Guide to the Thomas Leiper Kane Papers M0058

Processed by Special Collections staff; machine-readable finding aid created by Patricia White
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
1997
Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford 94305-6064
specialcollections@stanford.edu


Language of Material: English
Contributing Institution: Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Thomas Leiper Kane Papers
Creator: Kane, Thomas Leiper
Identifier/Call Number: M0058
Identifier/Call Number: 1459
Physical Description: 0.5 Linear Feet (1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1846-1883
Abstract: Papers cover primarily Kane's two trips west, in 1846-1847 and in 1858. The collection contains letters, diaries, agreements, clippings, notes for articles and lectures, drafts, sketches, and diagrams. Predominant subject matter is the Mormons, their history, migrations, persecution, and characteristics. Descriptions of travel across the Isthmus of Panama and between San Bernadino, Calif. and Salt Lake City, Utah are also found in the collection.

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use. Audiovisual materials are not available in original format, and must be reformatted to a digital use copy.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased, 1934.

Biographical / Historical

Thomas Leiper Kane was a law clerk, abolitionist, an advocate for Mormons, and a Union Army officer during the Civil War. He was born January 27, 1822 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the son of John Kinzing and Jane Duval Leiper Kane. He traveled to England and later studied law in France and served as an attache in the American legation.
After returning from Europe Kane was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar and served as a Clerk of the District Court in eastern Pennsylvania. After 1846 he began advocating for Mormons and worked to mediate tensions betweens Mormons and the federal government. Kane resigned from his post as clerk over disagreement with the Fugitive Slave Act of 1950. He also made two trips to the West in 1846-1847 and in 1858. In 1853 Kane married Elizabeth Dennistoun Wood and they had four children.
In 1861 Kane helped raise the Thirteenth Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment (also known as the 42nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry) and was elected to served as the lieutenant colonel of the regiment. Kane eventually rose to the rank of brevet major general, served in the Army of the Potomac and was wounded multiple times.
After the Civil War Kane helped found the community of Kane, Pennsylvania and served as a director of the Sunbury and Erie Railroad. He also served as president of the Board of State Charities and was a member of the American Philosophical, American Geographical and Pennsylvania Historical Societies. Kane died December 26, 1883 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Note: for a more detailed biographical sketch, see the first folder in the collection.

Paging

Page from catalog record https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/4082757

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of item] Thomas Leiper Kane Papers, M058, Dept. of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

Scope and Contents

The Thomas L. Kane papers primarily cover his two trips West in 1846-1847, and again, in 1858. There is some material covering the period between these trips and some after 1858. The collection contains letters, diaries, agreements, clippings, notes for articles and lectures, drafts, sketches and some diagrams.
Most of the subject matter relates to the Mormons, their history, migrations, persecutions, and characteristics. Kane also describes in detail the country through which he passed along the Missouri River, across the Isthmus of Panama, and between San Bernardino, Calif., and Salt Lake City, Utah. He also describes the difficulties of a long sea voyage.
A small amount of material relates to the Free Soil question, democracy, and state sovereignty. There is also an account of an Indian massacre, a quasi-biblical history, a "Plea of a condemned man," and a geneology of a branch of Kane's wife's family.
NOTE: Much of this material is in the form of loose notes and drafts and some of it is not in Kane's hand.

Use Policy

While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Mormons
Potawatomi Indians
Young, Brigham, 1801-1877

box 1, folder 1a

Thomas Leiper Kane - biographical sketch by Mary Schofield, 7 pp. 447501 undated

box 1, folder 1

Kane letter or journal. earliest date: June 23. Description of trip up Missouri River - St. Louis, For [Leavenworth], St. Joseph, Missouri, 28 pp. 447499 June and July 1846

box 1, folder 2

Kane journal. St. Joseph, Mo. and up river, description. 8 pp. 447497 July 5-7, 1846

box 1, folder 3

Kane notes on trip West [1846]; written several years later, date undetermined. Description of Keokuk, Iowa. 2 pp. 447495

box 1, folder 4

Kane to his sister. n.d., 6 pp. Describes trip up Missouri R. toward Council Bluffs [1846] 447493

box 1, folder 5

Kane - Description of Mormon History and Persecution. (Probably notes for book or lecture. History beginning 1830-1831) 447481

 

a. 17 pp. draft 447491

 

b. 4 pp. draft (similar to above) 447489

 

c. 1 p. notes 447487

 

d. 4 pp. draft 447485

 

e. 2 pp. notes 447483

box 1, folder 6

Kane - Description of Mormons and their migrations. n.d., notes for book or lecture 447473

 

a. children, 5 pp. 447479

 

b. visions, 4 pp 447477

 

c. characteristics and ideology, 14 pp. 447475

box 1, folder 7

Notes on Mormon History and Persecution in Missouri and Illinois. 19 pp., general notes 447471

box 1, folder 8

Summary of history, chiefly 1844 to 1847. includes parts of draft of long letter re. wintering place for Mormons. 19 pp. of which 17 pp. is the letter 447469

box 1, folder 9

Descriptions of attack on Mormons at [Nauvoo, Ill.] n.d., 2 pp. (Probably 1845 or 1846) 447467

box 1, folder 10

Mormon settlement at Nauvoo. Memo, 2 pp. 447465

box 1, folder 11

Kane's description of Nauvoo after departure of Mormons [1846]. Probably written in 1847 or later, part not by Kane 447459

 

a. 4 pp. draft 447463

 

b. 12 pp. drafts and notes 447461

box 1, folder 12

Description of departure of Mormons and season of year [1846] - 1 p. flowery or poetic 447457

box 1, folder 13

Resolutions at a meeting (presumably in Illinois after expulsion of Mormons) [1846]. 4 pp. 447455

box 1, folder 14

Kane's description of the hardships of the Mormon march. 1846. Draft of article or lecture describing events from Feb., 1846 when first group left Nauvoo, to May, when the second group left. 9 pp. 447453

box 1, folder 15

Difficulties of Mormon emigration after leaving Nauvoo. Draft, perhaps of a letter. 1 p. 447451

box 1, folder 16

Mormon Journey to Salt Lake. Notes and descriptions, perhaps from a journal. 10 pp. [1847-1849] 447449

box 1, folder 17

Copies of letters re. right of Mormons to pass through Indian territory 447441

 

a. Mitchell, R. B. to T[homas] H. Harvey. 1 p. arrival of Mormons at Council Bluffs 447447 June 29, [1846]

 

b. Harvey, T[homas] H. to W[illia]m Medill. 1p. 447445 July 13, 1846

 

c. Medill, W[illiam] to Thomas H. Harvey. 3 pp. 447443 September 2, 1846

box 1, folder 18

Copies of letters re. agreement of Potawatomi Indians to let Mormons winter in their country 447427

 

a. Richards, Willard to [Thomas L.] Kane. 1p. 447439 August 19, 1846

 

b. Young, Brigham to Col. Kearney, Capt. Clary, Major Swords or C-O at Ft. Leavenworth. Description of Kane's illness, 2 pp. 447437 August 10, 1846

 

c. Edes, H. G. W. - medical report on Kane. 1 p. 447435 August 19, 1846

 

d. incomplete copies of above. 2 pp. 447433

 

e. Potawatomi Indians. Agreement, 1p. 447431 July 2, 1846

 

f. Allen, J. (Lt. Col. commanding Mormon Battalion). Approval, 1 p. 447429 July 10, 1846

box 1, folder 19

Copies of letters re. wintering of Mormons in Indian territory 447419

 

a. [Medill, William] to J. K. Kane. Conditional permit, 1 p. 447425 September 3, 1846

 

b. Medill, W[illiam] to Thomas H. Harvey. 2 pp. 447423 September 2, 1846

 

c. Allen, J. to J. C. Little. Praising Mormon Battalion. 1 p. 447421 July 20, 1846

box 1, folder 20

Unknown to [Thomas L.] Kane. Draft of unsigned letter from member of Mormon Battalion written from Chihuahua, Mexico. 3 pp. 447417 November 12, 1846

box 1, folder 21

Copies of letters re. conditions and movements of Mormons 447407 1846

 

a. Harvey, Th[omas] H. to W[illia]m Medill. Description of Camp of Israel. 5 pp. 447415 December 3, 1846

 

b. Cutler, Alpheus to [Thomas H. Harvey]. 2 pp. 447413 November 3, 1846

 

c. Harvey, Th[omas] H. to Alpheus Cutler. 1 p. 447411 November 5, 1846

 

d. Cutler, Alpheus to [Thomas H. Harvey] [or Clayton?]. 5 pp. with docket notes 447409 November 6, 1846

box 1, folder 22

[Kane, Thomas L.] to [? Sec. of War, Marcy, or President Polk]. n.d. (1847?). Draft, 1 p. 447405

box 1, folder 23

Trials of the Mormons [1846-47] - draft of letter, n.d., description of deserted Nauvoo. 3 pp. 447403

box 1, folder 24

Kane's description of his Mormon mission [1847] draft letter of letter, n.d., 7 pp. 447401

box 1, folder 25

Kane, Thomas L. to William Medill, 3 pp. 447399 April 2, 1847

box 1, folder 26

Kane, Thomas L. to [W. L.] Marcy, 4 pp. (see also folder #24) 447397 April 21, 1847

box 1, folder 27

Medill, W[illiam] to W. L. Marcy, 8 pp. report through Marcy to the President on Mormon migration 447395 April 24, 1847

box 1, folder 28

Kane, Thomas L. - Report on Mormons [1847] 8 pp. including 1 p. draft (letter to Medill or other official, docketed 'Presdts Report No. 2 contg. Census') 447393

box 1, folder 29

[Kane, Thomas L.] to [James K. Polk or W. L. Marcy?] [1847], 5 pp. draft with notes 447391

box 1, folder 30

Copies of letters to Medill from Kane re. Permission for Mormons to winter near Council Bluffs. n.d. (probably 1847 or 1846), 15 pp. 447389

box 1, folder 31

Draft of letter by Kane to Mormon friend, after Kane's return East [1847], 1 p. (ans. to #20 ?) 447387

box 1, folder 32

[Kane, Thomas L.] to [Horace] Greeley, Description of Utah shortly after original group of Mormons arrived. 9 pp. 447385 [August, 1847?]

box 1, folder 33

Draft of Kane letter to high official re. Mormons [1848], 3 pp. 447383

box 1, folder 34

Description of discovery of gold, 1 p. Sidney and Ira Willis and others of [Mormon] Battalion working for Sutter [1848] 447381

box 1, folder 35

Letter from Kane re. Utah and Free Soil. (Kane made chairman of Free Soil Central Com. in 1848) n.d., 2 pp. 447379

box 1, folder 36

Woodruff, Wilford to [Thomas L.] Kane, 1 p. defending Mormons 447377 December 4, 1849

box 1, folder 37

Fragment of preliminary letter by Kane on Free Soil question. [December 4, 1849] 2 pp. 447375

box 1, folder 38

Kane report on meeting on behalf of Mormons [1850] Draft of speech, 2 pp. 447373

box 1, folder 39

Richards, F. D. to T[homas] L. Kane, Lecture on Mormons, 3 pp. 447371 October 30, 1851

box 1, folder 40

'The Mormon Outrages at Salt Lake' - clipping from Philadelphia newspaper, including letter of September 20, from Salt Lake 447369 November 1851

box 1, folder 41

New York Herald, - clipping describing Mormon settlement and life 447367 May 27, 1852

box 1, folder 42

Bernhisel, John M. to [Thomas L.] Kane, 2 pp. and cover 447365 December 9, 1857

box 1, folder 43

[O'Brien, Fitz James] - clipping of poem on death of Elisha Kent Kane 447363 1857

box 1, folder 44

[Kane, Thomas L.] to Gov. Cummings, 1 p. 447361 [1857]

box 1, folder 45

Kane letter (draft) to high official on Drummond's accusation against Mormons [1857], 2 pp. docketed on back as 447359 April 27, 1857

box 1, folder 46

Diary I - Sea voyage from New York, across Isthmus of Panama and to San Francisco, pressed leaves, etc. in back 447357 January 8, 1858 to January 28, 1858

box 1, folder 47

Diary II - San Francisco to San Pedro by ship, Feb. 8 or 9 left San Bernardino for Salt Lake. Includes account of departure from Fern Rock, January 4, partly out of order and illegible, contains letters, notes, maps and diagrams 447355 January 29, 1858 to May 10, 1858

box 1, folder 48

"Mormon Martyrs" (of San Bernardino) - clipping from San Francisco paper of article by Wallach from Los Angeles dated April 22 or 28, 1858 447353 May 3, 1858

box 1, folder 49

Kane, Thomas L. to Eli K. Price, severing relations with government. in efforts on behalf of Mormons, 2 pp. 447351 July 30, 1858

box 1, folder 50

Kane letter (draft) to official, perhaps Buchanan, on behalf of Mormons. [1850?], 8 pp. (see also folders #35 and #37) 447349

box 1, folder 51

Young, Brigham to Thomas L. Kane, 5 pp. and cover 447347 January 14, 1859

box 1, folder 52

Forney, John W. to Thomas L. Kane, at time of threatened impeachment of Johnson. 3 pp. and cover 447345 January 23, 1867

box 1, folder 53

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), clippings, Kane's death 447343 December 26 and 28, 1883

box 1, folder 54

Juvenile Instructor, clipping, Kane's death (Salt Lake City paper) 447341 January 15, 1884

box 1, folder 55

National Tribune (Washington, D. C.), clipping, 'Bucktail Regiment' - Kane's Civil War Regiment 447339 1886

box 1, folder 56

Quasi-biblical descriptive matter in Kane's hand. 5 pp. notes 447337 undated

box 1, folder 57

'Plea of a condemned man'. provenance uncertain, not related to western material, 2 pp. draft 447335 undated

box 1, folder 58

Genealogy of Dennistown family. Mrs. Kane was Elizabeth Dennistoun Wood. 13 pp. and wax seal 447333 undated

box 1, folder 59

Short dissertation on state sovereignty. 2 pp. notes 447331 undated

box 1, folder 60

Democracy and rule of the people. 1 p. draft 447329

box 1, folder 61

Part of an account of the 'Mahaw massacre', 4 pp. 447327 undated

box 1, folder 62

Notes on Mormons and their history, 4 pp. 447325 undated

box 1, folder 63

Fragments 447319

 

a. 2 pp. notes - arrival in Omaha territory, poetic 447323

 

b. part of letter - about meeting, 1 p. 447321 undated