LEVI N. COUNTRYMAN AND FAMILY:
An Inventory of Their Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | Countryman, Levi N. (Levi Nelson), 1832-1924, creator. | |
| Title: | Levi N. Countryman and family papers. | |
| Dates: | Undated and 1855-1930. | |
| Abstract: | Diaries, correspondence, genealogical correspondence, newspaper articles, photographs, and miscellaneous materials of Levi N. Countryman, a farmer who emigrated to Minnesota in 1855 and settled near Hastings. | |
| Quantity: | 2.05 cubic feet (5 boxes, and 1 oversize folder containing 1 item). | |
| Location: | See Detailed Description section for shelf locations. |
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Levi Countryman was born July 11, 1832, in LaFargeville, New York. He moved to Hartsville, Indiana (circa 1848-1850) where he taught school and attended Hartsville College. On March 21, 1851 he married Alta Chamberlain, and in 1855 they moved to Hastings, Minnesota for reasons relating to Levi Countryman's health. In Minnesota he farmed in Dakota County; attended and graduated from Hamline University, Red Wing, in 1861; was mustered into Company D, Second Minnesota Regiment (February 7, 1865) and mustered out (May 2, 1865); and returned to farming in Nininger, Dakota County. Later Levi Countryman was employed in the farm implement business, primarily with the Buffalo-Pitts Company, where he worked and headed the Fargo, North Dakota branch from 1883 to 1892 when he moved to the Minneapolis branch where he worked until his retirement on July 31, 1907. Levi Countryman died in Minneapolis on March 29, 1924.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
Levi Countryman's interests in education, religion, farming, and his family are reflected in his papers. There is information on school districts in the city of Nininger, Hamline University, and Countryman family history. His papers include a handwritten constitution for the Dakota County Agricultural Society and copies of many newspaper articles he wrote on a variety of topics. There is an extensive series of letters (1881-1890) written to his daughter Gratia while Levi Countryman was working away from his family, primarily in North Dakota.
Also includes biographical information on Levi's brother Peter F. Countryman, who lived and worked in Dakota County, Minnesota, and an advertisement for his business Tozer & Countryman.
ARRANGEMENT
These documents are organized into the following sections:
| Biographical Information | ||
| Correspondence | ||
| Miscellaneous Materials | ||
| Newspaper Articles | ||
| Volumes | ||
| Photographs |
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Levi N. Countryman and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.
Accession Information:
Accession number: 6142; 16,011
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).
Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, April 2004; Anne Levin, December 2004; Jennifer Huebscher, April 2011.
Catalog ID number: 990017320460104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P2591 | 1 | Countryman, Chamberlain, and Truax families from the 1860 Minnesota Census. | |||||||||||
| A typed copy of family listings from the 1860 Minnesota Census schedules, Dakota County. Also includes the William G. LeDuc family. | |||||||||||||
| Civil War records for Levi and Peter F. Countryman, 1865. | |||||||||||||
| A typed copy of the Second Minnesota Regiment, Company D muster roll data for Levi and Peter F. Countryman from Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars, Vol. 1, p. 131. | |||||||||||||
| "L.N. Countryman Retires," 1907. | |||||||||||||
| An article announcing Levi Countryman's retirement from the Buffalo-Pitts Company. Photocopied from the magazine, Farm Implements, Vol. XXI, no. 7, p. 16-16A (July 30, 1907). | |||||||||||||
| L. N. Countryman obituaries, March 29-30, 1924. | |||||||||||||
| Photocopies of two obituaries printed in the Minneapolis Journal. | |||||||||||||
| Peter F. Countryman biographical sketch. | |||||||||||||
| Photocopy of a biographical sketch in the History of Dakota and Goodhue Counties, Minnesota, Vol. 2, p. 518 (1910). The sketch notes Peter F. Countryman's partnership with I. B. Tozer in a grocery business in Hastings, Minnesota (circa 1875-1883). | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P2591 | 4 | Alta Chamberlain materials, circa 1885-1915. | |||||||||||
| Contains correspondence, photographs, and a family tree. | |||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous biographical materials of Levi Countryman. | |||||||||||||
CORRESPONDENCE
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P2591 | 1 | General Correspondence, undated and 1881-1890. circa 120 items. | |||||||||||
| Handwritten correspondence of Levi Countryman, primarily to his daughter Gratia, with a few letters to his daughter Lana. There are also a few letters written by Alta Countryman. Levi's letters were written initially from Reed's Landing, Minnesota and then primarily from North Dakota where he worked for the Pitts Agricultural Works as a traveling salesman and manager. | |||||||||||||
| Genealogical Correspondence, undated and 1901-1910. | |||||||||||||
| Letters to Levi Countryman from his sisters Lany (Lana) Truax and Martha Countryman of Hastings, Minnesota; cousin Norman W. Countryman of New York State; nephew A. D. Countryman of Appleton, Minnesota; and from Henry S. LeRoy of New York State, with data on the Countryman and Diefendorf families. | |||||||||||||
| Miscellany, undated. 6 items. | |||||||||||||
| Includes notes on and lists of Countryman family names (1763-1789) and (1850-1879); a list of Bush family names and dates (1830-1899); and information on the Revolutionary War service of George Countryman (1786-1798). | |||||||||||||
| Correspondence of Lany (Lana) Truax and Martha Countryman, 1901-1902. | |||||||||||||
| Letters from his sisters with information on family genealogy and current family activities. Levi's sister Lany was married to Daniel B. Truax who also lived in Dakota County, Minnesota. | |||||||||||||
| Correspondence with Henry S. LeRoy, 1908-1909. | |||||||||||||
| Six letters (October 10, 20, and 27 and November 9 and 30, 1908; and March 30, 1909) from LeRoy contain information on the Diefendorf family and its relationship to the Countrymans; marriages, births, and deaths of the Adam and Elizabeth Diefendorf family (1793-1813), the Conrad and Catherine (Miller) Countryman family (1790-1841), and the George Christianman (Diefendorf) Countryman family (1748-1878); and a report from Canadian sources on Jacob Countryman, a Loyalist during the American Revolution, who emigrated to Canada in 1776. | |||||||||||||
| Correspondence with Norman W. Countryman, 1908-1910. | |||||||||||||
| Three letters (October 7, 1908, December 26, 1908, and February 4, 1910) from Levi's cousin Norman W. Countryman detail information on the family in New York State; Revolutionary War artifacts in the family's possession; and the location of the Diefendorf family records in New York State. The letter of December 26, 1908 mentions his acquaintance with Charles Evans Hughes, then governor of New York, and later chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. | |||||||||||||
| Correspondence of A. D. Countryman, November 12, 1908. | |||||||||||||
| His letter contains information on the Revolutionary War record of George Countryman. Attached to the letter are copies of war records of George Counterman [?], and Conrad Cunderman [?] in New York regiments and a handwritten copy of the New York State Census (1790) listing the Countrymans living in Albion and in Ulster County. The latter two items appear to have been prepared by Henry S. LeRoy. | |||||||||||||
| A. D. Countryman was the son of Levi's brother, Peter F. Countryman. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P2591 | 5 | Miscellaneous correspondence, 1876-1924. Circa 35 items and 2 notebooks. | |||||||||||
| Includes letters from Levi Countryman to various members of his family. Two notebooks feature letters that were not sent. | |||||||||||||
| Letter to Alta Countryman, 1906. | |||||||||||||
MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P2591 | 1 | List of names, undated | |||||||||||
| An unidentified list of names, including Ignatius Donnelly. | |||||||||||||
| Constitution of the Dakota County Agricultural Society, [March 1858]. | |||||||||||||
| The handwritten document states that the Society was organized to "...promote and improve the agricultural, horticultural, mechanical, household, and fine arts of Dakota County..." It was signed by Levi Countryman and 5 other persons. | |||||||||||||
| The document may have been written by Levi Countryman. It is undated, but a newspaper article dated March 20, 1858, supplied the date. (See folder of newspaper articles in the collection). | |||||||||||||
| "The Northwest - Its Future Development - Its Present Value to the Poor Man Seeking a Home," [1868?]. 50 pages. | |||||||||||||
| A handwritten speech delivered by Levi Countryman extolling the virtues of Minnesota and detailing the growth and prosperity of Minnesota and the Northwest in relation to a number of factors: agriculture; the state's central location and its proximity to the Great Lakes, the Red, Mississippi, and St. Lawrence rivers; good soil, climate, waterpower (St. Anthony Falls), lumber trade, railroads, and scenery; and the moral vision of its inhabitants. | |||||||||||||
| The approximate date of the document was determined by a statement on page 35, "...in 1850 eighteen years ago..." | |||||||||||||
| Poem, March 3, 1869. | |||||||||||||
| A printed booklet of W. W. Rich's Poem, which was "read before the alumni of Hamline University at Red Wing, Minnesota, March 3d, 1869." | |||||||||||||
| Dedication Speech of the New School at Rich Valley, [1871?]. 22 pages. | |||||||||||||
| A handwritten transcript of a speech by Levi Countryman dedicating a school in Rich Valley, Dakota County, Minnesota. Countryman states his philosophy of the importance of education in scientific and economic progress; the growth of democracy and freedom; crime prevention; comparisons between countries with good educational systems and those lacking them; the federal government's support of education through the designation of public land for schools and its effect on Minnesota. The last unnumbered page [p. 22] has information on crime and education; religious schools; and opposition to the teaching of religion in public schools. | |||||||||||||
| On page 2 mention is made of the defeat of France during the Franco-Prussian war, and the Paris Commune, 1871. The cataloger used that information to assign the date to the document. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P2591 | 4 | Miscellaneous speech materials and writings. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P2591 | 5 | Miscellaneous Levi Countryman materials. | |||||||||||
| Includes miscellaneous correspondence, some of which is related to genealogy, photographs, speeches, a brief biography, articles, clippings, and a copy of a land grant. | |||||||||||||
| +284 | Advertisement: "Tozer & Countryman, Dealers in all kinds of Groceries, Green and Dried Fruits, Flour & Feed, Boots, Shoes & Notions, Glass, Stone & Wooden Ware, No 2 Vermillion Street, Hastings, Minn." [circa 1875-1883]. 1 leaf. | ||||||||||||
| I. B. Tozer and Peter F. Countryman were proprietors of this establishment, and Peter was associated with it from 1875 to 1883. | |||||||||||||
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P2591 | 1 | Newspaper Articles, 1855-1885. | |||||||||||
| Photocopies of newspaper articles by Levi Countryman. The majority are dated 1855-1859 and were written by Countryman primarily for the Emigrant Aid Journal, published initially in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and then in Nininger, Minnesota, and the Religious Telescope, published in Dayton, Ohio. The articles contain information about the Minnesota climate, geographic features, agriculture and similar topics; anti-Catholic sentiments (December 10, 1855); cures for lung disease (1856); description of his trip from Hastings to St. Anthony Falls (November 6, 1856); negotiations leading to Minnesota statehood (March 11, 1857); on the Five Million Dollar loan to railroads (undated, 1858); minutes of the Dakota County Agricultural Society (March 20, 1858); description of a trip to the Cannon River Valley (July 24, 1859); and throughout, articles with information on the cultivation of various crops. | |||||||||||||
VOLUMES
Diaries, July 11, 1858-November 14,
1862.
| Three small diaries (handwritten originals and typed transcripts) of Levi N. Countryman containing brief daily entries with information on his farm routine, reading materials, family life, observations on religion, and related topics. | |||||||||||||
| The original diaries are handwritten in ink, the pages numbered, and the writing legible. In volume 2, the ink is fading from pages 190-243, though they are still readable. Typed transcripts have been made of each of the diaries. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P2591 | 2 | Volume 1, Typed Transcript, July 11, 1858-October 31, 1859. 4 folders. | |||||||||||
| Volume 1 consists of short entries, containing information on the weather; the planting and harvesting of crops on Levi's farm near Nininger; mention of friends, acquaintances and family members in the area; church services, visiting clergy, almost daily mention of the state of his religious inclinations, his desire to enter the ministry, and sermons he preached at various times; school teaching experiences; dissension with his wife Alta over religion; change of denominations from Methodist to Congregational; and their financial situation. | |||||||||||||
| Pages 1 through 266 are numbered in the typed transcript of Volume 1. The rest are unnumbered (entries for August 2-October 31, 1859). | |||||||||||||
| Some entries of interest are: | |||||||||||||
| July 11, 1858. | |||||||||||||
| First entry, with statement on Levi's 26th birthday, and on his resolve to record all events. | |||||||||||||
| July 16, 1858. | |||||||||||||
| Hired for six months to write articles on agriculture for the Nininger newspaper. See newspaper clippings folder for some of these articles. | |||||||||||||
| July 19, 1858. | |||||||||||||
| Wrote the constitution and bylaws of the Dakota County Agricultural Society. | |||||||||||||
| August 9 and September 7, 13, and 14, 1858. | |||||||||||||
| Entries relating to money owed him by Ignatius Donnelly. | |||||||||||||
| November 2, 1858. | |||||||||||||
| His father's 73rd birthday. | |||||||||||||
| November 16 and 22, 1858. | |||||||||||||
| Starts teaching at district school at $100 for three months, and mentions the subjects he will teach. | |||||||||||||
| December 30, 1858. | |||||||||||||
| Mention of a woman doctor in the area, Dr. Susan Baker. | |||||||||||||
| February 8, 1859. | |||||||||||||
| Describes a lecture by Ignatius Donnelly: "Composition in Writing as an Indication of Character." | |||||||||||||
| March 27, 1859. | |||||||||||||
| His eighth wedding anniversary. | |||||||||||||
| June 2-6, 1859. | |||||||||||||
| Congregational Ministers' Association meeting at River Falls, Wisconsin. | |||||||||||||
| September 4, 1859. | |||||||||||||
| Joined Congregational Church. | |||||||||||||
| September 16, 1859. | |||||||||||||
| Dakota County Fair with James Fields as speaker. | |||||||||||||
| October 11, 1859. | |||||||||||||
| Voted Republican in election. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 2, Typed Transcript, November 1, 1859-October 1, 1861. 8 folders. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 2 is similar in form and content to volume 1. There is information on routine farm life, family affairs, visits with friends and neighbors, religious services, and Countryman's six weeks at Hamline University, Red Wing, to receive his B.A. degree. Not found in this diary are the frequent references to his religious state that were found in volume 1. There is more emphasis on his daily routine and farm life. | |||||||||||||
| Some entries of interest are: | |||||||||||||
| December 8-23, 1859. | |||||||||||||
| Chosen to sell subscriptions to the Northwestern Farmer and his trips to accomplish this. | |||||||||||||
| December 19, 1859. | |||||||||||||
| Mentions the execution of John Brown, and approval of his actions. | |||||||||||||
| January 4, February 4, and June 24, 1860. | |||||||||||||
| Wrote articles for the Telescope. | |||||||||||||
| February 14, 1860. | |||||||||||||
| His wife Alta's birthday. | |||||||||||||
| March 27, 1861. | |||||||||||||
| A daughter Ethelda was born | |||||||||||||
| April 14, 20, 22, 26 and July 22-24, 27, 1861. | |||||||||||||
| Brief mention of Civil War actions. | |||||||||||||
| April 23 and 24, 1861. | |||||||||||||
| His brother John S. enlists. | |||||||||||||
| April 24, 1861. | |||||||||||||
| Student unrest at Hamline University because of the war. | |||||||||||||
| May 3-June 20, 1861. | |||||||||||||
| Entries describing his life at Hamline University, with information on courses, teachers, readings, examinations, commencement exercises, and descriptions of Red Wing. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P2591 | 3 | Volume 3, Typed Transcript, October 1, 1861-November 14, 1862. 5 folders. | |||||||||||
| Volume 3 consists mainly of references to the weather, farm work, books read, his membership in a singing society, references to religion, and from July to November, details on his work in helping other farmers with harvesting and shipment of produce to market. The shortage of available men due to the war made it necessary for Countryman and other to aid in the harvest. Entries from October 1 through November 14 are weekly summaries. The entries also reveal his lessening interest in religion and frequent bouts of depression, and his decision to leave farming. | |||||||||||||
| Some entries of interest are noted below: | |||||||||||||
| December 13, 1861. | |||||||||||||
| Description of a visit to Trout Brook, about 12 miles from Hastings, to look at property for a Mr. Cecil. | |||||||||||||
| December 25, 1861. | |||||||||||||
| Christmas celebration. | |||||||||||||
| January 1, 18; April 9; July 22, 23; August 9, 25-21; September 1-6; and October 5-11, 1862. | |||||||||||||
| Mention of Civil War actions. And news of the Emancipation Proclamation on October 5-11, 1862. | |||||||||||||
| August 17-24, September 1-6, and September 22-28, 1862. | |||||||||||||
| Brief mention of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. | |||||||||||||
| August 9, 16, and 25-31; September 6-28; September 29-October 4; October 12-19; and October 27-November 2, 1862. | |||||||||||||
| Describes his work harvesting on the LeDuc farm. | |||||||||||||
| March 21, 1862. | |||||||||||||
| A trip to Hudson and Prescott, Wisconsin to look at land. | |||||||||||||
| June 10-11, 1862. | |||||||||||||
| A Sunday School convention in Red Wing, Minnesota. | |||||||||||||
| February 6, 7, 10, 11, and July 6, 1862. | |||||||||||||
| His attendance at singing school. | |||||||||||||
| October 19-26, 1862. | |||||||||||||
| Unsuccessful trip to St. Paul to look for employment. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 1, Original Diary, July 11, 1858-October 31, 1859. 1 volume. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 2, Original Diary, November 1, 1859-October 1, 1861. 1 volume. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 3, Original Diary, October 1, 1861-November 14, 1862. 1 volume. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P2591 | 4 | Index Sheet for Diaries, circa 1946. | |||||||||||
| Two packets of 5 inches by 8 inches index sheets, prepared by Marjorie Fryckberg, of information in the Countryman diaries. The index sheets are fragile. | |||||||||||||
| Persons and places. 1 packet. | |||||||||||||
| Arranged alphabetically. | |||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous. 1 packet. | |||||||||||||
| Contains many entries for Sabbath schools and singing schools. | |||||||||||||
Miscellaneous volumes
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P2591 | 4 | Journal, 1913-1918. | |||||||||||
| Includes drafts of sermons, letters, and speeches. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P2591 | 5 | Journal, 1854-1887. | |||||||||||
| Includes journal entries, letters, and records of accounts and expenses. | |||||||||||||
| Journal, circa 1872. | |||||||||||||
| Includes drafts of stories and editorials, some of which were published. | |||||||||||||
PHOTOGRAPHS
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P2591 | 4 | Photographs of Levi Countryman and his family. 12 photoprints: b&w; 6 x 9 inches and smaller. | |||||||||||
| Photo album. 31 cartes-de-visite: b&w; 6 x 5 x 1.2 inches. | |||||||||||||
| Portraits identified in album. | |||||||||||||
| Ambrotype and tintype of Levi and Alta Countryman. 2 photoprints: b&w; visible oval images 2.25 x 2.75 inches, in case 3.25 x 3.75 x 1 inches . | |||||||||||||
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:
- Agriculture -- Minnesota.
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Minnesota.
- Religion.
- Schools -- Minnesota -- Dakota County.
- Places:
- Hastings (Minn.).
- Nininger (Minn.).
- Persons:
- Countryman, A. D.
- Countryman family.
- Countryman, Gratia A. (Gratia Alta), 1866-1953.
- Countryman, Martha.
- Countryman, Norman W.
- Countryman, Peter F., 1829-1906.
- LeRoy, Henry S.
- Rich, W. W. (Watson Wellman), 1841-1903.
- Truax, Lany Countryman.
- Organizations:
- Dakota County Agricultural Society (Dakota County, Minn.).
- Hamline University.
- Types of Documents:
- Diaries.
- Photographs.
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