Peter Stephen Du Ponceau papers 1663-1844

ArchivalResource

Peter Stephen Du Ponceau papers 1663-1844

1663-1844

A group of incoming letters relate to law, linguistics, and, less importantly, history, 1781-1827. Among the correspondents are James Fenimore Cooper and John Sergeant on law, George W. Featherstonhaugh, Albert Gallatin, and John Pickering on linguistics, and Jared Sparks on history. The second group consists of Du Ponceau's correspondence and notes, including notes on silk culture, 1820s, copies of the legal opinions of Bushrod Washington, and papers dealing with constitutional questions in Alabama, 1831-1833. Also present in this group are autobiographical letters, 1836-1844, addressed to Robert Walsh and others. The third group contains Du Ponceau's letter books, 1792-1801, 1803-1814, 1820-1842; legal precedents, 1784-1798, 1801-1830; letters, 1818-1843, from John Pickering, the Boston lawyer and judge who shared Du Ponceau's interest in linguistics. Du Ponceau's notes and abstracts concerning the origin of the American Philosophical Society, taken from the minutes of the Junto, the American Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge, the American Philosophical Society, and from the Jared Sparks edition of the Works of Benjamin Franklin. The transcriptions of letters sent to Du Ponceau, prepared by Job R. Tyson, a Vice-President of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, were to be used for a memorial biography of Du Ponceau, prepared after his death in 1844. Tyson's selection reflects a strong bias toward military and political figures including DeWitt Clinton, James Kent, John Marshall, James Madison, and James Monroe.

4.5 Linear feet 9 boxes, 14 volumes

eng, Latn

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6696537

Related Entities

There are 16 Entities related to this resource.

Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gn9004 (person)

James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century. His historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries created a unique form of American literature. He lived much of his boyhood and the last fifteen years of life in Cooperstown, New York, which was founded by his father William Cooper on property that he owned. Cooper became a member of the Episcopal Church shortly befo...

Sparks, Jared, 1789-1866

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65c0rvg (person)

Jared Sparks (1789-1866) was the President of Harvard University from February 1, 1849 to February 10, 1853. He was also a Unitarian minister, editor, and historian. Jared Sparks was born to Joseph Sparks and Elinor (Orcut) Sparks on May 10, 1789 in Willington, Connecticut. Sparks was one of nine children and came from a family of modest means. When he turned six years old, Sparks went to live with an aunt and uncle in Camden, New York, to help relieve the family of a mout...

Clinton, DeWitt, 1769-1828

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6zx29c7 (person)

DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769 – February 11, 1828) was an American politician and naturalist who served as a United States Senator, Mayor of New York City and sixth Governor of New York. In this last capacity, he was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal. Clinton was a major candidate for the American presidency in the election of 1812, challenging incumbent James Madison. A nephew of long-time New York Governor George Clinton, DeWitt Clinton served as his uncle's secreta...

American Philosophical Society

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gn8xhn (corporateBody)

Benjamin Franklin founded the American Philosophical Society in 1743 in Philadelphia, patterning it after the Royal Society of London. It's purpose was the promotion of the study of science and the practical arts of agriculture, engineering trades, and manufactures. Subjects of today's "philosophy" were generally excluded from the societies of the 17th and 18th centuries and the word "philosophy" meant to them "love of knowledge," and was essentially the equivalent of today's "science." Interest...

Sergeant, John, 1779-1852

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w69p35b6 (person)

Pennsylvania congressman. From the description of Testimonial : Philadelphia, 1835 Oct. 9. (Rosenbach Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122316936 From the description of ALS : tp S. W. Wager, 1808 Oct. 21. (Rosenbach Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122586017 From the description of ALS : Philadelphia, to John D. Steele, 1840 Oct. 31. (Rosenbach Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122475392 From the description of ALS (copy): Phila...

Du Ponceau, Peter Stephen, 1760-1844

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6mp54tm (person)

Du Ponceau was a Philadelphia lawyer who arrived in Portsmouth, N.H., from France in 1777, achieved early prominence as an aide to von Steuben, and as secretary to Robert Livingston, Secretary of Foreign Affairs for the Congress in 1781. Du Ponceau was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar in 1785 where his familiarity with both American and European law brought him an important practice. His intellectual interests included both history and linguistics and he published extensively in both fields. He ...

Livingston, Robert R., 1746-1813

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64j0d2f (person)

First chancellor of New York State; agriculturalist and ambassador to France. From the description of Robert R. Livingston papers, 1707-1862. (New York University, Group Batchload). WorldCat record id: 58779437 Continental Congressman, diplomat, member of the New York Provincial Covention, the Continental Congress and served as U.S. Minister to France. From the description of Letter, 1802. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 145407295 Robert R. Livingston ser...

Madison, James, 1751-1836

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64850wc (person)

James Madison (1751-1836) was the fourth president of the United States, born in Port Conway, Virginia. He was a member of the Virginia legislature from 1776 to 1780 and from 1784 to 1786, and the Continental Congress from 1780 to 1783. His proposals at and management of the Constitutional Convention in 1787 earned him title "father of the U.S. Constitution." He cooperated with Alexander Hamilton and Jay in writing a series of papers (pub. 1787-88 under title of The Federalist) explaining the ne...

Kent, James, 1763-1847

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6w3843z (person)

These maps were compiled over a period of years by Chancellor Kent, a well-known American jurist who was a dominant state supreme court judge in New York throughout the Federalist era. The extensive manuscript annotations are in his hand. These notes are often dated, some as early as the 1820s and others as late as 1840. It is unclear what prompted Kent to assemble this volume, but a possible reason was his interest in missionary activities, often referred to in the notes, which display an intim...

Walsh, R. (Robert), 1772-1852

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6rz1427 (person)

Epithet: junior, LLD, US Consul in Paris British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000751.0x000312 ...

Gallatin, Albert, 1761-1849

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6h132s3 (person)

Diplomat and U.S. secretary of the treasury. From the description of Albert Gallatin papers, 1783-1847. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 82919649 Albert Gallatin was a member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives (1790-1792), a U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania (1795-1801), Secretary of the Treasury (1801-1814), and Minister Plenipotentiary to France (1815-1823) and Great Britain (1826-1827). From the description of Albert Gallatin letter, 1803 Oct....

Tyson, Job R. (Job Roberts), 1803-1858

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6xd12gt (person)

Pickering, John, 1777-1846

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6zc8635 (person)

The son of statesman Timothy Pickering, John Pickering was a lawyer and philologist who practiced law in Salem and Boston. He compiled a lexicon of the Greek language (1826) and the first dictionary of Americanisms. From the description of Letter to Henry Dearborn, 5 February 1836. (Harvard Law School Library). WorldCat record id: 234339494 ...

Monroe, James, 1758-1831

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vv2g33 (person)

James Monroe, fifth president of the United States of America (b. April 28, 1758, Monroe Hall, Virginia-d. July 4, 1831, New York, New York) fought with distinction in the Continental Army, and he practiced law in Fredericksburg, Virginia. As a young politician, he joined the anti-Federalists in the Virginia Convention which ratified the Constitution, and in 1790, an advocate of Jeffersonian policies, he was elected United States Senator. As Minister to France in 1794-1796, Monroe showed strong ...

Marshall, John, 1755-1835

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ms3www (person)

John Marshall (1755-1835) was born near Germantown, Prince William (currently Fauquier) County, Virginia on 24 September 1755 to parents Thomas Marshall and Mary Randolph Keith. From 1775-1781, Marshall served in the Continental Army and fought in the Revolutionary War. During the spring and summer of 1780, Marshall attended classes at the College of William and Mary and received his license to practice law. After the war, he moved to Richmond, Virginia and began his practice. Marshall married M...

Featherstonhaugh, George William, 1780-1866

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6z31x77 (person)

George William Featherstonhaugh was a geologist and traveler, and was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1809. From the description of Papers, 1771-1856. (American Philosophical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 122464837 From the guide to the George William Featherstonhaugh papers, 1771-1856, 1771-1856, (American Philosophical Society) Epithet: diplomatist British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:...