Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America

Archives related to: Leavitt, David, 1790-1879

titleIllinois and Michigan Canal records [manuscript], ca. 1839-1871
repositoryChicago History Museum
descriptionCorrespondence, maps, circulars, toll sheets, package of internal improvement certificates, canal scrip, bonds, letter books (3 vol.) reports and proceedings, and other records relating to the Illinois and Michigan Canal. The correspondence is chiefly between Capt. William Henry Swift, president of the canal's board of trustees; and David Leavitt, William Gooding, Edward Talcott, Eli Prescott, John Preston, Charles Oakley, Robert Stuart, Jacob Fry, Isaac N. Arnold, Charles Ray, John Wentworth; Illinois governors Ford, French, Matteson, Bissell, Yates, and Oglesby; and financiers Baring Brothers & Co., Magniac, Jardine, and Co., and Matheson & Co., London. Many items are copies of outgoing letters retained by Swift or other authors or return copies of correspondence requested by Swift in order to create a thorough documentary file.
extent5.5 linear ft. (11 boxes, 2 volumes., 1 folder) 2 oversize folders.
formatsCorrespondence Business Papers Administrative Papers Ephemera
accessMost of the collection is open to researchers. Advance appointment with special permission required to view a few original items.
record linkhttps://chhiso.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/public/search/detailnonmodal/ent:$002f$002fSD_ILS$002f0$002fSD_ILS:65803/one
finding aidhttp://chsmedia.org/media/fa/fa/M-I/IllinoisMichigan-inv.htm
acquisition informationMost of this collection was previously known as the William Swift Papers.
updated03/16/2023 10:30:03
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