John Page Nicholson papers and Civil War collection, 1861-1921

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Summary

Creators:
Nicholson, John P. (John Page), 1842-
Abstract:
Papers and collection of American Civil War veteran and collector John Page Nicholson.
Extent:
18.2 Linear Feet (7 boxes, 14 volumes, 3 oversize folders)
Language:
Materials are in English with some in French.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. John Page Nicholson papers and Civil War collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

John Page Nicholson's collection of Civil War manuscripts. Included are items created during the war - official reports, dispatches, communications, soldiers' letters, diaries, maps, etc., and manuscripts written after the war, such as veterans' memoirs, regimental histories, poems, copies of war diaries, etc. Included are Nicholson's own Civil War letters and a typescript copy of the diary that he kept during his military service. Also included are correspondence and papers accumulated by Nicholson during his work on the translation of Comte de Paris' book, his service with the Legion of Honor and his work for the Board of Commissioners on Gettysburg Monument.

Materials created by U.S. presidents include: James A. Garfield autograph letter signed to E.B. Andrews, 1863 April 14 (NI 68); Ulysses S. Grant, Oxford, Mississippi, autograph letter signed to John C. Pemberton, 1862 December 5 (NI 755); Ulysses S. Grant, before Vicksburg, autograph letter signed to John C. Pemberton, 1863 March 2 (NI 756); Ulysses S. Grant, Culpeper, autograph note signed to Edward Davis Townsend, 1864 April 18 (NI 1); Rutherford B. Hayes autograph letters signed to John Page Nicholson, 1885 April 25, 1889 March 1, 1890 May 27 (NI 797, NI 798, NI 209); William H. Taft, New Haven, typescript letters signed to John Page Nicholson, 1913 (NI 923-925). Items NI 1, NI 68, and NI 209 are in A Collection of Autograph Letters and Notes of the General Officers in the Service of the United States, 1861-1865 (Philadelphia: John Page Nicholson, 1896), volumes 1 and 3.

Biographical / historical:

John Page Nicholson (1842-1921) was a Civil War veteran and collector. From 1861 to 1865, he served as regimental quartermaster with the 28th Pennsylvania Infantry regiment. After the war, he returned to Philadelphia and started collecting books and manuscripts on the Civil War. He also translated and edited two volumes of Comte de Paris' History of the Civil War in America. From 1885 to 1922, he served as recorder in chief of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, and was Secretary of the Board of Commissioners of Gettysburg Monument.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Gertrude M. Nicholson, through the agency of Robert O. Schad, September 1922.
Custodial history:

A number of items in this collection were removed from rare books in the Huntington Library that had been owned by John Page Nicholson; see folders for more information.

Processing information:

Processed by Huntington Library staff in June 1951. In 2022, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid. In 2022, Melissa Haley enhanced description of the presidential material present in the collection as part of the American Presidential Papers Project.

Arrangement:

Organized in the following series: 1. Correspondence and documents; 2. Oversize maps.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

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

Terms of access:

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]. John Page Nicholson papers and Civil War collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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