Lilly Library Manuscript Collections

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WESTERN AMERICANA-COLLECTIONS

This list gives the collection name, date range and number of items in a collection followed by a very brief description of the contents of the collection. All of these collections are related to the American West.

BANTA MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1836-1888
• ITEM COUNT: 52 items
• The Banta mss. are papers of James P. Banta, Civil War soldier of Salem, Indiana and his wife, Jane P. Banta. Included are some letters from relatives in Kansas, 1885- 1886.

BARTHOLOMEW MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1838-1886
• ITEM COUNT: 581 items
• The Bartholomew mss. are papers of Jacob Bartholomew, of Ohio and California. Included are Jacob Bartholomew's overland diary of 1850, and Emily Bartholomew's 1861 diary of her journey from New York to California. There are also other papers of Jacob Bartholomew's time in California.

BAYLOR MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1860-1862
• ITEM COUNT: 5 items
• The Baylor mss. are photostats of correspondence of John Roy Baylor, soldier, of Civil War operations in Arizona Territory and Texas.

BEST MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1852-1862
• ITEM COUNT: 21 items
• The Best mss. are letters written by A. Jackson Best, bricklayer, California miner, and farmer to his wife, Ann Best and family in Ohio.

BISSONETTE MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1855-1862
• ITEM COUNT: 10 items
• The Bissonette mss. are letters written by Joseph Bissonette, trader and frontiersman, from Nebraska Territory to the U.S. Congress.

BOZEMAN TRAIL MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1867-1873
• ITEM COUNT: 64 items
• The Bozeman Trail mss. are letters and documents from the papers of John Eugene Smith, a general in command of Fort Philip Kearney, Dakota Territory, 1867-1869. The letters relate to the routine of the fort, the carrying of mails on the Bozeman Trail, military escorts for wagon trains, and Indian depredations.

CAMP MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 20th century
• ITEM COUNT: 245 items
• The Camp mss. are the field notes of engineer Walter Mason Camp gathered while interviewing participants and survivors of the Indian Wars. Transcripts of the field notes were made by Kenneth Hammer for his book, Custer in '76. The Camp mss. II are Hammer's transcripts of Camp's field notes held by the Denver Public Library and the Brigham Young University.

CLEGHORN MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1836-1893
• ITEM COUNT: 294 items
• The Cleghorn mss. consist of correspondence and papers of William W. Cleghorn, Indian trader, and material pertaining to his estate. Letters with Indian traders and relatives relate to the fur trade and some Indian claims.

COOK MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1850-1877
• ITEM COUNT: 28 items
• The Cook mss. consist of letters from David S. Cook in California to his family and friends in Illinois and letters to James Willson Temple, farmer and writer, from his family in Illinois while he was in California.

CRAWFORD MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1849-1864
• ITEM COUNT: 88 items
• The Crawford mss. consist of letters and papers of Medorem Crawford, captain, Quartermasters' Department, U.S. Volunteers, and a member of the Oregon legislature. Besides family letters there is also an 1861 overland diary of LeRoy Crawford and a 1862 diary of Medorem Crawford of his journey by boat from Oregon to New York by way of Panama and his return to Oregon by overland trail from Omaha, Nebraska conducting a military escort for the protection of emigrants.

CUSTER MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1876-1933
• The Custer mss. consist of a copy of the Proceedings of the Court of Inquiry, January 13, 1879, in the case of Major Marcus A. Reno concerning his conduct at the Battle of the Little Big Horn River, 1876. Other documents relating to the case are included. Of particular interest are over 400 photographs, mostly from the 1920s, pertaining to Custer and the Battle of Little Big Horn.

DAY MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1855-1906
• ITEM COUNT: 13 items
• The Day mss. consist of letters and papers of Silas J. Day, 1st lieutenant, Company G, 2nd regiment, Oregon mounted volunteers. Primarily 1855-1856 records of Day's unit. Also included is "Reminiscences of Indian hostilities in Oregon, 1851-1855", written by James H. Twogood.

DRAKE MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1848-1849
• ITEM COUNT: 2 items
• The Drake mss. are reminiscential letters of Daniel Drake, physician, to his children copied by Charles Daniel Drake.

ELLISON CORRESPONDENCE

• ITEM COUNT: 300 items
• The Ellison Correspondence consists of letters of Robert Spurrier Ellison relating to his collection of Western Americana.

ELLISON MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1790-1949
• ITEM COUNT: 249 items
• The Ellison mss. consist of correspondence, photographs, memorandum books, overland diaries, journals of travel by water, accounts of skirmishes with Indians, and transportation in the Far West compiled by Robert Spurrier Ellison, oil producer.

ELLSWORTH MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1843-1874
• ITEM COUNT: 63 items
• The Ellsworth mss. are papers of Stukely Ellsworth, lawyer. Ellsworth was on the bar of the Supreme Court during the territorial period of Oregon and later became an Oregon legislator. The bulk of the letters consist of 1852-1874 personal correspondence between Ellwsorth and his wife.

GREENE MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1876-1914
• ITEM COUNT: 12 items
• The Greene mss. are primarily letters of Francis Vinton Greene, general, historian, and engineer, to his mother Martha Barrett Greene. These letters were written in 1876 while Greene was on a journey by train from Harrisburg, Penn. to the West Coast with General William Tecumseh Sherman and James Donal Cameron (railroad president, U.S. senator, and U.S. secretary of war) and their families.

GREGG MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1844-1848
• ITEM COUNT: 13 items
• The Gregg mss. are letters of Josiah Gregg, Santa Fe trader and author of Commerce of the prairies, to John Bigelow, editor, diplomat and author.

HARDING MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1843-1930
• ITEM COUNT: 86 items
• The Harding mss. are papers of Stephen Selwyn Harding, lawyer, governor of Utah Territory and chief justice of Colorado Territory. Letters relate his overland trip to Salt Lake City in 1862, and conditions and events he observed.

HARRISON, R.B. MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1877-1899
• ITEM COUNT: 21,431 items
• The R.B. Harrison mss. consist of the papers of Russell Benjamin Harrison, businessman and lawyer. From 1811-1891 Harrison was an officer of various Montana cattle and horse companies and, in 1886, operated a cattle ranch in Montana.

HEMBREE MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1844-1862
• ITEM COUNT: 9 items
• The Hembree mss. are papers of Absolom Jefferson Hembree, Oregon legislator, farmer and soldier, who went to Oregon from Missouri in 1843 and was killed in the Yakima Indian War.

HOHENBERGER MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1917-1960
• ITEM COUNT: 15,133 items
• The Hohenberger mss. is a collection of photographs, negatives, and papers of Frank Michael Hohenberger, photographer and newspaperman. Of particular interest are a group of photographs of western states from 1952. Included are views of the Grand Canyon, Indian cliff dwellings, and adobe churches.

JONES, J. MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1868-1887
• ITEM COUNT: 16 items
• The J. Jones mss. consist of letters of John E. Jones in California to his sister Mary Jones in England. In California Jones worked as a prospector, miner, and homesteader. His letters to his sister deal with his travels, social and economic conditions in America, and his own disappointments in California.

LANE, JOSEPH MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1835-1906
• ITEM COUNT: 3,248 items
• The Joseph Lane mss. consist of correspondence and papers of Joseph Lane, first territorial governor of Oregon. The collection deals largely with Oregon affairs: politics, admission of Oregon as a state, Indian hostilities and treaties, war claims and pensions, river and stage coach transportation, land titles, the lumber trade, gold mining, and immigration to Oregon. There is also material on overland travel and proposed railroads to the West coast.

LATIN AMERICAN MSS.

• The Latin American mss. is a large group of material which has been arranged by country. There are items pertaining to early settlements and colonial government in Texas, California and New Mexico, and information on Texas independence. Contact the Manuscripts Department for further information.

LOTT MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1863-1890
• ITEM COUNT: 37 items
• The Lott mss. are papers of Mortimer H. Lott, rancher in Montana.

MAGUIRE MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1875-1878
• ITEM COUNT: 9 items
• The Maguire mss. consist of the papers of Horatio N. Maguire, printer, editor and judge. Of particular interest is an account of an overland journey from Bismarck, North Dakota to the Black Hills in the Spring of 1876.

MILLS MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1866-1869
• ITEM COUNT: 7 items
• The Mills mss. are papers of Benjamin B. Mills relating in the main to Bridger's Ferry, Wyoming.

MISCELLANEOUS MSS.

• The Miscellaneous mss. consist of individual items acquired from various sources. Of particular interest is a diary of boat and overland trips in the U.S. and Canada dated Jan. 1- Nov. 14, 1849.

NORMAN, R.E. MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1912-1954
• ITEM COUNT: ca. 4,000 items
• The R.E. Norman mss. consist of the papers of film producer and distributor Richard Edward Norman. Norman produced all- black films and several of these films dealt with the theme of black cowboys in the American West.

OREGON GULCH GOLD MINING CO. MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1866-1898
• ITEM COUNT: 949 items
• The Oregon Gulch Gold Mining Company mss. are a part of the Baker, Hord, and Hendricks collection and consist of correspondence and business papers of the Oregon Gulch Gold Mining Company, Morris Ravine, Oregon Township, Butte County, California. The correspondence, personal and business, is primarily between members of the Hendricks family and other persons concerned with the operation of the mine.

PALMER MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1835-1888
• ITEM COUNT: 1,182 items
• The Palmer mss. consist of correspondence and papers of Joel Palmer, superintendent of Indian Affairs in Oregon Territory, 1853-1857, and of his brother Ephraim Palmer, captain of Company B, 1st regiment, Oregon Infantry.

ROBERTS MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1885-1891
• ITEM COUNT: 17 items
• The Roberts mss. consist of correspondence, an overland diary, and the last will and testament of Andrew Jackson Roberts, farmer.

ROOT MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1815-1888
• ITEM COUNT: 42 items
• The Root mss. are papers of Riley Root, teacher, surveyor, inventor, and author of Journal of Travels from St. Josephs to Oregon....

RUDD MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1879-1907
• ITEM COUNT: 12 items
• The Rudd mss. consist of letters to Smith Rudd of Bronson, Michigan, from John Augustus Sutter, pioneer and adventurer, and from descendants of "Davy" Crockett, frontiersman and congressman.

SHAW, G.W. MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1850-1873
• ITEM COUNT: 8 items
• The G.W. Shaw mss. are the papers of George Washington Shaw, lawyer. Included is a manuscript, "Rise and Progress of Mormonism", written by Shaw.

U.S. HISTORY MSS.

• The U.S. History mss., is a miscellaneous collection of documents in American history acquired from various sources. Of particular interest:
  • 1837-1844. Journal of a trip to Ohio, and journal of a trip to Saratoga Springs, New York, written by Israel Wilson.
  • 1843, May 6-June 28. "I started for the West" --diary of journey from Boston to St. Louis and return.
  • 1850, Apr. 3-Sept. 24. Copy of letters from Samuel Millikan to his wife en route to California.
  • 1886, Aug. 10-1894, Dec. 22. Correspondence relating to Dakota lands written by Arthur Calvin Mellette, governor of South Dakota.
  • 1886, Aug. 25-1895, Jan. 8. "A Hoosier in Kansas: the Diary of Hiram H. Young."
  • 1889, Apr. 22-June 16. Photographs of the Oklahoma and Indian territories. Most images are of Guthrie, Oklahoma days after being opened for white settlement.
  • 1892, May 2. "The Criminal Code of the Northwest Territory," written by David Demaree Banta.
  • 1944. "Western North America with special consideration of the German immigrants in their relation to agriculture, trade, and commerce conditions" written by Nicholas Hesse. Translated from the 1838 German edition.
  • n.d. "Echoes of the Past: Some Biographical Notes on James Steel, farmer, carpenter and preacher of Perry Township, Ohio."
  • n.d. Historical notes on the Northwest Territory.
  • n.d. "History of the Old Northwest" written by Logan Esarey.
  • n.d. Letter from William How of Independence, Missouri to A. Birham How in which he writes about his family, weather conditions, the interest in the California gold mines with "about 500 coming up the river in every boat, and 2,000 planning to depart on the first of May."

UNTHANK MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1867-1924
• ITEM COUNT: 6 items
• The Unthank mss. are copies of papers of Oliver N. Unthank, telegraph operator at Fort Laramie, Wyoming and his family. The letters relate to Indian attacks, fur trade and a party of goldseekers from Indiana.

WASHINGTON TERRITORY INFANTRY MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1861-1866
• ITEM COUNT: 164 items
• The Washington Territory Infantry mss. consist of photostats of muster rolls.

WEEKS MSS.

• DATE RANGE: 1862-1879
• ITEM COUNT: 126 items
• The Weeks mss. are Civil War and post-Civil War letters and papers of: William C. Weeks, soldier; his brother Harrison Samuel Weeks, army officer stationed at a number of forts in the West; and other relatives and friends.