Found 38 collections related to Statesmen

Several letters written by Swiss-born American statesman and educator Albert Gallatin. Letters are both professional and social in nature, and include an 1808 letter to President Thomas Jefferson relating to the Embargo Act of 1807; a biographical sketch written at the request of autograph collector Lewis Cist, and two letters to Joseph Gales and William Winston Seaton, editors of the National Intelligencer relating to the publication of his essays on "the Oregon Question." less

Papers generated by Samuel Huntington in his capacities as Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, president of the Connecticut Convention, and congressional delegate. Material includes resolutions; commissions for justices of the peace and militia officers; and outgoing letters to General Henry Knox, Governor William Livingston, Senator Stephen Mix Mitchell, and others, pertaining to the ratification of the state constitution and other official matters. Several autographs are also included less

Collection consists of correspondence, speeches, and documents signed by Hancock in his capacity as president of the Continental Congress and governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Letters are largely outgoing and most pertain to his official duties in the Continental Congress, including several letters to Col. Jeremiah Powell in the days leading up to the Battle of Rhode Island, expressing great distress at the desertion of the French fleet under Admiral d'Estaing. Several bills and accounts dating between 1753 and 1771 relate to the building and fitting out of ships for Hancock during his mercantile career. One oversize folder contains a letter dated October 17th, 1777 pertaining to an order to send more clothes to the troops, and references enclosures from General Washington so convincing that the Assembly would see that "the troops are in the greatest distress, and likely to suffer still more from the indemnity of the approaching season," though the enclosures are not present less

Letters written between 1790 and 1827 by American statesman John Eager Howard from his Baltimore estate, Belvedere, to fellow Maryland statesman Virgil Maxcy. The letters cover political, financial, social, and familial matters, including the purchase and sale of slaves and the signing of deeds of manumission; Howard's observations of the War of 1812; a yellow fever epidemic in Baltimore; and the laying out of city streets. Several letters include bills or receipts less

Collection of three letters signed collectively or individually by Richard Penn (approximately 1736-1811) and Arthur Lee (1740-1792) while representing American interests in England. In July 1775, Richard Penn was entrusted by the Second Continental Congress with the delivery of the "Olive Branch Petition" to King George III after contacting colonial agents there, including Arthur Lee. Two letters are addressed to "Hon[ora]ble Sir" (presumably John Hancock, President of Congress) and concern the delivery of the petition to the British government. An autograph letter (4 p.) signed by Arthur Lee at Middle Temple, London, 1775 August 28, describes the delay due to the absence from town of Lord Dartmouth (Secretary of State for the Colonies). Lee shares his views on foreign reaction to American affairs and condemns the character of Thomas Hutchinson and Andrew Oliver, Massachusetts loyalists. A letter (1 p.) signed by Penn and Lee dated London, 1775 September 2, reports on the delivery of the original petition to Lord Dartmouth the previous day. Dartmouth promised to deliver it to the King, but told them "as his Majesty did not receive it on the throne, no answer would be given." Also present is an undated autograph letter (1 p. with integral address leaf) signed by Richard Penn at London to a Mr. Chambers, in which he states "I had rather convince one Honest Man of the Justice of the American Cause than ten Thousand Macaronies," for which purpose he encloses a pamphlet less

Pedro de Nava was commander general of the Provincias Internas, the northern frontier of the Spanish colonies in America. The collection consists of original incoming letters and copies of Nava’s outgoing letters relating to explorer Pedro Vial’s efforts, 1792-1793, to find a route from Santa Fe to what is now St. Louis, Missouri (San Luis de los Ylinueces, or Saint Louis of the Illinois, in Spanish Louisiana), as directed by Fernando de la Concha, governor of New Mexico. Pedro Vial (d. 1814) was a French frontiersman who had earlier explored Southwestern routes for the Spanish government. Concha informs Nava of the journey, enclosing his attested copies of instructions given to Vial, which is acknowledged by Nava. Correspondence between Nava and the Count of Revillagigedo (1740-1799) the Viceroy of New Spain in Mexico, concern the status of Vial’s journey in the company of two other men, his past work, and the possibility of other travels. The papers contain two copies of Vial’s journal. There is a secretarial copy dated 1793 March 27 (15 p.) of Vial’s journal of events from 1792 May 21 to October 7 including his captivity with the Canses (Kaw) indians, as forwarded to Nava by Revillagigedo. A journal (32 p.) spanning 1792 May 21 to 1793 November 16, possibly signed by Vial himself, includes his return journey from Saint Louis to Santa Fe. Entries record distances traveled, routes, encampments, and encounters with Native Americans and others. Also present are two letters concerning Vial written by Zenon Trudeau, commander at Saint Louis, as copied by Concha. A letter from Revillagigedo to Nava dated 1794 January 29 acknowledges receipt of a copy of Vial’s journal covering his entire journey. In Spanish. less

James Barbour (1775-1842) was a Virginia planter and political figure. Collection consists of letters to Barbour chiefly on political and public affairs, and letters from Barbour to family members and others. Correspondents include John Quincy Adams, John S. Barbour, Henry Clay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and Richard Rush. less

Henry Laurens (1724-1792) was a South Carolina merchant, plantation owner, and Revolutionary-era statesman. The collection of Henry Laurens letters and documents, 1769-1792, includes letters written by him to Lachlan McIntosh, 1769; to his son John Laurens, 1775; to Thomas Wharton, Caesar Rodney and William Alexander while President of the Continental Congress, 1777-1778; and to Benjamin Vaughan, dated 1782 April 2 at Exeter, England, regarding a meeting with Lord Shelburne. An oversize letter to William Carmichael, 1778 February 24, asks for payment of his account with Matthew Lock, written on verso, for sums paid on behalf of the Marquis de Lafayette. Letters to Henry Laurens are chiefly from his former secretary Moses Young, captured with Laurens on their voyage to Holland in 1780, regarding Young’s attempts to obtain payment from Congress for his services. Laurens’s brief notes on his conversation with John Adams at Haarlem on April 15, 1782 (1 page), and two clipped signatures are also present. Items are in chronological order. less

Henry Clay, Sr. (1777-1852) was a lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives. Collection consists predominantly of letters from Clay, or written on Clay's behalf, to various associates and colleagues. Also included are transcripts of correspondence between Clay and Adam Beatty, and miscellaneous material relating to Henry Clay memorials and memorial societies. Some items are negative photostats or facsimiles less

John Ten Eyck Lansing, Jr. (1754-1829) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician. He disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1829. The John Lansing, Jr. papers consist mainly of letters received from prominent business and legal figures of the day, including Rufus King, Theodore Sedgwick, Stephen and Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, Eilardus Westerlo, and Jellis Fonda. Many letters are from his brother-in-law, Cornelius Ray. Also present are financial and legal documents including wills, indentures, land patents, invoices, and passports relating to members of the Lansing, Livingston, Ray, and Van Rensselaer families less

Samuel Chase (1741-1810) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland. The papers consist of a small quantity of letters from Chase to various individuals, as well as two bills and a political cartoon less

Various documents created or endorsed by William Franklin, son of Benjamin Franklin, in his capacity as Royal Governor of New Jersey, including a warrant for a provincial treasurer's salary; a marriage license, a law license, a request to pardon one Mary Van Buskirk, and a fair copy of an extensive letter from Franklin to the Earl of Dartmouth, dated Perth Amboy, 1776, relating to the state of politics and government in the Province of New Jersey, and noting that the majority of people in the provinces of New Jersey and Pennsylvania "are greatly averse to an independency." less

George Walton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was an American soldier, lawyer, and judge. He served briefly as a U. S. senator for Georgia in Congress, was Chief Justice of Georgia and also a justice of the Superior Court, and was twice governor of the state. A letter written to Augusta lawyer Seaborn Jones (1759-1815) while a senator at Philadelphia, 16-17 February 1796, discusses matters pending in Congress, including proposed legislation, relations with Native Americans, and foreign treaties. Also present are several legal documents, 1783-1791, signed by Walton as Chief Justice or Superior Court justice, and two clipped signatures. less

Benjamin Walker (born 1753 in London) was an American soldier, land agent, and U.S. representative from New York, 1801-1803. He served as aide-de-camp to Friederich Wilhelm von Steuben and George Washington during the Revolutionary War, and was appointed Naval Officer of Customs for the port of New York in 1789. Walker also worked as a land agent for William Duer and for the Pulteney Estate. He moved to Utica, New York in 1797 where he died in 1818. Letters to and from Benjamin Walker, in chronological order, pertain mostly to land transactions and commissions. Correspondents include Patrick Colquhoun of London and William Duer, referring in part to funding German settlers for Genesee lands in New York. Wartime communications, 1782-1783, include two letters to Captain Pierre-Etienne Du Ponceau. An undated letter in French from Baron von Steuben asks Walker to write a letter in English to the Governor of New Jersey for his signature, and mentions efforts to influence Haring, probably Cornelius Haring, agent of confiscated land in Bergen County. Former Army officer William North advises Walker of the death of a friend, 1806, and an 1820 letter concerns Walker's estate. Other items include a certificate of customs duties paid by the Brig Caroline, signed by Walker in 1795, and a letter from Rufus King concerning the documentation of imports, 1796. less

Alexander Johnston (1775-1849), British statesman, was advocate-general of Ceylon. Collection consists of papers concerning the government, history and customs of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), especially the establishment of land revenue, 1800-1817. Includes letters to Johnston as chief justice; transcripts of rules and orders of the Dutch consistory at Batavia, 1643; memorial, 1740, by Gustaaf van Imhoff to the new governor; letters, 1790s, to William Jacob van de Graaf, Governor of Ceylon; journals describing the exploration of Tangella, 1800, and a journey from Colombo around Ceylon, 1805; minutes, 1817, of the governor relating to land tenure and agriculture; and seven slips of palm leaf containing writing in Tamil and Telugu characters. less

Ten letters to Thomas Tillotson (d.1832), physician and politician, who twice served as New York State Secretary of State between 1801-1808. Nine are from kinsmen Robert R. Livingston, Edward Livingston, Brockholst Livingston, and John Armstrong, Jr. Letters are addressed to him at Albany and Rhinebeck, New York and largely pertain to state and national politics and government. Robert R. Livingston’s December 13, 1787 letter at New York touches broadly on Constitutional developments, international affairs, and family matters. The majority of the items concern the contested presidential election of 1800, tied between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, and its aftermath. An 1812 letter from E. Jenkins describes Aaron Burr’s recent appearance as a lawyer in court at Albany. Two small letter fragments are also present. less

John Dickinson (1732-1808) was an American lawyer and politician. Dickinson authored a series of essays published as Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, the Articles of Confederation, and drafted the Olive Branch Petition with Thomas Jefferson. He served as a delegate from Pennsylvania to the First and Second Continental Congresses, and as president of both Pennsylvania and Delaware. The papers consists of letters, 1774-1788 and 1802, from Dickinson; the transcript of an undated address given after his election as president of Pennsylvania; and several autographs. The letters generally relate to political and administrative issues, and include one dated 1774 to Charles Thomson urging him to write his associates in Boston to "avoid Blood or tumults." Other recipients include the Executive Council and Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the Governor of Connecticut (Jonathan Trumbull), diplomat Arthur Lee, Mathew Carey, and John Vining. One letter to Noah Webster, dated 1786, discusses Webster's writing. less