A few examples of appraisal values for
BELL FAMILY MAN

• Letters Between the Sturges
  Letters Between the Sturges Brothers Most Antebellum Including J.R. Sturges 3rd GA Infantry KIA These 58 letters encompass a "snapshot" of antebellum life in the South.Samuel Sturges (1774-1831) was born in Fairfield Co. CT. He arrived in Georgia shortly after the Revolutionary war although the exact date is uncertain. They were in Georgia by 1801 and in Waynesborough (now Waynesboro) by 1804. In May of 1804 he married Rachel Lowery (1786-1837). Samuel became one of the leaders of the community one of five members of the Board of Town Incorporators and was elected in 1813 as one of the first five commissioners. He held other town positions through his lifetime there.Samuel and Rachel had three children: Jane Robinson (1809-1817) William Urquhart (1816-1884) and John Reynolds (1827-1862). In the 1830 Census Samuel lists 10 slaves. William seems to have spent most of his career as a hotel keeper although he occasionally became something of a merchant picking up items for townspeople when he or his agents went to New York for supplies. Samuel died in 1831 when his youngest son was only three. Rachel followed but six years later.About this time the U.S. government was moving native peoples off their lands and the Cherokee had prime farm land in Georgia. The tribe appealed to the Supreme Court and won but President Andrew Jackson had the U.S. Army move them off their land anyway in what would be known as the "Trail of Tears". The Cherokee Land Lottery of 1832 indicates that the orphans of Samuel Sturges received lottery number 115 for the 8th District 1st section and Rachel (Rachael) received 143 for the 6th District 3rd Section. William would have been an adult at the time of Rachel's death so presumably he continued raising his younger brother John and the brothers remained close for life. William appears in the mid-century censuses as a hotel keeper but may have been a merchant earlier (implied in some of his letters).By 1844 John had made his way "up east." In the first letter in the collection William writes to John [4 Sept. 1844] in Princeton NJ passing along brotherly advice particularly about health issues: I am glad you took the step you did by entering on your studies soon after your arrival and congratulate yourself & John Shewmaker upon your success in entering the Sophomore class. I trust neither of you will flag yet I would advise that you keep an eye on your health. In that climate the constitution is easily undermined by leading too sedentary a life. Provide yourself with some means of bodily exercise perform some daily labour or take pedestrian exercise. Exercise with the "dumb bells" will tend to expand the chest and develop the muscles of the arms. These may seem of no importance now and may make seemingly no very great improvement in your feelings while you continue the use. They may be used as preventions. He also suggests that the young men enlist an agent to cash checks sent up to them and to hold any monies which were not immediately needed.On occasion William discusses politics in his letters. November of 1844 is one of those occasions being a presidential election year. (reconstructed letters in brackets.) The news political of this State is that sh[e] has cast her vote for Mr. Polk for president. The lat[e] [re]turns indicate that Mr. Polk will be our next President Much [to] the surprise of all politicians. I must feel as an American citizen should feel no little mortification at the result of this [con]test. I do heartily rejoice however that it is over. We have been from one end of this union to the other in a perfect stew and as the Whig "Pot" has boiled over and spilt all the fat in the fire (excuse this sentence) & we cannot make amends I trust we will have a little quiet & a little more trade and I truly hope a good deal more good feeling from our neighbors to another. The people will now return to their uniform Christian feelings. He goes on to note that the local medical college has resumed with an overflow class of 125 students and describes the amusements in town - the theater circus a ventriloquist / magician.William seems to have gone "all out" into Whig politics. The party formed largely in opposition to Jacksonian policies. It advocated investment in roads and railroads to tie the country together economically. Henry Clay one of the better known leaders of the party advocated returning proceeds from the sale of public lands to the states to make these improvements. This would certainly have been an attractive position for these members of the "merchant class " increasing the availability and decreasing the price of goods. At one point William writes referring to the folks in Burke and Waynesboro: Those people are to be envied somewhat for their quiet (seeming) happiness. But truly is a life of that kind to be objected to because of the excess of doing naught that tends to the usefulness or benefits of the human family. They have no meetings or gatherings but for frivolous amusement. He goes on to say that Augusta is determined to turn itself into a manufacturing town but so far "all talk no action." [30 Jan. 1845] In October 1845 William notes that Georgia elected a Whig governor [George Crawford] and would likely elect a Whig senator.Other Whig party leaders included William Henry Harrison and Daniel Webster. After Harrison's death John Tyler became president and his stand on states' rights was even stronger than most particularly attractive to the South as abolition issues were heating up. In 1847 Webster made a trip to this small southern town which William describes in his letter of 29 May: The very distinguished Mr. Webster of Massachusetts has been among us for some time near a week. He being detained on a/c [account] of health. He received from men of all parties the most marked attention and I hope will return well impressed with Southern hospitality and the better understanding our institutions particularly that of slavery. He says he will go home and tell his people what pleasure he derived from this time. He spent one day and night in Waynesboro when all the village visited him except Mr. Douglass.William seems to be a bit mistrusting of politicians generally. In a postscript to his letter of 20 Feby. 1845: A Duel which took place on the morning of the 20th (yesterday) terminated in the death of one of the combatants. They were double Brothers-in-Law and citizens of So. Ca. They fought at a distance of ten paces with muskets. From report there is another hostile party making preliminaries now in the city. They are to fire at 10 feet distant with pistols. This party are men who have been in high confidence in State Offices. It does not speak well of their morals without which no man can be safely trusted or truly great.By late in 1845 John and his friend decided that they did not really like Princeton although specific reasons are not indicated. They seem to have decided on Yale. In December 1845 William advises his brother: After conversation with John T. Shoemaker who had just reached here I have reconsidered your proposition to leave Princeton and now give my consent that you do so if you wish; the only advice I can give you is that you make the best possible use of your time while in any college.. I hope you will get into as few quarrels with the abolitionists in and about New Haven as possible for you must know that this is the hotbed of abolitionism and constant subject for conversation even among the old maids of which that place abounds in confused numbers. And abolition isn't the only issue to be considered [6 Jan. 1846]: I cannot know myself how or why either of the institutions may be the better for your education and would have preferred your graduating at Princeton only because it is know[n] as a "Southern institution "[emph. added] and I had presumed that you were as pleasantly located there as at any place except home.There was also a family connection to the area and it appears that John was curious about the family history and that may have attracted him to New Haven. William writes [18 Jany. 1846]: I am unable to give you as yet any clue to any members of our family. As to our Fathers family I can only say that within the state of Connecticut there must still some reside and very probably many near New Haven. Our Father was I think a native of Fairfield and presume that there was none of his immediate progenitors (?) living at or about the time of his death. I know only of one Brother to him and he died in this place now many years since.. [Nathaniel Sturges Sr. died in Waynesboro 7 Nov. 1826] We have no relations in the north but upon the Father's side and our Mothers being now nearly extinct.. However a number of times William emphasizes that John's education is more dependent on his efforts than on the school he chooses [4 Jany. 1846]: I have no objections to the change [of schools] and leave it entirely to your own discretion to stop at either of the institutions. .There is I think little depending on the institution you may pursue your collegiate course in or at least much less than upon your own industry and pursuit after knowledge. [18 Jany. 1846] I cannot deem it necessary or even prudent to lay out any path for your future course through life.. I desire you if it suits you to study Law. He is for any education that can be obtained - for anyone. It appeared that John's friend John Shewmaker could no longer afford to live in the East and continue in college. [8 Nov. 1845] If I were John I would exact the sum sufficient from my guardian to take me [through the] course - It might infringe a little upon my estate but the "value recd." would doubly compensate for the expenditure so made.William makes another interesting recommendation to his brother. [18 Jany. 1846] I will propose one thing which in after I think you will not repent(?) of following and this is that you look about when you return home for a good wife with a comfortable little fortune not however for her fortune alone. Earlier he warned of marrying in haste. He notes that there are six weddings in the next few weeks and hopes those who "act in haste" may not have cause "to repent at leisure" [8 Nov. 1845]. He also relates the story of a friend Nancy W. who became engaged to a gentleman she knew only a short time [20 Octr. 1845]. Her guardian persuaded her to wait a bit to marry. Two days later the man was engaged to her sister according to William proving the adage "one of the name was as good as the same." William does however suggest the man would have made a good husband. He had been twice widowed and had 3 children including an infant of only three months probably explaining his "rush to the altar."Along with the "states' rights" issues of the Whig party abolition was rearing its head as William's comment about New Haven indicates: A rumour is at present being circulated from Burke that Saml. Russell has run off with some several Negroes the property of different person near Waynesboro. Sam has very mysteriously disappeared from Burke and since the Christmas Holiday the negroes have not been heard of and further proof of his guilt by the testimony of a gentleman returning from the ??? part of this state that he saw him on board of some Steam Boat bound westward. The supposition is that he has [illeg.] his course for Texas via New Orleans and steps have been taken to follow him. We can only hope that justice may reach the offenders of the Law so speedily as to be to others a good warning . A letter from his niece Abby indicates the general attitude of this family toward "the help." She went to Savannah for a visit and [11 Feb. 1846]: On my way home I stopped at Waynesboro for three or four hours. While there I went round to see Cousin Betsy Douglas whom I found quite well. .I saw all the servants they were all quite well and want to see you very much indeed. Whenever they see me the first question is when did you hear from Mas. John and how is he. You know they are all to be sold next month. Uncle William is going to try and buy them all in as he hates to have them separated. Old Aunt Beckey hated it very much she can scarcely speak of it without tears coming into her eyes. A letter from William a month or so later indicates that he did just that. [9 March 1846] I remained in the village [Waynesboro] until after the sale which resulted in my purchasing all the negroes except little Becky who Mr. Dowse bot [bought] for Abby & Mary Ann and her daughters who was bot by Sid Dowse as was previously agreed upon. The servants are all now well satisfied and hope not to be harassed by the fear of being sold again soon. For the present they will all remain in Waynesboro but I presume soon to find a good situation for Lizzy here. Eliza will remain with Dr. Mst. and Celia will remain as a kind of nurse to Old Aunt Becky. In nearly every letter the servants send their regards and William reports their health status as well as that of the family.Health was a major concern especially in Georgia summers. The end of May brought the end of the school term and the end of the social season especially as that segment of the population would generally leave for the worst of the summer. In May 1845 William wrote: I . commend your contemplated tour on foot. I cannot advise however to make the tour if you must expose yourself to the sun through the month of July. Having been shut up in coledge [sic] regulation for many months previous I should think you are but ill prepared to much exposure to the sun and the consequent fatigue of such an undertaking. . I would advise.a trip as a manner of recreating the mind and seeing something of the many places of renown of which our glorious land abounds. He notes there was a party for a newly married couple This party winds up the gayiety of the village at least for this season. Many of those who move from Burke left the same week for their summer residences and the village is now left with its usual number of "Summer inhabitants " and entirely rid of its young folks. .I am sorry to say that old Aunt Becky's health is fast declining though she yet continues to go about. The rest of our servants are all well. Apparently William followed other residents of Burke County and went to Madison Springs: I am at quite a delightfull place being one of the fashionable resorts for the gay and fashionable of this State & SoCa. I have been drinking freely of the medicinal water here and find from it a great benefit induced thus far. I feel my strength much recovered & can see a decided improvement in fullness of person. After a period he writes John again apologizing that he has not written sooner but he did not want to be thought unsociable. [8 Sept. 1845] I have recovered in a very considerable degree the strength that a debility of two summers had rid me of. I consider the water here efficacious & the air fine and bracing but the constant exercise the spirits are compelled to take in part with the company goes a greater ways in the restoration of many visitors than anything else. .I think I have come in for my share of the good benefits of very agreeable society and do offer up my thanks for the advantage enjoyed. Indicates (at end of the letter) that it has been a dry year: So far as I can learn the health of that part of Georgia considered sickly in summer is better than I've known and the people have nothing to complain of but the shortness of the crop. They will make a sufficiency of provisions and a ? crop of cotton. This will for those who are out of debt but those - and they are many - who presumed to pay old debts from the proceeds of this crop must be disappointed. In the counties of the state from this to the Tennessee line the crop of provisions promises to be so short that many have made arrangement to leave the country and seek some place where corn is plenty. There has been quite a flood of emigrants from Carolina to Tennessee in search of cheap provisions. I am glad to know that they will find it quite low there. Considerable distress must be experienced among the poor of some sections as they have neither provisions or the means to buy them. Yet we feel assured that there will be no starving as the sympathies of the more independent class will move them to the relief of the needy. Even into October he notes the relative health of the area during the summer but with the dry weather comes "insufferable heat."As winter came around however he recommended to John that he find a doctor up in New Haven: I would advise that you get a good Medical person to vaccinate you as the Small Pox seems to be traveling the "country all over" - and you are by necessity associated with persons from every part of the land. Of course smallpox vaccinations were used even by George Washington during the Revolutionary War and William understood exposure risk to the disease in those urban population centers. Less clear seems to be their understanding of other "tropical diseases." In 1848 [3 July] he writes to Johns that there is much sickness in Augusta. Germans were working on a canal living in filthy conditions and the doctor was reporting cases of yellow fever. We now know that neither "Germans" nor "filthy conditions" (per se) would have been responsible for this outbreak - but more likely the canal itself since this would have been an excellent breeding ground for the mosquitoes that carry this disease (although that knowledge did not come until construction of the Panama Canal though suspected somewhat earlier).Besides politics slavery and other moral issues late in John's college career William addresses the other "third rail." You must excuse me my dear Brother that I have never mentioned the subject of Religion when writing to you. . That I know a just part is for us to perform which upon this earth and that we will have to account for all the deeds done in the body to a just God is sufficient to warn me always to a proper course through life. He goes on to say that he has not joined a church because he finds many of the "code of laws governing them" impossible for mere mortals to follow and many of them are "petty and unnecessary." However a couple years earlier when niece Abby joined the Presbyterian church William commented [28 April 1845] I consider the garb of Religion gives peculiar beauty to the female (young particularly) character.Another view of the Southern social scene comes from Abby's letters. Abby married 20 May 1846 and several letters from William deal with John's preparations to return home for both the wedding and summer break. In the autumn Abby writes that she and her new husband left Bath shortly after John did (presumably to return to school) and they went to the seaboard then on to Mr. Jones' family home. Although worried about how she would be received by his family she was received warmly as a member of the family. She tells her cousin [30 Sept. 1846]: ...for nothing is more pleasant than to be beloved particularly in the circle in which we are to move and I sincerely trust that hereafter my actions will not be such as to forfeit the confidence and esteem of these kind friends.You can readily perceive my dear Uncle that my situation at first upon arriving at the home of my husband was peculiarly delicate and embarrassing. A few weeks had wrought a strange and sudden revolution in my existence. A young girl surrounded by her family circle engrossed with maidenly occupation and concerned only with the passing events of the home was transformed into the wife the home of her childhood forsaken and a new train of duties attendant upon this change opened to her view. This responsibility for a time was felt very acutely but the cordial reception of which I have spoken of before in a short time banished these feelings and I felt not only reconciled to but delighted with my future prospects. Every member of the family welcomed me to their midst and I already feel identified with them in every particular. Later she adds: I have been busily employed preparing for housekeeping which I hope to commence about the last of November. I look forward to the time with a great deal of pleasure and yet with fear to [sic] for I have so little experience in the mysteries of housekeeping. I dare say I will do many things that is wrong yet all had to learn by experience .I suppose that I will have to do the same. She then suggests that she will have William or someone pick up items for her that are cheaper in the North than at home another reality of Southern life even antebellum.John graduated from Yale in 1847 but seems to have remained in the north for a bit. There is one letter from William addressed to John in New Haven with a postal stamp for July 1848. William for his part married Georgia Ann Ward (1826 - 1905) on 10 Aug. By 1850 John had returned to Georgia where the 1850 census shows him as a 22-year-old schoolteacher living with William plus just over a dozen single men two couples and a widow with two daughters in the hotel/boarding house. John seems to have also been studying law in Augusta at the same time. In 1852 John became County Surveyor for Burke County and there are about 20 letters from the 1850s relating to this role. One of the early ones is to another surveyor asking what they charge for surveying etc. apparently trying to determine his rates in this new occupation. Another letter relates to measurements of the variation in magnetic deviation from true north. A few of the requests become rather insistent: I am getting in a hurry about that surveying and I wish you to come over tonight - so that you can make an early start as I wish you to do some surveying in different places.Most of the letters contain requests for surveys or documents from earlier surveys but one contains political opinions along with a request for paperwork on a property. Sam P. Davis [9 July 1852] suggests that political excitement is waning and only a 3rd candidate is likely to get people interested again. He notes that if the election is only between the present candidates he would vote for Pierce since "Pierce can show a clean hand on the n---er question [his underline]. This is more than can be said of Scott." The question of slavery was foremost in the minds of local "movers and shakers." Scott had come out as anti-slavery (a problem for southern voters) in spite of the Whig pro-slavery platform (a problem for northern voters). Daniel Webster rejected by his Whig party as their candidate ran as a Union Party (basically Southern Whigs) candidate and despite the fact that he died before the election still received several thousand Georgia votes!In 1860 John was still living in William's hotel/boarding house along with 15 men many of whom were also law students or lawyers and an older woman and her adult son. He never seems to have found his "good wife with a comfortable little fortune" suggested by brother William but he did seem to be building his own home. After the November election South Carolina seceded and several other states called their own conventions. Georgia's election of delegates to the convention that would determine her course occurred on the second day of the new year. These delegates then convened in Milledgeville on the 16th to begin debating the issue. By the 19th George Crawford convention president and former Whig governor declared Georgia officially seceded from the United States. Within two more weeks the infant Confederate States of America formed and two months later the offspring nation was at war with her northern parent. The last six letters are war da Condition: Variable as expected. Only one with insect/rodent damage extensive enough for loss of text.
• Breckinridge Family Archive Approx.
  Breckinridge Family Archive Approx. 165 items including 130+ photographs cased images & portraits plus 35+ paper items and newspaper clippings.Since Kentucky was established as a state in 1792 the Breckenridge family has gained notoriety not only in Kentucky but also in national politics. To date the family has included six members of the U.S. House of Representatives two U.S. Senators a cabinet member two Ambassadors the Vice President of the United States under James Buchanan John C. Breckinridge (1821-1875) who was also an unsuccessful candidate for President in 1860. In addition to their political involvement members of the Breckinridge family have held many important positions serving as college presidents theologians ministers and high-ranking soldiers.One of the early founders of the family John Breckinridge (1760-1806) served as Attorney General of the United States under Thomas Jefferson. His son Robert Jefferson Breckinridge (1800-1871) was a politician and Presbyterian minister who opposed slavery acting as one of the leaders of the Emancipation Party in 1849. He favored public education and was a passionate supporter of the Union at the outbreak of the Civil War. Robert who was married three times having 14 children in total had several sons including Joseph Cabell & Charles Henry who fought on the Union side during the Civil War with Joseph Cabell subsequently making a career for himself in the Army along with Robert Jefferson Jr. who fought for the Confederacy and later became a prominent politician in Kentucky.The archive features 5 portraits of Robert Jefferson Breckinridge including a cabinet photo from a painting by Matthew Jouett depicting Robert in his younger years. An additional cabinet photo of a Jouett painting of Elizabeth Breckinridge Meredith the daughter of Colonel Robert Breckinridge (1720-1773) is included and both have inked family notes on recto and verso. Two cdvs of Robert in his later years one in which he poses with a young boy (probably a son) a period copy of a family photo of Robert with his sons 4 x 6 in. and a 4.25 x 5.75 lithograph of Robert are also included. The group features several photographs of Robert's sons Joseph Cabell and Charles Henry Breckenridge both from his first marriage to Ann Sophonisba Preston.Charles Henry Breckinridge (1844-1867) the last child born to Robert's wife Ann Sophonisba before she passed enlisted in the Union Army in September of 1864 in Covington Kentucky as a Private mustering in to Company G of the U.S. Colored Troops 117th Infantry. The 117th was on duty at Camp Nelson Kentucky through October 1864 and was then ordered to Baltimore Maryland followed by City Point Virginia. It was involved in siege operations against Petersburg and Richmond until March 1865 and saw action in the Appomattox Campaign Hatcher's Run the fall of Petersburg and Appomattox Court House. The 117th was present for the surrender of Lee and his Army but then saw duty at Petersburg and City Point until June before moving to Brazos Santiago Texas in July and Brownsville and on the Rio Grande until August 1867 mustering out on August 10th. Charles died the same year. Portraits of Charles include:Quarter plate ambrotype of a young boy who appears to be Charles posed with the family dog; cdv while at West Point pencil id and date on verso July 14 1864; 3 cdvs with Lexington backmarks 2.25 x 2.5 in. albumen photo and 1.25 x 1.5 in. tintype of Charles in uniform with 2 in which he appears as a 2nd Lieutenant including penciled id and dates of August and September 1865 respectively; and a 2.25 x 2.75 in. portrait of Charles as 2nd Lieutenant painted on ivory housed in a velvet case with a plaque attached engraved Charlie.The majority of the photographs in this fine archive focus on Charles' older brother Joseph Cabell Breckenridge Sr. (1842-1920) and his family. Joseph joined the army in August 1861 and was appointed aide-de-camp to George H. Thomas serving with him at Mill Springs and Shiloh. He also served at Corinth and was commissioned a Lieutenant in the 2nd US Artillery. After participating in the Atlanta Campaign Joseph was captured following the death of James B. McPherson but he was eventually exchanged and served out the remainder of the war as a mustering officer receiving brevet promotions to Captain in July 1864 and Major in March 1865.Following the Civil War Joseph continued to impress his superiors with his high standards winning a series of additional promotions including Brigadier General and Inspector General of the Army in January 1889. During the Spanish American War he was promoted to Major General of volunteers. Outside of the Army Joseph served as Vice-President General of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. He was married to Louise Ludlow Dudley of Lexington Kentucky in 1868. They had thirteen children together several of whom followed their father into military service. Sadly one of their sons Joseph Cabell Jr. (1872-1898) was among the first casualties of the Spanish American War. The archive includes the following portraits of Joseph Louise and their family:2 post-Civil War cabinet cards of Joseph in uniform one by Gutekunst the other by C.M. Bell; 2 photomechanical prints with one by Dupont; 7 silver gelatin photos of Joseph ca late 19th-early 20th century with 4 in which he poses in uniform also sitting atop his mount in one of the shots and the remaining 3 snapshots of Joseph with family ranging in size from 2.5 x 4 in. to 3.5 x 5 in. Also included are assorted paper items related to Joseph consisting of 12+ invitations to events primarily for the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution many accompanied by original envelopes with personal notes inked on covers along with a few booklets/menus from the gatherings. Plus a later copy of The Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 & 1799 with Joseph's stamp on inside cover and a typed speech written for a May Day ceremony unsigned but probably written for Joseph.Also featured are three oval-length watercolor portraits painted on ivory and housed in full velvet-lined cases including Joseph in uniform 3 x 3.5 in. a woman who looks to be his wife Louise although unidentified 2.75 x 3.25 in. and a portrait of another unidentified woman possibly their eldest daughter Mary Dudley 4 x 5 in. signed and dated lower left by Margaret Foote Hawley 1921. With 20+ additional photos of Louise and the children some identified including two fine portraits from the same sitting of Louise in her older years posed with 9 of their children with Joseph Cabell Jr. who later passed away standing in the back row. Photos range in size from 4 x 5.75 in. to 6.5 x 9.5 in.2 cabinet photographs of Joseph Cabell Jr. dressed as a young cadet at the age of 16 plus an 1892 cdv-sized portrait of him in uniform round out this portion of the collection. After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1895 Joseph Cabell Jr. served on the battleship Texas where he demonstrated remarkable coolness and ability in times of peril. However while serving aboard the USS Cushing he was washed overboard and drowned in Cuban waters. The USS Breckinridge was named after him.Assorted exterior and interior shots are also included in the archive with 4 interior shots capturing Joseph & Louise's family home showing numerous family portraits displayed on the mantel and piano ranging in size from 4.75 x 6.75 in. to 9 x 11.5 in. plus an interesting albumen of a relief depicting Joseph Louise and their first 10 children in profile by Mullen of Lexington. This relief image is also visible in one of the interior shots. Plus an early 20th century snapshot of "Grove Hill " one of many estates belonging to General James Breckinridge located in Virginia 3.25 x 3.5 in.The following photographs accompany the archive: Half plate ambrotype of unidentified stern looking parents posed with their children; CDV of Colonel Ambrose Dudley (1789-1875) a relative to Louise Dudley Breckinridge who served in the War of 1812 as paymaster of Trotter's Regiment KY Mounted Volunteers; a Dudley family cdv of a bearded gentleman; an Anthony cdv of unidentified Civil War officer; 2 cdvs of a young man identified as Winfield S. Jones from San Francisco; cdv of young man identified as Will McFarland with a Lexington backmark; 40+ assorted cdvs tintypes cabinet cards and snapshots of men women and children unidentified but presumably Breckinridge family and/or friends; a curious shot of an African American woman probably taken during a trip to Sicily as per verso notes; and 30+ real photo postcards and snapshots some with inked verso notes including vacation and farm scenes.
• Charles Hook Armco Steel Company
  Charles Hook Armco Steel Company Lot of Manuscripts & Documents Lot includes letters photographs pamphlets mostly from the late 1930s through the 1960s. Born in 1880 the youngest of four children of Henry and Katherine (Klussman) Hook Charles Ruffin Hook grew up in Northwest Cincinnati on Colerain Avenue just across the Miami and Erie Canal from the foot of Clifton hill. The early years were happy and mostly carefree but Charlie??Ts mother died in 1892 when he was just 12. The Panic of 1893 followed and in a little over a year the family went from a middle-class lifestyle to poverty. The company in which Hook Senior was employed was wiped out he ended up selling the family home the family broke up and Charlie and his brother Gay moved to Walnut Hills living with a kindly engineer Robert Engle. This also required Charlie to change from District No. 18 school to Walnut Hills High the first suburban school. There was no question that Charlie would have to work after high school college was out of the financial equation. He began to look to the long-term examining options such as coal lumber and other basic commodities; chemistry was his best subject in school; but he ended up deciding that steel was the most promising area ??" Carnegie had been poor and had no technical training so it should be possible to Charlie Hook to get into the business. With a letter of introduction arranged by his brother he appeared at the offices of Cincinnati Rolling Mill in Riverside west of the city (the site visited in the photo in this lot). When told the only opening was that of office boy Charlie jumped on the opportunity. He moved up quickly in the office but that put him at odds with boys his age who worked in the plant. One day when the plant was closed because of the annual spring floods a group of ?plant boys? tried to give Charlie a ?dunking? as he entered the flatboat that was used to ferry the office staff to their building which was on stilts and out of the water. Sensing what was coming Charlie turned the tables and toppled his tormentor into the water. The boatswain was John ?Roxy? Draut the night watchman and one of the other gentlemen with whom Hook would tour the site half a century later (photos in this lot). Roxy protected the young office boy for the duration of the flood walking him to and from the streetcar stop. He would become a veteran of the Middletown ARMCO plant. Charlie made himself indispensable at the Riverside plant finding solutions to many problems in management and production. But the plant failed to be profitable enough for the owners and was closed in late 1899. Many of the employees were absorbed into other Tin Plate Trust plants including Charlie. His supervisors made sure he had a position elsewhere; they sensed that the young man would contribute to the company. Charlie was reassigned to Chicago leaving everything familiar in the ?Queen City? behind. After barely 2 months in the Windy City the Trust decided to move Charlie??Ts entire department to New York City. Outfitting two trains one for desks and files the other for personnel the department was ceremonially moved to the Big Apple. It was winter and the boy from the Midwest was becoming homesick amid tall buildings with barely a blade of grass to be found. He had been in touch with others from the Riverside plant in particular William P. Lewis who had been transferred to the Gas City plant in Indiana. He begged Lewis for a job hoping to get back to an environment in which grass and trees lived. Lewis had an opening in the sheet bar yard but Hook needed approval for the transfer. Charlie decided that if he really wanted to learn the business he needed training in production. He made his case up the chain of command in New York with most treating him as if he were ready to be committed but Warner Arms vice-president in charge of operations decided to give him a chance and allowed the transfer to Indiana. Hook had remained in touch with his first boss at Riverside who had made sure he was reassigned to a Trust plant but had lost touch with the president of the plant. However these two men had remained in touch with each other and when they teamed up with George M. Verity to start up the American Rolling Mill Co. in Middletown Ohio one of the first people both men thought of to recruit for the new enterprise was Charlie. It was a fateful interview. Verity and Hook liked each other at once and had very similar philosophies about the business. Verity believed in people and tried to run his business by the ?Golden Rule ? a striking (even shocking) departure from the typical steel mill of the day. On top of that Verity decided to build a combined mill which used pig iron to produce ingots and slabs which were made into shapes and bars which were made into sheets and then galvanized or fabricated - what had been the domain of 5 different mills now would be done more efficiently (so Verity thought) in one mill. The rest of the industry was sure it would fail. But Verity surrounded himself with capable men like Hook who continued to take every opportunity to learn as much about the steel industry as he could ??" what worked and what didn??Tt in plants around the country. And eventually Hook and John Tytus developed a continuous mill and revolutionized the steel industry. To compete with the giants such as U.S. Steel Armco focused on specialty steels which required continual research. It became the first steel company to include a research department. It was the production of corrugated culvert pipe that generated interest overseas in railroad construction and ultimately led to Armco becoming an international company. ARMCO grew and prospered and Hook with it. By 1910 he became general superintendent. In 1913 he made his final ?life-path? move ??" he married Verity??Ts daughter Leah. More than a decade his junior Leah was still a schoolgirl when Hook came to Middletown and looked upon him as ?Uncle Charlie.? But as she matured she and ?Uncle Charlie? found they had many interests in common. Charlie continued to make connections even on the couple??Ts honeymoon in Europe most notably to George Lorimer editor of the Saturday Evening Post. The couple had two sons and a daughter. The images in the photo book appear to be primarily the first-born Charles Jr. although a few show both boys just a couple years apart in age. Armco??Ts labor policies also served the company well. By letting the employees know that they were part of the company and providing them with the best equipment and working conditions technology allowed the company prospered. In a 1937 article on Armco Forbes pointed out that in the second quarter of that year alone the good relations with labor and the fact that they did not strike probably saved the company 5 million (compared to a similar-sized company that had picketing and rioting in its plant). Any problems any new changes were always discussed with employees. Any employee could make an appointment with Verity or Hook or other management official and express his viewpoint air problems etc. without patronizing or judgment. Armco also saw itself as a good neighbor in Middletown and later wherever there were Armco plants. Verity and Hook tried to make life better for all city residents ??" everything from supporting scouting to expanding the American Legion for veterans during the Second World War to creating organizations for naturalizing citizens. Even those who did not interact often with the top management knew of them and their works. After George Verity died in 1942 employees of the plant a year later suggested a day of service to remember his neighborly actions and Founder??Ts Day was born. The first Founder??Ts Day saw 30 beds being donated to the Children??Ts Fresh Air Camp and a family that had been burned out of their home had a cash gift to begin rebuilding. A later Founder??Ts Day in Australia had a lift designed and built by Armco engineers for getting spastic children in and out of beds and baths. A couple of Founder??Ts Day programs are included in this lot along with Verity??Ts memorial and program from the dedication of his statue. Several brochures relating to the history of Middletown are certainly also related to the sense of community in the Armco ranks. As Hook??Ts methods of labor relations proved viable and the depression struck Charlie was looked at more and more for national offices. The National Association of Manufacturers tried to get him into their top position in 1934 but Verity could not spare him in the depths of the depression. Four years later he did serve as President of NAM. He became an industry spokesman in Washington and served on a number of committees there. He was also increasingly in demand as a speaker and one of his typescripts for a luncheon speech is in this lot. We need more Charlie Hooks today. Over decades he ?preached? that in the American incentive system the individual is of primary importance. ?If industry is to have its story accepted by the public it must expose abuses in the ranks and condemn improper business practices as quickly as it opposes legislation which it considers obstructive to business progress. It must show unimpeachable good faith. The place to begin is at the grassroots. The way to win confidence in and respect for all industry is for each company to be a good honorable desirable citizen at home.? We seem to have forgotten these old principles in a new century. Hook and others were convinced that they would need to convert to war production sooner than later. He met with some of his Washington friends and realized that the plans were nearly a decade and a half old and most companies had grown and changed considerably. Hook was front and center in redrafting the plans to convert industry to defense a plan decisive in the production records set by industry a mere three years later. Armco??Ts war-time production is outlined in one of the brochures in this lot. As President of NAM he worked toward collaboration of government and industry. He went to England to study labor relations then went to Sweden for the same purpose. As he was leaving the office he set out a 5-point policy for industrial and national welfare that included collaboration of government and industry to raise the standard of living elimination of government competition with the private sector rebuilding tax structures national labor policy based on common sense and fairness (to both labor and management) and a ?square deal? (not a new deal) for business for them to create nine million new jobs. (Anything sound familiar here?) Within a few months however unemployment was zero. On December 14 1941 Charlie Hook had other appointments notably to the War Labor Board made up of 12 members of industry and 12 of labor. Business leaders included presidents/chairmen of SKF Bell Aircraft U.S. Rubber Ingersoll Milling Machine Studebaker American Type Founders American Hawaiian Steamship Champion Paper GE ??" critical industries in a wartime economy. Shortly after he was sent to England to see if steel production could be increased and decide which country could best make what war material. After many days of work Hook was ready to report back to President Roosevelt. As he was boarding the plane at Herndon he was introduced to an American General who was escorting his British counterpart to the same transport. That General turned out to be Dwight Eisenhower. Hook would cross paths with Eisenhower again in Britain during the war. So respected were Hook??Ts processes and opinions that immediately after the war as the U.S. military was going into peacetime mode (they thought) President Truman called on Hook to study and recommend changes in pay of armed services. After the war Hook was involved in many ventures including Junior Achievement. He also promoted some college programs always with the goal of ?selling the basic concepts of the American way of life? - to youth to the public to foreigners to anyone who would listen. One person who got wind of Hook??Ts program was Dwight Eisenhower then president of Columbia University. Hook was invited to Columbia where he spent half a day laying out his program for the president and forming a lifelong friendship. Many years of government service is reflected in the letters from Ike and Nixon although earlier communications (such as FDR and Truman) are not among this particular group of papers. In 1950 Armco celebrated its half-century anniversary. The company put on a party at all of its plants. In Middletown alone the assembled well-wishers consumed 382 000 hot dogs and similar amounts of other comestibles. Just a year before Middletown celebrated Charles R. Hook Day with a testimonial dinner in Middletown??Ts Hotel Manchester attended by Generals an Admiral and a thousand others. A copy of the souvenir of this event is included here. Charlie was given two bound volumes with the originals of these letters telegrams and other well-wishes of his friends and associates. Charlie continued to talk to anyone who would listen over the next decade and had his chance at numerous award ceremonies. Although he never went to college he did take a few correspondence courses in engineering but learned most of the industry by rolling up his sleeves in the mills and talking to those who knew. He was awarded the medal for the advancement of metallurgical research in 1947 the Henry Laurence Gantt Medal in 1950 and eleven honorary degrees by colleges and universities. Hook retired in December 1960 at the age of 80 but continued doing whatever he could to promote industry and the American ideal. He still went to his office every day as his physical condition allowed. He died in 1963 at 83 years of age. Lot includes: Numerous letters over a period of a couple decades to the White House and Department of Labor. Some have autopen or secretarial signatures but at least one Nixon letter may be authentic (or a new autopen pattern!) but 3 others have identical ?Dick? signatures and are likely autopen (they match one known autopen ?Dick Nixon?). A fourth letter signed ?Dick? with a slight difference may be authentic. There are many Eisenhower letters all initialed ?D.E.? There are 8 with slightly different initials some of which may be authentic. One without periods after the initials may be proxy/secretarial ??" we think he usually put periods after initials when he wrote them. All are on either light green White House letterhead or Ike??Ts personal DDE letterhead paper. Many more items in this folder are copies of what Hook sent to the various presidents including his copies of telegrams sent to Eisenhower. Folder labeled ?White House ??" President? with photographs (15) of Presidents Ronald and Nancy Reagan 4 living presidents (2) (Reagan Nixon Bush (41) and Ford) plus another with same four and their wives Bill and Hillary Clinton Republican leaders (Bob Dole Newt Gingrich Jack Kemp) some individual some in groups. Also a few ?certificates? or ?awards.? All seem to be rewards for donations and other support to the party. All signatures are in the photo. In addition there is a banner that is still in its packaging. One can see ?Republican President? in gold letters and one grommet but what the rest says is not certain (that label has been torn off the box ??" it probably had the address on it). Miscellaneous papers including an address given by Hook at a luncheon of the Union League Club Chicago 17 May 1940 entitled ?Wake Up America and Save the Private Enterprise System ? and a number of pages removed from a 3-ring binder most are photographs of maps and buildings in Middletown. File with ?American Rolling Mill Co. interesting facts? on front. Contains three more pamphlets on the story of ARMCO plus a typed speech given by Hook on Founder??Ts Day 1946 supplement to Middletown Journal in honor of ARMCO??Ts 75th Anniversary etc. 4 x 6 and 5 x 7 in. professional photos of Charles R. Hook in photographer??Ts folder. Photo album Obl. Folio string bound ?Photographs? in gilt on front black ?construction paper? pages; 2 x 3.25 in. and 2.25 x 4 in snapshots of family (lots of baby pictures) most likely Charles Hook??Ts (Sr.) family ??" approx. 45 images some have become detached from pages. Envelope with one 4 x 5 in. of a family of five (unidentified but possibly Charles Jr. based on the ages of the sitters and the clothing styles) plus 29 small loose images ranging from 1 x 1 in. to 3 x 5 in. ??" most snapshots taken with home camera. Four 8 x 10 in. black-&-white photos if Hook with Bernie Draut John Draut and Bill Draut at the William Henry Harrison tomb and site of Cincinnati Rolling Mill nearby. Photos taken 7 Aug. 1957 and labeled on verso. Charles R. Hook Testimonial Dinner / Manchester Hotel 6:30 P.M. / April 18 1939. Souvenir In paper covers with 3 brass brads poem by Wm. Dineen five 8 x 10 in. photos were glued to heavy paper but have now come loose plus copies of speeches telegrams letters etc. (i.e. the ?testimonials? given at the dinner). ARMCO Today 75th Anniversary Issue (1975) folio periodical Cover and 2pp article on Charles Hook and ARMCO Business Week 28 Jan. 1950 Forbes Magazine 15 Sept. 1948 with cover of ?Hook of ARMCo Steel Forbes: The Interpreter of Business 15 August 1944 with article on ?Charles R. Hook? U.S. News & World Report 8 June 1951 Hook on Cover indicating the inside article is an interview ?Less Steel for Civilians? Old Middletown folio printed cardstock wraps 1976. Illustrated with line drawings. ARMCO 75th Anniversary book Obl. Folio history of company illustrated with color photos. Armco Goes to War front cover with photo of Armco Air Raid Shelter president??Ts (George Verity) message dated 6 April 1942 with statistics about Armco??Ts war effort. Small folio 12pp. ?In Memoriam? for George Matthew Verity who died suddenly 6 Nov. 1942 (aged 77 yrs) Booklet for the Unveiling April 22 1948 the statue of founder George Verity Charles Ruffin Hook. Romance of Iron and Steel: Contribution of the Central Ohio Valley. New York: The Newcomen Society in North America 1950. 8vo printed paper wraps 32pp. Trifold flyer with History of Middletown Ohio U.S.A. 7.5 in. square folded Brochure from The Henry Laurence Gantt Memorial Gold Medal: Charles R. Hook Sr. Medalist. With speeches by the president of Gantt Medal Board and Charles Hook. Awarded ?for distinguished achievement in industrial management as a service to the community.? 8 June 1950 Plus 4 loose images of Middletown black-and-white. ARMCO in Pictures and Fact Middletown (OH): American Rolling Mill Co. 1921. 8vo soft leatherette cover gilt front and spine 247pp. Borth Christy. True Steel: The Story of George Matthew Verity and His Associates. Dayton United Color Press 1941 (Reprint 1973). 8vo red cloth with dj 319pp. Minor scuffing of dj very minor wear to spine ends. Text block excellent. Tebbel John. The Human Touch in Business: A Biography of Charles R. Hook. Dayton (OH): Otterbein Press 1963. 8vo red printed cloth with gilt front and spine dj 196pp. Top of dj with some damage otherwise book in near new condition. Hook Charles R. The Story of ARMCO. Middletown (OH): The American Rolling Mill Company 1928. 12mo in suede ?Arts & Crafts? style covers 41pp. Some fading of front cover with ?ring? from something heavy maybe wet. Historic South Main Middletown Ohio. Narrow 8vo in printed paper wraps issued by Middletown Department of Planning and Community Development 1977. Architectural and Historic Heritage Middletown Ohio. Narrow 8vo in printed paper wraps issued by Middletown Department of Planning and Community Development 1977. Founder??Ts Day Nuggets selected from talks and articles by George M. Verity the Founder of ARMCO. N.d. 19pp pamphlet with introduction by Charles Hook. Second Founder??Ts Day Nuggets selected from talks and articles by George M. Verity the Founder of ARMCO. N.d. but from a different year 16pp pamphlet with introduction by Charles Hook. The ARMCO First Line: A History and Its Purpose. 23 May 1958. 12mo pamphlet in blue flocked paper covers with gilt front string binding. Condition: Variable as expected. Generally the books and pamphlets are in excellent condition; photos are OK; letters with some humidity damage (light foxing).
• Nathaniel D. Hackett Wisconsin
  Nathaniel D. Hackett Wisconsin 1st Heavy Artillery Civil War and Personal Archive 330 items dating from 1860-1947. While serving in the 1st Wisconsin Battery Light Artillery Davis Hackett kept in close correspondence with his family at home. An upstanding young man Hackett received 74 letters while in the service that provide a glimpse into how communities remained connected across the barriers of absence and military service as well as the adjustments made by family and friends on the home front. The letters are filled with familial concern news of soldiers coming home after their time had run out funerals and family and the daily events of life on the home front. In a typical letter Hackett??Ts sister wrote about a girlfriend of Davis??T (Leone Baldwin) whom she disapproved and whom she felt had wronged him by courting a number of soldiers: You can see as well as I how she has wronged you all this time. It is too much to bear peacefully. I would give a good deal if your letters were somewhere besides in her possession for I??Tll bet anything she will show them to everybody. She is just as true to you as she is to every one or as true as she would be if she were engaged to everyone. She expects and wishes all to worship at her footstool.... You desire a whole heart not one whose affections are scattered from the Potomac to the Rio Grande and you deserve it too -- but no one will ever receive such from her for she has no heart to bestow. I do not feel that I do her the least injustice when I say she is a heartless coquette... Hackett??Ts sister May wrote with some juicy local gossip: When Miss Maxwell came to our school she wrote it seems she left her Bible (on purpose I suppose) and today after Sabbath School commenced she came in after it and paraded the whole length of the house and out again so we all had a chance to see her which I dare say she considered a great privilege. I do not know as it is Christian like to slander ones neighbor in this manner but you know I do not wish to write the same things to you that the rest do so you must excuse me if I do say things sometimes which it were better not to say. Other letters offer similar flavor: Friends Marion Miles writes: You ask me not to ?forget the soldiers.? Know ye Dave there lives not one who has a more profound respect for the soldier than myself. I think they are fighting in the noblest cause for which a patriot ever unsheathed his sword; and we watch their course follow them with our best wishes glory in their achievements and are waiting patiently and hopefully for the time when we can welcome them home. I would be very glad if the last battle had already been fought if not another drop of loyal blood need be spilled if not another waiting heart at home need sent with anguish because of the death of a loved one; but How useless and vain the wish! For the horrid appetite of cruel remorseless war is not yet appeased. Many another noble life must be sacrificed ere this accursed rebellion is crushed. But now Lincoln is elected we hope to be safe again... From young brother Oscar: As to the use of Tobacco I did use it before you went away for I thought that it was nice and it was gentlemanly but I saw my error before it was to late but I thank you for your advice and I am very glad that you was s thoughtfull for my welfare. I have tried to help Father and Mother all that I could since you went away. I have stayed to home from school about a week to help Father get up some wood. I am learning t cipher considerably and Pa says that just as soon as you get bacl that that he is agoing to have me learn some trade for you know I do not like to work on a farm. I think that I shall learn the Blacksmiths trade for I like that the best any trade... Cousin Lizzie; I heard of the President??Ts death while I was in Farmington last Saturday afternoon. We got the intelligence about four in the afternoon and immediately the flag was seen flying at half mast. Bells were tolled and Stores and Houses draped in mourning. The evening before everyone seemed happy and all had a gay time. The stores on Main Street were illuminated also many private residences. Speeches were made by the clergymen and everyone was rejoicing over the recent good news... Marion Miles was just as deeply affected by the assassination: Seward??Ts loss too at any other time would be deeply felt and even now will be mourned sincerely but Lincoln was our Chieftain and it seems to me is just as necessary to us as a nation as was Washington in the Revolutionary War. Can the perpetrator of the awful deed ever be sufficiently punished for a crime too horrible for a just God to pardon? The only consolation is that Johnson will be likely (if he don??Tt get intoxicated) to deal with rebels and traitors as honestly as they deserve if possible. I don??Tt believe he would parole their Commander in Chief should be again be captured. I have just faith enough in Gen. Lee??Ts honor to believe he has gone to South Carolina to help ??~conquer??T Sherman and sent his army to the mountains to practice guerrilla warfare. I wish he and his whole command had been hung instead of paroled...The collection also includes a nice letter from Davis shortly after his arrival in Washington D.C. in Oct. 4 1864 describing the nation??Ts capitol at the height of the war: Here I am in the Capitol of the United States standing in the dome as you enter from the north side and turn to your right and there you see the picture of the landing of Columbus the size of which is about ten by fourteen feet. The next is the embarkation of the Pilgrims third George Washington resigning his commission to Congress fourth surrender of Lord Cornwallace fifth surrender of Gen Burgoyne.... We went through to the south side and got a drink of water at the fountain the basin of which is filled with fish and the park is a splendid thing and there is a fountain on either side of the wall coming north and south but the one of the west was not finished... After the war Hackett moved to the west settling in East Ashland Oregon by 1910 and then in Victor Montana where he died August 1929. As was true during his service his correspondence helped overcome the distance that separated him from his family. The collection also includes a thick sheaf of correspondence from relatives and friends written to Davis during the post-war period mostly during the 1860s through 1890s but continuing into the next generation as well. A solid typical domestic correspondence these letters discuss family illness aging parents dead dogs choking on bones and the usual ebb and flow of life in mid-Victorian Wisconsin (Baraboo Chippewa Falls). Among the most interesting series of letters are 14 from Davis to his wife Carrie written from Chippewa Falls Wisc. in 1889 describing his life there and a ?sensation? at the Stanley House hotel: They had a german girl doing laundry work that was not compos mentus & Ginns [an acquaintance] nephew has been a fool of her for some time & about the time Gonn died he got the negrow porter & 3 other fellows down in the cellar & they all took part in the fun each taking his turn. It finally got out & the authorities had 3 of them shut up & one skipped & one was not molested. Two were fined $100 each or 6 months in jail & the nephew $50. He & the negrow paid & the latter skipped as soon as he paid & the 3 one is in jail. The nephew was in school here but I heard Mr. Long was going to have him expelled. We little know what is going on right under our noses... Other items include a nice series of 33 letters from Florence Vrooman to her close friend Davis 1914-1917 discussing her life on a farm in Lakeville Wisc. and her efforts to cope with loneliness and hard winters; a series of letters to Millie Hackett from friends and relatives 1890s; and 45 letters to Davis??T daughter Edith 1890s-1940s including letters discussing life as a teacher and occasional mentions of the Second World War. Some general soiling and wear as expected many with envelopes. Condition: Some general soiling and wear as expected many with envelopes.
• William Woodward (American/New
  William Woodward (American/New Orleans 1859-1939) "French Market New Orleans" 1903 watercolor on paper laid down on board titled lower left and inscribed "Jan." signed and dated "Wm. Woodward New Orleans 1903" on backing 24 in. x 16 in.; accompanied by an envelope inscribed "This watercolor done by Mr. William Woodward circa 1900. It was property of my grandmother Nannie Mather Bell" with typed "Bomar" return address attractively matted and framed. Provenance: Gift from the artist; descended in a Louisiana family. Note: The French Market was a favored theme of William Woodward. He depicted it in different media over several decades. A watercolor from 1891 in The Historic New Orleans Collection depicts an active scene with piles of cabbages and onions and a man at work cleaning cabbages in the right background. Seemingly the same man is shown in the 1903 painting offered here but in a slightly different location of the market. This view depicts one of the gabled entries on the river side of the French Market and relates very closely to a Raffaelli oil crayon from 1904 in the collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art. In that work from a different angle he shows the same woman with her red scarf and blue skirt standing by a table piled with cabbages. The man is also shown but at work on his horse carriage. Large watercolors by William Woodward are quite rare as he generally preferred the medium of oil crayon to capture his beloved Vieux Carré. Reference: Brady Patricia ed. Complementary Visions of Louisiana Art: The Laura Simon Nelson Collection The Historic New Orleans Collection 1996 p. 34. Hinckley Robert William Woodward: American Impressionist 2009 p. 16 and 129.