Collection Summary
E. F. Ellet correspondence with index
1842-1865
1848-1850
1842-1865
1848-1850
MSS86359
Ellet, E. F. (Elizabeth Fries), 1818-1877
185 items
1 container
.2 linear feet
English
Collection material in English
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
Author, poet, and historian.
Correspondence with index relating to her research for The
Women of the American Revolution.
Acquisition Information
The correspondence with index of E. F. Ellet was purchased by the Library of Congress
in 2020.
Processing History
The correspondence with index of E. F. Ellet was arranged and described by Rachel
Telford in 2020.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of E. F. Ellet are governed by
the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.) and other applicable
international copyright laws.
Access and Restrictions
The correspondence with index of E. F. Ellet is open to research. Researchers are
advised to contact the Manuscript Division prior to visiting in order to determine
whether the desired materials will be available at that time.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information:
Container number, E. F. Ellet correspondence with index, Manuscript Division,
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1818, Oct. 18
Born, Sodus Point, N.Y.
circa 1835
Married William Henry Ellet
1848-1850
Published The Women of the American Revolution
(3 volumes). New York: Baker and Scribner.
1877, June 3
Died, New York, N.Y.
Scope and Content Note
The correspondence with index of E. F. Ellet spans the years 1842-1865, with the bulk
of the material dating from 1848 to 1850. The collection documents Ellet's research
for the publication of her three-volume work, The Women of the
American Revolution (1848 and 1850), the first history of women’s
participation in the American Revolution. The papers are in English.
The correspondence documents Ellet’s research and writing process as she worked on
The Women of the American Revolution. Ellet
researched the lives of women by requesting information from their descendants
through correspondence, receiving letters from more than 100 individuals.
Correspondents included women relatives such as Lucy Knox Thatcher, Susan J.
Donaldson, Eliza Susan Quincy, and Delia Tudor (Stewart) Parnell; prominent
politicians and writers such as Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, Washington Irving,
James Fenimore Cooper, George Washington Parke Custis, and Robert Jefferson
Breckinridge. Ellet also corresponded with noted historians of the day such as Henry
Onderdonk, Jr., Jared Sparks, William Hickling Prescott, and George Washington
Greene, the grandson of Catherine Littlefield Greene and Revolutionary war hero
Nathaniel Greene. The collection includes letters excerpted in The Women of the American Revolution, as well as unpublished material.
Also included is an index to the correspondence, presumably created by Ellet, though
some letters listed are not part of this collection.
Arrangement of the Collection
This collection is arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent.
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
Breckinridge, Robert J. (Robert Jefferson), 1800-1871--Correspondence.
Calhoun, John C. (John Caldwell), 1782-1850--Correspondence.
Clay, Henry, 1777-1852--Correspondence.
Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851--Correspondence.
Custis, George Washington Parke, 1781-1857--Correspondence.
Donaldson, Susan J. (Susan Jane), 1808-1866--Correspondence.
Ellet, E. F. (Elizabeth Fries), 1818-1877.
Ellet, E. F. (Elizabeth Fries), 1818-1877. The women of the American Revolution. 1848-1850.
Greene, George Washington, 1811-1883--Correspondence.
Irving, Washington, 1783-1859--Correspondence.
Onderdonk, Henry, Jr., 1804-1886--Correspondence.
Parnell, Delia Tudor, 1816-1898--Correspondence.
Prescott, William Hickling, 1796-1859--Correspondence.
Quincy, Eliza Susan, 1798-1884--Correspondence.
Sparks, Jared, 1789-1866--Correspondence.
Thatcher, Lucy Knox, 1776-1854--Correspondence.
Subjects
Women--United States.
Places
United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Women.
Titles
E.F. Ellet papers
Elizabeth F. Ellet papers
Occupations
Authors.
Historians.
Poets.
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Correspondence, A-G, 1842-1865
1842-1865
1
Correspondence, H-O, 1842-1865
1842-1865
1
Correspondence, P-W, 1842-1865
1842-1865
1
Index,
undated
undated