Manuscripts

William C. Kerr letters

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Description: Letters to William C. Kerr from his friends and relatives, who were mostly enlisted men who served with the Armies of the Potomac and the Cumberland.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1855-1864.
Call number: mssHM 19030-19060
Creator: Kerr, William C(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Purchased from Edwin Grabhorn, January 1945.
Restrictions: Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Membership certificate for A. C. Bird

Manuscripts

This is A. C. Bird's certificate of membership in the Society of the Army of the Cumberland. It is signed by Philip Henry Sheridan who was president. It has images of the regiment along with Major Generals Buell, Rosecrans, and Thomas.

mssHM 79807

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Andrew Jackson, the Hermitage, letter to James Winchester :

Manuscripts

Jackson is reporting on rumors of the whereabouts of Aaron Burr, who is purportedly stopped at the mouth of the Cumberland River, and informing Winchester that he has been selected to be a confidential commanding officer and should be ready to move to intercept Burr. Jackson provides details of actions for the following days and a postscript mentions that he has received a letter from President Jefferson and that 240 men must be ready. This letter is a draft of a copy located at the Library of Congress, according to the Papers of Andrew Jackson.

mssHM 25423

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Kerr, Orpheus C. Poem beginning "Who hath his birthright in immortal Song."

Manuscripts

This collection consists of an autograph album containing handwritten notes, letters, poems, and drawings by approximately 200 friends and acquaintances of American author Charles Warren Stoddard, including leading American literary figures, journalists, poets, critics, politicians, and actors of the late 19th century. Among the many notable contributors are Samuel Clemens, Bret Harte, and Joaquin Miller. The earliest item in the book is an 1863 dedication by Thomas Starr King, and continues with contributions primarily from members of San Francisco literary society beginning in the mid-to-late 1860s through the late 1890s, as well as from friends in other locales where Stoddard lived or traveled including Louisville, Kentucky; Washington, D.C.; Massachusetts; New York; and Hawaii. A letter from L.C. Bayles (page 23) introduces lines of verse with the note "in accordance with your request," reflecting Stoddard's curation of the album as a compendium of verse and personal sentiments tailored towards friendships and literary musings. The volume includes two photographs of groups of men and women, captioned, "Riverdale, N.Y., July 4th 1890" (page 116). There are manuscript poems and lines of verse, often penned specifically for Stoddard, from literary friends including Isaac Hull Adams; Daniel Dulany Addison; Benjamin Parke Avery; William Barry; Fred Buel; James F. Bowman; George Burrows; Carrie Carlton; Bliss Carman; Pierre Cauwet; Robert W. Chambers; Sarah M. Clarke; Ada Clare; Katherine E. Conway; Ina D. Coolbrith; R.M. Daggett; Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren; Malcolm Douglas; Theodore F. Dwight; Eugene Field; Hamlin Garland; Grace Greenwood; Bret Harte; Jerome Hart; John Hay; Charles Hinton; Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.; William Dean Howells; Daniel E. Hudson; Thomas A. Janvier; Tremenheere Johns; Ralph Keeler; George Kennan; Orpheus C. Kerr; Alice Kingsbury (Cooley); Rudyard Kipling; Emilie Lawson; James Linen; Fitz Hugh Ludlow; Adah Isaacs Menken; John Malone; Joaquin Miller; Morton Mitchell and Laddie Mitchell; James Whitcomb Riley; James Jeffrey Roche; Edgar Saltus; Richard Henry Savage; Emma D.E.N. Southworth; Frank Soulé; Bella Z. Spencer; Horatio Stebbins; Maria Longworth Storer (with sketches); J.D. Strong; M.D. Strong; H.A. Stuart; T.R. Sullivan; Bayard Taylor; Charles Wadsworth; Charles Henry Webb; May Wentworth; George Edward Woodberry; and R.C. Wyllie. Prose and letters from L.C. Bayles; Frederick Billings; Ezra S. Carr and his wife, Jeanne C. Smith Carr; Samuel Clemens; Laura Cuppy; G.B. Densmore; Annie Fields; Archibald C. Gunter; Francis King Harte; Louise E. Holden; Jules Luquiens; C.T.H. Palmer; Theodore Roosevelt; Anna Josephin Savage; Rodney L. Tabor; Charles A. Wetmore; Virgil M. Williams; and Thérèse Yelverton. Drawings include ones by Reginald B. Birch; John S. Bugbee; Arthur Lemon; G. Thomas; and Theodore Wores. There are also brief notes and/or signatures of individuals including Charles Francis Adams; Henry Adams; Frances Hodgson Burnett; Ada, Dyas; Louise Imogen Guiney; Iza Duffus Hardy; Clarence King; Francis D. Millet; Thomas Nelson Page; Theodore Roosevelt; Charles Dudley Warner; and Lydia Woodworth. The contents are handwritten on blank pages in an "Album" published by Leavitt & Allen, consisting of 241 pages including an engraved title page and frontispiece and [8] other engraved plates with illustrations by Creswick, W.H. Bartlett, W. Tombleson; J. Smillie and T. Addison Richards; engravings by J. Sartain; J. Bannister; Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Smillie; J. White; and C.T. Giles. Edges gilt.

mssHM 35075

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R.C. Overton letter to John W. Barriger, III, Arthur H. Cole, William J. Cunningham, et al

Manuscripts

This typewritten letter written by Richard C. Overton is addressed to 22 individuals at various institutions. Overton writes, "Gentlemen: After the annual dinner of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association at Lexington, Kentucky, on May 7, several of us who are particularly interested in railroad research gathered together informally. Our purpose was to discuss (1) available material, (2) subjects that are significant both historically and currently in the railroad field, and (3) the best means of putting adequately trained men in contact with accessible material." He follows with a list of names and addresses of those present at that informal meeting.

mssHM 83624

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Letter to Herman J. Redfield

Manuscripts

This letter, which is signed by 17 men, is recommending John McClure for the position of Inspector of the Customs for the Port of New York. It states that McClure is "a firm and undeviating Democrat, and worthy citizen, and in our opinion a man well qualified to perform the duties of the office." One of the signatures belongs to John A. Dix, who served as US Secretary of the Treasury as well as the 24th Governor of New York.

mssHM 79230

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John C. Gowan letter to William Barton

Manuscripts

An autograph letter written and signed by John C. Gowan from Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico to William Barton in Providence, Rhode Island in early 1888. The letter contains important observations on the development of southern California and northern Mexico. Gowan writes of the temperate climate and how it helped with his chronic medical condition; he also goes on at length about the business opportunities in southern California, particularly Pasadena. He relays news of the church he and his congregation built in Baja California, and that it is slowly growing; Gowan also provides details about the fertile land and the crops which were grown in the area. He describes the United States business development by the International Company of Mexico and the plans to build railroads, roads, and telegraph lines. The letter has a small hole burned into the second page but overall it is in good condition.

mssHM 84049

William C. Kerr letters

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Membership certificate for A. C. Bird

Andrew Jackson, the Hermitage, letter to James Winchester :

Kerr, Orpheus C. Poem beginning "Who hath his birthright in immortal Song."

R.C. Overton letter to John W. Barriger, III, Arthur H. Cole, William J. Cunningham, et al

Letter to Herman J. Redfield

John C. Gowan letter to William Barton