothaches (September 8).

Charley's entries also reflect on the individuals he encountered during his voyages, including a description of indigenous South Americans sailing catamarans to fish, some 20 miles from shore (February 5), and the multi-ethnic crew of the Stag Hound. On May 24, Charley described in detail the Stag Hound's Dutch captain and his wife, the Dutch first and second mates, the English third mate, American bosun and carpenter, and two Chinese stewards and two Chinese cooks. "Before the mast we have a sprinkling of all nations. It would puzzle a Philadelphia Lawyer to understand one half of them. I dont believe that there was one half of the confusion at the building of the tower of Bable as there is in our forecastle at meal times."

The bulk of his racial commentary revolves around the approximately 380 Chinese passengers who travelled aboard the Stag Hound to Hawaii and Hong Kong, of which he initially wrote disparaging comments (May 12). Some of Charley's entries reflect on Chinese shipboard experiences, such as gambling (May 20) and fighting (June 6), while others seem to indicate prejudiced behavior on the part of the Stag Hound's captain. He rationed Chinese passengers' allowance of water (May 22) and threatened violence against one English-speaking Chinese passenger for complaining (January 19). While approaching China, Charley noted the crew worked on cleaning guns due to "lots of pirates now in these seas, but we do not fear them so much as we do the passengers, for it is a common thing for them to try and take the vessel that they are in when they find that they are near to China" (June 25). He remarked on the Chinese Emperor, "said to be the brother of the Sun, and likewise the King of ten thousand islands" (June 29), the passengers praying for fair wind (July 1), and reacting with joy upon seeing the area near Hong Kong (July 5). He described Hong Kong, commenting on religion (July 6-7) and fears of Chinese boarding the ship at night to murder the crew (July 10). He noted passing the wreck of the Wild Duck and seeing Chinese junks painted "with large eyes on their bows so that they can see" (July 20), and he described places they passed while travelling up the Chang River under the guidance of a Chinese pilot and their arrival at Foochow (Fuzhou). He noted the work Chinese laborers undertook on the Stag Hound while at Fuzhou (July 24, 26, 27) and detailed his visit to a "pagoda" in the city (August 2).

Several references to women also appear in the diary. Charley remarked on the presence of the captain's wife aboard the Charger, noting her disdain for sailors (January 4, March 16). As the initial voyage to California wore on, Charley recorded a fight between the captain and his wife where she was threatened with violence if she spoke to the first mate (April 24). The captain's wife also accompanied the Stag Hound, and Charley described her and her scorn for the sailors as well (May 24). The captain's daughter was also aboard the Stag Hound, and Charley noted the purchase of a cat for her and her distress during a typhoon (July 27, September 7). He later noted the cat's disappearance and his suspicion that sailors disposed of it, "for a sailor would as soon see his Satanic Majesty on board of his ship as a cat for to him a cat is linked with superticion [sic]" (August 17).

Mentions of other ships throughout the volume reflect the international dynamics of sea travel and mercantilism. Charley noted ships from various American ports, Prussia, Brazil, England, and France. Upon arriving in Hong Kong, he observed French, English, and Portuguese men-of-war (July 6 and July 8), and named American ships by name while in Chinese ports. He recorded the goods taken on the Stag Hound in China, including opium, silver, fire crackers, tea, silk, and fancy matting.

In addition to his diary entries, Charley also documented his experiences with drawings. He included several pictures of Chinese junks and coastal views of the following locations:

  • Cape Horn
  • Tierra del Fuego
  • South Farallon Islands
  • Morotai Island
  • "Wahoo" [O'ahu]
  • Diamond Head
  • "Cocowaner" island
  • "Peico" island
  • Balintang Islands
  • Bashee Islands
  • Batan Island
  • Sabtang
  • Goat Island
  • "An Island in Hong Kong Harbor"
  • "Great Lema Island"
  • Pratas Islands
  • "The last light of Hong Kong"
  • "[Oaksu?] Islands"
  • several views from along the River Chang
  • Balabac Strait

Charley included clips of poetry and quotations, mostly relating to sailors and sea life. He copied a poem attributed to a crew member, "To the Albatross" (February 25), and others appear to be originals that he may have composed, such as one celebrating the passage past Cape Horn (March 7), another musing on the wide variances in a sailor's life (April 22), and one entitled "To the Stag Hound" (May 31). Other poems memorialize food poisoning (June 12), the death of a crewmate (July 17), and heading home for America (August 16). The final page of the volume includes a poem entitled "To Charley, by J.H.S." about their friendship and an amusing incident regarding cheese, seemingly written at their parting, and the lyrics to a song about a charcoal vendor.

A post-1886 newspaper clipping, "Boston Clippers," is pasted on the inside front cover and references the few remaining "splendid clippers which the discovery of gold in California and Australia produced," including the Charger .

Collection

Church, Theater, and School Seat sales book, 1889-1892, 1911, (Majority of material found within 1889-1892)

1 volume

This approximately 160-page volume contains working records of one or more traveling chair, desk, bench, and pew salesmen in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and elsewhere in the Northeast between 1889 and 1892. A previous owner identified the business as the Richmond Furniture Company of Indiana, but this has not been verified. Each page includes the name or names of a client, prospect, or contact; names of existing or planned buildings; seating needs; costs; a record of communications; and other notes.

This approximately 160-page volume contains working records of one or more traveling chair, desk, bench, and pew salesmen in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and elsewhere in the Northeast between 1889 and 1892. A previous owner identified the business as the Richmond Furniture Company of Indiana, but this has not been verified. Each page includes the name or names of a client, prospect, or contact; names of existing or planned buildings; seating needs; costs; a record of communications; and other notes.

The volume begins with a 3,000-seat music hall at 57th Street and 7th Avenue, New York City—the Carnegie Hall. The most frequent clientele were churches, synagogues, and proprietors or developers of musical or theater venues. Record of a new City Hall in Syracuse, New York, the Hall for Jewish Society in Philadelphia, and an opera house in Poughkeepsie are other examples. Some entries document the sending of circulars and sale catalogs.

Pencil accounting for grocery and other purchases in 1911 are scattered throughout the volume.

Collection

Carpenter's pocket ledger, 1855-1864, (Majority of material found within 1858)

1 volume

This unattributed pocket ledger was likely kept by a man laboring as a carpenter, recording debts and credits related to his work from 1855 to 1864. The writer repaired items such as gates, doors, and boats. He also documented making doors, staining wood, sawing logs, getting in wood, drawing boards, working on houses, and framing buildings. Two pages at the end of the volume record his cash accounts in 1864, distinguishing between cash on hand, greenbacks, eastern bills, and scrip. Several other pages document hours worked on projects and various dimensions of wood for projects. Four outlines of what appears to be the end of a banister or other woodwork piece are drawn in pencil near the end of the volume. A list of woodworking tools and a carte-de-visite of a woman wearing a polka dot dress are stored in the back pocket of the volume.
Collection

Vermont tavern records, 1820-1833

35 items

This collection consists of 35 copies of government records kept between 1820 to 1833 by Vermont "selectmen and civil authority" figures regarding the nomination and approval of individuals for tavern keepers, inn keepers, and keepers of houses of public entertainment, predominantly in Rutland County, likely as a precursor to secure licenses. Many of the documents include the names of individuals approved to run the establishments, details about the government officials and bodies who granted permission, and various fees. Predominantly administrative in nature, they do include occasional statements reflecting on social norms and expectations, like reflections on nominees who "will Keep orderly Houses and accommodate the Public" (March 1, 1824) or that the individual is allowed to "Retail Spirits" (April 23, 1833). Named places include Pawlet, Castleton, Shrewsbury, Tinmouth, Rutland, Clarendon, Orwell, Benson, Sudbury, Pittsfield, Sherburne, Parkerstown, Pittsford, Brandon, Benson, Poultney, Ira, and Danby.

This collection consists of 35 copies of government records kept between 1820 to 1833 by Vermont "selectmen and civil authority" figures regarding the nomination and approval of individuals for tavern keepers, inn keepers, and keepers of houses of public entertainment, predominantly in Rutland County, likely as a precursor to secure licenses. Many of the documents include the names of individuals approved to run the establishments, details about the government officials and bodies who granted permission, and various fees. Predominantly administrative in nature, they do include occasional statements reflecting on social norms and expectations, like reflections on nominees who "will Keep orderly Houses and accommodate the Public" (March 1, 1824) or that the individual is allowed to "Retail Spirits" (April 23, 1833). Named places include Pawlet, Castleton, Shrewsbury, Tinmouth, Rutland, Clarendon, Orwell, Benson, Sudbury, Pittsfield, Sherburne, Parkerstown, Pittsford, Brandon, Benson, Poultney, Ira, and Danby.

Collection

David Ballenger typescripts, 1858-1888 (majority within 1861-1865)

1 volume

This collection is comprised of typescripts of letters that David Ballenger sent to his wife Nancy and other family members while serving in the 26th Alabama Infantry Regiment, Company D, and the Hampton Legion during the Civil War. Ballenger discussed his participation in several major battles and Confederate soldiers' increasing discouragement as the war progressed.

This collection is comprised of typescripts of around 70 letters related to David Ballenger, who served in the 26th Alabama Infantry Regiment and Hampton's Legion during the Civil War. His first letter, written to a sister from Kingston, Georgia, on December 5, 1858, mentions the possibility of attending a 20-day grammar course.

The bulk of the typescripts are letters that Ballenger wrote to his wife Nancy and, less frequently, other family members while serving with the Confederate Army between December 1861 and January 1865. He spent most of the war in Virginia, though he also traveled to Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas, and described his participation in skirmishes and in major engagements such as the Battles of South Mountain, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. He sometimes commented on the general progress of the war, including the increasing likelihood of a Union victory. Ballenger discussed his and other Confederate soldiers' deteriorating enthusiasm throughout the course of the war; in September 1864, he noted that he and others would quit fighting should George McClellan win the presidency and make concessions to the seceded states. In his letter of December 12, 1864, he worried that the war had become more about power than idealism and expressed his disdain for its deleterious effects on Southern morality, as evidenced by a preponderance of brothels.

Ballenger's letters often refer to his religious faith, and he often thanked God for seeing him safely through battles. He commented on the hardships soldiers suffered during the war, believing that they far outweighed any difficulties experienced by those at home (May 13, 1863), and reflected on the magnitude of the death and destruction that the war had caused. In his letter of June 12, 1864, he mentioned a visit to the site of the Battle of Malvern Hill, still strewn with bodies.

The collection includes a small number of typescripts of letters that David Ballenger received from other military personnel during the war. Postwar correspondence includes a letter from H. B. Rector to David Ballenger about Reconstruction in Georgia (February 24, 1868); letters of congratulation after Ballenger's election to an unspecified public office (September 1886); and letters from Ballenger to his daughter and two nieces about their education (1888). The final typescript consists of the text of an undated article in The North Greenville Courier about Reverend O. J. Peterson, the principal of North Greenville High School.

Collection

World War I Surgeon's Photograph Album, Base Hospital 29, 1918-1919

approximately 90 photographs and 4 ephemeral items in 1 volume

The World War I surgeon's photograph album, Base Hospital 29, contains approximately 90 photographs and 4 ephemeral items documenting a U.S. Army surgeon's training in the United States and service overseas during World War I.

The World War I surgeon's photograph album, Base Hospital 29, contains approximately 90 photographs and 4 ephemeral items documenting a U.S. Army surgeon's training in the United States and service overseas during World War I. The album (18 x 29 cm) was possibly compiled by Lieutenant H. O. Wernicke. Nine photographs show military personnel and barracks at the Medical Officer Training Center at Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1918. Following a voyage to Liverpool on July 6 1918 aboard the RMS Empress of Russia, subsequent photographs depict Base Hospital 29 in Tottenham, London, including medical staff, facilities, wards, an operating theater, and casualties. One photograph shows medical staff and patients singing from songbooks while a nurse plays the piano and a patient sits up in bed playing the violin. A possible transfer to France is indicated by 6 postcard views of a town and hospital with the caption, "Base Hospital 9 at Chateauroux."

Ephemeral items include a seating chart for the Candlewick Ward Club dinner held Monday, July 29 1918 attended by U.S. service members as well as a fold-out schematic of the RMS Olympic.

Collection

Great Britain. Army. 15th Regiment of Foot orderly book, 1841

1 volume

This 84-page volume contains orders, muster rolls, and supplementary material concerning the operations of the British Army's 15th Regiment of Foot in June 1841.

This 84-page volume contains orders, muster rolls, and supplementary material concerning the operations of the British Army's 15th Regiment of Foot in June 1841. The volume originally belonged to an officer stationed with the regiment, and it contains 8 pages of orders issued by Lieutenant Colonel Lord Charles Wellesley in June 1841. Wellesley's orders pertain to the division of the regiment's companies into smaller squads, specify requirements for personnel records, and provide a list of drill movements to be performed by each squad. The orders are followed by a roster of members of the 2nd Squad of the regiment's 1st Company: a 22-page printed chart filled out in manuscript, followed by a 15-page roster with the same format, written entirely in manuscript. The roster includes information about each member of the unit, including his name, age at enlistment, height and weight, birthplace, trade, level of literacy, religion (Catholic or Protestant), and marital status; it also provides space for additional remarks, often used to record promotions, discharges, deaths, transfers, or the number and ages of children. The next 8 pages (bound into the volume) contain printed instructions for non-commissioned officers, including discussions of officers' duties, procedures and regulations concerning the formation of companies, and information about guards and barracks.

Other portions of the book record specific orders for the regiment to proceed to Fareham, blank handwritten grids for the names of men to be disciplined or promoted, and lists of duties for orderly sergeants and orderly corporals. The volume also contains a list of daily drill procedures, a diagram of a "Complete Kit laid out," and the light marching order.

Collection

California travel photograph album, 1898

1 volume

The California travel photograph album (17.5 x 14 cm) contains twelve gelatin silver print views of various travel destinations in California in 1898.

The California travel photograph album (17.5 x 14 cm) contains twelve gelatin silver print photographs of various travel destinations in California in 1898. Captions are written below each photograph.

Collection

Midwest Family Travel Album, approximately 1900

approximately 150 photographs in 1 volume

The Midwest family travel album contains approximately 150 photographs showing travel and leisure activities in Virginia, New York, Vermont, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Georgia that were likely compiled by a friend or relative of lumber executive and one-time mayor of Manistee, Michigan, Charles J. Canfield.

The Midwest family travel album contains approximately 150 photographs showing travel and leisure activities in New York, Vermont, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Georgia that were likely compiled by a friend or relative of lumber executive and one-time mayor of Manistee, Michigan, Charles J. Canfield.

The album (26 x 35 cm) has a black cloth binding. Photographs of interest taken in Vermont and New York include rural views, country roads, a woman bicycling, and a group relaxing beside the Batten Kill River in Eagleville, New York. Images from Sioux City, Iowa, include views of public buildings, a golf tournament between Sioux City and Le Mars, a football game between Sioux City and Council Bluffs, an interior view of a woman working at a desk, a high school group on stage in blackface, a shooting expedition, and group portraits of young people at the Sioux City High School and in costume at a "hobo party." Michigan-related photographs include views of Charles Canfield's cottage in Onekama, Michigan, Canfield's yacht "Uvira," views of forests in Manistee, and a lumber camp scene captioned "Camp 4 near Luther, Mich." Photographs from unidentified locations include views of a sawmill, flum, and lumber camp, several home interiors, mountains, and giant trees likely indicative of the West Coast. Two photographs also show a canoe with a Native American family on a lake in Northern Minnesota.

Collection

George Erving collection, 1796-1816

13 items

The George Erving collection consists of letters and a document about Erving's financial affairs, such as his attempt to receive compensation after fleeing his Boston home during the Revolution. Other items include letters that Erving wrote to his nephew, Samuel Waldo.

This collection contains 12 letters and 1 document about George Erving's financial affairs and Boston commerce in the early 19th century. Eight items pertain to Erving, including letters that he wrote to his nephew, Samuel Waldo, and incoming letters from merchants in Boston and England. In one letter to Waldo, Erving complained about his inability to receive compensation from the British government following the British evacuation of Boston in 1776 (February 19, 1796), and one document grants him power of attorney for his nephew. The remaining 5 items relate to life in Massachusetts in the early 19th century; writers commented on the tea trade (January 26, 1802), vacationing (August 23, 1816), and the death of Salmon Chase (August 12, 1806), among other subjects.

Collection

United States. Army. 319th Field Artillery Regiment memoir, 1983

1 volume

This volume contains the author's reminiscences about his service with the 319th Field Artillery Regiment, Battery C (part of the 173rd Airborne Brigade), in Vietnam from June 1968-June 1969. He listed the fire support bases where he was stationed and recalled anecdotes about combat, his relationships with other soldiers and officers, and other aspects of military life.

This volume (31 pages) contains the author's reminiscences about his service with the 319th Field Artillery Regiment (part of the 173rd Airborne Brigade) in Vietnam from June 1968-June 1969. The first 7 pages consist of a numbered list of the locations where his unit was stationed during his time in Vietnam, including several identified as fire support bases, the city of Bảo Lộc, and Cambodia, along with brief notes.

The bulk of the volume (24 pages) consists of notes written on December 13, 1983. The author reminisced about many aspects of his military service, including his participation in artillery support for infantry troops ("grunts") and the clearing and construction of landing zones and bunkers. He named some of his friends and discussed their activities, including frequent drinking and, on one occasion, the use of "coke." He sometimes interacted with local residents, who often sold goods to the soldiers, and frequently mentioned eating rations and local foods such as cucumbers and green lemons. On a few occasions, he recounted interactions with superior officers, and he once bragged about his ability to calculate data faster than a field computer. The memoir contains some descriptions of the scenery near the army's fire support bases and bombed-out villages. The memoir is written in a spiral-bound notebook with an image of an Asian woman on the front.

Collection

Conesus Lake Camping commonplace book, 1889

1 volume

The Conesus Lake Camping commonplace book contains poetry, drawings, and autographs compiled by a group of friends who camped near the New York lake in August 1889.

The Conesus Lake Camping commonplace book contains poetry, drawings, and autographs compiled by a group of friends who camped near the New York lake in August 1889. The loosely bound, 32-page volume opens with an inscription from William Cullen Bryant's poem "The Painted Cup," (p. 1) and also includes a copy of "Of a'the Airts the wind can blaw…," a poem by Robert Burns (p. 3). Of particular interest is a cheerful and humorous narrative poem composed by a woman staying with several female friends under the watchful eye of a chaperone, Aunt Margaret, and a male "protector," Rob. The poem, entitled "Camping Out," describes each of the six members of the camping party and includes a few of their adventures as well as a hint of nostalgia (pp. 19-25; p. 10). The book also contains a series of short cheers associated with prestigious colleges, including Princeton and Yale (p. 12), and, two ink drawings of three male friends: Newton Shepard, William S. Church, and F. B. Foster. One drawing, a tree labeled "Log Cabin" and adorned by an owl (p. 5), appears to be a detail of a larger image of a log cabin labeled "Eagle Point" (p. 32). The book also contains a number of autographs collected from camp visitors from around the country.

Collection

World's Columbian Exposition Photograph Album, 1893

approximately 284 photographs in 1 volume

The World's Columbian Exposition photograph album contains approximately 284 images related to the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 held in Chicago, Illinois.

The World's Columbian Exposition photograph album contains approximately 284 images related to the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 held in Chicago, Illinois.

The album (29 x 40 cm) has black cloth and leather covers bound by two metal rods. The original covers were replaced in March 2012 by conservator James W. Craven. Most of the album's 70 pages contain 4 photographs per page. Images include photographs of exteriors and interiors of various exhibition buildings, large crowds of people, numerous sculptures and statues, various historic and modern marine vessels, and bird's-eye views of the fair complex. Also of note are several photographs showing attendees in wheelchairs, images of various ethnic group exhibit buildings (including the Japanese Bazaar, Persian Palace, Irish Village, Oahomey Village of Benin, Egyptian Temple of Luksor, Alaskan Indian Village, and NY Iroquois Exhibit), and a group portrait of women sculptors including Helen F. Mears and Jean Pond Miner.

Collection

Fanny Sanford log book, 1820-1847 (majority within 1820-1821)

1 volume

This partially printed volume (44 pages) contains the log of the Fanny Sanford's voyage from New York to South America between June 27, 1820, and October 3, 1821. The voyage included stops at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Montevideo, Uruguay; Pisco, Peru; and Guayaquil, Ecuador.

This partially printed volume (44 pages) contains the log of the Fanny Sanford's voyage from New York to South America between June 27, 1820, and October 3, 1821. The voyage included stops at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Montevideo, Uruguay; Pisco, Peru; and Guayaquil, Ecuador.

The logbook, manufactured by William Hooker in New York in 1819, contains printed grids in which to record daily readings such as wind direction, latitude and longitude, and remarks. The entries for this voyage were kept only occasionally, and remarks most often concern the weather; one entry noted the confinement of two unruly passengers (July 5, 1820). The Fanny Sanford reached its initial destination of Rio de Janeiro around July 24, 1820, and departed for Montevideo about two months later. Following a stay in Montevideo, the ship sailed for Peru, in late December, and arrived in Pisco around February 1821. From there, the Fanny Sanford traveled to Guayaquil, Ecuador. The remainder of the log records the ship's movements along the western coast of South America and its eventual departure for a return trip to Montevideo.

The final pages contain notes kept by a later owner, including lists of loans made to Colonel William French in September and October 1841; other records are dated as late as 1847. The title page contains a printed illustration of a sailing ship, and the book contains 2 printed advertisements for maps and nautical publications. The title page was signed by Timothy Thompson.

Collection

Eighteenth-century cypher book, 1793

24 pages (1 volume)

This currently unidentified student's cypher book contains mathematical rules and examples largely in the service of commerce. Entries relate to the addition of money, addition of Troy weight, addition of dry measure, subtraction, a numeration table, a multiplication table, the Golden Rule (i.e. the rule of three), and similar concepts. Currency in this volume is almost exclusively British coinage, but at least one problem references conversion of British pounds into the (newly created) U.S. dollar. The covers of the volume are (apparently re-used) canvas, possibly sailcloth. The cypher book was owned by the Higgins family of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and it contains names of Higgins family members, but the author is yet undetermined.
Collection

Great Lakes Region cities and rivers photograph album, 1916-1919

1 volume

The Great Lakes Region cities and rivers photograph album contains approximately 125 photographs of Detroit, Grand Rapids, Chatham, Minneapolis, and Saginaw from 1916 to 1919.

The Great Lakes Region cities and rivers photograph album contains approximately 125 photographs of Detroit, Grand Rapids, Chatham, Minneapolis, and Saginaw from 1916 to 1919. The images show many of the same people canoeing, skiing, and fishing. Most album pages include handwritten captions with date, location, and names, and some photographs have handwritten notations on the back. Individuals referred to as John, Mother, Wahnita, and Aunt Anna appear most frequently. Also included are images of a Peace Day and Armistice Day parade in 1918 and a Standard Oil fire in July, 1919. A few images show scenes from the Panama Canal Zone.

The album is 21.75 x 13.5 cm with dark brown cloth covers.

Collection

District of Carrollton (La.) letters, 1864

5 items

This collection contains 5 official copies of letters exchanged by United States Army officers regarding African American regiments in the Carrollton District of New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1864. The writers discussed topics including courts martial, troop transfers, commemorations of the Emancipation Proclamation, and soldiers' wives and families.

This collection contains 5 official copies of letters exchanged by United States Army officers regarding African American regiments in the Carrollton District of New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1864. The writers discussed topics including courts martial, troop transfers, commemorations of the Emancipation Proclamation, and soldiers' wives and families.

The box and folder list for this finding aid includes information about the contents of the letters in the collection.

Collection

California, Colorado, and Long Island vacation photograph album, 1904-1906

1 volume

The California, Colorado, and Long Island vacation photograph album consists of 65 snapshot photographs from 1904 to 1906.

The California, Colorado, and Long Island vacation photograph album consists of 65 snapshot photographs from 1904 to 1906. The album begins with scenes of Colorado. These images show views from a railway through the Rocky Mountains and a trip to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.

A majority of the photographs were taken in San Francisco, California. These photos date from May, 1906, just after the San Francisco earthquake and fire. Many of the images show refugee camps and temporary housing, displaced businesses, and damage on Van Ness Ave, which was used as a firebreak by the United States Army. The McKinley Parade, also known as Fiesta de Los Angeles is photographed as well. Other California scenes include Cliff House in San Francisco, an ostrich farm in Pasadena, vineyards, and orchards of olive trees, palm trees, and lemon trees.

The last portion of the album is of Long Island, New York State. These scenes include people on a boat in the water near Westhampton, people swimming in Jamaica Bay, and Apacuck Point.

The album is 18.5 x 14 cm with red cloth covers.

Collection

Alaska collection, 1889-1895

3 letters

The Alaska collection consists of three letters written by an Alaskan fisherman to his brother describing life in Alaska during the late 19th century.

The Alaska collection consists of three letters written by an Alaskan fisherman to his brother describing life in Alaska during the late 19th century. The author, who signed himself "Will," wrote the three letters to his brother Sam, from Fort Wrangle, Alaska (now Wrangell). Will's letters relate to life in Alaska during the early days of its settlement, with a particular focus on employment and on local Indians. Will, who owned a boat and fished for salmon, described his work and provided a picture of his life in the sparsely settled country. He focused on several aspects of life in Alaska, including the natural terrain and his encounters with local Indians, whom he believed to be immoral: "[in] some cases when the squaws are broke they are mighty glad to put in a night with a fellow & get two bits or some beans & bacon in the morning" (February 16, 1889). Will also repeatedly discussed the salmon industry and employment, including his occupation assisting the local marshal.

Collection

New England Schoolmaster's teaching book, 1787-1811

1 volume

In this book, a traveling New England schoolteacher recorded instructional exercises, instructional explanations, poetry, and biographical information about pupils. The author taught in New Hampshire and present-day Maine. Subjects of instruction include arithmetic, surveying, geometry, nautical navigation, and writing.

A traveling New England schoolteacher recorded instructional exercises, instructional explanations, poetry, and biographical information about pupils in this volume (220 pages, 8" x 12") between 1787 and 1811. The author taught in New Hampshire and present-day Maine and entered personal information about teaching appointments throughout the volume. Individual lessons are dated as early as 1787, and the volume includes several lists of male and female pupils from teaching engagements in various towns, dated as late as 1811. Some lists of students are accompanied by the students' birthdates. Classes convened in schoolhouses, other public structures, and private homes.

Each page has a subject label, and several pages are comprised of miscellaneous questions entitled "A Collection of Questions," occasionally attributed to The London Magazine. Much of the volume pertains to instruction in mathematical subjects such as algebra, geometry, and trigonometry, and it includes diagrams, examples, and practical applications. Lengthy sections are devoted to surveying and nautical navigation (including "plane-sailing"), often with many diagrams. Other sections concern subjects such as writing and history, with examples of proverbs, deeds, marriage licenses, and letters for copying. Some pages have collections of anecdotes, proverbs, and poems, usually pertaining to morality and religion. A number of lengthier poems concern death and weddings, and one is entitled "Rodgers & Victory[:] Tit for tat. Or the Chesapeake paid for in British Blood!!!" Other parts include a cure for jaundice, a "rebus," a table of symbols for astronomical objects, information about "Occult Philosophy or Magic," instructions for gauging a copper kettle and a man of war, and a list of nouns with corresponding verbs and participles. Some of the material is copied from outside sources, such as John Love's Geodesia.

Collection

Historical Views of Malden Album, 1852-1939 (majority within 1860-1900)

approximately 200 items in 1 album.

The Historical views of Malden album contains approximately 200 items including photographs, reproductions, prints, newspaper clippings, and maps related to the history of Malden, Massachusetts.

The Historical views of Malden album contains approximately 200 items including photographs, reproductions, prints, newspaper clippings, and maps related to the history of Malden, Massachusetts. The album (26 x 31 cm) is largely disbound with black cloth covers. Many items are loose.

Items of interest include images of street scenes, commercial buildings, schools, houses, gravestones, plaques, monuments relating to the history of Malden (with particular attention paid to the homes of the Winship, Sprague, and Waite families), and several group portraits of Malden students including "Malden High School Cadets" in uniform holding bayoneted rifles and the Centre Grammar School graduating class of 1883 at their school desks. Also present are images of interior and exterior views of city hall (festooned for the 250th anniversary in 1899), and Massachusetts Governor Curtis Guild dedicating Bell Rock around 1905.

Two maps showing Malden in 1852 and 1856 as well as a laid-in negative photostat showing "Sales at auction of the pews in Malden Meeting House, January 13th, 1803" replete with names and prices are also included

Collection

Portland & White Mountains Stage Coach records, 1836-1838

1 volume

This volume contains records for riders of the Portland & White Mountains stagecoach, which ran in the area of Portland, Maine, northwest to Conway, New Hampshire. Kept haphazardly, with writing often overlapping other writing, the driver documented the location where he picked up passengers, the number of seats they occupied, and occasionally their names. Pick up locations were often at hotels and taverns, such as the Cumberland House and American House in Portland.

This volume contains records for riders of the Portland & White Mountains stagecoach, which ran in the area of Portland, Maine, northwest to Conway, New Hampshire. Kept haphazardly, with writing often overlapping other writing, the driver documented the location where he picked up passengers, the number of seats they occupied, and occasionally their names. Pick up locations were often at hotels and taverns, such as the Cumberland House and American House in Portland.

Laid into the volume are two, likely unrelated items: a real photo postcard of a stagecoach with a driver and two horses, and a "Stage and Rail Road" ticket from Charlestown to Philadelphia, May 17, 1853.

Collection

Abraham Lincoln Assassination Book Illustrations, ca. 1960-1970

approximately 300 photographs in 3 volumes

The Abraham Lincoln assassination book illustrations collection consists of 300 photographic reproductions likely produced during the 1960s of various 19th-century photographs, paintings, illustrations, maps, diagrams, posters, and ephemera related to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

The Abraham Lincoln assassination book illustrations collection consists of 300 photographic reproductions likely produced during the 1960s of various 19th-century photographs, paintings, illustrations, maps, diagrams, posters, and ephemera related to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

The collection provides a thorough pictorial history of Lincoln's assassination and its aftermath using photographic reproductions of select period sources. The reproductions are contained in three volumes that have been grouped into five thematic sections: "Assassination" and "Flight and Capture" (Volume 1); "Trial and Execution" and "The Funeral" (Volume 2); and "Funeral at Springfield" (Volume 3). Each thematic section is introduced with a typed index that identifies images and their original sources, which are often listed in abbreviated forms. Image sources that are cited include the Library of Congress (LC), National Park Service (NPS), Chicago Historical Society (CHS), National Archives (NA), New-York Historical Society (NYHS), Lincoln National Life Foundation (LNLF), Illinois State Historical Library (ISHS), Leslie's Illustrated, Harper's Weekly, Claude Simmons (C.S.), and more. While the subject and source of each image are noted, but there is no accompanying text or narrative concerning the events. This collection appears to have been assembled in relation to the prospective publication of an illustrated book on the topic, possibly during the 1960s as a centennial piece. Many of the photographs have chapter and page notations on the back, though there are no specific references to the author or the intended title of the prospective book.

The indexes for each thematic section are as follows:

Part I: Assassination (Volume 1)
  • Second Inauguration - LC
  • Mary Lincoln - LC
  • Abraham Lincoln - LC
  • Major Henry Rathbone - NPS
  • Clara Harris - LC
  • Lincoln Closed Coach - CHS
  • Points in Downtown Washington - LC
  • Ford's Theater from the South - ISHL
  • Ford's from the North - ISHL
  • Star Saloon Next to Ford's - NPS
  • Simulated Night View
  • Playbill April 14, 1865 - NPS
  • Laura Keene - LC
  • Dress Circle - NPS
  • Orchestra and Parquette - NPS
  • Interior Plan - NPS
  • Box 7 and 8 - US Signal Corps
  • Box, Orchestra, Dress and Family Circles - ISHL
  • Stage and Box - Ford Museum
  • Full Stage - NPS
  • Diagram of Stage - From Pitman
  • Stage with Explanatory Key
  • Setee Used in Box - NPS
  • Chair in Which Lincoln Sat - NPS
  • Plan of Box - From Harper's Weekly, 4-29-65
  • Doors Leading to Box - F. Leslie's Ill. News. 5-13-65
  • Stick Used to Bar Door - NPS
  • Seating Arrangement in Box - NPS
  • Booth's Knife and Dagger - NPS
  • John Wilkes Booth - NA
  • The Deringer - NPS
  • Berghaus Sketch from F. Leslie's I.N. 4-29-65
  • Treasury Guards Flag - NPS
  • Berghaus Sketch - F. Leslie's I.N. 5-6-65
  • Booth's Spur - NPS
  • Booth's Boot - NPS
  • Berghaus Sketch - F. Leslie's I.N. 5-20-65
  • Dr. Charles Leale - LC
  • "Borne by Loving Hands" Bersch Painting - NPS
  • Simulated Night View of Petersen House
  • Room Where the President Died - NPS
  • Front Parlor - NPS
  • Back Parlor - NPS
  • Plan of the Petersen House
  • Plan with Key
  • Contemporary Sketch - F. Leslie's I.N. 5-20-65
  • The Alexander Ritchie Painting - LC
  • Contemporary Sketch - F. Leslie's I.N. 4-29-65
  • Enlargement from the Bachelder Painting - Brown U.
  • Diagram of the Wound - from Eisenschiml
  • Seringer with Probe, Bone and Ball - NPS
  • The William Seward House - NPS
  • Attack on Seward by Paine - from Hawley
  • Secretary of State William Seward - LC
  • Lewis Paine (Powell) - LC
  • Frederick H. Seward - NA
  • Paine's Revolver and Dagger - NPS
  • Paine (LC) and Sketch from Harper's Weekly
  • House Where Lincoln Died Present Day - NPS
  • Ford's Theater Years Later - NPS
  • William Clark, Occupant of the Rear Bedroom - NPS
  • Corp. James Tanner - NYHS
  • Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles - NPS
  • Secretary of [W]ar Edwin M. Stanton - LC
  • The Rev. P. D. Gurley - LC
  • Surgeon General J. K. Barnes - NA
  • Journalist friend Noah Brooks - ISHL
  • Close Friend Dr. Alonzo Henry - ISHL
  • Robert Lincoln - ISHL
  • Edwin Booth - NA
  • John T. Ford - NPS
  • Dr. Charles A. Leale - Nat. Lib. Medicine
  • Kirkwood House - C.S.
  • John Nicolay, Lincoln, John Hay - NPS
  • The Fatal Deringer - NPS

Part II: Flight and Capture (Volume 1)
  • Rear of Ford's - NPS
  • Escape from Theatre - NPS
  • Area Behind Ford's - NPS
  • Assumed Flight Through City - NPS
  • Anacostia Bridge - NPS
  • Distant View - LC
  • Flight to Garrett's Farm - NPS
  • Surratt House, Surrattsville - NPS
  • Road from Surrattsville - NPS
  • Dr. Mudd's House - NPS
  • Bedroom at Dr. Mudd's, Dr. Mudd
  • Path to Zekiah Swamp - C.S.
  • St. Mary's Bryantown - C.S.
  • Samuel Cox Residence - NPS
  • Bryantown Hotel - NPS
  • Thomas Jones - NPS
  • Thomas Jones House - NPS
  • Old Brawner House, Pt. Tobacco - NPS
  • Pages from Booth's Diary - NPS
  • Believed Departure Place Potomac - C.S.
  • Dents Meadow - NPS
  • Crossing the Potomac - Baker's Book
  • Mrs. Quesenberry's House - NPS
  • Dr. Stewart's Home - C.S.
  • Remains of Dock, Port Conway - C.S.
  • The William Lucas Cabin - NPS
  • Historical Marker - C.S.
  • A Controversial Poster - NPS
  • Col. Baker, Lt. Baker, L. C. Conger - NYHS
  • Lt. E. P. Doherty - NPS
  • Col. Lafayette Baker - NA
  • Boston Corbett, Lt. Doherty - NA
  • Boston Corbett - LC
  • Garrett's House - NPS
  • Goldman Inn, Bowling Green - C.S.
  • Highly Imaginative Sketch
  • Contemporary Sketch - NPS
  • Plan of Garrett's Yard - NPS
  • Removal of Booth from Barn - CHS
  • As above - from Frank Leslie's Ill. Mag.
  • Booth's Death - from Baker's Book
  • Booth's Guns Found in Barn - NPS
  • Booth's Revolver - NPS
  • Booth's Compass - NPS
  • Keys Found on His Body - NPS
  • Pictures on His Body - NPS
  • " " " "
  • " " " "
  • Returning With Booth's Body - NPS
  • Post-mortem on the Montauk - NPS
  • Surious Burial - from F. Leslies Ill. Mag
  • Burial of Booth - from Baker's Book
  • Paine's Pickaxe - NPS
  • Arrest of Paine at Mrs. Surratt's - NPS
  • Boston Corbett - Boston U.

Part III: Trail and Execution (Volume 2)
  • Old Capitol Prison - NPS
  • Monitor "Saugus" - NA
  • Transferring the Prisoners - F. Leslie's I.N. 5-26-65
  • Arrival at the Old Penitentiary - NPS
  • Cell Block - Harper's Weekly 7-8-65
  • Paine Hooded - F. Leslie's 5-27-65
  • Lewis Paine - LC
  • George Atzerodt - LC
  • David Herold - LC
  • Sam Arnold - LC
  • Michael O'Luaghlin - LC
  • Edmond Spangler - LC
  • Dr. Samuel Mudd - NPS
  • Mary Surratt - LC
  • Sketch Surratt House - NPS
  • Mrs. Surratt's House - LC
  • Floor Plan Courtroom - from Pitman
  • The Conspirators - LC
  • Scene at the Trial - Harpers W. 6-10-65
  • The Courtroom - LC
  • The Military Commission - LC
  • The Commission sketch - NPS
  • Some Members of the Commission - NA
  • " " " - NA
  • " " " - NA
  • Judge Joseph Holt - NA
  • Reverdy Johnson - NA
  • Maj. Gen. Thomas Ewing, Jr. - LC
  • Attorneys John Clampitt, William E. Doster
  • Benn Pitman - LC
  • Louis Wiechmann - NPS
  • Booth's Note for Andrew Johnson - NPS
  • Spangler's Rope - NPS
  • Howard's Livery Stable - LC
  • Incriminating Picture from Surratt House - NPS
  • Senator James Lane - NA
  • Senator Preston King - NA
  • President Andrew Johnson - NA
  • Anna Surratt - NA
  • Remodeled Old Penetentiary - C.S.
  • Father Jacob A. Walter - NA
  • Prison Scenes from Old Print
  • Before the Execution - LC
  • The Graves - LC
  • Awaiting the Prisoners - LC
  • Reading the Orders - LC
  • Adjusting the Nooses - LC
  • Final Scene - LC
  • Mary Surratt Plaque - from Confederate Museum
  • Mary Surratt's Grave - C.S.
  • Fort Jefferson Dry Tortugas - NA
  • Tunnel at Fort Jefferson - NPS
  • Dr. Mudd Plaque at Fort Jefferson - NPS
  • Old and New Gravestones for Dr. Mudd - C.S.
  • Spangler's Grave at St. Peter's - C.S.
  • Booth's Grave, Greenmount Cemetery, Baltimore
  • John Wilkes Booth - Mus. City of New York
  • John Surratt as a Papal Guard - LC
  • Joh[n] Surratt - LC
  • Returning John Surratt for Trial - Harper's W. 2-19-67
  • David Herold. an early photo - NA

Part IV: The Funeral (Volume 2)
  • Abraham Lincoln - LC
  • The White House - LC
  • The Capitol - LC
  • The East Room - NPS
  • Services in the East Room - Harper's W. 5-6-65
  • Pass Funeral Service Contemporary sketch
  • Draped Treasury Building - NYHS
  • The Casket - F. Leslie's I.N. 5-13-65
  • Washington Hearse - LC
  • The Procession - F. Leslie's I.N. 5-6-65
  • " "
  • The Procession Forming - NPS
  • " " - LC
  • Turning Into Pennsylvania Ave. - Harper's W. 5-6-65
  • The Procession - London Illustrated News
  • Route of the Funeral Train - LNLF
  • Willie Lincoln - ISHL
  • The Funeral Coach - NPS
  • Interior of Car - NPS
  • At Harrisburg - ISHL
  • The State House Harrisburg - CHS
  • Train at Harrisburg - LNLF
  • The Train at Philadelphia - ISHL
  • The Philadelphia Hearse - LNLF
  • Independence Hall - from Peterson
  • Philadelphia - ISHL
  • Philadelphia Scene - ISHL
  • The Philadelphia Hearse - CHS
  • Scenes at Philadelphia - NA
  • " "
  • Portion of Train in Railroad Yards - LNLF
  • Crossing the Ferry to New York - from Valentine
  • Arrival in New York - from Valentine
  • The Procession Forming New York - NYHS
  • " " " "
  • New York City Hall - LNLF
  • At the City Hall - LNLF
  • The Body at City Hall - ISHL
  • New York Procession - ISHL
  • " " " "
  • The New York Hearse - LC
  • Death Certificate - NPS
  • Scene at New York - NYHS
  • Scenes in New York - from Valentine
  • " " " " "
  • Notice of Ceremony Lincoln, Illinois - ISHL
  • The Arch at Sing Sing - NPS
  • After the Procession at Albany - Albany Institute
  • Buffalo Hearse - Buffalo & Erie Co. Hist. Soc.
  • Procession at Buffalo " " " " "
  • " " " " " " " "
  • Monument Park Cleveland - CHS
  • At Cleveland - CHS
  • Scene at Cleveland Contemporary sketch
  • Cleveland - LNLF
  • Cleveland - LNLF
  • Monument Park - LNLF
  • At the State House Columbus ISHL
  • Procession at Columbus - LNLF
  • Funeral Arch Indianapolis - LNLF
  • Hearse and Horses Indianapolis - LNLF
  • Hearse and Casket Indianapolis - LNLF
  • Hearse and Casket Indianapolis - LNLF
  • Stop at Michigan City - LNLF
  • Typical Smalltown Depot - ISHL
  • Train at Chicago Illinois Cent. RR
  • Removal of Coffin Chicago Cont. Sketch
  • The Chicago Arch - LC
  • Chicago Procession - Harper's Weekly 5-27-65
  • Entering the City Hall - CHS
  • The People at City Hall - CHS
  • The Catafalque in City Hall - Harper's W. 5-20-65
  • Chicago & Alton Locomotive No. 57. - ISHL
  • Railroad Timetable, Chicago to Springfield - ISHL
  • Notice of Observance Ilion
  • Memorial Paradeat San Francisco - Soc. of Calif. Pioneers
  • Memorial Service at Bloomington - CHS
  • Services in London, England - London Ill. News May 1865

Part V: Funeral at Springfield (Volume 3)
  • The Chicago Delegation - ISHL
  • Lincoln Herndon Law Office - Georg Studio
  • Illinois State House - ISHL
  • The Unused Tomb - ISHL
  • Draped Lincoln Home - ISHL
  • Draped Lincoln Parlor - ISHL
  • Official Pass - ISHL
  • Just Completed Catafalque - ISHL
  • Second View Catafalque - ISHL
  • Filing Into State House - ISHL
  • Waiting to Enter - ISHL
  • Across from the State House - ISHL
  • Filing Past the Catafalque - Harper's Weekly 5-27-65
  • Front of Lincoln Home - NPS
  • "Old Bob" - ISHL
  • Draped House and Horse
  • Order of Procession to Oak Ridge - ISHL
  • The Borrowed St. Louis Hearse - ISHL
  • The Forming Procession - LNLF
  • Route of the Procession
  • Plan of Oak Ridge - ISHL
  • The Gate at Oak Ridge - ISHL
  • General View of Oak Ridge - ISHL
  • Awaiting the Procession - NYHS
  • The Temporary Tomb - ISHL
  • The Services - ISHL
  • Contemporary Sketch
  • Directors of the Monument Association - ISHL
  • Closeup of the Vault - ISHL
  • Interior of the Temporary Tomb - ISHL
  • The Present Tomb - Ill. Inf. Ser.
  • Exterior of Present Tomb - Georg Studio
  • Mary Todd Lincoln - NPS
  • Thomas (Tad) Lincoln - ISHL
  • Bishop Simpson - ISHL
  • Interior of Catacomb as left by Thieves (From John Carroll Power)
  • Funeral Procession Entering Oak Ridge Cemetery - NYHS

Collection

Diary of a railroad and steamer trip, 1857

1 volume

This diary of a railroad and steamer trip chronicles the author's travels from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to the Midwest. The diary includes descriptions of scenery and cities in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa.

This diary of a railroad and steamer trip (88 pages) chronicles the author's travels from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to the Midwest. The diary includes descriptions of scenery and cities in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa.

The volume opens on April 21, 1857, the author's 30th birthday, and begins with a cross-county railroad trip on the Central Railroad from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. Fom there, he traveled on the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago Railroad to St. Louis, Missouri, where he arrived on April 25. In St. Louis, he noted the 55-minute time difference, went sightseeing, and met acquaintances from Delaware. His travels in the area included a trip to the Jefferson Barracks, which he recorded in detail (April 27, 1857), and several visits to nearby St. Charles, where he attended a Mormon church service (May 3, 1857). From May 6-12, he embarked on a boat trip to Leavenworth, Kansas, on the steamer Oceana, making frequent mentions of scenery in his diary. During his time in Kansas, he visited several local land offices, where he commented on inflated prices, and he discussed the recent history of the region, tainted by the violence of "Border Ruffians." From Kansas, he returned to St. Louis via Missouri River steamers and traveled up the Mississippi River to Quincy, Illinois, and Keokuk, Iowa. Throughout his journey, he recorded his incoming and outgoing correspondence, primarily to relatives in Delaware, and attended religious services of numerous Christian denominations. Additionally, he continued to meet friends and describe scenery and points of interest. He also occasionally made note of emigrants encountered along his travels, including a group of French socialist settlers in Nauvoo, Illinois (June 10, 1857) and other emigrants headed further west from Missouri and Kansas. The diary ends in Quincy, Illinois, on June 22, 1857, with the author setting out for Palmyra, Missouri, where he spent much of the last week of his travels.

Collection

Robert Leet Patterson family genealogical notebook, 1900-1909

1 volume

This volume primarily contains information on the ancestors of Robert Leet Patterson, who included members of the Williams family, Herron family, Wilson family, and Baird family. Other entries pertain to the establishment of European colonies in North America, United States coinage, and the history of Derry, Ireland.

This volume (with enclosed items) contains information on the ancestors of Robert Leet Patterson, including members of the Williams, Herron, Wilson, and Baird families. Other entries pertain to the establishment of European colonies in North America, United States coinage, and the history of Derry, Ireland. The volume contains 468 numbered pages, but only around 110 are used. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for a table of contents.

The notebook includes extracts copied from historical and biographical publications, newspapers, and other sources. Most of the material pertains to family histories, including family trees, genealogical notes, and biographical sketches of members of the Patterson, Stockton, Williams, Herron, Huntington, Head, Wilson, Given, Nicholas, Chestnut, Leet, Anderson, Way, and Baird families. Other items pertain to European exploration and land claims in North America, early relationships between European powers and Native Americans, the history of the New Haven colony, differences between old and new dating systems, and the history and economic output of County Londonderry and the city of Derry, Ireland. One brief note concerns the establishment of Presbyterianism in Philadelphia. The volume also contains a list of the number and type of coins issued by the United States government every year from 1793-1883.

Materials enclosed in the volume include 9 newspaper clippings respecting the Highland Presbyterian Church's 1903 centennial celebrations; "Reports from Florida" in 1879; obituaries for members of the Patterson, Wilson, and Heron families, dated 1900-1909; 6 pages of genealogical notes, one of which is a fragment of a letter; and a draft letter responding to a family member's request for advice about purchasing a grocery store.

Collection

Galveston, Texas photograph album, ca. 1908

1 volume

The Galveston, Texas photograph album contains 33 photographs, the majority of which depict Galveston, Texas ca. 1908.

The Galveston, Texas photograph album contains 33 photographs, the majority of which depict Galveston, Texas ca. 1908. Included are cyanotypes, albumen prints, and postcard photo prints. Photographs consist of a railroad crossing tower, railroad station, trestle bridge, freight and passenger steamers, downtown street views, family photographs, grandstands, earth embankments, buildings under construction, and Galveston's seawall and grade raising project. Amusement/water parks shown include Electric Park (Galveston, Texas), Chutes Park (Galveston, Texas), and Lake Cliff Park (Dallas, Texas).

The album is 19 x 14.5 cm with brown paper covers. A cyanotype of an unidentified building is pasted to the front cover.

Collection

Thomas Hutchinson diary extracts, 1774-1780

1 volume

This collection is made up of 570 pages of handwritten extracts from Thomas Hutchinson's diary, dated between February 1770 and March 1780. An unknown copyist transcribed and summarized the diary in the late 18th or early 19th century.

This collection is made up of 570 pages of extracts from Thomas Hutchinson's diary, dated between February 1774 and March 1780. An unknown copyist transcribed and summarized the diary in the late 18th or early 19th century. The manuscript includes notations, additions, and corrections.

"Extracts from Gov. H.'s [Dia]ry," begins in England, after Hutchinson's exile from Massachusetts. Hutchinson frequently remarked on political and military circumstances related to Great Britain and the American colonies. The diary includes the author's interactions with and thoughts on many prominent public individuals. Hutchinson occasionally wrote about personal and family matters, such as his son's ailing health in early 1780.

Collection

Schooner Dart journal, 1812

1 volume

The Schooner Dart Journal documents the voyage of an American privateering vessel under the command of Master Thorndike Symonds from July 16, 1812, to August 8, 1812. The schooner departed from Salem, Massachusetts, and stopped at Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia, before ranging along the Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts coasts in search of British prizes. The journal's author notes wind and weather conditions, places passed, and encounters with other ships, which were principally American privateers, merchant vessels, and fishermen.
American privateers named in the volume include:
  • Nancy out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire
  • Wild Robin out of Boston, Massachusetts
  • Regulator out of Salem, Massachusetts

Notes about the various ships' homeports and purposes provide insight into the maritime activity in the region. On July 23, three crewmembers from the Dart were placed aboard the brig George. On July 25, upon encountering the schooner Five Sisters, previously captured by the Maidstone, the Dart took on her prize master and prisoners and sent aboard a new prize master and three crewmembers to take the captured vessel to Salem. The entry for July 25 also notes that the Regulator captured a fishing schooner within sight of the Dart, but the Maidstone had already taken it. News about English cruisers driving ashore American privateers in the region of St. Andrews was recorded on July 30.

The journal's passages also illuminate some of privateers' daily operations, including brief comments on food and drink, examining ships' paperwork, taking stock of water and arms onboard, and hiring pilots to aid navigation.

Thorndike Symonds signed the final page of the journal on August 12, 1812, swearing before Salem's collector William W. Oliver that it was a "full, just and true account of all the transactions on board said privateer during her late Cruise."

A note written on March 22, 1895, by A. F. Hitchings, Deputy Collector, appears on the last page, stating the Dart's tonnage, Thorndike Symonds' command, and the schooner's owners. Hitchings' stamp also appears on the front cover.

Collection

Louisiana Surveys collection, 1782-1803

101 items

This collection contains around 100 land surveys pertaining to property along the southern Mississippi River in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

This collection contains around 100 land surveys with maps pertaining to property along the southern Mississippi River in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Many of the items are signed by William Dunbar, Valentine Layssard, and Carlos Trudeau, surveyors under the Spanish government in West Florida and Louisiana. The collection contains petitions, grants, and other documents, many of which are in French or Spanish. The lands fell under the jurisdiction of several administrative districts, including Natchez, Baton Rouge, Feliciana, Rapides, San Bernardo, and Galveston.

Collection

Yacht Vergana Photograph Album, 1902-1908

approximately 190 photographs in 1 volume

The Yacht Vergana photograph album contains approximately 190 photographs related to the lifestyle and friends of a New York-based yacht owner.

The Yacht Vergana photograph album contains approximately 190 photographs related to the lifestyle and friends of a New York-based yacht owner. The album (18 x 26 cm) is fully bound in brown leather. Images of interest include views taken in and around Long Island Sound, including the torpedo boat Ericsson at the Greenport dock; shell races at Poughkeepsie, with spectators aboard the steamboat Chester W. Chapin; Luna Park on Coney Island; various sailing and steam vessels on Long Island Sound; Prospect Park in Brooklyn; the racing yacht Flint's Arrow; a group of nurses from the Flower Free Hospital on a shipboard outing; buildings in Greenport; Sir Thomas Lipton's yacht, Erin; cadets at West Point; the steamboat Orient and her crew; the yacht Vergana; Long Island Railroad snow plows; and an automobile race at the Riverhead Fair (according to laid-in caption). Other photographs include beach scenes, fishing boats, family and friends onboard the Vergana and other vessels, and unidentified street views possibly taken on Long Island. A number of photographs include manuscript captions.

Collection

Montana photographs, 1876, 1890-1914

120 items

The Montana photographs are comprised of card photographs, loose pages from a photograph album, snapshots, and various photographic prints. The pictures show groups of men and women, scenes inside and around a mine and mining camps, landscapes, city views, and street scenes.

The Montana photographs (120 items) are comprised of 38 loose photographic prints, 7 card photographs, and 13 loose pages from a photograph album (with 75 photographs). One of the card photographs shows an illustration of the Montana State Capitol, designed by John H. Kent; a posed photo shows George W. Shaw demonstrating a piece from a sewing machine (Philadelphia, 1876), and two mounted images show his booths promoting Shaw's pancake flour at the Montana State Fairs of 1900 and 1901. The unmounted prints, which include cyanotypes and Kodak snapshots, are pictures of mountainous landscapes, tent and log cabin camps, and men at work. Two group portraits are present, as are pictures of a mining camp in Arizona and the interior of a bedroom. The album pages contain informal portraits of members of the Daniels and Powers families, street scenes from Butte taken during a large conflagration, and several of a mining operation. Of note are images of mine workers inside the mine, mine-related buildings, underground railroad tracks, and an electric hoist. A large group photo shows men gathered around a table in a rough-shod office studying documents or maps. Automobiles are visible in some of the images. Many of the album photographs have captions written directly on them in pencil. Interior and exterior views of offices and homes.

Collection

Manuscript Sheet Music collection, 1801-1923 (majority within 1850s-1890s)

0.25 linear feet

The Manuscript Sheet Music collection is made up of manuscript music scores, correspondence, and composers' autographs.

The Manuscript Sheet Music collection (approximately 140 items) contains manuscript music scores and composers' autographs, as well as correspondence and other items.

The bulk of the collection is comprised of around 80 music scores, which range in length from one line to several pages; some are complete works, and some are fragments. Most of the brief melodies are accompanied by the composers' signatures and may have been intended as autograph gifts. The longer works are mainly piano and/or vocal scores, and some include lines for violin with piano accompaniment. Lyrics, when present, are written in English and German. Some of the scores are dated and signed, and a few were written in German cities. The cover of the score for "Barcarola" includes an engraving of "The Great Western crossing the Atlantic," and Harry Keyser's "Two Etudes for Pianoforte" is accompanied by a letter by the composer. A manuscript music book belonging to "Th. Hämb, Junior" contains several short pieces with lyrics in a Nordic language.

Additional autographed items include 25 autograph cards, 8 autograph musical quotations, 10 sheets of paper (some with inscriptions), and a photograph of violinist A. Rivarde. Many of the autographed cards, which are the size of business cards or visiting cards, are dated at Chicago in the mid- to late 1880s. The collection's 8 letters (in English, German, and Italian) include one man's opinion of a performance of "Wanda" and a letter illustrated with lines of music. Additional items are a program for a Manchester, New Hampshire, performance of the comic opera Jonah, an ink drawing of a decaying stone building, and lines of poetry or musical lyrics.

Collection

Eighteenth-century commonplace book, 1732-[1762]

1 volume

This volume (234 pages) contains copied passages from histories, magazines, philosophical treatises, and other sources, dated from 1732 to the mid-1760s.

This volume (234 pages) contains copied passages from histories, magazines, philosophical treatises, and other sources from the mid-18th century.

The copied excerpts, written in a dense, consistent hand, are dated from 1732 to the mid-1760s, and most are attributed to their authors or other sources of origin, such as the Gentleman's Magazine of London, England. The creator if the commonplace book compiled information on subjects such as religion, history, philosophy, linguistics, medicine, and science, and often quoted specific articles, sermons, and treatises at length. The historical sections focus on English history, and the religious items occasionally incorporate words and lines in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Much of the religious material pertains to specific biblical stories. The book has a partial subject index, created by the compiler. John H. Treadwell later owned the volume, which holds his bookplate.

Collection

Charles Brewster Ross collection, 1874-1932

6 items

The July 1, 1874 kidnapping of four-year-old Charles Brewster "Charley" Ross from a sidewalk in front of the family home in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania became the first nationally publicized kidnapping for ransom case in the United States. This collection contains six items: one letter, a manuscript reward advertisement, handwritten notes, a pencil sketch portrait of Charley, a manuscript account of experiences with the main suspects, and an undated newspaper clipping related to the continuing investigation of the child's abduction, ca. 1909.

The July 1, 1874, kidnapping of four-year-old Charles Brewster "Charley" Ross from a sidewalk in front of the family home in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania became the first nationally publicized kidnapping for ransom case in the United States. This collection contains six items: a letter, a manuscript draft of a reward advertisement, handwritten notes, a pencil sketched portrait of Charley, a manusscript account of experiences with the main suspects, and an undated newspaper clipping-related to the continuing investigation of the child's abduction, ca. 1909.

The one Letter in the collection is from Charley Ross's father Christian K. Ross to Rev. Henry Whitney Cleveland, October 20, 1877; Philadelphia. 2 pages. In it, Mr. Ross states that he cannot help Cleveland publish a book as his time is spent searching for his missing son. Ross mentions the book he published on the case, lamenting that he published it using a subscription service as it limited its circulation.

Written on the verso of printed, illustrated stationery of the Haynes Hotel, Springfield, Massachusetts, the manuscript draft of a Reward Advertisement stipulates a $10,000 reward for the return of Charley Ross alive, promising not to seek out or discover the identity of the kidnappers. The page is headed "For Local Article."

Notes: Six pages of pencil notes on checkbook stubs, measuring approximately 9x4 inches. Dating from July 1, 1874, to an unknown point in 1909, the notes begin from the point of Charley's kidnapping, chronicling accounts of the case. First remarking that Christian Ross had "run down false clews [in a] vain attempt" to locate Charley, the unidentified writer continues with a sparse summary of the alleged kidnappers capture "at Fort Hamilton, L.I. [Long Island]" and Joseph Douglas's confession that "Mosher & I stole Charly [sic] Ross." The next entry, dated 1909, discusses one Wm. G. Eyster, whose claim to be the lost Charley Ross was rejected.

The notes conclude with a sketch of a man wearing glasses and a bow tie, with the caption "3 days to get it ready, $20,000," followed by what appears to be notes related to other kidnappings and reference to a "Jessy James."

Manuscript: On October 9, 1932, James H. Hall wrote a nine-page summary of George W. Murdock's recounting of his experiences with the main suspects in the Charles Brewster Ross kidnapping case, Bill Mosher and Joe Douglas, while his mother was in charge of the lighthouse in the Hudson River. Murdock recalled Mosher and Douglas attempting to sell them a boat, described the two men, and described encounters with detectives who searched their premises and read their mail. Hall speculated about the possible role of the boat in the kidnapping.

Newspaper Clipping: An undated clipping regarding one Mr. W.C. DeWitt, claiming to be the lost Charley Ross and giving a lecture, titled "The True Story of My Abduction."

Portrait: A pencil sketch of Charley with an inscription that reads,"at the time of his abduction. Then 4 yrs. and Walter, his 6-yr-old brother. Disappeared from the sidewalk, near their home. July 1, 1874."

Collection

Pennsylvania Iron Furnace collection, 1777-1809

15 items

The Pennsylvania Iron Furnace collection is made up of accounts, receipts, and correspondence pertaining to iron furnaces in the state of Pennsylvania in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The Pennsylvania Iron Furnace collection is made up of accounts, receipts, and correspondence related to iron furnaces in the state of Pennsylvania in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Of the 11 financial records, 9 pertain to the Joanna Furnace in Berks County, Pennsylvania, including tax receipts and accounts related to its founders. An early document between Samuel Van Lear and James Old (September 11, 1777-May 25, 1782) and records of iron received from the French Creek Slitting Mill (June 4, 1802-December 14, 1802) are also present. The collection has letters written by Peter Astor at the Green Lane Forge (July 30, 1783), Robert Coleman at Elizabeth Furnace (February 7, 1798, and April 14, 1798), and Waters Dewees at Laurel Forge (April 11, 1803). The correspondence mostly concerns financial affairs.

Collection

Crum-Ely family photograph album, ca. 1870-ca. 1895

1 volume

The Crum-Ely family photograph album contains studio portrait photographs of individuals and groups living in Ohio. There are 28 cabinet photographs and 14 cartes de visite, and many pages include hand-written identifications of the subjects in the photographs.

The Crum-Ely family album (27.25 x 21.5cm) is a 34 page maroon plush velvet album containing 42 studio portrait photographs of individuals and groups living in Ohio and other Midwestern states. The people featured include members of the Crum, Ely, Folck, Matthias, Greer, Gilbert, and Riddle families. There are 28 cabinet photographs and 14 cartes de visite, and many pages include hand-written identifications of the subjects in the photographs.

The photographs were taken in West Unity, Bryan, Wauseon and Fayette, Ohio. There are also portraits from Osage Mission, Kansas and Bowman, Missouri.

Of note is the portrait of two women and a dark skinned man serving them.

There is a humorous occupational portrait of "Ed and Griffin" as tailors.

Collection

Salem (N.Y.) collection, 1760-1891 (majority within 1785-1891)

0.25 linear feet

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, financial records, newspaper clippings, and other items related to Salem, New York, and its residents, primarily from the 1780s-1890s.

This collection is made up of correspondence, documents, financial records, newspaper clippings, and other items related to Salem, New York, and its residents, primarily from the 1780s-1890s. Many of the items were once bound together.

The Correspondence series is comprised of around 60 incoming and outgoing letters related to Salem, New York, and to the history of the state of New York. Early letters between residents of Salem and other locales concern a wide range of topics including education, political offices and appointments, and legal cases. After 1856, most items are incoming letters to James Gibson, a native of Salem who was state senator, judge, and president of the Washington Academy. Three letters written during the Civil War concern military commissions and officers. Many of Gibson's incoming letters, particularly later items, relate to his genealogical work; some correspondents offered or requested information about their ancestors.

The Documents series contains over 140 indentures, financial records, petitions, and other items, primarily related to residents of Salem, New York, in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many of the indentures concern land ownership in Washington, County, New York, and personal financial agreements. Other material relates to the Washington Academy, including a list of pupils. Legal orders largely concern private debts, and one document pertains to a local election. Some documents have newspaper clippings pasted onto them, and others were once bound together. One item is a diploma that the Washington Academy issued to James McEl. A group of land indentures is housed in a large bound volume.

The collection's Printed Items include articles, programs, and newspaper clippings. The majority of newspaper clippings concern the Washington Academy in Salem, New York. Other articles concern the "Bench and Bar of Washington County," the Bancroft Public Library, and the family of William Williams. Some clippings are pasted onto large sheets of paper, with manuscript annotations; a small number of complete newspapers are present. The series also has several copies of a program from the dedication ceremony of the Bancroft Public Library in July 1890.

The Photograph, Essay, Notes, and Fragments series is made up of items pertaining to Salem, New York. The carte-de-visite photograph depicts J. B. Steele. The various notes, essay, and fragments pertain to genealogy.

Collection

Massachusetts Women's Home Front letters, 1863-1864

12 items

This collection contains 12 letters that a woman named Emma received from female friends and family members during the Civil War. Emma's correspondents commented on their social lives on the home front and discussed the increasing toll the war began to take on their male acquaintances, particularly with regard to conscription.

This collection contains 12 letters that a woman named Emma received from female friends and family members during the Civil War. Emma's correspondents commented on their social lives on the home front and discussed the increasing toll the war began to take on their male acquaintances, particularly with regard to conscription.

Nettie Hodgkins of Lock's Village, Massachusetts, was Emma's most frequently correspondent, a childhood friend who often addressed Emma as "Amy." Other writers included a cousin and sister. The letters sometimes have lists of mutual acquaintances who were drafted or otherwise involved with the military, including Emma's brothers, and occasionally refer to soldiers' deaths. One writer lamented the draft's "sad work" (July 21, 1863), and a woman named Esther described the death of her friend Sarah from a fever (December 17, 1864).

Collection

Irene Levis Roberts album, 1844-1863

1 volume

The Irene Levis Roberts album, entitled "Flowers of Loveliness," contains poems by W. H. Green and A. H. Roberts of Smyrna, Delaware, and Edmund Brewster Green of New York, New York. A note about Roberts's baptism is also present.

The Irene Levis Roberts album, which has the title "Flowers of Loveliness" imprinted on the cover, includes 9 entries (17 total pages): 8 poems and 1 note. The poetry, mostly written by A. H. Roberts, concerns topics such as nature and the seasons, religion, travel, and death (see below for a full list of titles). The note by Thomas C. Murphy, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church in Smyrna, Delaware, pertains to the baptism of Irene L. Roberts on performed on March 11, 1855. Colorful crayon scribbles appear over one of the poems and on several of the later pages.

The book contains a series of colored prints show women dressed and decorated as flowers, each representative of a virtue.

Poems:
  • "To My Niece," by W. L. Green, November 25, 1852 (1 page)
  • "The Flight of Time," by Edmund Brewster Green, September 7, 1844 (2 pages)
  • "To My Friends," by A. H. Roberts, undated (2 pages)
  • "On the Death of Mrs. S. M. of This Place," by A. H. Roberts, undated (2 pages)
  • "Lines Suggested on Witnessing the Burial of Mr. D. Carr, Respectfully Addressed to His Widow," by A. H. Roberts, undated (2 pages)
  • "The Home of the Christian," by A. H. Roberts, undated (2 pages)
  • "The Hindoo Mother," by A. H. Roberts, undated (3 pages)
  • "Reflections on My Past Visits to Cantwells Bridge, Addressed to E. D. Clark," by A. H. Roberts, copied by I. Roberts, May 1863 (2 pages)
Collection

Russell-McCabe autograph album, 1759-1920

1 volume

This album contains autograph manuscripts and signatures of famous American politicians, military figures, authors, artists, actors, and religious figures, begun by Boston resident "Mrs. Russell" in 1859. A small number of contributors wrote directly into the volume, which also includes pasted-in letters, documents, poetry, excerpts, and signatures.

This album (145 pages) contains autograph manuscripts and signatures of famous American politicians, military figures, authors, artists, actors, and religious figures, begun by Boston resident "Mrs. Russell" in 1859. The first few pages include notes and signatures written directly into the volume, mostly dated at Boston in 1859. The majority of the album consists of pasted-in letters, poems, fragments, and standalone signatures written as early as 1759 and as late as 1920; 3 items from 1912, 1917, and 1920 are addressed to James C. McCabe of Bay City, Michigan. The correspondence refers to politics and current events, the memory of George Washington, and other subjects. One letter from Maria Mitchell to "My Dear Emily" assured the recipient that she had consulted the stars for auspicious signs (p. 100). The contributions from John Quincy Adams and James Madison are unsigned handwriting samples. The album includes a financial document signed by Jenny Lind regarding the distribution of proceeds from a charity performance (p. 6). A small number of materials are accompanied by clippings containing biographical information about the contributors. A complete index is available in the Manuscripts Division.

Collection

Grew family collection, 1790, 1795

2 items

This collection consists of a commonplace book (approximately 50 pages) compiled by Ann Greene after 1790, and an account of a 44-day voyage John Grew and his family took from Liverpool to Boston in the summer of 1795. The 22-page travel diary also includes an 8-page copy of a letter Mary Grew, John Grew's mother, wrote to her family in England upon her arrival in Boston.

This collection consists of a commonplace book (approximately 50 pages) compiled by Ann Greene after 1790, and an account of a 44-day voyage John Grew and his family took from Liverpool to Boston in the summer of 1795. The 22-page travel diary also includes an 8-page copy of a letter Mary Grew, John Grew's mother, wrote to her family in England upon her arrival in Boston.

Ann Greene's commonplace book has two parts: 33 pages of transcribed poetry (24 poems) begin at the front cover, and 15 additional pages of personal reflections and letter drafts begin at the back cover. Much of the poetry was originally written by British authors whose work circulated widely in the eighteenth century, such as James Boswell, James Thomson, William Cowper, and Elizabeth Singer Rowe. Greene occasionally recorded the volume and page from which she transcribed poems. The other portion of the volume contains personal resolutions about making good use of one's time, interspersed with light-hearted notes about beaux or friends.

The travel diary records the Grew family's emigration from Birmingham England, to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1795. Daily entries, written between May 23 and July 8, 1795, detail several aspects of the voyage, such as the weather, passing ships, maritime wildlife, and the ship's progress. The diarist also mentioned an instance when another vessel mistook their ship for a French privateer, and the effects of a tumultuous storm.

The final 8 pages contain a copy of a letter Mary Coltman Grew (1756-1834) wrote to her mother in England from Boston, Massachusetts (July 24, 1795). She detailed her initial impressions of the city and of local customs. Among other topics, she reflected on the climate, housing, servants, dress, food, and religious customs. She also related an anecdote about Benjamin Franklin, who reportedly distributed printed cards to strangers in order to preempt any inquiries about him.

Collection

China diary, 1859-1860

1 volume

This diary chronicles the author's sea voyage from New York to China in the spring of 1859, as well as his life in Shanghai between July 1859 and July 1860. At sea, he detailed the daily weather, scenery, and life onboard the ship, and in Shanghai he described his everyday life as a doctor and shared numerous observations on the effects of foreign trade on the country, local missionary efforts, and military conflict between the British and Chinese.

This diary (289 pages) chronicles the author's sea voyage from New York to China in the spring of 1859, as well as his life in Shanghai between July 1859 and July 1860. The first entry, dated February 28, 1859, opens with the author embarking for China on the N. B. Palmer, an American clipper under a Captain Frisbie. Over the next several months, he recorded daily observations of the weather and of life onboard the ship, including the captain's occasional harsh treatment of the crew. In addition to recording daily measurements of latitude and longitude, he occasionally described the scenery as the ship rounded the Cape of Good Hope and made its way to China by way of Indonesia. After a brief stop on Java in mid-May, the ship proceeded to Hong Kong, where it arrived on June 11 to discharge its cargo. During his brief time in Hong Kong, the author noted several aspects of local life, including the influence of foreign missionaries. On June 27, the N. B. Palmer departed Hong Kong bound for Shanghai, which it reached on July 4 amid Independence Day celebrations. Once in Shanghai, the diarist recorded his impressions of the city and incidents from his medical career, which included administering vaccinations as well as caring for the sick. The diary contains many references to political affairs and to the local efforts of foreign missionaries; much of the political focus is on the influence of Great Britain, particularly after the escalation of the Second Opium War. In addition to political commentary and descriptions of his daily life as a doctor, the diarist occasionally expressed his hope that Christianity would eventually win over the locals. The author remained in Shanghai until at least July 21, 1860, the date of his final entry. Two items laid into the volume include an undated note of thanks for the doctor's services (pp. 58-59) and a sheet of paper containing two Chinese characters (pp. 90-91).