Papers, 1820-1898.

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Papers, 1820-1898.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/233648719

This collection consists mainly of correspondence and documents from the period 1820 to 1898. The correspondence represents primarily the business and political life of Alexander Wilkinson and aspects of the Civil War, in which all three of his sons fought. Alexander Wilkinson's correspondence includes letters written to his wife Maria, 1837-1843, during his business trips to the South as a representative of the H. C. Fisher Company of Boston. These contain his views on life in several Southern states, including their people, customs, climate, and the condition of slaves. There are also details of the business difficulties he faced there while attempting to sell straw bonnets. His correspondence also includes letters from friends concerning politics in Mendon in 1840, especially the Whig successes, loco-foco disappointments, and the progress of the Temperance movement; letters from Congressman William Shapleigh Damrell (1809-1860) in Washington, D.C., 1856, relative to the presidential aspirations of John Charles Fremont (1813-1890), including Damrell's assessment of his attitudes towards Roman Catholics and abolition; letters from Augustus Oliver Corbett (1837- ) of Falconer, N.Y., 1858, concerning the superior economic conditions there, especially in the produce business; and letters from Senator George Frisbie Hoar (1826-1904) with explanations of his unwillingness to interfere in Milford public service appointments in 1869. Of special interest are letters from Walter Wilkinson and Col. Perry Allen Lindsay (1839- ) in Alexandria, Va., 1861-1864. Walter's letters to his sister Mary contain descriptions of digging trenches, soldiers' poor diet, long marches, and dangerous picket duty. Following Walter's death at the Battle of Williamsburg in 1862, Col. Lindsay wrote repeatedly to Alexander Wilkinson concerning efforts to retrieve his son's body and details of the wounds of the other two Wilkinson brothers serving in the same regiment (i.e., 40th New York). There are also letters to Alexander from friends during the war relative to the political wisdom of the Emancipation Proclamation, and anti-copperhead sentiment in Baltimore, Md. One letter contains a written copy of the Gettysburg Address. The collection also contains poetry written by a distant cousin, Mary Minerva Wilkinson (1823- ) and other unidentified relatives; documents, such as Alexander's appointment as an ensign in the Massachusetts militia in 1837; and genealogical notes.

2 folders (92 items)

Gadsden Public Library

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SNAC Resource ID: 7108454

Gadsden Public Library

Related Entities

There are 19 Entities related to this resource.

Frémont, John Charles, 1813-1890

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6zt3kwm (person)

John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813 – July 13, 1890) was an American explorer, military officer, and politician. He was a US Senator from California, and in 1856 was the first Republican nominee for President of the United States. A native of Georgia, Frémont acquired male protectors after his father's death, and became proficient in mathematics, science, and surveying. During the 1840s, he led five expeditions into the Western United States and became known as "The Pathfinder". During the...

Wilkinson, Edwin

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6cp0mz4 (person)

Lindsay, Perry Allen, b. 1839.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6517gjb (person)

Hoar, George Frisbie, 1826-1904

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6cz35zn (person)

U. S. Senator from Massachusetts. From the description of George Frisbie Hoar letter to S. S. McClure [manuscript], 1894 January 5. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 694733616 George Frisbie Hoar (1826-1904) was a Republican Senator from Massachusetts (1877-1904). From the description of Autograph collection, 1598-1945. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 122405022 From the guide to the George Frisbie Hoar autograph collection, 1598-194...

United States. Army

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6km312r (corporateBody)

The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States Armed Forces and performs land-based military operations. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States and is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution, Article 2, Section 2, Clause 1 and United States Code, Title 10, Subtitle B, Chapter 301, Section 3001. As the largest and senior branch of the U.S. military, the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which wa...

Wilkinson, Walter, 1840-1862.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6xq0nzv (person)

Wilkinson, Mary, b. 1843.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6zw54g9 (person)

H.C. Fisher Company.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60s62cs (corporateBody)

Whig Party (U.S.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tj2bq3 (corporateBody)

United States. President (1861-1865 : Lincoln)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6rf9vwj (corporateBody)

Joseph A. Cody of Kansas served as a private in the Frontier Guard and as U.S. Indian agent at the Upper Platte Agency in Nebraska Territory, May 14, 1861 - Apr. 14, 1862. As a member of the Frontier Guard, a volunteer company commanded by Gen. James H. Lane and composed of men from Kansas and Illinois, Cody, in the spring of 1861, protected Lincoln at the White House in the absence of regular troops. It is likely that Cody obtained his Indian agent appointment as a resu...

Wilkinson, Leonidas, b. 1837.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qc3nfz (person)

Corbett, Augustus Oliver, b. 1837.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6mp8n1n (person)

Wilkinson, Mary Minerva, b. 1823.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60g73xn (person)

Wilkinson, Maria Sayles, d. 1853.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6dz3t08 (person)

Catholic Church

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6m07v80 (corporateBody)

During much of Doctor José Gaspar de Francia's dictatorship (1814-1840), Paraguay was without a bishop and the church was harrassed. From the description of Libro de providencias, ordenes, y autos : por Dn. Juan Antonio Riveras, cura rector de la parrequial de la Villeta : manuscript, 1804-1857. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 612746619 An antiphonary is a book containing sacred vocal music, both the antiphons of the breviary, and the musical notes. An antiphon it...

Wilkinson, Alexander Thayer, 1815-1899.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6bz9q31 (person)

Equal Rights Party (N.Y.)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66x4s2x (corporateBody)

Damrell, William Shapleigh, 1809-1860

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gn1rx9 (person)

Wilkinson family

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6n62586 (person)

Alexander Thayer Wilkinson (1815-1899) was the son of Israel Wilkinson (1789-1820) and Abigail Carpenter Wilkinson (1792-1859) of Mendon, Mass. He married Maria Sayles ( -1853) in 1834 and became active in mercantile and railroad business in Boston, Mass., until he moved to Milford, Mass., in 1848, where he entered the produce business. During the Civil War, Wilkinson served as Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue at Worcester, Mass. He also held other public offices and was a leader in the loca...