Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm75045716
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of Charles Wilkes, naval officer and explorer, were chiefly the gift of Rosalee Lockwood-Jones, Mrs. M. L. Hull, and C. Denby Wilkes, 1921-1964. An addition was given by Gilbert Wilkes in 2002. A second addition was donated by the Wilkes family from the estate of Gilbert Wilkes.
The papers of Charles Wilkes were processed in 1975. The register was revised in 1999 and 2003. Material received in 2002 was added to the collection in 2003. A second addition was processed in 2010.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Charles Wilkes is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The papers of Charles Wilkes are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
A microfilm edition of part of these papers is available on twenty-six reels. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition as available.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, Charles Wilkes Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Charles Wilkes (1798-1877) span the years 1607-1959, with the bulk of the material dated between 1841 and 1865. The collection contains family , official , and general correspondence of Charles Wilkes, letterbooks of Wilkes and another United States naval officer, journals and diaries , a draft autobiography , scientific tracts and notes detailing weather and tidal observations, genealogical charts, newspaper clippings, Confederate currency, and printed matter. There are also marriage and building contracts, leases, inventories, promissory notes, trust agreements, and debt records dating from the seventeenth century that relate to the Wilkes family in England and America.
The papers illustrate much of Wilkes's career, including his command
of an
expedition
of 1838-1842, which engaged in surveys and
exploration of the Antarctic, islands in the Pacific Ocean, and the northwest
coast of the United States. The collection also covers Wilkes's seizure of
Confederate commissioners J. M. Mason and John Slidell aboard the British mail
steamer
Wilkes's capture of the
Correspondence in the papers also pertains to the Wilkes family. Included in the Family Correspondence series are letters of Charles Wilkes, his son John, daughters Jane and Eliza, his wives, Jane Renwick and Mary Lynch Bolton, and cousins and other family members. Their letters chronicle the family's celebrations and tragedies as well as their activities and interests prior to the Civil War.
Wilkes's daily records in the Journals and Diaries series record events of special interest and supplement those periods lacking in correspondence. His autobiography provides information relating to his career and personal life.
The Miscellany series includes three official letterbooks of William Compton Bolton, a United States naval officer and the first husband of Wilkes's second wife, Mary Lynch Bolton. Prior to his death in 1848, Bolton and his wife were close companions of the Wilkeses in Washington society. Originally named William Compton Bolton Finch, his name was changed in 1833. The name Finch appears on the first two volumes.
Frequent correspondents in the papers include Louis Agassiz, James Dana, Joseph Drayton, Asa Gray, George Brinton McClellan, Fred D. Stuart, and Gideon Welles.
Two additions consist primarily of letters written by Wilkes to his wife, Mary, in 1863 while he was in command of the West India Squadron. The letters were sent from Cuba, the Bahamas, and Haiti. Wilkes described life at sea and efforts to capture Confederate destroyers and protect United States commerce during the Civil War and expressed his dissatisfaction with the leadership of the country. Letters from other family members relate personal news including an outbreak of cholera in Germany in 1873.
The collection is arranged in thirteen series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm75045716
Diaries and journals.
Arranged chronologically.
Bound letterpress and handwritten copies of letters sent including official and private correspondence.
Arranged chronologically.
Predominantly letters exchanged between members of the Wilkes family.
Arranged chronologically.
Letters received and sent.
Arranged chronologically.
Letters sent to and from the Navy Department, the secretary of the navy, and the Army Department.
Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence, drafts of a narrative of the expedition, maps, notebooks, computation tables, lists, reports, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Autobiography, essays and sketches by Wilkes.
Arranged by type of material.
Maps, drawings, reports, account books, copyrights, deeds, and miscellaneous material relating to property rights.
Arranged by type of material.
A scrapbook, newspaper clippings, photographs, maps, sketches, naval registers, printed matter, and miscellaneous correspondence. Included are three letterbooks belonging to William Compton Bolton.
Arranged by subject or by type of material.
Documents predominantly of a business and legal nature including apprenticeship papers, bonds, deeds, marriage contracts, and mortgages relating to the Wilkes family in England and America. Also genealogical charts, a published genealogy, and an onomastic index to many of the family records in the papers.
Indexed family papers are arranged chronologically.
Containers 32-45 not filmed
Correspondence and writings.
Arranged in order of processing date and therein by type of material.
A map, proclamation, and genealogical charts.
Arranged and described according to the series, folders, and containers from which the items were removed.
Confederate currency and bond.
Arranged and described according to the series, folder, and container from which the items were removed.