Manuscripts

William Henry Pratt papers

Description: Collection consists of material relating to William Henry Pratt's activities in California. Items include a certificate for Pratt's appointment as Surveyor General of California signed by Benjamin Harrison, 1890 March 4 (HM 73028); a certificate for his appointment as Collector of Customs for Humboldt County signed by Chester A. Arthur, 1883 December 26 (HM 73026); a typescript letter signed congratulating Pratt from then-Governor of Ohio William McKinley, 1893 November 13 (HM 73029); a letter addressed to "Lyman" in which Pratt writes of the ships Corona and Pomona, and a postcard of a ship at Fort Ross sent to Pratt by "Walter." Also included is a certificate appointing Jared Turner Deputy Postmaster of Georgetown, California, signed by President James Buchanan, dated 1857 August 14 (HM 73027).
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date: 1882-1908
Call number: mssHM 73026-73031
Creator: Pratt, William Henry (1827-1911)(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Lyman and Albert Bridges, August 1955.
Restrictions: Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
Rights: The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining permission rests with the researcher.
Associated people: Arthur, Chester Alan, (1829-1886,); Buchanan, James, (1791-1868,); Harrison, Benjamin, (1833-1901,); McKinley, William, (1843-1901,)
Find out more: View in the Library catalog(Opens in new tab); View in the Online Archive of California(Opens in new tab)

William Henry Pratt papers

Manuscripts

Collection consists of material relating to William Henry Pratt's activities in California. Items include a certificate for Pratt's appointment as Surveyor General of California signed by Benjamin Harrison, 1890 March 4 (HM 73028); a certificate for his appointment as Collector of Customs for Humboldt County signed by Chester A. Arthur, 1883 December 26 (HM 73026); a typescript letter signed congratulating Pratt from then-Governor of Ohio William McKinley, 1893 November 13 (HM 73029); a letter addressed to "Lyman" in which Pratt writes of the ships Corona and Pomona, and a postcard of a ship at Fort Ross sent to Pratt by "Walter." Also included is a certificate appointing Jared Turner Deputy Postmaster of Georgetown, California, signed by President James Buchanan, dated 1857 August 14 (HM 73027).

mssHM 73026-73031

Image not available

Helen Pratt papers, (bulk 1939-1940)

Manuscripts

This small group consists of a letter from Hale Woodruff (b. 1900) to Helen Pratt in regards to a mural he painted which included a depiction of her grandfather, James Steele; a signed typewritten note; a xerographic copy of a typewritten biography of Helen Pratt; a photograph; and ephemera related to the Amistad affair

mssHM 65939-65940

Image not available

William Walter Phelps papers

Manuscripts

A collection of political, business, diplomatic, social, and family correspondence of William Walter Phelps, chiefly letters addressed to him. The collection numbers 199 items, including items related to American politics and the Republican party, Phelps' diplomatic service, his family, social life and literary interests. Correspondents include, among others, Herbert Nikolaus von Bismarck, James Gillespie Blaine, Benjamin Harrison, Eugene Field, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, and Joseph Pulitzer. Also included is the correspondence of John Jay Phelps, a poem by Eugene Field dedicated to Phelps, an 1882 letter containing an eye-witness account of the battle of Battle of Chapultepec, Mexico (1847), ephemera, photographs, and newspapers clippings. The collection also contains papers related to John Chester Eno's embezzlement from the Second Bank of New York (of which Phelps was a director) and Phelps' negotiations with Eno's father, Amos Richard Phelps, to make good the loss (1884). Materials created by US presidents in this collection include: Rutherford B. Hayes autograph letters signed to William Walter Phelps, 1879 July and December (HM 27382-27383); James A. Garfield and James G. Blaine signed appointment of William Walter Phelps as minister to Austria Hungary, 1881 March 5 (HM 27376); Theodore Roosevelt autograph letter signed to William Walter Phelps, approximately 1888 April 10 (HM 27406); Benjamin Harrison and James G. Blaine signed appointment of William Walter Phelps as commissioner to Berlin Conference on Samoan Affairs, 1889 March 19 (HM 27450); Benjamin Harrison and James G. Blaine signed appointment of William Walter Phelps as minister to Germany, 1889 June and December (includes passport and letter of credit, HM 27484-27485); Benjamin Harrison letters to William Walter Phelps, 1888-1892 (HM 27480-27483); William H. Taft letter signed to Marian von Rottenburg Phelps, 1910 and 1911 (HM 27413-27414).

mssHM 27329-27485

Image not available

William E. Carpenter papers

Manuscripts

Contains the Army Record of William E. Carpenter. Fair copy of the Civil War diary kept in Aug. 1862 to July 1865, preceded by an 1871 account book (100 leaves). Both manuscripts fill approximately a half of a blank account book. The diary deals chiefly with camp life: foraging, rations, typhoid fever, hospitals, furloughs, elections of officers, inspections, encounters with Confederate prisoners, war news and rumors; desertions; news about other regiments including newly organized colored troops; "chat" with Ulysses S. Grant. There is also infomration on operations of Grant's Central Mississippi Campaign, including siege and surrender of Vicksburg. Also included are William E. Carpenter's insignia of the Grand Army of the Republic, Civil War leaflets with the texts of "The Veterans are Coming!," by L. Grennan, and "Triumphal March of General Grant's Grand Army", two copies of a leaflet "History of Regimental Colors of the 124th Regiment Ill. Vol. Infantry," by J.H. Howe. (Republican Print: Galbsburg, Ill, s.d.), newspaper clippings, and postcards. Accompanied by the following manuscripts: discharge certificate of William E. Carpenter (HM 60954), "Statistics of the 124th Regt. From Sept. 10 1862 to Aug. 11, 1863) (HM 60955), and the reply to a questionnaire distributed by the U.S. Bureau of Pensions (1904) (HM 60952).

mssHM 60952-60955

Image not available

William Young Empey Papers

Manuscripts

The bulk of the papers consist of account books, passenger lists, and receipts documenting William Young Empey's work in England and America as an agent of the Perpetual Emigration Fund (PEF) of the Mormon Church. There are also letters relating to Empey's service as a missionary in England and to his personal affairs in later life. Among these papers, which concentrate primarily upon the years 1853 and 1854, are lists of PEF passengers on emigrant vessels from Liverpool, bills of landing and receipts for the purchase and shipment of many goods to equip the emigrant parties, and receipts and promissory notes from the emigrants themselves for wagons and teams or supplies purchased for them by the PEF's agent. These various documents illuminate many phases of the emigration process and the Church's careful, business-like organization of all the details. Some notable items include William Empey's incomplete diary account of the pioneer expedition to the Salt Lake Valley and the operation of the North Platte ferry (HM 52586), Empey's account book including accounts kept for the PEF (HM 52587), an 1853 list of Danish Mormons who had provided money for the purchase of cattle, wagons and other material (HM 52599), lists of P. E. Fund passengers on board various ships sailing for the United States in 1854 (HM 52603, 52605-07 and 52610-11), and two letters from Samuel W. Richards to Empey discussing Mormon missionary work in Great Britain and emigration of the Saints to the United States (HM 52593 and 52597).

mssHM 52583-52617

Image not available

T. J. Thompson certificates

Manuscripts

First certificate is an appointment for T. J. Thompson to Corporal in Co "D," 1st regiment of the Nebraska National Guard. It was issued on 1887, Sep. 19 in Beatrice, Nebraska by Colonel O. H. Phillips. HM 75978.

mssHM 75978-75979

William Henry Pratt papers

Opening Hours

Admission Info and Tickets

You might also be interested in

William Henry Pratt papers

Helen Pratt papers, (bulk 1939-1940)

William Walter Phelps papers

William E. Carpenter papers

William Young Empey Papers

T. J. Thompson certificates