The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Douglas Family Collection 1859-1963
© 2014 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | Douglas Family. Collection |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1859-1963 |
| Size: | 3.5 linear feet (4 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | The collection contains papers created and collected by descendants of Stephen A. Douglas, particularly his son, Robert M. Douglas, and grandson, Martin F. Douglas. It includes personal and professional correspondence, legal and financial documents, printed material written by or about family members and ephemera collected by family members. |
This collection is open for research.
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When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Douglas Family. Collection, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Lawyer, judge and politician Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861) married Martha Denny Martin (1825-1853) in 1847. Two children born to their marriage survived into adulthood, Robert Martin Douglas (1849-1917) and Stephen Arnold Douglas, Jr. (1850-1908). [See the Guide to the Stephen A. Douglas Papers for an account of Stephen A. Douglas's life and career.]
Robert M. Douglas was born in North Carolina in 1849. He graduated from Georgetown College in 1867, and later earned an M.A. and L.D. from the Washington D.C. institution. Douglas was active in the Reconstruction era Republican party, serving as private secretary to President Ulysses S. Grant from 1869-1873. He worked as a U.S. Marshal for North Carolina and was appointed to serve as Master in Chancery to the U.S. Circuit Court in 1888. In 1896, Douglas was elected to the North Carolina Supreme Court, on which served one eight-year term before retiring in 1904. Robert M. Douglas married Jessie Madeline Dick and had four children, Madeleine Douglas, Robert Dick Douglas, Stephen Arnold Douglas and Martin F. Douglas.
Martin F. Douglas was Robert M. Douglas' son and worked as a lawyer in Greensboro, North Carolina. Douglas worked with researchers and to provide access to papers from his famous grandfather that remained in private hands.
The collection is divided into five series.
Series I: Correspondence, is sub-divided into three sub-series Robert M. Douglas Correspondence, Martin F. Douglas Correspondence, and General Correspondence. Each includes personal and business correspondence and is organized roughly by date Robert M. Douglas's subseries include Presidents McKinley, Taft, and Theodore Roosevelt.
Series 2 contains legal and financial documents gathered by the family, including deeds, bonds, and documents concerning court cases.
Series 3: Printed Materials includes texts written by and about family members, including Stephen A. Douglas, as well as items collected by the Douglas family. It is divided into two subseries: Pamphlets and Books and Newspaper Clippings.
Series 4 is a collection of ephemera consisting of postcards, photographs, calling cards, invitations, currency, stamps, maps, envelopes, and two leather bound diaries.
Series 5 contains oversized items. This series is broken into three subseries: Legal and Financial, Printed Materials and Ephemera.
Stephen A. Douglas. Papers
Series I: Correspondence |
Subseries 1: Robert M. Douglas Correspondence |
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Robert M. Douglas, correspondence 1859-1879
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| Box 1 Folder 2 | Thomas Settle, 1868-1869
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| Box 1 Folder 3 | Thomas Settle, 1870-1873
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| Box 1 Folder 4 | Recommendations to President McKinley on Behalf of Robert M. Douglas
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| Box 1 Folder 5 | J.C. Pritchard Correspondence
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| Box 1 Folder 6 | Robert M. Douglas correspondence 1891-1893
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| Box 1 Folder 7 | Robert M. Douglas, outgoing correspondence, 1897-1900
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| Box 1 Folder 8 | Robert M. Douglas, 1900-1903
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| Box 1 Folder 9 | Robert Martin Douglas correspondence with Marion Butler
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| Box 1 Folder 10 | Robert M. Douglas, 1906-1913
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| Box 1 Folder 11 | Robert M. Douglas, 1916
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| Box 1 Folder 12 | Presidential Correspondence
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| Box 1 Folder 13 | Taft Letters
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| Box 1 Folder 14 | Undated Correspondence
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Subseries 2: Martin F. Douglas Correspondence |
| Box 1 Folder 15 | Martin F. Douglas
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| Box 1 Folder 16 | F.H. Hodder Correspondence
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Subseries 3: Family and General Correspondence |
| Box 1 Folder 17 | Dick, Robert Paine
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| Box 2 Folder 1 | Family Correspondence
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| Box 2 Folder 2 | Family Correspondence
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| Box 2 Folder 3 | Family Correspondence
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| Box 2 Folder 4 | Family Correspondence
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| Box 2 Folder 5 | Family Correspondence
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Series II: Legal and Financial |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | Bonds
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| Box 2 Folder 7 | Deeds
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| Box 2 Folder 8 | Legal
|
| Box 2 Folder 9 | Legal
|
Series III: Printed Materials |
Subseries 1: Pamphlets and Books |
| Box 2 Folder 10 | Articles
|
| Box 2 Folder 11 | Printed Work by Robert M. Douglas
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| Box 2 Folder 12 | Political Pamphlets
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| Box 2 Folder 13 | Illinois Commerce Pamphlets
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| Box 2 Folder 14 | Chicago Historical Society
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| Box 2 Folder 15 | Illinois Historical Society
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| Box 2 Folder 16 | Slavery
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| Box 2 Folder 17 | Territories
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| Box 2 Folder 18 | Lincoln-Douglas
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| Box 3 Folder 1 | Stephen A. Douglas
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| Box 3 Folder 2 | Congress
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Subseries 2: Newspaper Clippings |
| Box 3 Folder 3 | Newspapers Clippings, Thomas Settle
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| Box 3 Folder 4 | News Clippings
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| Box 3 Folder 5 | Newspaper
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| Box 3 Folder 6 | Stephen A. Douglas Newspaper Clippings
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Series IV: Ephemera |
| Box 3 Folder 7 | Post Cards and Photographs
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| Box 3 Folder 8 | Ephemera
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| Box 3 Folder 9 | Ephemera
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| Box 3 Folder 10 | Maps
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| Box 3 Folder 11 | Currency
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| Box 3 Folder 12 | Invitations
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Series VI: Diaries |
| Box 3 Folder 13 | Robert M. Douglas, diary, 1869 |
| Box 3 Folder 13 | Pocket diary, 1873
|
Series VI: Oversize |
Subseries 1: Legal and Financial |
| Box 4 Folder 1 | Political Appointment
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| Box 4 Folder 2 | Financial
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Subseries 2: Pamphlets and Newspapers |
| Box 4 Folder 3 | Newspapers
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| Box 4 Folder 4 | Newspapers
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| Box 4 Folder 5 | Newspapers
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Subseries 3: Ephemera |
| Box 4 Folder 6 | Maps
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