Series 4: Volumes, 1823-1877
Series
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
This collection comprises personal and business papers from the Ewing family, particulraly the brothers William Griffith (W.G.) and George Washington (G.W.) Ewing and their companies in Fort Wayne, Indiana and numerous other locations in the Midwest, ranging from 1818-1887, regarding land speculation; the fur trade; trade and relations with Native Americans and Hoosier pioneers; the settlement of Indiana and the Old Northwest; the development of Fort Wayne; state and national politics; and internal improvements. The bulk of the collection encompasses the Ewing brothers' correspondence, accounts, receipts, legal documents, indentures, and other papers related to their business interests (1825-1866).
Papers concerning the "Indian trade" include correspondence, letterbooks, and accounts relating to their trade with the Potawatomi and Miami peoples in northern Indiana and Kansas (1820s-1850s), the Sac and Fox Nation in Wisconsin and Iowa (1840s-1850s), the Menominee tribe in Wisconsin (1850s), the Winnebago, Ottawa and Chippewa, and Sioux peoples in Minnesota (1850s-1860s), and the Osage and Shawnee peoples in Missouri and Kansas (1840s-1850s). There are also papers relating to legal agreements and land purchases between the Ewings and various Native individuals; the Ewing brothers' involvement in Indian removal in Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota during the 1820s-1850s; as well as their correspondence with the U.S. commissioners for Indiana Affairs and other federal officials concerning federal policy toward Native peoples, the activities of federal Indian agents, and the Ewings' and other traders' claims against individual Native Americans (1820s-1850s). W.G. Ewing's letters from Washington, D.C. about his lobbying on behalf of Indian traders (1840s-1850s) and the Ewings' account books, including ledgers for their trading posts in St. Peters, Minnesota (1845-1847) and Westport, Missouri (1852-1865), also contain pertinent information with regards to the Ewings' relations with Native Americans in the West.
The remaining business records for W.G. and G.W. Ewing Company constitute correspondence, letterbooks, and accounts concerning fur trading operations in Indiana, Michigan and the West during the 1820s-1850s; correspondence and accounts with their agent in the East, Suydam, Sage and Company of New York (1825-circa 1850); papers relating to their competition and agreements with the American Fur Company and Pierre Chouteau and Company (1820s-1850s); and correspondence concerning the fur markets in England and Germany. Other papers, such as correspondence, deeds, receipts, indentures, and volumes of plat maps and lists of sale, concern the brothers' real estate ventures, including the Ewings' property in Fort Wayne and northern Indiana, Chicago, Missouri, and St. Paul and Winona, Minnesota (1820s-1860s); the Wabash and Erie Canal and the canal lands purchased by the brothers (1830s); and the Ewing Addition in Fort Wayne (1823-1859).
Other materials in the collection comprise correspondence and accounts for their general merchandise business in northern Indiana; correspondence relating to state and national politics (1820s-1850s); family correspondence, especially about family finances (1820s-1880s); receipts and other items concerning personal expenses; and the business papers of their father, Alexander Ewing, regarding his trade business in Fort Wayne (1818-1827).
The remaining papers concern the administration of the Ewings' estates (1854-1889) by the estate agent, Byrum D. Miner, and executors William A. Ewing and G.W. Ewing's son-in-law, Jesse Holladay, after the death of W.G. in 1854 and G.W. in 1866, including correspondence, accounts, and letterbooks, particularly regarding the settlement of accounts and the management of the family property in the Midwest.
Large oversize materials in the collection comprise a W.G. and G.W. account sheet with J. Byrne, Jr. (1854); a list of W.G. and G.W. Ewing's heirs concerning their joint Washington, D.C. property (1868); two abstracts of title for Josette Beaubieu's reserve (1853, 1859); hand-drawn plan maps of Ewing property in Wabash and Fort Wayne, Indiana; Chicago and Cairo City, Illinois; and along Lake Superior in Minnesota; a sectional map of Kansas Territory, as well as maps of Delaware lands in Kansas owned by the Leavenworth Pawnee and Western Railroad Company and the Winnebago agency in Minnesota (circa 1830s-1860s); and newspaper sheets (1848-1863).
Full sheets of newspapers, originally used to wrap and transport the Ewings' business papers, include the following publications by state:
Illinois: Chicago Daily Democrat (May 18, 1854); Chicago Daily Tribune (May 19, 1854); Daily Chicago Journal (December 28, 1854); Cairo City Weekly Gazette (March 5, 1863; April 9, 1863).
Indiana: Fort Wayne Times (July 27, 1848; February 15, 1849; September 19, 1850); Fort Wayne Times and People's Press (February 24, 1848; April 27, 1853; May 4, 1853); Wabash Gazette and Intelligencer (January 2, 1862).
Kansas: Kansas Public Ledger (April 25, 1851; May 23, 1851; June 6, 1851; June 13, 1851).
Maryland: Baltimore Sun (July 21, 1851; August 19, 1853).
Minnesota: Saint Paul Pioneer (December 20, 1862); Mankato Weekly Record (May 9, 1863); Winona Daily Republican (June 8, 1863).
Missouri: St. Louis Republican (February 12, 1848); St. Louis Weekly Reveille (May 14, 1849).
New York: New York Herald (May 4, 1849; April 2, 1853; June 28, 1854); New York Tribune (September 9, 1854).
Washington, D.C.: The National Intelligencer (July 16, 1850; March 10, 1855); The Republic (April 17, 1851); The Daily Globe (July 17, 1852; August 6, 1852; August 7, 1852).
Wisconsin: Superior Chronicle (April 12, 1862).
The remaining business records for W.G. and G.W. Ewing Company constitute correspondence, letterbooks, and accounts concerning fur trading operations in Indiana, Michigan and the West during the 1820s-1850s; correspondence and accounts with their agent in the East, Suydam, Sage and Company of New York (1825-circa 1850); papers relating to their competition and agreements with the American Fur Company and Pierre Chouteau and Company (1820s-1850s); and correspondence concerning the fur markets in England and Germany. Other papers, such as correspondence, deeds, receipts, indentures, and volumes of plat maps and lists of sale, concern the brothers' real estate ventures, including the Ewings' property in Fort Wayne and northern Indiana, Chicago, Missouri, and St. Paul and Winona, Minnesota (1820s-1860s); the Wabash and Erie Canal and the canal lands purchased by the brothers (1830s); and the Ewing Addition in Fort Wayne (1823-1859).
Other materials in the collection comprise correspondence and accounts for their general merchandise business in northern Indiana; correspondence relating to state and national politics (1820s-1850s); family correspondence, especially about family finances (1820s-1880s); receipts and other items concerning personal expenses; and the business papers of their father, Alexander Ewing, regarding his trade business in Fort Wayne (1818-1827).
The remaining papers concern the administration of the Ewings' estates (1854-1889) by the estate agent, Byrum D. Miner, and executors William A. Ewing and G.W. Ewing's son-in-law, Jesse Holladay, after the death of W.G. in 1854 and G.W. in 1866, including correspondence, accounts, and letterbooks, particularly regarding the settlement of accounts and the management of the family property in the Midwest.
Large oversize materials in the collection comprise a W.G. and G.W. account sheet with J. Byrne, Jr. (1854); a list of W.G. and G.W. Ewing's heirs concerning their joint Washington, D.C. property (1868); two abstracts of title for Josette Beaubieu's reserve (1853, 1859); hand-drawn plan maps of Ewing property in Wabash and Fort Wayne, Indiana; Chicago and Cairo City, Illinois; and along Lake Superior in Minnesota; a sectional map of Kansas Territory, as well as maps of Delaware lands in Kansas owned by the Leavenworth Pawnee and Western Railroad Company and the Winnebago agency in Minnesota (circa 1830s-1860s); and newspaper sheets (1848-1863).
Full sheets of newspapers, originally used to wrap and transport the Ewings' business papers, include the following publications by state:
Illinois: Chicago Daily Democrat (May 18, 1854); Chicago Daily Tribune (May 19, 1854); Daily Chicago Journal (December 28, 1854); Cairo City Weekly Gazette (March 5, 1863; April 9, 1863).
Indiana: Fort Wayne Times (July 27, 1848; February 15, 1849; September 19, 1850); Fort Wayne Times and People's Press (February 24, 1848; April 27, 1853; May 4, 1853); Wabash Gazette and Intelligencer (January 2, 1862).
Kansas: Kansas Public Ledger (April 25, 1851; May 23, 1851; June 6, 1851; June 13, 1851).
Maryland: Baltimore Sun (July 21, 1851; August 19, 1853).
Minnesota: Saint Paul Pioneer (December 20, 1862); Mankato Weekly Record (May 9, 1863); Winona Daily Republican (June 8, 1863).
Missouri: St. Louis Republican (February 12, 1848); St. Louis Weekly Reveille (May 14, 1849).
New York: New York Herald (May 4, 1849; April 2, 1853; June 28, 1854); New York Tribune (September 9, 1854).
Washington, D.C.: The National Intelligencer (July 16, 1850; March 10, 1855); The Republic (April 17, 1851); The Daily Globe (July 17, 1852; August 6, 1852; August 7, 1852).
Wisconsin: Superior Chronicle (April 12, 1862).
Dates
- 1818-1889
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Extent
From the Collection: 57 Cubic Feet (74 manuscript boxes, 5 cubic foot boxes, 3 small oversize boxes, 9 large oversize boxes, 17 volumes, 4 large oversize folders)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Creator
- From the Collection: Ewing, George Washington, 1804-1866 (Person)
- From the Collection: Ewing, William Griffith, 1801-1854 (Person)
- From the Collection: Ewing, Alexander, 1769?-1827 (Person)
- From the Collection: Ewing family (Family)
- From the Collection: Miner, Byrum D. (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
