Search

The Abraham Lincoln collection contains 15 letters and documents written by Lincoln and 11 letters concerning Lincoln or the Lincoln family.

The Abraham Lincoln collection contains 26 items by or pertaining to Abraham Lincoln, and spanning [ca. 1845] to 1865, with the bulk of materials concentrated in the years 1856 to 1865. See the "Detailed Box and Folder Listing" for an inventory of the items.

This collection includes the correspondence of Alexander C. Christopher, who enlisted in the 6th Ohio Infantry Regiment during the Civil War, and his son Charles W. Christopher, an officer in the U.S. Navy, who was on sick leave in the Hawaiian Islands from 1875 to 1878. It contains two letters received by Alexander in 1863 from his commander, 9 letters from Charles to Alexander while he was in Hawaii and California, 5 other letters received by Charles, as well as 10 letters and 3 legal documents related to Charles Christopher's estate.

This collection includes two letters received by Alexander Christopher in 1863, nine letters from Charles to Alexander Christopher, 1875-1883, five letters received by Charles Christopher, 1868-1878, and 10 letters and three legal documents related to Charles Christopher's estate, 1884-1888.

Alexander C. Christopher received two letters from a friend, Nicholas Longworth Anderson, on January 31 and November 28, 1863. Nicholas Longworth Anderson was the commander of the 6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry regiment. The first letter discussed Nicholas Anderson's injuries, for which he received a surgeon's certificate, and mentioned a visit from Alexander's wife and daughter, "little Belle." The second letter included a memoriam for Major Graves, "a most gallant soldier and a most estimable gentleman." Anderson also wrote of his hope that the regiment would be disbanded soon, and said that he had received an anonymous letter accusing him of cowardice for remaining at home to heal from his wounds, signed by "One who pays your salary."

Charles W. Christopher's correspondence includes two letters of introduction written for him by naval officers, John Woolley and Louis Eugene Yorke; nine letters to his father, Alexander C. Christopher; and three letters received from friends, J. A. Hassinger and J. R. Carmody. In his letters to his father, he described his activities in Hawaii while convalescing from unspecified lung and throat ailments. He resided with Owen Holt, a rancher in Hawaii. Daily activities included assisting with cattle roundups, hunting for game in the mountains, reading, and going to town. In several letters, he was concerned about a lack of funds and anxious to draw his pay so that he could send money home to his father, who was apparently in financial difficulties as well.

In one letter from Waialua, Oahu, Charles described the funeral arrangements for a Chinese man who had died of an aneurism. "Mr. Holt has several Chinamen at work, but today, all except two were absent, on account of the funeral of one of their nation, Ah Kee by name. He had a small patch of cane, and came to see Mr. Holt on Thursday last about procuring some oxen for carting his cane to the mill…I believe they place a pig and a chicken by the grave, and afterwards eat them, and hold a species of high carnival" (1876 December 2).

He also shared his thoughts on naval work: "Seamanship and Gunnery are life studies. The former requires experience as well as theory, and the latter is so varied in its applications, and so constantly changing as to the instruments employed that no one man can be considered perfect in the branch. Like many other things in this world, the more insight one gets, the less does one know, unless some particular branch of the study is made a specialty" (1876 December 2).

In a later letter to his father from Harbin Springs, California, Charles described the scenery and mineral springs in the area (1883 December 2). By that time, he had lost much of his sight and had difficulty walking. After Charles W. Christopher's death in 1884, his father wrote to the Treasury Department to file a claim for "arrears of pay and mileage" due to the late Lieutenant Christopher. Between 1884 and 1886, he received five letters in response. Beginning in 1886, he also corresponded with a lawyer, John Paul Jones, regarding the case.

The Charles W. Christopher materials were formerly part of the Hawaiian Islands collection at the Clements Library.

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.

• 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.

The Aplin family papers consists mostly of letters to and from the three Aplin sons during their service in the Civil War.

The Aplin papers are most valuable not as a record of military service, for the news of battle and camp is meager and often second-hand, but as an expression of life on the home front, largely from a woman's point of view. Most of the letters (78) are from mother Elvira Aplin to son George. They are lengthy, colorful, and highly opinionated statements of her views on southerners, Copperheads, Union officers, the economic and political scene at home, the draft, war strategy, religion, and -- above all -- the behavior of her sons. On June 11, 1863 she writes, "I feel as tho I could bear any other trouble better than to hear my children have lost their good names," and admonishes George that "[y]our patriotism is all right, but you are apt to be a little tardy, and do not always render that obedience to superior officers that your oath requires." Of his journalistic efforts, she remarked that it was not proper to write "how many die there every week, and how the dead are buried after battle. I don't doubt the both of them, but it does no good to tell it, and it makes the friends of the sick and of those who die in battle feel very bad to read such accounts, while they cannot do anything to make it better." (1863 March 16) Elvira found fault with Tommy and George for not saving any of their money, as Tip did, and provoked her youngest son's fiery temper with such criticism.

Mrs. Aplin's disapproval focused on larger targets as well; as the war dragged on, she lost all patience with Union officers and developed a simmering hatred of Confederate leaders and sympathizers. A letter of March 28, 1865 tells of her fervent wish to hear that "the officers of the Southern empire army and navy have been suspended from the trees. Hunt the gurillas like wolves till the land is rid of them. Then I want the soldiers to come home and punish the northern Copperheads till they will never dare to sympathize with the south again." Southern culture also failed to impress; Elvira remarked of a magazine George had sent home "[i]f that is a specimen of southern literature I think almost any of our northern blockheads could write for periodicals in that country. ... They need a little more larnin as bad as I do." Behind Elvira's ornery criticisms lay a deep sadness and unease as she yearned for "this butchering of human beings be done away ... while there is a few left alive." She came to see herself and Sarah as perpetual wanderers who would "spend the rest of our lives alone, in this dreary world alone, without home or friend."

14 letters from Sarah Aplin to George also offer commentary on the home front, but are less detailed and expressive. School-teacher Sarah was clearly of milder temperament than her mother, but did indulge in good-natured teasing about her brother's southern girlfriends. Two brief comments in letters of her mother and of friend Ellen Johnson refer to Sarah being left a "grass widder." Since there are no references to a child being born, presumably this means she had been spurned by a suitor -- another of the many trials she and Elvira had to bear during these years.

Sister Helen [Aplin] Wheeler's 7 letters to George offer a contrast to Sarah's articulate and grammatical writing, revealing her prejudices and lack of education. Expressing the opinion that blacks are better off enslaved, she asks whether her brother went to war "to liberate them paltry slaves or for the constitution..." Helen teasingly requests that he send her "some collard girl that knows how to work," carefully noting that she prefers "a darkey girl ... that was quite good looking not one of the real black ones..." (1863 February 9, March 16)

An interesting subset of correspondence consists of 20 letters to George from Ellen Johnson, whom he later married. Some of the letters feature coy references to their courtship, while others remark on more substantive matters. "There is to be another draft and I hope they will take all the cowards and runaways that is in the country. And those that have gone to Canada have got to be branded so that we will know them in after days if they ever return," she writes on February 15, 1863. As the war drags on Ellen bitterly remarks that "some of our nigger loving friends say that the war will be ended in two months. I don't see what reason they have for thinking so." (1863 March 23)

23 letters to George and Sarah from brothers Tip and Tommy include some information on their war experiences and attitudes. Tommy's letters are particularly revealing, as he expresses resentment of his mother's criticisms, chafes with impatience to get back in the fighting, boasts that he does not fear death and has had a premonition of dying, and shows his disregard for military rules and regulations. On August 1, 1862 he writes of his dislike for guard duty: "I tell you this kind of guarding goes against the grain with me & when I am guarding a secesh orchard or cornfield I never see anything that is a going on if I can help it I never see any of the boys till they get their haversacks full & they always outrun me I never catched one yet..."

The collection contains just 8 wartime letters by George Aplin, who shows his journalistic bent in a long July 5, 1862 missive to "James" which chronicles his regiment's journey south and initial war experiences around Corinth, Mississippi, including colorful opinions on the people, houses, and landscape. One of 4 letters from George to Sarah Aplin includes a description and pencil sketch of Iuka, Mississippi, a watering place with mineral springs. (1862 July 27)

Although the bulk of the Aplin Family Papers date from the Civil War years, there is enough post-war material to round out the family saga. Tip fared reasonably well in business and politics, while George struggled. Elvira had a home once more, with George's family, but must have shared in the hardships. Post-war correspondence with lawyers, creditors, the War Dept., and Tip offers a sad picture of George's financial difficulties and failures, as he lost his farm and had to rely on his brother for money and help in getting work. His war experience was to be the highlight of George Aplin's life. The collection includes a photograph of him in military uniform at the age of 77, reliving past glories.

This collection contains approximately 430 items, nearly all of which are incoming letters addressed to Artemas Hale, a cotton gin manufacturer and politician from Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Hale received correspondence from acquaintances and political contacts throughout southeastern Massachusetts, as well as from politicians serving in Washington, D. C., and from family members who resided in Mississippi. Most letters concern mid-19th century politics on both national and local levels, and writers address issues such as the Whig Party, education, the Mexican War, and slavery. Approximately 10 items are letters by Artemas Hale, invitations, and a manuscript poem.

This collection contains approximately 430 items, nearly all of which are incoming letters addressed to Artemas Hale, an agent for a cotton gin manufacturer and a politician from Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Hale received correspondence from acquaintances and political contacts throughout southeastern Massachusetts, as well as from politicians serving in Washington, D. C., and from family members residing in Mississippi. Most letters concern mid-19th century politics on both national and local levels, and writers address issues such as the Whig Party, education, the Mexican War, and slavery. Approximately 10 items are letters by Artemas Hale, invitations, and a manuscript poem.

The majority of Hale's incoming letters concern political matters in Massachusetts and throughout the United States, particularly between 1839 and 1860. Most authors wrote from the area near Hale's home in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, or from Washington, D. C. Several politicians were frequent correspondents, and many discussed their involvement with the Whig Party, as well as other aspects of party politics. Others commented on local and national elections; the collection contains commentary on each presidential election between 1844 and 1860. Additional frequent topics include the Mexican War, slavery and sectionalism, and the affairs of the United States Congress. Early letters often concerned the budget and workings of the Massachusetts State Normal School (now Framingham State University), as well as national affairs. Notable contributors include Julius Rockwell, Horace Mann, Samuel Hoar, Samuel J. May, John S. Pendleton, Robert C. Winthrop, Daniel P. King, and Joseph Grinnell.

Personal letters Hale received from family and friends are interspersed throughout the collection, including family letters written before 1839 and 2 letters written in 1840 by Thophilus P. Doggett, a minister in Bridgewater, regarding his travels to Florida and throughout the Caribbean. Hale's brother Moses wrote of his life as a farmer in Westport, Mississippi (June 5, 1843). Another relative, Harrison Hale, wrote 4 letters between 1847 and 1851, providing his impressions of southern life and, particularly in his letters dated April 8, 1859, and February 3, 1861, about the upcoming Civil War. In addition, 2 of Thomas B. Lincoln’s letters concern railroad construction in Texas (December 23, 1855) and the outbreak of military hostilities (December 11, 1860), and [Keith A.] Bartlett wrote 1 letter about his Union Army service at Camp Brightwood (October 8, [1861]). The collection also holds two pages of indexes, possibly taken from a letter book, and a patriotic poem entitled "Sleeping for the Flag" (undated).

The Beatty family papers consist of correspondence and diaries that document a Pennsylvanian family's activities from May 20, 1831, to June 1, 1886. Included is a set of diaries from Mary Assheton Beatty, a short diary from her son, Joseph Henry Beatty, and letters addressed to Joseph Henry concerning the family and his activities in business and service in the Civil War.

The Beatty papers date from May 20, 1831, to June 1, 1886, with the bulk falling between February 2, 1855, and November 18, 1878. The papers touch on subjects such as the Tuscarora Academy, Steubenville Female Seminary, child rearing, homemaking, everyday life, education, and religion.

The correspondence is almost exclusively addressed to Joseph Henry Beatty (J. Henry or Henry) though a few are addressed to his parents and to his brother Reading. Joseph Henry received letters from his brother-in-law George Curwen, and letters to and from various family members relating news, giving advice, and asking questions about his schooling, his work in oil well management, his service in the Civil War, and farming. The letters also give substantial information about Joseph Henry's sister, Fanny, and her husband, Robert Holmes. A letter from George F.Curwen to J. Henry Beatty, January 12, 1861, contains a rough sketch of the layout of a plot of land [Bucks or Montgomery County?].

The diaries series consists of two sets of diaries: one written by J. Henry's mother, Mary A. Beatty, dated 1850-1854, and a 16-page diary written by J. Henry Beatty in 1855 while in boarding school. Mary's diaries detail the family's daily life as well as their experiences with education, marriage, childbirth, employment, and travel.

The miscellaneous items include several pages from The Press, a Philadelphia newspaper, regarding the oil industry in Northern Pennsylvania, a Calling card for Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Wiegand, and empty envelopes.

This collection is primarily made up of Benson J. Lossing's incoming and outgoing correspondence concerning his writings about and interest in numerous subjects in American history. Essays, newspaper clippings, and ephemera are also included.

This collection is primarily made up of Benson J. Lossing's incoming and outgoing correspondence (179 items, 1850-1904) concerning his writings about and interest in numerous subjects in American history. Essays, newspaper clippings, and ephemera are also included (18 items, 1849- ca. 1884).

The Correspondence series (179 items) mostly contains incoming letters to Lossing about his career as a historian. Some writers thanked Lossing for sending them copies of his books or otherwise commented on his works, such as his Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812. Others offered biographical details on historical figures, notes on family genealogies, and information about historical events. Some older correspondents provided firsthand accounts of events, and other writers shared information about potential primary source material. The American Revolutionary era and War of 1812 were common topics, though at least one letter was written during the Civil War. Historical figures discussed included John André and Oliver Hazard Perry; one man wrote about busts of George Washington at Mount Vernon. Some authors enclosed newspaper clippings in their letters, and two made drawings: one of an unidentified building (June 2, 1851) and one of the grave of James Ross (May 11, 1852). One letter from a publisher postdates Lossing's death.

Benson Lossing wrote occasional letters about his work, and at least one of his letters contains a printed form letter requesting historical information.

The Writings and Biographical Sketches (8 items) are brief essays about historical topics, mostly in Benson J. Lossing's handwriting. Subjects include copied inscriptions from a monument marking the Battle of Red Bank and biographies of Colonel Anthony White, William H. Winder, and Alexander Lillington. One item is a copied "Parole of Honor," with Lossing's added notes on some of its signers. Two signed manuscript drafts of articles include "The British Flag and the American Sailor Boy," which was later published as "Anna Van Antwerp and John Van Arsdale" in the Christian Union, and "Mr. Lincoln A Statesman," which appeared in Osborn H. Oldroyd's The Lincoln Memorial: Album-Immortelles. An essay about William H. Winder is attributed to Mrs. A. W. Townsend of Oyster Bay, New York.

The Printed Items series (10 items) is comprised of programs, newspaper clippings, obituaries, a chapter in a published volume, and engravings. One clipping is a reprint of an article written by Benson J. Lossing.

The Brasee-Scofield family papers are made up of correspondence, documents, and ephemera related to Elnathan Scofield, John Trafford Brasee, and John Scofield Brasee, who lived in Lancaster, Ohio, in the early 1800s. The collection concerns their business affairs, Lancaster's early history, the Lancaster Lateral Canal, and the Lancaster Canal Mill Company.

The Brasee-Scofield family papers are made up of correspondence, legal and financial documents, and ephemera related to Elnathan Scofield, John Trafford Brasee, and John Scofield Brasee, who lived in Lancaster, Ohio, in the early 1800s. The collection concerns their business affairs, Lancaster's early history, the Lancaster Lateral Canal, and the Lancaster Canal Mill Company.

Personal and business letters, indentures, military documents, and other items concern many aspects of the men's business careers and personal lives, including Scofield's surveying work in central Ohio, John T. Brasee's studies at Ohio University, John T. Brasee's courtship with Mary Jane Scofield, and John Scofield Brasee's Civil War service. Local legal cases are also represented. Of particular interest are letters by William Tecumseh Sherman (December 3, 1883) and Edwin L. Stanton (August 7, 1863, and December 4, 1864) to Morton Brasee. Among other topics, Stanton discussed West Point admissions and the 1864 presidential election.

The collection holds legal documents and ephemera pertaining to the early history of central Ohio, particularly the area around Lancaster. Materials relating to the Lancaster Lateral Canal (1825-1838), the Lancaster Canal Mill Company (1840-1846), and railroad companies are also included.

The collection also contains ephemera and other items, such as family photographs, funeral notices, printed programs, newspaper clippings, a political cartoon, and lists of toasts used on different occasions.

The Brearley-Pingree collection consists of approximately 166 autographed photographs of notable individuals that were originally compiled by Detroit-based newspaperman William H. Brearley and later added to by Detroit mayor and Governor of Michigan Hazen S. Pingree. In addition to the photographic materials, 36 manuscript items and two bound volumes are also included in the collection.

The Brearley-Pingree collection consists of approximately 166 autographed photographs of notable individuals that were originally compiled by Detroit-based newspaperman William H. Brearley and later added to by Detroit mayor and Governor of Michigan Hazen S. Pingree. An additional 36 manuscript items and 2 bound volumes are also included in the collection.

The collection appears to have been first started by Brearley during the mid-1860s, possibly during or immediately after his Civil War service. He seems to have solicited the autographs of a variety of famous individuals (including authors, performers, musicians, scientists, spiritual leaders, politicians, foreign rulers, and military officers) primarily by mailing them photographs of themselves and requesting their signatures. Possession of the collection appears to have been transferred to Pingree at some point, and he continued to make further contributions. Pingree’s daughter Hazel retained possession of the collection after her father’s death before eventually donating it to the Clements Library. All components of the collection are stored together in one box.

While most portraits in the collection are original studio photographs taken by a variety of photographers including Mathew Brady and Napoleon Sarony, a relatively small number of photographic reproductions of non-photographic portraits are also present (including depictions of James Monroe, Stonewall Jackson, and Henry and Clara Ford).

Volume 1: Brearley collection reproduction souvenir album

This album (16.5 x 15 cm) has green leather covers with lines of poetry from Henry W. Longfellow’s A Psalm of Life stamped in gold on the front. An index included at the beginning lists the names of 96 individuals represented across the album’s 24 pages. After the index, a passage written by William H. Brearley and dated August 1st 1874 explains that he created a limited number of facsimile copies of his original autographed portrait collection at the “urgent solicitation” of many interested friends. Brearley also explains that he acquired the original photographs and autographs in his collection “by long and patient effort, & tending over a period of ten years, and involving an expense of several Hundred dollars.” Subsequent album pages each contain four individually pasted 5.5 x 4 cm albumen print photographic reproductions of original portraits found in Brearley’s collection. This item was acquired from a separate source and was not part of the original collection of materials donated to the Clements Library by Hazel Hope Pingree Mills.

Volume 2: Brearley-Pingree collection original album

This album (30 x 26 cm) has brown leather covers and the words “Portraits. Autographs” and “Brearley” stamped in gold on the spine. The original autographed portraits of the Brearley-Pingree collection were once housed in this album before Clements Library staff removed the original photographs and substituted them with photocopies in 2010 for conservation and preservation purposes. Manuscript captions were also added by Clements Library staff. The original photographs are housed separately in smaller boxes and have been arranged according to size/format and ordered alphabetically by subject surname. See below for a complete list of photographic subjects contained in each box.

Of additional interest are three manuscript items, including the clipped signature of Hyacinthe Loyson and an October 15th 1873 letter from Henry W. Longfellow containing the same lines of poetry from A Psalm of Life that appear on the cover of the Brearley collection souvenir album. Also present is a letter from Buckingham Palace sent to Brearley in 1873 by Sir Thomas Biddulph explaining that the “enclosed Photograph” of Queen Victoria is being returned but that “The Queen’s Autograph is never given away.” Three wax seals are also included in the volume including an “Imperial Chancellor’s seal” (associated with a portrait of Otto von Bismarck); “the Napoleon Seal” (associated with a portrait of Jérôme Bonaparte); and a Great Seal of the Realm attached to the 1873 letter from Buckingham Palace.

Box 1.1: Brearley-Pingree collection cartes de visite, A-E

This box contains 47 cartes de visite. Represented individuals include the following:

• Adams, Charles Francis, 1807-1886.
• Agassiz, Louis, 1807-1873.
• Alcott, Louisa May, 1832-1888.
• Anderson, Richard Heron, 1821-1879.
• Anderson, Robert, 1805-1871.
• Anthony, Susan B. (Susan Brownell), 1820-1906.
• Bancroft, George, 1800-1891.
• Barnum, P. T. (Phineas Taylor), 1810-1891.
• Barrett, Lawrence, 1838-1891.
• Beauregard, G. T. (Gustave Toutant), 1818-1893.
• Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1887.
• Billings, Josh, 1818-1885. [Henry Wheeler Shaw]
• Birney, David Bell, 1825-1864.
• Bishop, Anna, 1810-1884. [Anna Riviere Schultz]
• Bismarck, Otto, Fürst von, 1815-1898.
• Bonaparte, Jérôme, King of Westphalia, 1784-1860.
• Bonner, Robert, 1824-1899.
• Booth, Edwin, 1833-1893.
• Breckinridge, John C. (John Cabell), 1821-1875.
• Bright, John, 1811-1889.
• Bryant, William Cullen, 1794-1878.
• Buchanan, James, 1791-1868.
• Bülow, Hans von, 1830-1894.
• Bunker, Chang, 1811-1874. [in portrait with Eng Bunker]
• Bunker, Eng, 1811-1874. [in portrait with Chang Bunker]
• Burnside, Ambrose Everett, 1824-1881. [two portraits included]
• Butler, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1818-1893.
• Carleton, Will, 1845-1912.
• Chapin, E. H. (Edwin Hubbell), 1814-1880.
• Clem, John Lincoln, 1851-1937.
• Clough, J. E. (John Everett), 1836-1910.
• Coan, Titus, 1801-1882.
• Colfax, Schuyler, 1823-1885.
• Collins, Wilkie, 1824-1889.
• Cook, Eliza, 1818-1889.
• Coombs, Jane, 1842- .
• Curtis, George William, 1824-1892.
• Cushman, Charlotte, 1816-1876.
• Dana, Charles A. (Charles Anderson), 1819-1897.
• Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882.
• Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889.
• Dickinson, Anna E. (Anna Elizabeth), 1842-1932.
• Dix, John A. (John Adams), 1798-1879.
• Doré, Gustave, 1832-1883.
• Doubleday, Abner, 1819-1893.
• Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895.
• Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 1803-1882.
• Emory, William H. (William Hemsley), 1811-1887.

Box 1.2: Brearley-Pingree collection cartes de visite, F-N

This box contains 46 cartes de visite. Represented individuals include the following:

• Farragut, David Glasgow, 1801-1870.
• Ferrero, Edward, 1831-1899.
• Field, Cyrus W. (Cyrus West), 1819-1892.
• Field, Kate, 1838-1896. [Mary Katherine Keemle Field]
• Fillmore, Millard, 1800-1874.
• Forrest, Nathan Bedford, 1821-1877.
• Fowler, O. S. (Orson Squire), 1809-1887.
• Garrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879.
• Gladstone, W. E. (William Ewart), 1809-1898.
• Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885.
• Greeley, Horace, 1811-1872.
• Greenwood, Grace, 1823-1904. [Sarah Jane Clarke Lippincott]
• Hall, John, 1829-1898.
• Halleck, H. W. (Henry Wager), 1815-1872.
• Hancock, Winfield Scott, 1824-1886.
• Hay, John, 1838-1905.
• Heintzelman, Samuel Peter, 1805-1880.
• Hoar, E. R. (Ebenezer Rockwood), 1816-1895.
• Holland, J. G. (Josiah Gilbert), 1819-1881.
• Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 1809-1894.
• Hooker, Joseph, 1814-1879.
• Howard, O. O. (Oliver Otis), 1830-1909.
• Hugo, Victor, 1802-1885.
• Jackson, Stonewall, 1824-1863.
• Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875.
• Kirby-Smith, Edmund, 1824-1893.
• Lee, Fitzhugh, 1835-1905.
• Lee, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1807-1870.
• Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865.
• Locke, David Ross, 1833-1888. [Petroleum V. Nasby]
• Logan, John Alexander, 1826-1886.
• Longstreet, James, 1821-1904.
• Loring, Charles G. (Charles Greely), 1794-1867.
• Loyson, Hyacinthe, 1827-1912.
• Lucca, Pauline, 1841-1908.
• Mario, Giovanni, 1810-1883. [Mario, T.]
• McClellan, George Brinton, 1826-1885.
• Mitchell, Maggie, 1837-1918.
• Moltke, Helmuth, Graf von, 1800-1891.
• Monroe, James, 1758-1831.
• Morse, Edward Sylvester, 1838-1925.
• Motley, John Lothrop, 1814-1877.
• Nāṣir al-Dīn Shāh, Shah of Iran, 1831-1896.
• Nast, Thomas, 1840-1902.
• Nilsson, Christine, 1843-1921.
• Nutt, Commodore, 1848-1881. [group portrait with Minnie Warren]

Box 1.3: Brearley-Pingree collection cartes de visite, O-Z

This box contains 36 cartes de visite. Represented individuals include the following:

• Ord, Edward Otho Cresap, 1818-1883.
• Parepa-Rosa, Euphrosyne, 1836-1874.
• Patti, Adelina, 1843-1919.
• Phillipps, Adelaide, 1833-1882.
• Porter, David D. (David Dixon), 1813-1891.
• Rogers, Randolph, 1825-1892.
• Salvini, Tommaso, 1829-1915.
• Saxe, John Godfrey, 1816-1887.
• Schurz, Carl, 1829-1906.
• Scott-Siddons, Mary Frances, 1844-1896.
• Sheridan, Philip Henry, 1831-1888.
• Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891.
• Sothern, Edward Askew, 1826-1881.
• Spinner, Francis Elias, 1802-1890.
• Spurgeon, C. H. (Charles Haddon), 1834-1892.
• Stanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton), 1841-1904.
• Stephens, Alexander H. (Alexander Hamilton), 1812-1883.
• Strakosch, Max, 1835-1892.
• Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874.
• Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron, 1809-1892.
• Terry, Alfred Howe, 1827-1890.
• Thiers, Adolphe, 1797-1877.
• Thomas, George H. (George Henry), 1816-1870.
• Thomas, Theodore, 1835-1905.
• Thumb, Tom, 1838-1883. [Charles Sherwood Stratton; group portrait with Lavinia Warren]
• Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. [Samuel L. Clemens; both names signed on photograph]
• Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 1794-1877.
• Waite, Morrison R. (Morrison Remick), 1816-1888.
• Warren, G. K. (Gouverneur Kemble), 1830-1882.
• Welles, Gideon, 1802-1878.
• Willcox, Orlando B.
• Wilson, Henry, 1812-1875.
• Woodhull, Victoria C. (Victoria Claflin), 1838-1927.
• Wright, Horatio Gouverneur, 1820-1899.
• Yates, Edmund, 1831-1894.
• Young, Brigham, 1801-1877.

Box 2: Brearley-Pingree collection cabinet cards

This box contains 27 cabinet cards. Represented individuals include the following:

• Andrade, Ignacio, 1836-1925.
• Arthur, Chester Alan, 1829-1886.
• Bernhardt, Sarah, 1844-1923.
• Booth-Tucker, Emma, 1860-1903.
• Booth-Tucker, Frederick St. George de Lautour, 1853-1929.
• Bull, Ole, 1810-1880.
• Cable, George Washington, 1844-1925.
• Chamberlain, Joseph, 1836-1914.
• Dickinson, Donald McDonald, 1846-1917.
• Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881.
• Garfield, Lucretia Rudolph, 1832-1918.
• Hayes, Rutherford B., 1822-1893.
• Janauschek, Francesca Romana Magdalena, 1830-1904.
• Kellogg, Clara Louisa, 1842-1916.
• Kennan, George, 1845-1924.
• Kruger, Paul, 1825-1904.
• Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 1807-1882.
• Phillips, Wendell, 1811-1884.
• Ranavalona III, Queen of Madagascar, 1861-1917.
• Reed, Thomas B. (Thomas Brackett), 1839-1902.
• Stead, W. T. (William Thomas), 1849-1912. [three portraits included]
• Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 1811-1896.
• Urso, Camilla, 1842-1902.
• Victoria, Queen of Britain, 1819-1901.
• Whittier, John Greenleaf, 1807-1892.

Box 3: Brearley-Pingree collection large photographs and manuscript materials

This box contains 9 large format mounted photographs and 33 manuscript items. Represented individuals among the photographs include the following:

• Cleveland, Frances Folsom, 1864-1947.
• Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908.
• Ford, Clara Bryant, 1866-1950.
• Ford, Henry, 1863-1947.
• Gibbons, James, 1834-1921.
• Guzmán Blanco, Antonio, 1828-1899.
• Mace, Aurelia Gay, 1835-1910.
• Milles, Carl, 1875-1955.
• Wilder, Marshall P.

Manuscript materials of interest include a number of letters dating to the mid-1870s from various individuals (including John A. Dix, C. H. Spurgeon, H. W. Longfellow, and Lucretia R. Garfield) possibly sent to William H. Brearley in response to autograph solicitations and other requests; and numerous letters addressed to Hazen S. Pingree from various individuals (inlcuding William Thomas Stead, Ignacio Andrade, Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, and William McKinley) dating to the 1890s. Other items of interest include a copy of "Special Order No. 166 'Extract' Head Quarters 2d Brigade 3d Div 2d A.I." dated June 15th 1865 stating that the 1st Mass Heavy Artillery had been ordered by Brig. Gen. Franklin Pierce to repost to General Hancock; calling cards for "Sixto Sanchez Director General de Coreeos - Postmaster" as well as "The Admiral of the Navy" George Dewey from "when he called on Gov. Pingree in Detroit"; a clipped signature of "Louis Botha Commandant General"; an undated note to poet Louise Chandler Moulton; a document dated August 1st 1892 detailing financial investment information related to the Michigan-Peninsular Car Company with pasted clippings of wealthy politicians and their net worths as well as annotations by Pingree; a letter dated Feb 19th 1892 from Don M. Dickinson to Pingree regarding the prospective visit of Grover Clevland to Detroit, Ann Arbor, and the University of Michigan; a letter dated March 9th 1949 from Hazel Hope Pingree Mills to Director of the William L. Clements Library Randolph G. Adams regarding progress being made on research regarding the life of William H. Brearley; and an undated typed copy of a short essay titled "Brearley - Man of Action, Started Many Important Detroit Activities" by historian George B. Catlin.

The Busbey papers contain the personal and professional correspondence of William H. Busbey and many of his family members. Of note are letters to and from William and his brother during the Civil War; letters between William and his wife Mary after the war; and a letter from Ann Busbey, William's mother, which documents her 1894 trip west from Chicago, with vivid descriptions of the scenery in Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

The Busbey papers collect the personal and professional correspondence of William H. Busbey and several generations of his family. Included are 1,259 letters, 6 documents and receipts, 117 writings, 9 photographs, 134 newspaper clippings, and additional printed materials.

The earliest item in the Correspondence series is a letter from William's grandfather, Hamilton Busbey in Coles Country, Illinois, to his son Thomas (November 9, 1839). Included in the early letters are 33 items of schoolwork from the Busbey children in the late 1840-1850s, such as several essays, notes, and small decorated name tags. The collection also contains letters to and from William and his brother Hamilton during their service in the Civil War. The letters describe events at war, including the Battle at Stone River and watching gun boats patrolling the Tennessee River, as well as the brother's health and daily activities. Letters from Ohio report on deaths in the family back home and how the town and family are coping with the war. In one particularly poignant letter from a member of the Botkin's family, the author reports on local boys who have died and been discharged from the war, then writes:

"I have seen the tears trickle down the cheeks of old and young, while conversing on the subject of this unholy war. Secession, was their pet idol and it has ruined thousands, utterly bankrupt those who were wealthy, happy, and prosperous under the old flag. The new, has brought them nothing, but poverty and wretchedness -- well yes, I might say, it has brought swarms of Yankees, to bask in the salubrious rays of the glorious sun far down in the land of cotton..."

Approximately 70 letters were written by Mary (Molly) Busbey and William to each other, most of them in the months prior to their wedding in 1868. They wrote extensively about love and the health and welfare of their friends and family. Before their wedding, several letters were exchanged between Mary’s parents and William, regarding William's request for permission to marry their daughter. William's work as managing editor of the Inter Ocean is documented through letters to the editor and inter-office communication.

The Busbey family papers also collect letters to Mary from her family and friends, letters to their daughters Grace and Mabel, and letters to William from both his parents. Of note are three letters (23 pages) from Ann Busbey, William's mother, which document her 1894 trip west from Chicago, with vivid descriptions of the scenery in Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Mary's mother, sisters, and friends wrote about 70 letters to Mary, with news about the family’s health and economic well-being.

The Documents and Receipts series contains 5 business receipts and a document related to estate of Ezra P. Jones of Ohio.

The Photographs series is composed of 8 photographs of various members of the Busbey family.

The Writings series is comprised of copies of William Busbey’s published works and rough drafts of articles, stories, and speeches from his career in the newspaper business. Topics include the newspaper business, the press and the Cuban question (1898), the Monroe Doctrine (1905), family and genealogy, and a biographical sketch of William H. Busbey.

The Printed Material series is composed of miscellaneous printed items such as poems, advertisements, invitations, programs, and other items. Of note is a list of members of the 1st Kentucky Infantry, Company C (of which Busbey was a Sergeant), and a fairwell card to Elwyn A. Barron of the Inter Ocean signed by other 23 employees.

The Newspaper Clippings series consists of 134 newspaper clippings, including several copies of the Inter Ocean's tribute to William's personal and professional achievements after his death. Miscellaneous items, such as ribbons, children's cards, and empty envelopes, conclude the collection.