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William Walter Phelps Papers mssHM 27329-27485

Gayle Richardson The Huntington Library July 2020 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org

William Walter Phelps Papers mssHM 27329-27485 1 mssHM 27329-27485 Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library Title: William Walter Phelps papers Creator: Phelps, William Walter, 1839-1894 Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 27329-27485 Physical Description: 4.4 Linear Feet(2 boxes and 2 expansion folders) Date (inclusive): 1800-1925 Date (bulk): 1876-1893 Abstract: A collection of material related to the life and work of William Walter Phelps, American , politician, and diplomat. Language of Material: Materials are in English. Conditions Governing Access Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information. Conditions Governing Use The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher. Preferred Citation [Identification of item]. William Walter Phelps papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California. Immediate Source of Acquisition Purchased from Mrs. Frances Phelps Penry, December, 1963. Biographical / Historical William Walter Phelps (1839-1894), was a lawyer, businessman, arboriculturist, and diplomat. Phelps was born in New York, New York, and graduated from as valedictorian in 1860; in the same year he married Ellen Maria Sheffield. He was active in Republican politics and a good friend of James G. Blaine, Speaker of the House and Senator from Maine. Phelps represented in the Forty-third (1873-1875), Forty-eighth, Forty-ninth, and Fiftieth Congresses (1883-1889). In 1881-1882, he served as Ambassador to -Hungary, and from 1889-1893 Phelps served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to . In 1888 President Harrison appointed him as one of the commissioners to represent the United States at the Joint Conference on the Samoan Question, which met in in 1889. Phelps died in his home in Teaneck, New Jersey on June 17, 1894. Scope and Contents A collection of political, business, diplomatic, social, and family correspondence of William Walter Phelps, chiefly letters addressed to him. The collection numbers 199 items, including items related to American politics and the Republican party, Phelps' diplomatic service, his family, social life and literary interests. Correspondents include, among others, Herbert Nikolaus von Bismarck, James Gillespie Blaine, , Eugene Field, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, and Joseph Pulitzer. Also included is the correspondence of Phelps, a poem by Eugene Field dedicated to Phelps, an 1882 letter containing an eye-witness account of the battle of Battle of Chapultepec, Mexico (1847), ephemera, photographs, and newspapers clippings. The collection also contains papers related to John Chester Eno's embezzlement from the Second of New York (of which Phelps was a director) and Phelps' negotiations with Eno's father, Amos Richard Phelps, to make good the loss (1884). Processing Information Processed by Huntington Library Staff, circa 1970. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the finding aid derived from legacy in-house summary report. Arrangement Chiefly arranged alphabetically by author: General correspondence, A-Ph (box 1); General correspondence, P-T and miscellaneous (box 2); Berlin Conference on Samoan Affairs (expansion folder 1); Second Bank of New York (expansion folder 2). Subjects and Indexing Terms Chapultepec, Battle of, Mexico City, Mexico, 1847 Diplomats -- United States Embezzlement -- New York (State) -- New York

William Walter Phelps Papers mssHM 27329-27485 2 mssHM 27329-27485 Politicians -- New Jersey Samoan question Berlin (Germany) -- Social life and customs Germany -- Foreign relations -- United States Samoan Islands -- History United States -- Foreign relations -- Germany United States -- Politics and Government -- 1865-1900 Ephemera -- United States -- 19th century Family papers -- United States -- 19th century Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century Personal papers -- United States -- 19th century Photographs -- United States -- 19th century Professional papers -- United States -- 19th century Bismarck, Herbert, Fürst von, 1849-1904 Blaine, James Gillespie, 1830-1893 Clemens, Samuel Langhorne, 1835-1910 Field, Eugene, 1850-1895 Harrison, Benjamin, 1833-1901 Phelps, John J. (John Jay), 1810-1869 Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- ) -- History -- 19th century Second Bank of New York

Box 1 Correspondence and manuscripts: Allison-Page 1879-1911 Scope and Contents Correspondence, manuscripts and documents; locations: United States, Egypt, Paris, and Berlin.

Box 2 Correspondence and manuscripts: Phelps-Zakrzewski 1800-1925 Scope and Contents Correspondence, manuscripts, miscellaneous material, and ephemera; locations: London, United States, Egypt, Berlin, and Jerusalem.

Folder 1 Second National Bank of New York 1884-1888 Scope and Contents Correspondence, diary extract, documents, and ephemera; location: New York, United States.

Folder 2 Berlin Conference on Samoan Affairs 1889-1890 Scope and Contents Drafts, correspondence, press dispatches, and reports; locations: United States and Berlin.

William Walter Phelps Papers mssHM 27329-27485 3 mssHM 27329-27485