Samuel D. Webster collection, 1771-1966, bulk 1862-1902

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Creators:
Webster, Samuel Derrick, 1845-1928
Abstract:
This collection consists of the personal papers of Samuel Derrick Webster (1845-1928), Civil War soldier and Indian Agent, and Joseph Witherspoon Cook (1836-1902), missionary to the Yankton Sioux in South Dakota.
Extent:
5 Linear Feet (4 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Samuel D. Webster collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains the personal papers belonging to Samuel Derrick Webster, Civil War soldier and Indian Agent, and Joseph Witherspoon Cook, missionary to the Yankton Sioux.

Webster's papers include a Civil War diary detailing his experiences with the 13th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment (1862-1864) and the 39th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment (1864-1865). Also scrapbook, letters, photographs.

Cook's papers include a scrapbook with photographs, letters, documents, clippings, etc., documenting his thirty-two year Episcopal mission to the Yankton Sioux at the Yankton Agency, South Dakota. Also letters, manuscripts and photographs.

There is also a box of genealogical material pertaining to both families.

Biographical / historical:

Samuel Derrick Webster (1845-1928) was born in Virginia in 1845. Webster enlisted in Company D of the 13th Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. After the war, Webster studied the law and was admitted to the bar in 1868. He moved to Wyoming where he practiced law, ran a newspaper and later became Indian Agent for the Yankton Sioux. He moved to St. Louis and worked for the railroads; he died there in 1928.

Joseph Witherspoon Cook (1836-1902) was born in Vermont in 1836. His familiy moved to Ohio as a child. He graduated from Kenyon College in 1860 and finished divinity school in Philadelphia and New York in 1864. He later moved to Cheyenne (then in the Colorado Territory) where he organized the parish of St. Marks. In 1870 he left Cheyenne to establish a mission with the Yankton Sioux. He worked with the Yankton until his death in 1902.

Samuel D. Webster and Cook became friends when they met in Cheyenne. Cook's daughter Charlotte married Webster's son Frank.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Erik B. Nelson, March 1982
Processing information:

Processed by Huntington Library staff, circa mid-20th century. In August 2024, Mari Khasmanyan updated the collection's container information and linear feet.

Arrangement:

Arranged in 4 series: Samuel Derrick Webster papers; Joseph Witherspoon Cook papers; Genealogical records; Ephemera.

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]. Samuel D. Webster 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
Website