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Janin Family Papers
mssJaninf
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Janin family papers
Creator:
Janin (Family)
Identifier/Call Number: mssJaninf
Physical Description:
29.6 Linear Feet
(71 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1735-1932
Abstract: This collection contains the papers relating to the lives and activities of various members of the Blair, Croghan, Janin,
and Jesup families, chiefly extending from New Orleans lawyer and businessman Albert Covington Janin and his wife, Washington,
D.C., socialite Violet (Blair) Janin, with the bulk of the collection dating between 1850-1930. Subject matter in the collection
includes: politics and government and society and customs in Washington, D.C., and Louisiana; Blair House (Washington, D.C.);
land titles in Indiana Territory, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Missouri; the Ocean Canal and Transportation Company; and the history
of Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, from 1839 until 1932.
Language of Material: English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Janin family papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquired from the Washington Cathedral through the agency of Colonel Thomas M. Spaulding in 1936 and 1937. Additional letters
and other papers were acquired in 1946, from Louis Janin of San Francisco; in 1965 from Howard H. Peckham; and in 1968 from
Elliot A. P. Evans.
Louis Janin (1803-1874), a lawyer, was born and educated in Vienna and in 1828 emigrated to New Orleans, where he practiced
law and invested in sugar plantations. Of his six sons, three (Louis, Henry and Alexis) became mining engineers, and one,
Albert Covington Janin, became a lawyer. Albert Covington Janin practiced law in New Orleans (and later in New York and Washington),
entered politics, operated a canal in Louisiana, later managed the Mammoth Cave Estate in Kentucky and married Violet Blair
(1850-1932), daughter of James Lawrence Blair (1819-1853) and Mary Jesup Blair (1825-1914). James Lawrence Blair (1819-1853),
a U.S. naval officer, acquired property in San Francisco in 1849 and established the first steamship line on the Sacramento
River. James Blair's wife, Mary, was the daughter of Thomas Sidney Jesup (1788-1860), U.S. Army officer. Jesup's wife, Anne
Heron Croghan, was a member of a Kentucky family and a niece of George Rogers Clark. Her brother, John Croghan, purchased
lands containing the Mammoth Cave, which he willed to the descendents of his sister and brothers. Violet Blair Janin (1850-1932),
a Washington, D.C., society leader, lived her entire life in Lafayette Square near the White House except for brief periods
following her marriage in 1874 to Albert Covington Janin when she lived in New Orleans. She traveled in Europe and elsewhere,
and was active in the National Society of Colonial Dames, the National Society of the American Revolution, the National Society
Opposed to Woman's Suffrage, and others. Her sister, Lucy James Blair Wheeler, (1853-1902), married Major George Montague
Wheeler (1842-1905), engineer and West Point graduate, and she accompanied her husband to military posts in the U.S. (including
Denver, Colorado) and Europe.
The collection consists of letters (including 1 letter book), manuscripts (including 50 diaries), documents (including 55
account books, 12 cash books, and 5 miscellaneous volumes), and photographs related to the lives and activities of various
Janin family members and the extended Janin-Blair-Jesup-Croghan families. Subject matter in the collection includes: politics
and government in Washington, D.C., and Louisiana; society and customs in Washington, D.C., and New Orleans; Blair House (Washington,
D.C.); land titles in Indiana Territory, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Missouri; the Ocean Canal and Transportation Company, which
ran from Louisiana to St. Louis; the history of Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, from the time of purchase by John Croghan in 1839
until 1932, when it became a national park (at which time Violet Blair Janin was the primary owner); and mining in Australia.
Persons represented in the collection include: James Lawrence Blair, Mary Jesup Blair, Violet Blair Janin, John Croghan, William
Croghan, Albert Covington Janin, Louis Janin, Julia Clark Jesup, Thomas Sidney Jesup, George M. Wheeler, and Lucy James Blair
Wheeler. Organizations represented in the collection (with which Violet Blair Janin was affiliated) include: Daughters of
the American Revolution, National Association Opposed to Woman's Suffrage, National Cathedral Association, National Society
of Children of the American Revolution, and the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.
The papers of James L. Blair (165 pieces) that were formerly catalogued separately and the Louis Janin papers that were formerly
catalogued as the Louis Janin Correspondence (876 pieces) were combined with the Janin Family Collection.
This finding aid was updated in 2022 by Melissa Haley as part of the American Presidential Papers Project with enhanced description
of the presidential material present.
Former call number: mssJanin family.
The collection is arranged alphabetically by author in Boxes 1-59, followed by miscellaneous papers, photographs, ephemera,
and record books in Boxes 60-71.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Canals -- Louisiana.
Land titles -- Indiana.
Land titles -- Kentucky.
Land titles -- Louisiana.
Land titles -- Missouri.
Mines and mineral resources -- Australia.
National parks and reserves -- Kentucky.
Real property -- California -- San Francisco.
Real property -- Washington (D.C.)
Women -- Washington (D.C.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources.
Women -- Washington (D.C.) -- Social conditions.
Denver (Colo.) -- Description and travel.
Denver (Colo.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century.
Louisiana -- Politics and government.
Mammoth Cave (Ky.) -- History -- Sources.
New Orleans (La.) -- Politics and government.
New Orleans (La.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
Washington (D.C.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century.
Account books -- United States.
Diaries -- United States.
Family papers -- United States.
Letters (correspondence) -- United States.
Manuscripts -- United States.
Photographs -- United States.
Blair (Family)
Blair, James L. (James Lawrence), 1819-1853
Blair, Mary Jesup, 1826-1914
Blair, Violet, 1848-1933
Croghan, John, 1790-1849
Croghan, William, 1752-1823
Janin, Albert
Janin, Louis
Jesup (Family)
Jesup, Julia Clark, 1840-
Jesup, Thomas Sidney, 1788-1860
Wheeler, George M. (George Montague), 1842-1905
Wheeler, Lucy James Blair, 1853-1902
Blair House (Washington, D.C.)
Daughters of the American Revolution
National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage
National Cathedral Association
National Society of the Children of the American Revolution
National Society of the Colonial Dames of America
Ocean Canal and Transportation Company
United States. Army -- Officers -- Archives.
United States. Navy -- Officers -- Archives.
Croghan (Family)