ALGERNON SIDNEY WASHBURN:
An Inventory of His Family Correspondence at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | Washburn, Algernon Sidney, creator. | |
| Title: | Washburn family correspondence. | |
| Dates: | 1833-1882. | |
| Abstract: | Letters to Washburn, a Hallowell (Me.) banker, from several family members, especially his brothers Elihu Washburne, U.S. politician and statesman, and William Drew Washburn, a Minneapolis lumber and flour miller and a U.S. congressman and senator. | |
| Quantity: | 0.25 cubic feet (1 box). | |
| Location: | See Detailed Description section for shelf location. |
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
The two most significant letter writers in the collection are bothers Elihu Washburne, a politician and statesman from Illinois, and William Drew Washburn, a Minneapolis lumber and flour milling businessman. Elihu Washburn was born September 23, 1817 on a farm in Livermore, Maine. After leaving home at 14, he read law and moved to Galena, Illinois in 1840. Elihu was a member of the U.S. Congress (1852-1868), minister to France (1869-1877), an active Republican Party leader, and a friend of Ulysses S. Grant. He married Adele Gratiot (July 31, 1845) and died October 23, 1887 in Chicago. He added the "e" to his last name at the age of 14.
William Drew Washburn, Elihu's younger brother (born January 14, 1831), was born on the family farm and graduated from Bowdoin College (1854). He studied law and settled in Minnesota (1857) as secretary of the Minneapolis Mill Company, which had been organized by his brother Cadwallader Washburn. William served as federal surveyor general in St. Paul (1861-1865); was instrumental in the development of water power at St. Anthony Falls; engaged in the real estate business; founded the W.D. Washburn and Company flour milling firm (1878); and was a member of the U.S. Congress (1879-1885) and Senate (1889-1895). He married Elizabeth Muzzy of Bangor, Maine (April 19, 1859), and was active in many Minneapolis civic, social, and business organizations. William died in Minneapolis on July 29, 1912.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
Letters to Algernon Washburn, a Hallowell, Maine banker, from several members of his family, especially brothers Elihu Washburne and William D. Washburn.
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Washburn Family Correspondence. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.
Accession Information:
Accession numbers: 4813; 4977
Processing Information:
Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, July 1997
Catalog ID number: 990016913790104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
| Folder | |||||||||||
| P2235 | 1 | Undated, 1833-1851. 23 letters. | |||||||||
| Letters through 1839 are from his mother, father, and sister Martha, with information on family affairs; Elihu's teaching career; Martha's teaching experiences in Hallowell, Hermon, and Canton (Maine); social life; weather; and economic conditions, particularly in 1838. | |||||||||||
| Letters postdating 1839 are mostly from Elihu (Galena, Ill.). A printed circular (May 18, 1840) advertises the opening of his law practice in Galena, and also explains the addition of the letter "e" to his surname. There are enthusiastic reports of economic prospects in the West; discussion of his attempts to collect debts owed to Algernon by persons living in the area; and a description (Sept. 11, 1842) of his visit to Madison (Wis.), his meeting with Governor James D. Doty, and his impressions of him. Also of interest is a letter (November 30, 1841) containing a list of Galena merchants who will be visiting Boston. | |||||||||||
| Two letters from Israel, Sr. (March 27, 1842; May 6, 1850) contain family news, mention Cadwallader's activities, and discuss Israel, Jr.'s service in the Maine legislature, including impressions of Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and the Fugitive Slave Law. | |||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||
| P2235 | 2 | Letters from William D. Washburn: | |||||||||
| These 86 letters are almost all from William D. Washburn (St. Paul and Minneapolis). Most are brief and concern business loans from Algernon's bank in Hallowell. Letters from 1858 into the 1860s contain some data on Washburn's lumbering business on the St. Croix and Apple rivers in Wisconsin and the Rum River in Minnesota, concentrating mainly on the number of logs produced and sale of the timberlands. At the time he was living in St. Paul and working as federal surveyor general. He moved to Minneapolis in 1867, where he headed the Lincoln Mills Company, a lumber firm. | |||||||||||
| In the 1870s, there are increasing references to his flour milling enterprises, although he still retained his lumbering interests, particularly the sale of properties in Forest Lake (Minn.). | |||||||||||
| In general, the letters contain some information on family matters, financial reverses, growth of his flour milling company, wheat production in Minnesota, and related matters. Letters of particular interest include news of the death of his mother (March 27, 1861); letterheads of the surveyor general's office (1861-1865); the construction of his sawmill in Minneapolis (Aug. 21, 1864); a long detailed letter (Sept. 4, 1870) from his brother Elihu, minister to France, describing the formation of the Third Republic, with information on the ceremonies in the chamber of deputies, descriptions of the leaders, and the reactions of the citizens; a description of the prospects for selling of wheat and business losses caused by the Panic of 1873 (Oct. 5, 1873); and an illustrated letterhead of the W.D. Washburn Company, Minneapolis, depicting the sawmill (Feb. 9, 1874). | |||||||||||
| 1858-1868. | |||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||
| P2235 | 3 | 1869-1874. | |||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||
| P2235 | 4 | 1881-1882. | |||||||||
| Letters from Israel Washburn, president of the Rumford Falls & Buckfield Railroad Company (Portland, Maine), and Robert C. Washburn (Brunswick) with incomplete information on family finances. The final letter (July 27, 1882) was written by W. D. Washburn, while a member of Congress, to John Washburn (Minneapolis) relating mainly to Republican politics in Minneapolis and the necessity of maintaining party control there. | |||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||
| P2235 | 5 | Biographical information from published sources. | |||||||||
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:
- Banks and banking -- Maine -- Hallowell.
- Diplomatic and consular service, American -- France.
- Education -- Maine.
- Flour mills -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.
- Lumbering -- Minnesota.
- Lumbering -- Wisconsin.
- Panics (Financial) -- United States.
- Politics, Practical -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.
- Sawmills -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.
- Slavery -- United States.
- Places:
- France -- History -- Third Republic, 1870-1940.
- Galena (Ill.).
- Hallowell (Me.).
- Minneapolis (Minn.) -- Industries.
- Saint Paul (Minn.).
- United States -- Politics and government -- 1845-1861.
- Persons:
- Doty, James Duane, 1799-1865.
- Washburn family.
- Washburn, C. C., (Cadwallader Colden), 1818-1882.
- Washburn, Israel, 1784-1876.
- Washburn, Israel, 1813-1883.
- Washburn, William D., (William Drew), 1831-1912.
- Washburne, E. B., (Elihu Benjamin), 1816-1887.
- Organizations:
- Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- ).
- United States. Congress. House.
- United States. Fugitive Slave Law.
- Occupations:
- Businessmen -- Maine.
- Businessmen -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.
- Diplomats -- United States.
- Lawyers -- Illinois -- Galena.
- Legislators -- United States.
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