Collection Summary
Horace Greeley Papers
1812-1928
(bulk 1860-1872)
1812-1928
(bulk 1860-1872)
MSS23937
Greeley, Horace,
1811-1872
2,000
items
7 containers
2.4 linear feet
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Journalist.
Correspondence, autobiography, writings by and about Greeley, newspaper
clippings, scrapbooks, a notebook, printed matter, and other papers pertaining
to his life and career as a journalist.
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
Cameron, Simon, 1799-1889--Correspondence.
Chandler, William E. (William Eaton), 1835-1917--Correspondence.
Colfax, Schuyler, 1823-1885--Correspondence.
Dana, Charles A. (Charles Anderson), 1819-1897--Correspondence.
Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889.
Evarts, William Maxwell, 1818-1901--Correspondence.
Fish, Hamilton, 1808-1893--Correspondence.
Frémont, Jessie Benton, 1824-1902--Correspondence.
Greeley family.
Greeley, Horace, 1811-1872.
Griswold, Rufus W. (Rufus Wilmot), 1815-1857--Correspondence.
Nicolay, John G. (John George), 1832-1901--Correspondence.
Ransom, B. F.--Correspondence.
Sherman, John, 1823-1900--Correspondence.
Smith, Gerrit, 1797-1874--Correspondence.
Wade, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1800-1878--Correspondence.
Organizations
Liberal Republican Party.
Whig Party (U.S.)
Subjects
American newspapers--New York (State)--New York.
Presidents--United States--Election--1872.
Printers--New York (State)--New York.
Publishers and publishing--New York (State)--New York.
Slavery--United States.
Places
New York (State)--Politics and government.
United States--Politics and government--19th century.
Titles
Horace Greeley Papers at the Library of Congress
New York tribune.
Occupations
Journalists.
Provenance
The papers of Horace Greeley, journalist, were given to the Library
of Congress by Worthington C. Ford in 1903. Additional papers were purchased in
1928, and several small additions were subsequently acquired between 1928 and
1983. A large addition was given by Elizabeth Mills Reid as part of the papers
of Whitelaw Reid, Greeley’s successor at the
New York Tribune
, in 1956.
Processing History
The papers of Horace Greeley were arranged and described in 1965.
Additional material was processed in 1985. The collection was rearranged in
2006 and the finding aid revised in 2007.
Copyright Status
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Horace Greeley in these
papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of
Congress has been dedicated to the public.
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Horace Greeley 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.
Online Content
The papers of Horace Greeley are available on the Library of Congress Web site at [https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/collmss.ms000099].
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Horace Greeley Papers, Manuscript
Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1811, Feb. 3
Born, Amherst, N. H.
1826
Apprentice,
Northern Spectator
, East Poultney, Vt.
1833
Formed a partnership with Francis V. Story and published the
Morning Post
, New York, N.Y.; the paper soon failed
but the partners brought out a tri-weekly called the
Constitutionalist
1834
Issued the first copy of the
New Yorker
1836
Married Mary Youngs Cheney
1838
In partnership with Thurlow Weed and William Seward issued a
Whig paper, the
Jeffersonian
, Albany, N.Y.
1840
Began publication of another Whig paper, the
Log Cabin
1848
1849
Served a three-month term in Congress
1860
Active at the Republican national convention, Chicago,
Ill.
1861
Candidate for the United States Senate from New York
1864
Sent by President Abraham Lincoln to Canada to meet with
Confederate peace commission
1867
One of the signers of the bail bond for Jefferson
Davis
1872
Nominated for president by the Liberal Republican Party and
the Democratic Party
1872, Nov. 29
Died, New York, N.Y.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Horace Greeley (1811-1872) span the years 1812-1928,
with most of the collection encompassing the years 1860-1872. The papers
include correspondence, typescripts and transcripts of Greeley’s letters and
writings; articles, notes, lectures, and speeches by and about Greeley;
scrapbooks of newspaper clippings and other printed matter; and miscellaneous
material.
Incidents of Greeley’s boyhood, his early struggle in New York to
maintain himself in the printing and publishing business, and the growth and
success of the
New York Tribune
that he owned and edited are related in
letters from Greeley to Charles A. Dana, B. F. Ransom, Rufus W. Griswold, and
others. Other subjects are Whig politics and the slavery issue prior to the
Civil War. There is little material relating to Greeley’s three-month term in
Congress, 1848-1849, or his senatorial aspirations in 1861 and 1867.
Lecture requests, business and editorial matters concerning the
New York Tribune
, New York politics, family illness, the
bail bond for Jefferson Davis, the Liberal Republican Party, and the
presidential campaign of 1872 are also subjects in the collection.
Prominent correspondents include Simon Cameron, William E. Chandler,
Schuyler Colfax, William Maxwell Evarts, Hamilton Fish (1808-1893), Jessie
Benton Frémont, John G. Nicolay, John Sherman, Gerrit Smith, and B. F. Wade.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Catalog Record: [https://lccn.loc.gov/mm79023937]
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Apprenticeship,
1826
1826
Digital content available
1
Correspondence
1
Bound, 1838-1852,
1894
1838-1852,
1894
Digital content available
1
General
1
1829-1831,
1838-1843
1829-1831,
1838-1843
Digital content available
1
1844-1857
1844-1857
Digital content available
1
1858-1859
1858-1859
Digital content available
1
1860
1860
Digital content available
1
1861
1861
Digital content available
1
1862
1862
Digital content available
1
1863
1863
Digital content available
1
1864
1864
Digital content available
1
1865
1865
Digital content available
1
1866
1866
Digital content available
1
1867 , with related 1914 newspaper
clipping
1867
Digital content available
2
1868
1868
Digital content available
2
1869
1869
Digital content available
2
1870
1870
Digital content available
2
1871
1871
Digital content available
2
1872
1872
Digital content available
2
1879,
1880,
1911-1928
1879,
1880,
1911-1928
Digital content available
2
Undated
Undated
2
To Horace Greeley
Digital content available
2
To Horace Greeley and other
recipients
Digital content available
2
Special
2
Barnum, P. T.,
1868
1868
Digital content available
2
Brisbane, Albert,
undated
undated
Digital content available
2
Cameron, Simon, 1861,
1866
1861,
1866
Digital content available
2
Chandler, William E.,
1868
1868
Digital content available
2
Chase, Salmon P., 1862-1866
[
See also General
Correspondence
](gencorr)
1862-1866
Digital content available
2
Colfax, Schuyler, 1861-1868,
undated
1861-1868,
undated
Digital content available
2
Conkling, Roscoe, 1863,
1866
1863,
1866
Digital content available
2
Evarts, William Maxwell,
undated
undated
Digital content available
2
Fenton, Reuben Eaton,
undated
undated
Digital content available
2
Fish, Hamilton (1808 1893), undated
undated
Digital content available
2
Frémont, Jesse Benton,
undated
undated
Digital content available
2
Frémont, John C., 1863
[
See also General
Correspondence, 1863
](gencorr1863)
1863
Digital content available
2
Hawley, Joseph R.,
1868-1871
1868-1871
Digital content available
3
Morrill, Justin,
1870-1872
1870-1872
Digital content available
3
Nicolay, John G.,
1864
1864
Digital content available
3
Pomeroy, Samuel Clark,
undated
undated
Digital content available
3
Sherman, John, 1865
1865
Digital content available
3
Stanton, Edwin M.,
1863
1863
Digital content available
3
Stevens, Thaddeus,
1859-1860
1859-1860
Digital content available
3
Tappan, Lewis,
1866
1866
Digital content available
3
Vanderbilt, Cornelius,
(1843-1899)
, 1863-1868, undated
(1843-1899)
, 1863-1868, undated
Digital content available
3
Vanderbilt, Ellen W.,
1868
1868
Digital content available
3
Wade, B. F.,
1863-1864
1863-1864
Digital content available
3
Correspondence
3
Transcripts,
1847-1872, undated
1847-1872, undated
Digital content available
3
Transcripts, correspondence with Thomas N.
Rooker, 1848-1871
1848-1871
Digital content available
3
Transcripts of assorted documents
3
Pages 1-32
Digital content available
3
Pages 33-92
Digital content available
3
Pages 93-153
Digital content available
3
Pages 154-210
Digital content available
3
Financial papers
3
Bills
3
1848-1868
1848-1868
Digital content available
3
1869-1872, undated
1869-1872, undated
Digital content available
3
Receipt books, 1853-1856
1853-1856
Digital content available
3
Stocks, 1846-1869, undated
1846-1869, undated
Digital content available
3
Title search, 1857
1857
Digital content available
3
Indentures,
1845-1852
1845-1852
Digital content available
3
Insurance policies, 1854-1855
1854-1855
Digital content available
3
Miscellany,
1855-1897, undated
1855-1897, undated
Digital content available
4
New Yorker
,
undated
undated
Digital content available
4
Patent,
1867
1867
Digital content available
4
Printed matter
4
Clippings, 1864-1874,
1899-1911
1864-1874,
1899-1911
4
Folder 1 of 5
Digital content available
4
Folder 2 of 5
Digital content available
4
Folder 3 of 5
Digital content available
4
Folder 4 of 5
Digital content available
4
Folder 5 of 5
Digital content available
4
General
4
1838,
1842,
1856
1838,
1842,
1856
Digital content not yet available
4
1865-1896
1865-1896
Digital content available
4
1901-1909
1901-1909
Digital content available
4
1911-1912
1911-1912
Digital content available
4
Undated
Undated
Digital content available
5
Resolutions in honor of Greeley by the New York
Herald Club, 1872
1872
Digital content available
5
Scrapbooks, 1869-1889
1869-1889
1869-1889
1869-1889
Digital content available
Sept. 18-Dec. 5,
1872
Sept. 18-Dec. 5,
1872
Digital content available
6
Speeches and writings
6
“Abstinence,”
undated
undated
Digital content available
6
“Agriculture,"
undated
undated
Digital content available
6
"Agriculture in Vermont, Past and
Future,"
1862
1862
Digital content available
6
An Overland Journey
, manucript preface and
newspaper clipping, circa 1859
circa 1859
Digital content available
6
"Andrew Johnson,"
undated
undated
Digital content available
6
“Ashland, The Home and Grave of Henry Clay,”
undated
undated
Digital content available
6
Association Discussed, or, The Socialism
of "The Tribune" Examined
, articles from the
New-York
Tribune
and published volume, 1846-1847
1846-1847
Digital content available
6
"A Bibliography of Horace Greeley, Compiled by
Nathan Greeley, Editor of the Delta, New Orleans, La."
6
Handwritten manuscript, undated
undated
Digital content available
6
Typed manuscript, undated
undated
Digital content available
6
"The City and the Country--A Talk with Young
Men,"
undated
undated
Digital content available
6
"The Colored Race," 1872
1872
Digital content available
7
“Council to Young Men,” undated
[
See also Miscellaneous,
Articles in Wood's Household Magazine, transcriptions,
1871-1872](artwood)
undated
Digital content available
7
“Dost Thou Will to Be Angry,”
undated
undated
Digital content available
7
“A Farmer’s Library,”
undated
undated
Digital content available
7
Miscellaneous
7
Articles in
Wood's
Household Magazine
, transcriptions, 1871-1872
1871-1872
Digital content available
7
Galley proofs,
undated
undated
7
1 of 2
Digital content available
7
2 of 2
Digital content available
7
General,
undated
undated
Digital content available
7
Lecture notes,
undated
undated
Digital content available
7
Notes and drafts
7
circa 1864-1872
circa 1864-1872
Digital content available
7
Undated
Undated
Digital content available
7
Speeches,
undated
undated
Digital content available
7
“Recollections of a Busy Life,”
undated
undated
Digital content available
7
“Reminiscences of Horace Greeley,” 1879
1879
Digital content available
7
“The Sabbath for Man,”
undated
undated
Digital content available
7
“Twenty Years of Prohibition,”
undated
undated
Digital content available