1859-1928; bulk: 1861-1865
Guide to the Collection
Funding for the digitization of this collection and the creation of preservation microfilm was provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act grant as administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
Restrictions on Access
Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as color digital facsimiles (see links below). Black and white microfilm is also available for use in the library.
Abstract
This collection consists of papers of Stephen Minot Weld of Jamaica Plain, Mass., including letters written to his sisters Hannah Minot Weld and Caroline Balch Weld during his service with the 18th and 56th Massachusetts Infantry Regiments in the Civil War.
Biographical Sketch
Stephen Minot Weld, Jr. was born in Jamaica Plain, Mass. on 4 Jan. 1842, the son of Stephen Minot Weld (1806-1867) and Sarah (Balch) Weld. He had four sisters, Hannah, Alice, Caroline, and Edith, and two half-brothers, Henry and Arthur. Weld was a student at Harvard Law School when the Civil War began. He entered the service in Jan. 1862 as a second lieutenant in the 18th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, but was soon promoted to first lieutenant, then captain. He also served as lieutenant colonel and then colonel in the 56th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. He fought in many major battles, including the Second Battle of Bull Run, Antietam, and Gettysburg. In 1866, he was brevetted brigadier general.
After the war, Weld worked as a cotton and wool broker and founded the firms of Stephen M. Weld & Co. of New York and Boston, Weld & Neville of New York and Houston, and Weld & Co. of Liverpool, England.
In 1869, Weld married Eloise Rodman, with whom he had seven children. She died in 1898, and he remarried in 1904 to Susan Edith Waterbury. He died on 16 Mar. 1920 in Boca Grande, Fla.
Collection Description
This collection consists of papers of Stephen Minot Weld of Jamaica Plain, Mass., primarily his Civil War correspondence. Included are letters written to his sisters Hannah Minot Weld and Caroline "Carrie" Balch Weld during his service as second lieutenant and then captain in the 18th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 1862-1863, and lieutenant colonel and then colonel in the 56th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 1863-1864. Letters describe position changes and promotions, troop movements, general news of the war effort, and gossip about fellow officers. Also included are letters to Weld from soldiers in other camps, 1861-1864; letters written by his sister Alice Buckminster Weld to Hannah, 1862-1864; and miscellaneous documents pertaining to Weld family burial plots and genealogy.
Note: The letters in this collection are NOT published in the War Diary and Letters of Stephen Minot Weld, 1861-1865 ([Cambridge, Mass.]: Riverside Press, 1912).
Restrictions on Access
Use of the originals is restricted. This collection is available as color digital facsimiles (see links below). Black and white microfilm is also available for use in the library.
Other Formats
This collection is available as color digital facsimiles and on microfilm, P-806, 1 reel.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Eloise W. Hodges, Dec. 2004.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Correspondence, 1860-1865Digital Content
This series consists of letters from Weld to his sisters Hannah Minot Weld and Caroline "Carrie" Balch Weld; letters to Weld from Charles A. Brazer, John F. Dorsey, D. F. Parker, Charles A. Dugar, W. F. Cochrane, and others; and letters from Alice Buckminster Weld to Hannah.
A. Letters from Stephen Minot Weld, 1860-1865Digital Content
1860, 1862
Jan.-Mar. 1863
Apr.-May 1863
June-July 1863
1864-1865
Undated
B. Letters to Stephen Minot Weld, 1861-1864Digital Content
1861
1862
1863-1864
C. Letters from Alice Buckminster Weld to Hannah Minot Weld, 1862-1864Digital Content
Included are manuscript copies of two letters from Stephen M. Weld to his father.
1862-1864
II. College bills, 1859-1861Digital Content
This series contains four bills from Stephen M. Weld's years at Harvard.
1859-1861
III. Genealogy, etc., 1882-1928Digital Content
This series includes a copy of the Weld family crest, papers related to family burial plots, and a printed obituary of Stephen M. Weld.
1882-1928
Preferred Citation
Stephen Minot Weld papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.