Manuscripts

Jefferson Martenet Correspondence

Description

This collection contains the correspondence of Jefferson Martenet (1828-1906), who left Baltimore, Maryland, in 1852 during the California Gold Rush and became a resident of Northern California. The correspondence is chiefly to his family in Baltimore discussing life, business ventures, and hardships in California, politics, and the American Civil War. The correspondence includes 365 letters, dating from 1837-1892.

Box 1 has 37 folders with correspondence dating from 1837-1859. Letters 1-46 are mostly between Jefferson Martenet in Baltimore, Maryland, and his cousin Jefferson Morris Wampler. The letters between Martenet and Wampler deal with the topics of surveying after Texas Independence and the Mexican American War, courting, and family relations. Letters 47-192 are mostly between Jefferson Martenet in Calif. and his mother Catherine Margaretta Richardson in Baltimore. There also a small number of letters to and from his siblings. During the 1850s, Martenet began to write mostly to his mother about his hardships in California with mining and his opinions on the slavery question nationwide. Martenet comments about many major incidents and people before the U.S. Civil War including: "Bleeding Kansas," John Brown's Raid, the Know Nothing Party, and the Knights of the Golden Circle. He and his mother, in particular, comment on are Millard Fillmore and Baltimore Mayor Thomas Swann. Martenet also made many off-hand remarks regarding race during the 1850s, especially African Americans, Chinese Americans, Indians, and Mexicans with his regular use of Spanish.

Box 2 has 17 folders, dating from 1860 to 1892. With the exception of occasional letters to his siblings, the overwhelming majority of the letters in Box 2 are between Jefferson Martenet in San Francisco, California, and his mother in Baltimore. The first half of the letters in this box discuss the hardships of living in Baltimore during the U.S. Civil War and Jefferson Martenet's political opinions of politicians and military generals including: "Black" or "Radical" Republicans, Abraham Lincoln, John C. Breckinridge and Joseph Lane, Martin F. Conway, the Battle of Bull Run, General Robert E. Lee, and the election of Ulysses S. Grant. The second half focuses less so on politics and more on Jefferson Martenet's business ventures, involvement with an Episcopalian church, and family relations.

Jefferson Martenet correspondence

Manuscripts

The correspondence includes 365 letters separated chronologically into 37 folders by year. Box 1 has 20 folders inclusive of the years 1837-1859. Twenty folders account for one folder for each year except 1838, 1839, and 1843 which do not have any correspondence. Letters 1-46 are mostly between Jefferson Martenet in Baltimore, Md. and his cousin Jefferson Morris Wampler. The letters between Martenet and Wampler deal with the topics of surveying after Texas Independence and the Mexican American War, courting, and family relations. Letters 47-192 are mostly between Jefferson Martenet in Calif. and his mother Catherine Margaretta Richardson in Baltimore, Md. There also a small number of letters to and from his siblings. During the 1850s Martenet began to write mostly to Mrs. Richardson about his hardships in California with mining and his opinions on the slavery question nationwide. Martenet comments about many major incidents and people before the U.S. Civil War including: "Bleeding Kansas," John Brown's Raid, the Know Nothing Party, and the Knights of the Golden Circle. Two people in particular he and his mother comment on are Millard Fillmore and Baltimore Mayor Thomas Swann. Martenet also made many off-hand remarks regarding race during the 1850s, especially African Americans, Chinese Americans, Indians, and Mexicans with his regular use of Spanish.

mssMartenet

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Jefferson Martenet pocket letter book

Manuscripts

This "Gregory's Pocket Letter Book" contains two letters written by "Jefferson," probably Jefferson Martenet. The first is a 19-page letter to "Dear Mother," dated 1853, December 14. Jefferson wrote his entries from Harbaugh Camp. In the book, Jefferson details a lost love and reflects on his change of heart with regard to marriage and courtship. The writer also discusses a severed business partnership and plans for moving to a new camp, then ends with words of affection for friends and family at home. The last 19 pages of the notebook is a letter by Jefferson to "Dear Bill," also dated 1853, December 14, and signed "Jeff."

mssHM 83420

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J. H. Mathers Correspondence

Manuscripts

The collection is composed entirely of correspondence between various members of the Mathers family. The bulk of the collection consists of letters between Harry and his mother, A.C. Mathers, and his wife, Nettie Mathers. Harry's letters reflect his experiences working as a surveyor in the railroad and mining industries in California and northern Mexico during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Correspondence between A.C.Mathers, Harry Mathers, and Nettie Mathers also discusses the personal details of the Mathers' family life, especially Harry and Nettie's children. The collection also includes some letters between A.C., Harry, and Nettie and the couple's sons, Donald, Frank, and Paul Mathers. There are also a few letters between Nettie and her parents, C. Dibble and C. A. Dibble, as well as a few from her siblings, Ethel, Karl, Katie, and "Stell." The collection's 134 letters are arranged in folders alphabetically by author and then by addressee. Within each folder, letters are sorted chronologically. The last folder contains empty envelopes that could not be matched to letters in the collection.

mssMathers correspondence

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Correspondence

Manuscripts

mssMathers correspondence

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Thomas Jefferson collection

Manuscripts

The Thomas Jefferson collection contains correspondence and documents; architectural drawings, plans, and surveys; accounts; and notebooks dating from 1764 to 1826. The bulk of the collection is correspondence and includes letters to Jefferson as well as letters from him, which are mostly letterpress and polygraph copies of outgoing letters created by him. Correspondence pertains to Jefferson's political career as governor of Virginia, minister to France, secretary of state, vice president, and president; most letters from his post-presidency concern the founding of the University of Virginia. Also present are numerous letters to various family members, especially daughters Martha Jefferson Randolph and Mary Jefferson Eppes and their husbands Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. and John Wayles Eppes, which discuss family activities, education, travel plans, and health. Many items in this collection relate to Jefferson's properties and estates, especially Monticello and Poplar Forest; letters, documents, and account books concern horticulture, crops and tobacco, and seeds, as well as household expenses, finances, and goods. Several items pertain to or mention slavery and enslaved persons as well as Native Americans—see Scope and Contents notes for more information. The architectural drawings, plans, and surveys in the collection primarily depict land and properties in Virginia, with many representing Monticello and the surrounding area. Architectural drawings also include those created by Jefferson for the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, the Virginia capitol and the city of Richmond, and the Hôtel de Langeac in Paris. Volumes in the collection include account books, a memoranda book, legal case and fee books, and a daybook of market accounts kept by Jefferson's maître d'hôtel Étienne Lemaire during his second presidential term. Also present are parts for Jefferson's polygraph machine.

mssJefferson

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Correspondence and documents

Manuscripts

This series contains correspondence and documents dating from 1773 to 1826 and pertaining to various aspects of Thomas Jefferson's political career, family life, and interests. Correspondence includes letters to Jefferson as well as letters from him, which are mostly letterpress and polygraph copies of outgoing letters created by him; some of Jefferson's letters are written in the third person. Also present are financial records such as accounts, estimates, bills, and receipts; and some writings, notes, ships' papers, and a trigonometry exercise. Letters written during Jefferson's tenure as governor of Virginia concern state government and military matters. Correspondence from the periods Jefferson served as U.S. minister to France, secretary of state, and vice president of the U.S. primarily relate to foreign relations; letters written by Jefferson while minister to France also concern instructions to consuls, activities in Europe, and his family, including daughter Mary's journey to France. Correspondence from Jefferson's presidency pertain to political parties, activities in Congress, foreign relations and a trade embargo, naval operations, issues of nationalism and sectionalism, the Burr conspiracy, and requests for appointments, pardons, and assistance. Many letters to him are from senders of gifts, publications and writings, and information on products and inventions. Much of Jefferson's post-presidency correspondence concerns the founding of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville with many letters from the school's first proctor Arthur S. Brockenbrough and librarian John V. Kean, among others. This series contains numerous letters from Jefferson to various family members, especially daughters Martha ("Patsy") Jefferson Randolph and Mary ("Maria," "Polly") Jefferson Eppes and their husbands Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. and John Wayles Eppes; some later letters are to grandchildren Francis Wayles Eppes and Anne Cary Randolph. Letters concern family activities, education, travel plans, and health. Many letters and documents in this series pertain to Jefferson's properties and estates, especially Monticello and Poplar Forest, and concern horticulture, crops and tobacco, and seeds, as well as household accounts, finances, and goods. Items also concern his father Peter Jefferson's estate and Virginia properties given to his daughters and their families, including Pantops. Many letters about operations at Monticello were written to the property's overseer Edmund Bacon during Jefferson's presidency while in Washington, D.C. Several Jefferson letters discuss slavery and enslaved persons, who are usually not referred to by name. These include letters to Francis Eppes (1787 July 30), Mary Jefferson Eppes (1798 December 8), Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. (1798 June 14 and 1802 November 25), William A. Burwell (1805 January 28), and Edmund Bacon (1807 December 8). His letter to daughter Mary mentions Lucy, an enslaved woman who had recently given birth. In his letter to William A. Burwell, Jefferson states "I have long since given up the expectation of any early provision for the extinguishment of slavery among us." A number of items in this series relate to Native Americans including Jefferson's memoranda on Virginia history (approximately 1781), which contains a list of local nations with additional statistics and information on locations and alliances; several items regarding missionary efforts in the Ohio Valley (1804 October); a letter from Jefferson to Dog Soldier, who he identifies as the second chief of the Little Osage (1804 July 16); and a letter to Jefferson from John Wood (1805 November 26) proposing funding the education of an unnamed member of the Sac Nation. Letterpress and polygraph copies of Jefferson's outgoing letters are of autograph letters signed unless noted otherwise. Most letterpress copies have been encapsulated.

Jefferson Martenet Correspondence

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