Collection Summary
Samuel McGowan Papers
1883-1943
(bulk 1900-1920)
1883-1943
(bulk 1900-1920)
MSS55145
McGowan, Samuel,
1870-1934
2,000
items
8 containers
3 linear feet
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Naval officer. General
correspondence, orders to duty, subject files, newspaper clippings, and
miscellaneous material relating primarily to McGowan's duties as paymaster
general of the navy, 1914-1920, and to his interest in changing naval
regulations he regarded as discriminatory.
Selected Search Terms
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.
People
Andrews, Philip, 1866-1945.
Baruch, Bernard M. (Bernard Mannes), 1870-1965.
Bonaparte, Charles J. (Charles Joseph), 1851-1921--Correspondence.
Cowie, Thomas Jefferson, 1857-1936--Correspondence.
Daniels, Josephus, 1862-1948--Correspondence.
McGowan family--Correspondence.
McGowan, Samuel, 1870-1934.
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945--Correspondence.
Tillman, Benjamin R. (Benjamin Ryan), 1847-1918--Correspondence.
Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924--Correspondence.
Organizations
United States. Navy--Regulations.
United States. Navy--Supplies and stores.
United States. Navy. Supply Corps.
Subjects
World War, 1914-1918.
Occupations
Naval officers.
Provenance
The papers of Samuel McGowan, naval officer, were deposited in the
Library of Congress by the Naval Historical Foundation in 1968 and converted to
a gift in 1998.
Processing History
The papers of Samuel McGowan were arranged and described in 1973. The
finding aid was revised in 2011.
Additional Guides
In 1973, the Library published
Colby Mitchell Chester, William Freeland Fullam, Samuel McGowan,
and Henry Croskey Mustin: A Register of Their Papers in the Library of
Congress
.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Samuel McGowan
is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Samuel McGowan 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.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Samuel McGowan Papers, Naval
Historical Foundation Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1870, Sept. 1
Born, Laurens, S. C.
1889
A.B., University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
1891.
LL.B., University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C
1894
Appointed assistant paymaster, United States Navy
1894
1897
Duty in USS
Minnesota
, USS
Dolphin
, USS
Marblehead,
and USS
Michigan
1903
1908 .
Duty at Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, Washington,
D.C
1906
Promoted to pay inspector
1908
Fleet paymaster, Atlantic Fleet
1909
Purchasing pay officer, United States Navy Yard, Charleston,
S.C.
1910.
In charge of Naval Pay Office, United States Navy Yard,
Philadelphia, Pa
1913
Fleet paymaster, Atlantic Fleet
1914
1920
Paymaster general, United States Navy, and chief, Bureau of
Supplies and Accounts, with rank of rear admiral
1920
Retired from the United States Navy
1925
Member, highway commission, South Carolina
1934, Nov. 11
Died, Laurens, S. C.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Samuel McGowan (1870-1934) span the years 1883-1943,
with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1900-1920. The
collection is organized into orders to duty, correspondence, a subject file,
and miscellany and therein alphabetically by name of person, topic, or type of
material.
The correspondence consists of letters to family members and official
papers concerning McGowan’s duties as paymaster. Prominent correspondents
include Philip Andrews, Bernard M. Baruch, Charles J. Bonaparte, Thomas
Jefferson Cowie, Josephus Daniels, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Benjamin R. Tillman,
and Woodrow Wilson.
The subject file includes material pertaining to the Pay Department of
the Atlantic Fleet, the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts in World War I, and
McGowan’s role in the changing of naval regulations. McGowan objected to what
he regarded as unfair discriminations against officers who were not line
officers, such as those in medical categories and construction units. Partly in
response to his protests, the regulations were ultimately changed. The papers
also contain two scrapbooks concerning McGowan’s duty as paymaster general in
World War I.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged into orders to duty, correspondence, a
subject file, and miscellany and therein alphabetically by name of person,
topic, or type of material.
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Orders to duty, 1894-1920
1
Correspondence,
1883-1943
1883-1943
1
“A” miscellaneous
1
Andrews, Philip
1
“B” miscellaneous
1
Ball, Richard T. M.
1
Baruch, Bernard M.
1
Biscoe, Harry E.
1
Bonaparte, Charles
J.
1
Bryan, Samuel
1
“C” miscellaneous
1
Cowie, Thomas
Jefferson
2
“D” miscellaneous
2
DeLancy, Charles H.
2
Dewey, Mildred McLean
2
Dial, Haskell
2
Dyer, George P.
2
“E”
miscellaneous
2
“F”
miscellaneous
2
Fite, William C.
2
“G” miscellaneous
2
“H” miscellaneous
2
Hagner, I. Thomas
2
Hancock, John M.
2
Harris, Henry T. B.
2
Hatton, Elizabeth S.
2
Hatton, Richard
2
Hicks, Thomas
2
Holmes, H. McGowan
2
Holmes, James G.
2
Hoover, William D.
2
“I-K” miscellaneous
2
Jackson, Victor S.
3
“L” miscellaneous
3
Lathrop, Patrick T.
M.
3
Lehman, Herbert H.
3
Littlefield, Charles W.
3
Long, John R.
3
“M-N” miscellaneous
3
McDonald, Mitchell
3
McGowan, James F.
3
McGowan, Julia Ann Farrow
3
McGowan, Pattillo H.
3
Merriam, John H.
3
Nicholls, Samuel J.
3
“O” miscellaneous
3
“P” miscellaneous
3
Poullain, Lizzie B.
3
Pulsifer, Pitman
3
“R” miscellaneous
3
Radford, Cyrus S.
3
Rawlings, Bettie
3
Ring, James A.
4
Rogers, Eustace B.
4
Roosevelt, Franklin
D.
4
Ryan, Eugene D.
4
“S”
miscellaneous
4
Searle, Victoria
4
Spafford, Edward E.
4
Stackhouse, George M.
4
“T” miscellaneous
4
Tillman, Benjamin R.
4
Tobey, Eugene C.
4
Tumulty, Joseph P.
4
“U-Y” miscellaneous
4
Williamson, Thom, Jr.
4
Wilson, William L.
4
Wilson, Woodrow
4
Memoranda,
1914-1920
1914-1920
4
Selection of McGowan’s letters
and memoranda, 1902-1920, with introduction, 1943
5
Subject file,
1895-1920
1895-1920
5
Accounting
5
American Red Cross
5
Balanced bids
5
Civil War roll of the United
States Treasury
5
Coal Comptroller of the United
States Treasury
5
Dehydrated foods
5
Fleet paymaster, Atlantic Fleet
5
Fleet paymaster’s inspections
5
Fuel facilities
5
Fuel oil
6
Homestead and McWilliams
tracts
6
Increase the efficiency of the
United States Navy
6
Bill
6
Congressional hearings
6
Correspondence
6
Marseille meat mixup
6
Naval militia
6
Naval War Relief Committee
6
Navy regulations
6
Benson, William S.
6
Daniels, Josephus
6
Galley proofs
6
Navy uniforms
6
Officers’ club, Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba
7
Pay Corps
7
Provisions, specifications, and
food substitutes
7
Simonds, Louis D., loan
7
Southern Railway Co.
7
Stock Division
7
Bureau of Supplies and Accounts
7
“Supplies in War”
7
“Thomas McGowan”
letter
7
Bonaparte, Charles J.
7
Rogers, Eustace B.
7
United States Food Administration
7
USS
Solace
investigation
7
Woman suffrage
7
Miscellany,
1893-1919
1893-1919
7
Dewey, George, diary, given to
McGowan by Mildred M. Dewey,
1904
1904
7
Leases and receipts
7
List of McGowan’s papers
7
Memorabilia including calling
cards, invitations, and programs
7
Organization chart, Bureau of
Supplies and Accounts
8
Photographs, John M. Hancock’s
home
8
Printed matter,
1894-1916
1894-1916
8
Scrapbooks