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Thomas Burnside Morris Papers
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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
Morris graduated from New York University in 1861 with a degree in civil engineering. He was a chief engineer of the Long Island Railroad, 1863; a division chief of the Panama Railroad, 1864-1865; a division chief of the Union Pacific Railroad, 1867-1869; and a division chief of the Northern Pacific Railroad, 1870-1874. He died in Oakland, California, on November 8, 1885.
MorrisMorris graduated from New York University in 1861 with a degree in civil engineering. He was a chief engineer of the Long Island Railroad, 1863; a division chief of the Panama Railroad, 1864-1865; a division chief of the Union Pacific Railroad, 1867-1869; and a division chief of the Northern Pacific Railroad, 1870-1874. He died in Oakland, California, on November 8, 1885.
The collection consists primarily of material relating to Morris's role in the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad and the Northern Pacific Railroad. Included are 14 original letters by Morris (1867-1876), most written from the field to his future wife during the Union Pacific Railroad construction; an original carte-de-visite photograph of Morris; a photograph (copy) of General Grenville Dodge and his engineers and staff at Promontory Point (Utah); a photograph (copy) of the juncture of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific trains at Promontory Point; a 3-ring binder of photostatic copies of "Diaries and Letters of Thomas Burnside Morris" (1869-1876); and typed excerpts from the Utah part (1868-1869) of that binder. Morris's original autograph commencement essay (New York University, 1861), 2 letters (1868, 1870) by cousin D. W. Davis to Miss Sallie Sletor (Morris's future wife), a genealogist's report on the career of Morris, a summary genealogy of the Morris family, and a copy of a reference to Morris in Stephen E. Ambrose's Nothing Like It in the World (2000) complete the collection.
Material is arranged chronologically, originals before copies.
Gift of Roland M. Machold in January 2012 (AM2012-61).
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 collection was processed by John Delaney in January 2012. Finding aid written by John Delaney in January 2012.
No appraisal information is available.
People
Organization
Subject
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Author
- John Delaney
- Finding Aid Date
- 2011
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research.
- 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
1 folder
1 folder
(photostatic copies)
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
(copies)
Physical Description1 folder
(Morris's future wife)
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder