John M. Read papers

The bulk of this archive is about John Meredith Read, Sr. (1797-1874) a man of remarkable accomplishments and strong convictions. Having served as the United States federal judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, he was nominated for the United States Supreme Court in 1844, only to be denied confirmation because of his vocal opposition to slavery.

The letterpress books contain the entirety of John Meredith Read, Sr.'s private, professional, and political correspondence between 1853 and 1868. All the letterpress books include an index, except for JMR 5, which appears to be incomplete. A large body of the letters are addressed to his son, John Meredith Read, Jr., documenting his studies at Brown University, life in New York, legal practice, and Civil War career. Read also corresponds with nearly everybody in the legal profession. The political contents in these letterpress books adds new, previously unknown information about the turbulent politics of the antebellum decade and the Civil War.

The letters addressed to David Wilmot (1814-1868) are particularly important because no Wilmot papers have survived. In a private letter dated April 10, 1854, Read having been propelled to action by Stephen A. Douglas' Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, urges Wilmot to be at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to help pass an anti-Nebraska resolution.

These letterpress books also showcase a successful law practice where correspondence with fellow lawyers, clients, and opposing counsel is abundant. The cases range from contested wills, administration of estates, and contested elections. Read was also involved in political lobbying on behalf of transportation companies including the Philadelphia & Trenton, Camden & Amboy, Erie, Susquehanna & Lehigh Turnpike, and Delaware Raritan Canal.

Boxes 10-16 consist of loose correspondence primarily related to John Meredith Read, Sr. The topics in the letters range from investments, legal activities, personal matter, business affairs, and politics. There are a few letters between Read's father, John Read, and his son, John Meredith Read, Jr. Also found in these boxes are letters written by Charles Macalester (1798-1873), a businessman and Presbyterian Church philanthropist; Michael Meylert (1823-1883), a prominent businessman from Laporte, Pennsylvania; William Henry Rawle (1823-1889), a Philadelphia lawyer and legal author; and Lieutenant Colonel Harrison Ritchie (1825-1894).

Boxes 17-20 include accounts related to the Cadwalader and Dickinson families; estate records related to the Meredith and Read families; miscellaneous financial and legal documents; and some intriguing cases Read handled. Other families represented in this portion of the collection include Champion, Clymer, Hollinshead, Kennard, Sarkies, and Zane.