Collection Description

The Francis Parkman (1823-1893) papers contain the personal and professional papers of this historian, famous for his works on the Oregon Trail, Pontiac's Conspiracy, the Jesuits and the Native Americans, and the history of the struggle between the French and English over the continent, specifically their role in Canada (New France) and Florida.

His papers include correspondence on his research, his writing, and the publication of his numerous works, as well as research notes and transcriptions of documents and a few original documents needed for his research; and a few manuscripts (including Montcalm and Wolf) and page proofs of his writings. The papers also include items related to his interest in horticulture and gardening, account books (1855-1892), commonplace-books, and notebooks. Parkman's diaries in the collection include a notebook of his journey on the Oregon Trail in 1846 and on various journeys in New England, Canada, Europe, and up the Magalloway River in New Hampshire, and regarding his gardening activities.

Items representing other individuals in the collection include manuscripts of sermons written by his father Francis Parkman (1788-1852), a Boston Congregational minister; Stephen Williams' diary of his service as a chaplain during the Louisbourg expedition (1745); and copies of the journals of Seth Pomeroy during the expeditions to Louisbourg and Crown Point (1755).

The loose papers contained in boxes 1-6 comprise primarily correspondence related to Parkman's lifelong work and research, his requests for copies of manuscripts for use in his research, his travels, and his involvement in the effort of the U.S., and specifically the Library of Congress, to publish the historical collections of Pierre Margry related to western discovery. His numerous correspondents include historians, publishers, scholars, politicians, and individuals representing various archives in the United States, Canada, and France. Box 5 contains letters, with typewritten transcriptions, from H. R. Casgrain, as well as letters to and from Pierre Margry.

Among his many correspondents are Henry Adams, George Bancroft, Adolph F. Bandelier, John R. Bartlett, Charles Deane, Lyman C. Draper, George E. Ellis, Charles Farnham, James A. Garfield, Gabrielle Gravier, George S. Hale, O. H. Marshall, Brantz Mayer, Charles E. Norton, George P. Putnam, Frederic Remington, Theodore Roosevelt, John G. Shea, Jared Sparks, A. R. Spofford, E. G. Squier, B. F. Stevens, Henry Stevens, William L. Stone, Col. Charles Whittlesey, and Justin Winsor. Also of note is a series of correspondence between Parkman and his parents, in particular letters from his journeys on the Oregon Trail.

This body of papers consists of 163 volumes (some in boxes), 6 boxes of loose papers, 3 card-file boxes, 2 cases, 5 folders, and 1 oversize box. The volumes have been placed into two series with separate numeric sequences (explained further in the container list). Most of the items have been individually identified in the MHS card catalog, with cards for main entries or writers of manuscripts, and many have been more fully described as to their contents. Volumes 1-123 remain as individual volumes, while papers in the volumes originally numbered 127-134 have been removed from the volumes and interfiled with other loose papers in chronological order in boxes 1-6. The container list for the boxes notes the original volume numbers contained in the individual boxes. The container list follows the placement of the items on the shelves.