Papers of Joseph St. Leger d'Happart, 1794-1815.

ArchivalResource

D'Happart, J. L. (Joseph Leger). Papers of Joseph St. Leger d'Happart, 1794-1815.

Papers of Joseph St. Leger d'Happart, 1794-1815.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/31509152

This collection of around 2000 items documents d'Happart's personal and professional life. The majority of the collection is in English, but personal and some business correspondence are in French, and many documents related to his business in Suriname are in Dutch. The collection contains correspondence, ledgers, depositions, bound print materials, transcription books, note cards, and travel papers. D'Happart's various residences are documented with personal and local business records, correspondence, and financial documents. D'Happart's personal papers consist of family correspondence, papers, and documents relating to his imprisonment, and his divorce. The Thompson family papers document the family of d'Happart's wife, Elizabeth Thompson. D'Happart's family correspondence includes letters from d'Happart's wife, Elizabeth, his sister Maria Read, and his niece, Henriette de St. Leger. D'Happart's personal papers also include documents and correspondence related to his estrangement and divorce from his wife, which are quite detailed about the acrimonious split. D'Happart's failed French business ventures are documented, as well as his subsequent arrest in Pittsburgh and imprisonment in Philadelphia from 1807 to 1808 on a debtor's warrant issued by his French business partner, C. F. Babin, related to a ship they co-owned, the Brig Betsy . Business correspondence unrelated to his French partnerships is also present, including letters from Albert Gallatin and Thomas Jefferson concerning Indian Affairs and the Treasury, respectively. A number of bound transcription books are also represented, containing handwritten copies of correspondence to and from d'Happart in English and French. These books seem to be the work of a nineteenth century family member. These transcription books are not comprehensive, and include family correspondence not contained in their original form elsewhere in this collection. The collection also contains a number of published materials that were probably collected by d'Happart in the United States and France. These materials include literary magazines published in the United States in English and French, and two longer French language works. Finally, the collection includes a set of calendar cards created by library staff or a researcher of a portion of the d'Happart papers.

5.04 linear ft. (12 boxes)

eng,

fre,

University of Pittsburgh