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Arnold (Isaac N.) Collection
mssHM 39875-39903  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Preferred Citation
  • Immediate Source of Acquisition
  • Custodial History
  • Biographical / Historical
  • Scope and Contents
  • Processing Information
  • Arrangement

  • Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library
    Title: Isaac N. Arnold collection
    Creator: Arnold, Isaac N., 1815-1884
    Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 39875-39903
    Physical Description: 0.5 Linear Feet (1 box)
    Date (inclusive): 1834-1888
    Abstract: Collection consists of loose letters and documents dating from 1834 to 1888 that were removed from Isaac N. Arnold's The Life of Abraham Lincoln (1885), 17875, volumes 1 and 2.
    Language of Material: Materials are in English.

    Conditions Governing Access

    Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

    Conditions Governing Use

    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.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item]. Isaac N. Arnold collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Immediate Source of Acquisition

    Provenance unknown. In library as of 1959.

    Custodial History

    Removed from Isaac N. Arnold, The Life of Abraham Lincoln  (Chicago: Jansen, McClurg, & company, 1885), Call number: 17875, on May 30, 1974.

    Biographical / Historical

    Isaac N. Arnold (1815-1884) was born in Hartwick, New York, and studied law. In 1836, he moved to Chicago, where he set up a legal practice and met Abraham Lincoln. Arnold served three terms in the Illinois House of Representatives as a Democrat; he later joined the abolition movement and the Free Soil Party, then became a Republican. In 1860, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving until 1865, where he sponsored abolition legislation. Arnold served briefly from 1865 to 1866 as the Sixth Auditor of the U.S. Treasury. He returned to Chicago, where he resumed his legal work and wrote biographies of Benedict Arnold and Abraham Lincoln; his book The Life of Abraham Lincoln was published in 1884. Arnold died in Chicago at age 68.

    Scope and Contents

    Collection consists of loose letters and documents removed from Isaac N. Arnold's The Life of Abraham Lincoln, 17875, volumes 1 and 2. Materials created by U.S. presidents include Millard Fillmore, Washington, D.C., order to Secretary of State Edward Everett, document signed, 1853 February 25; Franklin Pierce, Washington, D.C., order to Secretary of State William Learned Marcy, document signed, 1855 April 19; James Buchanan, Washington, D.C., order to Secretary of State Lewis Cass, document signed, 1859 December 30; James A. Garfield, Washington, D.C., note to Mr. Conant, autograph letter signed, 1875 March 8; Ulysses S. Grant letter to unknown recipient recommending Dr. Hicks, autograph letter signed, undated; Martin Van Buren order to Secretary of State John Forsyth, document signed, 1839 August 1.
    Also present are letters or documents from Benjamin F. Butler, Henry Clay, Schuyler Colfax, Roscoe Conkling, Edward Everett, Hannibal Hamlin, Oliver Otis Howard, Reverdy Johnson, Robert Todd Lincoln, John A. Logan, Irvin McDowell, Montgomery C. Meigs, Lot M. Morrill, John M. Schofield, Winfield Scott, Philip H. Sheridan, William T. Sherman, Daniel Sickles, Alexander H. Stephens, Charles Sumner, Alfred H. Terry, and Daniel Webster.

    Processing Information

    This finding aid was created in 2022 by Melissa Haley as part of the American Presidential Papers Project with enhanced description of the presidential material present. The items had been assembled physically and arranged by Huntington Library former staff in the mid-20th century.

    Arrangement

    Collection is arranged alphabetically by sender.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Government records -- United States -- 19th century
    Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century
    Buchanan, James, 1791-1868
    Butler, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1818-1893
    Clay, Henry, 1777-1852
    Colfax, Schuyler, 1823-1885
    Conkling, Roscoe, 1829-1888
    Everett, Edward, 1794-1865
    Fillmore, Millard, 1800-1874
    Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881
    Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885
    Hamlin, Hannibal, 1809-1891
    Howard, O.O. (Oliver Otis), 1830-1909
    Johnson, Reverdy, 1796-1876
    Lincoln, Robert Todd, 1843-1926
    Logan, John Alexander, 1826-1886
    McDowell, Irvin, 1818-1885
    Meigs, Montgomery, 1847-1931
    Morrill, Lot M. (Lot Myrick), 1812-1883
    Pierce, Franklin, 1804-1869
    Schofield, John McAllister, 1831-1906
    Scott, Winfield, 1786-1866
    Sheridan, Philip Henry, 1831-1888
    Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891
    Sickles, Daniel Edgar, 1819-1914
    Stephens, Alexander H. (Alexander Hamilton), 1812-1883
    Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874
    Terry, Alfred Howe, 1827-1890
    Van Buren, Martin, 1782-1862
    Webster, Daniel, 1782-1852