Denver Public Library: Western History Genealogy: News, Exhibits and Classes

Manuscript Collection News

August 2007

Welcome to The Denver Public Library's Manuscript Collection News. This page is updated monthly and includes new Manuscript Finding Aids, Hidden Treasures of the Manuscript Collection, Recent Donations, Archivists Notes and previous Manuscript News.

New Manuscript Finding Aids

A note about the Manuscript Collection: all Manuscript Collections are cataloged and a brief record is available through the Library catalog. Only a portion of the Manuscript Collection has extensive online guides found in the Manuscript Finding Aids that contain detailed descriptive information and lists of contents including the following new materials.

Seth Edmund Ward Papers WH1067

The Seth Edmund Ward Papers consists primarily of correspondence received by Ward, and the invoices, receipts and other records of the businesses he operated or worked as a partner. The records document his position of sutler at Fort Laramie from 1857 to 1871 despite his lengthy absences from the fort. Correspondence from his general manager, William G. Bullock, along with the statements, invoices and receipts related to this operation form the bulk of the financial records in this Collection. Ward also ran an occasional mule train of supplies to Fort Laramie. The expense diary of one such trip in 1861 is included. The papers of Robert Campbell and Company of St. Louis are well represented in this Collection.

J.E. Thomas Papers WH1710

A small Collection of 16 letters written by a young man from New England who went west in 1883 to work as a surveyor on the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad in Nebraska. The letters contain his observations and descriptions of the communities in which he lived and his travels on the survey trips.

John Dare Howland Papers WH185

The result of fourteen years of effort by Kate Howland Charles collecting materials about her father. John Dare Howland was a fur trader, gold miner, soldier and clerk for the Indian Peace Commission. But he was foremost a talented artist with his etchings and drawings published in Harper’s Weekly, and Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly. Howland studied in Paris and designed the Civil War monument at the Colorado State Capitol. Correspondence, deeds, notes and newspaper clippings about Howland comprise the bulk of the Collection. Papers provide information about particular paintings, their location and their ownership. Also included is a typed manuscript of the unpublished biography that Kate Howland Charles wrote.

Rooney - Littlefield Papers WH1700

The Rooney - Littlefield Papers consists of correspondence between Alexander Rooney and his fiancée, Emeline Littlefield from 1859 to 1862. Rooney's letters described Denver City, California Gulch, Taos and Santa Fe in detail. He also provided a description of Kit Carson whom he met during his travels. Littlefield's letters give insight into the lives of women in the nineteenth century. She taught school in various Iowa places while Rooney was in Colorado and New Mexico. In 1862, she moved to Colorado with her new husband. They settled on a ranch near Morrison, Colorado. This ranch became known as the Rooney Ranch (which at one time included the land for Dinosaur Ridge and Bandimere Speedway). In 1976, the Rooney Ranch was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Hidden Treasures

Robert Graham Family Collection WH885

The Robert Graham Family Collection contains an incredible book. Anyone with a Civil War relative will tingle with excitement and wish their ancestor had served in Company G, 84th Regiment of the Illinois volunteers. The book kept by George Kaiser, lists every member of the company, their age, place of residence, battles they fought, whether they were killed or mustered out for medical reasons. Perhaps the most exciting item is the photograph of the entire Company pasted inside the cover with all but one of their members identified. The Collection also contains a Civil War memoir written in German by Kaiser, an English translation of the Kaiser diary is included.

Cooper Family Papers WH87

Letters from Colorado Governor Job Adams Cooper (1889-1891) written during his short term of service during the Civil War are among the Cooper Family Papers. During his term in office he laid the cornerstone of the State Capitol Building on July 4, 1890 on which his name is etched.

Swedish Medical Center Collection WH958

The Swedish Medical Center began as a free hospital for tuberculosis patients in 1905. At this time it was known as the Swedish National Sanatorium and sustained itself through contributions and fundraising. One of the methods for raising operating capital was by selling May Flower pins, called Majblommorna in Swedish. Cards of 10 small plastic flowers were sold for one dollar and resold to raise money. These pins, that sold from 1922 until 1962, are included in the Collection.

10th Mountain Division: America’s Alpine Warriors Exhibit

An exhibit of photographs, memorabilia, papers, and ephemera from the World War II activities of the 10th Mountain Division will be on display through October in the 5th floor gallery of the Central Branch of the Denver Public Library. The display was prepared as part of the last official National Reunion organized by the WW II Veterans. Nearly 1,000 will attend the reunion put on by the 10th Mountain Division Association in early August.

Recent Donations

Western History

Ashbaugh Family – 12 boxes donated by Gwen Ashbaugh
Noel, Tom – one box donated by Tom Noel
Pena, Lydia – five boxes donated by Lydia Pena
Puls, Margaret – two envelopes of material donated by Margaret Puls
Rickey, Don – two boxes and one oversize folder donated by Nan Rickey
Save a Neighborhood – one box donated by Margaret Puls
Swedish Club of Denver – six boxes donated by Ron Swenson
Tuesday Morning Class – one box donated by Marie Frederickson
Washington Park East Neighborhood Association – four boxes donated by Joan Keller Demming

Conservation Collection

Citizens for Accountable Genetic Engineering – one box donated by Margaret Puls
FUTURE Sunflower Coalition – one box donated by Margaret Puls
The Nature Conservancy – three boxes donated by the organization

10th Mountain Division

Carey, Oscar – one letter donated by James Carey
Coleman, Harrison – citations, correspondence donated by Harrison Coleman
George Dangman photo – added to 10th biography photos donated by Joanne Trucker
Dangman, George – Christmas Cards created by George Dangman donated by Emma Davis
Evans, Hugh – videotapes, correspondence, presidential papers donated by Hugh Evans
Forker, Donald M. – watercolor of Camp Hale donated by Kathy Loewy
Kuhl, Jack – maps, field manuals donated by Neal Clark
McCown, John and C. Gove – photographs, clippings, biographical sketches donated by Susan McCown
O'Connor, Thomas W. – discharge papers, photographs, correspondence donated by Scott Heston
Tomlinson, Clarence M. – medals, plaque, awards certificates donated by Harrison Coleman

Archivists Notes

These are the condensed and simplified procedures the archivists follow when processing a collection:

1. Once a collection is picked up or delivered to the Library an accession report, inventory and agreement are generated and returned to the donor. The preliminary inventory is conducted to itemize the contents of the donated materials in very general terms.
2. A number is assigned to the collection to distinguish it from the other 7,000+ collections. The Library collects material in three areas, Western History (WH), Conservation (CON) and 10th Mountain Division (TMD). These initials precede the collection number.
3. Materials are transferred to archival (acid free) boxes that will fit onto the storage shelves
4. Labels are printed bearing the name of the collection, the box number and the physical location where the boxes are stored. The collection is then cataloged. This makes the material available for use by researchers before it is fully processed.
5. After the senior archivist assigns a collection, the archivists begin the processing by familiarizing themselves with the collection and researching subject matter of the collection.
6. Each item is examined by the archivist and placed into archival quality (acid free) folders. Metal paper clips are removed and replaced by plastic clips that will not rust. Straight pins and other types of binder devices are also removed and replaced with plastic paper clips. Three-ring binders and other covers are often replaced to make the pages easier to read and copy without damaging them.
7. Collections are arranged into series using standardized descriptive terms such as: correspondence, financial items, travel, research, business papers, personal papers and oversize.
8. The subject/topic, specific contents, and dates of the material in each folder are noted on it, and a number is added. That information is also entered into an Encoded Archival Description (EAD) software program which, when converted, will allow online researchers to locate the materials by searching for a term, name or subject. This is called the finding aid, which comprises a historical or biographical note, scope and content, series descriptions and container list. Just because the description of an item is found online does not make it available online.
9. Photographs and negatives that form part of the collection are placed into archival protective sleeves, nitrate negatives are frozen to prevent further deterioration and to protect against fires. The photos are also described in general terms in the finding aid.
10. Films and videotapes are described, stored and included in the finding aid.

In short the goal is to sort, condense and organize the collections either according to original order or by subject/topic in chronological order to file folder level in a minimal amount of time so the collections are accessible to the public for research.

Donations and Volunteering

If you have materials, artifacts or family information you would like to donate, please visit the donation guidelines page.

Volunteers are always welcome to assist with the processing of the Manuscript Collections and processing the related photographs. If you are interested in volunteering to help process Manuscript Collections, contact the volunteer office.

Previous Manuscript News

March 2007, April 2007, May/June 2007, July 2007

This Overland Stage ticket was used for hauling freight, and is from the Seth Ward Collection. Note the red stamp in the center: "Dangers of War and Fire accepted."

Seth Ward's ticket for the steamer "Julia" to haul 3 large oxen wagons and four packages from Nebraska City, Nebraska.

Photograph of Company G 84th Regiment of the Illinois Volunteers from the Robert Graham Family Collection. Note that each soldier is numbered and keyed to the listing below.

The identification list for the photograph in one of Charles Kaiser's record books. Kaiser is number 21. He died in 1868. His descendants donated the Collection to the Denver Public Library.

The cover of Governor Job Cooper's inaugural address given January 8, 1889 as he became the sixth Governor of Colorado.

Governor Cooper's inauguration was followed by a ball at the Tabor Opera House. The Mercantile Library was a forerunner of the Denver Public Library and was housed in the building owned and occupied by the Denver Chamber of Commerce at 14th and Lawrence.

Swedish National Sanatorium sold these lapel pin flowers each year beginning in 1922 to raise money. The pink flowers were sold in 1942 and the deep purple in 1943. Funds from these sales allowed the construction of the Mayflower Building, which was dedicated on May 3, 1931.