Manuscripts

1886 June-1897

Description: A collection of 225 items from 1864 to 1897, which consists chiefly of letters to and from Swett's wife, Laura R. Swett, and son, Leonard Herbert Swett. The early letters have passing references to Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and Swett's dealings in the cotton trade during the Civil War. The later letters describe Leonard Herbert Swett's participation in the U.S. Geological Survey of the Utah Plateau Region under Captain Clarence E. Dutton in 1880 and his later work for the XIT Ranch in 1886 during the formative period of Western Texas. Because the Swetts were also friends of General and Mrs. George A. Custer, passing references to them appear throughout the collection.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1864-1897.
Call number: mssHM 50227-50449
Creator: Swett, Leonard (1825-1889)

1881-1886 March

Manuscripts

A collection of 225 items from 1864 to 1897, which consists chiefly of letters to and from Swett's wife, Laura R. Swett, and son, Leonard Herbert Swett. The early letters have passing references to Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and Swett's dealings in the cotton trade during the Civil War. The later letters describe Leonard Herbert Swett's participation in the U.S. Geological Survey of the Utah Plateau Region under Captain Clarence E. Dutton in 1880 and his later work for the XIT Ranch in 1886 during the formative period of Western Texas. Because the Swetts were also friends of General and Mrs. George A. Custer, passing references to them appear throughout the collection.

mssHM 50227-50449

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Swett family correspondence

Manuscripts

mssHM 50227-50449

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1870-1880

Manuscripts

mssHM 50227-50449

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1864-1867

Manuscripts

mssHM 50227-50449

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Leonard Herbert Swett papers

Manuscripts

The first section of the collection consists mainly of letters written by Leonard Herbert Swett to his parents, Leonard and Laura R. Swett, while spending part of the summer of 1875 with George Armstrong Custer. The letters include descriptions of encounters with Custer and the members of Custer's entourage, of treaty negotiations with the Arikara and Dakota chiefs, of a hunting excursion, and of life with the 7th Cavalry in general, as well as references to the political situation that decided Custer's orders regarding the Native Americans, including to General Sheridan and the War Department. Also included is a telegram sent to Leonard Swett by Custer, reporting on Leonard Herbert Swett's health; an anonymous description of experiences at Fort Lincoln; a description of Charles Eastman's comments on the Battle of Little Bighorn; and a 1932 letter from a university fraternity in Ithaca, New York. The second section of the collection is made up of letters written by Leonard Herbert Swett to his parents, who lived in Chicago, while on a year-long trip around Europe. In the letters he talks in detail about each city he visits and his daily activities, the costs of things, his frustration at trying to learn French, and his homesickness and desire to return to Chicago. Swett visits the following places: London; Brussels; Paris, Marles, Lyon, and Nice, France; Wiesbaden, and Leipzig, Germany; Lausanne, Switzerland; Milan, and Venice, Italy. Leonard Swett is the author of two letters, written to his wife while he was in Paris with his son.

mssSwett

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Leonard Herbert Swett papers

Manuscripts

mssSwett

1886 June-1897

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