American Historical Ephemera and Photography

Archive of approx. 60 letters and 8 documents spanning 1835-1866 (bulk 1856-1866). Letters primarily addressed to John A. King who served one term as Governor of New York from 1 January 1857 to 31 December 1858. The largest segment of letters in the archive dates to King's time as Governor-elect of New York and his first few months in office as Governor. Correspondents vary, with the largest number of letters written to King by his close friend Richard C. McCormick (1832-1901), a New Yorker who rose to fame as a war correspondent and later as the second Governor of the Arizona Territory. Accompanying the letters is a small group of documents and ephemera of a varying nature, including legal documents and publications, newspaper clippings, a war-date General Order, and an 1860 Anti-Slavery Reporter circular with ANS to King.

The earliest letter in the archive is written to King from Vienna by his son, Dr. Charles Ray King (1813-1901), in 1835, followed by miscellaneous ca 1840s correspondence. Letters to King associated with his Governorship commence in November 1856 and run through April 1858. Though letter content is varied, many letters written to the Governor-elect prior to taking office and in his first few months offer congratulations and/or requests associated with government appointments. Particularly unique in the grouping is a letter dated "New York 2d December 1856" and addressed "To the Editors of the N.Y. Mercury." Signed only "Lycurgus," the 4pp letter argues for the next legislature "to create a specific court with authority to grant a complete divorce" and for new laws for the relief of women. The author notes that "Governor King, who will take charge of the Executive Government of the state of New York on 1st Jan 1857, is a practical American Statesman, as well as a truly benevolent man...[will] knock the matrimonial chains off the limbs of our victimized women...." Also of particular note is a letter dated 16 December 1856 from abolitionist H.L. Jones to King in which he presses the state government of New York with a demand for indemnification for its citizens robbed and suffering loss of property during the ongoing conflict in Kansas. "I hope for Kansas," Jones writes, "Yes I firmly believe she will be a Free State. There seems not much doubt however that the ruffians will accomplish their hellish purpose of getting her admitted as a Slave State but that will not establish slavery there. The people hate with the intensest [sic] hatred there the institution and Slave owners know it....They fear the people, more than they have confidence in the laws. and the people must eventually rule, though now they are subdued and crushed. Signed "Yours for Free Kansas / H.L. Jones." Luther C. Carter writes to King on 7 January 1857 also with regard to the issue of slavery, stating in part: "As old line Whigs we have always been opposed to slavery and always shall be. And we were highly grateful to see the positions you take in relation there to[o] with exception of the appropriations for Kansas. I have some misgivings about that...."

Of the eighteen letters written by Richard C. McCormick to King, the first is dated 8 March 1862 and the last 17 July 1866. McCormick's early letters are written after his return from the front lines of the Civil War as a war correspondent, and serving as a newly appointed chief clerk for the Department of Agriculture which was established by Abraham Lincoln as an independent entity in May 1862. McCormick references the establishment of the department in his first letter, with his subsequent letters written from Washington, D.C. primarily containing war news, discussion of national and New York politics, and discussion of the Queens County [NY] Agricultural Society. McCormick's letters provide a real sense of the anxiety in Washington surrounding Confederate troop movements and the threat of an invasion force taking the city. Most interesting, however, are McCormick's letters from Arizona, where he has journeyed in late 1863 after accepting Lincoln's nomination to serve as Secretary of the newly formed Arizona Territory. McCormick's first letter, dated 21 November 1863 and written from Santa Fe, New Mexico, bears the original "Seal of the Territory of Arizona" which was designed by McCormick. In it he describes his journey west as well as the gold fields of Arizona "where all the people of the territory are gathered." McCormick also discusses thoughts on where to locate the capital of the new territory. Later letters from Fort Whipple and Prescott continue the discussion of the mines, miners, landscape, weather, and the growth of the region. McCormick remarks on the "hostile attitude of the Indians," adding that "With the establishment of new forts, and the increase of the military force, we confidently hope to make the red-skins behave, and to render residence in any part of the Territory entirely safe." McCormick writes in 1864 that the Apache Indians are "probably the worst tribe, or nation, upon the continent" and have succeeded in alarming the miners, who will "require time and vigorous action" to have their confidence restored. McCormick paints a vivid picture of Arizona in the very early territorial days, and of the unique challenges facing government in the remote regions of the American West.

[With:] The Anti-Slavery Reporter. 1 January 1860. Vol. 8. A circular issued as an appeal for funds for the relief of freedom seekers escaped via the Underground Railroad and assisted by Stephen Myers, "Superintendent, Underground Depot, Albany." Signed in type by Myers, and with a handwritten personal note to John A. King below, reading in part: "...the unfortunate and destitute persons to have come to my care the last 60 days have been fifty five we have one woman and two children arrived today. I know that you have sympathies with [the] unfortunate class and I thank your honer [sic] for what I recevd in 1857 and 58...." -- Documents associated with the town of Oyster Bay, New York, and the creation of the Jones Fund for Poor. This fund was established by Quaker Samuel Jones with a testamentary trust of 34,000 for support of the poor of Oyster Bay and North Hempstead. Documents include "An Act to appoint Trustees of the Jones Fund for the support of the poor in the Towns of Oysterbay and North Hempstead and regulate the management thereof" (ca 1836), a copy of the "Will of Samuel Jones" (ca 1836), and a, 1838 letter to Mr. John A. King at the Assembly in Albany, NY, "respecting [the] Jones Fund."

[Also with:] A group of 4 legal pamphlets related to usury law. -- Printed booklet presenting "Argument of John Woodworth on behalf of the Plaintiffs" in the case of Benjamin French and others, Heirs of Benjamin French, deceased, vs. Elizabeth Lent. Albany: 1856. Accompanied by a manuscript copy of the Supreme Court of the State of New York's opinion in the case, May 1856. -- Assortment of ca 1860s newspaper clippings.

John Alsop King came from a prominent New York family, his father Rufus King having been a Signer of the United States Constitution, a U.S. Senator from New York, and a U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain. John Alsop was a lawyer who also had service in the War of 1812. Following his father's footsteps he ventured into politics in 1819 as a ember of the New York State Assembly, then later in the New York State Senate. After a term in the United States Congress from 1849-1851, King would later successfully run for Governor of New York serving from 1857-1858. He was the first Republican Governor of New York.