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Collection

Letters, Documents, & Sermons, Blandina Diedrich collection, 1652-1967 (majority within 1726-1886)

1.25 linear feet

The Blandina Diedrich Collection is a selection of manuscript items compiled by her son Duane Norman Diedrich and dedicated to her memory. The content of these letters, sermons, documents, and other materials reflect the life and interests of Blandina Diedrich (1903-1996), most prominently subjects pertinent to Christianity, home, and the family.

The Blandina Diedrich Collection is a selection of manuscript items compiled by her son Duane Norman Diedrich and dedicated to her memory. The manuscripts reflect the life and interests of Blandina Diedrich, most prominently Christianity, home, and the family. Items include sermons from prominent ministers or preachers of different Protestant denominations, documents related to church operations and discipline, letters by prominent and everyday persons respecting their faith and beliefs, correspondence of missionaries, and reflections on religion's role in all manner of human endeavor.

The collection is comprised of over 260 letters, manuscript sermons and hymns, documents, and other items. For a comprehensive inventory and details about each item in the collection, please see the box and folder listing below.

Collection

Manuscript Recipe Book collection, 1793-1959 (majority within 19th century)

28 volumes

This collection comprises 28 American manuscript recipe books dated from 1793 to 1959 with the bulk dating from the nineteenth century. One of the books contains portions in German, while the rest are in English. Most regions of the United States are present, with the Northeast and Southern States best represented. Desserts represent the bulk of the recipes, cakes being the most popular. Some recipes include attributes to friends, family, or cookbooks, and some contain notes on quality of the dish. Directions for making medicinal remedies and practical household needs (such as cleaning product recipes or advice on fabric care) may also be included. Many volumes contain handwritten or printed inserts.

This collection comprises 28 American manuscript recipe books dated from 1793 to 1959 with the bulk dating from the nineteenth century. One of the books contains portions in German, while the rest are in English. Most regions of the United States are present, with the Northeast and Southern States best represented. Desserts represent the bulk of the recipes cakes being the most popular. Some recipes include attributes to friends, family, or cookbooks, and some contain notes on quality of the dish. Directions for making medicinal remedies and practical household needs (such as cleaning product recipes or advice on fabric care) may also be included. Many volumes contain handwritten or printed inserts.

All or most of the known authors of these recipe books appear to be by women. A man, James Campbell, authored the accounting portion of the Campbell receipt book and a male writer may have created the Manuscript Recipe Book, [1838]. Emma Hinricks Hilken is the only one known to have resided outside the United States when writing her recipe book (she resided in Frankfurt, Germany, for several years following her marriage). The women range in age from teenagers to the elderly and represent a variety of social backgrounds. Most of the recipe books were written or compiled in the second half of the nineteenth century, with some extending into the early twentieth. Approximately one-fifth of them were written in the first half of the nineteenth century or earlier.

See the box and folder listing below for a complete descriptive list of the recipe books present in this collection.

Collection

Maury family papers, 1782-1979 (majority within 1820-1872)

2.5 linear feet

The Maury family papers contain the letters and documents of the extended family of Abram P. Maury, Whig congressman from Franklin, Tennessee. The collection documents politics, travel, business, agriculture, and family life in the antebellum South, and includes contributions from the Harris, Claiborne, and Reid families of Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Virginia, and Alabama.

The Maury family papers (2.5 linear feet) contain the letters and documents of the extended family of Abram P. Maury, Whig congress member from Franklin, Tennessee. The collection documents politics, travel, business, agriculture, and family life in the antebellum South, and includes contributions from the Harris, Claiborne, and Reid families of Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Virginia, and Alabama.

The Chronological Correspondence and Documents series (approximately 1,000 items) consists of letters between the parents, children, siblings, aunts and uncles, in-laws, friends, business colleagues and political colleagues of the Maury, Harris, Claiborne, and Reid families. The bulk of these items span 1820 to 1872.

The family was heavily involved in national and state politics, and they frequently discuss happenings in congress and the dramas of presidential elections. Topics discussed include the workings of the Whig party in Tennessee in the 1830s; the presidential runs of Andrew Jackson in 1826 and William Henry Harrison in 1836; Santa Anna and the Mexican War (1837-1838); Abram P. Maury's experiences in the United States Congress; Meredith Poindexter Gentry's activities representing Tennessee in Congress, and Carey A. Harris's time in politics as commissioner of Indian affairs (1836). Present are items from several prominent politicians, including Lewis Cass, Thomas Hart Benton, and James K. Polk. Of note are the letters from Macajah G. L. Claiborne, in which he discussed his extensive travels around the world as part of the United States Navy, and a few letters from Confederate soldiers on the front lines of the Civil War.

The collection also documents business, social, and domestic matters, such as clothes and fashion, social engagements (balls and parties), courting, offers and rejections of marriage, family business and finance, and the purchase, use, rental, and sale of land in the deep South. Various family members described their experiences settling in Alabama and Mississippi in the 1820s, in Mississippi in the 1820s and 1830s, and in Arkansas in the 1830s and 1840s. They frequently discussed the use of slaves in daily life and at times expressed feelings of moral conflict over slavery and the slave trade.

Below is a list of notable items:
  • June 18, 1818: Thomas Hart Benton to Abram Maury, Jr., encouraging Maury to move to Missouri and to speculate in land
  • February 12, 1819: Thomas Hart Benton to Abram Maury, Jr., confirming the signing of a Chickasaw treaty that makes it easier for him to travel to Tennessee
  • August 14, 1819: James K. Polk's introduction to Abram Maury, Jr., while running for a clerkship in the state legislature
  • August 13, 1820: A. P. Maury to his father Abram Maury, Jr., describing a visit to Staten Island, New York, and his stay with Vice President Daniel D. Tompkins
  • January 20, 1822: Abram Maury, Jr., to Daniel W. Maury discussing Thomas Hart Benton’s inability to pay off his debts for lack of money and offering land in Missouri instead
  • February 23, 1824: John Henry Easton to Mary Claiborne concerning marriage prospects and a warning to use caution when selecting a husband
  • July 7, 1824: Thomas Crutcher to Malvina Crutcher and Mary Claiborne describing a large dinner party held in honor of Andrew Jackson, with the general in attendance
  • January 1, 1825: Abram Maury, Jr., to Abram P. Maury concerning the destruction of Aunt White's cotton gin, which they suspect was burned by a slave named Tom
  • January 17, 1825: Isaac L. Baker to Mary Eliza Claiborne noting that all are pleased to hear that Andrew Jackson has "bright prospects for the Presidency," and that if he does succeed, Baker will run for Congress
  • July 3, 1825: John F. H. Claiborne to Mary Eliza Claiborne teasing Mary about her courtship with an Irishman
  • October 17, 1831: Mac Claiborne to Mary Eliza Maury describing his voyage to Brazil with the navy
  • October 27, 1832: Mac Claiborne to Mary Eliza Maury discussing his long voyage in the Pacific and "China Sea," death aboard his ship, the detention of American whaling ships, and visits to Tahiti and Honolulu, Hawaii, including a feast with the Hawaiian royal family and a description of King Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III)
  • December 28, 1832, February 13 and April 13, 1833: Mac Claiborne to Mary Eliza Maury discussing his time in Valparaiso, Chile, with comments on the government, social conditions, politics, and religious tolerance
  • February 18, 1834: James P. Maury to Abram P. Maury commenting on the oration styles of congressmen McDuffie, Webster, Calhoun, and Van Buren
  • November 17, 1837: Document from Letitia, Alfred, Nancy, Jesse, and Mary Ann to Abram P. Maury concerning a judicial decision in favor of a suit brought by five "free persons of color" against Maury for trespass and false imprisonment (Maury had claimed they were his slaves)
  • February 9, 1838: Chickasaw women named Tim-e-shu-ho-ra and Ish-tim-ma-hi-zea to Carey A. Harris transferring a deed of land
  • March 18, 1838: Nathan Reid to Francis Reid discussing the state of the slave trade and his antislavery views
  • March 25, 1838: S.C. Cannon to Abram P. Maury, Jr., concerning the "disorderly conduct" of Pink, a man owned by the Maurys: "I think Pink richly deserves to be sold without the least hesitation of delay…I think you need feel no scruples about it on account of him & his wife, as she is free, it is as convenient for her to be near him one place as another."
  • February 5, 1841: Carey A. Harris to James P Maury discussing selling slaves named Lucy, Betsey, and a child for $1,550 Arkansas money
  • March 4, 1841: Mac Claiborne to Abram P. Maury discussing his stay in Rio de Janeiro, his thoughts on traveling to China, piracy near Java and Sumatra, and the British Opium War
  • December 19, 1841: Nathan Reid to Francis Reid, discussing the "cut-throut spirit" in the west, "The laws, in my view, afford no protection to person, property, or character…Every man who considers himself aggrieved assures the right of avenging his own wrongs, in his own ways; and of judging not only of the mode but the measure of redress. The consequence is that human life is held but in little esteem, and is placed upon every insecure and precarious footing, as shewn by the innumerable bloody frays that take place daily in your midst."

This series also has 29 undated letters, 10 miscellaneous items (newspaper clippings and receipts), and nine empty envelops. The item dated September 28, 1838, contains a drawing of the profile of a man; the letter from February 15, 1840, contains a sketch of tracts of land in Pontotoc, Mississippi; and the item from October 14, 1847, contains a diagram of a plot of land in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Bundled Correspondence and Documents series (188 items) is grouped into seven bundles:

Bundle 1, c.1810s-1930s (6 letters, 1 document) contains items relating to the military service and death of Major John Reid, the son of Nathan Reid. Also present are letters from the early 1930s related to erecting markers to honor Reid and other relatives, and a genealogical document.

Bundle 2, c.1830s-1850s (35 letters) consists of letters related to Harris family members. Highlights include a letter from Martha F. Harris, daughter of Martha Maury, in which she described the relative handsomeness of various senators: "Webster has almost the finest looking face I ever saw & is decidedly the greatest looking man in the Senate." She also commented on physical features of Clay and Van Buren (February 15, 1834). Other topics covered are family and health news, and land dealings with the Choctaw (September 28, 1838), and land dealings in Missouri (August 26, 1849). A series of letters written by Carey A. Harris, Jr., in the early 1850s describe student life at the University of Virginia, including exams, conflict between students and residents of Charlottesville (November 25, 1853), and other activities. Also of note are letters by James Harris concerning settling in Port Gibson, Mississippi, and teaching at the newly opened Port Gibson Male Academy (1853).

Bundle 3, 1830s-1860s (10 letters) is comprised of various letters, including an item from "F.J.H." [Fanny Reid Harris] that describes excitement over the secession of Virginia and the reinforcement of "Old Point" by "free negro volunteers," whom she claimed were "strutting about and boasting that they had come to liberate the slaves--such an insult, has maddened all the people…" (April 20, 1861). Also present is a letter from John Reid of Nashville, Tennessee, to Sally, expressing Reid's hope that Tennessee will stay in the Union (January 24, 1861).

Bundle 4, 1850s-1860s (18 letters and documents) includes a telegraph notice of the death of James M. Harris from yellow fever at Port Gibson (October 6, 1853), Carey A. Harris, Jr.'s, oath of allegiance to the Union taken at the mouth of the White River in Arkansas (May 26, 1865), and other miscellaneous Civil War-era documents, most of which relate to the logistics of feeding and paying Confederate soldiers.

Bundle 5, c.1810s-early 20th century (54 documents) contains miscellaneous letters, documents, and genealogical material. Many of the items pertain to political career of Abram Maury, including a printed speech, a newspaper clipping, and his manuscript notes on various political topics. Document types include land indentures, accounts, and a map of land lots owned by Reid. The 20th-century material largely relates to Maury family genealogical research, including letters to Maury T. Reid.

Bundle 6, 1830-1860s (29 letters) contains letters concerning land sales and purchases, many written by Carey A. Harris, Sr. Present is Harris' resignation letter from an official post (October 28, 1838), comments by James Walker on New Orleans and the lead up to the Panic of 1837 (April 14, 1837), and estate papers of Carey Harris, Sr., settled by his wife, Martha (November 16, 1842). Also of note is a set of letters from Martha F. Harris concerning claims on the government for the destruction of her house and property during the Civil War (1865-1866).

Bundle 7, 1819-1940s (35 letters) contains a series of miscellaneous letters, many by William S. Reid, which note his travels around Tennessee. Also present are later family letters that contain details on genealogy (1880s, and 1940s). Highlights include a letter from Allen Hall to Abram P. Maury concerning politics and the national presidential convention (May 2, 1848), and a detailed letter about the birth of a daughter to Martha Harris (May 28, 1833).

The bulk of the 20th-Century Correspondence and Documents series spans from 1917 to 1948 and relates to later descendants, including William Perkins Maury, his daughter Mary Wheeler Maury (who married Paul Logue), Paul Logue, and their son Paul Maury Logue. In addition to letters and documents, this series also includes blank postcards and souvenir booklets for various locales, newspaper clippings, a stamp book, composition book, and a number of family photographs. While most of the photographs are of unidentified individuals, images with captions identify A. P. Maury, Mary Perkins Maury, Ferdinand Claiborne Maury, and the mother of William Perkins Maury (with a typed note about the family's Confederate connections).

Collection

Oliver Hazard Perry papers, 1796-1969 (majority within 1812-1819)

4 linear feet

The Oliver Hazard Perry papers contain Perry's naval and personal letters, as well as material related to members of the Perry family. The collection documents Perry's activities during the War of 1812, including his victory at Lake Erie and the ensuing controversy surrounding the conflict; his service in the Mediterranean; his final mission to Venezuela; and the reaction to his death. Also documented are Perry's father, Captain Christopher Raymond Perry (1761-1818); his brother, Commander Mathew Calbraith Perry (1794-1858); his wife Elizabeth C. Mason Perry (1791-1858); and various other relatives, as well as genealogical records. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a Correspondence Inventory.

The Oliver Hazard Perry papers span 1761-1969, with the bulk of the material falling between 1810 and 1819. The collection contains Perry's naval and personal papers, as well as material related to other members of the Perry family. It is arranged into 8 series: Chronological Correspondence and Documents; Naval Accounts and Receipts; Perry Family Estate and Business Papers; Commemorations and Monuments; Miscellaneous Writings; Printed Items; Ephemera; and Perry Family Genealogical Material.

The Chronological Correspondence and Documents series comprises the bulk of the collection and contains approximately 900 personal and professional letters of Oliver Hazard Perry and his family. While O. H. Perry contributed 34 letters between 1799 and 1819, the majority of the correspondence consists of his incoming letters. The series documents Perry's naval career, especially his service in the War of 1812, including his victory at Lake Erie and its ensuing controversy; his service in the Mediterranean; his mission to Venezuela; reactions to and descriptions of his death; and his family in the years following his death. The collection includes letters to and from O. H. Perry's father Christopher Raymond Perry (1761-1818); his brother Matthew C. Perry (1794-1858); his wife Elizabeth C. Mason Perry (1791-1858); and other relatives, friends, and associates.

While the majority of the series focuses upon Oliver Hazard Perry, a portion relates to his father's naval career. A group of approximately 35 letters, dated 1795 to 1800, concerns Christopher R. Perry's naval service in the West Indies. Included are 11 letters between Christopher Perry (on board the US Frigate General Greene) and Toussaint L'Ouverture, in which they discuss the role of the US Navy in the region. Also of note are:

  • October 24, 1795: Freeman Perry to Christopher Perry describing the discovery of mammoth bones and tusks in Piggin Swamp, South Carolina, and near Wilmington, North Carolina.
  • May 8, 1799: John Adams to Christopher Perry concerning the discharge of a Quaker man from the navy.
  • March 13, 1800: US Consul in Port-au-Prince Robert Ritchie asking Christopher Perry to keep the US Frigate General Greene close in order to support Toussaint's efforts.

Approximately 30 letters reflect Oliver Hazard Perry's naval career before the War of 1812. In three letters to his mother Sarah Perry, he discussed his professional and social activities (December 15, [1799?], and June 14, 1804). In the third letter, dated September 16, 1805, Perry commented on the First Barbary War. Nine letters from Navy Department officials concern his command of the ship Revenge (1809-1810) and other military responsibilities. Notable items include:

  • April 20, 1807: Secretary of the Navy Robert Smith informs Perry of his commission as a Lieutenant in the US Navy.
  • January 17, 1811: John Rodgers to Perry, informing him that he and the other commissioned/warrant officers, recently the crew of the schooner Revenge, are suspended until the completion of an investigation into the recent loss of the schooner.

The bulk of the correspondence and documents centers upon Oliver Hazard Perry's service in the US Navy, principally during the War of 1812 and in the years leading up to his death in 1819. Approximately 200 items relate to Perry's participation in the War of 1812. A group of letters from the war's earlier stages offer details on Perry's actions preceding his successes in the Great Lakes campaign. However, letters from this time period primarily document the naval war on Lake Ontario and Perry's Lake Erie victory on September 10, 1813. Perry communicated closely with Navy Department officials and fellow officers on the Great Lakes offensive, including William Bainbridge, Isaac Chauncey, Benjamin Crowninshield, Samuel Hambleton, William Henry Harrison, Benjamin Homans, David Porter, and John Rodgers. The correspondence also includes content respecting the decades-long controversy surrounding the actions of Jesse Elliott during the battle Battle of Lake Erie (see especially 1817-1818).

  • February 19, 1813: William Rogers to Perry mentioning news from the North West that William Henry Harrison's army was attacked by the English and Indians.
  • June 23, 1813: Information from General Harrison to Perry regarding enemy movements, recommending that Perry sail up the Lake to intercept the enemy.
  • August 9, 1813: Perry to his father discussing the impending arrival of more men to Lake Erie. Mentions of the Lawrence, Niagara, and Caledonia.
  • September 10, 1813: Perry's commission as Captain of the United States Navy, signed by President James Madison.
  • September 15, 1813: Perry to his wife describing the aftermath of the battle and his present emotional state.
  • October 26, 1813: Jesse Elliott to Perry defending his actions during the Battle of Lake Erie.
  • October 26, 1813: British commander from Lake Erie writing about his favorable treatment as Perry's prisoner.
  • December 28, 1813: Jesse Elliot expresses confusion as to why America was misinformed about the details of the Battle of Lake Erie.
  • July 3, 1815: William Henry Harrison to Perry providing his account of the Battle of Lake Erie.
  • July 11, 1817: William Henry Harrison to Perry concerning the Battle of Lake Erie controversy.
  • Undated: Lake Erie battle material including a diagram of the conflict and 16 crew and prisoner lists.
  • Undated. William Crane to Melancthon T. Wooley containing an evaluation of the prize ships taken at the Battle of Lake Erie.
  • Undated. Copied letter of William Henry Harrison concerning the Battle of Thames River.
  • Undated: Matthew C. Perry's account of the Battle of Lake Erie.

Approximately 200 letters concern Perry's Mediterranean duty and his mission to Venezuela (1816-1819). Those from his time in the Mediterranean document his command of the US Frigate Java and the administration of the Mediterranean Squadron while at sea. Particularly rich descriptions of Malaga and elsewhere in Spain may be found in Oliver H. Perry's letter of February 17, 1816 and in his Mediterranean journal, February 22-March 1, 1816. Also included are orders from Isaac Chauncey, William Montgomery Crane, and other leadership in Washington. See, for example:

  • March 11, 1816: John Heath to Perry, discussing their differences and referring to a "mortifying situation" (Port Mahon on the Java).
  • September 10, 1816: Crew of the Java to Perry requesting time off and money for shore leave at the Port of Messina.
  • October 8, 1816: Perry to Isaac Chauncey, discussing the violent incident that occurred between him and John Heath.
  • December 11, 1816: Miguel de Sarrachaga, Governor of Minorca, writes to Perry asking why American ships have entered the harbor at Mahon without first informing him.

Oliver H. Perry's assignment to Venezuela in 1819 and his sudden death from yellow fever on the return voyage are well represented in the collection. The Perry family received accounts of his final days as well as an outpouring of condolences from friends and naval officials, many of which contained remembrances of Perry. Multiple 1826-date letters relate to the transportation of Perry's body from Trinidad to Newport, Rhode Island. Items of note include:

  • May 20, 1819: Secretary of State John Quincy Adams to Perry with instructions concerning the slave trade.
  • May 28, 1819: Perry receives permission from Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson to have the schooner Nonsuch accompany him to Venezuela.
  • August 24, 1819: Mordecai Morgan to Matthew C. Perry, giving an account of Perry's final hours.
  • September 24, 1819: Two letters from Charles O. Handy of the John Adams to Elizabeth Perry and Matthew C. Perry, informing them of Perry's death.
  • September 24, 1819: Charles O. Handy to Christopher Grant Perry, describing Perry's death and offering details about Perry's interment on Trinidad.
  • October 27, 1819: John N. Hambleton's list of Perry's effects at his death.
  • November 13, 1819: Elizabeth Perry to her mother-in-law Sarah Perry, lamenting the death of her husband.
  • October 17, 1826: Samuel Southard to Elizabeth Perry, concerning the movement of Perry's remains to Rhode Island.
  • Undated. Department of State to Oliver Hazard Perry, giving instructions for his mission to Venezuela.
  • Undated. Charles O. Handy's funeral oration for Oliver Hazard Perry.

The correspondence following O. H. Perry's death (approximately 150 letters) largely concerns members of his family, especially his brother Matthew C. Perry, wife Elizabeth Perry, son Oliver Hazard Perry, Jr., and grandson Oliver Hazard Perry. Many of these letters relate to the ongoing controversy surrounding Elliot and the Battle of Lake Erie, with Matthew C. Perry petitioning a number of his brother's colleagues to contribute their viewpoints on the conflict. Matthew Perry also received letters containing anecdotes and reminiscences about O. H. Perry from family and friends. Included among these letters are childhood memories by his sister Sarah W. Perry (see especially November 18, 1839; February 19, 1840; and March 27, 1840). Additional topics represented include celebrations of Perry's Lake Erie accomplishments, including the 1860 celebration in Cleveland, Ohio; Elizabeth Perry's letters with government officials concerning her pension; and the naval service of Oliver Hazard Perry, Jr. Notable items include:

  • July 28, 1828: Mr. Davis to Benjamin Hazard offering the Gilbert Stuart portrait of Oliver Hazard Perry (finished by Stuart's daughter) for sale.
  • July 11, 1838: Oliver Hazard Perry, Jr.'s commission as lieutenant in the navy, signed by President Martin Van Buren.
  • August 12, 1839: John Chambers to Matthew C. Perry regarding James Fenimore Cooper's work on Elliott and O. H. Perry at the Battle of Lake Erie, as well as his own reminiscences of the battle.
  • August 12, 1839: Charles O. Handy to Christopher Grant Perry, describing Perry's death and details about Perry's interment on Trinidad.
  • September 28, 1839: John Chambers to Matthew C. Perry, discussing O.H. Perry in the aftermath of the Battle of Lake Erie as well as Alexander Slidell, who wrote a biography of Perry.
  • March 30, 1847: Christopher Perry's commission as first lieutenant of the 4th Regiment of United States Infantry, signed by President James K. Polk.

The correspondence and documents series includes the following seven bound volumes:

  • Troop Landing and Artillery Instructions and Letter Book, March-November 1813 (101 pages). The volume contains 35 pages of naval instructions and 66 pages of copies of outgoing letters. The instructions (pages 1-35) cover the following topics: Slow Matches, Priming Fuses, Portfires, Quick Matches (English Method), Fire Sticks, To drive of Ram Sky Rockets &c., Proportion of Mallets, Charges for Sky Rockets &c., Sky Rockets in General, Composition for Rocket Stars, Sky Rocket Moulds, Mixing Compositions, and Questions and Answers Related to Naval Gunnery. The index for the instructions is located on page 177. The letter book (pages 86-152) is comprised of 85 letters spanning March to June 28, 1813, along with two letters from November 29, 1813.
  • Orderly Book, "Lake Erie", July-October 1813 (29 pages) containing general orders sent by Perry and other officers stationed on Lake Erie. The orders cover the preparation for and execution of the Battle of Lake Erie, July-October 1813. Topics include navy provisions, order delivery, discipline, and battle instructions.
  • The series also consists of two Letter Book Indexes (letter books not present). The first volume covers 1814 to 1815, while the second spans the year 1815-1816. Each index is organized alphabetically and entries each contain the name of the recipient, date, and a brief summary of the letter's contents.
  • Oliver H. Perry Notebook, "Notes of Last Cruise" (61 pages) consists of 39 pages of diary entries and notes relating to Perry's 1819 diplomatic mission to Venezuela and 22 pages of quotations and other notes kept by Perry, primarily relating to morality and human nature.
  • Modern History Academic Notebook (51 pages) is a manuscript study book of lists and tables of information about the United States and British governments, and on classical history and Biblical history. The front cover inscription states: "A. K. Terry's bought of W[illiam] S. Gilbert." Gilbert apparently completed the notebook between 1821 and the summer of 1822.
  • Oliver H. Perry, Jr. Yachting Journal and loose papers (97 pages and 4 loose items) describe Perry's yachting adventures around Long Island. The notebook dates from July to September 1905 while the loose pages contain notes from 1902, 1904, and 1910. Perry described daily activities on the ship and on shore.

The Naval Accounts and Receipts series (approximately 20 items) covers 1813 to 1821 and is comprised of Department of the Navy accounts from Oliver H. Perry's service in the War of 1812 and the Mediterranean Squadron. It also includes materials related to Christopher R. Perry's naval career. Of note are accounts documenting the construction and outfitting of the Independence and Chippewa, and receipts from Rhode Island, 1815.

The series contains one bound account book of Oliver H. Perry (60 pages), documenting Perry's naval expenses while in the Mediterranean from February 1816 to November 1818. The majority of the expenses were for food, wine, supplies, and the payment of loans. Perry purchased goods from Malaga, Port Mahon, Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, Messina, Gibraltar, Malta, Naples, and Palermo.

The Perry Family Estate and Business Papers series (approximately 160 items) spans 1800 to 1913, with the bulk falling between 1857 and 1878. These materials document Perry family members' financial activities and business endeavors, including the Perry, Wendell, Fay & Company and the Middlesex Company. The series also contains Perry family wills, land surveys from 1828 and 1865, and 17 personal receipts (1813-1817) of Oliver Hazard Perry and Christopher Raymond Perry.

The Commemorations and Monuments series (approximately 52 items) consists of letters and documents pertinent to monuments celebrating O. H. Perry in Rhode Island (1841) and Cleveland (1860). The series also includes information about the Battle of Lake Erie Centennial Celebration in Erie, Pennsylvania, 1913.

The Miscellaneous Writings series includes manuscript speech notes, poems, letter fragments, and letter covers. Seven poems include works by Elizabeth Perry. A recipe for "Daube" (roasted meat) is also present.

The Typescripts series contains nearly 600 pages of un-proofed typed transcriptions of items in the Correspondence and Documents series.

The Printed Materials series consists of pamphlets and newspapers clippings.

The Pamphlets subseries is comprised of eight pamphlets, most of which concern commemorations for Perry:

The Newspapers and Clippings subseries consists of 152 newspaper clippings containing material related to O. H. Perry, Perry memorials and remembrances, and the Perry family (1819-1913). Newspapers represented in the subseries include The Daily Cleveland Herald, the Newport, Rhode Island Herald of the Times, The Newport Daily News, The Boston Globe, The Boston Courier, The Newport Mercury, The Virginia Patriot, The New York Herald, and others.

The Ephemera series contains two pressed flowers, 25 Oliver H. Perry name cards, a Miss A. F. Gould name card, a Captain Perry US Frigate Java signature, a ticket for the World's Columbian Exposition (October 9, 1893), a stereoview of a painting of "Perry's Victory," and four postcards depicting Gilbert Stuart's portrait of O. H. Perry.

The Perry Family Genealogical Material series (85 items) is made up of 19th and 20th century investigations into Perry ancestral history. Included are a 63-page draft of Perry genealogy and a description of seven generations of the Perry family. Other resources are:

  • "Index of Persons and Places"
  • "Notes on the Huguenot Ancestors"
  • "Notes on the Otis Line of Ancestors"
  • "Notes on Elizabeth Scallay of Boston"
  • Two volumes: "The Record of my Ancestry" (each includes notations about ancestors who participated in the colonial wars, Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812)
    • Volume 1: contains genealogy for the Perry family and 69 relates surnames, including the Hazard line dating to the Mayflower.
    • Volume 2: documents the Haggitts and 33 other family lines.

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a Correspondence Inventory.

Collection

Peter Force papers, 1774-1868 (majority within 1820-1867)

3 linear feet

This collection is made up of correspondence, research notes and extracts, bibliographies, financial records, and other items related to printer, publisher, and historian Peter Force. Most of the items pertain to Force's interest in early American history and to the source materials he gathered for publication in American Archives, his multivolume documentary history of the Revolutionary War era.

This collection is made up of correspondence, research notes and extracts, bibliographies, financial records, and other items related to printer, publisher, and historian Peter Force. Most of the items relate to Force's interest in early American history and to the source materials he gathered for publication in American Archives, a documentary history of the Revolutionary War era.

The Correspondence series (approximately 1 linear foot) largely consists of incoming and outgoing letters regarding Peter Force. The earliest group of items is copied and original manuscripts dated between August 17, 1774, and February 26, 1793. They concern the Boston Port Act (August 17, 1774), George Measam's desire to leave the bulk of his estate to the United States Treasury in support of the war against Great Britain (June 20, 1781), Kentucky residents' efforts to form a state (January 2, 1784), early efforts to collect primary sources related to American history, and other subjects.

The bulk of the material (April 18, 1820-December 25, 1867) pertains directly to Peter Force, and frequently concerns his efforts to collect and publish primary source materials regarding the history of North America (particularly the United States). Force's correspondents asked about and otherwise discussed letters, documents, pamphlets, and other materials from the 18th century (and, rarely, earlier), including some owned by Force and others held in state historical societies and similar repositories. The letters concern many aspects of early American history, including relations between Native American tribes and the government, and the years leading up to the Revolution. Charles Fenton Mercer wrote at length about the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (August 2, 1827).

Many items concern Force's publishing career, including a group of letters from William Thompson, who wished to work for Force (May 1825-July 1825), and items exchanged by Force and Matthew St. Clair Clarke, his collaborator on American Archives. Force, Clarke, and other writers discussed the project and similar efforts, such as a documentary history of Parliament. A significant group of letters and financial documents relate to a dispute between Force and John Cook Rives, another collaborator onAmerican Archives. Two letters from April 1861 mention the Civil War; Charles B. Norton offered to store Force's large library of Americana on account of the possibility of an attack on Washington, D.C., but Force refused the offer. Other items include a copyright document for Tracts & other Papers, relating principally to the Origin, Settlement, & Progress of the Colonies in North America, from the Discovery of the Country to the year 1776, Volume 1 (March 26, 1836). A small number of letters postdate Force's death; these concern historical manuscripts and related publications.

The Notes, Extracts, and Bibliographies series (approximately 1.75 linear feet) contains materials related to Peter Force's interest in early American history. Much of the series is comprised of lists of and extracts from historical manuscripts and publications, most frequently related to the American Revolution. The bulk of the series concerns the period from 1763 to around 1780, including commentary on the Stamp Act and economic relations between Great Britain and the North American colonies, the Continental Congresses, the Articles of Confederation, and the Revolutionary War. Items of note include a daily timeline of the mid-1770s, a 42-page bibliography of works on American history and travel published between 1742 and 1788, and an essay about the history of the United States flag. Some of the materials relate to slaves and to Native Americans, and many are arranged into bundles centered around topics such as the Declaration of Independence. A group of Revolutionary War songs is also present.

Additional subjects include disputes about the United States-Mexico border (April 5, 1853), a proposed history of Kent County, Maryland (April 5, 1852), and Force's book reviews and newspaper articles. A bound volume contains a list of publications printed at his shop between April 1826 and October 1839. The series includes a document by Force about his progress on American Archives and a few items respecting Congressional debate over funding for the project. A large group of materials relates to the early history of European printing and the evolution of standardized typography, including notes and extensive lists of early printed works.

The Financial Records (approximately 0.25 linear feet) pertain to Peter Force's professional interests, particularly with regard to the compilation and publication of American Archives. Accounts, agreements, receipts, and other items reflect the costs of printing, illustrating, binding, and publishing the work. Other items concern Force's attempts to defend the value of his work to Congress and Congress's role in funding the project. Many relate to Force's business relationships with Matthew St. Clair Clarke and John C. Rives. Personal records, such as an account of expenses during a trip to North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, are also present.

The Printed Items series (approximately 0.25 linear feet) consists of newspapers, newspaper clippings, and pamphlets. Peter Force and others wrote articles about the disputed United States-Mexico border, the possible discovery of the Northwest Passage, Force's personal library, and the founding of the United States. The series includes a number of pamphlets (housed in the Book Division) and whole issues of periodicals such as the Army and Navy Chronicle, Daily National Intelligencer, Daily National Republican, and other newspapers. The pamphlets concern the Revolutionary War, United States and Maryland politics between the 1830s and 1850s, and a panorama by "Sinclair" about the life of Napoléon Bonaparte after 1815. "Epeögraphy," a pamphlet by Joseph B. Manning, is a proposal for a phonetic writing system.

Collection

Revolutionary Cuba and Philippines collection, 1849-1925 (majority within 1895-1903)

2.75 linear feet

This collection consists of 883 letters, documents, an orderly book, printed items, and other materials concerning revolutionary conflicts in Cuba and the Philippines, American involvement particularly, dating largely from the 1890s-1900s. This collection's contents include detailed information from Cuban and Philippine revolutionaries at home and in exile; U.S. Army activities related especially to the Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War, and postwar occupations; American, Cuban, Filipino, and Spanish consular and governmental officials; and civilians (including families of U.S. Army soldiers' and sailors' family members) involved in the events.

This collection consists of 883 letters, documents, an orderly book, printed items, and other materials concerning revolutionary conflicts in Cuba and the Philippines, American involvement particularly, dating largely from the 1890s-1900s. This collection's contents include detailed information from Cuban and Philippine revolutionaries at home and in exile; U.S. Army activities related especially to the Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War, and postwar occupations; American, Cuban, Filipino, and Spanish consular and governmental officials; and civilians (including families of U.S. Army soldiers' and sailors' family members) involved in the events.

Please see the box and folder listing in this finding aid for extensive, detailed descriptions of items and groups of items in the Revolutionary Cuba and Philippines Collection.

Collection

Weld-Grimké family papers, 1740-1930 (majority within 1825-1899)

14 linear feet

The Weld-Grimké family papers consist of correspondence, diaries, notebooks, autobiographical documents, printed materials, photographs, realia, and newspaper clippings. The collection addresses such subjects as abolition, women's rights, temperance, religion, education, and the lives of members of the Weld-Grimké family, including Sarah and Angelina Grimké and Theodore Weld. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a comprehensive writer index, which identifies letters acquired by the Clements Library in 2012 and letters published in Barnes and Dumond: Weld-Grimké Family Papers Writer Index.

The Weld-Grimké family papers contain approximately 3,200 items spanning 1740 to 1930, with the bulk concentrated between 1825 and 1899 (14 linear feet total). They form a record of the lives of abolitionists Sarah Moore Grimké, Angelina Emily Grimké Weld, and Theodore Dwight Weld, and they offer insight into the lives of the Welds' children: Charles Stuart Faucheraud Weld, Theodore Grimké Weld, and Sarah Grimké Weld. The collection includes 2,889 letters, nearly 200 newspaper clippings, 16 diaries, 39 notebooks and other writings, a manuscript biography of Theodore Weld, 37 loose photographs, 2 photograph albums, 17 valentines, and 13 objects and ephemeral items. The papers are a valuable source of information on the major reform and political issues of the 19th century, and they provide extensive documentation on the personal lives and activities of the Weld and Grimké families. Although anti-slavery movements and abolitionism are central themes in the papers, the collection includes material on women's rights, the American Colonization Society, temperance, political philosophy, religious introspection and commentary, education, literature, health and dietary reform efforts, spiritualism, and a wide array of other subjects.

In June 2012, descendants of the Weld family donated 961 hitherto unresearched letters to the Library, which focus on Sarah M. Grimké, Angelina and Theodore Weld, and the Weld children and grandchildren between 1853 and 1900 (these letters are included in the quantities of items listed above). The 2012 acquisition has an emphasis on the legacy of the anti-slavery activists, women's rights activism, temperance, family dynamics and activities, physical and mental health, and education.

The Correspondence series spans 1740-1930 (bulk 1819-1900) and contains 2,985 items (seven linear feet). The correspondence is physically arranged in one chronological sequence, although the following summary is divided into two components: Letters acquired by the Clements Library before 2012 (1) and letters acquired as part of the 2012 addition (2).

1. Weld-Grimké family correspondence acquired by the Clements Library before 2012

Prior to 2012, the Weld-Grimké family papers included 2,024 letters, dating mostly between 1819 and 1900, and relating predominantly to the lives and activities of Theodore Dwight Weld, Angelina E. Grimké, Sarah M. Grimké, and their network of correspondents.

Theodore Weld received letters from an array of prominent anti-slavery activists, including the Grimké sisters, Lewis Tappan, Gerrit Smith, Elizur Wright, Jr., Beriah Green, James Armstrong Thome, Sarah Mapps Douglass, Lydia Maria Child, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, Charles G. Finney, James Birney, Wendell Phillips, William Lloyd Garrison, Henry B. Stanton, Sereno Wright Streeter, Theodore Erastus Clarke, Dioclesian Lewis, and Samuel Dorrance. Many letters document Weld's friendship and working relationship with Charles Stuart. Letters of Theodore's parents, siblings, and other family members are also present.

From approximately 1821 to 1836, letters pertaining to Weld refer to his early pursuit of a career in the ministry, his association with temperance, and his early anti-slavery activities. Weld and his correspondents discussed the Colonization Society, Weld's near drowning accident in the Alum River in 1832, and his attendance at the Oneida Institute, Lane Theological Seminary, and Oberlin College. In addition to his work as an itinerant speaker on behalf of the American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS), incoming letters show that he received numerous requests to lecture at anti-slavery and temperance societies. His correspondence refers to threats of violence against abolitionists and sheds light on the activities of the AASS.

Weld's correspondence with the Grimké sisters began in 1837. His letters to and from the sisters, especially Angelina, primarily concern women's rights and abolition. Weld's attitude was frequently didactic, and his letters convey much advice to the sisters on becoming political activists. On February 8, 1838, Weld wrote a letter to Angelina declaring his love for her; most of the correspondence between this time and May 1838 revolves around their courtship and wedding. Their wedding certificate, dated May 14, 1838, is present in the collection's series of documents.

Correspondence from 1839 to 1844 is mainly concerned with Weld's publications, American Slavery As It Is andThe Anti-Slavery Almanack , as well as the Amistad court case in 1841. Correspondence with Angelina and Sarah during Weld's brief tenure in Washington, D.C, highlights his work with John Quincy Adams, Joshua Reed Giddings, and others in keeping the slavery question a subject of debate in Congress. The Welds' adoption of the "Graham diet" is discussed in letters of this period.

The years between 1845 and 1853 marked a time of transition for Weld as he began his career as a schoolmaster. Charles Stuart's letters to Weld indicate an increasingly strained friendship, and although Weld still corresponded with other abolitionists, fewer letters address the issue of slavery during the late 1840s and early 1850s. From 1854 to 1867, Weld corresponded mostly with his children. He also received many letters from former pupils, many of whom referenced their educations at Eagleswood. Letters from 1868 to 1895 revolve around the legacy of the abolition movement and family life. Weld began to receive letters from fellow aging abolitionists and their children, especially to offer condolences after the deaths of Sarah and Angelina.

Prior to the Clements Library's 2012 addition, the papers included over 500 letters by and over 250 letters to Sarah and Angelina Grimké. The sisters were introspective writers and typically sent detailed and lengthy letters to their friends and family members. This correspondence provides insight into major events in their lives, such as their struggles with religious identity, their speaking tour throughout Massachusetts in 1837, and the births of Angelina's children. They often discussed books they had read, such as Woman and Her Era by Eliza Wood Farnham, or public talks they had attended. Among their correspondents were Sarah M. Douglass, Jane Smith, Julia A. Tappan, Rachel and Mira Orum, Elizabeth Pease, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Elizabeth Smith Miller, Susan Wattles, Sarah Wattles, Augustus Wattles, Harriot Kezia Hunt, their brother Frederick Grimké, and others.

From 1825 to 1830, the sisters discussed and reflected extensively on religion. Letters during this period are especially pertinent to Angelina's religious conversions, first to the Presbyterian faith and later to Quakerism. Correspondence between 1831 and 1835 includes content on Society of Friends meetings and Angelina's encounters with Catherine Beecher. Thomas Smith Grimké and Hester Snowdon, a slave whom Angelina had known in Charleston, also wrote letters in the later 1820s.

Between 1835 and 1837, the Grimké correspondence documents the beginnings of the sisters' involvement in the anti-slavery movement. Several items refer to Angelina's published letter to William Lloyd Garrison and others pertain to her bookAppeal to the Christian Women of the South . The majority of letters written in 1837 and 1838 concern abolitionism and women's rights issues, highlighting the difficulties Angelina and Sarah encountered as female abolitionists and public figures. Some of the correspondents with whom the sisters discussed these issues include Sarah L. Forten, Sarah M. Douglass, Henrietta Sargent, Theodore Weld, Jane Smith, and Elizabeth Pease. One letter dated March 30, 1838, was written by Nancy Adams, a formerly enslaved woman living in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, recounting her life story and escape from slavery.

Angelina and Sarah received 16 letters from their mother, Mary Smith Grimké, in 1838 and up to her death in 1839. The letters reveal the sisters' continued involvement in abolition, especially the time they spent conducting research forAmerican Slavery As It Is . Motherhood, domesticity, and Angelina's children were frequent topics of discussion, especially from 1839 to 1847. Between 1848 and 1863, Sarah exchanged two dozen letters with physician and women's rights advocate Harriot Kezia Hunt; Frederick Grimké; and Augustus, Susan, and Sarah Wattles. In addition to discussing abolition and women's rights issues, they also wrote about spiritualism, religion, politics, and other intellectual topics.

2. 2012 Addition to the Weld-Grimké Family Papers correspondence

The 961 letters from the Clements Library's 2012 acquisition span 1853 to 1899, with the bulk dating between 1862 and 1899. The addition is comprised primarily of the incoming correspondence of Angelina and Theodore Weld's daughter Sarah Grimké Hamilton (neé Weld) and her daughter, Angelina Grimké Hamilton, in whose wooden trunk the papers were preserved. At least 75 different writers contributed to the newly discovered body of letters; the most prolific correspondents include Theodore Dwight Weld, Angelina Grimké Weld, Sarah Moore Grimké, William Hamilton, Charles Stuart Weld, and Anna Harvell Weld. The Weld children also corresponded with their parents' associates, including Lucy Stone, James Armstrong Thome, and Henry B. Blackwell. This correspondence is largely family-focused, with content on race relations, women's rights, temperance, and the legacy of the anti-slavery activists and movements. Please note that the following numbers of letters attributed to individuals in this section only include those from the collection's 2012 acquisition.

Theodore Dwight Weld wrote approximately 180 letters between 1857 and 1893. He wrote to his daughter Sarah and granddaughter Angelina Hamilton extensively, offering advice on education, reassurance about Sarah's intellectual development, news about his activities and current events, family and financial matters, and recollections of his younger days. He referenced major sociopolitical issues of the time, such as women's suffrage and temperance (with content on the Woman's Christian Temperance Union). Weld wrote about and provided updates on many family members and friends, including the Shepards, the Birneys, Archibald Grimké, Francis Grimké, Charles Stuart Weld, Anna Harvell Weld, William Hamilton, Angelina Hamilton, and Angelina Grimké Weld.

Notable letters include:

  • Series of five letters related to his 1862-1863 lecture tour, including a November 23 letter respecting his speech at Boston's Music Hall. Following the lecture, Senator Charles Sumner thanked Weld profusely for his The Power of Congress Over the District of Columbia (1838) and remarked on recent interviews with President Lincoln over the subject of emancipation. His letter to Sarah Weld dated [November] 24, 1862, contains remarks on a visit with John Greenleaf Whittier.
  • May 20, 1863: Mentions a combat injury sustained by James G. Birney's son David Bell Birney ("All the Birneys were in the thick of the fight at Chancellorsville").
  • His letters addressed the ill-will that developed between Sarah and her sister-in-law, Anna Harvell Weld. Theodore Weld's remarks on the relationship and his efforts to understand the tension may be found especially in his letters of April 30, 1877; February 23, 1883; and July 12, 1890.
  • January 26, 1880: Discusses his lectures on women's suffrage.
  • January 6, 1883: Reflects on the death of Mary Anna, with remarks on the emancipation of "Aunty Betsey Dawson" in the 1820s and on Mary Anna's moral courage and self-sacrifice.
  • July 25, 1885: Reassures his pregnant daughter, who had expressed fears about dying in childbirth.

Angelina E. Grimké Weld's approximately 260 letters date from 1857 to 1878 (over 170 of them undated). She sent the majority of them to her daughter Sarah or granddaughter Angelina ("Nina"). The primary topics of conversation included food, housekeeping and home renovations, visiting lecturers, financial matters, health concerns, and politics. She also supplied news about Samuel Chace, Archibald Grimké, William Hamilton, Angelina Hamilton, Anna Harvell, the Haskells, the Mosleys, Gerrit Smith's family, the Philbricks, Charles Stuart Weld, Theodore Dwight Weld, and Theodore Grimké Weld.

Angelina Weld provided her daughter with motherly support, shown, for example, by an undated letter (January 20). In it, she addressed Sarah Weld Hamilton's concerns that "little Nina" showed preference to her father William Hamilton, by describing the jealousy she [Angelina] sometimes felt toward her sister Sarah M. Grimké, whom she recognized as having a closer relationship with Angelina Weld's children than they had with their mother. Angelina assured her daughter that she understood her feelings--and that Angelina felt relief when Sarah Moore Grimké moved out of their household.

Angelina Weld wrote multiple letters about the presidential election of 1876, including a compelling discussion of President Hayes' Cabinet and the appointment of Frederick Douglass as Marshall of the District of Columbia. On the latter, she remarked that it must have been hard "for the Democrats to swallow this, and yet I suppose as politicians the hope of the Colored vote to help them into office in future" was a factor in Douglass' confirmation. She believed that the strife of party politics would ultimately work to resolve "the most difficult problem of our day," the reconciliation of the black and white races (March 18, [1877]).

Sarah Moore Grimké's letters to her niece Sarah Weld (later Hamilton), number roughly 100 and span 1853 to 1869 (bulk 1862-1869). Her letters to Sarah offer a glimpse into their relationship, in which Aunt Sarah demonstrated a deep interest in her niece's life, offering educational advice (see for example her undated letter in which she encouraged her niece to pursue courses that would lead to a diploma), expressing concern for Sarah's physical and mental well-being, and discussing her niece's financial concerns/school expenses. Sarah M. Grimké also kept her niece abreast of family news, including details about the mental health struggles of "Sodie"/"Sody" (Theodore Grimké Weld) and the family's efforts to "cure" him (see especially June 10, 1863, and August 22, 1875). She also discussed literature (including Les Miserables in three letters in 1862 and 1863) and politics. Sarah M. Grimké provided updates on and news about Theodore Grimké Weld, the Birneys, Gerritt Smith, Lucy McKim Garrison, Charles Stuart Weld, and Julia Tappan.

Sarah Moore Grimké sent two letters to her niece and nephews while in Washington, D.C., 1853-1854:

  • [December 26, 1853 or January 2, 1854?], to Sarah, Charles, and Theodore G. Weld: Offers vivid descriptions of the Capitol building, the Senate and House chambers, and the U.S. Supreme Court. She informed her niece and nephews that she sat in the Chief Justice's chair and proclaimed that perhaps a woman would someday occupy the seat--an act that "amused" her companions. She described the John Trumbull paintings in the Capitol rotunda and noted that the empty alcove would be suitable for another once the slaves were emancipated.
  • [March 3, 1854?], to Sarah Weld: Comments that she will be leaving the city soon, but has not yet visited Mount Vernon. She reconciles herself by noting that "although [George] Washington may have done right in his day, yet his achievements in the cause of liberty are connected with cruelty & slaughter, and fail to inspire the mind with that sacred feeling of reverence, which we experience in contemplating the characters of Howard & Fry, of Oberlin and Chisolm." She then describes an incident in which a tall, stalwart, and fiercely angry white man dragged a young African American boy onto the Capitol yard in order to beat him for an alleged verbal slight. Following Sarah Grimké's intervention, which prevented the battery, she followed the aggressor long enough to witness him greeting a young child with great tenderness and affection. The lesson of the experience, she informed her niece and nephews, was that "we are two beings just as the evil or the good spirit has possession of us...let us try to be always under the influence of the good."

Sarah Weld Hamilton's letters, about 120 in total, address women's rights and writing submissions to serials including the Independent (1869-early 1870s), her relationship with William Hamilton and her parents' disapproval of him (see especially October 28, 1869, and June 13, 1871), religion, and temperance. She later wrote about child rearing, family matters, visits to Cambridge and Boston (see especially October 21, 1891, in which she reminisces at length about her youth). Sarah included updates on and anecdotes about the Badger family, William Hamilton, Mary Livermore, the Blackwell family, her parents, Julia Ward Howe and her daughter Laura, "Lizzie" [Elizabeth A. L. Cram], Lucy Shepard, Thomas Hill, and Lucy Stone. Selected examples include:

  • November 29, 1869, to William Hamilton: Explanation of her views on women's roles, firmly stating her belief that women should be able to support themselves and not be dependent upon their husbands.
  • January 16, 1870, to William Hamilton: Description of Sarah Weld's responsibilities and fellow workers at the Woman's Journal office.
  • March 6, 1870, to William Hamilton: Mention of an "octogenarian Grimké" at a women's meeting and a reevaluation of her initial impressions of Julia Ward Howe.
  • March 13, 1870, to William Hamilton: Description of voting at Hyde Park with a group of women and the reactions of the men present. In her subsequent letters to William Hamilton, she remarks that he probably views the act as "play-voting," and offers her perspectives on the women's rights movement.
  • October 6-31, 1891, to Angelina Hamilton: Eight letters to her daughter while visiting Cambridge, Boston, and Hyde Park, with her father Theodore D. Weld. She offered lengthy recollections of her youth and discussed meetings with children and grandchildren of her parents' friends (Smiths, Wrights, Badgers, Garrisons, et al.), and provided explanations to help her daughter contextualize the information.

William Hamilton wrote about 40 letters between 1870 and 1899, primarily about his health, his wife Sarah's health and death, his daughter Angelina, and his work in various educational and occupational endeavors (ministry, law, trade, and lumbering). Of particular note are his letters to Sarah written while conducting business both in and around Washington D.C. A few examples include:

  • July 14, 1870 to Sarah Hamilton: discusses his recurring/continual health problems, which the doctor diagnosed as a disease "of a nervous character."
  • August 10, 1872-September 13, 1872, to Sarah Weld Hamilton: Twelve letters to his wife respecting travel and a visit to Washington, D.C., and his return trip to Boston. He described the city in detail, discussing government buildings, the city layout, and General Lee's house. He provided commentary on the presidential contest between Horace Greeley and incumbent president Ulysses S. Grant. On August 29, he noted: "the little I am able to gather about politics here, is that the Negroes are very nearly a unit for Grant--that the old Virginians are all nearly for Greeley and that more recent inhabitants are variously disposed."
  • November 6, 1898, to Angelina Hamilton: Discusses Angelina's ethical and spiritual concerns as they relate to practicing as a physician. Offers advice about the dangers of professional rivals, citing Dr. Luella Day as an example.
  • January 28, 1899-February 3, 1899, to Angelina Hamilton: Four letters respecting the final sickness ("brain hemorrhage" followed by a coma), death, and funeral of her mother.

Charles Stuart Faucheraud Weld's 10 letters date from 1868 to 1895 and primarily revolve around his duties/role as a son and brother. He wrote about US-European finance, Unitarianism and Dwight L. Moody, his aging parents' health, his efforts to help his brother Theodore engage with others, the death of Theodore D. Weld, and current writing. Charles Weld's wife Anna Harvell Weld sent approximately 50 letters between 1877 and 1895, and was a main source of news for Sarah Hamilton regarding the well-being of Sarah's father, Theodore Dwight Weld, and brother, Theodore G. Weld. Her correspondence also reflects the growing tension that existed between Sarah and herself. A later source of conflict was Sarah Weld Hamilton's desire to write a book about her father's life and her accompanying quest for supporting materials. Anna Harvell Weld also discussed Francis Grimké, Archibald Grimké, Theodore Dwight Weld, Theodore Grimké Weld, and Charles Stuart Weld. Examples of Anna Weld's letters include:

  • July 27, 1889, to William Hamilton: Asking for his assistance in stopping Sarah from writing a book about Theodore D. Weld.
  • February 12, 1890, to Sarah Hamilton: Anna tells Sarah that Theodore Dwight Weld does not want a book written about him.
  • February 16, 1892, to Sarah Hamilton: If someone is going to write about Theodore D. Weld, it should be his nephew, Archibald.
  • [postmarked February 3, 1894] to William Hamilton: Discussing Sody's living arrangements. Anna remarks that since Angelina Weld's death, no one has had control over Sody. She doesn't fully agree with sending him to an asylum and had hoped that William and Sarah Hamilton would take him. She refers to Sarah's claim that Sody had made an inappropriate advance towards Sarah, which Anna believes is either a misinterpretation or a faulty memory.

Angelina Grimké Hamilton wrote approximately 30 letters between 1878 and 1899, offering insight into her education and work towards becoming a physician. Her letters pertain to childhood activities, food, family, medical duties/work, and school. Of particular note are the letters she sent between December 9, 1892, and December 16, 1896, to Sarah, William, and Nettie Hamilton. In them, Angelina wrote about her time at Hahnemann Medical College and subsequent internship. She discussed her classes and clinical work, which included dressing a scalded arm, giving children vaccinations, and tending to a sprained ankle. She briefly mentioned visits to the Art Institute (March 5, 1893) and the Columbian Exhibition (February 19, 1893).

In 1868, the Grimké sisters discovered that they had nephews living in Washington, D.C. Although the Weld-Grimké Family Papers do not contain any letters by Archibald, and only two by Francis Grimké (October 31, 1879; November 6, [1879]), the correspondence does include many references to their education, activities, careers, and families. A few examples include:

  • July 31, 1868, Sarah Moore Grimké to Sarah Weld: Reference to her "newly found" nephews.
  • January 12, 1876, Theodore D. Weld to William and Sarah Hamilton: Brief remarks on Archibald Grimké's admission to the bar: "Mr. B. prophesies that A. will soon attain a position that few lawyers secure when so young. When he was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court on motion of Mr. Sewall, he was warmly welcomed. One of the prominent lawyers, Mr. Shattuck took him by the hand and said 'Mr. Grimke welcome to our fraternity. From what I hear of you, I doubt not that you will be an honor to the Boston bar.'"
  • March 28, 1880, and May 1, 1880, Theodore D. Weld to Sarah Weld Hamilton: Remarks on the birth of Angelina Weld Grimké (NB: who would become a prominent writer, poet, and activist for African American rights in the 20th century).
  • February 23, 1883, Theodore D. Weld to Sarah Hamilton: Lengthy description of Francis Grimke's recent week-long visit, his sermon at the Orthodox Church, his Presbyterian congregation in Washington, D.C., and other subjects.
  • April 26, 1885, Theodore D. Weld to Sarah Hamilton: Theodore is the only person that has complete information about the departure of Archibald Grimké's wife Sarah Stanley and their daughter Angelina, outside the parties directly involved. While not at liberty to reveal much detail, Theodore provides Sarah with his perspectives on the separation.

The Diaries series contains 16 diaries: Nine by Sarah Grimké, seven by Angelina Grimké, and one by Louis Weld. Sarah's diaries date from 1819 to 1836 and they contain poetry, copies of Bible passages, and her thoughts on religion and marriage. She also reflected on women's issues, on her experiences as a Quaker, and about her daily experiences. Angelina's diaries date from 1828 to approximately 1835 and record her struggles with her transition between the Presbyterian and Quaker faiths, her relationship with Sarah, and her reasons for opposing slavery. The "Angelina Grimké Manuscript, 1832-1833" (beginning, "I think I have sincerely desired to receive a right qualification...") relates to her courtship with Edward Bettle, who died of cholera in 1832.

The Notebooks and Writings series consists of essays, lecture notes, and 39 notebooks kept by various members of the Weld-Grimké family. Theodore Weld's essays cover a diversity of subjects, including the oppression of women, Shakespeare's works, William Lloyd Garrison, abolition, and subjects related to political philosophy. Approximately eight notebooks belonging to Sarah are also in the collection; these include essays on women's political rights, the education of women, and the status of women in society. Her essays, "Sisters of Charity" and "The Condition of Woman" are some of the notebooks with titles. The series also includes Angelina's lecture notes and several undated autobiographical essays by Weld and his children. Of particular note is a biography of Weld written on 22 notepads by his daughter Sarah Grimké Weld Hamilton.

The Photographs series contains loose images in multiple photographic formats, including 18 cartes de visite, 17 cabinet cards, 5 developing out prints, 1 card mounted photograph, and 1 quarter-plate daguerreotype of the Weld-Grimké family by Greenleaf Weld. Also present are a Weld family album of cartes de visite and a photo album related to Eagleswood Academy, containing cartes de visite and tintypes.

The Printed Items series is made up of nearly 200 newspaper clippings, pamphlets, broadsides, and cards. The clippings mainly pertain to the topics of slavery and the abolition movement, although some also concern women's rights and the legacies of Theodore Weld and the Grimké sisters. Also included are family members' obituaries, including those of Sarah Moore Grimké. Nine family Bibles and Books of Common Prayer are also included, dating from 1740 to ca. 1921.

The Realia and Ephemera series contains several linear feet of three-dimensional objects associated with the Weld-Grimké family, including hair, Chinese ivory sewing box (gift of Benjamin Grimké), a cameo brooch, Angelina's eyeglasses and case, a silver Addison watch, a quilt presented by Eagleswood students, and a pocketknife belonging to Theodore Weld, a Chinese fan, a silhouette of Angelina G. Weld, and 17 elegant hand-cut valentines. Most of the items date to the mid-19th century.

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a comprehensive writer index, which identifies letters acquired by the Clements Library in 2012 and letters published in Barnes and Dumond: Weld-Grimké Family Papers Writer Index.

Collection

William Bosson family scrapbook and genealogical papers, 1789-2000 (majority within 1789-1899)

2.5 linear feet

The William Bosson family scrapbook and genealogical papers pertain to Revolutionary War veteran and Roxbury, Massachusetts, and Cincinnati, Ohio, merchant William Bosson (1753-1823 or 1824); his son William Bosson (1806-1887) and daughter-in-law Julia Burnett; his son Charles T. Bosson (1791-1864); and other family members. The collection includes original manuscripts, ephemeral items, publications, transcriptions, and copies of letters, documents, notes, and other items, largely dated between 1789 and 1899. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a comprehensive writer index: Bosson Family Scrapbook Contributor Index.

The William Bosson family scrapbook and genealogical papers pertain to Revolutionary War veteran and merchant William Bosson (1753-1823 or 1824); his son William Bosson (1806-1887) and daughter-in-law Julia Burnett; his son Charles T. Bosson (1791-1864); and other family members. The collection includes original manuscripts, ephemeral items, publications, transcriptions, and copies of letters, documents, notes, and other items, largely dated between 1789 and 1899.

The William Bosson Scrapbook includes approximately 140 manuscript and printed items largely dating from 1789 to 1899, including biographical sketches, reminiscences, reflections, correspondences, courtship and family letters, documents, an autobiography, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, engravings, railroad passes, and convention tickets. Of particular note are 10 documents signed by W. G. Brownlow and D. W. Senter; five letters sent by William Bosson to W. G. Brownlow; five biographical sketches and reminiscences related to the reception of the Declaration of Independence in New York, Thomas Hickey's betrayal of General Howe, General Joseph Warren, General Knox, and General George Henry Thomas; nine letters George H. Thomas sent to William Bosson between 1864 and 1868; four letters between Edward Everett and William and Charles Bosson; three letters of introduction for Charles Bosson exchanged between W. Heath and Elbridge Gerry, Elbridge Gerry and Henry Clay, and Josiah Quincy and John Rowan in 1813; one letter from Amos Kendall to Charles Bosson; one letter from Samuel Gilman to Charles Bosson; and one manuscript addressed to the Tennessee Teacher's State Association by W. G. Brownlow.

The scrapbook contains content pertinent to many subjects, including the Revolutionary War; the War of 1812; the Civil War; the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in Tennessee; Tennessee reconstruction; and Tennessee mining, cotton manufacture, railroads, government, and education (particularly the development of Common Schools) following the Civil War.

The Genealogical Papers series includes Colonial Dames applications, a Middlesex County genealogy, two transcriptions of William Bosson's autobiography for his sons, two transcribed copies of Thomas Mayo Bosson's "Genealogy of the Bosson Family," transcribed copies and photocopies of genealogical records, and genealogical notes and materials related to the Ushers, Hills, Denisons, Terrells, Powers, Newnans, and Bossons. The genealogical papers also contain two books of compiled information on the Bosson, Usher, and Hill families from items contained in the William Bosson Scrapbook and Genealogical Papers: a book Henry Loring Newnan refers to as the "Bosson-Usher-Hill book" in his letters, and two copies of "William Bosson 1630-1887 Seven Generations."

The genealogical papers include notable content on the Civil War, the First World War (in Richard Bosson's account of service in the Rainbow Division), and World War II (William Loring Newnan and Henry Loring Newnan Jr.).

The William Bosson family scrapbook and genealogical papers is a heterogeneous collection, spanning many years and pertaining to many individuals and events. Please see the box and folder listing below for details about individual items in the collection.

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a comprehensive writer index: Bosson Family Scrapbook Contributor Index.