Gilded Age Collections

(Description ID: 594243)

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums

Daggett and Phelps Family Papers

GA-14

Introduction
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content
Inventory

Introduction
The collection was donated to the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in 1976 by Francis Weisenburger.

Biographical Sketch
In 1837 the Gardner Daggett family moved from St. Lawrence County, New York, to Defiance, Ohio. Daggett’s family included three daughters, Betsey (Mrs. William Carter), Esther (Gleason) and Harriet. He also had a son, Rollin Mallory (1831-1901) who went to California in 1850 via the Northern Overland Route. For nine years, R. M. Daggett was the editor of San Francisco’s Golden Era, a literary weekly. Contributors to the Golden Era included such writers as Bret Harte and Mark Twain. From 1879 to 1881, R. M. Daggett served as the Congressman from Nevada and in 1882 he was appointed U. S. Minister to Hawaii. This appointment lasted through 1885.

Scope and Content
Many of the letters in this collection are written by R. M. Daggett to his sister Betsey. The correspondence covers a period from 1837 through 1895 and illustrates some of R. M. Daggett’s experiences in the West, in Washington, D.C. and in Hawaii.

Included in this collection is the book manuscript for Idol of the West; The Fabulous Career of Rollin Mallory Daggett by Francis Phelps Weisenburger. Weisenburger was the grandson of Betsey Daggett Carter. He was also the grandson of Edwin Phelps (1815-1897) whose family papers are contained within this collection. These primarily consist of letters to Phelps’ first wife, Mary Woodward Phelps, during the period 1837-1840. A single undated, cabinet card photograph of Mrs. Tompkins, Rollin Mallory Daggett’s, aunt was transferred to the Portrait File.

Inventory
Ac. 4177
44 items

1. Daggett Correspondence, 1837-1855

2. Daggett Correspondence, 1856-1882

3. Daggett Correspondence, 1883-1895

4. Typed Transcripts of R. M. Daggett correspondence.

5. Miscellaneous Material, 1839

6. Poem entitled "My New Year’s Guests," 1881, by R. M. Daggett.

7. Manuscript, Idol of the West, by Francis Phelps Weisenburger

8. Phelps Correspondence, undated - 1838

9. Phelps Correspondence, 1839-1840

DAGGETT FAMILY PAPERS

CLARK, E.
    To Mrs. E. A. Carter dtd Antwerp, Ohio, Jan. 11, 1891.

DAGGETT, Gardner
    To Miss Betsey Ann Daggett dtd Defiance, Ohio, July 28, 1837.

DAGGETT, Gideon
    To Mr. Gardner Daggett dtd Andersontown, Indiana, Aug. 29, 1838.

DAGGETT, Rollin M.
    To Mr. William Carter dtd Piqua, Ohio, Jan. 23, 1850.
    To Mrs. William Carter dtd San Francisco, Calif., May 27. 1853.
    To Mrs. William Carter dtd San Francisco, Calif., Jan. 15, 1856.
    To Mrs. William Carter dtd San Francisco, Calif., July 19, 1857.
    To Mrs. William Carter dtd San Francisco, Calif., Oct. 19, 1857.
    To "My Dear Little Niece" dtd San Francisco, Calif., Feb. 19, 1859.
    To Mrs. William Carter dtd San Francisco, Calif., Aug. 12, 1859.
    To Mrs. William Carter, Sr. dtd Washington, D. C., Jan. 28, 1881.
    To Mrs. William Carter dtd Honolulu, H. I., April 14, 1883.
    To Mrs. William Carter dtd Honolulu, H. I., July 8, 1883.
    To Mrs. William Carter, Sr. dtd Hollymount near Vacaville, Calif., Aug. 6, 1887.
    To Mrs. William Carter, Sr. dtd San Francisco, Calif., Aug. 29, 1895.
    To Mrs. William Carter, Sr. dtd Vacaville, Calif., Oct. 20, 1895.

DAGGETT, W. K.
    To William Carter dtd Antwerp, Ohio, Jan. 23, 1857.

DOAN, Arenath
    To Miss Betsey Carter dtd May 22, 1840.
    To "Dear Nieces" dtd Richville, New York, Aug. 13, 1855.
    To "Dear Nieces" dtd Richville, New York, Dec. 22, 1866.

GLEASON, Esther
    To William Carter dtd Defiance, Ohio, Aug. 6, 1854.
    To "Dear Brother" dtd Defiance, Ohio, Jan. 31, 1879.

SNOOK, A. D.
    To Mrs. William Carter, Sr. dtd Jefferson, Ohio, Aug. 19, 1878.
    To Mrs. Elizabeth Carter dtd Antwerp, Ohio, Aug. 24, 1882.

SNOOK, Inez C.
    To Miss Florence Carter dtd Antwerp, Ohio, Jan. 9, 1864.

WALKER, Elisa A.
    To Betsey Daggett dtd May 3, 1838.

WHITE, Emily
    To Betsey Daggett dtd Richville, New York, May 3, 1838.

PHELPS FAMILY PAPERS

ANONYMOUS
    To Miss Mary Woodward dtd Dec. 18, n. y. Written Invitation.

BROWN, Wm. A.
    To Mr. A.G. Evans, n.d. Signed written invitation.
    To Miss Mary Woodward dtd Defiance, Ohio, Aug. 26, 1839.
    To Miss Mary Woodward dtd Defiance, Ohio, Nov. 30, 1839.

EVANS, Louisa A.
    To Miss Mary Woodward dtd July 23, 1839.

EVANS, Merica
    To Miss Mary Woodward dtd Chillicothe, Ohio, Apr. 23, 1837

EVANS, R.
    To Miss Mary Woodward dtd Defiance, Ohio, Dec. 30, 1838.

EVANS, W.
    To Miss Mary A. Woodward dtd Fort Wayne, Indiana, Jun. 5, n.y.

EVANS, W. R.
    To Miss Mary A. Woodward dtd Fort Wayne, Indiana, Mar. 15, n.y.
    To Miss Mary Woodward dtd Fort Wayne, Indiana, Feb. 18, 1840.

JAMES, Elisa
    To Miss Mary Woodward dtd Fort Wayne, Indiana, May 20, 1839.

PHELPS, Edwin
    To Miss Mary Woodward dtd Defiance, Ohio, Nov. 10, 1839.
    To Miss Mary Woodward dtd Fort Wayne, Indiana, Jan. 9, 1840.
    To Miss Mary Woodward dtd August 6, 1840.

STEVENS, B.
    To Miss Mary Woodward dtd Fort Wayne, Indiana, Oct. 15, 1839. Signed printed invitation.

MISCELLANEOUS

1. Signature of Miss Angeline Upton

2. One printed invitation dated Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1839.

3. Poem by Rollin M. Daggett, "My New Year’s Guests," newspaper clipping w/transcr.

4. Book manuscript of Idol of the West; The Fabulous Career of Rollin Malloy Daggett
    by Francis Phelps Weisenburger, Syracuse University Press, 1965.