Search

This collection primarily consists of correspondence of U.S. diplomat Christopher Hughes; his twin sister Peggy Hughes Moore; his in-laws the Moore family; his spouse Laura Smith Hughes (1792-1832); their daughter Margaret Smith Hughes Kennedy (1819-1884); and Anthony Kennedy (1810-1892), his son-in-law. The papers largely date between the War of 1812 and the U.S. War with Mexico. Christopher Hughes corresponded with U.S. Presidents, Secretaries of State, and a large circle of friends and family on both sides of the Atlantic. The papers reflect American diplomatic policy in Europe after the War of 1812, particularly in Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, and France. They also present the lives and experiences of the social and personal lives of women and children who traveled as part of the duties of an American diplomat.

This collection primarily consists of correspondence of U.S. diplomat Christopher Hughes; his twin sister Peggy Hughes Moore; his in-laws the Moore family; his spouse Laura Smith Hughes (1792-1832); their daughter Margaret Smith Hughes Kennedy (1819-1884); and Anthony Kennedy (1810-1892), his son-in-law. The papers largely date between the War of 1812 and the U.S. War with Mexico. Christopher Hughes corresponded with U.S. Presidents, Secretaries of State, and a large circle of friends and family on both sides of the Atlantic. The papers reflect American diplomatic policy in Europe after the War of 1812, particularly in Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, and France. They also present the lives and experiences of the social and personal lives of women and children who traveled as part of the duties of an American chargé d'affaires.

The papers also include financial papers, military documents, property documentation, materials related to the San Pedro Company, writings, poetry, sketches, photographs, ephemera, and other printed items. Among the writings is an 1840 account of a visit by Christopher Hughes to physician Fru Jansen at Catherineberg for health care; 1842 travel writing by Margaret Hughes; and manuscript and printed poetry, including dinner toasts, a valentine poem, an acrostic on Margaret's name, translations, and more.

Other selected items include pencil sketches of four of the five peace commissioners at the Treaty of Ghent negotiations in Belgium, by Dutch artist P. van Huffel, January 1815. The portraits include John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Albert Gallatin, and Christopher Hughes (as secretary of the delegation). A group of 24 photographs from the early 1930s depict the grave of Laura Smith Hughes (1795-1832) and the church where she was buried, Bromme Church in Akershof, near Stockholm, Sweden, and a variety of other people and places.

Please see the Christopher Hughes Indices and Notes for an index of letter writers and inventories of non-correspondence materials.

The Goulburn papers (301 items) contain the diplomatic correspondence and official documents of Henry Goulburn, British negotiator of the Treaty of Ghent. The collection includes the official and private letters between the British commissioners and the British Foreign Office, letters between the American and British commissioners, and drafts of the treaty. Included is one of the six original copies of Treaty of Ghent, written in the hand of Henry Clay and signed by each commissioner.

The Goulburn papers (301 items) contain the diplomatic correspondence and treaty drafts of the British and American negotiations for the Treaty of Ghent. The collection includes the letters between the British commissioners and the British foreign office, both official and private, and between the American and British commissioners. These comprise 80 letters, 74 drafts and copies of letters, and various enclosures, treaty drafts, and memoranda. Also present is one of the six original copies of Treaty of Ghent, written in the hand of Henry Clay and signed by each commissioner.

Goulburn and the other British commissioners primarily communicated with Prime Minister Liverpool, Foreign Secretary Lord Castlereagh, and Secretary of War Earl Bathurst, providing them with updates on the negotiation process and receiving instructions and peace guidelines from their superiors. The foreign office also kept the commissioners abreast of military developments in North America, such as the burning of Washington and their defeat at Plattsburgh, New York. Goulburn and his colleagues also exchanged notes, formal gambits, and treaty drafts with the American commissioners ("Ministers Plenipotentiaries") John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Albert Gallatin, and Jonathan Russell. The collection also contains copies of communications with President James Madison and Secretary of State James Monroe. The negotiations centered on agreements regarding frontier boarders, Native American land guarantees, naval impressments, Atlantic fishery rights, and general maritime rights. Together, these papers document the peace treaty proceedings throughout the fall of 1814, which ultimately led to the settlement at Ghent.

• October 5, 1813: Letter from Baring Ashburton to Lord Castlereagh concerning impressments and preliminaries to the negotiations with America
• November 8, 1813: Letter from St. John's merchants to Sir Richard Goodwin Keats concerning special fishing privileges near Newfoundland for France and the United States
• January 7, 1814: Newspaper clippings reporting peace overtures
• June 29, 1814: A proclamation from President James Madison which refers to the British blockade of the United States a "paper blockade"
• July 18, 1814: A memorial concerning Loyalist Reverend Bennet Allen's claim for lost property
• July 28, 1814: Instructions from Lord Castlereagh of the foreign office to the British Peace Commission containing requests and requirements for peace (14 enclosures)
• August 8, 1814: Protocol of the peace conferences as revised by the British and American commissioners
• August 9, 1814: Report to Castlereagh on preliminary meetings at Ghent, with enclosed letters from President Madison to the American commissioners
• August 14, 1814: Letter from Castlereagh to British commissioners concerning Indians, fisheries, and boundaries
• August 19, 1814: A draft note from British commissioners to the Americans outlining the British peace requirements
• August 24, 1814: The American commissioners rejection of the British terms
• August 30, 1814: Letter enclosing a copy of a note from Castlereagh to James Monroe offering direct negotiations instead of Russian mediation
• September 1, 1814: Letter from Henry Bathurst to Goulburn, rebuking him for almost breaking off negotiations
• September 4, 1814:Draft of the treaty with British alterations
• September 9, 1814: Letter in which the United States rejects the Canadian boundary proposed by Great Britain
• September 16, 1814: Letter from Henry Bathurst to Goulburn concerning pressures to make peace for political reasons in Britain
• September 17, 1814: Letter from Robert Liverpool to Goulburn concerning negotiating for Indian boundaries
• September 19, 1814: Draft letter from British commissioners to American commissioners concerning boundaries and Indian affairs
• October 4, 1814: Letter from Goulburn to Bathurst concerning the burning of Washington and the decision to communicate this intelligence to the American commissioners (response on October 21, 1814)
• October 8, 1814: Letter from British commissioners to American commissioners regarding an ultimatum on the Indian question
• October 13, 1814: Letter from American commissioners to the British commissioners defending the Louisiana Purchase and denying territorial ambitions
• October 18, 1814: Letter from Bathurst to the British commissioners concerning impressments, maritime law, fisheries, and the boundaries of Maine, Niagara, and Michilimackinac
• October 21, 1814: Letter from Liverpool to Goulburn concerning the grave political consequences of continuing the war
• November 10, 1814: American treaty submission with British comments
• November 21, 1814: Letter from Bathurst to Goulburn discussing the effect of Prevost's failure at the Battle of Plattsburgh on the peace process
• November 1814: American commissioners to British commissioners concerning the disposition of prisoners after the peace treaty is signed with an American amendment to article 8 of the treaty
• December 7, 1814: Letter from British commissioners to American commissioners concerning the charge of the British stealing slaves during the war
• December 10, 1814: Letter from British commissioners to Castlereagh concerning verbal alterations in the treaty, technical details, and general progress in negotiations
• December 14, 1814: Letter from British commissioners to Castlereagh concerning copies of the article relating to the Passamaquoddy Islands
• December 14, 1814: Letter from American commissioners to British commissioners concerning the Passamaquoddy Islands and the boundaries on the Mississippi River
• December 26, 1814: Letter from Bathurst to Goulburn congratulating him on the treaty signing
• December 26, 1814: Letter from American commissioners to British commissioners concerning a project for a commercial treaty between the United States and Great Britain
• December 28, 1814: Commercial treaty in the hand of John Quincy Adams
• December 29, 1814: Letter from American commissioners to British commissioners regarding stolen slaves that the British sold in the West Indies
• December 30, 1814: Letter from Goulburn to Bathurst explaining minor changes to the treaty

The collection contains one letter from Goulburn, stationed at the Irish Office, to an unknown recipient concerning Goulburn's interest in representing Cambridge University in the British House of Commons (February 8, 1826).

The Levett Harris letterbook contains 82 retained copies of official and semi-official letters from Harris, American consul to Russia, to correspondents in Europe and America. His recipients include members of the U.S. peace commission at Ghent, bankers and merchants in the U.S. and England, and other professional contacts.

The Levett Harris letter book contains 82 manuscript copies of personal business and official and semi-official letters from Harris, United States consul to Russia, to correspondents in Europe and America. His recipients include members of the United States peace commission at Ghent, bankers in the U.S. and England, and other professional contacts. A comprehensive list of recipients is included in the additional descriptive data section of this finding aid. The letter book is in the hand of Harris' secretary, Joachim Schmidt, and, because Russians used the Julian calendar, the bulk of the letters include both Julian and Gregorian dates. With the exception of five letters from London, December 1813-April 1814, the letter book spans Harris’ service in St. Petersburg from July 10/22-November 11/23, 1814. A comprehensive list of Levett Harris’ recipients is included in the Additional Descriptive Data section of this finding aid.

Harris' eight letters to John Quincy Adams, in Ghent, report on his activities as chargé d'affaires. He informed Adams about interactions with Alexander I, public support of the United States in St. Petersburg, foreign visitors to the emperor, changes in titles and honors of Russian officials, discussions with the chancellor, and the health of Louisa and Charles Adams (who remained in Russia). On August 21/September 2, 1814, Harris offered to rent his former housing with furniture to Mr. and Mrs. Adams. His letters to Adams occasionally include candid reports, as in this passage regarding a British minister's view of peace talks between Great Britain and the U.S.:

"We have very late advices from England by sea -- private letters report some curious sayings of the P[lenipotentiary] R[epresentative] on our subject such as that he would never sign a peace with Mr Madison, that he would employ the whole force of his nation to overthrow him, to subdue us &c. H[is] R[oyal] H[ighness] must have found himself more than half seas over I think when he thus cheered us. it is to be hoped for their sake that his enlightened cabinet partake not of this happy spirit of their muster and for yours & the great interests confided to you that equal temperance will manifest itself in the deputies chosen to meet you" (August 21/September 2, 1814).

Levett Harris' correspondence with Alexander Glennie & Company (bankers), G. Shaw, Thomas Wilson, and others, pertains to his business activities. He discussed credits and debts, investment in what he hoped would be a profitable bullion shipment (July 10/22, 1814) and its disappointing yield (September 5/17, 1814), exchange rates, lost trunks, account corrections, shipments of wine and sundries, and other subjects. His letters occasionally document out-of-the-ordinary occurrences or practices. For example, Harris wrote about a shipment from Kiev Buxton & Company, London, which was held at the Russian custom house (September 5/17, 1814); and about a private shipment of paintings from Harris to John Vaughan, with a justification for the lack of "custom house interference" (September 16/28, 1814).

Harris peppered his business and diplomatic letters with two primary topics: fêtes and concerns about the progress of negotiations at Ghent and Vienna. One celebration in St. Petersburg was held in honor of the return of Emperor Alexander I; Harris wrote about a procession of nearly 900 military personnel, the emperor, the royal family, dukes and duchesses, and other prominent figures (July 30/August 11, 1814). He also informed his recipients about smaller parties and dinners with Russian officials and aristocrats, including Princess Beloselsky (July 29/August 9, 1814, and others). His letters reveal a deep concern for the state of negotiations at Ghent and he persistently entreated his recipients for news regarding them. In a typical example he pleads "By this time something must be known of our business at Ghent, where the British Commissioners have at length arrived. We should hope for peace, for it is really as necessary to our Adversary as to ourselves -- both are sufferers from the war & a longer continuance of it under present circumstances can only serve to gratify passion at the Expence of humanity & the dearest interests of both nations" (to Sylvanus Bourne, August 29/September 10, 1814). His outlook on the negotiations was pessimistic; one example of many is in a letter to John W. Forbes: "I perceive Mr. Adams is about returning here from his unsuccessful mission which will induce me after his arrival to travel towards France" (September 16/28, 1814, italics added for emphasis). He occasionally responded to news of the war, including the unwelcome news of the burning of Washington and the translation and distribution of pro-British papers on the subject (three letters dated October 17/29, 1814; one to John Q. Adams dated October 21/November 2, 1814; and one to Christopher Hughes dated November 4/16, 1814).

Other topics covered in Harris' letters include: an American sailor named Samuel Hunt supposed by his family to be held in Russia (to John Q. Adams, July 25/August 5, 1814, and to M. de Weydemeyer, July 26/August 6, 1814); Admiral Cochrane's proclamation of April 25 and the detrimental impact of British naval blockades on the whole of Europe (to M. de Weydemeyer, August 30/September 10, 1814); an unpleasant travel experience in Sweden, wherein a peasant drove him with an unfit horse resulting in the death of the animal, and Harris' subsequent detention by authorities at a Post House for refusing to pay for the horse (August 8/20, 1814); a request for assistance in promoting a plan to build a permanent bridge across the Neva River (October 3/15, 1814); questions regarding patents (November 4/16, 1814); and many others.