JAMES C. CHRISTIE AND FAMILY:
An Inventory of Their Papers at the Minnesota Historical
Society
Manuscripts Collection
Part or all of this collection is restricted.
For
details, please see restrictions.
| | |
| Creator: |
Christie, James C., 1811-1890,
creator.
|
| Title: | James C. Christie and family papers. |
| Dates: | 1823-1975 (bulk 1861-1920). |
| Language: | Materials in English.
|
| Abstract: | Correspondence, diaries, writings, clippings, printed
matter, and other papers documenting in rich detail several generations of the James
Christie family of Dodge County, Wisconsin; Rapidan Township, Blue Earth County,
Minnesota; and Stevens County, Washington. |
| Quantity: | 16.25 cubic feet (44 boxes, 8 folders in 1 partial box, 3
folders in 1 partial box, 3 microfilm reels, and 1 oversize folder,
unboxed). |
| Location: | P1281: See Detailed Description
section for shelf locations. |
James C. Christie, son of Janet Smith (1790-1872) and William Christie
(1786-1819), was born September 29, 1811, in Dundee, Scotland. He worked in Sion
Mills, County Tyrone, Ireland, as a master spinner and emigrated with his family
to the United States in 1846. He had two brothers: William, Jr. (1813-1889) and
Alexander (1818-1857). After his father's death, his mother married Alexander
Bartie (1801-1884), who worked in the power looms at Dundee. They had two
children: Jessie (1824-1914) and David Smith (1827-1879).
James had little formal education and educated himself through reading in many
subjects. He entered into a betrothal contract with Elizabeth Gilchrist in 1829,
and they had two children: William Gilchrist (December 18, 1830) and Mary (April
1832). Soon after Mary's birth Elizabeth died. Mary died at the age of eighteen
months. Both are buried in the Logie Kirkyard in Scotland.
After Mary's death James went to Ireland to work in the flax mills, leaving his
son, William, with his grandmother in Scotland. In Ireland James met and married
Elizabeth "Eliza" Reid (1818-1850). They had six children: two sons who died in
infancy, both named Alexander; Thomas Davidson (1843-1921); Sarah Jane
(1844-1919); Alexander Smith (1846-1933); and David Bertie (1848-1920). Eliza
Christie died in 1850, unable to deliver her seventh child. In 1853 James
married Persis Noyes (1807-1887).
James' two brothers, William and Alexander, emigrated to the United States in the
1840s and found employment as machinists. During the winter season they worked
in Cuba, operating machines used in the sugar cane fields. In 1846 they sent for
the James Christie family in Ireland and the Alexander Bartie family in
Scotland, which included Jessie; her husband, James Aimer; their daughter, Mary
Bell; and the Barties' son, David. These families also emigrated to the United
States, eventually settling near each other in Clyman Township, Dodge County,
Wisconsin.
James Christie farmed in Clyman from 1846 to 1868. After 1868 he and his son,
David, moved to Rapidan Township, Blue Earth County, Minnesota. They continued
to farm there until 1886, after which they moved to Bridger's Canyon, Montana,
where David established a sheep ranch. James Christie died on January 13,
1890.
William Gilchrist Christie, son of James Christie and Elizabeth Gilchrist, was
born December 18, 1830, in Dundee, Scotland. He remained with his grandmother in
Scotland after his mother's death in 1832, rejoining his father and stepmother
in Ireland in 1840. During 1846 he came with his family to the United States and
went to Wisconsin with his father and his uncle, David Bartie. By 1856 he was
farming in Olmsted County, Minnesota. In 1861 he sold his farm and enlisted with
his brother Thomas in the 1st Minnesota Light Artillery Battery, with which they
served until June 1865. He was taken prisoner after the Battle of Bentonville
(North Carolina) in March 1865. On December 30, 1865, he married his cousin,
Mary Bell Aimer. In February 1866, he bought farmland near St. Charles, Winona
County, Minnesota. He and Mary had eleven children. The 1880 diphtheria epidemic
claimed three sons' lives; a daughter also died from it in 1901. William G.
Christie died on September 19, 1901, and Mary B. Christie died on December 12,
1927.
Sarah Jane Christie, daughter of James Christie and Eliza Reid, was born in Sion
Mills, County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1844. Her education at Fox Lake Seminary (Fox
Lake, Wisconsin) was in part paid for by her brothers, William and Thomas, while
they were serving in the Civil War. She graduated in 1863, after which she
taught school in nearby communities. In 1873 she was teaching German and English
literature at Carleton College (Northfield, Minnesota). From 1875 to 1877 she
taught at Wheaton College (Wheaton, Illinois). In 1890 she was elected
superintendent of schools of Blue Earth County, Minnesota.
During 1879 Sarah married William Long Stevens (1825-1914), a widower with four
children: Buell V. (1857-1935), Estella B. (1858-), Francis "Frank" W. (1860-),
and Charles Edwin (1862-1924). They lived on his farm near Rapidan, Minnesota,
and had two daughters: Elizabeth "Bessie" Reid (1880-1961) and Mary Jewett
(1885-1903). Sarah Christie Stevens died in 1919 in Minneapolis.
Alexander Smith Christie was born July 9, 1846, in Sion Mills, County Tyrone,
Ireland. He was the third son of James and Eliza Christie to bear that name, the
first two Alexanders both having died in infancy. When he was one month old his
family came to the United States. He spent his early life on the family's
Wisconsin farm. In 1865 he joined Company A of the 2nd Minnesota Infantry
Regiment. After the Civil War ended, Alexander attended Beloit (Wisconsin)
College (1867) and the University of Wisconsin (1872). He taught school in
Wisconsin and Minnesota before he entered Harvard University (1876-1879), where
he studied under mathematician Benjamin Pierce. In 1879 he obtained a position
with the United States Coastal Survey. In 1887 he was appointed head of the
Tidal Division of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in Washington,
D.C.; he was dismissed from the survey in 1893. He spent the next five years in
Minnesota, Montana, and Arkansas. In 1898 he left for Alaska, returning to the
contiguous United States in 1901. The rest of his life was spent in Montana,
California, and Washington, D.C. Alexander S. Christie never married. He died in
1933 in Washington, D.C.
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The James C. Christie and family papers document the history of three families:
Christie, Stevens, and Monahan. This collection consists largely of chronologically
arranged family correspondence and other papers of the entire Christie family,
including James Christie's children: Thomas, Sarah, Alexander, and David; and
Sarah's children and step-children: Buell V. Estella B., Francis W., Charles Edwin,
Elizabeth Reid, and Mary Jewett. The collection also includes volumes, essays,
newspaper clippings, printed materials, Civil War pension files, deeds, broadsides,
programs, maps, commercial calling cards, cotillion programs, invitations, diaries,
notebooks, account books, memorandum books, school registers, and a hotel register
from Mankato, Minnesota.
This collection includes Thomas' and David's correspondence until the time they each
married. Thereafter, separate manuscript collections exist for each of them: the
Thomas and Carmelite Christie and family papers, 1843-1975, and the David B.
Christie and family correspondence, 1871-1933, respectively. The letters by James to
his son Thomas, while Thomas was in Turkey, are missing until 1884, after which they
appear in quantity. Alexander's correspondence with his nieces and nephews continues
in each family series.
The materials dating from 1835 to 1879 were generated chiefly by James Christie, his
children, and other Christie relatives, with a few William Stevens items appearing
in 1850. With the marriage of Sarah Christie to William Stevens in 1879, a
concentration of Stevens family correspondence begins, while the Christie letters
continue. In 1905 Elizabeth Stevens married Robert Hugh Monahan, introducing a third
family line. However, there is relatively little from the Monahans and a great deal
from the Christies and Stevens'. The bulk of the letters date from 1860 to 1930.
There is a sizeable subseries of Buell V. Stevens correspondence written during the
time in which he worked as a railroad passenger car conductor, railroad office
clerk, traveling dry goods salesman, rancher, and farmer (1879-1935). The bulk of
the Buell's correspondence consists of the exchanges between himself and his
stepmother, Sarah, his brother, Frank, and his sisters, Elizabeth and Estella. The
subseries also includes a great deal of correspondence received by Buell from
friends in Iowa and Minnesota.
The Christie family members were articulate observers, and their letters reflect
social, religious, economic, and political conditions, both in the United States and
abroad, for nearly one hundred years.
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These records are organized into the following sections:
| | |
| | The Christie Period: Correspondence and Miscellaneous papers, 1823-1879 |
| | The Stevens Period: Correspondence and Miscellaneous papers, 1878-1949 |
| | Data Sheets |
| | Diaries and Other Volumes |
| | Printed Materials |
| | Diplomas, Certificates, and Pension Files |
| | Civil War Correspondence: Closed Originals |
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Access Restrictions:
Civil War Correspondence (1.0 cubic feet) is closed to general use. Researchers
are directed to use the digital versions or microfilm.
Digitized originals are closed. Access and use requires the curator's
permission.
Some of these files are located off site in Remote Storage. Advance
arrangements are required in order to view the files.
Please consult reference staff for more information.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. James
C. Christie and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional
examples.
Microfilm Production:
Microfilmed Civil War Correspondence. Microfilm (M539). St. Paul: Minnesota
Historical Society, 1989. 3 rolls positive microfilm.
Microfilm available for interlibrary loan or sale from the Minnesota Historical
Society. Inquiries regarding purchases by non-Minnesota residents and
institutions should be directed to LexisNexis.
Alternate Form Available:
Selected letters from the Civil War
correspondence are also avallable on the Minnesota Historical Society web
site.
Provenance Note
The Christie Family Papers are composed of three separate collections (P1281,
P1282, P1283) of letters and other papers from several generations of the
Christie family. The Christie papers were originally given to the Minnesota
Historical Society in 1965 by a descendent of Sarah Christie Stevens
(1844-1919), and were cataloged as a single collection. As more additions were
received, the single collection was divided into three: the papers of James,
Thomas, and David.
Accession Information:
Accession number: 9920; 11,836; 11,841; 11,904; 11,983; 11,984; 11,985; 11,957;
11,958; 11,959; 11,962; 11,963; 12,054; 12,074; 12,110; 12,121; 12,138; 12,442;
13,255; 14,178; 14,860; 15,918; 16,367; 16,186; 16,219; 16,843; 17,608
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).
Digitized by: Minnesota Historical Society, September 2019
Catalog ID number: 990017304560104294
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
RESTRICTED.
The papers begin in 1823 with manuscript poems and jump to 1835 with the
confirmation certificate of Elizabeth Reid. There are letters exchanged by
Eliza and James Christie while she was in Scotland and he was in Ireland. In
1846 Eliza and her children were living with her brother, Robert Reid, in
Connecticut while James was clearing land and building a cabin in Wisconsin
during which James wrote of his struggles to become established on the
frontier. There are only a few items written during the 1840s and 1850s,
including a speech on spiritualism (1852) by James Christie and an anonymous
essay on slavery (circa 1859).
The Civil War years (1861-1865) provide letters from William, Thomas, and
Alexander Christie during their service with the Minnesota Artillery.
Included are descriptions of St. Louis, Missouri, and Washington, D.C.; camp
life; the battles of Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Atlanta; the character of the
South; a visit to a munitions factory; transportation; and William's capture
and release. Because of their popularity, these items have been microfilmed.
Researchers may use the microfilm; the originals (boxes A and B) are closed
to general use .
During this period Sarah wrote of her school costs and daily assignments at
Fox Lake Seminary (Fox Lake, Wisconsin) while David and Alexander wrote
about local people. In the winter of 1865-1866 the four Christie brothers
traveled to Minnesota to find new farmland. Their letters to their father
describe their journey and the land available to buy. A newspaper account by
Alexander of this journey was published in 1897 and can be found in volume
29 (Box 40) in the collection.
For the remainder of this period (1866-1879) there is information on Sarah's
teaching career and those of her friends from Fox Lake Seminary; her
abortive career as a dressmaker in Beloit (1869); her career at Carleton
College (1873-1875) where she taught German and English literature; her
teaching experiences at Wheaton College (1875-1877); the grasshopper
infestation (1873-1877); the temperance movement; Sarah's friendship with
and marriage to William L. Stevens; and her friendship with A. A. Veblen of
Northfield, Minnesota. The correspondence also describes student life at the
University of Minnesota through letters to Sarah by her friend, Chelsea J.
Rockwood.
Alexander wrote of his education at Beloit College (1867), the University of
Wisconsin (1872), and Harvard University (1876-1877); his struggles to earn
his way with teaching and tutoring positions; his mathematics studies; his
fruitless application for a position at Wheaton College (1876); and his
successful application for a job with the United States Coast and Geodetic
Survey (1878).
Thomas Christie's experiences at the University of Wisconsin (1866), Beloit
College (1866-1871), and Andover Seminary (1874-1877) are described, as is
his work as a book salesman, his courtship and marriage (1866), and his
residence in Turkey as a representative (1877-1920) of the American Board of
Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
In addition to the above subjects, Alexander, Thomas, and Sarah wrote to each
other during this period about the various schools they had attended or in
which they were teaching. They discuss discipline, wages, and the subjects
taught.
James Christie and his sons, William and David, wrote of farming practices,
including information on crops and yields, prices received for crops, and
the grasshopper plague (1873-1877). Weather being such an important factor
in a farmer's life, there are numerous mentions of blizzards (1875),
tornadoes (1871), hailstorms (1879), floods (1879), and snowstorms
(1865).
Folk medicine and illnesses, a cataract operation (1869), abortion (1868,
1873), and epidemics of typhoid fever are reported, as well as the
prescription of medicine by Sarah Christie Stevens, who possessed some
medical knowledge. James Christie and his sons, William, Thomas, and
Alexander, exchanged long letters on religion, spiritualism, and infant
baptism. There is correspondence between James and his niece, Helen
Christie, about her conversion to Catholicism.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | |
| Internet | | Civil War correspondence: William G. Christie to his
brother, January 19 and 30, 1862. |
| | | Written while stationed at the St. Louis Arsenal as part of the First
Minnesota Light Artillery; describes the arsenal and the production of
shot. |
| | | Acquired after the Civil War correspondence was microfilmed, the original
letters have been interfiled with the collection's closed originals.
|
| | | 
Digital version, January 19, 1862
|
| | | 
Digital version, January 30, 1862
|
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Much of the correspondence of this period was carried on by Sarah Christie
Stevens or was channeled through her. Throughout her life Sarah maintained
her interest in education and was especially concerned about the education
of her four stepchildren--Buell, Estella, Francis, and Charles--and her two
daughters, Elizabeth and Mary. She was elected county superintendent of
schools of Blue Earth County, Minnesota in 1890 and remained active in
school and church education. During this time she was also active in the
temperance and women's suffrage movements and corresponded with social
activist Eva McDonald Valesh. Several letters (1889) deal with the subject
of abortion. She operated a butter (1886-1889) and egg (1902-1905) business
from the farm in Rapidan, Minnesota. During 1903-1919 she was interested in
land promotion ventures throughout the United States.
Thomas Christie wrote of his missionary work in Turkey (1877-1920) and his
travels in Ireland, Scotland, the Orient, and the United States. He wrote of
his relations with the Turkish government, and the attendant problems of the
Armenian minority, plagues, and uprisings.
Alexander Christie wrote of his work for the United States Coast and Geodetic
Survey (1878-1893) and his efforts to be reinstated after his dismissal. He
comments on life in Washington, D.C. and his long friendships with Minnesota
politician and diplomat John Lind, and with H. Conrad Bierwirth of Harvard
University. After teaching in Montana, he left in 1898 for the Alaskan gold
fields and returned in 1901. He also describes a cross-country bicycle trip
from Washington, D.C.
Of William G. Christie's letters only those to his father, brothers, and
sisters have been located. He wrote to his father of his farm, crops and
yields, and the deaths of his four children. In 1897 he began a series of
letters containing information on the family's early life in Scotland,
Ireland, and Wisconsin.
One of the significant correspondents in the Stevens family was Buell V.
Stevens, who wrote of his experiences as a railroad conductor and clerk for
the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault St. Marie Railway and for the Chicago,
Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway; as a traveling salesman for various firms
(1881-1907); and entrepreneur (1901-1907). The correspondence reflects his
efforts to secure and maintain commissioned sales positions with dry goods
firms in the Midwest (1880-1890s); a short lived attempt to operate his own
dry goods warehouse, McDonnel and Stevens Drygoods (1885); his attempts to
establish a grocery store in central Minnesota (1901); business and
investing partnerships with his brother, Frank (1887-1900); and land
ownership in Boone County, Arkansas (circa 1916-1935). Buell eventually
lived with his sister, Estella "Stella" Hall, in Indio, California, where
they operated a fig and date farm (1913-1917). Buell's correspondence
reflects his friendships with Myrtle "Myrta" A. Gerrish (née Chamberlain),
A. Frank Peckham, May "Mae" Lucretia Petter (née Scofield), and Myra E. Van
Dersal (née Kling), F. P. Breck, and his ties to his siblings particularly
Bessie, Stella, and Frank. Buell V. Stevens died in Puente, California on
August 1, 1935.
Estella B. Hall (née Stevens) lived in Minnesota, Washington, and California.
Her 1879 correspondence indicates that she was engaged to "Mr. K," but
called off the engagement in May 1879, shortly before it was rumored that he
was killed in a railroad accident, though it also cites that she married
Jefferson Kincaid of Minneapolis, Minnesota in the fall of 1879. They
attempted to settle a claim of 160 acres in Grant County, Dakota Territory
during 1880. In the spring of 1885 she married Andrew Jackson of Ortonville,
Minnesota with whom she lived in Paynesville, Minnesota and later
Washington. In 1897 she wrote of his abuses and drunkenness; shortly after
(1898), she left him and took a job in the Eastern Washington Hospital for
the Insane (Medical Lake, Washington). Estella married her third husband,
John F. Hall of Boundary, Washington, in fall of 1899. John Hall died in a
mining accident in 1903. Throughout the correspondence Estella wrote about
her family; school teaching; mining and ranching; her employment at the
hospital; her life in Washington (circa 1895-1911); the death of her third
husband; the ongoing lawsuits brought against her over the estate of John
Hall by his first wife, Anna Hall; her plans once the estate was settled;
and her daughter Elizabeth "Elsie". The lawsuits filed over Hall's estate
were not settled until December 1905. Elsie Jackson married Richard
Lattimore on April 25, 1906.
Francis "Frank" Stevens wrote of his residence with Thomas Christie in Turkey
(1880-1881) and his travels in Washington, Oregon, and other parts of the
United States. He taught school in Montana, Oregon, and Washington. There is
a continuous thread of correspondence between Frank and Buell that covers
nearly a twenty-year period.
Elizabeth "Bessie" Stevens attended the state normal school in Mankato and
taught school briefly before she enrolled in the medical school of Hamline
University, St. Paul, Minnesota in 1902. There she met Robert Hugh Monahan,
who was also a medical student. They were married on September 26, 1905 and
graduated from Hamline in 1906. She wrote of her studies at Hamline, student
life, her courtship, and marriage. Her later letters concern her work with
her husband in the Northern Minnesota Hospital Association in Blackduck and
International Falls, Minnesota.
Letters by Charles Edwin Stevens, who signs his letters both as "Charles" and
"Ed," are relatively infrequent in comparison to those of his siblings. He
married Margaret in 1889 and ranched in Daisy, Washington. Charles died in
Los Angeles, California in 1924. There are only a few letters to and from
Mary Jewett Stevens, who died at the age of 18.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 8 | Correspondence, April 1879-December 1880. |
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| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 9 | Correspondence, January-December 1881. |
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| P1281 | 10 | Correspondence, January 1882-June 1883. |
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| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 11 | Correspondence, July 1883-July 1884. |
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| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 12 | Correspondence, August 1884-May 1886. |
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| P1281 | 13 | Correspondence, June 1886-October 1887. |
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| P1281 | 14 | Correspondence, November 1887-May 1889. |
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| P1281 | 15 | Correspondence, June 1889-November 1890. |
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| P1281 | 16 | Correspondence, December 1890-April 1892. |
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| P1281 | 17 | Correspondence, May 1892-May 1894. |
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| P1281 | 18 | Correspondence, June 1894-August 1896. |
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| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 19 | Correspondence, September 1896-December
1897. |
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| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 20 | Correspondence, January 1898-August 1899. |
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| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 21 | Correspondence, September 1899-March
1901. |
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| P1281 | 22 | Correspondence, April 1901-August 1902. |
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| P1281 | 23 | Correspondence, September 1902-September
1904. |
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| P1281 | 24 | Correspondence, October 1904-January
1906. |
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| P1281 | 25 | Correspondence, February 1906-November
1907. |
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| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 26 | Correspondence, December 1907-February
1911. |
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| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 27 | Correspondence, March 1911-December 1914. |
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| P1281 | 28 | Correspondence, January 1915-August 1916. |
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| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 29 | Correspondence, September 1916-April
1918. |
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| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 30 | Correspondence, May 1918-1949. |
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| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 31 | Buell V. Stevens correspondence, 1879-1935: |
| | | [?], Ella, 1890. |
| | | [?], Flossie, 1884-1885. |
| | | [?], Libbie, 1881-1882. |
| | | A. Ellinger & Co., Manufacturers of Cloaks and Suits
(Chicago, Illinois), 1885. |
| | | American Express Company shipping receipts, 1887-1888. |
| | | Andrew, C. A., 1895-1896. |
| | | Arthur, Warren & Abbott Notions (St. Paul,
Minnesota), 1891. |
| | | Belding Brothers & Co., Silk Manufacturers (Chicago,
Illinois), 1884,
1898. |
| | | Bowles, George R., 1898-1899. |
| | | Breck, F. P., 1885-1894. |
| | | Broadhead Worsted Mills (Jamestown, New York), 1891-1893.
|
| | | Brown, John H., 1916-1935. |
| | | | Mr. Brown resides in International Falls, Minnesota. The bulk of the
exchanges between Mr. Brown and Mr. Stevens pertains to the lands in
Boone County, Arkansas. |
| | | Brown Shoe Company (St. Louis, Missouri), 1895-1899. |
| | | Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, 1885-1901.
|
| | | | Largely business correspondence about Mr. Stevens' positions as clerk
and conductor for the railway. Frequent correspondents are: A. J.
Underwood and W. M. Kellie. |
| | | Christie, Alexander Smith, 1880-1895. |
| | | Clark, Emma, 1879-1894? |
| | | Clerical Cooperative Company (Cincinnati, Ohio), 1895. |
| | | Cole, Clara B., 1882-1903. |
| | | Detective Mining Company (Minneapolis, Minnesota) stock
certificates, 1888-1889. |
| | | Fairchild, Clara M., 1882-1886. |
| | | Flanagan, Agnes E., 1889-1890. |
| | | Forman, George M., 1899-1906. |
| | | Fuller, Helen B., 1884-1887. |
| | | Gay Brothers & Company (New York, New York), 1895. |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 32 | | Gerrish (née Chamberlain), Myrtle "Myrta" A., 1890-1897. 2 folders. |
| | | Grayston, W. E., 1892-1893. |
| | | H. H. King & Co., Grain Commission Millers' Agents
(Minneapolis, Minnesota), 1892-1894. |
| | | Harris, Jno. W., 1886-1887. |
| | | Hennepin Steam Laundry (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
receipts, 1887-1891. |
| | | Hall (née Stevens), Estella "Stella" B. and John
F., 1899-1918. |
| | | | For correspondence with Stella dating prior to July 1899, see:
Jackson (née Stevens), Estella "Stella" B. |
| | | Iowa State Traveling Men's Association (Des Moines,
Iowa), 1895-1905. |
| | | Jackson (née Stevens), Estella "Stella" B., 1879-1899.
|
| | | | For correspondence with Stella dating after July 1899, see: Hall (née
Stevens), Estella "Stella" B. and John H. |
| | | Lamson, Minnie May "Mignon," 1888-1890. |
| | | Lind, John, 1896-1899. |
| | | M. Gimbel & Sons, Wholesale Hatters and Manufacturers of
Gloves (Chicago, Illinois), 1894. |
| | | Merrill, Mrs. C. M., 1882. |
| | | Merrill, Grace, 1900-1901. |
| | | Miller, R. J., 1881. |
| | | Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie
Railway, 1889-1898.
|
| | | | Largely business correspondence about Mr. Stevens' positions as clerk
and conductor for the railway. Frequent correspondents are: F. D.
Underwood, W. M. Kellie, and Jonathan G. Taylor. |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 33 | | Minor, Nellie B., 1880-1886. |
| | | Monahan (née Stevens), Elizabeth "Bessie" Reid and Robert
Hugh, 1907-1931. |
| | | | For correspondence with Bessie prior to 1907, see: Stevens,
Elizabeth "Bessie" Reid. |
| | | Nimmons, George R., 1885,
1895. |
| | | Patterson & Stevenson, Importers, Manufacturers, and
Jobbers of Hats, Caps, Gloves & Mittens (Minneapolis,
Minnesota), 1895-1901.
|
| | | Peckham, A. Frank, 1888-1901. 2 folders. |
| | | Petter (née Scofield), May "Mae" Lucretia, 1885-1897. 2 folders. |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 34 | | Petter (née Scofield), May "Mae" Lucretia, 1885-1897.
|
| | | R. B. Tomlinson & Son, Wholesale Dealers in Hats, Caps,
Gloves and Mittens (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 1893-1895. |
| | | Rausch, F. W. / Bedford Business College and Shorthand
Institute (Bedford, Indiana), 1895. |
| | | Reid, Thomas, 1895-1906. |
| | | Robideaux, Libbi, 1889-1890? |
| | | Rucker, Howard L. / University of Commerce and Finance
(Minneapolis, Minnesota), 1894-1895. |
| | | S. H. Wood Produce Co., Stock and Grain Brokers (Minneapolis,
Minnesota), 1893-1896. |
| | | | Letterhead also cites the company name as: S. H. Wood Produce Co.,
Grain, Provisions, Stocks and Produce (1893-1894); S. H. Wood &
Co., Grain, Provisions, Stocks and Produce (1894); Wood & Co.,
Grain Brokers (1895); Wood & Co., Grain Commission (1895); and
Wood Grain Commission Company (1896). |
| | | Shelby Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company (Myrna,
Minnesota), 1892. |
| | | Smith, W. B., 1916-1917. |
| | | [Stam, Cal W.?] C. W. S., 1884-1886. |
| | | Stevens, Charles Edwin, 1885-1896.
|
| | | Stevens, Elizabeth "Bessie" Reid, 1887-1905. |
| | | | For correspondence with Bessie dating after 1906, see: Monahan (née
Stevens), Elizabeth "Bessie" Reid and Robert Hugh. |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 35 | | Stevens, Elizabeth "Bessie" Reid, 1887-1905. |
| | | | For correspondence with Bessie dating after 1906, see: Monahan (née
Stevens), Elizabeth "Bessie" Reid and Robert Hugh. |
| | | Stevens, Francis "Frank" W., 1881-1906. 4 folders. |
| | | Stevens, Frank T., 1880-1881,
1906. |
| | | Stevens, Libbi, 1891. |
| | | Stevens, Mary Jewett, 1900-1903. |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 36 | | Stevens, Sarah Jane Christie, 1879-1919. 5 folders. |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 37 | | Stevens, Sarah Jane Christie, 1879-1919. 6 folders. |
| | | Stevens, William Long, 1878-1913. 2 folders. |
| | | Van Dersal (née Kling), Myra E., undated and
1879-1882. 2 folders. |
| | | W. L. Pettit & Company, Wholesale Jewelers (Minneapolis,
Minnesota), 1891-1892. |
| | | Wallace, W. A., 1892-1894. |
| | | Wareham, Leo, 1881-1887. |
| | | Western Business Agency (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 1892-1893. |
| | | Wyman, Mullin & VanDyke,Wholesale Drygood and Notions
(Minneapolis, Minnesota), 1881-1885. |
| | | | Later: Wyman, Mullin & VanDyke, Importers and Jobbers of Drygood,
Notions & C. [sic] |
| | | Wyman, Parridge & Company, Wholesale Drygoods
(Minneapolis, Minnesota), 1892-1898. |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 39 | | Miscellaneous correspondence, undated and
1879-1906, 1916, 1930. 6 folders. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Christie, Alexander [1818-1857], Estate papers and last will and
testament, 1858-1860. |
| | | Alexander Christie was James Christie's brother who died of yellow fever
in Cuba in 1857. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Christie, Elizabeth Reid [1818-1850], Grave site correspondence, 1850-1892, 1921. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Smith, William, Correspondence, undated. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Stevens, William L. and Sarah J., Miscellaneous papers, undated and 1864-1917. |
| | | Includes Elizabeth Stevens birth certificate, April, 1880. |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 40 | Data sheets, 1975. 3 folders. |
| | | Data sheets prepared during cataloging contain content notes on each
folder of papers. Subjects and authors are noted as well as letters of
particular interest. A separate summary sheet for each box of the
collection relates the family's activities during that period and lists
principal subjects. Incomplete due to subsequent additions to the
collection. |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 45 | Alexander S. Christie, undated and
1860-1926: |
| | | Notebook, undated. Volume 22. |
| | | Algebra and Trigonometry notebook, undated. |
| | | Catalog of Books in the Library of
Alexander S. Christie, undated. Volume 19. |
| | | | On page 43 is an essay by Christie dated March 25, 1922. |
| | | Farm diary, March 1,
1860-May 18, 1864. Volume 30. |
| | | | Two farm diaries (Volumes 20 and 30, 1860-1864) tell of the
happenings and daily weather on the Christie farm in Clyman,
Wisconsin. |
| | | Diary and notebook, May 19,
1864-February 23, 1866. Volume 20. |
| | | | In the back of Volume 20 is a meteorological table kept at Fort
Ridgley by Alfred Muller, October 12, 1865-May 1, 1866. |
| | | U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Tidal Station at the Navy
Yard, Washington, D.C., 1891-1893. Volume 24. |
| | | Diary, January 2,
1894-April 23, 1897. Volume 21. |
| | | Minnesota Republican Club of the District of Columbia
notes, 1897. Volume 26. |
| | | Notebook, 1897-1920. Volume 29. |
| | | | Contains newspaper clippings on his reminiscences of the journey to
Minnesota in 1865, and of meeting with General Joseph E. Johnson in
1884. |
| | | Notebook, 1898. Volume 23. |
| | | Notebook of mathematics, science, astronomy, and diary, April 8, 1898-October 17, 1902. |
| | | Ellipse Astronomy notebook, 1907? Volume 27. |
| | | Notebook and diary, 1918-1919. |
| | | Diary, February 17, 1921-December 31, 1922. |
| | | Diary, January 1, 1923-May 24, 1926. |
| | | | Includes daily cost of food, 1922-1926 and list of books from the Los
Angeles Library, 1924. |
| Location | Box |
| 146.I.8.5B | 50 | | Journal of ancestry and related materials, 1922. 3 folders. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 46 | Sarah Christie Stevens, 1863-1905: |
| | | Friendship book from Fox Lake Seminary [belonging to Sarah
Christie?], 1863-1872. Volume 34. |
| | | Carleton College class book, 1873. Volume 11. |
| | | Mission circle minutes,
1886-1887. Volume 13. |
| | | Notebook, circa
1892? Volume 25. |
| | | Notebook, circa
1894? Volume 31. |
| | | Diary, May 27, 1894 -
June 25, 1900. Volume 12. |
| | | Account book for "Help & Repairs," circa
1898-circa 1899? Volume 15. |
| | | Garden and plant record, 1902. Volume 14. |
| | | Mrs. William L. Stevens account with Henry C. Wiedenheft, 1905. Volume 16. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | William L. Stevens, circa 1848-1889:
|
| | | Memorandum book [belonging to William L. Stevens?], circa
1849-circa 1862? Volume 5. |
| | | William L. Stevens account with Geo. M. Ray, 1885. Volume 6. |
| | | Memorandum book [belonging to William L.
Stevens?], 1886. Volume 7. |
| | | Memorandum book [belonging to William L. Stevens?], circa
1887-circa 1888? Volume 8. |
| | | William L. Stevens account with J. G. Graham, 1888. Volume 9. |
| | | Memorandum book [belonging to William L. Stevens?], circa
1888-circa 1889? Volume 10. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Buell V. Stevens, undated and
1876-1892: |
| | | Diary fragment, March -
December 1876. |
| | | Diary, January 1,
1877-January 30, 1878. |
| | | Diary fragment, May 24 -
December 31, 1879? |
| | | Diary, January 1 -
June 30, 1880. |
| | | Diary fragment, July 5 -
December 30, 1880? |
| | | Diary, January 1 -
December 31, 1881. |
| | | Diary, January 1 -
December 31, 1882. |
| | | Diary, January 1 -
December 31, 1883. |
| | | Diary, January 1 -
December 31, 1884. |
| | | Diary, January 1 -
October 10, 1891. |
| | | Diary fragment, August 8 -
December 25, 1891. |
| | | Diary, October 11,
1891-March 23, 1892. |
| | | Expenses and cash received record book, 1880?
|
| | | Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway Company
conductor's remittance books, April-June
1890. 2 booklets. |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 47 | | Sales, prices, and expenses record books, undated and
1883?-1893. 11 volumes. |
| | | Travel diary, March 3-April
18, 18--? photocopy in 1 folder. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Volumes from other Stevens and Christie family
members,
1843-1910: |
| | |
J. Buxton Murray.
A new guide for emigrants to the western states of North
America, comprising Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin & Iowa:
containing letters on emigration, Mr. Alexander Campbell, ... to
which is added information for emigrants to the British possessions
in North America. London:
printed and published for the author,
1843. 64 pages. Missing cover. |
| | | | Taken to America in 1843 by Alexander Christie [1818-1857] and used
by his brother James Christie [1811-1890]. |
| | | Business guide of James Christie, 1845. |
| | | | Bought in Boston and taken to Wisconsin Territory in 1846. |
| | | Map used by Christie brothers in Minnesota,
1865-1866. Volume 33. |
| | | Daily school register, District 79, Blue Earth, Minnesota, November 10,
1873-June 11, 1875. Volume 3. |
| | | Diary fragment [belonging to Bessie Stevens?], circa
1891? Volume 32. |
| | | Daily school register, District 79, Blue Earth County,
Minnesota, beginning April
1, 1895. Volume 4. |
| | | | The teachers were Francis Stevens and Doretha Gerlach. |
| Location | |
| 129.F.3.8F-1 | | | Register, Union Hotel, Mankato, Minnesota,
1897-1898. Volume 28. |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 47 | | Minnesota State Normal School Annual Catalogue, 1898-1899. |
| | | | Elizabeth Reid Stevens is in the Second Year B course. |
| | | Elizabeth Reid Stevens notebook, February
10-June 3, 1902. Volume 2. |
| | | | Probably her assignments for her classes in Renville, Minnesota. |
| | | Weather observations, 1905-1910. Volume 35. |
| | | | Kept by William Stevens; later observations and comments by Sarah
Christie Stevens. |
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The printed materials include circulars, advertisements, pamphlets, leaflets,
and maps. As the collection was being processed, printed items pertaining to
certain subjects of interest to family members (e.g., land promotion,
Women's Christian Temperance Union, women's suffrage) were gathered into
separate files.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 40 | Invitations to cotillions and other social events, 1847-1853. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 41 | Agriculture, undated and 1861-1906. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Religious and Sunday school papers, undated and 1887-1919. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Woman's Christian Temperance Union, undated and 1886-1919. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 42 | Medicine and playbills, undated and 1877-1898. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Schools and education, undated and 1878-1915. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Miscellaneous, undated and 1880-1908. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Alexander S. Christie's writings, undated. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Computation of tides, undated. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 43 | Woman Suffrage Association, undated and 1884-1919. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Insurance: Farm and life, undated and 1875-1899. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Essays, songs, and hymns, undated. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Land promotion, undated and 1903-1907. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 44 | Land promotion, 1907-1919. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 40 | Land promotion, 1919. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 47 | Commercial calling cards, undated, circa
1850-1930. 5 envelopes. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 42 | Northwestern Home Trade Association memorandum and advertisements
book, 1895? Volume 17. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Northwestern Home Trade Associations memorandum and
advertisements book, 1895? Volume 18. |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | |
| +28 | | Township 19N Range 18W plat drawing for mine locations in Boone
and Marion counties in Arkansas, undated. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Law degree, Columbia University, issued to Alexander S.
Christie, June 1885. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Master of Law degree, National University, Washington, D.C.,
issued to Alexander S. Christie, May 1888? |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Certificate of admission to the Bar of the Supreme Court of the
District of Columbia, issued to Alexander S. Christie, June 21, 1888. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Railway Officials and Conductors Accident Association
(Indianapolis, Indiana) certificate of membership and insurance for
Buell V. Stevens, June 27,
1890. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Mutual Accident Association of the Northwest (Chicago, Illinois)
certificate of insurance for Buell V. Stevens, August 24,
1891. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | German Insurance Company (Freeport, Illinois) certificate of
insurance and transfer of right in policy from W. A. Wallace to Buell V.
Stevens, September 12,
1892. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Diploma, Elementary Course, Mankato State Normal School, issued
to Elizabeth Reid Stevens, November 28, 1900. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Diploma, Advanced Course, Mankato State Normal School, issued to
Elizabeth Reid Stevens, June 7, 1901. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Certificate of election to the Association of Military Surgeons,
issued to Robert H. Monahan, October 7, 1917. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | 47 | William G. Christie, Jr. pension file, 1883-1928. |
| | | Photocopies of William Gilchrist Christie, Jr.'s Civil War pension file
(No. 255203) and his wife Mary B. Christie's widow's pension (No.
569809). The original pension files are held by the National Archives,
Washington, D.C. |
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Access Restricted. These materials have been
microfilmed or digitized and are closed to general use.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | A | Civil war correspondence, 1861-June
1864. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Location | Box |
| P1281 | B | Civil war correspondence, July 1864-December
1865. |
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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:
- Agriculture -- Minnesota -- Blue Earth County.
- Agriculture -- Wisconsin -- Dodge County.
- Armenians -- Missions -- Turkey -- Tarsus.
- Baptists -- Missions.
- Bee culture.
- Butter trade -- Minnesota -- Blue Earth County.
- Egg trade -- Minnesota -- Blue Earth County.
- Elementary school teachers.
- Folk medicine -- Minnesota.
- Grasshopper plagues, 1873-1877 -- Minnesota.
- Indians of North America -- Education.
- Indians of North America -- Montana -- Reservations.
- Indians of North America -- Rites and ceremonies.
- Locusts -- Minnesota.
- Medicine -- Minnesota.
- Meteorology -- Minnesota -- Fort Ridgely -- Observations.
- Missionaries -- Turkey -- Tarsus.
- Mining claims -- Arkansas.
- Mining claims -- Washington.
- School discipline -- Minnesota.
- Scottish-Irish Americans.
- Steamboats -- Minnesota -- Big Stone Lake (Minn. and S.D.).
- Storms -- Minnesota.
- Temperance -- United States -- Societies, etc.
- Traveling sales personnel -- Middle West.
- Women college teachers -- Minnesota.
- Women in medicine.
- Women -- Societies and clubs.
- Women -- Suffrage -- Minnesota.
- Places:
- Alaska -- Description and travel.
- Beltrami County (Minn.).
- Blue Earth County (Minn.).
- Boone County (Ark.).
- Crow Indian Reservation (Mont.).
- Ireland -- Description and travel -- 1801-1900.
- Rapidan (Blue Earth County, Minn.).
- Scotland -- Description and travel.
- Stevens County (Wash.).
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Campaigns.
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Participation,
African-Americans.
- Persons:
- Breck, F. P., author.
- Brown, John H., author.
- Christie family.
- Christie, Alexander S., author.
- Christie, David B., 1848-1920, author.
- Christie, Thomas, author.
- Christie, William, 1830-1901, author.
- Gerrish, Myrtle A., author.
- Hall, Estella Stevens, 1858- , author.
- Monahan family.
- Monahan, Elizabeth Stevens, 1880-1961, author.
- Monahan, Robert Hugh, 1870-1947, author.
- Oberholtzer, Ernest C. (Ernest Carl), 1884-1977, author.
- Peckham, A. Frank, author.
- Petter, May Lucretia, -1952, author.
- Stevens family.
- Stevens, Buell V., 1857-1935, author.
- Stevens, Francis W., 1860- , author.
- Stevens, Sarah Christie, 1844-1919, author.
- Stevens, William Long, 1825-1914, author.
- Valesh, Eva McDonald, 1865-1956, author.
- Organizations:
- Andover Seminary (Andover, Mass.).
- Beloit College.
- Blue Earth County (Minn.). School District No. 79 (Rapidan :
Township).
- Carleton College (Northfield, Minn.).
- Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway Company.
- Fox Lake College (Fox Lake, Wis.).
- Hamline University.
- Mankato State Teachers College.
- Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway Company.
- Minnesota Sunday School Association.
- St. Paul's Institute (Tarsus, Turkey).
- U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.
- United States. Army. Minnesota Light Artillery, Battery 1st,
1861-1865.
- United States. Army. Minnesota Light Artillery, Battery 2nd,
1861-1865.
- Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).
- Wisconsin Female College (Fox Lake, Wis.).
- Types of Documentation:
- Diaries.
- Genealogies.
- Meteorological records.
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OVERVIEW
Digital version
Digital version
Folder 1
Folder 2
Folder 3
Folder 4
Folder 5
Folder 6
Folder 7
Folder 8
April 1865-August 1866.
September-December 1866.
January-March 1867.
April-May 1867.
June-July 1867.
August 1867-February 1868
March-May 1868.
June-September 1868.
October-December 1868.
January-March 1868.
April-May 1869.
June-September 1869.
October 1869-February 1870.
March-July 1870.
August-December 1870.
1861.
January-April 1862.
May-October 1862.
November-December 1862.
January-February 1863.
March-July 1863.
August-December 1863.
January-June 1864.
July-December 1864.
January-April 1865.
May-June 1865.
July-December 1865.
January-April 1871.
May-August 1871.
September-December 1871.
January-March 1872.
April-May 1872.
June-July 1872.
August 1872.
September-October 1872.
November-December 1872.
January-March 1873.
April-September 1873.
October-December 1873.
January-April 1874.
May-July 1874.
August-December 1874.
January-March 1875.
April-May 1875.
June-July 1875.
August-December 1875.
January-March 1876.
April-July 1876.
August-December 1876.
January-March 1877.
April-May 1877.
June-July 1877.
August-September 1877.
October-December 1877.
January-February 1878.
March-April 1878.
May-July 1878.
August-September 1878.
October-December 1878.
January-March 1879.
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