Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Barney, Hiram
- Abstract:
- This collection contains the political, business, legal, and family papers of lawyer and Collector of the Port of New York Hiram Barney (1811-1895) which concern a wide variety of subjects including real estate, primarily in Iowa, and New York; court cases (often pertaining to debt collection) and other legal services; politics generally, but especially patronage distribution; family affairs, business transactions concerning the Erie and other canals; small railroads (largely in the Lake Plains region); Mexico and Mexican-American relations; the Civil War; and the United States Customs Service.
- Extent:
- 31.40 Linear Feet (52 boxes)
- Language:
- English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Hiram Barney papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection contains the political, business, legal, and family papers of lawyer and Collector of the Port of New York Hiram Barney (1811-1895) and concern a wide variety of subjects including real estate, primarily in Iowa, and New York; court cases (often pertaining to the debt collection) and other legal services; politics generally, but especially patronage distribution; family affairs, business transactions concerning the Erie and other canals; small railroads (largely in the Lake Plains region); Mexico and Mexican-American relations; the Civil War; and the U.S. Customs Service.
The Hiram Barney papers are divided into three series: Business correspondence and political papers, New York Custom House papers, and Family papers. The collection also contains one box of photographs and two boxes of various printed materials.
The Business correspondence and political papers (boxes 1-31, 45-48, 50), are arranged in alphabetical order by author, contain the documents and letters of various groups and individuals, including Hiram Barney, whose papers are further subdivided into correspondence, legal documents, real estate documents, professional papers, and personal records.
Included in this series is the correspondence of nationally known business men, politicians, soldiers, foreign nationals, and civilian citizens. This correspondence contains many references to the anti-enslavement movement in the North, the Civil War, Republican Party politics, and Barney's friendship with Abraham Lincoln. Also found throughout this portion of the collection are transportation papers which indicate Barney's interest in and connection with the opening up of waterways, the railroad, and the telegraph from the Atlantic to the Mississippi.
The majority of Barney's real estate papers pertain to the Half-Breed Tract lying between the Mississippi and Des Moines rivers. Which includes signed documents of land indentures by specific Indigenous tribal members of the Sauk and Fox (Meskwaki) Nation with papers pertaining to the first Anglo proprietors and settlers. Also, related to Barney's real estate documents are the Francis Scott Key papers. Key, a friend of Barney's, acted as attorney-in-law for the proprietors. He died before he could collect his fee (in lands) and his estate, and Barney inherited that responsibility.
Barney's legal documents extend from 1825 to 1888. They include articles of partnership, court cases, powers of attorney, and notes for collection.
The New York Custom House papers (boxes 32-34, 45) consist of documents and correspondence concerning the general operations, patronage, and personnel of the Custom House, as well as records of the frauds investigation conducted by the U.S. Treasury Department. To gain a full idea of Barney's activities as collector, the correspondence in the Business correspondence and political papers between Hiram Barney and Salmon P. Chase, Charles P. Clinch, William P. Fessenden, Abraham Lincoln, Manton M. Marple, Albert M. Palmer, and Edward D. Smith must also be consulted.
The Family papers (boxes 35-44, 49), presumably collected by Hiram Barney's daughter, Sara Barney, includes family correspondence arranged alphabetically by author, photographs of the family and family home, various forms of ephemera, and emptied envelopes originally addressed to Hiram Barney.
Materials created by United States presidents in this collection include: James A. Garfield letter to Hiram Barney, 1877 December 6 (Box 18 (3)); Ulysses S. Grant letter to Philip H. Sheridan, 1865 July 25 (Box 18 (10)); Ulysses S. Grant letter extract, approximately 1879 (Box 18 (11)); Ulysses S. Grant letter to Edwin M. Stanton, 1865 February 24 (Box 18 (12)); Ulysses S. Grant letters to John McAllister Schofield, 1867-1881 (Box 18 (9)); Benjamin Harrison letters to John McAllister Schofield, 1889-1892 Box 18 (36)); Rutherford B. Hayes letters to John McAllister Schofield, 1879 May 17, August 12 (Box 18 (40)); James Madison appointment to Aaron Hassert, 1812 May 22 (Box 45 (2)); William McKinley letter to John McAllister Schofield, 1896 November 9 (Box 22 (25)). Some presidential items are contemporary copies.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Hiram Barney, lawyer and Collector for the Port of New York, was born in Henderson, New York, on May 30, 1811. After graduating from Union College in 1833, he held a law clerkship and was admitted to the New York bar in 1836. Barney's legal career began with the firm of William Mulligan in 1836. In 1838, he entered into a partnership with William D. Waterman and in 1841, with William Mitchell. During the early years of his career, Barney, largely engaged as a "collections" lawyer, did much of his business in the West, especially Iowa. In 1849, Barney formed yet another partnership with Benjamin F. Butler and his son, William Allen Butler. After the retirement of the elder Butler and the arrival and departure of James Humphrey, the firm became known as Barney, Butler, and Parsons. Barney remained with his firm until 1874, when he was retained as special counsel. Barney's final legal partnership began in 1878 with Edward D. Cowman.
In addition to carrying out his legal obligations, Barney became active in the anti-enslavement movement and related political parties; possibly influenced by his marriage to Susan Aspinwall Tappan, the daughter of Lewis Tappan, a prominent abolitionist. In 1840, Barney was nominated for Congress by the Anti-Slavery Party, but received only 350 votes. Barney attended the Free Soil Party Convention in 1848, and in 1852, he headed the electoral ticket on behalf of John P. Hale and George Washington Julian. Following the organization of the Republican Party in 1856, Barney served as a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention, but voted for Charles Sumner instead of John C. Fremont. In 1860, he attended the convention in Chicago which nominated Abraham Lincoln for president. Barney was said to have collected $35,000 in New York to further Lincoln's candidacy. His association with Lincoln was close and constant.
Lincoln's appointment of Barney to the post of Collector of the Port of New York in 1861 proved anything but rewarding. Barney inherited a collector-ship bogged down with political patronage and graft. As Collector, he was overwhelmed with applications, testimonials, and office seekers. The Civil War intensified his responsibilities. In addition Barney attempted to continue with his professional business, much of which demanded his absence from the state. Misled by those he trusted, Barney proved unequal to the demands of the office. Following investigations by the Treasury Department, Barney resigned. His personal integrity remained entact and he retained the respect and affection of his friends and business associates. However, his health broke under the strain.
Having overextended his business interests, hard times in the 1870s weighed down Barney year after year. The death of his first wife, Susan (Tappan) Barney, added to his burden. On August 26, 1880, Barney married Harriet E. Kilbourne, the daughter of one of his Iowa business associates, by whom he had several children. He did not fully recuperate his losses, either in business or health. When he died on May 18, 1895, he was attempting to dispose of the family estate, Cedar Knolls, at Kingsbridge, New York.
- Acquisition information:
- The Hiram Barney papers were purchased from Walter T. Shatford, 1962. The addenda of theree ledgers were gifted by Nicholas W. Gillham, July 2008.
- Processing information:
-
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. In December 2024, Renee M. Tabizon updated the linear feet, container numbers, and Finding Aid.
- Arrangement:
-
Organized in the following series: 1. Business correspondence and political papers; 2. New York Custom House records; 3. Family papers.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Anti-enslavement movements -- United States
Businessmen -- United States -- Archives.
Canals -- New York (State)
Customs administration -- United States.
Fraud investigation -- New York (State)
Lawyers -- United States -- Archives.
Politicians -- United States -- Archives.
Railroads -- United States -- 19th century.
Real property -- Iowa.
Real property -- New York (State)
Telegraph -- United States -- 19th century.
Transportation -- United States -- 19th century.
Corporation records -- United States -- 19th century.
Family papers -- United States -- 19th century.
Government records -- United States -- 19th century.
Judicial records -- United States -- 19th century.
Letters (correspondence)
Personal papers -- United States -- 19th century.
Professional papers -- United States -- 19th century. - Names:
- Alexander Hamilton United States Custom House (New York, N.Y.) -- Archives
Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- )
U.S. Customs Service
Barney, Maginel Wright
Barker, James H.
Bryant, William Cullen, 1794-1878
Butler, William Allen, 1825-1902
Chase, Salmon P. (Salmon Portland), 1808-1873
Clinch, Charles P. (Charles Powell), 1797-1880
Corning, Erastus, 1794-1872
Delavan, Edward C. (Edward Cornelius), 1793-1871
Fessenden, William Pitt, 1806-1869
Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885
Greeley, Horace, 1811-1872
Harrington, George, 1815-1892
Harrison, Benjamin, 1833-1901
Hayes, Rutherford B., 1822-1893
Jay, John, 1817-1894
Key, Francis Scott, 1779-1843
Kilbourne, David Wells
Kozlay, Eugene A., 1779-1843
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Correspondence
Madison, James, 1751-1836
McKinley, William, 1843-1901
Pierce, Edward Lillie, 1829-1897
Romero, Matías, 1837-1898
Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa
Schofield, John McAllister, 1831-1906
Seymour, Horatio, 1810-1886
Stevens, Breese Jacob - Places:
- Iowa -- History -- 19th century
Keokuk, Iowa
Mexico -- Foreign relations -- United States
New York (State) -- Politics and government -- 19th century.
United States -- Foreign relations -- Mexico
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources.
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]. Hiram Barney papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191