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Creator
Webster, William G. (William Greenleaf), 1805-1869
Call number
MssCol 3259
Physical description
3.5 linear feet (9 boxes)
Language
Materials in English
Preferred Citation

William Greenleaf Webster papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library

Repository
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

William Greenleaf Webster (1805-1869), an American editor and publisher, was the son of lexicographer Noah Webster. He participated in the editing, publication and sale of his father's dictionaries and other books. Collection consists of correspondence, business papers, diaries, writings, legal documents, family papers, photograph, and printed matter. Correspondence, 1820-1865, concerns family and personal matters, Noah Webster's estate, and the copyright, production and sale of his books. Business papers, 1833-1863, include legal agreements with publishers, account books and other materials documenting William G. Webster's role in promoting his father's works. Also, travel diaries, writings, autograph book, and genealogical items, including some correspondence and papers of his son C. Stuart Webster.

Biographical/historical information

William G. Webster was the son of lexicographer Noah Webster, and participated in the editing, publication, and sale of his father's dictionaries and other books. He lived in New Haven, Connecticut; Brooklyn, New York; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Lafayette, Indiana. Webster graduated from Yale in 1824 and travelled in Europe during the 1820s. He married Rosalie E. Stuart of Virginia in 1831. Their two sons, W. Eugene and C. Stuart were both killed in the Civil War, Eugene in the Confederate Army and Stuart on the Union side. William Guoand Rosalie Webster subsequently divorced; Webster's second wife was Sara Appleton.

Scope and arrangement

Webster's papers consist of personal, family, and business letters and documents dating from his years at Yale through the end of his life.

The William Greenleaf Webster papers are arranged in four series:

  • I Correspondence

    Consists of letters Webster received (in some instances letters are addressed to Noah Webster) concerning family and personal matters, Noah Webster's estate, and the copyright, production, and sale of Noah Webster's books. Correspondents are family members, friends, Yale classmates, and business associates. Principal correspondents are: John Curtis, a friend and possibly a business partner; William Wolcott Ellsworth (1791-1868), lawyer, Connecticut congressman (1829-1834), Governor of Connecticut (1838-1842), and husband of William's sister Emily; Rosalie Stuart Webster; sons Stuart and Eugene Webster; and sister and brother-in-law Julia (Frances Juliana) Webster Goodrich and Chauncey Allen Goodrich. A few letters from William's mother Rebecca Greenleaf Webster are included in the general correspondence. Also included are drafts of a few of William's letters, travel documents from the 1820s, and some legal documents.

  • II. Business Papers

    Business papers in the collection document William's role as a copyright holder, editor, publisher, and seller of Noah Webster's books. Included are letters from and, in some cases, legal agreements with publishers George F. Cooledge, New York, 1843-1857; F. J. Huntington and Huntington and Savage, Hartford, Connecticut and New York, 1843-1854; N. & J. White and White and Sheffield, New York, 1833-1860 (including letters addressed to Noah Webster); and G. & C. Merriam, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1846-1863. Also, letters and legal documents from partnerships to which William belonged for the purpose of publishing and selling the books: Webster and Clark, New York, 1843 (including an unsigned document by Noah Webster granting power of attorney to the partnership), and Corey, Fairbank and Webster, Cincinnati, 1835-1836 and 1841-1842.

  • III. Accounts and Account Books

    Accounts consist of twelve small account books, ca. l820s-1860, and loose bills and receipts, 1824-1859. The expenses documented are largely personal. One account book, 1849, belonged to S. Webster of New Haven.

  • IV Additional Personal and Business Papers

    Some additional personal and business papers consist of: two diaries; writings; legal documents; obituaries; an autograph book; a Webster genealogy and coat of arms; prospectuses and clippings of reviews of Webster's dictionaries, 1840s-1880s; a carte de visite photograph of Stuart Webster; a bankruptcy certificate, 1803, of James Greenleaf of Philadelphia; a letter from Octavia Southgate to Horatio Southgate, July 1, 1804, relations of the Websters; and correspondence and military papers, 1845-1862, of Stuart Webster.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Received from Ford Collection.

Processing information

Accessioned by J. Miller, December 23, 1988

Using the collection

Location

Manuscripts and Archives Division
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328

Alternative form available

Diaries, 1824-1825, available on microfilm; New York Public Library