Compare Constellations

Schaefler, Sam. Sam Schaefler collection relating to the Capitol Rotunda paintings, 1837-1852.

Title: Sam Schaefler collection relating to the Capitol Rotunda paintings, 1837-1852.

Letters between Asbury Dickins, Henry Inman, John Y. Laub, W. H. Powell, William C. Preston, and Levi Woodbury relating to the contracts and appropriations for the paintings in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

ArchivalResource: 5 items.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70982843 View

Dickins, Asbury, 1780-1861. Letter : Washington, to Hyde de Neuville, 1819 May 10.

Title: Letter : Washington, to Hyde de Neuville, 1819 May 10.

Holograph signed. Informs the recipient he has been elected a resident member of the Columbian Institute in Washington, D.C.

ArchivalResource: 1 item (1 leaf) ; 26 cm.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/22194076 View

Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845. AL (3rd person) : Washington, D.C., to Asbury Dickins, 1835 Oct. 12.

Title: AL (3rd person) : Washington, D.C., to Asbury Dickins, 1835 Oct. 12.

Requests a meeting with the acting secretary of state for the purpose of preparing a warning to the acting governor of Michigan, who may be exceeding his authority.

ArchivalResource: 1 item (2 p.) ; 20 cm.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122585890 View

Jones, George Wallace, 1804-1896. Letters, 1844-1896.

Title: Letters, 1844-1896.

Concerning his opinions on national politics; recommendations for naval appointments; requests for paper delivery; comments on residence.

ArchivalResource: 26 items (50 p.)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122504322 View

James Fowler Simmons Papers, 1771-1939, (bulk 1840-1860)

Title: James Fowler Simmons Papers 1771-1939 (bulk 1840-1860)

Manufacturer, political leader, and United States senator from Rhode Island. Correspondence, family letters, memoranda, legal documents, account books, photographs, and printed matter relating to Simmons's cotton and yarn manufacturing enterprises and to public matters, including the tariff, Thomas Dorr and the Dorr Rebellion of 1842, the nomination and election of Abraham Lincoln as president, and social, economic, and political conditions in Rhode Island.

ArchivalResource: 21,000 items; 58 containers; 19 linear feet; 1 microfilm reel

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms010252 View

Robinson, Jeremy, 1787-1834. Jeremy Robinson papers, 1806-1832.

Title: Jeremy Robinson papers, 1806-1832.

Correspondence, letterbook, diaries, journals, notebooks, and ships' records and papers concerning Robinson and the U.S. Navy, and his role in the struggle for independence in South America, particularly in Chile and Peru. Includes correspondence regarding his proposed history of Chile; supplying specimens for the Lyceum of Natural History, New York, N.Y.; and efforts to obtain government positions. Also includes ships' records relating to the Beaver (Flat-bottomed ship), USS Franklin (Ship of the line), and USS Ontario (Sloop of war). Correspondents include John Quincy Adams, Richard Alsop, James Biddle, Asbury Dickins, David Findlay, Henry Hall, Michael Hogan, Richard M. Johnson, Samuel L. Mitchill, Bernardo O'Higgins, John Bartow Prevost, Nathan Robinson, Richard Rush, William Thornton, Egbert Van Buren, and John Varnum.

ArchivalResource: 1,400 items.10 containers.4 microfilm reels.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/83145920 View

Bache, A. D. (Alexander Dallas), 1806-1867. A. D. Bache Collection, 1833-1873

Title: A. D. Bache Collection 1833-1873

Alexander Dallas Bache (1806-1867) was an important scientific reformer during the early nineteenth century. From his position as superintendent of the United States Coast Survey, and through leadership roles in the scientific institutions of the time, Bache helped bring American science into alignment with the professional nature of its European counterparts. In addition, Bache fostered the reform of public education in America. The Alexander Dallas Bache Collection consists of 91 letters written primarily by Bache. In most cases, these are brief notes replying to letters that are not part of the collection. The majority of items relate to Bache's work as superintendent of the U.S. Coast Survey, including letters of recommendation and introduction, and there is minor correspondence regarding the National Academy of Sciences, scientific matters, his travels in Europe, or personal matters. Of particular interest is the letter from Louis Agassiz in 1856 expressing his view of what the natural history museum of the future should be.

ArchivalResource: 0.25 Linear feet

http://www.amphilsoc.org/mole/view?docId=ead/Mss.B.B123-ead.xml View

Dickins, Asbury, 1780-1861. Papers, 1832-1855.

Title: Papers, 1832-1855.

Letters of Asbury Dickens (1780-1861), secretary of the United States Senate, to Matthew Carey regarding census figures and a circular concerned with the distribution of the works of John Adams. Included also is a personal letter from Archibald Dixon.

ArchivalResource: 3 items.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/41247462 View

Buchanan, James, 1791-1868. Letter, 1849 August 3, Lancaster, to Asbury Dickins [n.p.].

Title: Letter, 1849 August 3, Lancaster, to Asbury Dickins [n.p.].

Recommends William Flinn for employment. Mr. Meredith wrote voluntarily about him.

ArchivalResource: 2 p. on 1 leaf. 26 cm.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/3178394 View

Mason, J. M. (James Murray), 1798-1871. Papers : of James Murray Mason, 1826-1868.

Title: Papers : of James Murray Mason, 1826-1868.

The collection contains letters to Richard Smith; to Eilbeck Mason concerning a legal suit they were handling; to George M. Dallas, U.S. Minister to England, about the Panic of 1857 and the Kansas slavery issue; to Charles Green, son of a fellow prisoner in Boston, regrets missing meeting him; and to Lord Bath, 1862, thanking him for good will toward the Confederate states, and mentions the defeat of Pope in Virginia. Also, includes notes to Asbury Dickins concerning appointments to U.S. Senate staff, and requesting a check be mailed to J.R. Tucker; portions of a manuscript on slavery views; printed speech in the U.S. Senate about the admission of California as a state (1850); printed document of correspondence of Mason with Parliament in March 1863 (1864); his will, 1868; and an autograph of John Slidell on the back of a note to O.H. Peck.

ArchivalResource: 12 items.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/30821572 View

Dallas, George Mifflin, 1792-1864,. Papers of the Randolph family of Edgehill, ca. 1822-1888.

Title: Papers of the Randolph family of Edgehill, ca. 1822-1888.

The collection centers on Martha Jefferson (Patsy) Randolph Taylor and her family. The majority of the letters discuss family and friends. There is also a letter to John Johns regarding [Bishop William?] Meade. The collection also contains official correspondence of relative Asbury Dickins, the secretary of the Senate, including a letter from George Mifflin Dallas, and a patronage request to James K. Polk, together with a few personal letters and a Dickins family history. The collection also conatins a history of the Jefferson and Edgehill family papers and a history of the family farm "Lego" by Page Kirk discussing its destruction by fire and the furniture it contained, together with a genealogical chart of the Kirk family. Correspondents include John Johns, Septimia Meikleham, Carolina Ramsay Randolph, Jane Hollins Nicholas Randolph, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, Thomas Mann Randolph, Margaret Harvie Randolph, Mary Buchanan Randolph, Bennett Taylor, John Charles Randolph Taylor, Susan Beverly Taylor, and Harriot W. Wight.

ArchivalResource: ca. 60 items.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/60780900 View

Dickins, Asbury, 1780-1861. Asbury Dickins family papers, 1749-1941.

Title: Asbury Dickins family papers, 1749-1941.

Correspondence and other papers of Asbury Dickins, Francis Asbury Dickins, and other members of the Dickins family. Includes certificates of purchase for public lands in Illinois in 1830 and draft of a reply to an address by Ninian Edwards, charging William H. Crawford with malfeasance in office.

ArchivalResource: 150 items.1 container plus 1 oversize.0.8 linear feet.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70982290 View

Madison, James, 1751-1836. Letter to Asbury Dickins [manuscript], 1825 July 19.

Title: Letter to Asbury Dickins [manuscript], 1825 July 19.

In a third person letter Madison, Montpelier, thanks Dickins for a Fourth of July oration. A copy of Dickin's "Oration delivered in the Capitol in the city of Washington, on the Fourth of July, 1825, by Asbury Dickins" is cataloged in the Madison Collection as AC901 .M33 v.12 no.6.

ArchivalResource: 1 item.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/647865405 View

Andrews, Charles, 1814-1852. Charles Andrews papers, 1850-1852.

Title: Charles Andrews papers, 1850-1852.

Collection of papers of Charles Andrews, including two letters of condolence from the Secretary of the Senate, Asbury Dickins, of North Carolina.

ArchivalResource: 15 items.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/71057441 View

Nicholas Biddle Papers, 1681-1933, (bulk 1775-1846)

Title: Nicholas BiddlePapers 1681-1933 (bulk 1775-1846)

Banker, editor, diplomat, lawyer, and legislator. Correspondence, letterbooks, account books, and writings together with family papers concerning Charles, Clement, Edward, James, Nicholas, Thomas, and William S. Biddle.

ArchivalResource: 15,000 items; 133 containers; 39.2 linear feet; 51 microfilm reels

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms005007 View

Buchanan, James, 1791-1868. LS, 1847 Nov. 1, Washington, to Asbury Dickens, Washington.

Title: LS, 1847 Nov. 1, Washington, to Asbury Dickens, Washington.

As Secretary of State, Buchanan requests from the Secretary of the Senate a statement for the Biennial Register of the names of the members of the Senate and officers, and the names of printers employed from 1845 Sept. 30 to 1847 Oct. 1.

ArchivalResource: 1 item (1 leaf) ; 26 cm.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/13160489 View

Columbian Institute. Circular letter, 1827 Oct. 1.

Title: Circular letter, 1827 Oct. 1.

Printed circular letter directed to members of Congress, civil, miliatary, and naval officers of the United States, public spirited Americans and to the "liberal and enlightened of other countries," requesting donations of original communications on any branch of knowledge, books and manuscripts for its library, specimens in natural history and the arts for its museum, and seeds and plants for its garden. Instructions are included for collecting and preserving seeds and plants, and specimans in natural history. Signed by Asbury Dickens, secretary.

ArchivalResource: 1 item.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70949724 View

Howe, Letitia T. Letitia T. Howe collection. 1822-1876.

Title: Letitia T. Howe collection

Autographs and documents pertaining to Abraham Lincoln and Caleb Cushing.

ArchivalResource: 140 items; 1 container; 0.2 linear feet

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms007050 View

Machen, Lewis H. (Lewis Henry), 1790-1863. Family papers, 1802-1938 (bulk: 1830-1879)

Title: Lewis H. Machen Family Papers 1802-1938 (bulk 1830-1879)

Clerk of the United States Senate and farmer of Fairfax County, Virginia. Chiefly family correspondence of Lewis H. Machen relating to personal matters and national politics prior to the Civil War, especially slavery and the Compromise of 1850, and mentioning John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, and Daniel Webster. Also includes other correspondence, speeches, writings, subject files, and miscellaneous papers.

ArchivalResource: 5,000 items; 33 containers; 12 linear feet; 1 microfilm reel

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms001030 View

Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874. Correspondence, 1829-1874

Title: Charles Sumner correspondence, 1829-1874

Letters to Charles Sumner, lawyer, Republican senator from Massachusetts, and anti-slavery campaigner; with a smaller number of letters from Sumner to others.

ArchivalResource: 33 cartons (43.1 linear ft.)

http://id.lib.harvard.edu/ead/hou00232/catalog View

Slidell, John, 1793-1871. John Slidell letters and miscellany, 1844-1861.

Title: John Slidell letters and miscellany, 1844-1861.

Letters and miscellany of John Slidell includes a large sequence of photocopied letters to James Buchanan, secretary of state under James Polk and U.S. president from 1857 to 1861. The letters describe Slidell's work as minister to Mexico; the progress of the Mexican-American War; the fate of the Wilmot Proviso, an appropriations bill intended for final negotiations to resolve the Mexican-American War, in the U.S. Congress; James Buchanan's efforts to secure the Democratic nomination for president in 1856; the Ostend Manifesto, which proposed the purchase of Cuba from Spain in order to extend slavery there; and Slidell's mordantly contemptuous views of President Franklin Pierce and his other political enemies. Among those mentioned in the correspondence are Pierre Soulé, President Martin Van Buren, Stephen Douglas, Henry Johnson, and Thomas Hart Benton. Also included are a group of original letters from Slidell to various correspondents. They include a brief note, dated 1844, presenting Slidell's respects to Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur and asking about a vacancy at the consulate at Matamoros, Mexico, for one of his constituents; a letter, dated 1852, discussing the release of John Sidney Thrasher from a Spanish prison; an 1853 letter to Jefferson Davis regarding Pierre Soulé; a letter, dated 1857, to Jacob Thompson, secretary of the interior, concerning Indian Bureau advertisements and their possible publication in the Daily Orleanian and the Louisiana Courier; and a letter, also dated 1857, to Asbury Dickens requesting the proceedings of the court martial of Lieutenant Colonel John Charles Frémont. Other letters include a note, dated 1857, to Asbury Dickens commenting on the condition of the money market in New Orleans; a letter to J.G. Davidson, dated 1858, concerning the debate over the reappointment of William McCullogh as surveyor general of Louisiana and allegations that McCullogh is no longer loyal to the Democratic Party; and a letter written from Paris in 1862 to Judah P. Benjamin recommending a former French army officer for Confederate military service.

ArchivalResource: 146 letters.1 engraving.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/318102272 View

Clayton, John M. (John Middleton), 1796-1856. Letter to Asbury Dickens [Dickins], Secretary of the U.S. Senate : ALS, 1850 Apr. 25.

Title: Letter to Asbury Dickens [Dickins], Secretary of the U.S. Senate : ALS, 1850 Apr. 25.

Requesting secrecy concerning treaty of April 19, 1850, with Great Britain.

ArchivalResource: 2 p. ; 18 cm.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/215181378 View

Dallas, George Mifflin, 1792-1864. Autograph letters signed (3) : [Washington], to Asbury Dickins, Secretary of the Senate, 1845 Sept. 4-1852 June 10.

Title: Autograph letters signed (3) : [Washington], to Asbury Dickins, Secretary of the Senate, 1845 Sept. 4-1852 June 10.

On matters relating to his Vice-Presidency, and claiming a bottle of wine he has won on a wager.

ArchivalResource: 3 items (3 p.) ; (12mo and 8vo)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/270533168 View

Additional Papers of the Randolph Family of Edgehill (1830) 1840-1947

Title: Additional Papers of the Randolph Family of Edgehill (1830) 1840-1947

This collection contains ca.709 items (five Hollinger boxes) 2.5 linear feet and consists of letters written by the Dickins family (of Ossian Hall) who were cousins of the Randolph family of Edgehill and direct descendants of Asbury Dickins, the first Secretary of the Senate of the United States from 1836 to 1861. Francis Asbury Dickins, (1804-1879) son of Asbury Dickins, married Margaret Harvie Randolph (1815- 1891) in 1839. Francis and Margaret Dickins had five children to live to adulthood: Francis Asbury Dickins, Jr. (Frank) (1841-1890), Frances Margaret Dickins (Fanny) (1842-1914), Harriot Wilson Dickins Wight (Dick, Hallie) (1844-1917), Randolph Dickins (Ran) (1853-1914), Albert Dickins (Bertie) (1855-1913). The collection of family letters spans from (1830) 1840 to 1947. The children grew up in Virginia (Fredericksburg-Ossian Hall and Richmond) during the height of the Civil War. Through the letters, they discuss the war, the confederacy, their feelings about the Yankees and slavery, as well as world events in China, (Chinese coolies), Russia and Germany. The collection also reveals close personal relationships, such as the secret courtship between Harriot Wight's daughter Theodora Wight and John May Keim, a divorced man, before they were married. The letters tell the personal stories of each member of the Dickins family; describe daily fighting in the Civil War and the concerns of the women at home; the difficulties of finding permanent work after the war; and the changes in American society at the turn of the century. Albert White Dickins (Bertie) (1855-1913) who was less than ten years old during the Civil War struggled off and on to find work when he was older and the war was over. He mostly worked on the railroads in Aurora, Indiana. He wrote his mother in 1879 to comfort her when his father died. In later years, he could not get railroad work (1908 and 1909) and he wrote letters to his sister Harriot asking for financial help while he tried to find any kind of work, even pressing bricks. There are also letters from Francis Asbury Dickins to each of his daughters, Fanny Dickins and Harriot Dickins Wight. He wrote to Fanny about his dislike of his job where he was very busy and then had nothing to do. He also wrote about helping Fanny to get a job at the Commisionaries Ministry Department and mentioned the 6th Virginia Cavalry that was captured by the enemy. To Harriot he wrote that Ran was promoted to a higher class in the Marines; that he was trying to get a large crop of corn; he offered consolation on her grief after she lost her baby and then two months later when her husband died. He also advised her to ask John Harvie to be her legal guardian. Some of the most interesting letters relating to the Civil War are from Frank Dickins, Jr. when he wrote to his sister Harriot Dickins Wight on August 15, 1862: "have not had time until now to answer it as we were then away from camp and have only spent one night in camp since. On this day week we left Orange Co., [Va] and took up our line of march across the river towards Culpeper whilst our regiment was moving along were fired into by some yankey calvalry. We received the order to charge them which we did with a run for about six miles, killing fifteen and taking eighteen or twenty prisoners. I shot one of the scoundrels that I know of and probably one or two more. I had a very narrow escape as I was riding along at a full run holding my pistol up before me. I received a pistol shot on my pistol. If it had not struck the pistol I would not have been very good for putting my cheek out as it would have hit me full in the face. We lost but one horse he was run down and died in a few hours, it was very hard on all our horses. Our enemy proved to be a portion of the first Maryland Cavalry who were out on a scouting expedition. We saw them within two miles of Madison County where there were six regiments of them. We then turned back and took up our former course of march. That night we slept in the enemies campground eight miles this side of Culpeper Co.[Va]. The next morning we were drawn up in line of battle and remained so all day (called the day of the fight at Slaughter Mountain) [Cedar Mountain] waiting to be called upon which luckily we were not. About 12:00 the cannonading commenced and lasted all that day and until eleven o'clock at night at times it was terrific, the next morning a little before day we started across the battlefield to on picket and it was sickening to hear the groans of the wounded and dying and see the dark forms and pale faces of the dead as they faintly glittered in the moonshine. We often having to run up our horses to keep from riding over them, about sunrise we were taken from our posts and went on a scout with General J.E.B. Stuart who came up expressly for the fight. We did nothing however but capture straggling yankeys at a house getting their dinners. We then came back and took our old posts where we remained for three days with nothing but roasting ears [corn on the cob] for ourselves and a little hay for our horses to eat. On the morning of the third day the enemies cavalry appeared in sight in large numbers, but 'Stonewall' had given them the slip and was with all his army, excepting our brigade of cavalry back again on his side of the river all we had to do was to fall back on regiment and then cross the river in a hurry, or in camp parlance 'skedaddle'. I did not leave my post more than five minutes before it was occupied by the advance of the enemys army I was very near being caught. We will have some stirring times in a few days as we have just received orders to draw and cook six days rations by tomorrow morning. Jackson, Lee and Longstreet are all here with a very large force I should think at least 100,000 men. The yankeys are in large force in the direction of Liberty Hills about eighteen miles from here. Now is the time for all to come up to the mark, it is our countrys hour of need we will either loose all that we have gained or gain as much more in the impending campaign, let every man face the music and stand up to his duty determined to do or die, may God in his wisdom protect and prosper [arms]. Dr. Plaster formerly our first Lieutenant and who was taken by the by the yankeys on the Manassas retreat, has just returned having been exchanged, he tells me that father was in jail in the old capitol when he went there but was released in a few days he was then quite well but very much worried" He also wrote that when they were not in the heat of battle they would engage in horse racing: "Our regiment has turned into quite a jockey club". (December 14, 1862). Despite this levity, it was no doubt difficult. He also wrote: "man who is born of woman and enlisted in Jackson's army is few of days and short of rations". After the war Frank got a job working on the railroad. (1872-1882). In a letter to his sister Harriot, he mentions that ladies visited the railroad camps with thirty pies and lemonade and humorously he added "Lemons were not the only thing squeezed." In 1882, Frank wrote that he could not tolerate the cold winter months working outside: "I have been sick every day this winter". By 1887 he was staying in a church home suffering so badly he could only sit up for fifteen minutes at a time. He died in 1890. Margaret Harvie Dickins wrote many letters to her daughter Harriot Wight, and one of them was about negroes in Aurora, Indiana: "They talk here of the dreadful sufferings of the negroes at the South and are, (it is supposed only for political purposes) enticing large numbers to emigrate to this state, holding out promises of plenty of work and high wages, and even take up collections for them in their churches and yet in this town they will not allow a black person to stay an hour. I have never seen one in this place" On the subject of politics she wrote: "What do you think of General Hancock. If it does not affect my three boys I don't care which is President". (Bayard, Hancock or Scott). There are also letters from Randolph Dickins who after the Civil war, became a Colonel in the Marine Corps and was stationed in Shanghai, China. He wrote to his mother (January 26, 1880) that he "can appreciate your description of the equality of all classes for you know I have lived up in New England and know what Maine and New Hampshire Yankees are and understand their customs though I suppose it is worse out there than it is up north and I don't quite fancy that sort of life and think when I get back I shall make Norfolk my home". He also wrote a lot about the Chinese coolies: [people] "talk about slavery but this is the worst country in the world for it and there was never anything in the U.S. to equal the Coolie system out here. They work in a way that I did not think it possible for any human being to work; are always forced to their [ ] by the drivers and there they are naked with the exception of one [] cotton garment which only covers [half] of their bodies and their []food is such that even a dog at home would not eat it. They eat all sorts of offal putrid meat, fish and their food really smells so offensively that it is sickening to go near it and as for dirt they never dare so much as wash their hands and their skin is caked and scaly from dirt and often covered with []. They are certainly the worst dysentery lurking people in the world. I met a coolie the other day with a dead snake and out of curiosity I asked him what he was going to do with it and he replied 'make chow chow' which means he was going to eat it. They don't waste anything and all sorts of vermin beings, rats or anything goes for food. You can see them outside of town with a reel and pole catching grasshoppers which they think make capital chow chow". He also wrote that "the English people make a great deal about the poor suffering slaves in America but they don't seem to notice the misery of this overcrowded overworked uncivilized community out here and only go in for getting as much of their land away from there as they can and yet I would a thousand times rather be a slave under the masters than a Chinese coolie". Randolph Dickins also wrote to his mother (January 26, 1880) about the Margaret (Peggy) O'Neill Timberlake Eaton affair (1831) when he saw her death notice in the paper: "I saw by one of the papers that had an account in it of Mrs. Eaton's death that Lieut. Randolph succeeded purser Timberlake and that he was dismissed by President Jackson where upon he pulled President Jackson's nose at Alexandria. Was that Uncle John or who was it." [It was John Brockenbrough Randolph, brother of Margaret Harvie Dickins Randolph] Dickins was probably interested in Lieutenant Randolph since he was mentioned in the newspaper and he was his Uncle. After being dismissed from his new role as purser (replacing poor John Bowie Timberlake) the Lieutenant must have retaliated by insulting President Jackson On April 21,1880 Randolph Dickins wrote to his mother about China and Russia: "some excitement out here over the trouble between China and Russia and it is confidently expected that there will be a war and if so that it will go hard with China unless England comes to the rescue. The Chinese are making it very interesting for Chung Hai the ex-minister who made the treaty with Russia. They have taken away all of his fortune which was very great and now have him shut up in a cage, which they say he will never leave alive. The Chinese are collecting quite a fleet down at Woo Sung just below here. They have some very fine ships in their navy but they don't know how to handle them and they put most of their faith in their war juiucks which are hard looking old tubs and are about as effective in a naval war as Noah's Ark call it 'the terror of the Western Nations' to try to scare Russians which it doesn't, but they don't seem to realize that". Randolph returned to the United States and lived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He was stationed on the U.S.S. Oregon during the Spanish-American War. He died in 1914. [ Colonel ? E. J.] Harvie, a cousin of Fanny M. Dickins wrote to her about the Civil War on February 17, 1862: "We are not fighting the battles of Jeff Davis, Joe Johnston, or the State of Virginia- our independence hangs trembling in the balance Must we yield to every man's wishes to 'go home', and be utterly, hopelessly crushed? I am not arguing the question it is unnecessary but it is too ridiculous to think of opposing McCleland's trained band of regulars next spring, with raw levies from the South". On January 22 [1863] a friend of Fanny's named Herbert [?] wrote to her : "We have again wars and rumors of wars. We have been under arms for the last week, and were again notified last evening to prepare for action. The enemy have been making demonstrations for some time past, but I do not think they will cross here again; They are painfully reminded of the past, and they shrink from meeting the tried heroes of the Army of Northern Virginia, they shrink with horrors at the thoughts. We have had horrible weather for the last day or two, and everything looks disagreeable around us. The roads are awful, so we cannot amuse ourselves with riding, but have to be contented with domestic sports, such as cards, chess. We have had any quantity of rumors here about foreign intervention, but I suppose it is all trash." On January 29, 1863, Herbert wrote to Fanny again: "We have been on a terrible march and have just returned. We started day before yesterday in a heavy rain and after marching about 10 miles went into bivouac for the night. It seems that we anticipated the movements of the enemy and thought that they would cross above Fredericksburg but I suppose the weather prevented them, we were then ordered to put up some fortifications in order to prevent our left flank from being turned. So our men commenced to work, in the meantime it was snowing terribly, so we passed a day and two nights without tents, and I do assure you Fanny that I have never spent such a time since I have been in service. Early this morning we received order to come back to our present camps, the roads were horrible, snow and mud rising about knee deep. I have heard and read of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow but I really think that our sufferings could not have been increased possibly." Theodora Wight Keim, the daughter of Harriot Dickins Wight, wrote many letters to her mother about people that they knew; parties that they attended; clothes that they wore; and memories of their home Ossian Hall. The letters reflect changes in society during the turn of the century from traveling by horse and carriage to train cars; the invention of the electric toaster; electric light treatment for hands and feet, and the popularity of backgammon parties. Also, in 1914, she wrote about her concern for Uncle Randolph Dickins being abroad while the Germans were only fifty miles outside of Paris. Theodora Wight Keim also wrote many love letters to her husband John May Keim before and after they were married. John May Keim was recently divorced from his first wife when he met and fell in love with Theodora [1889?]. She insisted that they wait for several years before telling her mother of their engagement. They were finally married in November of 1905. Her letters stress the difficulty and longing they felt while they waited and were forced to be apart. There is a letter to the Army from the women who lived at Fighting Creek requesting a prolonged stay for Private W. Keys Howard, noting that his presence was necessary in order to console them while so many men were away at war. Harriot Dickins Wight's name was the first signature on the letter. Miscellaneous items include 25-trip family ticket for F.A. Dickins with the Alexandria & Washington R.R. Co; pamphlet on Why I Love The American Episcopal Church; receipt for grain from Francis A. Dickins Jr to Wm. W. Wight, Dr.; doctor's bill estate of of Mr. Frank Dickins to W.T. Walker for protracted attention to self $38.00 November 1878 to February 1879; deed from Estate of Francis A.Dickins for two dollars and fifty cents to Margaret H. Dickins from clerks office, Dearborn County, Indiana ; bill from Brown, Brothers & Co New York for 20 pounds in favor of Harriot Wight. There are two miscellaneous poems as well as photographs of Harriot and Theodora Wight and an African American woman simply called Mammy. The collection also contains letters from their cousins, the Randolph family of Edgehill, specifically Maria Randolph Mason to Fanny M. Dickins (Oct 20, 1892); Alice Meikleham (daughter of Septimia Meikleham and granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson) to Fanny M. Dickins (Nov. 1892); Jane Randolph to Fanny M. Dickins and Harriot Dickins Wight (1862) (Box 4); and Ellen Ruffin to Margaret Harvie Dickins. (1860) (Box 4). There is also an obituary of Cary Ruffin Randolph, granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson. (Box 4) The Randolphs are also mentioned in several letters: [J. T.] Burke (cousin) to Fanny Dickins on November 11, 1892 thanking her for her photographs and genealogies on the Randolph family. He wrote, "I am sure all the 'decendants' owe you a debt of gratitude for such a handsome restoration of the old family vault. Browse [Hore Browse Trist, son of Virginia and Phillip Trist, grandson of Thomas Jefferson] Trist brought me your letter and it is carefully preserved among family archives." There is also a letter from Margaret Harvie Dickins to her daughter Harriot Dickins Wight where she described a visit she had with her Randolph cousins, Virginia Trist, Mary Randolph and Patsy Trist Burke at Burke's station. The Trists and their children were boarding at Colonel Burke's old place for the summer. "We had a delightful ride [and] a very pleasant visit. They received us all most affly [affectionately] (July 11, 1873). There are also letters from Louisa Randolph (Margaret Harvie Dickins' mother) to her granddaughter Harriot Dickins Wight. There are letters from Harriot Dickins Wight to her sister Fanny Dickins between 1860 and 1865. She wrote that they were expecting the Yankees every day and soldiers were staying with them every night. She also showed concern for her father and his shortage of income. She also mentions that she received a letter from Frank about the battle of Charles City where Frank was very brave and the Captain and several men were taken prisoners. There are also letters from Harriot to her brother Frank Dickins Jr.; letters between Harriot Dickins Wight and her mother in-law Grace M. Wight; letters from Harriot Dickins Wight to her husband Henry Theodore Wight; a letter to Harriot Dickins Wight from one of her sons; a letter to Harriot Dickins Wight from her father in-law William W. Wight. There are also some papercuttings that were made by Harriot Dickins Wight. Also in the collection is a large account book of Harriot Dickins Wight from 1882 to 1892; two photographs of Harriot and Theodora (and African Americans Mammy and Uncle Robert) at Elmington mounted on an oversized board; an original Daily Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia) newspaper from October 27, 1875 and a Confederate Column in the same paper from 1896; an oversize letter from Henry Gardner to his brother Samuel Spring Gardner (preacher, lawyer, framer of Alabama Constitution) who was in the 73d, 96th and 83d of the U.S. Colored Infantry. (These items are in the oversize trays.)

ArchivalResource: ca.709 items

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/647993636 View

Machen, Lewis H. (Lewis Henry), 1790-1863. Family papers, 1802-1938 (bulk: 1830-1879)

Title: Lewis H. Machen Family Papers 1802-1938 (bulk 1830-1879)

Clerk of the United States Senate and farmer of Fairfax County, Virginia. Chiefly family correspondence of Lewis H. Machen relating to personal matters and national politics prior to the Civil War, especially slavery and the Compromise of 1850, and mentioning John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, and Daniel Webster. Also includes other correspondence, speeches, writings, subject files, and miscellaneous papers.

ArchivalResource: 5,000 items; 33 containers; 12 linear feet; 1 microfilm reel

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms001030 View

Howe, Letitia T. Letitia T. Howe collection. 1822-1876.

Title: Letitia T. Howe collection

Autographs and documents pertaining to Abraham Lincoln and Caleb Cushing.

ArchivalResource: 140 items; 1 container; 0.2 linear feet

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms007050 View

Dickins, Francis Asbury. Francis Asbury Dickins papers, 1729-1934 [manuscript].

Title: Francis Asbury Dickins papers, 1729-1934 [manuscript].

The collection is chiefly correspondence of the Dickins and Randolph families before, during, and after the marriage of Francis Asbury Dickins and Margaret Harvie Randolph. Most letters discuss social and family matters, including daily activities and trips made chiefly within the United States. Early letters document Francis's government service; later letters document plantation life at Ossian Hall. Civil War letters reflect Francis's several arrests for display of Confederate sympathies and the war work of Fanny and Frank. Many post-Civil War items relate to the children of Francis and Margaret Dickins. Frank and Albert worked on railroads in the west; Randolph became a U.S. Marine; Harriot married Henry Theodore Wight; and Fanny lived with her mother and traveled among family members. Items relating to Margaret and Fanny document the women's financial concerns, travel abroad, and genealogical interests. There are also diaries, account books, commonplace books, scrapbooks, school notebooks, and other collected materials, 1804-1903, relating to various family members, and photographs, chiefly of Randolph family relatives. Also included are materials relating to Francis Asbury Dickins's law practice, especially his work as an agent for claims against the Mexican government in the 1830s through the 1850s, and against the U.S. government, particularly pension claims lodged by veterans of various wars.

ArchivalResource: About 2300 items (6.5 linear ft.).

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/22757878 View

Binns, John, 1772-1860. Letter to A[sbury?] Dickens, 1824 August 9.

Title: Letter to A[sbury?] Dickens, 1824 August 9.

Binns sends a volume and briefly mentions Clay, Gallatin and the election of 1824.

ArchivalResource: 1 item.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48823406 View

Poinsett, Joel Roberts, 1779-1851. Letters, 1837-1839.

Title: Letters, 1837-1839.

Letter (1837 May 29) from U.S. Secretary of War Poinsett to Asbury Dickins, Secretary of the Senate, introduces Mr. Haywood and requests that he be given access to certain military records; letter (1839 Dec. 19) from Poinsett to Senator Henry Hubbard returns a letter from a Mr. Haven and declines to "interfere officially with the disbursing officers"; and a letter (n.d.) from Poinsett to Commodore David Porter in Washington (D.C.) requests that Porter forward letters and other items to Poinsett in Charleston (S.C.).

ArchivalResource: 3 items.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/37522812 View

William L. Marcy Collection, 1821-1857

Title: William L. Marcy Collection 1821-1857

Papers of the U.S. Senator (1831-1833); New York State Governor (1833-1838); U.S. Secretary of War under James K. Polk (1845-1849); U.S. Secretary of State under Franklin Pierce (1853-1857). Incoming and outgoing letters concerning a wide variety of subjects such as the establishment of the State Geological Survey (G. W. Boyd, T. A. Conrad, John Delafield, Lardner Vanuxem); the use of volunteers for military service during the 1845-1848 war with Mexico (Silas Wright), the settlement of the New York-New Jersey boundary dispute (Andrew Jackson), the appropriation of public funds (Levi Woodbury, William C. Bouck), and the establishment of a State institution for the mentally handicapped (James B. Richards).

ArchivalResource: 42 letters (SC)

http://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/m/marcy_wl.htm View