EDMUND FRANKLIN ELY:

An Inventory of His Family Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society

Manuscripts Collection

Part or all of this collection is restricted.
For details, please see restrictions.

OVERVIEW


	Creator:	Ely, Edmund Franklin, 1809-1882.
	Title:	Edmund F. Ely and family papers.
	Dates:	1833-1931.
	Language:	Materials in English.
	Abstract:	Typewritten copies of diaries (1833-1854, with gaps) and correspondence (1835-1904) of this missionary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to the Ojibwe Indians in Minnesota and on the southern shore of Lake Superior; biographical information; and maps and plats mainly of Northern Minnesota.
	Quantity:	1 cubic foot (2 boxes, 9 oversize items, 1 folder in Reserve).
	Location:	See Detailed Description for shelf locations.

Edmund Franklin Ely was born in Wilbraham Massachusetts on August 3, 1809. He was a choir director, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Albany, New York, and began his ministerial studies (1828). He was appointed by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1832 and left New York, arriving in La Pointe, Wisconsin the following year. From that time until 1849 he served Ojibwe missions in Fond du Lac, Pokegama, and Sandy Lake, Minnesota. His diaries indicate that he was in almost constant movement among these places and took several trips to La Pointe. In 1849 he left the mission field and moved to St. Paul, though he also lived in Superior, Wisconsin, and Oneota (Duluth), Minnesota from 1849-1862. In 1873 he moved to California and died there in 1882.

He was married to Catherine Bissell Goulais in La Pointe.

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Access Restrictions:

Access to and use of reserve materials requires the curator's permission

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Ely, Edmund Franklin, Edmund F. Ely and family papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Location of Originals:

Originals of typewritten and photocopied materials: St. Louis County Historical Society; Duluth, MN

Accession Information:

Accession number: 2170A; 2186; 2230; 6419; 16,478

Processing Information:

Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Catalog ID number: 001733303

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION


Location	Box
P2637	1	Biographical information, 1885, 1924, 1925.


Volumes, 1833-1854:
	Volume 1: June 5-September 28, 1833.
		Describes Ely's journey to the Minnesota mission.
	Volume 2: September 9-December 31, 1833.
		Accounts of Ely's mission activities at Fond du Lac.
	Volume 3: December 8, 1833-May 4, 1834.
		Contains information on Ely's relations with French traders in the area, particularly relating to Catholicism and other rivalries between Protestants and Catholics for Indian converts.
	Volume 4: May 4-June 25, 1834.
		Also includes content about Ely's relations with the French traders as well as other information.
	Volume 5: June 23-December 28, 1834.
		Journey from La Point to the mission station of Yellow Lake.
	Volume 6: January 1-18, 1835.
		Identified by Ely as his "writing book" and contains information about routine events relating to the school.
	Volume 7: January 21-March 5, 1835.
		The diary describes Ely's trip to Yellow Lake Mission and back, visiting Indian camps along the way.
	Volume 8: March 11-September 21, 1835.
		Much of the content deals with Ely's stay at La Pointe.
	Volume 9: September 20, 1835-January 3, 1836.
		Describes the journey from La Pointe to Fond du Lac.
	Volume 10: January 4, 1836-June 24, 1837.
		The diary records daily life at Fond du Lac and interactions with Indians.
	Volumes 11-14: January 14, 1838-October 29, 1839.
		These volumes contain considerable information on Ely's travels between Fond du Lac, Pokegama, and La Pointe and records incidents of animosity between the Dakota and Ojibwe.
	Volume 15: February 11-March 26, 1840.
		A description of Ely's trip with Jeremiah Russell from Pokegama to Fort Snelling.
	Volume 16: March 19-September 12, 1841; January 17 and May 29, 1842.
		Includes an accounts of the attack on the Ojibwe Indians at the Pokegama mission by the Dakota and the death of his daughter from dysentery.
	Volume 17: January 17-July 30, 1842.
		Mentions news of a war party of Ojibwe forming at Fond du Lac and a description of the ceremony of initiation into Grand Medicine.
	Volume 18: September 17-October 21, 1846.
		Describes a trip to Pokegama and back made by Ely with Caleb Cushing, James Purinton, a Mr. George, and two guides.
	Volume 19: May 1847-September 13, 1848.
		Brief entries detailing illegal liquor sale to Indians and attempts to curb drunkenness among the inhabitants.
	Volume 20: March 17-June 20, 1854.
		The volume relates to Ely's acquisition of property in the Duluth-Superior area and also contains references to dealings with the Indians, competition between surveyors, fishing, and a description of his cabin.
	Volume 21: November 25-1835-February 21, 1839.
		Catherine Ely's diary that consists of detailed information on the physical and mental developments of her first child and her missionary efforts among the Indian women.


		Correspondence and miscellaneous papers:
			Undated.
Location	Box
P2637	2		1838; March 8, 1847-December 8, 1852.
			January 15, 1853-February 22, 1856.
			August 22, 1856-June 8, 1857.
			August 1, 1858; October 1859-August 22, 1862.
			July 30, 1863-February 17, 1904; 1931.


Location
+298	Maps and plats:
		A collection of maps and plats, mainly of northern Minnesota, containing Ely's notes on the location of rivers, lakes, and other geographic features.
		Map 1: Magnetic iron location from notes of survey and sketches, by J. W. Murray[?]
		Map 2: Dimensions of Lake Vermilion[?]
		Map 3: Unidentified plat: Boundary, Bonner, Kottenay, Benewah, and Shoshone Counties, Washington State[?]
		Map 4: Plat showing area of Townships 55, 56, 57, and 58, Ranges 6-11.
			Inscription on back of plat reads, "Middle of Rose Lake to Middle of Gun Flint Lake."
		Map 5: An unidentified map, perhaps for the Duluth-St. Louis River area, Townships 48-49, Ranges 16-17, 1867.
			Area described in a letter from Alfred J. Hill, January 29, 1862.
		Map 6: Stuntz's sketch of Route Net [?] Lake and Vermilion Lake, 1866.
		Map 7: Shows St. Louis, Todd, and Mille Lacs Counties, and rivers, lakes, and towns on Lake Superior North Shore from Duluth to Grand Portage, 18667
			Legend on map difficult to read.
		Shell River, 1870.
			Notes on map by Power. Crossed 10th standard parallel near southeast corner, Section 36, Range 25, Fish Hook Lake.
		Map 9: Plat map of Sandy Lake in the Rice Lake region by Alfred J. Hill, October 1886.


Location
Reserve 133	Letter from Edmund Franklin Ely to Wait Talcott, 1832.
		Access Restricted.
		Ely describes his teaching jobs and family events in New York.
		Digital version
		Transcript, Digital version


		Letter from Edmund Franklin Ely to Wait Talcott, 1834.
			Access Restricted.
			Ely describes the mission, Ojibwe customs, and life at his mission at Leech Lake.
			Digital version
			Transcript, Digital version

CATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:: Fur trade -- Minnesota.; Indians of North America -- Education.; Infants; Land speculation -- Minnesota.; Ojibwa Indians -- Missions.; Religion.

Persons:: Ely, Catherine Bissell, 1817-1880?

Organizations:: American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

Places:: Duluth (Minn.); Minnesota -- Politics and government.; Oneota (Minn.).; Superior (Wis.)

Document Types:: Diaries.; Maps.

Occupations:: Missionaries -- Minnesota.

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EDMUND FRANKLIN ELY:

OVERVIEW

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

CATALOG HEADINGS