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Oliver P. Morton papers

 Collection
Identifier: L113

Scope and Contents

This collection consist primarily of correspondence and papers from Oliver P. Morton’s senatorial career with an emphasis on the 1876 presidential election and Louisiana politics in 1873 and 1874. There is also family correspondence, financial papers, speeches and notes on Republican politics, the U.S. Civil War, secession, and Reconstruction.

There are also an oversize folder and a volume, which include extractions and a letter from R.R. Barrow, 1872/08/05 and 1872/09/29; speeches by General Sheldon (1872/09/02) and Colonel George Williamson (1872/10/24), an issue of the Houna Terrebonne Banner (1872/10/24), and other miscellaneous materials such as newspapers, broadsides, and a printed memorial for Morton, ranging from 1865-1877 (OBC044); and "Nomination by Ballot, Election by Lot with Prayer to God" by a Civil Magistrate as "a proposed REMEDY for our Political Corruptions" (1866-1867) (V438).

Correspondents include Schuyler Colfax, Henry W. Halleck, Andrew Johnson, Henry S. Lane, Abraham Lincoln, George B. McClellan, Joaquin Miller, William H. Seward, Caleb B. Smith, Edwin M. Stanton, Lew Wallace, and Richard Yates.

Dates

  • 1855-1909

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

Oliver P. Morton was born August 4, 1823 in Salisbury, Wayne County, Indiana. He was apprenticed to a hatter and worked in that career for four years before attending Wayne County Seminary and Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Morton Studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1847. He began his law practice in Centerville, Indiana. He was elected judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Indiana in 1852. He ran unsuccessfully for governor of Indiana in 1856 but was elected lieutenant governor under Henry S. Lane in 1860. He became governor in 1861 upon Lane’s election to the U.S. Senate. He served as governor until 1867 when he was elected to the U.S. Senate. While in the Senate Morton served on the Committee on Manufactures, Committee on Agriculture, and the Committee on Privileges and Elections. He was appointed to the Electoral Commission of 1877 to decide contests in various states during the presidential election of 1876. Oliver P. Morton died on November 1, 1877 in Indianapolis and is interred at Crown Hill Cemetery.

Source:

United States Congress. "Morton, Oliver Hazard Perry Throck (1823-1877)." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed January 24, 2007. https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=m001020.

Extent

2.66 Cubic Feet (7 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize folder, 1 volume)

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 American Autograph Shop on 1938/11/21; Elizabeth Brayton on 1939/07/01; John Brayton on 1943/08/13; Baker Conway on 1968/10/01; Robert Jacques on 1976/10/18; George W. Franz on 1983/01/20; Indianapolis Public Library during February 2017.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Related Materials

Materials relating to this collection may be found in Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN:

OBC044: Oliver P. Morton oversize papers

V438: Oliver P. Morton volume, 1866-1867

Processing Information

Collection processing and finding aid completed by Barbara Hilderbrand during February 2007. Finding aid revised by Laura Eliason on 2015/11/04 and Lauren Patton on 2016/03/17. EAD finding aid revised 2021/09/13 by Lauren Patton.
Title
Oliver P. Morton papers
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