Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Manuscripts
Ward Hill Lamon papers
- Description
This collection contains the personal and professional papers of Ward Hill Lamon, chiefly dating from 1861 to 1879. The collection contains source materials for a biography of Abraham Lincoln, including three volumes of materials purchased from William Henry Hendon in 1869 and the correspondence related to the purchase; an unpublished typescript of Lamon's history of the Lincoln administration, and other papers relating to his historical work, including items concerning the controversy over his Life of Abraham Lincoln (published in 1872) and preparation of the second volume, never published.
Also included are papers that cover Lamon's own life and career. There are numerous letters with recommendations and applications for office appointments under Lincoln, addressed to Lamon as intermediary; papers relating to Lamon's attempt to organize a brigade of Unionist Virginians in 1861, with Lamon equipped as Colonel; office correspondence related to Lamon's role as United States Marshal of the District of Columbia (1861-1865) and his claims practice after the war; and papers related to a political attack on Lamon in 1862 by abolitionist senators over the continued enforcement of the fugitive slave law. There are some papers related to cotton traffic and blockade running, 1864-1865.
Personal correspondence and documents include letters related to the hardships of relatives and friends living in the loyal border counties of Virginia (1861-1865); political news and gossip from Illinois; and documents about Lamon's financial transactions including wartime speculation and dealings in Colorado mining properties. There are also materials related to Lamon's efforts to secure a government appointment including his run as a Republican candidate for West Virginia in the 45th Congress; and applications for the office of Governor or Judge in the West, or a consular appointment abroad. There are also syndicated newspaper articles.
Persons represented by ten or more pieces consist of:
Amos Beckwith (12 pieces) Corrydon Beckwith (11 pieces) Mary A. Brown (12 pieces) David Davis (25 pieces) Hamilton G. Fant (12 pieces) John S. Gallaher (13 pieces) William H. Hanna (13 pieces) William Henry Herndon (38 pieces) Robert B. Holliday (12 pieces) Charles Edward Hovey (12 pieces) David O. Laws (12 pieces) William Ward Orme (21 pieces) Philip Pendelton (11 pieces) Charles H. Russell (10 pieces) John Wilson Shaffer (18 pieces) Leonard Swett (40 pieces) John Palmer Usher (11 pieces) Lawrence Weldon (10 pieces) John H Wickizer (13 pieces)Some notable items include:
Black, Jeremiah Sullivan. Letter to Ward H. Lamon, ... the millions of white men through all the country with wealth and intelligence have far less power in regard to their own affairs than the same number of persons in Russia and Turkey... York, March 7, 1869 Frémont, Jessie (Benton). Letter to Lamon, ...I had written and copied a great deal to you. But the usual leakage at Washington makes public Gen. Thomas' & Gen. Hunter's plans. This explains to all why Hunter does not advance & why orders from Gen. Frémont are left unattended to... [St. Louis, October 31, 1861] Garfield, James A. letter to Ward H. Lamon, 1880 September 13 (LN 232) Grant, Ulysses S. letter to Edwin M. Stanton (contemporary copy), 1865 March 4 (LN 2348) Grant, Ulysses S. letter to Sidney S. Jerman (contemporary copy), 1865 March 27 (LN 1114) Herndon, William Henry. Analyses of the character and mind of Abraham Lincoln. 1865, December 12 and 26; 1866, January 23; 1870, March 3 (4 pieces) Johnson, Andrew letter to Ward H. Lamon, 1861 April 16 (LN 378) Lamon, Ward Hill. Unpublished typescript of the history of Abraham Lincoln's public and private life from his inauguration until his assassination, intended to be volume II, of Lamon's Life of Lincoln. [Denver, 1886] __________. Speech in support of Andrew Johnson. 1866 __________. Autograph draft of the text of the statement, which was signed by Lamon, regarding the so-called Antietam Episode. September 12, 1864 Logan, Stephen Trigg. Six letters from Judge Logan to Lamon, his son-in-law. Springfield, 1861-1865 Maguire, John. Letter to Lamon giving recollections of Lincoln's attitude on the cotton traffic in 1864-1865. [Approximately 1870]
