Caleb Blood Smith and Charles William Spooner Papers: Finding Aid mssSS
Brooke M. Black
The Huntington Library
March 2022
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Note
Finding aid last updated on February 21, 2024 by Melissa Haley.
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Caleb Blood Smith and Charles William Spooner papers
Identifier/Call Number: mssSS
Physical Description:
12.42 Linear Feet
(11 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1820-1916
Date (bulk): 1861-1875
Abstract: Papers belonging to American lawyers and government officials Caleb Blood Smith and Charles William Spooner.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
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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]. Caleb Blood Smith and Charles William Spooner papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Mrs. Caleb Blood Smith, June 1958.
Biographical / Historical
Caleb Blood Smith, lawyer, congressman, and Secretary of the Interior. Smith was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives
and was reelected in 1834, 1835, and 1836. He represented Indiana in the Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth, and Thirtieth Congress
serving on the Committee of Foreign Affairs and chairing the Committee on Territories. Known for his staunch opposition to
the Mexican War, he refused another nomination and left Congress in 1849. He practiced law in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was president
of Cincinnati & Chicago Railroad. In 1859, he moved to Indianapolis where he became one of the most active Republicans, campaigning
for Lincoln during the presidential elections. When President Lincoln formed his cabinet, he appointed Smith as Secretary
of the Interior. In December 1862, he resigned the position, and was then appointed U.S. Judge for the Indiana District. He
died in office in 1864. His son Walton John Smith served as Chief Clerk of the Department of the Interior, and then Clerk
of the U.S. District Court in Indianapolis. In 1866, he was with the U.S. Legation in Lima, Peru. Charles William Spooner
was the son of William L. Spooner (1818-1889), a Cincinnati lawyer, judge, and civic leader who had studied law in Caleb Blood
Smith's office. From 1863 to 1865, Charles William Spooner served as acting Ensign aboard the U.S.S. Reindeer No. 35, which
was part of the Mississippi Squadron. After the war, he studied at Cincinnati College and was partner in his father's law
firm. From 1870 to 1873, he traveled in Germany, Scandinavia, France, and Switzerland, with the purpose of studying foreign
languages. He then lived in New York.
Scope and Contents
Personal, political, and business correspondence of Caleb Blood Smith, chiefly letters addressed to him. The bulk of the correspondence
covers his tenure as the Secretary of the Interior and U.S. Judge, with material relating to other aspects of Smith's legal
and political career. The letters discuss the state of the Republican Party in Indiana, slavery and abolitionism, national
politics, Indian affairs, war news, and requests for political patronage. Correspondents include Cassius Marcellus Clay, William
Sprague, Frederick William Seward, Richard Wigginton Thompson, and others. There is also a draft of Smith's speech on the
role of oratory in the government, which he gave in 1862. Also included are items related to Smith's death, including a copy
of President Lincoln's "Order of Condolence" and letters of condolence, real estate and railroad lands, and Masonic papers
and certificates. Also included are personal and professional correspondence of Walton John Smith and letters addressed to
Smith's wife Elizabeth Walton Smith in response to her 1862 campaign to raise funds for a Christmas dinner for wounded soldiers
in Washington, D.C. hospitals. Military papers and personal correspondence of Charles William Spooner. The collection contains
a letter book with copies of communications, orders, accounts, received and sent by Spooner during his service aboard the
Reindeer. The letter book also contains a roster of the crew and copies of Spooner's post-war official correspondence. Also
included are descriptive lists and muster rolls of the Reindeer, some Navy instructions, and newspaper clippings and hand
drawn maps dealing with Morgan's Raid. The post-war portion of Spooner's material deals chiefly with his European travels,
language and law studies, legal practice, and membership in veterans' organizations. A large portion of his correspondence
is in German and French. There are some materials of William L. Spooner. The collection contains a substantial amount of Civil
War newspaper clippings.
Processing Information
Processed by Huntington Library staff. In 2022, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.
Arrangement
Organized in the following series 1. Correspondence; 2. Christmas fund; 3. Real estate papers, naval documents, miscellaneous
certificates, newspaper clippings, etc.
General
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssSS 1-377. Variant title: Smith-Spooner collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Abolitionists -- United States -- Correspondence
Cabinet officers -- United States -- Archives
Cabinet officers' spouses -- United States -- Correspondence
French language -- Study and teaching -- United States
German language -- Study and teaching -- United States
Indians of North America -- Government relations -- 1789-1869
Judges -- United States -- Archives
Lawyers -- United States -- Archives
Legislators -- Indiana -- Archives
Legislators -- United States -- Archives
Morgan's Ohio Raid, 1863
Travelers' writings, American
Europe -- Description and travel
France -- Description and travel
Germany -- Description and travel
Indiana -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Ohio -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Scandinavia -- Description and travel
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Veterans -- Archives
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- War work
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Women
United States -- Politics and Government -- 1861-1865
Family papers -- United States
Letter books -- United States -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century
Military records -- United States -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Newspaper clippings -- United States -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Personal papers -- United States -- 19th century
Professional papers -- United States -- 19th century
Clay, Cassius Marcellus, 1810-1903
Seward, Frederick William, 1830-1915
Smith, Caleb B. (Caleb Blood), 1808-1864 -- Archives
Smith, Elizabeth Walton
Smith, Walton John
Spooner, Charles William -- Archives
Spooner, William L., 1818-1889
Thompson, Richard W. (Richard Wigginton), 1809-1900
Reindeer (Steamship : 1863-1867)
Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- ) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
United States. Department of the Interior
United States. Navy. Mississippi Squadron -- Officers -- Archives
United States. Navy -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
United States. Navy -- Officers -- Archives
Box 10
Real estate papers, naval documents, miscellaneous certificates, newspaper clippings, etc.
1819-1888
