Columbia Manuscript Collections

The papers of the Bird Family contain data on the Bird family and their property in Hannibal, MO.

The collection contains a letter to J.T.F. Thompson, giving information pertinent to the claim of Samuel Tilley.

The papers of Edward C. Davis contain photostats of an oath of office and bond of Edward C. Davis, superintendent of common schools in Missouri.

The papers of the Missouri Peace Society contain a bank pass book and three vouchers for the Missouri Peace Society.

The collection contains an incomplete set of photostats of the Missouri Constitution, 1865, including an ordinance for obtaining the votes of Missouri soldiers on the Constitution and a proclamation of Governor Thomas C. Fletcher declaring the constitution adopted.

Record book of the Wright family, including stud records, coal sales, and the register for a Columbia, Missouri tavern operated by Peter Wright.

The collection contains photostats of a contract between Jefferson and three colleagues to make a party to go to California and search for gold. It outlines specific responsibilities to one another.

Proclamation forming the Arkansas District of the Louisiana Territory and appointing district officials.

Proclamation altering the boundary between the New Madrid and the Cape Girardeau Districts of the Louisiana Territory.

Personal accounts with various merchants.

Tickets to Missouri Medical College lectures.

Death notice of Matilda Todd, widow of Roger N. Todd, Columbia, MO.

Copy of Aiken's birth certificate, the first issued in Missouri; photograph; and newspaper clipping.

English translation of Gert Goebel's LONGER THAN A LIFETIME IN MISSOURI completed by Martin W. Heinrichsmeyer in 1956.

Bill for printing election notice in the LEXINGTON WEEKLY UNION, September 10 through November 5, 1864, and stating that it had been done.

Proclamation of the governor convening the constitutional convention of 1922-1923.

Information about John Hutchings, delegate from Washington County to the first Missouri Constitutional Convention, 1820.

Sketch of the St. Louis skyline from the Chain of Rocks Park, 1943.

Minutes of public meeting to plan Lathrop dinner, list of committee members, and resolutions.

Envelopes sent to various members of the Callaghan family; receipts.

Papers about the annual meetings of the Press Association: agendas, lists of participants, and information discussed.

Brief history of the Missouri Teachers' Academy which was founded in 1886.

To D.K. Abeel, Kansas City, MO, from St. Louis, MO, Feb. 20, 1880.

Political maneuvering in Missouri for General Grant's presidential candidacy in 1880. Organization and influence of St. Louis German vote, the WESTLICHE POST, Emil Preetorius. State politics, particularly party positions. Also typed copy.

Summary of speeches and discussion at a Democratic Party picnic. Buckner, MO, September 16, 1876. Typed copy included.

Correspondence from Missouri, Tennessee, and North Carolina, but primarily of the Walter R. Lenoir family in Boone County, MO, describing the life of early settlers, prospects for Missouri, and growth of Columbia. Education, farming, land, slaves, churches, and family are also discussed.

Letter to Mrs. Stanwood in Hopkinton, NH, from her cousin Hamilton P. in St. Charles, MO, describes fashion and society in St. Charles and discusses family and friends.

Clippings from the KANSAS CITY TIMES on the death of H.S. Sturgis, Neosho newspaper publisher, and remarks by Connaway.

Certificate of appointment as assessor of internal revenue for the sixth district of Missouri, signed by Andrew Johnson.

The collection contains a photostat of an appeal bond in the case of Hugh McClintick vs. Daniel Boone and William Hall for trespassing, August 10, 1789. The original is in Huntington Library, Pasedena, CA.

Two letters written by Mrs. Silliman to relatives from Warrensburg, MO, during the Civil War. She describes social conditions at the time and how [her son] evaded the draft.

Letters written by Brouster to his family in St. Louis County, MO, while on an overland trip to the California gold fields in 1850 and while mining for gold in various parts of California.

Letters of a young lawyer from New Hampshire who settled in Missouri. Describes traveling to Missouri, establishing himself, working the court circuits and growth of his family. Also a letter from his father-in-law about the family.

To J.H. Marmon, Liberty, MO, from Platte City, MO, Feb. 24, 1863. Written to her father, the letter discusses the Civil War, particularly jayhawkers and marauding bands. Mentions conscription and health of various family members.

To his wife from "Thomas," Nov. 14, 1862.

Discusses guerrilla activities, bushwhacking, and the possibility of enlisting in the Missouri Militia, as well as family affairs and future prospects.

List of Lutheran emigrants who left New York and arrived in the village of Wittenburg, Perry County, MO, in 1839.

Original in the possession of the donor.

List of Lutheran emigrants who came to Perry County, MO, by way of New Orleans in 1839.

Original in the possession of the donor.

Printed in the Fayette ADVERTISER, 13 October 1931.

List of workers and contributions in number of days of work, October and November 1852, and August 1853, of members of the Martin Stephan emigration of German Lutherans to Perry County, MO.

Checks, deeds, promissory notes, and invoices, primarily of residents of Lafayette County, MO. Lafayette County election returns, 1844 and 1860.

Copy of bill of sale for Isaac, an enslaved boy, who was sold by Dennis Callahan to William Callahan for $600 in Bath County, Virginia, on January 20, 1819.

The papers of Abraham Baldwin contain handwritten copies of letters from Obadiah Crawford, Jared Mansfield (1759-1830), and Samuel Hammond (1757-1842) to Abraham Baldwin, U.S. Senator from Georgia. The letters discuss the situation in the Louisiana Purchase territory. Originals are in possession of the University of Georgia. Copies were made by Dorothy B. Dorsey.

The collection contains a copy of a letter to Thomas Carr, from St. Louis, MO, Oct. 23, 1807, to his uncle discussing political difficulties in Louisiana Territory, family news, and his engagement to the daughter of Dr. Aron Elliott of Ste. Genevieve, MO. Original in possession of the University of Georgia.

The collection contains a diary, in German, with translation by William G. Bek, 1945. The diary documents Buegel's career as a soldier in Company F, 3rd Regiment, Missouri Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War, including battles of Camp Jackson, Wilson's Creek and Springfield, and Sherman's march to the sea.

The collection contains letters, receipts, and army passes from the Civil War, and miscellaneous material of the Gregory, Haley, and Wood families of Sullivan County, Missouri, including letters from California; an obituary of Elijah M. Gregory; pictures and history of Boonville, Missouri; a description of Locust Street in Boonville about 1840; and undated genealogies of the Gregory, Haley, and Wood families.

The collection contains a muster roll and oath of allegiance and parole of honor of Captain Paul F. Thornton.

The collection contains a letter concerning the censure of Gentry's Missouri troops in the Seminole War and the appointment of Gentry's mother as a postmistress.

The collection contains two dollar lottery ticket for L.D. Sine's 19th Grand Annual Gift Enterprise, St. Louis, MO, January 6, 1873.

The papers of Abraham Hunter contain miscellaneous appointments and commissions.

The collection contains photostats of the passenger list of the ship LOGAN, arriving in New York 20 June 1833, John Atkins, master. The list gives names, ages, sex, profession, and nationality of the passengers. Many Germans listed Missouri as area of intended settlement.

The collection contains a diploma in medicine from the University of Pennsylvania. Vaughan practiced medicine in Glasgow, MO, from 1839 until 1864.

The Pommer Family papers contain genealogical information, documents in German, a deed for a lot in Hermann, MO, and estate papers. The material pertains primarily to Frederick William Pommer and William Henry Pommer. The latter taught music at the University of Missouri, 1907-1922.

The collection contains a fragment of muster roll of men from Caldwell County, MO, 1861; a penciled list of names, July 1864, of Caldwell County militia, possibly those pursuing Thraillkill (Confederate) Raiders; and a letter from Bertha Booth explaining the muster rolls.

Elsa Nagel's 1971 English translation of Gert Goebel's LANGER ALS EIN MENSCHENLEBEN IN MISSOURI for the State Historical Society of Missouri.

The collection contains a handwritten diary entitled "Memorandum of a Tour--Spring 1830." The diary describes a two-month trip from Boston to New York, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. The diary includes comments on city layouts, the decay of Monticello, slavery, southern hospitality and the temperance movement in the South.

To Historical Society, Columbia, MO, from St. Joe, AR, Feb. 16, 1947.

Letters recalling a conversation between his father, John Wesley Rogers, and a soldier guarding the body of General Nathaniel Lyon who was killed 10 August 1861 at Wilson's Creek.

The collection contains Lademann's commission as 2nd lieutenant, Company F, 3rd Regiment, Missouri Infantry, signed by H.R. Gamble.

The collection contains a deed to 80 acres of land in Nodaway County from William Russell to Julia Ann Russell for the sum of $100, 13 October 1864.

The collection contains a letter to L.S. Goodno, Braintree, VT, from Rocheport, MO, Nov. 12, 1843, describing Lyman's activities in Missouri and discussing the slavery question.

The collection contains a letter to G.O. Hardeman, Gray's Summit, MO, from Pattonville, MO, Mar. 24, 1882. The letter discusses the whereabouts of a letter written by Thomas Hart Benton to Smith's father, containing an account of Benton's duel with Charles Lucas. Smith acknowledges a large collection of Benton letters in his possession.

The collection contains an unsold certificate of one share of capital stock for the publication and sale of the NEW TOPOGRAPHICAL AND SECTIONAL MAP OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, by John T. Fiala, St. Louis, MO.

The papers of Eleanor Ann King contain letters written to Eleanor Ann King after she was arrested as a Confederate Spy, and imprisoned in the Female Prison at St. Louis, MO. The collection also contains photographs of Eleanor Ann, her first and second husbands--J.M. King and William Pennington Ferrell--and her children.

Invitation to the formal opening of the Illinois and St. Louis Bridge. Invitation contains lithograph of bridge.

Register includes names of members and probationers in the Versailles Circuit, Jefferson City District, Missouri, how and when received and disposed of--whether by death, certificate, withdrawal, or expulsion--and some baptism and marriage records.

Four receipts of the Masonic Hall Association for T.M. Barron, signed by J.T. Donaldson, Ferdinand Meyer and E. Gardner Obear.

Appointment by Alexander McNair of Abraham Hunter as justice of the county court of Scott County, MO, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Richard Mathew.

Memorandum book; notes on MISSOURI vs. MOSES MC LELLAN; tax receipts; accounts; notice of sheriff's sale of land and slaves in Richmond, Ray County, MO; oath of loyalty of Ringo, exemption from military duty, 1862; military passes; and promissory notes.

Deed of John Patee to Bela M. Hughes of the Pony Express stable sites in St. Joseph, MO, May 5, 1860. From the Buchanan County, MO, recorder's office.

Contract between the company and the citizens of St. Joseph, MO, by which the citizens of St. Joseph provide offices and lands to the express company as part of the agreement for mail services.

Act to incorporate the National Loan Bank of St. Louis, MO, certified by Francis Rodman, secretary of state. Individuals incorporating the bank were Chauncey I. Filley, William McKee, Truman Woodruff, Thomas O'Reily, Stephen Ridgley, Christian Garrell and Antony Niedermeiser.

Letter from Surgeon General, U.S. Army, stating that there are no volumes of the first part of the MEDICAL AND SURGICAL HISTORY OF THE WAR available. Glover's comments.

To Ellis G. Evans, Crawford County, MO, from Frenchman's Bar, Yuba County, CA, Oct. 27, 1850. Letter to his brother describing the hardships of the journey across the plains to the California gold mines. Tells of Indian attacks, shortages of water and food, and difficulties along the Humboldt River.

Certificate of appreciation presented to Knight for his service in the Iowa Volunteer Infantry, 47th Regiment, Company C, during the Civil War. Printed form includes signatures of Abraham Lincoln and Edwin M. Stanton.

Brief history of Cumberland Presbyterian Church traces major events from founding in 1826 to 1865, when church records were lost. Alphabetical list of church members, both black and white, from 1865. List of pastors to 1897. The Cumberland Presbyterian Church merged with the First Presbyterian Church in 1913.

Four ledger sheets of church records dating from 24 May 1891 to 25 November 1894. Begins with the founding of the church in Nelson, Saline County, MO, by order of New Lebanon Presbytery with ruling elders from the Salt Fork Congregation. They organized a Presbyterian church known as the Nelson Congregation with the Reverend T.S. Love as pastor.

Letter announcing a renewed fight against the Bank of the United States.

Constitution of the State of Missouri, pages 1 and 29 only. Original in the archives of the U.S. Senate. Constitution is in the handwriting of William G. Pettus.

Information concerning John Buckner and his slave, Abe, their service in the Civil War, and settlement in Scotland County, MO, in the 1870s.

To C.F. Jackson, Oct. 3, 1857. Letter discussing at length the necessity of salaries to attract good Missouri Supreme Court judges; combating the growing discussion of emancipation of the slaves; Missouri politics; and the completion of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad.

To Isaiah and John Townsend, Albany, NY, from St. Louis, Jan. 17, 1831.

Letter describing his steam saw mill, and giving information about St. Louis and state of Missouri in general.

To Krekel Dillon Wilbanks, Mt. Vernon, IL, from St. Louis, MO, Jan. 13, 1915.

Letter about an article in the ST. LOUIS REPUBLIC on Filley's reminiscences of emancipation in Missouri. Article contained several errors of fact on the Missouri Convention of 1861-1863, which Wilbanks had pointed out.

Deed to a tract of land in township 62 of Adair County, MO, dated November 15, 1855.

Envelope addressed to Floyd C. Shoemaker on the 90th anniversary of the Pony Express, St. Joseph to Sacramento.

Deeds to two tracts of land in township 62, Adair County, MO, 8 July 1868 and 20 May 1888.

Certificate granting Livergood, of Edwards County, IL, eighty acres of land, signed by J.Q. Adams.

Minutes of meetings, July 10, 1900-December 10, 1901.

Merchant's ledger of rents and accounts settled.

Report card from Baptist Female College for the month ending 19 October 1866.

Family history, Civil War, and a journey west by wagon train in 1865.

Papers of James McKinsey with explanatory letter from his granddaughter, Nell Deskin. Two notes entered into with Randolph County for the use and benefit of the common schools, and note of Hattie G. Johnson entered into with the Moberly Bank.

Journal of a trip from Camp Missouri to Chariton kept by Gabriel Field from October 31 to November 27, 1819, for Colonel H. Atkinson. Journal includes detailed directions and observations of the area. Two maps of route.

To Luther M. Kennett, St. Louis, MO, from Washington, D.C., Nov. 8, 1853.

Letter to president of the St. Louis and Iron Mountain Railroad, regarding the right of way through the government grounds at Jefferson Barracks.

The collection contains a Missouri state lottery ticket, 14 May 1868, for the benefit of New Franklin, and an unidentified railroad bond for $3.00 of which the upper portion is missing.

The papers of Peter Bass contain a deed of Peter Bass transferring a tract of land in Jefferson City to Azariah Kennedy. The collection includes a lace cutout, possibly part of the decorations at the governor's ball celebrating the formal opening of the state capitol.

The collection contains a farewell letter to relatives in Paris, MO, from Palmyra, MO, Oct. 18 and 19, 1862, written from the federal military prison in Palmyra on the eve and morning of the day he was to be executed.

The papers of J.W. Barrett contain a receipt to J.W. Barrett for $500 from John T. Robinson, April 3, 1855; a letter from Barrett to George W. McClellan, Second Assistant Postmaster-General, regarding mail service from Palmyra to Keokuk, March 1, 1864; a proof of publication for tax suit, 1879; miscellaneous membership cards and passes; and a letter from Jesse W. Barrett to F.C. Shoemaker explaining the material.

The collection contains miscellaneous papers pertaining to the establishment of Jefferson County, including papers establishing Herculaneum as the county seat, 1818; division of the county into townships, 1819; and a petition for removal of county seat from Herculaneum, 1826.

The collection contains Civil War correspondence of George W. and Alexander Black of Company E, 21st Regiment, Missouri Volunteers, with members of their family; the correspondence concerns their deaths; family news and business letters.

The George Hubbert Papers contain text of an address given by George Hubbert at a 4th of July picnic in Neosho in 1875 and apparently revised in 1881.

The Maria Dodd papers contain two internal revenue licenses permitting Maria Dodd to operate a hotel in Ralls County; as well as an account sheet.

The collection contains certificates of bounty land in Missouri granted for military service. Inventory with collection.