Nathan Appleton Papers
Catalog Record: http://lccn.loc.gov/mm80057067
General International Standard for Archival Description
Manuscript Division Library of Congress Washington, D.C.
Finding aid encoded by Glenn R. Gardner, 2010
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Nathan Appleton Papers 1850-1904 (bulk 1876-1902)
Appleton, Nathan, 1843-1906
Biographical History for: Nathan Appleton Papers 1850-1904 (bulk 1876-1902)
Biographical Note Date Event 1843, Feb. 2 Born, Boston, Mass. 1863 Graduated, Harvard College, Cambridge Mass. Commissioned junior second lieutenant of the Fifth Massachusetts Battery, Light Artillery, United States Volunteers 1864 Severely wounded in battle on the North Anna River in Virginia Resignation from army accepted; discharged for wounds 1864-1865 Visited Europe 1865 Became volunteer aide-de-camp to Brigadier General C. S. Wainwright, commander of the Artillery Brigade of the Fifth Army Corps Brevetted captain to rank for gallantr 1869 Toured northern Europe, western Russia, and Turkey with General Nathaniel Prentiss Banks As delegate of the Boston Board of Trade to the opening of the Suez canal, first met Count Ferdinand de Lesseps 1872 Bowles Brothers and Co., of which Appleton was a member, collapsed with serious injury to his personal fortune 1875 Delegate, conference of the association for the codification and reform of the law of nations, Hague, Netherlands 1877 Published Centennial Movement, 1876: A comedy in Five Acts. Boston: Lockwood, Brooks President, Free Trade Conference, Saratoga, N.Y. 1878 Delegate, International Congress for the Unification of Weights, Measures, and Coinage, Paris, France 1879 Delegate, Interfic Canal Congress, Paris, France Elected president, United States Board of Trade 1880 Interpreter for Count Ferdinand de Lesseps on his tour of the United States 1881-1888 American agent, Panama Canal Co. 1895 Traveled throughout Latin America 1887 Married Jeannette Ovington (separated 1889; divorced 1906) 1896 Visited Hawaii 1899 Member, Board of Overseers, Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass. 1904 Published Russian Life and Society as Seen in 1866-'67 by Appleton and Longfellow. Boston: [Press of Murray and Emery] 1905 Assisted at the peace conference culminating in the Treaty of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, N.H. 1906, Aug. 25 Died, Boston, Mass.
Scope and Content Note The papers of Nathan Appleton (1843-1906) span the period 1850-1904, with the bulk concentrated in the years 1876-1902. The collection consists largely of an autobiography, letters, newspaper articles, and other printed matter mostly relating to Appleton's connections with French attempts to construct a Panamanian canal and to his support of free trade. Nathan Appleton was born the son of a more noted Nathan (1779-1861), a merchant and congressman from Boston. After education at Harvard College, the younger Nathan served as an officer of volunteer artillerists in the federal armies. His wartime experiences impressed him deeply, forming a favorite subject for the speeches he was frequently asked to deliver throughout the rest of his life. After touring Europe, Appleton met Count Ferdinand de Lesseps at the opening of the Suez canal in 1869. From that time, Appleton became devoted to both the count and his projects. The two parts of the manuscript "Recollections of Brevet Captain Nathan Appleton, U.S.V." ("Action and Counteraction" and "Dramatis Personae") among the writings in this collection tell of Appleton’s acquaintance with Count de Lesseps over thirty years, centering on his eight years of service as American agent for the French company that attempted to construct a sea-level canal across Panama. Also in the collection is a notebook in which Appleton memorialized his friend: "Souvenirs of Ferdinand de Lesseps, 1898-99." Appleton's interest in the promotion of peaceful commerce between nations showed itself also in his action to establish free trade, culminating in his election in 1879 to the presidency of the United States Board of Trade. Letters and notes in the correspondence in this collection, addresses by Appleton and others among the writings, and printed matter among the miscellany treat the reduction or abolition of tariffs between nations. Appleton's activities on behalf of the Panamanian canal and free trade, his frequent and worldwide travels, and his position as a member of a prominent Bostonian family are reflected in the printed matter and correspondence. Among the many correspondents represented in the collection are Edwin M. Bacon, George E. Balknap, Edward Bellamy, Henry Bergh, George B. Cortelyou, Andrew Gregg Curtin, John William Draper, John W. Forney, Marcus Alonzo Hanna, George Frisbie Hoar, John Davis Long, Charles Eliot Norton, John C. Spooner, and Anne Whitney.
file
Correspondence
General, circa 1850-1902, undated
Letters and notes relating to free trade, 1877, undated
United States Board of Trade, 1878-1881
Published letters, 1884-1904
Writings
Note and notebooks, circa 1870-1904
Autobiographical notes, 1875-1890
"Recollections of Brevet Captain Nathan Appleton, U.S.V.: 'Action and Counteraction,'" circa 1902
pages I-VI, a-e, unnumbered, and 1-173
pages 174-331
pages 332-501
pages 502-689
pages 690-893
"Recollections of Brevet Captain Nathan Appleton, U.S.V.: 'Dramatis Personae,'" circa 1902
pages 894-1082
pages 1083-1262
pages 1263-1471
pages 1472-1689
pages 1690-1894
Petition, 1876
Addresses and tributes, 1876-circa 1904
Appleton, William Sumner (cousin), compositions, 1854-1856
Writings by others, 1876-circa 1877
Miscellany
Annotated photographs, circa 1870-1885
Invitations, notices, and cards, 1877-1904, undated
Printed matter
Free trade, circa 1876-1877
Panamanian canal, Panamanian canal,
Newspaper and magazine articles, circa 1884-1891
Passport and other printed matter, circa 1867-1899