Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Coles, Edward, 1786-1868
| title | Coles Papers, 1814-1857 |
| repository | Swem Library Special Collections |
| description | Letters, copies and extracts, written by Edward Coles (1786-1868), who held the positions of secretary to President James Madison and Governor of Illinois. Subjects covered by the letters include James Madison and the War of 1812; Madison's not emancipating his slaves at his death; the claiming of public lands by individual states; the estate of James Monroe; Andrew Jackson; Thomas Jefferson's authorship of the Ordinance of 1787; and Jefferson's relationship with John Adams. Typescripts of letters written by Edward Coles to Nicholas Biddle, Joseph C. Cabell, Henry Clay, Albert Gallatin, Thomas Jefferson, Dolley Madison, James Madison, Joel R. Poinsett, Henry S. Randall, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, William Cabell Rives, Charles Sumner, Martin Van Buren and Robert C. Winthrop, among other correspondents. Biographical Note Edward Coles was born in Albemarle County, Va. 15 December 1786. He attended Hampden-Sydney College and the College of William and Mary. He was private secretary to James Madison. He emancipated his slaves upon his removal to Illinois. Coles was elected governor of Illinois. He moved to Philadelphia and died in 1868. Further information about this individual or organization may be available in the Special Collections Research Center. |
| extent | 30.0 Items |
| formats | Correspondence Typescript |
| access | Collection is open to all researchers. |
| record link | http://scdb.swem.wm.edu/index.php |
| record source | http://scdb.swem.wm.edu/?p=collections/findingaid&id=6718&q=&rootcontentid=1275#overview |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:49 |
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| title | Papers of William Cabell Rives ca. 1824-1842 |
| repository | University of Virginia Library |
| description | The collection consists of letters to William Cabell Rives (1792-1868) from constituents, friends, and family members, ca. 1824-1842, and undated, ca. 190 items (1 Hollinger box), often discussing political matters on the local, state, and national level. William Cabell Rives was a Representative and Senator from Virginia, born at "Oak Ridge," Nelson County, Virginia. He attended Hampden-Sidney College and the College of William and Mary, graduating in 1809. Rives began to practice law in Charlottesville, about 1814, and served in the Virginia House of Delegates, 1817-1820, 1822-1823. Rives served in the U.S. Senate during 1823-1829, 1832-1834, 1836-1845, and most of the correspondence in the collection was written to him while a Senator in Washington, D.C. The papers also contain political essays, poetry, several news clippings and legal & financial documents of the Rives family. The subjects of the political essays and papers include: "Opinion on the project of law of indirect taxes presented to the Chamber of Deputies on the 5th October 1830," a petition to Congress concerning the Bankrupt Law, a table comparing the reduction of import duties on French wine with the volume of American cotton exported to France, amendments to Henry Clay's resolutions, "Outlines of a Plan for a fiscal agent of the Government," and "Notes on the subject of a Bank, a Fiscal Agent, of the United States." Preferred Citation William Cabell Rives Papers, 1824-1842, Accession #11375, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va. |
| extent | ca. 190 items (1 Hollinger box) |
| formats | Personal Papers Correspondence |
| access | The collection is without restrictions. |
| record source | http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaead/published/uva-sc/vivadoc.pl?file=viu01257.xml |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:49 |
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| title | Meade family papers, 1770-1872 |
| repository | University of Virginia Library |
| description | This addition to the papers of the Meade familyof Amelia County, Virginia, contains ca. one hundred items (1 Hollinger box; .5 linear feet), 1770-1872, and chiefly consists of correspondence, business, and legal papers. The largest group of correspondence is that of Hodijah Baylies(1755-?) and his son, Edmund Baylies, to his namesake, Hodijah Meade(d. 1842 ?) and his son, William E. Meade. These letters show a continuation of friendship and affection that had begun between Hodijah Bayliesand Everard Meade(1746-1802), father of Hodijah, when they were both aides-de-camp to Major General [Benjamin ?] Lincolnduring the Revolutionary War. One letter, December 20, 1832, discusses the rank of Everard Meadein the Continental Army and the possibility of erecting a tombstone to his memory. Another letter, September 13, 1835, from the northerner, Edmund Baylies, expresses sympathy for anti-abolitionist sentiments. Letters to Everard Meadeinclude correspondence from R[ichard] K[idder] Meade, July 3, 1777, concerning the actions of a party of militia who captured a ship of produce on the New Jersey shore; D[avid] M. Randolph(son of Richard Randolph, Jr. of Curle) and David Meade. Letters to Hodijah Meadeinclude the following correspondents: T.H. Drew, T.B. Massie, John R. Meade, William E. Meade, J. Parker, L.J. Prestonand William E. Preston. One letter, April 3, 1837, mentions a poisoning attempt by a servant girl and failures in the Panic of 1837. Correspondence to William E. Meadecontains chiefly news of friends and family and includes the following writers: Edward Coles, John P. DuVal, R. Gwathmey, J.V. Ligon, Hodijah Meade, J.R. Meade, Francis H. Smith, and Edmund Randolph. Known correspondents in the miscellaneous group of letters include: Peter Hagner, Hodijah Baylies Meade, Peyton Meade, R.H. Meade, William E. Meade, and W[illiam] B. Tabb. Topics of interest include: the movement of some Confederate forces under General Henry S. Wise, February 6, 1863; the critical condition and eventual death of Jane Meade(daughter of William E. and Mary (Steger) Meade, February 21, and March 21, 1864; and Hodijah Baylies Meadeurging his brother [William ?] to sell his farm at the Hermitage and to buy a small farm in the "valley," presumably the Shenandoah Valley, and warning him not to consider Danville, Virginia, as suitable farming country as it was overworked by tobacco, January 30,1868. Letters of Thomas Rutherfoord, Sr.(father-in-law of Hodijah Meade) to members of the Meade familymainly concern the family flour mill business, family news, and grandfatherly advice. This group of letters also contains a few letters by Thomas Rutherfoord, Jr.and Samuel Rutherfoord, brothers of Hodijah Meade's wife, Jane (d. 1839 ?). Other items in this collection include: an almanac, an arithmetic book, wills, receipts, a survey, deeds and indentures and accounts. Of special interest are: a survey for Everard Meadein Amelia County(October 5, 1770); the will of Everard Meade(January 13, 1801); the will of Hodijah Meade(May 30, 1840); and a bounty land claim based on Hodijah Meade's service in the War of 1812 (May 1859). The correspondence is arranged chronologically by the correspondent or recipient of the letter. The business and legal papers are also in chronological order. Preferred Citation Meade Family Papers, Accession 10126-c, Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library |
| extent | 1 Hollinger box; .5 linear feet |
| formats | Personal Papers Business Papers Legal Papers Correspondence |
| access | Collection is open to research. |
| record source | http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaead/published/uva-sc/vivadoc.pl?file=viu00997.xml |
| acquisition information | This collection was given to the Library by Mrs. Robert D. Meade of Lynchburg, Virginia, on November 6, 1985. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:49 |
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| title | Edward Coles papers |
| repository | Princeton University |
| description | Included are Coles' written and collected notes on slavery; his highly personal correspondence with James and Dolley Madison covering over 30 years; a remarkable letter (1814) by Thomas Jefferson presenting his views on abolishing slavery; a Russian passport (1816); a contemporary copy of Madison's will; Madison's "Advice to my Country," a 1-page manuscript in the hand of his wife, Dolley; and various letters of political significance by Martin Van Buren, Henry Clay, James Monroe, John Tyler, Winfield Scott, and Daniel Webster. Other correspondents include Nicholas Biddle, Albert Gallatin, Elbridge Gerry, Lafayette, Richard Rush, and Jared Sparks. Collection Creator Biography Edward Coles was born on December 15, 1786 into one of the oldest Virginia families. When he inherited his family's estate in 1808, Coles felt somewhat conflicted about slavery. After serving as President James Madison's private secretary from 1809-1815, Coles purchased land in Illinois with the intention of eventually moving his estate west. In 1816 Madison sent Coles to Russia for diplomatic purposes, and Coles spent the next two years traveling in Europe. When he returned to the United States, Coles arranged to move to Illinois, which had adopted an anti-slavery stance. On the way to his new home, Coles told his assembled slaves that they were free, giving each documents of emancipation and each family 160 acres of land. In 1822, Coles was elected governor of Illinois in a tightly contested and somewhat controversial election. For the next two years, the slavery debate remained in the forefront, and in 1824 the state held a referendum. Coles, the only anti-slavery elected official in the Illinois government devoted himself to the referendum, and, after record voter turn-out, the anti-slavery movement won. Never truly popular in mid-western society, Coles retired to his farm in Edwardsville after his term as governor, and then eventually moved to Philadelphia in 1832. Coles lived to be 82 years old, long enough to see the Emancipation Proclamation. He passed away on July 7, 1868 in Philadelphia. Arrangement: Series: 1) writings of Edward Coles; 2) undated letters by and to Coles, arranged alphabetically; 3) letters to and from Coles, arranged chronologically; 4) documents relating to Coles; 5) writings of other persons, and 6) correspondence of other persons, arranged alphabetically. |
| extent | 1 linear ft. (2 boxes) |
| formats | Writings Correspondence |
| access | This collection is stored onsite at Firestone Library. Letters by Thomas Jefferson in Box 1, folders 10, 11, and 14 are stored in special vault facilities. Requests will be delivered to Manuscripts Division, RBSC Reading Room. |
| record link | http://findingaids.princeton.edu/collections/C0037#summary |
| record source | http://catalog.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?holdingsinfo?&BBID=810109&pds_handle= |
| finding aid | On the repositories website. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:49 |
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| title | Papers of Hugh Blair Grigsby, 1760-1876. |
| repository | University of Virginia Library |
| description | Papers consist chiefly of letters to and from Hugh Blair Grigsby that were collected by Margaret H. Morton. The papers contain correspondence on the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, an 1840 article by Matthew Fontaine Maury on the U.S. Navy, the dedication of a Jefferson statue in 1858, a monument of James Madison, Philip Slaughter's history of St. Mark's Parish and a proposal for an art surgey (fragment). Some copies of Prince Edward County, Va., legal documents, 1755-1796, are present.Correspondents include B. Johnson Barbour, R. A. Brock, Edward Coles, Lyman Draper, Thomas H. Ellis, Delaware Kemper, J.W. Randolph, W. H. Ruffner, Philip Slaughter, and Thomas W. White. Cite as Hugh Blair Grigsby, Papers, 1760-1876, Accession #38-329, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va. |
| extent | 17 items. |
| formats | Correspondence |
| access | Contact repository for further details. |
| bibliography | Seventh annual report of the Archivist, University of Virginia Library, for the year 1936-37, p. 4. |
| record source | http://search.lib.virginia.edu/catalog/u2681381 |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:49 |
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