Finding aid for the James A. Garfield Papers


Title:
James A. Garfield Papers
Repository:
Western Reserve Historical Society
Phone: 216-721-5722
http://www.wrhs.org
Creator:
Garfield, James A.
Dates:
1857-1936
Quantity:
4.10 linear feet (10 containers and 1 oversize volume)
Abstract:
James Abram Garfield (1831-1881) was born in Orange Township, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. He was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, United States Congressman and Senator, and was the twentieth President of the United States who was assassinated in 1881. The collection consists of correspondence, diary (1873), and newspaper clippings, relating to Garfield's career and assassination, Garfield Monument in Lakeview Cemetery, Cleveland, and the establishment of Lawnfield, his home in Mentor, Ohio, as a memorial museum. Includes correspondence (1874-1900) of his wife, Lucretia Rudolph Garfield. Correspondents include N.L. Chaffee, Burke A. Hinsdale, Frederick Kinsman, and Charles Whittlesey.
Identification:
MS 3049
Location:
closed stacks
Language:
The records are in English

Biography of James A. Garfield

James A. Garfield was born on November 19, 1831 in Orange Township, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, to Abram and Eliza Ballou Garfield. He studied at Geauga Academy from 1849-1850, and at Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (Hiram College) from 1850-1854. While studying at Western Reserve Eclectic Institute, Garfield taught at some local Hiram, Ohio, schools. He studied at Williams College, Massachusetts from 1854-1856, becoming a popular and successful student. He returned to the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute as a teacher and principal from 1856-1859, and married Lucretia Randolph, of Hiram, Ohio, in 1858.

Garfield was elected as a Republican representative to the Ohio Senate in 1859, and in 1861 joined the Union Army as a lieutenant colonel. He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, and served as Chief of Staff during the American Civil War. He retired from the army in 1863 due to his election to the United States Congress, a seat he would hold for the next 17 years. In 1880 he was elected to the United States Senate, and that same year was nominated unexpectedly as the Republican Presidential candidate. He was elected by a large majority, and his inauguration as 20th president of the United States was held on March 4, 1881. On July 2, 1881, Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau, and he died on September 19, 1881, at Elberon, New Jersey.


click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for James A. Garfield

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Garfield Memorial at Lakeview Cemetery

Scope and Content

The James A. Garfield Papers, 1857-1936, consist of correspondence, diary (1873), and newspaper clippings, relating to Garfield's career and assassination, Garfield Monument in Lakeview Cemetery, Cleveland, and the establishment of Lawnfield, his home in Mentor, Ohio, as a memorial museum. Includes correspondence (1874-1900) of his wife, Lucretia Rudolph Garfield. Correspondents include N.L. Chaffee, Burke A. Hinsdale, Frederick Kinsman, and Charles Whittlesey.

This collection will be useful to researchers studying the life and activities of James A. Garfield Lucretia Rudolph Garfield. Correspondence between relatives, friends, and political acquaintances give a personal view of the life of a successful United States congressman and senator from northeast Ohio, particularly the extensive correspondence between Garfield and and Burke A. Hinsdale (1857-1900). Those seeking letters and newspaper clippings relating to Garfield's assassination, illness, death, and burial will find this collection useful. There is also extensive documentation relating to the erection of the Garfield Monument at Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1881-1890, and the opening of Lawnfield, Garfield's home in Mentor, Ohio, as a memorial museum in August 1936. The collection also contains a diary kept by James A. Garfield in 1873.

Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged in three series.
Series I: Letters and Diary
Series II: Papers Relating to Garfield's Assassination, Death, Funeral, and Cleveland Memorial
Series III: Newspaper Clipping Scrapbooks

Restrictions on Access

None.

Related Material: Related Material

The researcher should also consult MS 4575 James A. Garfield Family Papers, Microfilm Edition, and MS 4579 James A. Garfield Family Papers, Series II. Those studying James A. Garfield should consult MS 3263 James A. Garfield Collection of Letters. Garfield family members are also represented in MS 3160 Henry B. Boynton Papers, MS 3254 James Mason Family Papers, MS 3314 James R. Garfield Family Papers, MS 3353 Adelaide Rudolph Papers, MS 3695 Abram Garfield Papers, MS 4571 Mary (Mollie) Garfield Stanley-Brown Papers, MS 4572 Helen Newell Garfield Papers, MS 4573 James Rudolph Garfield Papers, and MS 4580 James A. Garfield II Family Papers. Researchers interested in Lawnfield should consult MS 3049 James A. Garfield Collection and MS 4574 Lawnfield Farm Papers.

Researchers should also consult PG 497 James A. Garfield Family Photographs.


Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881 -- Assassination.
Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881.
Presidents -- United States -- Assassination.
Presidents -- United States.

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 3049 James A. Garfield Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

This collection was collected from fourteen separate sources. The Photocopies and typescript copies of correspondence between Garfield and Burke A. Hinsdale were a gift of Dr. Mary L. Hinsdale in 1946.

Processing Information

Processed by Carole E. Fryer in 1962.


Detailed Description of The Collection



Series I: Letters and Diary, 1857-1936

Box 1 / Folder 1-12
Typescript copies of letters from Burke A. Hinsdale to James A. Garfield, 1857-1877




Box 2 / Folder 1-3
Typescript copies of letters from Burke A. Hinsdale to James A. Garfield, 1878-1881




Box 2 / Folder 4-12
Photocopies of letters from James A. Garfield to Burke A. Hinsdale, 1857-1872




Box 3 / Folder 1-9
Photocopies of letters from James A. Garfield to Burke A. Hinsdale, 1873-1881




Box 4 / Folder 1
Group of letters from James A. Garfield to Jesse Baldwin, 1866




Box 4 / Folder 1
Letter from James A. Garfield to N. P. Bowler, 1868




Box 4 / Folder 1
Group of letters from James A. Garfield toDavid Fording, 1879-1880




Box 4 / Folder 1
Two copies of a facsimile of a letter from James A. Garfield to Mrs. Eliza Garfield during his last illness, 1881




Box 4 / Folder 1
Letter from James A. Garfield to C. W. Haddock and others, 1880




Box 4 / Folder 1
Letter from James A. Garfield to Captain P. M. Hitchcock, 1866




Box 4 / Folder 1
Group of letters from James A. Garfield to Frederick Kinsman, 1867-1880




Box 4 / Folder 1
Letter from James A. Garfield to O. J. Hodge, 1880




Box 4 / Folder 1
Letter (copy) from James A. Garfield to John Sherman, 1867




Box 4 / Folder 1
A group of envelopes addressed to A. P. Webb, some autographed by James A. Garfield, dates vary




Box 4 / Folder 1
Group of letters from James A. Garfield to Charles Whittlesey, 1860-1880




Box 4 / Folder 1
Letter from James A. Garfield to Ralph Worthington, 1880




Box 4 / Folder 2
Four letters written to James A. Garfield, 1866-1875




Box 4 / Folder 3
Nine letters written by Lucretia Garfield, 1874-1900




Box 4 / Folder 4
Rudolph family letters, written to Eunice Ballard of Hiram, Ohio, 1865-1901




Box 4 / Folder 5
Several miscellaneous letters unrelated to James A. Garfield but formerly included in Garfield items, mainly other correspondence of N. L. Chaffer, dates vary




Box 4 / Folder 6
Manuscript diary of James A. Garfield, May-August 1873




Box 4 / Folder 7
Petition of the citizens of Conneaut, Ohio, to the United States Secretary of the Treasury concerning the appointment of lighthouse keeper at Conneaut, recommended by James A. Garfield and others, 1869




Box 4 / Box 1
Box of invitations issued by the officers and trustees of the Western Reserve Historical Society on the opening of Lawnfield, the home of President and Mrs. James A. Garfield at Mentor, Ohio, as a memorial museum, 1936




Box 10
Oversize package: reprint from the New York Herald of the pretended "Garfield Letter," a letter from General Garfield supposedly written, December 25, 1879





Series II: Papers Relating to Garfield's Assassination, Death, Funeral, and Cleveland Memorial, 1873-1890

Box 5 / Folder 1
Letter written to John Sherman concerning the condition of President Garfield during his last illness and a bulletin signed by Dr. Willard Bliss announcing the death of James A. Garfield, 1881




Box 5 / Folder 2
"The Dead President" by Mary Clemens, September 20, 1881




Box 5 / Folder 3
Remarks made by United States Senator Henry E. Burnham of New Hampshire on the death of President James A. Garfield, 1881




Box 5 / Folder 4
Souvenirs of the funeral and memorial services for President James A. Garfield and a number of letters and telegrams from officials of American cities concerning the funeral, 1881




Box 5 / Folder 5
Miscellaneous papers relating to the Memorial Fun, including the plans for the memorial and leaflets and pamphlets relating to fundraising occassions, 1882-1890




Box 5 / Folder 6
Miscellaneous papers relating to the Memorial Fund, including a copy of the Articles of Incorporation of the Garfield National Monument Association, 1882




Box 5 / Folder 7
Acknowledgements of invitations to the dedication of the Garfield Memorial in Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio, held on May 30, 1890, 1890




Box 6 / Folder 1
Letters received by General James Barnett, Chairman of the Garfield Monument Committee, relating to Committee business, Cist, Henry M., 1881-1887




Box 6 / Folder 2
Letters received by General James Barnett, Chairman of the Garfield Monument Committee, relating to Committee business, Corbin, H. C., 1881-1887




Box 6 / Folder 3
Letters received by General James Barnett, Chairman of the Garfield Monument Committee, relating to Committee business, Endicott, William H.; Grosvenor, C. H.; Keifer, J. Warren; McCook, A. G.; Nussey, R. D.; and Parkhurst, J. G, 1873-1887




Box 6 / Folder 4
Letters received by General James Barnett, Chairman of the Garfield Monument Committee, relating to Committee business, Robinson, W. A., 1881-1887




Box 6 / Folder 5
Letters received by General James Barnett, Chairman of the Garfield Monument Committee, relating to Committee business, Ruhm, John; Sheridan, P. H.; Smith, J. C.; Underwood, A. B.; Ward, J. L. A.; and Wilson, John M., 1880-1888




Box 6 / Folder 6
Letters received by General James Barnett, Chairman of the Garfield Monument Committee, relating to Committee business, miscellaneous, including one letter from John Sherman, 1882-1887





Series III: Newspaper Clipping Scrapbooks, 1877-1882

Box 7
Two scrapbooks, 1880-1881




Box 8
Two scrapbooks, 1881




Box 9
Two scrapbooks, including extracts from The Nation, 1877-1882




Volume 1
Scrapbook, 1881-1881