Edward E. Ayer Manuscript Collection (Newberry Library)
Organization
Found in 39 Collections and/or Records:
Accounting statements
Collection
Identifier: VAULT oversize-Ayer-MS-3069
Abstract
Includes three separate accounting statements recording ordnance supplies held at Greenleaf's Point and at Fort Belle Fontaine. The first item is a detailed accounting notebook (18 pages) of expenditures for basic supplies at Greenleaf's Point Arsenal (1817-1820) under the command of Capt. Joseph S. Nelson. The notebook contains over 400 entries for a variety of provisions including lumber, shovels, nails, rope, oil and lead. The other two items briefly enumerate accounts of ordnance stores...
Dates:
1820
Benjamin Hawkins letters
Collection
Identifier: VAULT box-Ayer-MS-368
Abstract
North Carolina planter, U.S. senator, and Indian agent. Letters concerning southern Indian affairs, 1796-1812, from Hawkins to Col. David Henley, U.S. War Dept. agent based in Knoxville; James Jackson, governor of Georgia, 1798-1801; and Harry Toulmin, a prominent Mobile resident and later federal judge in the Mississippi Territory.,Subjects include setting the boundary line between the U.S. and the Creek Nation along the Clinch River and settlers on Indian lands there (1797); horse thefts and...
Dates:
1797-1812
Charles Apthorp correspondence
Collection
Identifier: VAULT box-Ayer-MS-27
Abstract
Letters to London merchant John Thomlinson, mainly related to the financial arrangements, sale, and shipment of merchandise to Boston. Apthorp was born in England in 1698 and educated at Eton College. He was later appointed by the English government as paymaster and commissary of the land and naval forces quartered in Boston. Apthorp also became one of the most distinguished merchants in Boston during the 1730's until his death in 1758.
Dates:
1738-1751; Majority of material found within 1738 - 1739
Charles S. Stobie papers
Collection
Identifier: VAULT-Ayer-MS-834
Abstract
Artist's journal, sketches and notes, essay, photograph, and letter of Charles S. Stobie, 1866?-1902. Journal kept at the Ignacio Ute Agency during Oct., 1900, and May-Aug., 1902, contains sketches of Ute and Navajo Indians and their dwellings, weapons, saddles, pottery, and clothes; sketches of scenery with notes on color and lighting; glossaries of Ute and Spanish words; a list of agency employees; and store accounts. There are also several single drawings (1899), a ms. essay regarding the...
Dates:
1866-1902
Edward E. Ayer U.S. Board of Indian Commissioners files
Collection
Identifier: VAULT-Ayer-MS-911
Abstract
Correspondence, minutes, reports, memoranda, bulletins, 1912-1922, relating to Edward E. Ayer's work as a commissioner. Dating primarily from Ayer's period of active service, 1912-1917, there is both incoming and outgoing correspondence with commission members and officials (H.C. Phillips, W.K. Moorehead, G. Vaux, F.H. Abbott, M. McDowell, W.H. Ketchum), the secretary of the interior (F.K. Lane), the commissioner of Indian affairs (C. Sells), the foreman of the Menominee sawmill (A.S....
Dates:
1912-1922
Edward Hatch letters
Collection
Identifier: VAULT box-Ayer-MS-3087
Abstract
Born in Bangor, Me., and educated in Norwich, Vt., Edward Hatch emigrated ca. 1852 to Muscatine, Iowa, where he operated a lumberyard (Hatch & Fullerton). After serving with distinction in the Civil War, Hatch on July 28, 1866, was commissioned colonel of one of two new colored cavalry regiments, the 9th U.S. Cavalry. He commanded the regiment for twenty-three years, serving nine years on the Texas frontier before assuming command of the Department of New Mexico (1876-1881). He died at...
Dates:
1867-1870
Eleazar Williams papers
Collection
Identifier: VAULT-Ayer-MS-999
Abstract
Missionary to the Oneida Indians in New York and Green Bay, Wis. The mixed Indian-white descendant of Indian captive Eunice Williams of Deerfield, Mass., Williams was appointed a lay reader and catechist by Episcopal bishop John Henry Hobart and began work among the Oneida following the War of 1812. Three letters (1812-1858) and a claim decision (contemporary copy, 1838), together with twenty-nine sermons, letters, autobiographical excerpts, documents, essays, Indian language mss., etc.,...
Dates:
1758-1858
Ely Samuel Parker papers
Collection
Identifier: VAULT box-Ayer-MS-674
Abstract
Seneca sachem, engineer, soldier, and first native American commissioner of Indian affairs, 1869-1871. Speeches, lecture notes, and correspondence, ca. 1850-1885, of Ely Samuel Parker, regarding Indian customs and traits, the Indian policies of government and religious bodies, and his own background.,Includes an undated July 4th address re temperance; lecture notes (ca. 1850) on Indian dances, games, and social and domestic habits; an address (ca. 1878) containing autobiographical notes and...
Dates:
approximately 1850-1885
Erwin Watkins-Simeon Whiteley papers
Collection
Identifier: VAULT-Ayer-MS-3024
Abstract
Erwin Watkins and Simeon Whiteley worked for the Office of Indian Affairs in the 1870's and 1860's, respectively. While the Watkins papers contain mainly official government reports and correspondence, the Whiteley papers consist of mostly personal correspondence accompanied by several photographs, three maps, and two issues of a Wyoming newspaper.,The Watkins papers include: incoming correspondence and instructions from the Commissioners of Indian Affairs and other officials, copies of Watkins...
Dates:
1863-1920, bulk 1863-1878; Majority of material found within 1863 - 1878
Faustinus Antelope letters and petition
Collection
Identifier: VAULT box-Ayer-MS-24
Abstract
Two letters, Aug. 23 and Sept. 7, 1918, from Faustinus W. Antelope, an Arapahoe Indian of Arapahoe, Wyo. (Wind River Reservation), to the Field Museum of Natural History and Edward E. Ayer, together with the text of a petition, all regarding the opposition of E.A. Hutchinson, the agent to the Arapahoes, to a performance of the Sun Dance for the benefit of the Red Cross.,The dance was prohibited during Hutchinson's entire tenure (1917-1922) at the Shoshone Superintendency. Also includes a note...
Dates:
1918
G. Etherington letters
Collection
Identifier: VAULT box-Ayer-MS-277
Abstract
Seven letters, in French, June 10-July 14, 1763, written by Capt. George Etherington during the period of his captivity at L'Arbre Croche to Charles Langlade at Fort Michilimackinac.,Correspondence concerns the assignment of command of the fort to Langlade and instructions for its operation, the ransom of captive British soldiers, English traders held at the fort, wampum for the Ojibwa, and the assistance of the Ottawa chief, La Fourche.
Dates:
1763
Gabriel Harrison letters
Collection
Identifier: VAULT box-Ayer-MS-3038
Abstract
Letters regarding John Howard Payne to Gabriel Harrison from three current and former U.S. consuls to Tunis, William Penn Chandler of Philadelphia, George Whitfield Fish of Tunis and Flint, Mich., and Amos Perry of Providence, R.I. Also one letter, also about Payne, from Fish to Thomas J. McKee, a New York lawyer and friend of Harrison's.,The letters, which were probably responses to a correspondence initiated by Harrison during the revision of his 1875 work, concern the circumstances of...
Dates:
1873-1883
George Croghan Letters
Collection
Identifier: VAULT box-Ayer-MS-195
Abstract
A collection of four letters and one order primarily from Fort Pitt, Penn. relating to Croghan's official duties between 1763 and 1770.,In the first letter dated Mar. 1763 Croghan reports to Sir William Johnson that a draft (unidentified) was completed by his assistant Thomas Hutchins, future geographer of the U.S. In the second letter (copy) dated June 1766 to Gen. Gage, Croghan urges him to encourage the colonial governors to maintain peace with the Indians and mentions his plans for a trip...
Dates:
1763-1770
Henry Perry letters
Collection
Identifier: VAULT box-Ayer-MS-709
Abstract
Letters (Jan. 24, 1849-May 28, 1850) written from New York City, Rio de Janeiro, Valparaiso, San Francisco, and Sacramento by Henry Perry to his Bridgeport family (parents Mr. and Mrs. David Perry, sister Emmeline, and brothers Alf, Tom, and Frederick), regarding his experiences en route to San Francisco, his return voyage from Hawaii, and economic and living conditions in gold rush San Francisco and Sacramento.,Of particular interest are accounts of robberies in Sacramento, and pen drawings of...
Dates:
1849-1850
Henry Van Schaack papers
Collection
Identifier: VAULT oversize-Ayer-MS-3193
Abstract
American loyalist.,Colonial Kinderhook and Albany, N.Y., resident. Mainly correspondence, with a few receipts, appointments, petitions, and other documents, dating primarily from 1756-1809, regarding Henry Van Schaack's Indian trade operations, Seven Years' War service, colonial political activities and opinions, Revolutionary War banishment, concern with post-war loyalist emigration, connection with Shay's Rebellion, advocacy of the U.S. Constitution, anti-church tax campaign, and party...
Dates:
1734-1896; Majority of material found within 1756 - 1809
Hercules L. Dousman papers
Collection
Identifier: VAULT-Ayer-MS-18
Abstract
Correspondence, agreements, powers of attorney, accounts, promissory notes, etc., of Hercules Dousman, primarily relating to his fur trade business.,Included are contractual agreements between Dousman, Sibley, and Rolette, and the American Fur Company (1834, 1841) and Pierre Chouteau Jr. & Co. (1842), and Dousman's statements of account (including several for the steamboat Ariel) with the firms. Also a power of attorney, correspondence, and other documents relating to Dousman's efforts to...
Dates:
1808-1857, bulk 1840-1857; Majority of material found within 1840 - 1857
Herman Haupt papers
Collection
Identifier: VAULT-Ayer-MS-366
Notice of Culturally Sensitive Indigenous Materials
This collection contains content identified by the library as Culturally Sensitive to Indigenous People(s): Drawings and descriptions of sacred ceremonies, burial and death rituals. For more information please see the Newberry Library’s policy on Access to Culturally Sensitive Indigenous Materials. Scope and Contents Manuscript...
Dates:
1897-1921
Indian land deeds
Collection
Identifier: VAULT oversize-Ayer-MS-404
Abstract
Deeds and indentures, 1639-1787, transferring or leasing Indian lands to white inhabitants of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York.,Properties are located in Norwalk, Norwich, Ridgefield, and Wethersfield, Conn.; Boston, Charlestown, Rochester, Satucket, Scituate, and Plymouth Colony, Mass.; and Long Island, and Orange, Ulster and Schenectady counties, N.Y. Two deeds (Dec. 23, 1685 and Mar. 5, 1787) are on vellum. There are seals on eleven deeds: New York - Dec. 23, 1685, Mar. 5, 1787;...
Dates:
1639-1787
J.A. Cuoq letters
Collection
Identifier: VAULT box-Ayer-MS-206
Abstract
Five letters, 1879-1894, from J.A. Cuoq to James Constantine Pilling, an American ethnologist particularly interested in Indian languages, who compiled comprehensive bibliographies on the topic and assembled the renowned library of the Bureau of American Ethnology.,In Cuoq's responses to Pilling's apparent requests for copies of his works, he notes in an 1879 letter that all copies of requested volumes were destroyed in an 1877 fire at Lac-des-Deux-Montagnes. Later notes concern the forwarding...
Dates:
1879-1894
James J. Dana papers
Collection
Identifier: VAULT oversize-Ayer-MS-3003
Abstract
Military commissions and appointments, 1841-1882, with some transmittal letters, and an 1890 certificate of membership in the Washington, D.C. Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.,Includes an 1841 Massachusetts Militia commission and nine appointments issued and signed by U.S. Presidents Pierce, Lincoln, Johnson, and Arthur, and Secretary's of War Jefferson Davis, Edwin Stanton, and Robert T. Lincoln to regular and brevet ranks in the 4th Artillery Regiment, 1855-1857, and the...
Dates:
1841-1890
James Wilkinson letters
Collection
Identifier: VAULT box-Ayer-MS-982
Abstract
Small collection of correspondence and a few orders written by James Wilkinson, military officer, western land speculator, and governor of Louisiana, between 1792 and 1818.,The majority of the letters were written at Fort Washington and Fort Hamilton in Ohio and relate to Indian affairs and military operations in the Northwest Territory during the 1790's. The correspondents include quartermaster general Samuel Hodgdon, Pennsylvania militia officer John Armstrong, and Lieutenant William Simmons....
Dates:
1792-1818
John Gottlieb Ernestus Heckewelder letters
Collection
Identifier: VAULT box-Ayer-MS-378
Abstract
A small collection of correspondence (seven letters) written by Heckewelder from his home in Bethlehem, Pa. to three individuals between the years 1790 and 1822.,The largest group of letters were written to William Alexander, a surveyor residing in Carlisle, Pa., dated 23 March 1790 to 8 Feb. 1791. In these letters Heckewelder engages the services of Alexander to survey five warrents of land (650 acres) in eastern Ohio purchased by Heckewelder and others. He also instructs Alexander to layout...
Dates:
1790-1822
John Norton papers
Collection
Identifier: VAULT oversize-Ayer-MS-654
Abstract
Schoolmaster, interpreter, Mohawk chief, army officer, and author; also known as Teyoninhokarawen.,Probably born in Scotland of Cherokee and Scottish parents, Norton was adopted by the Mohawk chief, Joseph Brant, as nephew, deputy, and successor (appointed non-hereditary chief for war and diplomacy in 1799). Addresses and correspondence of John Norton, with speeches and petitions of the Grand River Indians, chiefly dating 1804-1810.,Includes a contemporary copy of "The address of...
Dates:
1804-1816; Majority of material found within 1804-1810
John Wilson letters
Collection
Identifier: VAULT-Ayer-MS-3207
Abstract
Collection of correspondence (1859-1865) from Virginia City, Nevada written by or regarding John Wilson to his wife in Vermont.,Wilson, a young farmer from Vermont, left his pregnant wife and sailed for the West in Sept. 1859 to seek his fortune. After his arrival in San Francisco, he headed for Virginia City crossing the Sierra Mountains on foot in May 1860. Using his income as a bartender, Wilson immediately began to stake out claims. Many of his letters give a vivid and detailed firsthand...
Dates:
1859-1865
Louis McLane Hamilton collection
Collection
Identifier: VAULT box-Ayer-MS-356
Abstract
Correspondence, extracts of reports, printed obituaries and resolutions, newspaper clippings, 1867-1867, possibly collected by Benson John Lossing, concerning the life of Capt. Louis McLane Hamilton and his death at the Battle of Washita. Includes correspondence of Philip Hamilton (father) to Lossing, and Robert Mayhew West (forwarding copy of 7th Cavalry resolution on Hamilton's death to the Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle); ms. extracts from Custer's July 6, 1867, order praising Hamilton's actions;...
Dates:
1867-1869