1789

Morse, Jedediah, 1761-1826

Book signed

Title: The American Geography / By Jedediah Morse

8vo. Signed on titlepage by George Washington with his engraved heraldic bookplate. Contemporary calf. With two fold-out engraved maps, as issued. Athenaeum Catalog (1897) p. 506 (item 161 in the GW's estate inventory), mentions that it was once owned by Senator Hearst of Washington.

GLC00176

August 15, 1861

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Autograph letter signed

Title: to George H. Penfield

Abraham Lincoln directs Penfield to supply ordnance and cavalry arms by contract to P. B. Fowke's regiment. Penfield had an existing contract to supply the government with ordnance.

GLC00183

17 July 1942

George VI, King of the United Kingdom, 1895-1952

Document signed

Title: Pardon of Harry James Gardiner

Printed document. Convicted of an offense against the National Service Act.

GLC00173.11

September 19, 1816

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826

Autograph letter signed

Title: to James Fishback, Lexington, KY

Jefferson denies a statement attributed to him that he had heard atheism discussed by French bishops at a table. Fishback, a Kentucky minister and politician, maintained that "by corruption in religion" all of Europe had "gravitated into atheism." Jefferson denies having declared that, "in Paris, atheism was the common table-talk of the French bishops." He admits having perhaps said "'I had heard the doctrines of atheism maintained at table in mixed company,'" but adds "never by a bishop nor even in presence of a bishop." Some letters lost when opening the letter. Ink on the letter is…

GLC00180

September 19, 1796

Washington, George, 1732-1799

Autograph note

Title: Printed Farewell address with autograph note (written on Claypoole's Advertiser)

Printed copy of Washington's farewell address in Claypoole's Advertiser. Washington has added manuscript notes to his copyist for copying: "The letter contained in this Gazette addressed to the People of the United States is to be Recorded -- and in the order of its da[te.] [Pointing hand] Let it have a blank page before & after so as to stand distinct as it were. -- Let it be wrote with a letter larger & fully [sic] than the common recording hand -- and where words are printed with capital letters it is to be done so in Recording this letter -- and where other words that are printed…

GLC00185

05 November 1862

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Document signed

Title: [Presidential pardon of Daniel Barry who, in the District of Columbia in March 1860, had been convicted of arson].

Pardoned by Abraham Lincoln because he is an old soldier who has lost a leg in the service of the United States, because he was previously a law-abiding person, because he has served out most of his sentence, and because Judge James Dunlop, who presided at his trial, has recommeded him to Lincoln for his executive clemency. Countersigned by William H. Seward.

GLC00187

January 20, 1937

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945

Typed document signed

Title: Second Inaugural Address of Franklin D. Roosevelt

Signed by Roosevelt at the end. Address delivered at the Capital, Washington, D.C., 20 January 1937. Stresses the idea of creating a better world through economic morality. Presents progress, not stagnation, as a way to improve the lives of Americans. "I see a great nation, upon a great continent, blessed with a great wealth of natural resources ... I see a United States which can demonstrate that, under democratic methods of government, national wealth can be translated into a spreading volume of human comforts hitherto unknown ... " Stresses American post-depression strength and…

GLC00196.01

8 January 1936

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945

Typed document signed

Title: [Speech to Democrats]

Signed at the end. References the problems President Andrew Jackson faced during his administration and how he handled them. Talks about letters he has received from families and businesses pledging their support and encouragement for him. Discusses problems the party and the nation are facing. Remarks, "We are at peace with the world; but the fight goes on. Our frontiers of today are economic, not geographic. Our enemies are the forces of privilege and greed within our borders."

GLC00196.02

February 21, 1936

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945

Typed document signed

Title: [Broadcast speech for Brotherhood Day]

Press release of Roosevelt's speech which he broadcasted on the evening of 23 February 1936, a day designated as Brotherhood Day by the National Conference of Jews and Christians. Notes that it cannot be released to newspapers until 8PM, 23 February 1936 by order of Stephen Early, Assistant Secretary to the President. Roosevelt calls for unity and religious tolerance.

GLC00196.04

March 3, 1864

Chase, Salmon P. (Salmon Portland), 1808-1873

Letter signed

Title: to Alexander Sankey Latty

Chase, Secretary of the United States Treasury, discusses Judge Latty's recommendation of Mr. Huyck "for a commission in the colored regiment." States he will refer the recommendation to Edwin McMasters Stanton, Secretary of War. Predicts that Huyck "will receive a commission in accordance with his merits." Written on Treasury Department stationery.

GLC00197

December 6, 1838

Van Buren, Martin, 1782-1862

Manuscript letter signed

Title: to the Senate of the United States

Instructions for complying with the act of July 1, 1836 concerning a bequest made by James Smithson to the United States government. Asks Congress to attend to properly fulfilling the object of the bequest. Informs that last July the Secretary of State was directed to obtain information from persons in the science and public education fields for their opinions on how to best use the funds. Includes copies of the circular letter with the results of these directions for Congress to review (not present). The bequest was eventually used to establish the Smithsonian Institute in 1846.

GLC00198

March 14, 1868

Lee, Robert E., 1807-1870

Autograph letter signed

Title: to J.C. Underwood

Writes to Judge Underwood of the U.S. Circuit Court to confirm his receipt of a summons to testify in the treason trial, '"The United States vs: Jefferson Davis," and agrees to report on the postponed day of the case, April 14, 1868. Lee did not actually appear in court until November 27, 1868. Written while Lee was president of Washington College (later Washington and Lee). The circuit court at Richmond was not able to reach a consensus on the trial and registered their disagreement with the U.S. Supreme Court. On December 25, 1868, President Johnson issued a proclamation of unconditional…

GLC00199

January 16, 1862

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Document signed

Title: [Presidential pardon of James Keenan Jr. who in July 1859 in the District of Columbia had been convicted of arson]

Pardoned by Abraham Lincoln near the end of his sentence because he was young and inexperienced and the tool of older persons when he committed his crime, and because he had petitioned for it. Countesigned by William H. Seward.

GLC00205

01 October 1873

Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885

Document signed

Title: [Presidential authority to the Secretary of State to affix the seal to the conditional pardon of Joseph Anthony and J.H. Drabing].

GLC00207

30 August 1877

Hayes, Rutherford B., 1822-1893

Header Record

Title: Authority to affix the seal to pardon of William and Elijah McWhorter. [Decimalized .01-.03]

Includes carte de visite and Signed pass to see counting of electoral college 2/10/1877.

GLC00212

circa December 26, 1863

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

Autograph note signed

Title: Order for Daniel Linder

Lincoln proclaimed a pardon possibility for rebellious soldiers December 8, 1863, in his annual message to Congress. Daniel Linder, son of Usher F. Linder, an old friend of Lincoln in Chicago, was freed on Dec. 26, the date assumed for this document.

GLC00213

October 31, 1867

Lee, Robert E., 1807-1870

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Fitz-John Porter

Lee provides a brief list of his recollections of the events during the Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) August 29-30, 1862 in response to a request from Union General Fitz-John Porter. Union General John Pope refused to take the blame for the defeat, and charged Porter with misconduct at the Second Bull Run for not following his orders. Porter was placed under house arrest and was convicted. To aid his defense, Porter wrote to everyone involved in the battle and requested their recollections. Written while Lee was president of Washington College, later Washington and Lee. Excerpt: 1st.…

GLC00214.01

09 May 1938

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945

Document signed

Title: Pardon of Michele de Robertis (c/s Robert H. Jackson [acting AG])

Convicted of swearing a false affidavit. Reason for pardon not mentioned, but research indicates he received it for turning state's evidence against Al Capone.

GLC00217

December 11, 1881

Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Edgar A. Hamilton

Sherman writes to Reverend Hamilton to eulogize General Hugh Judson Kirkpatrick shortly after his death, praising Kirkpatrick's merits as a soldier and a officer during both peace time and the Civil War. He writes, in part, "I never knew a more enthusiastic...cavalry officer, and I was personally indebted to him for the quickness he displayed in comprehending my purpose and the earnestness with which he executed his part..." Written on stationary of the Headquarters Army of the United States.

GLC00223

July 28, 1932

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945

Typed letter signed

Title: to Frederick S. Greene

Franklin D. Roosevelt advises that there is $6,059,000 available for emergency relief to be used for highway projects in New York State. Informs that the money must be spent by July 1, 1933. Decides that some of the money should be used on the Northern, Grand Central, and Eastern Parkways because many men are unemployed in the area and the roads are ready to be worked on. Asks Greene to facilitate these projects. Written as Governor of New York. Addressed to Greene as the Superintendent of Public Works, State Office Building, Albany, NY. Stamped received by Superintendent of Public Works on…

GLC00224

October 8, 1859

Unknown

Autograph letter

Title: to Mother

One letter from an enslaved man to his mother dated Alexandria, Va., October 8, 1859. Pertains to visiting with his friends at the Widow Bailys' in Faquier [Fauquier County], Virginia. Mentions meeting a young woman that he would like to marry and that he hopes the man who enslaved him will purchase her in order to have a "Virginia wife." Instructs his mother to direct further correspondence to Portland, Alabama, and writes, "We have bought all our servants."

GLC00226

24 November 1860

Hare, Willis V., fl. 1860

Broadside

Title: Great Sale of Land, Negroes, Corn & Other Property!

Slave sale broadside. The Charleston estate sale was set for 2 January 1861. The sale advertised the estate of the deceased Hamilton Houston, noting that it included "91 likely negroes, some of which are blacksmiths and others carpenters!" Lists Willis V. Hare as the Administrator. Mounted on cardboard backing with attached frame and mylar covering. Mounted dimensions are 53.3 x 40.6 cm.

GLC00227

17 May 1862

Photograph

Title: White House, Formerly residence of Mrs. Custis Washington... [carte de visite]

Photograph of the Lee family house at White House, Va. published by Brady.

GLC00242.10

1865 ca.

Photograph

Title: Camp of the 10th Massachusetts Regt., near Washington [stereocard]

GLC00242.20

circa 1861-1863

Brady, Mathew B., 1823-1896

Photograph

Title: Brady's Incidents of the War. 17th Regiment New York Volunteers Colonel Henry Seymour Lansing. Butterfield's Brigade. Fitz John Porter. Division Pauls Hill. Vol.

One undated photograph entitled, "Brady's Incidents of the War," taken by Mathew B. Brady. Captures New York's 17th Regiment standing in dress parade formation and holding rifle-muskets raised upward at their sides.

GLC00243