Collection Guide
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Webster (Samuel D.) Collection
mssWebster
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Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Samuel D. Webster collection
Creator:
Webster, Samuel Derrick, 1845-1928
Identifier/Call Number: mssWebster
Physical Description:
5 Linear Feet
(4 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1771-1966, bulk 1862-1902
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.
Language of Material: Materials are in
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]. Samuel D. Webster collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Erik B. Nelson, March 1982
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.
Processed by Huntington Library staff, circa mid-20th century. In August 2024, Mari
Khasmanyan updated the collection's container information and linear feet.
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.
Arranged in 4 series: Samuel Derrick Webster papers; Joseph Witherspoon Cook papers;
Genealogical records; Ephemera.
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssHM 48531-48557.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Cheyenne (Wyo.)--History
Dakota Indians
Diaries
Indians of North America -- Missions -- South Dakota
Indians of North America -- Missions -- Wyoming
Letters (correspondence)
Scrapbooks
South Dakota -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal
narratives
Wyoming -- History -- 19th century-Sources
Yankton Indians
Cook, Joseph Witherspoon, 1836-1902
Episcopal Church -- South Dakota
Episcopal Church -- Wyoming
United States. Army. Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 13th
(1861-1864)
United States. Army. Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 39th
(1862-1865)
Webster, Samuel Derrick, 1845-1928