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/mm76042309
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 Benjamin Tappan, jurist and United States senator, were purchased by the Library of Congress from William Tappan, his grandson, in 1939, after the papers had been on deposit for ten years. Additional material was given by Mrs. Benjamin Tappan in 1948.
The papers of Benjamin Tappan were arranged and described in 1976. The finding aid was revised in 2009.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Benjamin Tappan is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The papers of Benjamin Tappan 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 these papers is available on eleven reels. Consult a reference librarian 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.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Benjamin Tappan Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Benjamin Tappan (1773-1857) span the years 1795-1900, with the bulk of the material from 1795 to 1866. The collection consists of correspondence, notes, speeches, financial and legal papers, and miscellaneous items organized in five series: Correspondence, Subject File, Speeches, Financial and Legal Papers, and Miscellany.
Correspondence constitutes the largest series and relates mainly to Tappan’s law practice, his activities in the antislavery movement, and to Ohio and national politics, especially during the Jacksonian period. An extensive family correspondence includes letters from his several brothers, Arthur, Charles, John, Lewis, and William, from his father, Benjamin Tappan (died 1790), first wife, Nancy Wright Tappan, and brother-in-law, John C. Wright.
Benjamin Tappan’s interest in conchology and mineralogy is also well documented. A partial index to the correspondence is contained in the Miscellany series. Included among the principal correspondents are William Allen, John Gould Anthony, Mathew Birchard, Ethan Allen Brown, John C. Bryan, William H. Cabell, David Clendenin, DeWitt Cinton, James D. Dana, David T. Disney, Joseph Drayton, Ogden Edwards, George H. Flood, Augustus A. Gould, Charles Hammond, John Hastings, Elijah Hayward, Joshua Leavitt, S. Medary, William Medill, Marcus Morton, Francis Joseph Nicholas Neef, Lucy W. Say, John Sloane, Edwin McMasters Stanton, and Elisha Whittlesey.
A small Subject File consists of additional correspondence, and notes, petitions, and printed matter relating to slavery, conchology, and other matters. The remainder of the papers includes printed speeches, bills, and receipts, indentures, plats, briefs, acts, a certificate, newspaper clippings, notes, and miscellaneous items.
This collection is arranged in five series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm76042309
Available on microfilm. Shelf no. 16,702
Principally letters received.
Arranged chronologically in bound volumes. A partial index of the
correspondence is contained in the
Correspondence, memoranda, notes, petitions, printed material, and drawing.
Arranged alphabetically by subject and therein chronologically.
Printed copies of speeches and notes relating thereto.
Arranged chronologically.
Bills and receipts followed by indentures, plats, briefs, acts, notes, and a certificate.
Arranged chronologically within type of material.
Partial index, invitations, newspapers and clippings, notes, fragments, and other items.
Arranged by type of material.