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Chittenden family collection

 Collection
Identifier: L031

Scope and Contents

The collection contains the correspondence between George F. and Amanda Chittenden during their engagement and during the U.S. Civil War. The letters written during the Civil War discuss health conditions, army life, the siege of Vicksburg, life and politics in Indiana, and Confederate prisoners at Camp Morton. Also included are letters to Amanda Chittenden from family members and to George Chittenden regarding Republican politics, his work with the Indiana Hospital for the Insane, and other family members. There are also letters from family to Edgar Chittenden while he was studying at DePauw University.

Correspondents include Will Cumback (Oct. 19, 1868, Nov. 10, 1868, Nov. 19, 1868), Walter Q. Gresham (Nov. 16, 1880 and Dec. 10, 1880), Benjamin Harrison (Feb. 2, 1881, Mar. 30, 1881, Dec. 15, 1882, Oct. 4, 1884), and Albert Gallatin Porter (Feb. 22, 1881).

The collection also includes two account books of the Chittenden family (V034). The first volume is an account book used by Linfield Branham, father of Amanda Chittenden, for his store in Vernon, Indiana. The bulk of the entries range from 1849 to 1851, but there are a few pages with entries from 1871 to 1872 regarding business he conducted in Anderson, Indiana. The second volume is an account book used by Dr. George Crittenden in 1860 to record patient treatment and fees for his medical practice in Anderson.

Dates

  • 1837-1913

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Biographical Note

George F. Chittenden was born December 25, 1830 in Switzerland County, Indiana. He was graduated from the University of Louisville in 1855. He married Amanda Branham in 1856 and together they had three children. Chittenden later married Catherine L. Brown in 1891. He served as a surgeon for the 16th Regiment Indiana Volunteers during the U.S. Civil War and was the examining surgeon for the state enrollment bureau. He served as an Anderson city council member, a delegate at the Republican National Convention, and in the Indiana House of Representatives. George F. Chittenden died October 31, 1915.

Amanda Branham Chittenden was born in 1832 in Vernon, Jennings County, Indiana. She died in 1889.

Edgar Chittenden was born in November 1864; he attended DePauw University where he studied medicine. He married Cecil Ross on August 4, 1898 and together they had three children.

Sources:

Items in the collection.

Rebecca A. Shepherd et al., eds. A Biographical directory of the Indiana General Assembly, vol. 2. Indianapolis: Select Committee on the Centennial History of the Indiana.

Ancestry.com. Accessed April 30, 2007. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.

Extent

0.7 Cubic Feet (1 manuscript box, 1 half manuscript box, 2 volumes)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection is arranged chronologically.

Custodial History

This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from the family of Edward Chittenden on 1928/01/21.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Processing Information

Collection processing and finding aid completed by Barbara Hilderbrand during 2007/05. Finding aid revised by Edythe Huffman on 2015/11/13. EAD finding aid revised 2024/05/15 by Brittany Kropf.
Title
Chittenden family collection
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository

Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671