Samoan land commission records, 1887-1895 [microform].

  1. Resources
  2. View Resource

ArchivalResource

Samoan land commission records, 1887-1895 [microform].

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/156912133

A portion of the Ebenzer Jolls Ormsbee papers covering the years Ormsbee spent in Samoa as U. S. Land Commissioner. The collection consists of Series II, Samoan land commission records (MSC 34:4-33). The records of Ormsbee as land commissioner in Samoa include copies of correspondence with the U.S. Department of State, particularly Secretaries of State James G. Blaine, John W. Foster, and Walter Q. Gresham; Assistant Secretary of State William F. Wharton; and Frank Partridge, a Vermonter who was solicitor for the Department of State. The letters discuss the work of the commission, the fact that the task defined by the 1889 treaty which was to have taken two years was probably going to take much longer, and some dissatisfaction of the commission expressed by the Natives' Representative, Arthur E. Claxton. There is also a copy of a letter from King Malietoa of Samoa, March 2, 1892. The correspondence of the last four months, December 1892-March 1893, concerns Ormsbee's resignation and the subsequent hesitation on the part of the State Department and the president to accept it because of the possible affect on the work of the commission. There are also reports, memoranda, and public notices (1892-1893) of the land commission made up of Ormsbee and the English and German commissioners Bazett M. Haggard and T. Greiner. An office diary kept by Ormsbee, January 1892-February 1893, describes work of the commission, enumerates claims processed and the outcomes, and includes clippings from the Samoa Times reporting on the commission. In addition to official papers, there are photographs and many copies of speeches about Samoa that Ormsbee and his wife, Frances, gave upon their return to the United States in 1893. There is also a personal diary Ormsbee kept during his tenure in Samoa that occasionally mentions work or social activities but is mostly a record of the weather. As well, there is an essay and notes written by the Ormsbee's adopted daughter, Carrie Wyckoff Ormsbee. Correspondence mentions Robert Louis Stevenson, and there is an 1892 luncheon invitation to the Ormsbees from him, as well as two typed copies of a speech or essay by Stevenson's mother, Mrs. Thomas Stevenson, dated July 8, 1892.

30 folders.

Vermont Historical Society

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6902348

Related Entities

There are 14 Entities related to this resource.

Blaine, James Gillespie, 1830-1893

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6xq7vcc (person)

James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830 – January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1869 to 1875, and then in the United States Senate from 1876 to 1881. Blaine twice served as Secretary of State (1881, 1889–1892), one of only two persons to hold the position under three separate presidents (the other being Daniel Webster), and...

Ormsbee, Carrie Wyckoff

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6rj5tpz (person)

Foster, John Watson, 1836-1917

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6zc814j (person)

Military man, journalist, and diplomat. Served as U.S. ambassador to Mexico, 1873-1880; to Russia, 1880-1881; and to Spain, 1883-1885. Served as U.S. secretary of state, 1892-1893. From the description of Letter : United States Legation, Mexico, to A. Langdon, Washington, D.C., 1880 Feb. 7. (Buffalo History Museum). WorldCat record id: 57210087 Epithet: US Minister in St Petersburg British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/8...

Greiner, T.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w69322vf (person)

Claxton, Arthur E.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6j97gbt (person)

Ormsbee, Frances, 1838-1916.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6cr7315 (person)

Wharton, William Fisher, 1847-1919

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fx8kbq (person)

Stevenson, Robert Louis, 1850-1894

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63t9f52 (person)

Robert Lewis (later changed to "Louis") Balfour Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on November 13, 1850. He attended the University of Edinburgh intending to become a civil engineer like his father, but ill health curtailed his studies and prompted him to travel to warmer climates. This inspired Stevenson to write stories, novels and essays about his travels. While in France he met American artist Fanny Osbourne. The two fell in love, and in 1879 Stevenson traveled to California, where he...

Ormsbee, Ebenezer J. (Ebenezer Jolls), 1834-1924

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66q2cp6 (person)

Ebenezer J. Ormsbee (1834-1924) practiced law in Brandon, Vt. He was elected a state legislator in 1872, senator in 1878, lieutenant governor in 1884, and governor in 1886. In July 1891 President Benjamin Harrison appointed him to negotiate with the Piute Indians at the Pyramid Lake Reservation in Nevada. In November 1891 he was appointed U.S. land commissioner at Samoa. Ormsbee stayed in Samoa until March 1893. E.J. Ormsbee married Jennie L. Briggs (d. 1866) in 1862, an...

Stevenson, M. I. (Margaret Isabella), 1829-1897

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6030214 (person)

Epithet: mother of R L Stevenson British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000411.0x0002b6 ...

Gresham, Walter Quintin, 1832-1895

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sb4npr (person)

U.S. secretary of state, secretary of the treasury, postmaster general, jurist, statesman, and soldier. From the description of Walter Quintin Gresham papers, 1857-1932 (bulk 1883-1895). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 84052759 Walter Quintin Gresham was a lawyer, soldier, judge, and politician. A native of Harrison County, Ind., Gresham practiced law in Corydon, served a term in the state legislature, served with the 38th and 53rd Indiana Regiments during the Civil War, ran ...

Malietoa Laupepa, King, 1841-1898.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6hh7tww (person)

Haggard, Bazett Michael

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6x64wqz (person)

Partridge, Frank C. (Frank Charles), 1861-1943

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66w9pzw (person)