Elisha Bartlett family papers
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Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester Rush Rhees Library Second Floor, Room 225 Rochester, NY 14627-0055 [email protected] URL: https://www.library.rochester.edu/spaces/rbscp Elisha Bartlett family papers
Table of Contents
Summary Information ...... 3 Biographical/Historical note ...... 3 Scope and Contents note ...... 4 Administrative Information ...... 6 Related Materials ...... 6 Controlled Access Headings ...... 7 Collection Inventory ...... 7 Series I: Correspondence ...... 7 Series II: Manuscript materials ...... 9
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Summary Information
Repository: Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester Creator: Bartlett (Family : Bartlett, Elisha, 1804-1855) Creator: Bartlett, Elisha, 1804-1855 Creator: Bartlett, Walter Otis Title: Elisha Bartlett family papers ID: D.96 Date [inclusive]: 1733-1924 Physical Description: 4 boxes Language of the English Material:
Preferred Citation
[Item title, item date], Elisha Bartlett Family Papers, D.96, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
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Biographical/Historical note
Elisha Bartlett was born in Smithfield, Rhode Island, on October 6, 1804, the son of Otis and Waite Buffum Bartlett, who were Quakers. After preliminary study in Quaker schools and private study in medicine, he entered the medical department of Brown University, and graduated in 1826. In 1829, he married Elizabeth Slater of Smithfield, Rhode Island, and in 1832 was appointed to his first teaching post as professor of pathological anatomy and materia medica in the Berkshire Medical Institution at Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In succeeding years Elisha Bartlett pursued a distinguished career of teaching and writing, holding many different posts including professor of theory and practice of medicine at Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky, 1841 and 1846; professor of the theory and practice of medicine at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, 1844-46; the same position at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, 1849-50; professor of the institutes and practice of medicine in New York University, 1850-52; professor of materia medica and medical jurisprudence in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, 1852-55; and lecturer on the topics of materia medica and obstetrics at the Vermont Medical College in the spring and summer months from 1843 to 1852. Elisha Bartlett died - Page 3- Elisha Bartlett family papers in Smithfield, Rhode Island, on July 19, 1855. For further biographical information the reader should consult the article on Elisha Bartlett in the Dictionary of American Biography, and Charts A and B, below, which trace the genealogical relationships for part of the Bartlett family.
Bartlett Family Genealogy:
Chart A
Elisha, b.10/06/1804, d.c.07/19/1855 m.1829, Elizabeth Slater
Caroline, b.03/11/1806, d.? m.?,Isaac Brown
Adelia, b.01/01/1808, d.?
Otis Bartlett b.02/20/1778, m. Waite Buffum b.09/29/1783
Rebecca, b.09/01/1810, d.? m.?, John D. Brown
Ruth, b.06/14/1812, d.?
Oliver, b.10/17/1815, d.?
George, b.09/23/1817. d.?
William Osborn, b.04/03/1820, d.1881 m.? had- Willard
Sarah Earle, b.08/28/1822, d.?
Chart B
Otis Bartlett b. 02/20/1778
Walter Otis>m. 09/07/1823 b. 10/18/1836
Waity (?) Allen b.? d. ?
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Scope and Contents note
The Bartlett Family Papers span the years from 1733 to 1924, with the bulk of the collection falling into the thirty-year period from 1832 to 1862. The papers consist of 4 boxes containing a total of approximately 510 items, of which 360 items are letters and approximately 150 items are manuscript materials including family related manuscripts, financial and legal materials, and miscellaneous items of printed ephemera. The collection contains a significant amount of material related to the medical career of Elisha Bartlett from 1832 to 1855, and the activities of Walter Otis Bartlett, Captain 1st Rhode Island
- Page 4- Elisha Bartlett family papers Artillery, in the Civil War during 1861 to 1862. The collection also contained some printed pamphlet materials relating to Elisha Bartlett which were removed for cataloguing purposes. See register below for a listing of these printed materials.
The correspondence in the collection relating to Elisha Bartlett consists of approximately 41 letters from and 180 letters to him. Approximately 93 letters to, from, or about Elisha Bartlett are to or from correspondents listed in the Dictionary of American Biography. Twenty-five of these correspondents are physicians, surgeons, or chemists, including: Nathan Allen, Gurdon Buck, John William Draper, Benjamin Winslow Dudley, Pliny Earle, John Orne Green, Samuel David Gross, Elisha Huntington, Edward Jarvis, Joseph Johnson, Gilman Kimball, Leonidas Merion Lawson, Charles Alfred Lee, Reubin Dimond Mussey, William Osler, Martyn Paine, B.R. Palmer, Willard Parker, Robert Peter, Benjamin Silliman Jr., Nathan Ryno Smith, Alexander Hodgdon Stevens, Edward Livingston Trudeau, David Wendell Yandell, and Lunsford Pitts Yandell.
The bulk of the medically related correspondence is from physicians holding teaching posts at universities where Elisha Bartlett taught. The latter correspondence consists mainly of factual material relating to the yearly business of the universities.
There are a few letters to or from members of the Bartlett family including Elisha Bartlett's wife, Elizabeth Slater Bartlett. In addition, this correspondence includes 21 letters from his brother William Osborn Bartlett, a lawyer, mostly in connection with legal business.
Other notable correspondents in the collection include: Charles Butler, Caleb Cushing, John Davis, Charles Dickens, Alexander Hill Everett, James Thomas Fields, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, William Chauncy Langdon, Henry Cabot Lodge, William Brown Maclay, Robert Treat Paine, Thomas Wren Ward, Catherine Ann Ware Warfield, T.L. Woodruff, and Jeffries Wyman.
Walter Otis Bartlett was born on October 18, 1836, the son of Otis Bartlett and his second wife Waity(?) Allen Bartlett. He apparently served in the Union Army as a Captain of the 1st Rhode Island Artillery during 1861 and 1862. Further biographical information on Walter Otis Bartlett is found in his letters in the family correspondence.
The correspondence in the collection relating to Walter Otis Bartlett consists of 60 letters from him to members of the Bartlett family. The bulk of this correspondence is addressed to Bartlett's sister Caroline Bartlett Brown. Most of the remainder of his letters are addressed to another sister, Rebecca Bartlett Brown.
The Walter Otis Bartlett letters in the collection include significant but not necessarily large amounts of information on the following subjects: Bartlett's fellow officers in the war, the Battle of Bull Run, the troops' and officers' perceptions of political events in Washington, D.C., and Bartlett's attempt to resign from the Army.
The researcher should refer to the 'Box and Folder Identification' section for a description of the contents of each folder in the collection. The letters of notable correspondents as listed above are indexed in the correspondence catalog in the Department of Rare Books, Special Collections and Preservation.
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Administrative Information
Publication Statement Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
Rush Rhees Library Second Floor, Room 225 Rochester, NY 14627-0055 [email protected] URL: https://www.library.rochester.edu/spaces/rbscp
Revision Description Finding aid updated to correct formatting issues. July 2021
Restrictions on Access The Elisha Bartlett Family Papers is open for research use. Researchers are advised to contact the Rare Books Special Collections & Preservation Department prior to visiting. Upon arrival, researchers will also be asked to fill out a registration form and provide photo identification.
Immediate Source of Acquisition note The Bartlett Family Papers were purchased from John F. Fleming, Inc., New York City in June 1978. Additional materials were purchased from John F. Fleming, Inc. in September 1980.
Restrictions on Use In consultation with a curator, reproductions may be made upon request. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from a curator. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.
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Related Materials
Separated Materials note Printed materials removed from collection for cataloguing purposes:
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Allin, Charles M. Retro-pharyngeal Abscess; Its Medical History and Treatment; with a Statistical Table of Fifty-eight Cases. Reprint from the New York Journal of Medicine. New York: John F. Trow, Printer, 1851. Signed by author to "Elisha Bartlett M.D. With the author's respects."
The Atlantic Monthly. Vol. 1, No. 3, January 1858.
Bartlett, Elisha. A Brief Sketch of the Life, Character, and Writings of William Charles Wells, M.D., F.R.S.; An Address Delivered Before the Louisville Medical Society, December 7, 1849. Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1849.
Bartlett, Elisha. A Discourse on the Times, Character and Writings of Hippocrates. New York: H. Bailliere, 1852.
A Brief Memoir of Dr. Elisha Bartlett; With Selections from his Writings and a Bibliography of the Same. Providence: Sidney S. Rider, 1878. 2 copies.
Lowell, Massachusetts Historical Association. Contributions of the Old Residents' Historical Association, Lowell, Mass. Published by the Association, November 1883. Volume 2, No. 4. Includes section on Elisha Bartlett, p. 361-371.
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Controlled Access Headings
• Physicians • Medicine--Study and teaching • American Civil War (1861-1865) • Correspondence • Bartlett (Family : Bartlett, Elisha, 1804-1855) • Bartlett, Elisha, 1804-1855 • Bartlett, Walter Otis • United States. Army. Rhode Island Light Artillery Regiment, 1st (1861-1865)
Collection Inventory
Series I: Correspondence
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Arrangement
Arranged chronologically
Title/Description Instances Correspondence, undated Box 1 Folder 1
Correspondence, July 13, 1804-December 31, 1828 Box 1 Folder 2
Correspondence, January 1, 1829-December 31, 1834 Box 1 Folder 3
Correspondence, January 1, 1835-December 31, 1838 Box 1 Folder 4
Correspondence, January 1, 1839-December 31, 1841 Box 1 Folder 5
Correspondence, January 1, 1842-December 31, 1844 Box 1 Folder 6
Correspondence, January 1, 1845-December 31, 1845 Box 1 Folder 7
Correspondence, January 1, 1846-December 31, 1846 Box 1 Folder 8
Correspondence, January 1, 1847-December 31, 1847 Box 1 Folder 9
Correspondence, January 1, 1848-June 30, 1849 Box 1 Folder 10
Correspondence, July 1, 1849-July 31, 1850 Box 1 Folder 11
Correspondence, August 1, 1850-October 31, 1850 Box 1 Folder 12
Correspondence, November 1, 1850-March 31, 1851 Box 1 Folder 13
Correspondence, April 1, 1851-December 31, 1851 Box 1 Folder 14
Correspondence, January 1, 1852-July 31, 1852 Box 1 Folder 15
Correspondence, August 1, 1852-December 31, 1852 Box 1 Folder 16
Correspondence, January 1, 1853-December 31, 1854 Box 1 Folder 17
Correspondence, January 1, 1855-December 31, 1857 Box 1 Folder 18
Correspondence, January 1, 1858-December 31, 1860 Box 1 Folder 19
Correspondence, January 1, 1861-March 31, 1861 Box 1 Folder 20
Correspondence, April 1, 1861-June 30, 1861 Box 1 Folder 21
Correspondence, July 1, 1861-September 30, 1861 Box 1 Folder 22
Correspondence, October 1, 1861-December 31, 1861 Box 1 Folder 23
Correspondence, January 1, 1862-March 31, 1862 Box 1 Folder 24
Correspondence, April 1, 1862-June 30, 1862 Box 1 Folder 25
Correspondence, July 1, 1862-September 30, 1862 Box 1 Folder 26
Correspondence, October 1, 1862-December 31, 1862 Box 1 Folder 27
Correspondence, January 1, 1863-December 31, 1868 Box 1 Folder 28
Correspondence, January 1, 1869-December 31, 1880 Box 1 Folder 29
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Correspondence, January 1, 1881-December 31, 1890 Box 1 Folder 30
Correspondence, January 1, 1891-April 11, 1924 Box 1 Folder 31
Unidentified letter fragments, undated Box 1 Folder 32
Empty envelopes Box 1 Folder 33
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Series II: Manuscript materials Physical Description: Boxes 3 and 4 are oversized flat boxes. Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by last name
Accruals: Accruals
Box 2, Folders 14-22 as well as all materials in Boxes 3 and 4, were added to the collection in September 1980.
Title/Description Instances Bartlett, Elisha. Address to "Classmates and Fellow Students" , Box 2 Folder 1 September 1821
Bartlett, Elisha. List of assets, May 1845 Box 2 Folder 2
Bartlett, Elisha. List of candidates for graduation at Transylvania Box 2 Folder 3 University, Lexington, Kentucky, submitted to Elisha Bartlett, January 5, 1848
Bartlett, Elisha. Last will and testament, April 18, 1855 Box 2 Folder 4
Bartlett, Elisha. Legal and financial documents, 1838-1855 and Box 2 Folder 5 undated
Bartlett, Elisha, and Bartlett Family. Printed materials and Box 2 Folder 6 documents, 1863-1914
Bartlett, Elisha, and Bartlett Family. Printed and manuscript Box 2 Folder 7 ephemera, undated
Bartlett, Elisha, and Bartlett Family. Miscellaneous manuscript Box 2 Folder 8 materials, including poetry by Elisha Bartlett, undated
Bartlett, William Osborn. Manuscript materials on the Bartlett Box 2 Folder 9 Patent Bridle, 1866
Bartlett, William Osborn. Legal and financial documents, Box 2 Folder 10 1870-1872 and undated
Bartlett, William Osborn. Miscellaneous manuscript materials, Box 2 Folder 11 1876-1881 and undated
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Moreton(?), Frank. Manuscript of "Marion Grey, A Novel," by the Box 2 Folder 12 author of "Sprees and Splashes of New York Life," undated
Rives, George Lockhart. Essay on "The Perils of Universal Box 2 Folder 13 Suffrage" , April 13, 1867
Bartlett, Elisha, and Arnold, Ruth. Bans of Marriage, Smithfield, Box 2 Folder 14 Rhode Island, 1769
Bartlett, Elisha. "Early poems" Box 2 Folder 15 Physical Description: 2 notebooks, 25 poems total
Bartlett, Elisha. Resolution upon the death of Elisha Bartlett, first Box 2 Folder 16 Mayor of the City of Lowell, Massachusetts, July 24, 1855
Bartlett, George. Appointment as Executor of estate of Caleb Box 2 Folder 17 Bartlett, Gloucester, Rhode Island, 1804
Bartlett, Stephen. Receipt from estate of Oliver Bartlett, Box 2 Folder 18 Smithfield, Rhode Island, 1813
Bartlett, Waity. Manuscript copy of religious text, "transcribed for Box 2 Folder 19 Waity Bartlett by her friend, R.E.C.," undated
Buffum, Thomas, and Arnold, Maria. Bans of marriage, Box 2 Folder 20 Smithfield, Rhode Island, 1803
Taft, Jacob. Deeds, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1790 and 1793 Box 2 Folder 21
Tennessee River, 2 maps of acreage, 1845 and undated Box 2 Folder 22
Arnold Family. Smithfield and Gloucester, Rhode Island Box 3 Folder 1
a. Arnold, Anthony. Deed, 1739.
b. Arnold, Aron. Deed, 1782. Witnessed by Elisha Bartlet.
c. Arnold, Peley. Map of plot of land purchased from Daniel Arnold, 1812.
d. Arnold, Richard. Inventory of estate in Smithfield, 1746.
e. Arnold, Thomas. Deed, 1733.
f. Arnold, Thomas. Deed, 1735.
Bartlet, Abner. Smithfield and Gloucester, Rhode Island Box 3 Folder 2
a. Promissory note, 1760.
b. Indenture agreement, 1763.
c. Deed, 1764.
d. Deed, 1766.
e. Deed, 1771.
f. Inventory of estate in Gloucester, 1785.
g. Letter of Administration, Elisha Bartlet, executor, 1785.
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Bartlet, Elisha. Smithfield, Rhode Island Box 3 Folder 3
a. Deed from Elisha Bartlet, 1786.
b. Deed from Elisha Bartlet, 1789.
c. Deed to Elisha Bartlet, 1766.
d. Deed to Elisha Bartlet, 1768.
e. Deed to Elisha Bartlet, 1769.
f. Deed to Elisha Bartlet, 1782.
g. Deed to Elisha Bartlet, 1782.
h. Deed to Elisha Bartlet, 1783.
i. Deed to Elisha Bartlet, 1783.
j. Deed to Elisha Bartlet, 1784.
k. Deed to Elisha Bartlet, 1785.
l. Deed to Elisha Bartlet, 1791.
m. Deed to Elisha Bartlet, 1794.
n. Deed to Elisha Bartlet, 1795.
o. Deed to Elisha Bartlet, 1795.
p. Deed to Elisha Bartlet, 1799.
q. Deed to Elisha Bartlet, 1799.
r. Letter of Guardianship over Smith Bartlet, 1799.
s. Protest of non-payment of citation draft against estate of Elisha Bartlet, Bank of the United States, Philadelphia, 1804.
Bartlett, Elisha, Dr. Lowell, Massachusetts Box 3 Folder 4
a. Diploma, Brown University medical degree, 1826.
b. Deed to Elisha Bartlett, 1829.
c. Deed to Elisha Bartlett, 1834.
d. Deed to Elisha Bartlett, 1835.
e. Deed to Elisha Bartlett, 1837.
f. Deed to Elisha Bartlett, 1843.
g. Envelope addressed to "Elisha Bartlett, Mayor of the City of Lowell," n.d. [1836-?].
h. Appointment as Justice of the Peace, Middlesex County, 1835.
i. Appointment as Justice of the Peace, Middlesex County, 1836.
j. Appointment as Justice of the Peace, Middlesex County, 1843. - Page 11- Elisha Bartlett family papers
k. Appointment as Member of Board of Education, 1841.
l. Deed from Elisha Bartlett to George Bartlett, Smithfield, Rhode Island, 1846.
m. Autograph dedication of a book from Elisha Bartlett to George Bartlett, Woonsocket, Rhode Island, 1848.
n. Statement of the stocks of the estate of Elisha Bartlett, 1855.
Bartlett, Otis. Smithfield and Gloucester, Rhode Island Box 3 Folder 5
a. Map survey of land, Gloucester, 1804.
b. Deed, 1809.
c. Notations on apportionment of land, 1811.
d. Distribution of estate of Oliver Bartlett to Otis Bartlett, 1812.
e. Deed, 1825. Bartlett, Willard. See Box 4.
Buffum, Thomas. Smithfield and Providence, Rhode Island Box 3 Folder 6
a. Deed, 1807.
b. Certification of shares in Smithfield Union Bank, 1811.
c. Appointment as Justice of Supreme Judicial Court, Rhode Island, 1819.
d. Appointment as Justice of Supreme Judicial Court, Rhode Island, 1822.
e. Deed, 1826.
f. Deed, 1829.
Chipman, Cassius. Vermont Box 3 Folder 7
a. Commission as Lieutenant in the Vermont Militia, 1824.
Chipman, Nathaniel. Vermont and New Hampshire Box 3 Folder 8
a. Appointment as Chief Judge of Supreme Court in Vermont, 1796.
b. Diploma, Dartmouth College, Degree of Surgeon, 1797.
c. Appointment as Chief Judge of Supreme Court in Vermont, 1814.
Darrah, Robert. Lowell, Massachusetts Box 3 Folder 9
a. Deed from Charles Adams, 1836.
b. Deed to Charles Adams, 1836.
Duggin, Emilie. New York City, New York Box 3 Folder 10
a. Deed, 1870.
Oppie, James. New York State - Page 12- Elisha Bartlett family papers
Box 3 Folder 11
a. License to practice law in Court of Equity of New York State, 1825.
b. Commission as Ensign in the New York Militia, 1828.
c. Commission as Captain in the New York Militia, 1830.
d. License to practice law in Court of Chancery of New York State, 1830.
Miscellaneous newspaper collection, 1833-1872 Box 3 Folder 12
a. The Sun, New York, Issue Number 1, September 3, 1833 Physical Description: 2 copies
b. Sacramento News-Letter, Vol. 1, No. 4, August 30, 1851.
c. The Southern Sentinel, Alexandria, Louisiana, Vol. 1, No. 5?, April 18, 1863.
d. Weekly Patriot, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Vol. 20, No. 12, March 20, 1872.
e. Alaska Herald, San Francisco, Vol. 5, No. 111, August 24, 1872
Bartlett, Willard. License to practice law in New York State, from Box 4 Folder 1 Supreme Court of New York, 1868
Bartlett, Willard. Diploma, New York University?, 1868 Box 4 Folder 2
Bartlett, Willard. Diploma, Columbia College, 1869 Box 4 Folder 3
Bartlett, Willard. Diploma, New York University?, 1894? Box 4 Folder 4
Bartlett, Willard. Diploma, Hamilton College, 1895 Box 4 Folder 5
Bartlett, Willard. Diploma, Columbia College, 1904 Box 4 Folder 6
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