Hale, John P. Papers, 1820-1914
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Guide to the John Parker Hale Papers, 1820-1914 Administrative Summary Title: John Parker Hale Papers, 1820-1914 (bulk 1840-1874) Repository: New Hampshire Historical Society 30 Park Street Concord, NH 03301 (603) 228-6688 http://www.nhhistory.org/library.html Collection Numbers: 1926.006, 1988.058, 2013.019 Creator of the Collection: Hale, John Parker, 1806-1873 Hale, Lucy Lambert (wife of John Parker Hale) 1814-1902 [Chandler], Lucy Lambert Hale [daughter of John Parker Hale], 1841-1915 [Jacques], [Kinsley], Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Hale [daughter of John Parker Hale], 1835-1895 Author of Finding Aid: Sandra L. Wheeler, incorporating also information from an earlier finding aid written by Thomas E. Camden Language: Most of the materials in this collection are in English. There are some Spanish materials from while Hale was United States Minister to Spain, 1865-1869. Extent: 22 document cases (numbered 0-19), approximately 12 linear feet 1 oversize folder with 17 items (not included in above box or foot count) Abstract: John Parker Hale was a New Hampshire Senator in office 1847-53 and 1855-65. He is identified with the formation of the Republican Party and the struggle to abolish slavery. He also served as United States Minister to Spain, 1865-1869. The collection consists largely of correspondence, both personal letters among his family members (and, occasionally, to them from friends) and his political correspondence (mostly incoming 1 but with some outgoing, especially during his time in Spain for which there are bound letter books). The collection also includes ephemera, largely newspaper clippings (which have been photocopied), and Hale’s undated writings and speeches. 2 Access and Use Acquisition Information and Provenance: In 1926, the estate of William E. Chandler donated his papers to the New Hampshire Historical Society. These were immediately divided into three separate collections, all with the same accession number (1926.006): Chandler’s own papers; those of Joseph Gilmore, governor of New Hampshire and the father of Chandler’s first wife; those of John Parker Hale, senator from New Hampshire and father of Chandler’s second wife. These were all probably gathered together and saved by Chandler’s second wife, Lucy Hale Chandler, who valued her family’s history. All items with NO accession number written on them are from this original donation. There have been two additions to the Hale Papers after the original 1926 donation, in 1988 (1988.58) and 2013 (2013.12). They have been interfiled. Unnumbered items are from the original donation; items from the 1988 and 2013 purchases have their accession numbers penciled on them. Hale items with accession number 1988.058 were purchased from Frank Spinney in 1988. There is no documentation about how they came into Spinney’s hands. The purchase consists of approximately 300 letters written by John Parker Hale to his wife and daughters. These items have penciled “1988.058” notations on them. Hale items with accession number 2013.012 were purchased in 2013 from the daughter of Richard Morcom, who is said to have bought the collection at an estate sale. The purchase consists of approximately 570 letters plus approximately 200 pieces of ephemera. Each item has a penciled “2013.012” notation. Processing Information : This collection was reprocessed to interfile all accessions by Sandra L. Wheeler between January and June, 2013. The finding aid was written by Sandra L. Wheeler in August, 2013. This finding aid follows the standards set-forth by Describing Archives: A Content Standard . Access Restrictions: None. Location: The collection is housed at the New Hampshire Historical Society in Concord, New Hampshire. Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements: The letters and documents in the collection are in fair to good condition. A few letters were written on very thin tissue-like paper and will require careful handling. Items that are badly worn or torn have been placed in polyester sleeves. 3 Copyright/Conditions Governing Use: For permission to reproduce or publish material from this collection, please speak to the Library Director or Librarian. Users are responsible for following all copyright and intellectual property laws. Preferred Citation: John Parker Hale Papers, 1926.006; 1988.058; 2012.012. New Hampshire Historical Society. Date accessed. Biographical Information: Hale family overview, details of individuals follow: John Parker Hale (1806-1873) was the son of John Parker Hale and Lydia Clarkson O’Brien. He married Lucy Lambert (1814-1902) of Brunswick ME in 1834. They had two daughters, Elizabeth, known as Lizzie (1835-1895) and Lucy (1841-1915). Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Hale married, first, Edward Kinsley (1825-1888); their only child died shortly after his birth. Her second husband was William Henry ‘Harry’ Jacques (1847-1916); this marriage produced no children. Lucy Hale married William E. Chandler (1835-1917); they had one son, John Parker Hale Chandler (1885-1940) John Parker Hale (1806-1873) Hale was a politician and early abolitionist, serving in the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate and New Hampshire House of Representatives as well as a United States Minister to Spain. A chronology: 1806 Born at Rochester NH, first son of 13 children of John Parker Hale and Lydia O’Brien Hale. He was a descendant of Robert Hale, who settled at Charlestown MA in 1632. 1819 Death of his father. His mother, left with no money, moved the family to Eastport ME, where she ran a boarding house. She kept some younger children with her and sent older ones to live with her relatives. She decided, however, that her oldest son, John, should be educated. 1820 Entered Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter NH. 1827 Graduated from Bowdoin College with classmates Franklin Pierce, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry W. Longfellow. 1830 Admitted to the New Hampshire Bar after having studied law with Jeremiah H. Woodman in Rochester NH and Daniel M. Christie in Dover NH. Began practice in Dover. 1832 Elected to New Hampshire State Legislature as a Democrat. 4 1832-34 Served as member of New Hampshire General Court. 1834 Married Lucy Lambert of Brunswick ME. 1834-41 Served as United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire; appointed by President Andrew Jackson and renewed by Martin VanBuren. Removed by President John Tyler on party grounds. 1835 Daughter Elizabeth (Lizzie) born. 1841 Daughter Lucy born. 1842-45 Served in United States House of Representatives as a Democrat. 1844-45 Campaigned against the annexation of Texas on anti-slavery grounds. Lead by Franklin Pierce, the New Hampshire Democrats struck his name from the ticket and declared him a traitor to the party. Hale campaigned against slavery in every town and village in the state. 1846 Elected to New Hampshire House of Representatives as an Independent Democrat and made Speaker of the House. 1847-53 Served in the United States Senate. Opposed the Mexican-American War and had an openly anti-slavery platform. 1848 Accepted nomination for President of the United States on the Liberty Party ticket. 1851 Served as counsel for the defendants in the trials of the rescuers of the slave Shadrach Minkins from the United States Marshal in Boston. 1852 Nominated by the Free Soil Party for the United States Presidency, ran against Franklin Pierce. 1853-54 Moved to New York City to practice law. 1855-65 Served as United States Senator from New Hampshire. Became a Republican and served as chair of Senate Republican Conference. 1865-69 Served as United States Minister to Spain, appointed by President Lincoln. While there, he feuded with Horatio Perry, the Secretary to the Legation. Eventually both men were recalled. 1870 Returned to the United States in poor health and suffered a stroke soon after. Spent last years semi-invalid. 5 1873 Died at Dover, NH; buried at Pine Hill Cemetery in that city. sources: Sewell, Richard H. John P. Hale and the Politics of Abolition . Harvard University Press, 1965. Dictionary of American Biography , pp. 105-107. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, June 2013. History of Keene NH , Simon Goodell Griffin, pg 635 ff [information about Horatio Perry and the feud with Hale while both serving in Spain] Elizabeth Little “Lizzie” Hale Kinsley Jacques (1835-1895) Lizzie married Edward Kinsley (1846-1888) in April, 1868. Kinsley graduated from Yale University, studied law, and succeeded his father as principal of the Classical and Mathematical School at West Point. He and Lizzie married in Madrid, where he was serving as Acting Secretary to the United States Legation (Lizzie’s father was United States Minister to Spain). It is unclear whether Kinsley followed Lizzie to Spain or met her there. They had one child, John Parker Hale Kinsley, born in Paris the fall of 1869. He died soon after birth and is buried in Paris. Upon their return from Europe, the Kinsleys lived in West Point, where he died in 1888. In 1889, Lizzie married William Henry “Harry’ Jacques (1847-1916), an armor expert with Holland Submarine and Bethlehem Steel, who had apparently served William E Chandler, her brother-in-law, as an aide while Chandler was Secretary of the United States Navy. She refers to Jacques in passing as early as a letter written from London in 1886, when she and Kinsley were invited to breakfast with him. However, when she married him in 1889, it apparently was an unpleasant surprise to her sister and brother-in- law. This marriage produced no children. Lizzie’s last days are documented by letters from her anxious mother to her sister in the spring of 1895, as Lizzie’s ‘cough’ was diagnosed as rheumatic fever, from which she died in April. A long post script to Lizzie’s life surrounds the matter of her will, especially the disposition of her property in Boar’s Head NH, which she had left partly to her widower, Harry Jacques, and partly to her mother and sister.