Columbia Manuscript Collections

Last will and testament made out February 26, 1852, in Jackson County, Missouri, by Charles Younger.

Grant of 40 acres of land near Fayette, Missouri, by order of Franklin Pierce.

Copy of legal instrument authorizing collection of notes for Tootle and Armstrong, a mercantile firm in St. Joseph, by Joseph Murphy.

To H.C. Lennox from St. Louis, Missouri, January 25, 1857.  Concerning deposit of funds with Everts, Wilson and Company by R.P. Knapp in his own name for Frank M. Hathorn, claims on funds by Knapp's creditors, and request for money from Hathorn.

Letter to her aunt and uncle from Ray County, Missouri, March 15, 1857. Description of the weather, comments about crops, and family news. An added note by a sister, Lucinda.

To his family in Virginia from northern Missouri, Feb. 28, 1858. Comments on Native American problems, educational facilities in Missouri, family matters, and mention of the “Mormon or Utah war.”

For Knox County, Missouri, land, originally in the possession of Eber H. Tucker and sold at auction by Amos Poe to D. Tucker and Zachariah Lear, October 27, 1860. For Knox County, Missouri, land sold by Tucker to Zachariah Lear, February 25, 1864.

To [Benjamin F.] Loan, Lexington, Missouri, from Jefferson City, Missouri, Oct. 29, 1862. Reporting succession speech of Sample Orr and requesting approval of Sumner’s action in restricting Orr to Jefferson City.

Letter from an unknown soldier to mother and father from Camp Muligan, Lexington, Missouri, Nov. 21, 1862. Tells of scouting trips, daily activities, and the election in Pleasant Hill.

To Isaac Feback from Independence, Missouri, December 20, 1862. Letter from a Unionist telling of the distrust between North and South.

Deed of Emancipation for Charlott, an enslaved woman, March 26, 1846. Hugh Dunbar, the enslaver, freed her for $1.00.

To Freeman Hall, Matinicus, Maine, from St. Louis, Missouri, September 9, 1866. Describes St. Louis in 1866-working conditions, climate, farming, and arrival of President Johnson, Seward, Wells, Grant, and Farragut. Comments on Johnson’s administration.

The organizational records of the Missouri Library Association consist of by-laws and constitutions, correspondence, financial and membership records including account books, journals and ledgers, handbooks, miscellaneous newsletters and other publications, minutes and reports, newspaper clippings, promotional materials, programs, resolutions, photographs, and scrapbooks.

To John T. Hoffman, Albany, New York, from St. Louis, Missouri, Sept. 17, 1870. Request for appointment as delegate to convention to be held in Cincinnati. Also includes a photograph of Henderson.

Howard County land deeded to Winchester Davis by his parents, Joseph and Sarah E. Davis.

A brief statement of the circumstances leading up to the adoption of the provisions relating to railroads in the constitution of 1875 by the assistant counsel, Missouri Public Service Commission. Written in the early 1940s for the Constitutional Convention.

Petition for incorporation and constitution.

To Wells-Fargo Company, from Denver, July 1885. Introducing George A. Hughes of Richmond, Missouri.

To Mr. Lankford, Marshall, Missouri, from Audrain, Bates County, Missouri, August 2, 1885. Letter from a Confederate brigadier general to a friend, giving his reasons for the Civil War.

Certificate issued by the University of Missouri for completion of course in double-entry bookkeeping.

Sample ballot for the Missouri general election, 1892, showing the candidates for the Democratic, Republican, Prohibition, People's and Independent parties.

To Mrs. Pearson, from Fayette, Missouri, Nov. 29, 1894. Short note referring to some material Mrs. Pearson sent him. Probably Kate Pearson of Fayette, Missouri.

Photocopy of privately printed edition of diary kept while traveling to California to mine gold in 1852. Includes scattered entries for years Lobenstine was in Volcano and Camp Secco, California, as a miner and, later, a merchant. Entries from April 20 to July 1, 1858, describe his return to the East via the Isthmus of Panama and his intent to settle in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Two letters to his granddaughter, Laura Benton, telling of hard times in 1896, prices at the feed store, and members of the family.

Notice of public auction of miscellaneous property by Thomas Todd, signed by Samuel C. Major.

Petition signed by thirteen farmers from the Gayoso, Missouri, area requesting supplies from Merchant’s Exchange, St. Louis, Missouri, because of flood conditions. They suggest supplies be sent by Jasper Landers, Gayoso wharf master.

To J.C. Schuerman, Ithaca, New York, from Columbia, Missouri, September 21, 1906. Asks the president of Cornell University about the cost and use of the university library. Answers noted on original by G.W. Hains and returned.

Two certificates registering the company in the office of the Secretary of State of State of Missouri, dated July 20, 1918, and July 10, 1919.

One abstract of title containing all the instruments of writing which affect the title of a section and a half of land in Dent County, Missouri, from 1860 to 1929. Prepared by the Bennett Abstract Company, Salem, Missouri, November 15, 1929.

Letter from Senator Bennett Champ Clark of Washington, D.C., to Frederick G. Middlebush, President of the University of Missouri in Columbia, dated December 14, 1937.

To John C. Westover, Columbia, Missouri, from Springfield, Missouri, April 18, 1941. Describes work being done in the gathering of data concerning M. Jeff Thompson, genealogy work of the Utah Genealogical Society, and the acquisition of a diary.

Letter from John Phillips of Boston to Samuel Gray dated November 28, 1793. The letter concerns a deed for land purchased by Jeremiah Clark, Jr.

Grant of tract of land in Botetourt County, Virginia, to David Bailey by John Page, governor of Virginia.

To James Jones Family, High Hill, MO, from Moons Bluff, MS, Mar. 24, 1836. Discuss living conditions, weather, and local gossip.

To Robert Ridgley, Upper Alton, Illinois, from Boston, Massachusetts, November 10, 1837. Describes local conditions to his brother.

To P.H. Winchester, Carlinville, Illinois, from Albany, New York, November 15, 1841. Concerning the payment of a pension.

To Edward Hoffman, St. Louis, Missouri, from Black Rock, New York, Feb. 26, 1849. Letter to his son discussing construction of the Erie Canal near Buffalo, New York, and topics of general interest.

Itemized expenses for move to St. Louis, MO, from New York, 1815. Diary, 1826-1830, enumerating visitors and overnight guests while family lived in Bonhomme, St. Louis County, MO. Copies of daguerreotypes of Justus and Eliza G. Post.

Typed copy of a letter written by Nathaniel Lyon to G[eorge] A. Tisdale, Sackets Harbor, New York, from Monterey, California, April 30, 1850. Letter tells of a prospective trip to northern California and Oregon to handle conflicts with Native Americans. Also mentions the issue of slavery and local amusements.

To his wife Mary, from Hangtown or Placerville, California, August 11, 1850. Work, prices, and conditions in the gold fields around Placerville.

Typescript copy of a letter describing a gold mining town in California, with mention of cholera, prices, and friends.

To William Montgomery, Carrollton, Missouri, from Weberville, California, March 11, 1851. Written to his brother by a young miner in the California gold fields, concerning his returning home.

Dr. Allen describes a trip from Missouri to Oregon City: cholera plague on Great Plains, loss of possessions in blizzard, difficulty in keeping order in wagon train, and rescue by Oregon City citizens. Cost of housing, food, and farm products. Description of land, farming, gold mining, lumbering, and other industries and businesses.

Typescript copy of a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Winchester Payne, Cass County, Missouri, from Santa Clara, California, Sept. 16, 1853. Dr. Headen tells of crops, prices, local conditions, and family affairs. Reports what some emigrants had told him about their trips to California.

“To all whom these presents may come,” from Bethany, Virginia, October 15, 1853. A recommendation of Rebecca E. Jones as a teacher.

Two letters from Thomas A. Spalding to his brother in Missouri, written from California during the gold rush.

Appointment as deputy postmaster at LaSalle, Illinois, by Abraham Lincoln.

The papers contain one letter from Thomas Mee to his wife. Mee was a soldier with the 2nd Regiment, East Tennessee Volunteers, stationed near Murphreesboro, Tennessee. He talks of the horrors of the battle near Murphreesboro and predicts a greater one in Chattanooga, where he expects to be sent. Also included is a certificate of service showing Mee died at Andersonville Prison in 1864.

To James A. McQuitty, Missouri, from Childress Store, Montgomery County, Virginia, March 13, 1872. Description of economic conditions in Virginia.

To John Bruce, Montgomery, Alabama, from Washington, D.C., April 30, 1877.  Inquiry concerning charges made by John H. Purness against U.S. Commissioner Isaac Heyman and others.

To Phillip Lucas Lester, Missouri, from Montgomery County, Virginia, January 12, 1879. Discusses settling their father’s estate and includes legal procedures of the time.

Letter from J. D. and Kate Wood of Challis, Idaho, to his uncle and aunt, Joseph and Elizabeth Wood of Putnam County, Missouri, November 14, 1883. Discusses mining activities, living conditions, and the education of their sons.

Letter from M. C. Henslee of Vancouver, Washington, to John Power of Modena, Missouri, April 4, 1901, regarding family news and fruit crop conditions.

Diary kept by Addie Henry Reick of a trip from Seattle, Washington, to Ophir, Alaska, May 1 to June 30, 1910. Reick wrote the journal for relatives and friends in Missouri. A map showing the route is filed with the diary.

The records of the Shake Rag Cemetery contain the names and birth and death dates from tombstones located in Shake Rag, also known as Pleasant Hill, Cemetery, in Macon County, Missouri.

The Missouri Church Records consist of newsletters, conference proceedings, reports, directories, journals, and other publications of various religious denominations in Missouri including the Methodist, Baptist, Disciples of Christ (Christian), Presbyterian, and Catholic churches.

Letter from Elinor P. Thompson of New Orleans, Louisiana, to John C. Westover, of Camp Clairborne, Louisiana, November 7, 1941. The letter describes the activities of M. Jeff Thompson after his settlement in New Orleans. It also provides a description of New Orleans and describes the Thompson family papers.

Letter from Maggie Burnside to Matilda Girdner of Alexandria, Ohio, March 21, 1863. The letter describes sugar making and raising money and provisions for Union soldiers with a "Soldier's Supper." Also describes resistance to the conscription bill.

To F.D. Davis, from Pittsburgh Landing, Tennessee, April 21, 1862. Describes the Battle of Shiloh.

To Francis Walker, Edinburgh, from London, England, April 29, 1808. Thank you for renewal of a bill. Mentions visit to Bath and return to London for meeting of Parliament.

To Allie Minter, LaBelle, Missouri, from Alvinston, Ontario, February 5, 1890. Gives an account of a Scotch wedding.

To F.M. Hutchinson, Missouri City, Clay County, Missouri, from Spain, December 3, 1911. Written by a political prisoner from a castle fort in Alicante, Spain, requesting Hutchinson to become guardian for his daughter.

Medical charts for the premier of Japan for period after he attempted suicide upon Japan’s surrender. Includes photographs.

Constitution of the Belleview Sunday School Society, Washington County, Missouri, of which the Hopewell Sabbath School was a member. List of subscribers to the school, rules and regulations, membership in each of the schools of the Belleview Society, list of books used, and attendance and achievement records of pupils.

Letters from church workers in Japan to the Parkville, Missouri, Presbyterian church class. Class record book containing minutes, roll, and accounts. Miscellaneous materials, financial statements for 1915 and 1917, tribute to a class member, and excerpts from ordinances of Parkville, 1884.

Charter and constitution of the Young Men's Christian Association, Independence, Missouri, June 18, 1887.

Minutes of annual meetings of 1883, 1889, and 1892 of the association of Ralls and Shelby Counties, Missouri.

One military land grant to Minerva Estes at Jackson, Missouri, June 2, 1854, signed by Franklin Pierce; two land titles to Minerva Estes of Wayne County, Missouri, October 10, 1856, signed by Franklin Pierce, and January 1, 1859, signed by James Buchanan.

Plans and descriptive material pertaining to new additions for sale: Garth, 1899; Guitar, 1903; Beasely, 1904; Fyfer, 1907; Stewart, 1910; Westwood, 1916; Park Hill, 1927; and others. Financial report of Water and Light Company, 1904-1906, and a picture of John Belcher's store on Broadway in the 1880s.

Includes an address delivered March 28, 1841, by the Rev. J.L. Yantis, at the examination of the pupils of Columbia Female Academy, and an 1853 catalogue.

“The Party Spirit,” given at the University of Missouri commencement, June 11, 1872. “The Church of My Childhood,” given at the Presbyterian church, Boonville, Missouri, April 12, 1933. Johnston was on the faculty of Kemper Military School.

The St. Joseph Lead Mining Company Papers consist of a positive photostat of a Spanish land grant for an area that was later purchased by St. Joseph Lead Mining Company. Also included is an illustrated booklet, compiled by J. Wyman Jones, detailing history of the company.

The papers of the Missouri State Council of Defense contain reports on the organization and activities of the Council on relief, home defense, aliens, industry, labor, engineering, publicity, and supply and conservation of food. There are copies of correspondence and bulletins published by the Council. Topics discussed are recruits, farm labor, food, Patriotic Day, crops, loans and war funds, collecting waste junk, insurance, and posters.

Bills of sale, deeds, and reports concerning the company; ferry operator's license; and minute book containing records of the directors' and stockholders' meetings.

Minutes of directors' and stockholders' meetings, 1917-1927, for an electric street railway system. Adjudged bankrupt in 1927, it operated under the Referee in Bankruptcy. The company was sold by order of the Federal Court in 1930 and ceased operation. Includes a record of loans, a scrapbook, and information on final court actions in 1931.

The papers of a bacteriologist and teacher, including correspondence, notes, and other material. Information on disease research, health organizations, other scientists, World War I army life, the University of Wisconsin in 1914, and the effects of World War II on Columbia, Missouri.

Prescriptions, as received from doctors, filled by J.B. Brown and Company, Hannibal, Missouri.

The records of the W.E. Bard Drug Store contain prescriptions filled over the course of one year at a Sedalia, Missouri, drugstore.

Accounts of a harness and machine repairman, probably near Clinton, Missouri. The name of Warren Bronaugh appears throughout the book.

Account books of a Chariton County, Missouri, tobacco company, with offices at Brunswick and Triplett, giving amounts of shipments, accounts payable to tobacco growers, and financial accounts of the company.

The papers contain business records of the owners of the Laclede-Bircher Hotel and farms in St. Louis, Missouri, and Civil War documents for the St. Louis Central Guard, Missouri State Militia. Also contains a record of school funds, 1851-1852; account of the City of St. Louis Fire Department, 1866-1867; and an account of the German American Bank, 1888-1894.

Roll 1 contains volume 1, March 14, 1898-July 14, 1918, in German. Roll 2 contains volume 2, July 28, 1918-January 1, 1940, in English. Labor-management relations, beer production prohibition, participation in politics, international union policy and relations with other trade unions; World War I, American Socialist Party, Eugene V. Debs, and Tom Mooney.

Membership, minutes of business meetings, minutes of Board of Officers' meetings, financial records, pledges, and assessments.

Leases of a coal mine, the Hoover Bank, to D.W. Coonce in 1881, to Richard W. Perrin in 1884, and to James A. Paisley in 1878.

Contract for rebuilding a barn and a lease for a farm with Richard Bught. Also a list of law books ordered by Johnson in 1880.

The papers contain correspondence, clippings, minutes of meetings, and a city ordinance of this organization.

The papers contain letters to the U.S. Commissioner of Patents about various agricultural subjects in Missouri. Most of the letters were written by Henry Ancrum in 1849. Also includes article on grape culture in Missouri by George C. Swallow, 1857.

The papers of a merchant, lawyer, judge, and builder in Kentucky and Hannibal, Missouri, consist of correspondence relating mainly to business interests; financial and legal documents such as receipts, promissory notes, contracts, and legal briefs; and account books.

The collection contains price lists of G.C. Hixon & Company, of Hannibal, Missouri, 1869 and 1879; Judson Lyon, St. Joseph, Missouri, 1881; and I.M. Howell & Company, Atchison, Kansas, 1881. Also includes a statement of lumber shipments in 1894 and logging costs to various towns on the Mississippi River.

Telegrams to the DEMOCRAT about King Edward VIII's abdication; Franklin D. Roosevelt's recommendations to Congress, 1937; Martin Johnson's death; the wreck of Amelia Earhart's plane; and the death of Queen Marie of Romania.

List of merchandise bought from James Aull by Woodson Manion, 1837-1842. Article of agreement on the sale of land signed by Robert Aull, Samuel Owens, I.S. Allen, Wm. H. Russell, S.W. Waddell, and Alexander M. Ramsey. I.O.U. blanks. A deed of Robert Aull, 1841.

Correspondence and other papers pertaining to construction of the bridge at Boonville. List of officers, subscribers, toll charges, and agreement adopted by board, July 25, 1921. T.A. Johnston was president, W.B. Nowell and John Cosgrove were vice-presidents, H.C. Neef, Secretary, and R.G. Hadelich, Treasurer.

Directories of February 1906, February 1907, October 1907, October 1908, and April 1909. There is some advertising on the covers.

Statements of uncollectible accounts at Brookfield, Linneus, Marceline, and Unionville, Missouri, and correspondence in connection with them. Also a statement of receipts and expenditures.

Annual report to the mayor, city council and citizens of Columbia on activities and needs of the commission.

The papers contain affidavits of loss, policies, treasurer's reports, constitution and by-laws, and receipts of a Howard County, Missouri, insurance company.

The records contain photostatic copies of minutes of trustees’ and stockholders’ meetings and business records of the academy.

The papers contain materials of a young ladies' school, including, fifth annual catalogue, 1860; commencement exercises, 1861-1864; exhibitions of Eunomian Literary Society, 1860-1864; and advertising circulars.

The papers contain an address entitled "Hardin College and its Founders," delivered September 12, 1898; a letter to secretary of Pike County Historical Society regarding that society's work, and one photograph of Clark in later years.

Minutes of board meetings. Cover formation, operation, and finances of the school. Purpose of the school was to give young girls a means of gaining a livelihood by sewing or other appropriate work. School was organized and operated by church women.

The records of Elmwood Seminary contain account and record books, papers, and correspondence of a Presbyterian girl's school in Farmington, Missouri.