Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History

Collection area: Uncategorized

31st Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Collection

31st Massachusetts Infantry Collection, 1861-1920

7 boxes (3.5 linear feet)
Call no.: 31ST

“I was out in the woods chopping with Charles Nowlton [sic: Knowlton] and was just thinking of going home for the night, when Lieut. Geo. S. Darling came out where we were to work, seeking for recruits, and as I had been wanting to enlist, this was just the opportunity, so I took his pencil and paper upon an oak stump and made myself a soldier for three years in Co. F., 31st regt.”

Thus begins the Diary of Richard F. Underwood, just one of scores of newly-discovered manuscripts of Civil War diaries, reminiscences, and personal recollections of members of the 31st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. Comprised mainly of troops from the four western counties of Massachusetts, the unit was known as the “Western Bay State Regiment.” The regiment was the first to enter New Orleans in 1862 and from then until the end of the war the unit was stationed in and around Louisiana, having participated in the Siege of Port Hudson, the Red River Campaign, Sabine Cross Roads, and other actions.

Springfield Republican, 20 August 1909

Springfield Republican, 20 August 1909

The manuscripts were found in the archives of the Lyman & Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History in Springfield, Massachusetts. They had been collected in the early 1900s by the regimental historian, Lewis Frederick Rice, with the purpose of publishing a regimental history which was never completed. In 1929, the documents were donated by the dwindling regimental association to the Connecticut Valley Historical Society, whose collection was absorbed by the current museum. They have remained unprocessed until now. The collection includes more than fifty manuscripts written by more than thirty individuals. Most have been transcribed and typewritten, but none, to our knowledge, has been published before.

Some of the documents are simply transcripts of the day-by-day diaries kept by the soldiers at the time. Most, like the Underwood transcript, appear to be edited reminiscences based on actual diary entries. Others are personal recollections written retrospectively. All combined, they draw a vivid and insightful picture of Civil War camp life in and around Louisiana from 1862 through 1865.

 

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Types of material
  • manuscripts; transcripts; photographs
Related collections: Uncategorized
The The Bliss-Morris Collection

The Bliss-Morris Collection, 1718-1888 (Bulk: 1820-1860)

7 (3 linear feet)
Call no.: BLISS

The Bliss-Morris Collection consists of records from two leading Springfield families which are interconnected through several marriages. Their papers, spanning the American Revolu­tion through the Civil War, provide an insight into the personal, local, and national events and activities that affected them as well as the town of Springfield. The collection contains corres­pondence to and from the Bliss and Morris families, legal docu­ments, land deeds, business documents and miscellaneous ephemera. The materials in the collection date from 1693 to 1888 with the heaviest concentration on the 19th century.

The collection is organized according to three series:
Series 01 — Correspondence — Series 1 is divided according to family, Bliss or Morris
Series 02 — Business and Miscellaneous Materials, and
Series 03 — Oversized Materials

The first section is Bliss correspon­dence which is arranged alphabetically by first name. The second section, Morris correspondence, is similarly arranged. The same format is used for Series 2. Generally, the correspondence is arranged according to whom the letters were addressed. In the cases in which it is not possible to identify the person to whom the letters were addressed, the correspondence is placed in the file of the person who wrote them. Series 3, Oversized Materials, is also alphabetically arranged.

Because the genealogy of the Bliss and Morris families is complicated, researchers are advised to pay attention to individuals sharing the same name and who lived in overlapping time periods. A concerted effort has been made to clarify these situations by separating the individuals’ papers; however, it may be necessary to check the files of each member bearing the same name as well as the miscellaneous files (i.e. Misc. Correspondence or Misc. Deeds).

Related collections: Uncategorized
The The Chapin Family Collection
4 (3.5 linear feet)
Call no.: CHAPIN

Scope and Content Note:

The Chapin Family collection consists primarily of legal documents, land deeds, bills and receipts, inventories, and some correspondence to and from the Chapin family. The collection, which occupies 3.5 linear feet of shelf space, contains documents beginning in 1676 and continues through 1915 with the greatest concentration in the 18th and early 19th century. While the collection is concerned primarily with the Chapin family, it does contain several non-Chapin names that were included within the Chapin collection.

The collection is organized into the following groups:
(1) Chapin family members, which are organized alphabetically by first name;
(2)  miscellaneous Chapin family documents, filed in chronological order;
(3)  Chapin-Cooley material (which are records concerned with the South Hadley Canal);
(4) Ariel Cooley material (seven folders);
(5) the papers of non-Chapin individuals, which are alphabetized by last name; and
(6) oversized materials which contain documents too large for the standard collection.

Additional materials of Chester Williams Chapin, Enoch Chapin and Josiah Chapin may be found in the Springfield Bound Volumes Collection.

Types of material
  • manuscripts, documents, correspondence
Related collections: Uncategorized
The The Early Springfield Manuscripts Collection

The Early Springfield Manuscripts Collection, 1639-1898

12 (20 linear feet)
Call no.: ESM

Table of Contents:

Series 1: Personal Files
Series 2: Subject and Town Record Files
Series 3: Oversized Material
Series 4: Seventeenth Century Material
Series 5: Account Books & Papers
Series 6: Bound Volumes
Series 7: Miscellaneous Pynchon Family Material

SERIES 1: PERSONAL FILES

The personal files of the Early Springfield Manuscripts Collection consist of those materials separated from Series 2: Subject and Town Record Files. The criterion for this separation was if the records of an individual or family consisted of ten or more documents. The folders are arranged alphabetically by name and then chronologically within each folder. The material in this series, consisting of three linear feet, is dated from 1706 to 1856 with some material undated.

The bulk of the material collected here consists of personal records such as correspondence, indentures, deeds, contracts, and bills and receipts, with a small amount of miscellaneous material.

Families included are: Adams, Ashley, Bates, Bidwell, Bowles, Breck, Bullard, Burt, Chapin, Colton, Curtiss, Dwight, Edwards, Ely, Franklin, Glover, Graves, Hale, Hitchcock, Howard, Hunt, Ingersoll, Leonard, Miller, Nash, Rand, Rowlandson, Sikes, Smith, Strong, Trumble, Warriner, Wilcox, Worthington, and White.

SERIES 2: SUBJECT AND TOWN RECORDS FILES

This series consists of all miscellaneous materials not removed to Series 1: Personal Files. The folders are arranged alphabetically by subject or town and then chronologically within each folder. The bulk of the materials collected here consists of town records, containing both personal papers and town government records. Included also is a sizable number of miscellaneous materials. These materials are contained in the folders titled Western Mass. (1703-1898; N.D.), Outside Western Mass. (1713-1891; N.D.) or Unidentified (1717-1894; N.D.). The material in this series, consisting of four-and-a-half linear feet, is dated from 1703 to 1923 with some material undated.

Of particular interest in this series are the following company and association materials: The H. J. Brewer & Company (1790s-1850s; N.D.); Indian Orchard Canal Company (1845-1851); Portersville Manufacturing Company of Agawam (1835-1845; N.D.); Union Cotton Manufacturing Company (1812-1821; N.D.); Hampden Mechanic Association (1829-1858; N.D.): Springfield Fire Club (1794-1895); and the Temperance Association of Springfield (1831-1836; N.D.).

Also of interest in this series are the materials from the U. S. Armory at Springfield containing documents regarding the return of muskets and bayonets (1798-1803) and a printed description of the Armory (N.D.). Included also in this series are Militia Records (1758-1863; N.D.), Turnpike Materials (1832; N.D.), Early Railroad materials (1829-1850), and Shays’ Rebellion materials (1763-1802; N.D.), which include the letters of William Shepard dated 20 Dec 1786 and 1 Jan 1787.

SERIES 3: OVERSIZED MATERIALS

This series contains all material that because of size or fragileness had to be removed from the regular collection. The materials included are: town government records, company records, court records, military records, personal records, and miscellaneous materials. These miscellaneous materials are filed under either Western Mass. (1730-1768), Outside Western Mass. (1715-1831), or Unidentified documents. The material, consisting of two linear feet, is dated from 1701 to 1865 with some material undated.

Of particular interest in this series are the master roll of Captain Charles Colton’s Company of the Third Massaschusetts Regiment commanded by Colonel John Greaton (1777), and the statments of the U.S. Armory at Springfield showing the cost of manufacturing and repairing muskets (1795-1865). Also of interest are samples of the types of paper produced by the D. & J. Ames Company of Springfield (N.D.), along with the patents of John Ames and Samuel Eckstein (1831-1840) pertaining to the production of paper.

The materials in this series also contain: The Court Register of Writs for Hampden County (1812-1813); a Dwight Family Genealogy (N.D.); and a document regarding the tolls for the South Hadley Canal (N.D.).

Also included in this series are the papers of Chaucey Brewer and Mary Cushing (Gay) Robinson.

SERIES 4: 17TH CENTURY MATERIAL

This series contains all materials dated before 1700. The folders are arranged in boxes according to the nature of the materials: parchment materials (1652-1696), personal materials (1639-1699), and miscellaneous materials (1648­1699). The parchment materials, consisting of deeds and indentures, are not arranged by folder due to the nature of the materials. The personal and miscellaneous materials are arranged alphabetically by (name or) subject and then chronologically within each folder. The bulk of this material consists of deeds, with a large number of miscellaneous materials. The materials in this series, consisting of two-and-a-half linear feet, is dated from 1639 to 1699 with some material undated.

Of particular interest in this series are the records of John Pynchon. These materials consist of correspondence (1662-1694; N.D.), deeds (1664-1699), and bills and receipts (1680-1693; N.D.). In addition to these materials is a bound volume of John Pynchon’s notes in shorthand on the sermons of Reverend George Moxon (1639).

Also of interest in this series is the correspondence of Joseph Pynchon regarding the burning of Springfield by Indians (1675); a document regarding an early case of sexual assault in Northampton (1656); and Chapin family deeds (1663-1672) not found in the Chapin Collection.

Types of material
  • documents, manuscripts, correspondence
Related collections: Uncategorized

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Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History
21 Edwards Street
Springfield, MA 01103

413-263-6800
Email: info@springfieldmuseums.org

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