Guide to the Henry Ledyard collection, 1726-1899 and undated

(bulk 1840-1859)


Redwood Library and Athenaeum
50 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI 02840
Tel: (401) 847-0292
Fax: (401) 841-5680
email: redwood@redwoodlibrary.org

Published in 2014

Collection Overview

Title: Henry Ledyard collection
Date range: 1726-1899 and undated, (bulk 1840-1859)
Creator: Ledyard, Henry, 1812-1880
Extent: 0.2 linear feet(1 oversize folder)
Abstract: Letters and legal documents collected and received by Henry Ledyard (1812-1880), who lived in Newport, Rhode Island, during his later years.
Language of materials: English
Repository: Redwood Library and Athenaeum
Collection number: RLC.Ms.565

Scope & content

This collection consists of letters and legal documents both received and collected by Henry Ledyard. Many of the letters in this collection were written to Ledyard, unless otherwise noted, and typically concern his work in Paris, France, while working on Lewis Cass’s staff. Some of these letters are written in French. Also included is a list of the letters presented to the Redwood Library by Ledyard in October 1869.

Letters and legal documents collected by Ledyard are typically from the colonial era and document both Newport and early American history. Items of particular note include: the 1726 document signed by various Newport citizens which established a Fire Bucket Company in Newport to develop a protocol if a fire were to start in town; a remonstrance from Boston citizens to the British Parliament in 1764 addressing their concerns about stamp taxes and the sugar trade; and an 1805 letter from President Thomas Jefferson to William C. C. Claiborne, governor of the Territory of Orleans, concerning a gift of private lands in that area to General Lafayette of France.

Access Points

Subject Names Geographical Names Subject Topics Document Types

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by the folio number that was assigned to them by Redwood Library Staff when this collection was placed into the former Steel Cabinet collection.

Biographical note

Henry Ledyard (1812-1880) was born in New York City on May 5, 1812. He graduated from Columbia College in 1830 and soon after began practicing law in New York. When Lewis Cass (1782-1866), a military officer and politician of Michigan, served as an Ambassador to France from 1836-1846, Ledyard accompanied him to Paris as one of his chargé d’affaires. In 1844, Ledyard returned to the United States and moved to Detroit where he played an active role in the local government and the development of the city. Ledyard was instrumental in establishing the State Savings Bank, the Elwood Cemetery, the Board of Water Commissioners, and was a member of the Board of Education. He also served as alderman of the city from 1849-1850, and was the mayor in 1855. In 1857, he was elected Senator, but resigned his seat when Lewis Cass was appointed Secretary of State under President James Buchanan. Ledyard accompanied Cass to Washington, D.C., and remained there until 1861. At that point, Ledyard moved to Newport, Rhode Island, where he lived until his death. In Newport, he served as the first president of the Newport Hospital, and was the president of the Redwood Library from 1872-1874.

In 1839, Henry Ledyard married Matilda Frances Cass (1808-1898) with whom he had five children: Elizabeth (1840-1918), Henry Brockholst Ledyard (1844-1921), Susan Livingston (1844-1877), Lewis Cass (1851-1932), and Matilda Spencer (b. 1860). Ledyard passed away on June 7, 1880, in London, England, during a brief visit to Europe.

Access & Use

Access to the collection: Access is open to members and researchers at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Use of the materials: This collection is owned by the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Special Collections Librarian of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Preferred citation: Henry Ledyard collection, RLC.Ms.565, Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Contact information: Redwood Library and Athenaeum
50 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI 02840
Tel: (401) 847-0292
Fax: (401) 841-5680
email: redwood@redwoodlibrary.org

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION  
Acquisition: Gift of Henry Ledyard, 1869 October (see item 27)
Processing information: Prior to processing in 2014, this collection was found within the Steel Cabinet collection: Drawer 7, Folder 2. The majority of the materials in this collection are glued onto larger pieces of paper with more than one document typically glued onto one of the sheets of paper. As a result, the documents do not appear to be in any type of discernable order. The larger sheets of paper with the documents glued on them were numbered and two indexes were created, most likely by Library staff at an unknown time. The first index is an alphabetical listing of all the names associated with each document and the second index is by the document’s assigned folio number. These indexes can be found in the folder for this collection.In addition, it appears as though some documents were added to this collection after Ledyard’s initial gift in 1869. There is no other documentation describing their acquisition.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID  
Author: Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Delmage.
Encoding: Finding aid encoded by Elizabeth Delmage 2014 October 02
Descriptive rules: Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
Sponsor: Funding for processing and cataloging this collection was provided by the van Beuren Charitable Foundation.

Additional Information

Related material: Legal papers on the estate of Henry Ledyard, HLS MS 1344, Harvard Law School Library.
Separated material: Folio 16: Insurance papers, signed by various Newport citizens, 1757 Mar 11 can now be found in: RLC.Ms.029, Box 2, Folder 2, Collection of Redwood family papers.
Location of originals: The original copy of Benjamin Franklin’s April 5, 1744, letter concerning the formation of a Literary Society is most likely found at the New-York Historical Society and a transcript of such can also be found at the Library of Congress.

Inventory

Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 1 Regulations of a Fire Bucket Company, Newport, R.I.
 1726 Nov 10
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 2 Letter from Joseph E. Johnston
 1858 May 13
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 3 Letter from Lord Francis Napier
 [18--] Feb 18
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 4 Letter from Jared Sparks
 1841 Jan 16
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 5 Letter from Achille Murat
 1841 Feb 8
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 6 Letter from Henry Lytton Earle Bulwer
 1847 Mar
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 7-8 Letters from Daniel Webster
 1843 Feb 15, Apr 27
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 9 Letter from Alexis de Tocqueville to Thomas Bradford (in French)
 1843 Jun 5
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 10 Letter from Baron Charles Dupin (in French)
 1843 Aug 1
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 11 Passport of William Temple Franklin granted at Paris, signed by James Monroe
 1796 Apr 8
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 12 Letter from Thomas Jefferson to William C. C. Claiborne
 1805 Mar 10
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 13 Stock certificate for William M. Allston
1816 Aug 15
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 14 Letter from George Washington Lafayette (in French)
 1843 Aug 11
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 15 Letter from George Catlin
 1844 Jan 12
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 16 Letter from Lewis Cass
1850 Dec 5
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 17 Letter from Henry Clay to Joseph B. Weaver of the Atlantic Hotel in Newport
 1849 Aug 14
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 18 Letter from Edward Everett
 1841 Dec 1
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 19 Letter from Reverdy Johnson
 1861 Jan 14
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 20 Letter from Josiah Quincy to George H. Snelling
 1859 Jul 29
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 21 Letter from Baron Richard Bickenton Pemell
 1859 Oct 30
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 22 Engraved copy of a letter by Benjamin Franklin concerning formation of a Literary Society
1744 Apr 5
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 23 Remonstrance of James Otis, Thomas Cushing, Oxenbridge Thacher, Thomas Gray, and Edward Sheaffe addressed to Parliament
 1764 Jun 25
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 24 Letter from Samuel Roberts to James Monroe
 1817 Mar 18
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 25 Letter fragment with seal
 1820 Mar 12
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 26 Letter from Julian Ursyn de Niemcewicz
 1840 Oct 27
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 27 List of letters presented by Henry Ledyard to Redwood Library
1869 Oct
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 28 Pledge of funds for Ida Lewis
 1869 Apr
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 29 Letter from William Henry Channing to Horace Greeley
 1840 Dec 21
Manuscripts Oversize Box 1, Item 30 Autographs of U.S. Naval officers: William T. Sampson, French E. Chadwick, and W. P. Potter
 1899 Jun 24