STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN:
An Inventory of Correspondence Relating to the Minnesota Fur Trade and the Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Dispute at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | State Historical Society of Wisconsin, compiler. | |
| Title: | Correspondence relating to the Minnesota fur trade and the Minnesota-Wisconsin boundary dispute, | |
| Dates: | 1838-1850. | |
| Abstract: | Copies of the letters from the papers of John Catlin, Hercules L. Dousman, and John H. Tweedy in the State Historical Society of Wisconsin relating especially to the fur trade in Minnesota, the controversy concerning the location of the Minnesota-Wisconsin boundary, and other material relevant to the eastern portion of what became Minnesota Territory. | |
| Quantity: | 2 folders, containing 36 letters. | |
| Location: | P2311. |
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The 76 letters comprising this collection are photostatic copies of items in the papers of John Catlin, Hercules L. Dousman, and John H. Tweedy in the collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
The letters deal with a variety of topics relating to affairs in the areas of Wisconsin that eventually became the eastern region of Minnesota Territory. They include fur trade matters, Indian treaties and annuities, disputes over the Wisconsin-Minnesota boundary, mail routes, and the creation of Minnesota Territory, among other subjects.
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. State Historical Society of Wisconsin Correspondence Relating to the Minnesota Fur Trade and the Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Dispute. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.
Accession Information:
Accession number: 1810; 7542
Processing Information:
Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, September 1998.
Catalog ID number: 990017360430104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
| P2311 | 1838-1842. | ||||||||||
| All of the correspondence in this period is between Ramsey Crooks and Hercules Dousman and Ramsey Crooks and Henry H. Sibley. References are made to the treaties with the Dakota, Ojibwe, and Winnebago Indians in 1837 concerning the annuitites paid to the tribes under the treaty and to routine business concerns of the American Fur Company. | |||||||||||
| 1843-July 1848. | |||||||||||
| These letters give information on the controversy over the Minnesota-Wisconsin boundary line, particularly in the St. Croix River area. Most of the letters are addressed to John H. Tweedy, Wisconsin's representative in Congress. Frequent letter writers include William Holcombe, Stillwater, and George W. Brownell, Madison, Wisconsin. Two letters of March 4, 1848 contain information on proposed mail routes between Fort Snelling, Prairie du Chien, and Galena, Illinois. | |||||||||||
| July 1848-1850. | |||||||||||
| Letters written by Henry M. Rice to Hercules Dousman and referring to the fur trade, as well as a few from Pierre Choteau and Company. There is information on fur trade accounts, payment of annuities, and occasional references to the Minnesota-Wisconsin boundary dispute. | |||||||||||
| Letters of particular interest are dated March 7 and 10, 1849, from Henry M. Rice to Dousman, describing the passage of the bill creating Minnesota Territory and of possible political appointments made by President Taylor. Another letter, January 8, 1850, also from Rice to Dousman, describes Rice's purchases of goods in the East to be used in the Indian trade. | |||||||||||
RELATED MATERIALS
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:
- Boundary disputes.
- Dakota Indians -- Treaties.
- Fur Trade -- Minnesota.
- Fur Trade -- Wisconsin.
- Indians of North America -- Government relations, 1789-1869.
- Indians of North America -- Treaties.
- Ojibwa Indians -- Minnesota -- Government relations.
- Ojibwa Indians -- Minnesota -- Treaties.
- Patronage, Political -- Minnesota.
- Political conventions -- Minnesota.
- Postal service -- Minnesota Territory.
- Winnebago Indians.
- Places:
- Galena (Ill.).
- Minnesota -- History -- to 1858.
- Minnesota -- Politics and government -- to 1858.
- Minnesota Territory -- Boundaries.
- Prairie du Chien (Wis.).
- Saint Croix River (Wis. and Minn.).
- Stillwater (Minn.).
- Wisconsin -- History -- to 1848.
- Persons:
- Catlin, John, 1803-1874.
- Crooks, Ramsay, 1787-1859.
- Dousman, Hercules L. (Hercules Louis), 1800-1868.
- Holcombe, William, 1804-1870.
- Rice, Henry M. (Henry Mower), 1816-1894.
- Rolette, Joseph, 1781-1842.
- Sibley, Henry Hastings, 1811-1894.
- Tweedy, John Hubbard, 1814-1891.
- Organizations:
- American Fur Company.
- Pierre Choteau and Company.
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