Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Parker, Ely S. (1828-1895) to Gen. William B. Hazen

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02731 Author/Creator: Parker, Ely S. (1828-1895) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Letter signed Date: 20 May 1870 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; 25 x 20 cm. Order a Copy

Circular letter from the Office of Indian Affairs, signed as Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Parker wants Indians living on reservations to be counted for the ninth census, as does Francis A. Walker. The Office of Indian Affairs is to be responsible for the counting.

Ely Parker was a Seneca Indian, born on a reservation, who would become the first Native American to be Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
General William B. Hazen served in the Civil War, and later on the American Frontier.
Francis A. Walker was a prominent economist and Superintendent of the Ninth Census.

Parker, Ely Samuel, 1828-1895
Hazen, William Babcock, 1830-1887
Walker, Francis A., 1840-1897

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