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Rhees (William Jones) Papers
mssRH
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Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: William Jones Rhees papers
Creator:
Rhees, William Jones, 1830-1907
Identifier/Call Number: mssRH
Physical Description:
74.9 Linear Feet
(64 boxes, 2 volumes)
Date (inclusive): 1744-1907
Abstract: This collection contains the papers of Smithsonian chief clerk, bibliographer, and collector William Jones Rhees (1830-1907),
of materials assembled chiefly for their autograph value, though the collection contains various groups of related materials.
Includes papers of American physicist and surveyor Alexander Dallas Bache (1806-1867), American geographer Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
(1793-1864), National Institute for the Promotion of Sciences, and the Smithsonian Institution, as well as correspondence
of William Jones Rhees, letters and papers addressed to the United States Pension Bureau, letters and papers related to Indian
affairs, and miscellaneous autograph letters and documents.
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]. William Jones Rhees papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Chiefly purchased from Romenia F. Rhees, February 24, 1922. A few items were purchased from Flora G. Rhees, February 6, 1935.
William Jones Rhees (1830-1907) was a bibliographer, collector, and chief clerk of the Smithsonian Institution. Rhees became
chief clerk of the Smithsonian Institution in July 1852, and served in this capacity until 1891, when he was placed in charge
of the archives, publications, etc. His association with the Smithsonian Institution continued until his death. An enthusiastic
autograph collector, Rhees accumulated numerous unrelated letters and papers of prominent men as well as more coherent groups
of manuscripts relating to his official position.
This collection contains the papers of Smithsonian chief clerk, bibliographer, and collector William Jones Rhees (1830-1907),
of materials assembled chiefly for their autograph value, though the collection contains various groups of related materials.
Includes papers of American physicist and surveyor Alexander Dallas Bache (1806-1867), American geographer Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
(1793-1864), National Institute for the Promotion of Sciences, and the Smithsonian Institution, as well as correspondence
of William Jones Rhees, letters and papers addressed to the United States Pension Bureau, letters and papers related to Indian
affairs, and miscellaneous autograph letters and documents. There is also personal correspondence of William Jones Rhees and
correspondence with Sons of the American Revolution, particularly the chapter at Washington, D.C. This portion of the collection
holds letters from Dorothea Lynde Dix. Letters and addresses to the United States Pension Bureau contain routine letters regarding
pensions or applications. Letters and papers relating to Indian affairs pertain to various Indian agents and factors, including
Benjamin Hawkins, William Hull, William Irvine, Return Jonathan Meigs, and others. There are also 134 letters collected chiefly
for their autograph value, and receipts for Smithsonian publications.
United States presidents represented in the collection include: John Quincy Adams, James Buchanan, Millard Fillmore, James
A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, Franklin Pierce, and Zachary Taylor. See container lists for National Institute
materials, Smithsonian Institution materials, and William Jones Rhees correspondence series for item details.
Individuals represented by 5 or more pieces consist of:
- Agassiz, Louis (41 items)
- Alden, James (11 items)
- Alexander, John Henry (9 items)
- Alexander, Stephen (10 items)
- Bache, Alexander Dallas (61 items)
- Barnard, Frederick Augustus Peter (12 items)
- Cass, Lewis (12 items)
- Caswell, Alexis (7 items)
- Chase, Salmon Portland (10 items)
- Chauvenet, William (7 items)
- Cobb, Howell (9 items)
- Colfax, Schuyler (16 items)
- Craven, Tunis Augustus (7 items)
- Dana, Charles Anderson (6 items)
- Dana, James Dwight (39 items)
- Davis, Charles Henry (20 items)
- Dix, Dorothea Lynde (25 items)
- DuPont, Samuel Francis (11 items)
- Emory, William Hemsley (5 items)
- Fessenden, William Pitt (5 items)
- Field, Cyrus West (6 items)
- Force, Peter (13 items)
- Gibbs, Oliver Wolcott (28 items)
- Gilbert, Samuel Augustus (12 items)
- Gilliss, James Melville (36 items)
- Gould, Benjamin Apthorp (30 items)
- Gray, Asa (17 items)
- Guyot, Arnold (6 items)
- Hamlin, Hannibal (10 items)
- Hare, Robert (6 items)
- Hayes, Isaac Israel (6 items)
- Henry, Joseph (78 items)
- Hilgard, Julius Erasmus (13 items)
- Hill, Abrose Powell (6 items)
- Humphreys, Andrew Atkinson (15 items)
- Jenkins, Thornton Alexander (13 items)
- Kennedy, Joseph Camp Griffith (7 items)
- LeConte, John (5 items)
- LeConte, John Lawrence (7 items)
- LeFroy, Sir John Henry (11 items)
- Lesley, J. Peter (5 items)
- Lieber, Francis (32 items)
- Llody, Humphrey (7 items)
- McCosh, James (6 items)
- Maclean, John (40 items)
- Markoe, Francis (9 items)
- Meigs, Montgomery Cunningham (9 items)
- Mitchell, Henry (7 items)
- Newcomb, Simon (7 items)
- Patterson, Carlile Pollock (10 items)
- Pearce, James Alfred (24 items)
- Peirce, Benjamin (38 items)
- Phelps, Thomas Stowell (10 items)
- Poe, Orlando Metcalfe (5 items)
- Porter, David Dixon (10 items)
- Porter, Noah (10 items)
- Potter, Alonzo (8 items)
- Preble, George Henry (5 items)
- Quetelet, Lambert Adolphe Jacques (8 items)
- Rodgers, Christopher Raymond Perry (8 items)
- Rodgers, John (5 items)
- Rogers, Fairman (28 items)
- Sabine, Sir Edward (30 items)
- Seward, William Henry (7 items)
- Silliman, Benjamin, Jr. (31 items)
- Simpson, James Harvey (9 items)
- Stevens, Isaac Ingalls (18 items)
- Smith, Gerrit (7 items)
- Totten, Joseph Gilbert (26 items)
- Trenchard, Stephen Decatur (16 items)
- Trowbridge, William Petit (23 items)
- Tyndale, Hector (11 items)
- Tyndall, John (16 items)
- Waite, Morrison Remick (35 items)
- Wilkes, Charles (26 items)
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.
Individual call numbers found in the collection: mssRH 1-4598.
Two Thomas Jefferson items were transferred to the Thomas Jefferson collection, mssJefferson: Thomas Jefferson, Philadelphia,
letter to John Hancock, 1791 February 20 (RH 14); Thomas Jefferson, Poplar Forest, letter to Francis Wayles Eppes, 1813 November
26 (RH 650).
- Additional photographs related to the collection in the Photo Archives include: photPF 3490-3529; 3555-3577. These are from various sources, but related to the Smithsonian Institution and some of the photographs may have come with the Rhees papers.
Arranged in the following manner:
- Miscellaneous correspondence (Boxes 1-2)
- Indian Affairs materials (Box 3)
- Pension Bureau materials, 1817-1885 (Box 4)
- Henry Rowe Schoolcraft correspondence, 1815-1874 (Box 5-6)
- National Institute materials, 1844-1859 (Boxes 7-11)
- Alexander Dallas Bache Correspondence, 1822-1904 (Boxes 12-35)
- Smithsonian Institution materials 1831-1906 (Boxes 36-55)
- William Jones Rhees Correspondence, 1822-1904 (Boxes 56-59)
- Miscellaneous (boxes 60-64)
- Receipts for Smithsonian Publications, A-Z (Boxes 60-62)
- Miscellaneous fragments and ephemera (Box 63)
- Miscellaneous photographs (Box 64)
- Index to the autographs (RH 4598)
Cards are filed in alphabetical and chronological sections of the Manuscripts card catalog.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Autographs -- Collectors and collecting -- United States
Indian agents -- Correspondence
Autographs -- United States
Collections -- United States
Letters (correspondence) -- United States
Personal Papers -- United States
Professional papers -- United States
Documents
Adams, John Quincy, 1767-1848
Bache, A. D. (Alexander Dallas), 1806-1867
Bache, A. D. (Alexander Dallas), 1806-1867 -- Archives
Buchanan, James, 1791-1868
Dix, Dorothea Lynde, 1802-1887
Dix, Dorothea Lynde, 1802-1887 -- Correspondence
Fillmore, Millard, 1800-1874
Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881
Harrison, Benjamin, 1833-1901
Hawkins, Benjamin, 1754-1816
Hawkins, Benjamin, 1754-1816 -- Correspondence
Hull, William, 1753-1825
Hull, William, 1753-1825 -- Correspondence
Irvine, William, 1741-1804
Irvine, William, 1741-1804 -- Correspondence
McKinley, William, 1843-1901
Meigs, Return Jonathan, 1740-1823
Meigs, Return Jonathan, 1740-1823 -- Correspondence
Pierce, Franklin, 1804-1869
Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe, 1793-1864
Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe, 1793-1864 -- Archives
Taylor, Zachary, 1784-1850
National Institute for the Promotion of Science
National Institute for the Promotion of Science -- Archives
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution -- Archives
Sons of the American Revolution -- Archives
United States. Pension Bureau
United States. Pension Bureau -- Archives