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Extent:

2.4 linear feet (3 boxes)

Abstract:

Consists of correspondence, financial documents (e.g. account books and receipts), ephemera, and legal documents (e.g. permits, contracts, and affidavits) from J. O. Simmons (1821-1890). Simmons worked in a variety of professions in Ohio, Minnesota, Mississippi, Louisiana, and the Dakota Territory, including as a merchant, storekeeper, farmer, attorney, surveyor, county clerk, justice of the peace, and homeopathic doctor. The collection largely documents agricultural and mercantile exchanges on the Mississippi River during and after the American Civil War, the employment of African American and immigrant laborers during the early Reconstruction era, and land dispute issues among white settlers in the Territory of Dakota in the 1870s.

Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]