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Alfred A. Woodhull Collection
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
A graduate from the University of Pennsylvania's medical dept. in 1859, Woodhull served in the Union army medical corps and was a surgeon and medical inspector during the Civil War. A sanitation expert, he remained in the army until retirement (1901) and authored a number of medical works.
The collection consists of works, correspondence, genealogical information, photographs, miscellaneous material, and printed works of Woodhull (Princeton Class of 1856). Included are his manuscripts of Studies, Chiefly Clinical, in the Non-Eemtic Use of Ipecacuanha (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott and Co., 1876) and Notes on Military Hygiene for Officers of the Line (New York: J. Wiley and Sons, 1890), as well as many lectures, articles, addresses, and studies by him. The professional correspondence reflects Woodhull's interest in sanitary conditions within the military and contains many letters he wrote as a member of the surgeon general's staff after the Civil War and during his tour of duty as an instructor in military hygiene at the Infantry and Cavalry School, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas (1886-1890). The personal correspondence includes many letters between family members, especially between his parents, Anna Maria Salomon and Alfred Alexander Woodhull (Princeton Class of 1828). There are also papers belonging to Woodhull's ancestors, including John Woodhull (Princeton Class of 1766, later a Trustee, Woodhull's great-grandfather), George S. Woodhull (Princeton Class of 1790, later a Trustee, Woodhull's grandfather), William H. Woodhull (George's brother), and Henry W. B. Woodhull (Princeton Class of 1838, nephew of George and William).
Much of the collection includes material after Woodhull's retirement from the army when he returned to Princeton for five years (1902-1907) as a lecturer in personal hygiene and general sanitation. There are lectures, correspondence, and miscellaneous material during this period including papers relating to the Princeton Class of 1856 and to Clio Hall. Woodhull remained in Princeton after his retirement from the University, and during this period there are letters and miscellaneous material for The Battle of Princeton (1913), a tactical study of that engagement. In addition, there are photographs of Woodhull, Civil War scenes, and military hospitals; genealogical information of the Woodhull family; a scrapbook of newspaper clippings regarding sanitary condition within military facilities and two scrapbooks containing carbons of speeches and some correspondence; and printed pamphlets by Woodhull and others dealing with military hygiene.
This is an unprocessed collection and remains in its original arrangement.
The collection was formed as a result of a departmental practice of combining into one collection manuscript material of various accessions relating to a particular author.
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
This is an unprocessed collection. The contents list provided is a preliminary inventory.
The collection inventory was created by Michael Heist in August 2007.
Materials were foldered and rehoused by Brianna Cregle in 2022. Edits to archival description were made by Amy C. Vo in 2022.
No appraisal information is available.
Organization
Subject
- Ipecac (Drug)
- Medicine, Military -- United States -- 19th century
- Military hygiene -- United States -- 19th century
- Military training camps -- United States -- 19th century
- College of New Jersey (Princeton, N.J.) -- Faculty. -- 19th century
- Princeton, Battle of, Princeton, N.J., 1777
Place
Occupation
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Date
- 2007
- Access Restrictions
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Collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
Collection Inventory
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