Finding aid for the Elisha Whittlesey Papers
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Title: |
Elisha Whittlesey Papers |
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Repository: |
Western Reserve Historical Society
Phone: 216-721-5722
http://www.wrhs.org
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Creator: |
Whittlesey, Elisha |
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Dates: |
1769-1869 |
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Quantity: |
33.20 linear feet (83 containers) |
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Abstract: |
Elisha Whittlesey (1783-1863) was a lawyer, United States Representative from Ohio (1822-1838), and public official. The
collection consists of correspondence, legal papers, receipts, account ledgers, memoranda, drafts of legislation, and land
deeds. The Elisha Whittlesey Papers deal with his career as a member of the United States Congress for sixteen years, comptroller
of the United States Treasury for eight years, and Auditor of the Post Office Department for two years. His voluminous correspondence
involves a large number of men prominent in national, late, and local affairs, particularly the Whig Party, American Colonization
Society, the American Bible Society, and the development of the canals, rivers, harbors, railroads, and banks of northern
Ohio and the Western Reserve. His mass of legal papers deals with the practice of his law office in Canfield, Ohio, his large
holdings of land in the Western Reserve, Firelands, and the Maumee Valley. His wife and family occupy another prominent place
in his correspondence, and he also had an interest in agricultural problems and served in the War of 1812.
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Identification: |
MS 1200 |
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Location: |
closed stacks |
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Language: |
The records are in English |
Biography of Elisha Whittlesey
Elisha Whittlesey (1783-1863) was a lawyer and politician who practiced in Canfield, Ohio. Born in Litchfield, Connecticut,
he studied law in the office of his brother, Mathew Beale Whittlesey, in Danbury, Connecticut. He was admitted to the Connecticut
bar in 1805 and moved with his wife to the Western Reserve in 1806 where he served as the prosecuting attorney from 1807-1823.
Whittlesey joined the Ohio Militia in 1806 and during the War of 1812 he was the private secretary to General William Henry
Harrison. He was a senior partner with Eben Newton in a large, well known law practice, specializing in land issues. He
invested in land and banks in the Western Reserve as well.
Whittlesey served two terms in the Ohio Assembly beginning in 1820, and from 1823-1838 he served in the United States Congress,
first as a National Republican and then as a Whig. From 1849-1857 and again in 1861-1863, he served as the comptroller of
the United States Treasury.
Beginning in 1836, he was an active member of the American Colonization Society, serving as Vice President and Chairman of
the Executive Committee. Whittlesey married Polly Mygatt in 1806, and they had ten children.
View the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Elisha Whittlesey
Scope and Content
The Elisha Whittlesey Papers, 1769-1869 and undated, consist of correspondence, legal papers, receipts, account ledgers, memoranda,
drafts of legislation, and land deeds.
The Elisha Whittlesey Papers deal with his career as a member of the United States Congress for sixteen years, comptroller
of the United States Treasury for eight years, and Auditor of the Post Office Department for two years. His voluminous correspondence
involves a large number of men prominent in national, late, and local affairs, particularly the Whig Party, American Colonization
Society, the American Bible Society, and the development of the canals, rivers, harbors, railroads, and banks of northern
Ohio and the Western Reserve. His mass of legal papers deals with the practice of his law office in Canfield, Ohio, his large
holdings of land in the Western Reserve, Firelands, and the Maumee Valley. His wife and family occupy another prominent place
in his correspondence, and he also had an interest in agricultural problems and served in the War of 1812.
The papers are of prime importance in the history of the Western Reserve and much of Ohio in the nineteenth century because
they contain correspondence with most of the area's leading figures between 1806-1863. The papers dealing with his land and
legal practice are also of great local importance.
Statement of Arrangement
The collection is arranged in thirteen series. Whittlesey kept nearly everything he ever wrote or received and stored it
in a small building near his house on the Canfield Common. In his later years he spent some time working over the papers,
but very much was left to be done to get them organized. At some point in their history, the papers known in the Western
Reserve Historical Society as the Elisha Whittlesey Papers and as the Harmon Family Papers (MS 104) became intermixed. The
Elisha Whittlesey Papers were processed before this intermingling was known, therefore there are probably stray Harmon Papers
in the collection, see especially Container 73, Folder 3. It is possible that the general papers in MS 104 Harmon Family
Papers contain Whittlesey papers.
Series I: Letters Received by Elisha Whittlesey is arranged alphabetically by last name and then chronologically. It is boxed
as it was received by the Western Reserve Historical Society.
Series I is boxed as it was received by the Western Reserve Historical Society.
An incomplete calendar to 843 of theletters in Series I is available in the Reading Room of the historical society.
Series II: Letters Written by Elisha Whittlesey is arranged chronologically.
An index to the names of many of the most important correspondents in Series II is available in the Reading Room of the historical
society.
Series III: Letters From Elisha Whittlesey to His Wife and Family is arranged chronologically.
Some of these letters in Series III date back to Whittlesey's life in Connecticut, but most were written to Whittlesey's wife
during his long absences in Washington, D. C. between 1822 and her death in 1855.
Series III gives an almost day-by-day account of his life and includes letters to family in Connecticut, his children, cousins,
and uncles in Ohio as well as members of the Mygatt family.
Series IV: Letter Copy Books has been retained in original order and is arranged in general chronological order.
Many of these "letter press copy" books in Series IV are almost illegible, but they fill important gaps in Whittlesey's letters
in previous series.
Series V: Legal Papers is arranged chronologically.
Series V has special reference to local history in Connecticut and the Western Reserve, with a few documents dealing with
the Firelands and the Maumee Valley.
The documents in Series V concern lawsuits, agreements, deeds, quit claims, depositions, memoranda, accounts for legal services,
and other papers related to Whittlesey's personal holdings of land and those of his clients.
The bulk of the litigation in Series V involves the collection of debts and the claims of heirs.
Series VI: Land and Architecture Documents is arranged by document type and then chronologically.
Series VII: Financial Papers is arranged by document type and then chronologically.
Series VII includes personal accounts of Elisha Whittlesey and family, accounts and receipts related to his lands, legal practice,
and clients.
Series VII also includes drafts on the Western Reserve Bank of Warren, Ohio, the first bank charted in the Western Reserve,
drawn to General Elijah Wadsworth, Comfort Mygatt, and Ensign Church of Canfield, Ohio.
Series VIII: United States Congress and Government agencies has been retained in original order.
Series IX: Miscellaneous Papers is arranged chronologically.
Series X: 4th Division, Ohio Militia, is arranged chronologically.
Series X documents Whittlesey's services as an ensign in Canfield, Ohio, in 1806, a few months after his arrival in the Western
Reserve, a Captain in 1808, and after the outbreak of the War of 1812, an Adjutant under Major General Elijah Wadsworth, in
com
Series X also documents his service as an adjutant with the rank of Major under Brigadier General Simon Perkins under the
command of General William Henry Harrison of the Army of the Northwest.
Series X also includes important correspondence between Wadsworth and Perkins during the critical months in the summer and
fall of 1812, some of it published in the Tracts of the Western Reserve Historical Society.
Series X also includes letters to the War Department, the Governor of Ohio, Morning Reports, Muster Rolls, Orders, and other
regimental papers.
Series XI: Speeches and Related Papers is arranged chronologically.
Series XII: Special Subjects has been retained in original order and is arranged by subject and then chronologically.
Series XIII: Law Practice has been retained in original order.
Restrictions on Access
None.
Related Material: Related Material
The researcher should also consult MS 104 Harmon Family Papers.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects:
African Americans -- Colonization.
American Bible Society.
American Colonization Society.
Antislavery movements -- United States.
Banks and banking -- Ohio.
Canals -- Ohio.
Harbors -- Ohio.
Indians of North America -- Government relations.
Ohio -- History -- 1787-1865 -- Sources.
Ohio -- Politics and government -- 1787-1865.
Postal service -- United States.
Railroads -- United States.
United States -- History -- 1783-1865 -- Sources.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1783-1865.
Western Reserve (Ohio) -- History -- Sources.
Whittlesey, Elisha, 1783-1863.
Preferred Citation
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 1200 Elisha Whittlesey Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Processing Information
Processed by John J. Horton and Alma B. Jones in 1962.
Detailed Description of The Collection
Series I: Letters Received by Elisha Whittlesey, 1795-1863
Box 1-40
Box 1: 6 folders, Abbot - Austin Box 2: 6 folders, Averill - Beggis Box 3: 5 folders, Belden - Bradford Box 4: 5 folders,
Bradley - Buckingham Box 5: 4 folders, Buckland - Byers Box 6: 6 folders, Cadwell - Church Box 7: 5 folders, Churchill
- Collings, H. C. Box 8: 5 folders, Collings, J. L. - Cotton Box 9: 6 folders, Cowards - Disbrow Box 10: 6 folders, Disney
- Eyler Box 11: 6 folders, Faber - Furst Box 12: 5 folders, Gage - Griswold Box 13: 6 folders, Groesbeck - Harmon Box 14:
5 folders, Harper - Hine Box 15: 5 folders, Hinman - Hudson Box 16: 5 folders, Hugunin - Jones Box 17: 4 folders, Jonson
- Knapp, Ezra J. Box 18: 5 folders, Knapp, O. H. - Lawley Box 19: 6 folders, Lawrence - Marshall Box 20: 5 folders, Martin
- Meister Box 21: 5 folders, Melick - Mygatt Box 22: 5 folders, Naff - Osbourne Box 23: 5 folders, Otis - Perkins Box 24:
6 folders, Perley - Rawson Box 25: 6 folders, Raymond - Scott Box 26: 6 folders, Scovill - Sloan, John Box 27: 6 folders,
Sloan, Jonathan - Sterling Box 28: 5 folders, Stetson - Sullivant Box 29: 5 folders, Summer - Thwing Box 30: 6 folders,
Ticknor - Wade, Benjamin Box 31: 5 folders, Wade, Edward - Washington Box 32: 3 folders, Waterman - Whitney Box 33: 5 folders,
Whittlesey, Asaph - Whittlesey, C. S. Box 34: 6 folders, Whittlesey, David - Whittlesey, Granville Box 35: 6 folders, Whittlesey,
Hanna - Whittlesey, John (son) Box 36: 7 folders, Whittlesey, John (brother) - Whittlesey, Polly Box 37: 4 folders, Whittlesey,
Polly Box 38: 6 folders, Whittlesey, Ralph - Whittlesey, W. W. Box 39: 6 folders, Whittlesey, W. W. - Williams, W. W. Box
40: 6 folders, Williamson - Z, 1795-1863
Series II: Letters Written By Elisha Whittlesey, 1804-1863
Box 41 / Folder 1-5
Letters, 1804-November 1836
Box 42 / Folder 1-5
Letters, December 1836-1844
Box 43 / Folder 1-5
Letters, January 1845-December 1847
Box 44 / Folder 1-6
Letters, January 1848-December 1849
Box 45 / Folder 1-4
Letters (includes letters to President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln), 1850-1863
Series III: Letters From Elisha Whittlesey to His Wife and Family, 1812-1863
Box 46 / Folder 1-6
Letters, 1820-1838
Box 47 / Folder 1-6
Letters, 1839-1852
Box 48 / Folder 1-4
Letters, 1853-1863
Series IV: Letter Copy Books, 1829-1863
Box 49
Letter copy books, 1829-1834
Box 50
Letter copy books, 1849-1850
Box 51
Letter copy books, 1851
Box 52
Letter copy books, 1852
Box 53
Letter copy books, 1853
Box 54
Letter copy books, 1854
Box 55
Letter copy books, 1854
Box 55a
Letter copy books, 1835
Box 55b
Letter copy books, 1855-1856
Box 55c
Letter copy books, 1850
Box 55d
Letter copy books, 1858-1860
Box 55e
Letter copy books, 1861
Box 55f
Letter copy books, 1862
Box 56
Letter copy books, 1862-1863
Series V: Legal Papers, 1774-1863; undated
Box 57 / Folder 1-4
Legal papers, 1774-1814
Box 58 / Folder 1-3
Legal papers, 1815-1820
Box 59 / Folder 1-3
Legal papers, 1821-1827
Box 60 / Folder 1-3
Legal papers, 1828-1832
Box 61 / Folder 1-3
Legal papers, 1833-1839
Box 62 / Folder 1-3
Legal papers, 1840-1863
Box 63 / Folder 1-5
Legal papers, undated
Series VI: Land and Architecture Documents, 1771-1869; undated
Box 64 / Folder 1-3
Deeds, quit claims, indentures, and other documents, 1771-1869
Box 64 / Folder 4-5
Surveys of tracts of land in various Ohio Counties, with plats, 1806-1863
Box 64 / Folder 5
Copy of lands in Connecticut Western Reserve in the state of Ohio, signed by Simon Perkins, Warren, Ohio, February 13, 1828
Box 64 / Folder 5
Maps of various areas, including Toledo, Ohio; Lake Superior; Mercer County; and the five Northwestern states, undated
Box 64 / Folder 5
Plans and drawings of beacon light for entrance to Cleveland Harbor, 1831
Box 64 / Folder 5
Drawings of obelisk of the National Monument in Washington, D. C. compared with dimensions and properties of Bunker Hill, undated
Box 64 / Folder 5
Plan of the desks and arrangement of the Hall of Representatives in Washington, D. C., undated
Series VII: Financial Papers, 1800-1869; undated
Box 65 / Folder 1-3
Accounts and statements, 1800-1829
Box 66 / Folder 1-2
Accounts and statements, 1830-1849
Box 66 / Volume 1
Account book of Elisha Whittlesey with his children, 1825-1836
Box 67 / Folder 1-2
Accounts and statements, 1850-1869
Box 67 / Folder 3
Special accounts of George Tod and Elijah Wadsworth, .
Box 68 / Folder 1-4
Receipts, 1802-1860
Series VIII: United States Congress and Government Agencies, 1830-1863
Box 69 / Folder 1-3
Drafts of bills and resolutions; petitions; papers of the Post Office Department when Whittlesey was its Auditor for the Treasury;
other papers from when Whittlesey served as Comptroller of the Treasury; and miscellaneous papers relating to the Congress,
War Department, General Land Office, and the Treasury Department and lists of postmasters in the Western Reserve who were
asked to distribute literature for the Whig Party, 1830-1863
Box 69 / Volume 1
Copy book, "Amount paid out of the United States Treasury", July 1, 1861-July 1, 1862
Box 69 / Volume 2
Copy book, Treasure Account, July 1862-January 1863
Series IX: Miscellaneous Papers, 1771-1863; undated
Box 70 / Folder 1-3
Miscellaneous papers, including memoranda on a large number of topics such as agriculture, science, history, and philosophy;
drafts and fragments of letters; and oddments such as invitations and announcements (1771 documents are facsimiles), 1771-1863
Series X: 4th Division, Ohio Militia, 1804-1837; undated
Box 71 / Folder 1
Correspondence, 1804-1813
Box 71 / Folder 2-6
Militia records, 1804-1837
Series XI: Speeches and Related Papers, 1769-1860; undated
Box 72 / Folder 1
Speeches, including John Whittlesey, 1769-1860
Box 72 / Folder 2
Fragments of speeches, mostly historical on the Western Reserve and the Firelands, and moral subjects and education, undated
Series XII: Special Subjects, 1790-1864
Box 73 / Folder 1
American Bible Society, including papers concerning the founding of the Canfield, Ohio, Chapter, letters and memoranda concerning
the movement written while Whittlesey was in Washington, D. C., and papers addressed to President Pierce in the last days
of his administration, 1844-1857
Box 73 / Folder 2
Commercial Bank of Lake Erie, Cleveland, Ohio, 1825-1832
Box 73 / Folder 3
Degree of Doctor of Laws, Western Reserve College, 1841
Box 73 / Folder 3
Papers written apparently by Martin S. Harmon of Windham, Portage County, for a school in Ravenna, Ohio, 1837-1840
Box 73 / Folder 4
Pension papers assembled by Whittlesey concerning primarily his membership and chairmanship of the House Committee on Claims, 1812-1862
Box 73 / Folder 5
Letter memoranda, including lists of letters compiled by Whittlesey and a list of postmasters in the Western Reserve for distribution
of a speech by Henry Clay on internal improvements, 1823-1850
Box 73 / Folder 6
Railroads, concerning the earliest days of the western railroads, including plans and financing of the Toledo & Sandusky Railroad
in 1836, the Sandusky, Toledo & Michigan City in 1839, and the Buffalo & Mississippi in 1839-1847. A road from Conneaut to
the Ohio River is also included and the papers of a Railway Convention in South Bend, Indiana, in 1846. Also includes a bound
volume of the Toledo Land Agency and railroads in northern Ohio and Indiana, including a copy of a long letter from Whittlesey
to Danial Webster dated December 11, 1844, .
Box 73 / Folder 7
Toledo, Ohio, papers, concerning land owned by Whittlesey in the Maumee Valley and in the Oliver Division of Toledo, 1839-1864
Box 73 / Folder 8
Papers relating to suits in which he engaged as attorney (these legal papers are filed here because they were collected by
Whittlesey under this title), 1807-1862
Box 73 / Folder 9
Papers of Elijah Whittlesey, marked by Elisha Whittlesey, 1808-1818
Box 73 / Folder 9
Township records, Western Reserve, ca. 1824-1825
Box 74 / Folder 1-2
American Colonization Society, 1790-1862
Box 74 / Folder 3
Cleveland Academy of Natural Science, 1846
Series XIII: Law Practice, 1802-1862; undated
Box 75 / Volume 1
Record of cases, 1817-1821
Box 75 / Volume 2
Day book, 1819-1862
Box 75 / Folder 1
Mounted newspaper clippings, undated
Box 75 / Folder 2
Members of the Legislature, 1826-1829
Box 75 / Folder 2
Memorandum of letters written, 1827-1829
Box 75 / Volume 3
Notebook of cases in Trumbull County, Ohio, 1838-1839
Box 76 / Volume 1-2
Ledger books, 1807-1832
Box 77 / Folder 1
Cash book and bank books, 1833-1862
Box 77 / Folder 2
Legal notebook and cash book, 1845
Box 77 / Folder 3
Record of cases, 1819-1838
Box 77 / Folder 4
Record of cases, 1816
Box 77 / Volume 1
Copies of land certificates, 1835-1840
Box 77 / Folder 5
Miscellaneous account books found in the Whittlesey Papers, one may belong to George Tod, 1802-1814