Wheeler - Smith Family papers
Scope and Contents
The collection consists primarily of letters to and from Woodbury C. Smith, his father, Samuel Smith, and his wife, Helen Wheeler Smith and principally relates to the Civil War, discussing issues such as war news, individuals who escaped slavery to Union territory during the war (who were referred to historically and in this collection as "contraband"), politics, both local to Massachusetts and national. There is a letter from Dorothea Dix as Superintendent of Women Nurses. There are slavery documents, field inspection and narrative reports from battle fronts in South Carolina and Florida, a map of Charleston Harbor, a photograph of the Raymonds and Helen Wheeler Smith, and a gold $1 coin from 1874.
Dates
- Creation: 1814 - 1936
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1864 - 1865
Creator
- Smith, Helen E. Wheeler (Person)
- Smith, Woodbury C. (Person)
- Smith, Samuel, 1806-1888 (Person)
Limitations on Accessing the Collection
This collection is open for research use.
Copyright and Rights Information
Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17). Please contact the Archives with requests for copying and for authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce the material.
Biographical / Historical
Samuel Smith was a city clerk in Worcester, Massachusetts. His son, Woodbury C. Smith, was Quartermaster in the Union Army, also Lieutenant, Captain and Judge. Helen Wheeler Smith was a war nurse and, according to the donor, came from a Quaker family in Potsdam or Canton, New York (though there is no evidence of Quaker connections in the papers). Also according to the donor, Helen Wheeler Smith and her daughter Harriet left $100 to the Spiritualist Society of Boston. The family lived in Worcester, Massachusetts until the mother and daughter moved to Brighton, Mass. Ward Raymond, the donor's father, was executor of Harriet's estate.
Extent
0.25 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language
English
Overview
The collection consists primarily of letters to and from Woodbury C. Smith, his father, Samuel Smith, and his wife, Helen Wheeler Smith and principally relates to the Civil War.
Arrangement
Box I:
- Letters to Helen Wheeler Smith (1. A-R; 2. S-W)
- Letters from Samuel Smith (1. 1864; 2. 1865-66),
- Letters to Samuel Smith
- Letters from Woodbury C. Smith
- Letters to Woodbury and Woodbury and Helen
- Documents and Miscellaneous
- Envelopes (for titles and variant addresses of four Smith family members)
Other Finding Aids
Custodial History
Gift of Thoreau Raymond, February and December, 1992
Acquisition
The Wheeler-Smith Family papers were donated to Special Collections, Haverford College by Raymond Thoreau in 1992.
General
Though not all letters are listed individually, those that are highlighted are done so on the basis of content of the letter or historical importance of the letter writer.
Processing Information
Original processing unknown. Revised by Allison Hall, May 2020.
Subject
- Smith, Helen E. Wheeler (Person)
- Smith, Woodbury C. (Person)
- Smith, Samuel, 1806-1888 (Person)
- Title
- Wheeler-Smith Family papers, 1814-1936
- Subtitle
- bulk: 1864-1865
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- June 2022: by Nathaniel Rehm-Daly, Harmful Language Revision Project
Find It at the Library
Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting reproductions from Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections Library
