William F. Vermilion Papers
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Copyright 2005
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
spcoll@ucsd.edu
Note
Revised to add links to digital content in 2017.
Descriptive Summary
Languages:
English
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: William F. Vermilion Papers
Creator:
Vermilion, William, 1830-1894
Creator:
Vermilion (Family : Iowa)
Creator:
Vermilion, Mary, 1831-1883
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0417
Physical Description:
5 Linear feet
(9 archive boxes, 1 flat box, and 2 map case folders)
Date (inclusive): 1853-1900
Abstract: Papers of William F. Vermilion, physician, Civil War captain (1862-1865), Iowa state senator, and lawyer. The collection includes
materials from Vermilion's military service in Company F of the 36th Infantry Regiment of Iowa Volunteers, such as wartime
correspondence with his wife, company morning reports (May 1864-August 1865), administrative documents, and several diaries.
The collection also contains business records, family memorabilia, and ephemera.
Scope and Content of Collection
Papers of William F. Vermilion, physician, Civil War captain (1862-1865), Iowa state senator, and lawyer. The collection includes
materials from Vermilion's military service in Company F of the 36th Infantry Regiment of Iowa Volunteers, such as wartime
correspondence with his wife, company morning reports (May 1864-August 1865), administrative documents, and several diaries.
The collection also contains business records, family memorabilia, and ephemera.
Notably absent from the collection is any documentation of Vermilion's activity as a physician, other than anecdotal references
in his correspondence and newspaper accounts.
Arranged in five series: 1) PERSONAL MATERIALS, 2) CIVIL WAR MATERIALS, 3) POLITICAL MATERIALS, 4) BUSINESS RECORDS, and 5)
MICROFILM OF THE CIVIL WAR CORRESPONDENCE.
Biography
William F. Vermilion was born in Mercer County, Kentucky, in October 1830. His obituary article in
The Daily Citizen stated that he studied medicine at Rush Medical College and built a large practice in Iconium, Iowa. In 1859, he married
Mary A. C. Kemper.
Vermilion served as a captain in the Union Army during the Civil War. He was commissioned on October 4, 1862 to command Company
F of the 36th Infantry Regiment of Iowa Volunteers and continued that assignment until his discharge on August 24, 1865. Between
December 12, 1863 and April 21, 1864 Vermilion was absent from his unit while recruiting soldiers in Centerville, Iowa. He
was promoted to the rank of major on May 11, 1865, shortly before the end of the war.
After the Civil War, Vermilion was elected state senator (1869-1872) from Appanoose County to the Thirteenth General Assembly
of Iowa, which met in Des Moines.
Vermilion's career in business and law began before the Civil War with his appointment as Appanoose County notary public in
1861.
The Daily Citizen's account of his life relates that he read law and was admitted to the bar after the war and later formed a partnership with
Captain Fee, a former member of his regiment. He was admitted to the U.S. Circuit Court, District of Iowa, on May 15, 1877.
Vermilion formed the law practice of Vermilion and Harris (1871-1876) with Judge Amos Harris and, later, Vermilion and Haynes
(1876-1880) with Col. E. C. Haynes. In 1880 Vermilion's brother, Reason R. Vermilion, joined the firm. Vermilion, Haynes and
Vermilion became Vermilion and Vermilion in 1884 when Haynes left the firm. Later, Reason Vermilion moved to Wichita, Kansas,
as a partner in Harris, Harris and Vermilion, while William F. Vermilion entered into practice with his son, Charles W. Vermilion.
In 1894, Vermilion and Vermilion became Vermilion, Vermilion and Valentine.
William F. Vermilion's law practice included matters of contracts, collections, estates, litigation and property transaction.
During the 1870s and 1880s, he served as the local attorney for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad in issues of
right of way, contracts and litigation growing out of the building of railroads.
Vermilion was actively involved in land acquisition and speculation and often secured titles through tax delinquency sales.
In 1870, he became a partner in D. G. Campbell, a private banking business. During the 1880s, he invested in real estate in
Wichita, Kansas, probably in association with his brother, Reason Vermilion, president of the Rock Island Town Company (1890).
Although he primarily invested in land, Vermilion also speculated in the commodities market.
Vermilion's wife, Mary, died on January 3, 1883. Their son, Charles W. "Willie" Vermilion, graduated from De Pauw University
in 1885, studied law, joined his father's law practice, and held the position of Appanoose County Attorney in 1895. William
F. Vermilion's second wife was Kate B. Day.
William F. Vermilion died on December 28, 1894.
Publication Rights
Public domain. Digital copies of this material are intended to support research, teaching, and private study. This work may
be used without prior permission. The original manuscripts for this collection are held by Special Collections & Archives,
UC San Diego Library.
Preferred Citation
William F. Vermilion Papers. MSS 417. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Acquisition Information
Acquired 1996.
Restrictions
Researchers are required to use the microfilm or digital surrogates of the Civil War correspondence.
Digital Content
Civil War correspondence and one diary from this collection have been microfilmed and digitized.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Iowa -- History
Iowa -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
Lawyers -- Iowa
Legislators -- Iowa
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
Vermilion, William, 1830-1894 -- Archives
United States. Army -- Officers -- Correspondence
Vermilion, Mary, 1831-1883 -- Correspondence
United States. Army. Iowa Infantry Regiment, 36th (1862-1865)
Vermilion (Family : Iowa) -- Correspondence
Iowa. General Assembly. Senate
PERSONAL MATERIALS
Scope and Content of Series
Series 1) PERSONAL MATERIALS. Arranged in four subseries: A) Family Correspondence, B) Land Deeds, C) Legal Documents and
D) Memorabilia and Ephemera.
A) Family Correspondence: Letters between 1853 and 1860 are primarily from Mary Kemper to friends and relate many of the hardships
of frontier life. Correspondence between Mary Vermilion and W. F. Vermilion dominates the 1870-1874 file. Mary remained in
Centerville, Iowa, with their son Willie while William served a four-year term as a state senator in Des Moines. The 1883-1886
correspondence contains letters from Willie to his father, W. F. Vermilion, written from De Pauw University. Correspondence
written during the Civil War (1862-1865) between William and Mary Vermilion and relatives is located in the CIVIL WAR MATERIALS
series.
B) Land Deeds: Deeds that were bought or sold by W. F. Vermilion as personal business investments. In the early 1890s, William
and Kate Vermilion conveyed numerous holdings into the name of Charles W. Vermilion for a nominal fee.
C) Legal Documents: Three documents, including a pre-nuptial agreement between William and Kate, a power of attorney assigned
to Reason R. Vermilion, and a lease for Vermilion's farm, Woodside.
D) Memorabilia and Ephemera: Calling cards, event programs, newspaper clippings, railroad passes, and photographs (a tintype
of C. W. Vermilion as a boy and a carte-de-visite of a namesake child). Of interest is W. F. Vermilion's Free Mason's certificate.
Box 1, Folder 1
Correspondence
1853 - 1863
Box 1, Folder 2
Correspondence
1870 - 1874
Box 1, Folder 3
Correspondence
1881 - 1882
Box 1, Folder 6
Letters from C. W. Vermilion to W. F. Vermilion
circa 1883-1884
Box 1, Folder 7
Correspondence
1885 - 1897
Box 1, Folder 8
Land conveyed by W.F. Vermilion
1886 - 1890
Box 1, Folder 9
Land conveyed to C.W. Vermilion
1891 - 1900
Box 1, Folder 10
Land conveyed to W.F. Vermilion
1860 - 1875
Box 1, Folder 11
Land conveyed to W.F. Vermilion
1878 - 1892
Box 1, Folder 12
Lease on Vermilion farm
1864 February 13
Box 1, Folder 13
Power of attorney - W. F. Vermilion and Kate B. Vermilion appoint Reason R. Vermilion
1887 February 2
Box 1, Folder 14
Pre-nuptial agreement between W. F. Vermilion and Kate B. Day
1884 December 9
Box 2, Folder 1
Calling cards of friends and relatives
Box 2, Folder 2
Diary by C.W. Vermilion
1883
General note
This diary by W.F. Vermilion's son, Willie, begins two days before the death of his mother.
Box 2, Folder 3
Directory of the Law Class of '90 - University of Michigan
1893
Box 2, Folder 4
Forty-sixth Commencement, De Pauw University
1885
General note
C.W. Vermilion's university, 1 leaf.
Box 2, Folder 5
Free Mason's Certificate for W.F. Vermilion for the Degree of Master Mason
1853 April 2
Box 2, Folder 6
Funeral notice card for Mrs. Mary A.C. Vermilion
General note
William F. Vermilion's first wife, died January 3, 1883, 4 leaves.
Box 2, Folder 7
Letter of recommendation (draft) for Lee Simmons
Box 2, Folder 8
Note card for Mrs. L. A. Montgomery's Boarding House
Box 2, Folder 9, Oversize MC04903
Newspaper clippings
General note
A published letter by Abraham Lincoln on the issue of slavery, April 4, 1864, three poems and two oversize newspaper pages,
3 leaves.
Box 2, Folder 10
Obituary newspaper clipping and funeral notice for W.F. Vermilion
1894
Box 2, Folder 11
Photograph of C.W. Vermilion as a boy
General note
Tintype that was once cased, 1 leaf.
Box 2, Folder 12
Photograph of Fletcher Vermilion Wright
General note
Age 3 years, 8 months, 28 days - Carte de visite print, 2 leaves.
Box 2, Folder 15
University of Michigan. Class Day (3 leaves)
1889 June 25
CIVIL WAR MATERIALS
Scope and Content of Series
Series 2) CIVIL WAR MATERIALS. Arranged in three subseries: A) Correspondence, B) Company Administrative Documents and C)
Miscellaneous Materials.
A) Correspondence: The largest subseries in the collection, available digitally. This subseries comprises letters exchanged
between William and Mary Vermilion from the time of his commission in the Union Army in 1862 to his discharge in August 1865.
Also included are letters from W. R. and Mathew Kemper (Mary's brothers and Union soldiers), Jane Vermilion (William's sister),
other relatives, and friends. The correspondence is arranged chronologically.
Letters from William exceed the letters from Mary in the exchange. Almost all of William's letters indicate his location and
reflect his movements with the 36th Infantry Regiment of Iowa Volunteers, which was deployed near the Mississippi River in
Arkansas. Locales include Helena, Clarendon, De Valls Bluff, Little Rock, and St. Charles. Vermilion's company was part of
the force that threatened the Confederate position at Vicksburg. Vermilion participated in the Yazoo Pass Expedition (March
23, 1863), but missed the action at Pine Bluff (May 12, 1864) that decimated his company and led to the capture of Will Kemper.
William Vermilion's letters describe many of the day-to-day events in camp and military actions, provide news of the condition
of individual soldiers in his command, and discuss attitudes toward national and local politics. Because of his medical background,
Vermilion felt himself well suited to analyze the causes of his company's maladies. Indeed, he asserted to Mary (November
19, 1862) that "sickness is worse than fighting." Much of the content of the correspondence, on both sides, discusses the
loneliness and melancholy of separation and the small talk of a marriage, including Vermilion's advice and instruction to
Mary on how to conduct her affairs and manage their property.
B) Company Administrative Documents: As company commander, Vermilion was responsible for maintaining his part of the regimental
history, which involved making duplicates of documents he submitted to headquarters. This subseries includes orders, inventories
of the effects of deceased soldiers, lists of clothing, quarterly returns of clothing, camp and garrison equipage, returns
of ordnance and ordnance stores, and surgeon's certificates of disability. The bound volume of company morning reports provides
detailed information on Company F's location, strength, composition of ranks, and noteworthy daily occurrences. The muster
roll contains the names of individual volunteers, where they enlisted, their rank, and when they were last paid.
C) Miscellaneous Materials: Certificates documenting Vermilion's commission, promotion and discharge from the Union Army.
Also included are two small diaries and a tintype studio portrait of Captain Vermilion in uniform.
Box 2, Folder 16
Correspondence
undated
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
23 leaves. [Reel 1, Frame 1]
Box 2, Folder 17
Correspondence
1862
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
46 leaves. [Reel 1, Frame 40]
Box 2, Folder 18
Correspondence
1863 January
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
21 leaves. [Reel 1, Frame 155]
Box 2, Folder 19
Correspondence
1863 February
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
35 leaves. [Reel 1, Frame 226]
Box 2, Folder 20
Correspondence
1863 March
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
33 leaves. [Reel 1, Frame 314]
Box 2, Folder 21
Correspondence
1863 April
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
36 leaves. [Reel 1, Frame 391]
Box 3, Folder 1
Correspondence
1863 May
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
45 leaves. [Reel 1, Frame 477]
Box 3, Folder 2
Correspondence
1863 June
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
41 leaves. [Reel 2, Frame 1]
Box 3, Folder 3
Correspondence
1863 July
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
35 leaves. [Reel 2, Frame 111]
Box 3, Folder 4
Correspondence
1863 August
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
39 leaves. [Reel 2, Frame 211]
Box 3, Folder 5
Correspondence
1863 September
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
37 leaves. [Reel 2, Frame 326]
Box 3, Folder 6
Correspondence
1863 October
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
42 leaves. [Reel 2, Frame 436]
Box 4, Folder 1
Correspondence
1863 November
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
28 leaves. [Reel 2, Frame 557]
Box 4, Folder 2
Correspondence
1863 December
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
4 leaves. [Reel 2, Frame 628]
Box 4, Folder 3
Correspondence
1864 January
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
5 leaves. [Reel 2, Frame 638]
Box 4, Folder 4
Correspondence
1864 March
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
1 leaf. [Reel 2, Frame 651]
Box 4, Folder 5
Correspondence
1864 April
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
7 leaves. [Reel 2, Frame 656]
Box 4, Folder 6
Correspondence
1864 May
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
25 leaves. [Reel 3, Frame 1]
Box 4, Folder 7
Correspondence
1864 June
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
22 leaves. [Reel 3, Frame 75]
Box 4, Folder 8
Correspondence
1864 July
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
23 leaves. [Reel 3, Frame 145]
Box 4, Folder 9
Correspondence
1864 August
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
15 leaves. [Reel 3, Frame 216]
Box 4, Folder 10
Correspondence
1864 September
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
11 leaves. [Reel 3, Frame 262]
Box 4, Folder 11
Correspondence
1864 October
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
9 leaves. [Reel 3, Frame 298]
Box 4, Folder 12
Correspondence
1864 November
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
20 leaves. [Reel 3, Frame 329]
Box 4, Folder 13
Correspondence
1864 December
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
14 leaves. [Reel 3, Frame 378]
Box 5, Folder 1
Correspondence
1865 January
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
15 leaves. [Reel 3, Frame 409]
Box 5, Folder 2
Correspondence
1865 February
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
16 leaves. [Reel 3, Frame 443]
Box 5, Folder 3
Correspondence
1865 March
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
17 leaves. [Reel 3, Frame 488]
Box 5, Folder 4
Correspondence
1865 April
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
15 leaves. [Reel 3, Frame 540]
Box 5, Folder 5
Correspondence
1865 May
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
13 leaves. [Reel 3, Frame 576]
Box 5, Folder 6
Correspondence
1865 June
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
12 leaves. [Reel 3, Frame 618]
Box 5, Folder 7
Correspondence
1865 July
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
11 leaves. [Reel 3, Frame 653]
Box 5, Folder 8
Correspondence
1865 August
Vermilion family correspondence
General note
9 leaves. [Reel 3, Frame 683]
Company Administrative Documents
Oversize FB-183, Folder 1
Bound volume of Company Morning Reports
1864 May-1865 August
Oversize MC-049-02
Muster Roll of Capt. William F. Vermilion's Company F, 36th Regiment of Iowa Volunteer Infantry
1863 October 31-December 31
Box 5, Folder 12
Company documents
circa 1862-1865
Box 5, Folder 15
Company documents
1864 January-June
Box 6, Folder 1
Company documents
1864 July-December
Oversize FB-183, Folder 2
Certificates - Captain's Army commission, and Promotion to Major
1862, 1865
Box 6, Folder 3
Discharge from the Army
1865 August 24
Box 6, Folder 4
Diary
1862 December 30-1864 April 21
General note
Includes observations of daily weather conditions and events.
Box 6, Folder 5
Diary of Capt. W. F. Vermilion's Co. F, 36th
1863 February 24-March 10
Diary
Oversize MC-049-03
Newspaper clipping from
The Loyal Citizen with letter from W. F. Vermilion
1864 November 8
Box 6, Folder 7
Printed circular - Office Supt. Vol. Recruiting Service, and Chief Muster'g and Dis'Bg Officer for Iowa
1863 November 28
Box 6, Folder 8
Tintype photograph of W. F. Vermilion in uniform
undated
POLITICAL MATERIALS
Scope and Content of Series
Series 3) POLITICAL MATERIALS: The bulk of this series comprises letters (1869-1871) to Senator Vermilion from various constituents
and political opportunists.
Oversize FB-183, Folder 3
Printed broadside - List of men by city in Iowa
Box 6, Folder 10
Notebook
General note
Contains lists of men for the townships of Independence, Lincoln, Franklin and Udall.
Box 6, Folder 11
Thirteenth General Assembly
General note
List of Senators and Representatives (State Legislature). W.F. Vermilion is listed as senator from Appanoose County, 1 leaf.
Box 6, Folder 12
Political correspondence
1869 - 1871
General note
Includes requests for political support, 60 leaves.
BUSINESS MATERIALS
Scope and Content of Series
Series 4) BUSINESS MATERIALS. Arranged in six subseries: A) Account Books, B) Business Correspondence and Documents, C) Cancelled
Checks, D) Certificates, E) Land Deeds, and F) Miscellaneous.
A) Accounts Books: Includes a pocket-size account book (1884-1889), probably in the handwriting of W. F. Vermilion, for the
firm of Walker and Vermilion, which records checks and account balances with Campbell and Company, Bankers. The other account
book, written in pencil and possibly in the handwriting of George Bratt, lists expenses.
B) Business Correspondence and Documents: Records of the various legal partnerships in which W. F. Vermilion engaged in over
his career. The correspondence usually involves letters from clients requesting services, often the collection of a debt or
enforcement of a contract. In addition to correspondence are wills, lists of cases, insurance policies, receipts of payments,
and tax accounts. Arranged chronologically.
C) Cancelled Checks: Checks arranged by author, reflecting the different partnerships in which W. F. Vermilion was involved.
D) Certificates: Documents the notary public offices held by Vermilion and his brother, Reason R. Vermilion. It also includes
Vermilion's certification to practice law in the U.S. District Court.
E) Land Deeds: Deeds that are not assigned to W. F. Vermilion. The PERSONAL MATERIALS series holds evidence of his business
in land ownership. Arranged chronologically.
F) Miscellaneous: Business ephemera, promotional brochures, notes, tax receipts, and documents associated with Vermilion's
work for the Chicago and South Western Railroad Company.
Box 6, Folder 13
In account with Walker and Vermilion. Campbell and Company, Bankers
1884 - 1889
Box 6, Folder 14
Notebook of accounts
1881 November 26-1883 June 16
Box 6, Folder 15
Business correspondence
undated
Box 6, Folder 16
Business correspondence
1864 - 1868
Box 6, Folder 17
Business correspondence
1869 - 1879
Box 7, Folder 1
Business correspondence
1881 - 1884
Box 7, Folder 2
Business correspondence
1885 - 1889
Box 7, Folder 3
Business correspondence
1890 - 1898
Box 7, Folder 8
J.M. Walker and Vermilion
1883
Box 7, Folder 9
J.M. Walker and Vermilion
1884
Box 7, Folder 10
Vermilion and Vermilion
1882
General note
Also includes J.M. Walker, 28 leaves.
Box 7, Folder 11
Vermilion and Vermilion
1883
Box 7, Folder 12
Vermilion and Vermilion
1884
Oversize FB-183, Folder 4
Certificate of Admission - W. F. Vermilion - U.S. Circuit Court, District of Iowa
1877 May 15
Oversize FB-183, Folder 5
Certificates of Appointment of Notary Public for County of Appanoose, Iowa - W. F. Vermilion
1861, 1868 and 1872
Oversize FB-183, Folder 6
Certificates of Appointment of Notary Public for County of Appanoose, Iowa - Reason R. Vermilion
1876, 1879 and 1882
Oversize FB-183, Folder 7
Land deeds (oversize)
1855 - 1869
Box 8, Folder 7
Bradstreet Company credit reporting forms
Box 8, Folder 8
Business card of Vermilion and Haynes, Attorneys at Law
Box 8, Folder 9
Business cards - Attorneys
Box 8, Folder 11
Chicago and South Western Railroad Company
1869 - 1876
General note
Promissary notes and other documents, 151 leaves.
Box 8, Folder 12
Chicago and South Western Railroad Company
1872 - 1875
General note
Stock certificates, 11 leaves.
Box 8, Folder 13
Complete Directory of Iowa Attorneys. By Council Bluffs: New Nonpareil Company
1895
Oversize FB-183, Folder 8
Daily Trade Bulletin. By Edgerton and Winans, Receiving Commission Merchants
1893 May 6-June 3
Box 8, Folder 15
Grain and Provision Statistics
1896
General note
Chicago: Financial Publishing Company. Contains holograph entries.
Box 8, Folder 16
Mills and Company, Publishers, Manufacturing Stationers and Lithographers
1874 - 1876
General note
Business cards and receipts, 8 leaves.
Box 8, Folder 17
Mitchell Patent Coal Tipple
General note
Promotional brochure and list of parts and suppliers, 1 leaf.
Box 8, Folder 18
Notes on a legal case
General note
Probably notes by C.W. Vermilion, 4 leaves.
Box 8, Folder 19
Property tax receipts
1858 - 1869
Box 8, Folder 20
Speculation and How to Trade - Pamphlet for investors
Box 8, Folder 21
Sullivan Diamond Prospecting Drill promotional brochure
Microfilm of Civil War Correspondence
Scope and Content of Series
Series 5) MICROFILM OF THE CIVIL WAR CORRESPONDENCE: Two users copies--Library and Interlibrary Loan--of the microfilm of
the Civil War Correspondence.
Box 9, Folder 1
User Copy, Reel 1
General note
Civil War Correspondence--undated to June 1863.
Box 9, Folder 2
User Copy, Reel 2
General note
Civil War Correspondence: June 1863 to May 1864.
Box 9, Folder 3
User Copy, Reel 3
General note
Civil War Correspondence: May 1864 to September 1865.
Box 9, Folder 4
Interlibrary Loan Copy, Reel 1
General note
Civil War Correspondence: undated to June 1863.
Box 9, Folder 5
Interlibrary Loan Copy, Reel 2
General note
Civil War Correspondence: June 1863 to May 1864.
Box 9, Folder 6
Interlibrary Loan Copy, Reel 3
General note
Civil War Correspondence: May 1864 to September 1865.