Table of Contents
James Hammond Trumbull Papers
A Guide to the James Hammond Trumbull Papers at the Connecticut Historical Society
Collection Overview |
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| Repository : | Connecticut Historical Society |
| Creator : | Trumbull, James Hammond, 1821-1897 |
| Title : | James Hammond Trumbull Papers. |
| Dates : | 1821 - 1914 |
| Extent : | 3.5 linear feet (8 boxes) |
| Abstract : | Collection consists of personal and professional correspondence; personal notes; notes on Indian languages; and payments received. |
| Location: | Ms Trumj1897 |
| Language: | English |
Biographical Sketch
James Hammond Trumbull was born on December 20, 1821 to Gurdon and Sarah Ann (Swan) Trumbull of Stonington, Connecticut. He received his preparatory education at Tracy's Academy and entered Yale College in 1838. He never took a degree, however, because he withdrew after two years for reasons of poor health. Nevertheless, Trumbull became a noted philologist, historian, and bibliographer.
One of Trumbull's first academic projects was assisting James Harvey Linsley in cataloguing the mammalia, reptiles, birds, shells, and fish of the state of Connecticut. Following this, in 1847, he was appointed assistant secretary of state for Connecticut. After spending a few years as state librarian and registrar, he was again assistant secretary of state in 1858. In 1861 he was elected secretary of state on the Republican ticket, and he retained this post until 1866, from which year Trumbull worked full time as a librarian at Hartford's Watkinson Library of Reference. His involvement with that institution continued, and in 1890 he was appointed librarian emeritus.
Trumbull's historical contributions were many. While assistant secretary of state, in 1850, he compiled and published The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, Prior to the Union with New Haven Colony, May 1665. He published subsequent volumes covering the period from 1665-1677, and finally one covering the years 1678-1689. Other work of Trumbull's on Connecticut history includes his 1876 publication of The True-Blue Laws of Connecticut and New Haven and the False-Blue Laws Invented by the Rev. Samuel Peters.
Perhaps Trumbull's best-known work was that on Indian languages, including an 1865 translation of John Eliot's catechism for the Indians, and several journal articles on Indian languages.
Trumbull died in Hartford on August 5, 1897, following a brief illness. He was survived by his wife, Sarah A. (Robinson) Trumbull, whom he married in 1855, and a daughter, Annie Eliot Trumbull.
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Scope and Content
Collection consists largely of correspondence, letters, and supporting material written in both personal and professional roles. Such correspondence is arranged chronologically. Much of the correspondence is from Trumbull's tenure as trustee and librarian of the Watkinson Library. Of particular interest are Trumbull's notes on Indian places names, as well as those on Indian languages and on hieroglyphics. Some notable correspondents include William Buckingham, Franklin Dexter, George Moore, Charles Sedgewick, Samuel Wolcott, Samuel Clemens, Gideon Welles, Timothy Dwight, and John Langdon Sibley.
Arrangement
Materials are organized into four series based largely on form.
Series I: Correspondence consists of Trumbull family correspondence.
Series II: Trumbull Family Correspondence consists of correspondence written by and to James Hammond Trumbull.
Series III: Payments Received emph>consists of cheques written to James Hammond Trumbull.
Series IV: Notes, Clippings, and Historical Writings consists of notebooks, newspaper clippings, writings on colonial New England, and notes on Indian languages.
Collection is arranged chronologically within in each series.
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Restrictions
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions on access to the collection.
Use Restrictions
Use of the material requires compliance with the Connecticut Historical Society's Research Center regulations.
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Subject Headings
Personal Names
Subjects
Geographic Names
Genre Forms
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Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Item, Collection Title, Collection number (Box #, Folder #). Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Connecticut.
Processing Details
EAD instance compiled by Stephen Yearl in July 1999. Updated to EAD 2002 in December 2010.
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Related Material
An index of catalog cards is available to aid access to this collection and material in other collections. Access is through writer, recipient and date. The card catalog is located in the Research Center reading room.
Microfilm copy available.
Contents:
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Return to the Table of Contents I. Correspondence |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Correspondence concerning such men as Henry Ward, Albert Matthews, John Ridfield, and John Robertson; includes an essay by James Trumbull On Literary Enthusiasm. 1829-1847 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Correspondence concerning such men as John Robertson, Henry Deming, Oliver York, and Charles Sedgwick. 1848-1849 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Correspondence concerning such men as David Platt, John DeForest, George Shelton, and William Hyde. 1850-1854 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Correspondence; including that with Anthony Lamb, Henry Bond, James Savage, and Edward Hale. 1855 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Correspondence; including that with William Wells and Henry Stiles. 1856 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Correspondence; including that with Edward Hale, Benjamin Richardson and John Langdon Sibley. 1857 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Correspondence; including that with Theodore Dwight, John Langdon Sibley, and Justin Winsor. January - July 1858 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Correspondence; including that with R. Manning Chipman, William Read Dean, and Daniel Gilman. August - December 1858 | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | Correspondence; including that with Charles Denison, Henry Moore, Samuel Wolcott, and Robert Winthrop. January - May 1859 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Correspondence; including that with W.B. Trask, Curtis Noyes, and John Boyd. June - October 1859 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Correspondence; including that with David Pulsifer, Curtis Noyes, and William Ely. November - December 1859 | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Correspondence; including that with John Elton, John Boyd, and D.C. Gilman. January - April 1860 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Correspondence; including that with George Bancroft, John Boyd, and William Buckingham. May - December 1860 | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | Correspondence; including that with Benjamin Swan, John Boyd, William Buckingham, and John Langdon Sibley. January - April 1861 | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | Correspondence; including that with Benjamin Haines, George Bancroft, Nathaniel Jocelyn. May - December 1861 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Correspondence; including that with Horace Gray, William Weaver, Henry Dawson, and William Buckingham. 1862 | |||||||||
| 1 | 17 | Correspondence; including that with William Buckingham, George Moore, Gideon Welles, and Richard Wheeler. January - June 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 18 | Correspondence; including that with Eugene Schuyler, William Buckingham, D.C. Gilman, and Charles Deane. July - December 1863 | |||||||||
| 1 | 19 | Correspondence; including that with Ian Langworth, D.C. Gilman, John Rogers, and William Buckingham. 1864 | |||||||||
| 1 | 20 | Correspondence; including that with Elias Loomis, George Moore, and Stephen Whitney Phoenix. 1865 | |||||||||
| 1 | 21 | Correspondence; including that with William Wheeler, John Ward Dean, and D.C. Gilman. 1866-1867 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | Correspondence; including that with George Moore, Austin Bacon, and Simeon Cotton. 1868 | |||||||||
| 2 | 2 | Correspondence; including that with Edward Marshall, D.C. Gilman, George Moore, and George Gibbs. 1869 | |||||||||
| 2 | 3 | Correspondence; including that with George Gibbs, William Wheeler, George Moore, and Edward Marshall. January - March 1870 | |||||||||
| 2 | 4 | Correspondence; including that with Charles Seymour, D.C. Gilman, and George Moore. April - July 1870 | |||||||||
| 2 | 5 | Correspondence; including that with Martha Bockée Flint, Franklin Dexter, James Boyce, and Edward Ballard. August - December 1870 | |||||||||
| 2 | 6 | Correspondence; including that with D.C. Gilman, Henry Adams, and George Leavitt. January - May 1871 | |||||||||
| 2 | 7 | Correspondence; including that with Washington Matthews, Charles Hart, and Henry Adams. June - December 1871 | |||||||||
| 2 | 8 | Correspondence; including that with Robert Winthrop, Joseph Henry, Schele de Vere, and John Austin Stevens. 1872 | |||||||||
| 2 | 9 | Correspondence; including that with John Langdon Sibley, Frank Moore, W.D. Whitney, and William Buckingham. 1873 | |||||||||
| 2 | 10 | Correspondence; including that with William Fowler, W.H. Whitmore, and Franklin Dexter. 1874 | |||||||||
| 2 | 11 | Correspondence; including that with Timothy Dwight, Samuel Drake, A. Harkness, and Theodore Dwight. 1875 | |||||||||
| 2 | 12 | Correspondence; including that with Huntington Wolcott, Spencer Baird, Alexander Ellis, and William Leppett. January - June 1876 | |||||||||
| 2 | 13 | Correspondence; including that with George Moore, John Austin Stevens, Richard Lockwood, and Stephen Salisbury. July - August 1876 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 3 | 1 | Correspondence; including that with Garrick Mallery, Leonard Bacon, W.D. Whitney, and Asa Gray. January - March 1877 | |||||||||
| 3 | 2 | Correspondence; including that with Asa Gray, Garrick Mallery,C.S. Lyman, T. W. Higginson, and N.P. Bailey. April - October 1877 | |||||||||
| 3 | 3 | Correspondence; including that with Charles Deane, Francis Parker, Baxter Smith, and William Knapp. November - December 1877 | |||||||||
| 3 | 4 | Correspondence; including that with Henry Dexter, Henry Adams, and Henry Stevens. 1878 | |||||||||
| 3 | 5 | Correspondence; including that with Theodore Irwin, George Moore, Henry Dexter, and Rowan Mills. 1879 | |||||||||
| 3 | 6 | Correspondence; including that with John Fiske, Benjamin Silliman, John Austin Stevens, and Henry Stevens. 1881 | |||||||||
| 3 | 7 | Correspondence; including that with Stephen Salisbury, C.F. Adams, Edward Adeez, and Marion Harland. 1882 | |||||||||
| 3 | 8 | Correspondence; including that with C.F. Adams, Kate Foote, Alex Johnston, and Charles Deane. 1883 | |||||||||
| 3 | 9 | Correspondence; including that with James Wilson, George Bryant, Theodore Bacon, and Henry Reed. 1884 | |||||||||
| 3 | 10 | Correspondence; including that with Henry Mercer, H.B. Stanton, Franklin Dexter, and Theodore Bacon. 1885-1886 | |||||||||
| 3 | 11 | Correspondence; including that with John Hurst, Mary Clark, Richard Eddy, Charles Isham, and George Hoar. 1887-1894; 1897 | |||||||||
| 3 | 12 | Correspondence; including that with Samuel Clemens, George Archer, John Boyd, and Henry Dawson. 1829-1897 | |||||||||
| 3 | 13 | Correspondence; including that with Charles de Kay, George Gibbs, Martha Hill, William Hill, and William Henry Hulbert. 1829-1897 | |||||||||
| 3 | 14 | Correspondence; including that with E.R. Potter, John Rogers, and William Hayes Ward. 1829-1897 | |||||||||
| II. Trumbull Family Correspondence | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 4 | 1 | Trumbull family correspondence. January - June 1876 | |||||||||
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Return to the Table of Contents III. Payments Received |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 4 | 6 | Cheques written out to James Hammond Trumbull. 1866-1867 | |||||||||
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Return to the Table of Contents IV. Notes, Clippings, and Historical Writings |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 4 | 7 | Notes, sketches, writings. 1821-1897 | |||||||||
| 4 | 8 | Notes and copies of early documents. Originals dated: 1662-1775. Transcriptions dated: 1821-1897 | |||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| 5 | Notebook; notes on hieroglyphics and Egypt. 1821-1897 | ||||||||||
| 5 | Notebook. 1904 | ||||||||||
| 5 | Notebook. April 1905 | ||||||||||
| 5 | Notebook; notes on Native American languages. 1873-1897 | ||||||||||
| 5 | Notebook. 1845-1886 | ||||||||||
| 5 | Notebook; Transfathers and transmothers. 1821-1897 | ||||||||||
| 5 | 1 | Obituaries for James H. Trumbull. 1897 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 6 | 1 | Religious notes; genealogy of Adam; accounts. 1821-1897 | |||||||||
| 6 | 2 | Madam Knight's journal. 1858-1865 | |||||||||
| 6 | 3 | Index to correspondence on Indian names. 1869-1882 | |||||||||
| 6 | 4 | Notes on ichthyology and conchology. 1842 | |||||||||
| 6 | 5 | Translation of Prometheus. 1821-1897 | |||||||||
| 6 | 6 | Views from the giant's shoulders. 1821-1897 | |||||||||
| 6 | 7 | The settling of Connecticut: where, why, by whom. 1821-1897 | |||||||||
| 6 | 8 | Cipher. 1821-1897 | |||||||||
| 6 | 9 | Journal. 1821-1897 | |||||||||
| 6 | 10 | Connecticut records. 1821-1897 | |||||||||
| 6 | 11 | Copies of early Connecticut documents. Originals dated: 1636-1783; includes Charter of 1662. Transcriptions dated: 1821-1897 | |||||||||
| 6 | 12 | Copies of early Connecticut documents. Originals dated: 1703-1778; includes a 1778 speech by Governor Jonathan Trumbull to the Connecticut delegates in Congress. Transcriptions dated: 1821-1897 | |||||||||
| 6 | 13 | Copies of early Connecticut documents. Originals dated: c. 1792; accounts. Transcriptions dated: 1821-1897 | |||||||||
| 6 | 14 | Copies of early Connecticut documents. Originals dated: 1694-1775; includes The glory & defence of a people and a declaration from the council of the Pequots. Transcriptions dated: 1821-1897 | |||||||||
| 6 | 15 | Copies of early documents. Originals dated: 1654-1721; notes on translations into Indian languages of religions material. Transcriptions dated: 1821-1897 | |||||||||
| 6 | 16 | Newspaper clippings. 1867-1914 | |||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| 7 | Notes for Indian place names. 1821-1897 | ||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 8 | 1 | Notebook. 1859-1885 | |||||||||
| 8 | 2 | Paper on Connecticut colonists delivered to the Monday Evening Club. February 1869 | |||||||||
| 8 | 3 | Account of Hartford in 1675-1676, during the Narragansett war. 1821-1897 | |||||||||
| 8 | 4 | Draft of book on early New England customs: chapters I-III. 1841-1897 | |||||||||
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| 8 | 5 | Draft of book on early New England customs: chapters IV; X. 1841-1897 | |||||||||
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| 8 | 6 | Draft of book on early New England customs: chapters XII; VII; XIII. 1841-1897 | |||||||||
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| 8 | 7 | Draft of book on early New England customs: chapters IX-X. 1841-1897 | |||||||||
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| 8 | 8 | Draft of book on early New England customs: chapters VI; XII. 1841-1897 | |||||||||
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| 8 | 9 | Draft of book on early New England customs: chapter XXV. 1841-1897 | |||||||||
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| 8 | 10 | Notebook; regarding colonial New England. 1821-1897 | |||||||||
| 8 | 11 | Notebook; newspaper and journal clippings. 1821-1897 | |||||||||