Call Number:

C1279

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 1 box
• 0.2 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Daniel Webster Collection, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1824-1852 (inclusive)

Creator:

Princeton University. Library. Special Collections and Webster, Daniel, 1782-1852

Form:

Checks -- 19th century., Correspondence -- 19th century, and Documents -- 19th century.

Abstract:

Consists of selected correspondence and documents of and about Daniel Webster, the nineteenth-century American attorney, congressman, and secretary of state.

Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman during the nation's Antebellum Period. A graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and Dartmouth College, Webster was an attorney by training. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1812, serving two terms as the representative from New Hampshire's At-large District. Following his second term, Webster returned to his law practice, relocating from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Boston, Massachusetts. In 1823, Webster reentered politics, serving from 1823 to 1827 as the member of the House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 1st District. Webster later served as United States senator from Massachusetts (1827-1841, 1845-1850) and was appointed secretary of state during the William Henry Harrison and Millard Fillmore administrations.

The collection consists of selected correspondence and documents of and about Daniel Webster, the leading American statesman during the nation's Antebellum Period. Correspondents include David A. Hall of the Bank of the United States, U.S. President Henry Harrison, Richard Lears, Esq., E. N. Sparhawk, F. C. Stainback, and John Ward. In a letter to Mrs. Henry Harrison, on behalf of the family of Robert Goodloe Harper, Webster requests to copy a photograph of Harper which was in the possession of Mrs. Harrison. In another letter, dated June 22, 1847, to James Carnahan, ninth president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), he regrets his inability to be present at the institution's centennial celebration. Included is a printed invitation, dated June 1851, signed by James Walker, Horatio Towne, G. H. Stone, and J. P. Huggins, inviting Webster to Massachusetts, and Webster's response to it. Also, there is a letter from John MacLean, tenth president of the College of New Jersey, asking Webster the favor of obtaining a passport for his stepson, Israel Garrard, to visit Europe, with Webster's response written at the top of the page.

The documents include two bank checks, signed by Webster, drawn on the Bank of the United States, one to E. Dyer & Co. and the other to Agnes Price, and minutes from a town meeting dated October 27, 1852, regarding the funeral of Daniel Webster. Other material included is a single autograph signature of Daniel Webster and a facsimile of a part of the address given by Webster on July 4, 1851, at the foundation of the addition to Capitol Hill.

The collection is organized by accession number.