Search Results: Authors starting with W from Stuart Lutz Historic Documents, Inc.

WILLIAM WAKE (1657-1737). Wake was Archbishop of Canterbury. DS. 1pg. February 5, 1732. A partially-printed estate document signed “W Cant” as Archbishop of Canterbury. (The handwritten portions are not in Wake’s hand.) “Received by me William Lord Arch Bishop of Canterbury, Exec of the last will of Dorothy Folkes deceasd, who was the widow and Executrix of the last will of Martin Folkes late of Grays-inn Esq. Also deceased Of the Honourable Thomas Townshend Esq; One of the Four Tellers of the Receipt of His Majesty’s Exchequer, the Sum of seven pounds sixteen shillings 7 ½ in full of all former Directions of the said Order, and for Six Months Payment, due at Christmas last past of one Hundred Pounds, by Folkes paid into the said Receipt of Exchequer the Day of the Date of the said Order, upon an Act of Parliament, (Entitled, An Act for granting to Their Majesties certain Rates and Duties of Excise upon Beer, Ale, &c. for securing certain Recompences and Advantages in the said Act… Read More

ALS. Upon the death of his father, Astor succeeded to the management of the family estate with a personal fortune estimated as $100,000,000. ALS. 1pg. 4 ½" x 7". September 6th, 1882. New York. A autograph letter signed "WW Astor" addressed to Henry I. Robinson. Astor apologizes for being unable to hire Mr. Robinson's brother: "Dear Sir, I have delayed answering your favor... I have no doubt of his qualification, I regret very much there is no vacancy to place at his disposal." The note was penned during Astor's appointment as Ambassador to Rome, from 1881 to 1885. The note is in excellent condition

LEROY POPE WALKER (1817-1884). Walker was the Confederacy’s first Secretary of War. DS. 2pgs. March 23, 1849. A document signed “L P Walker” on the verso. It is a promissory note for $75.00 owed to Walker by another man (possibly named Richard O. Pickell), who signed the recto. Walker signed a docket on the verso acknowledging that he received the payment in November of 1850. In good condition with toning, a loss to the lower right-hand corner, and other minor faults.

LEWIS WALLACE (1827-1905). An author from Indiana, he was elected to the state senate in 1856 and made a high-ranking military official during the Civil War. Wallace is best known for his popular book Ben Hur: a Tale of the Christ, which sold over 300,000 copies in less than ten years. DS. 1pg. 8 ½” x 3”. December 6, 1886. Melrose, MA. A check endorsed “Lew. Wallace” on the back for one hundred dollars. Wallace had recently returned from serving as a diplomat to Turkey. Written on an official “Melrose Savings Bank” check, the document is in very fine condition with two punch holes that do not affect the dark signature.

JOHN WANAMAKER (1838-1922). Wanamaker was a politician and businessman, who was best known as the founder of Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia. TLS. 1pg. May 4, 1891. Enroute San Francisco to Tacoma. A typed letter with an autograph correction, signed “Jno Wanamaker”. The department store magnate wrote to future Mayor of San Francisco Adolph Sutro (1830-1898), regretting that he was unable to visit Sutro’s famous library during his recent visit to that city. “My dear sir: With all my great desire to see your library the time did not permit, and in leaving it is the largest regret I have that I could not avail myself of the opportunity offered. If the days had been four times as long the time would have been insufficient to have met the demands upon me. I do not think that I took more than one good meal while in the city beyond the one I had in your house, solely for the reason that we were so hurried at every point. I need not say to you that I cherish the highest regard for… Read More

(CIVIL WAR LETTER). ALS. 1pg. April 30, 1862. Lebanon Church, [Pennsylvania]. An autograph letter signed by a Union Army officer stationed in Lebanon, Pennsylvania as Chief of Ordnance of the Pennsylvania Army. He mentions General George McClellan and his lack of movement during the Peninsula Campaign, taking place at this time. He also mentions the USS Merrimack, a Union frigate that the Navy burnt and sank in 1861 to prevent capture by the Confederacy. However, the Confederates still raised and rebuilt the Merrimack in early 1862. They hoped that the ship, renamed the CSS Virginia, could help to end the Union blockade of Southern ports. “Mr. Pigot, and your note of the 26th to Harry R, have just arrived. By it I was glad to learn something positive about you all, having heard that you had left Lombardy in great haste & consternation. We do not know what to make of McClellan’s movements: or rather ‘stand still’. He certainly has a powerful and determined force in his way to Rich[mond]; they… Read More

(END OF THE CIVIL WAR). ALS. 4pgs. April 20, 1865. Deadmans Bay, Florida. An autograph letter signed “Frank”. A Union sailor writes home to his wife towards the end of the war, just after the fall of Richmond. He tells her how eager he is to come home and start a new life on land, while also mentioning the court martial of his former captain and some troubles with getting money he’s owed. “Dearest Mary, I write this letter to let you know I am in good health and am getting along as well as usual. I left St. Marks on the 16th inst for a short cruise but I do not expect to capture any more prizes at all. As I believe now Richmond is captured the war will soon be finished. I tell you dearest nothing gives me so much pleasure as writing to you it is the next thing to seeing you except getting a letter from you I was disappointed in the last mail as I did not receive any letters from you. However I expect another mail tomorrow and then probably I shall hear from you. I hope dearest Mary you will… Read More

(CONFEDERATE LETTER). ALS. 4pgs. May 15, 1862. Lake Beautyfull. An autograph letter signed “Georg Curle” by an inhabitant of the Confederate south. The writer empowers the recipient to negotiate a marriage contract on his behalf. He also mentions the Civil War obliquely, calling the Union “the Lincolnists”, as well as his economic struggles: “…But you say you had commenced a negotiation with Cos M. P and did not know what to say to her I had in one of my former letter ?? you with all power to act for me and close the contract with her and had supposed you so understood it be such have been watching with much interest to here [sic] the result, so I hope you will not feel at a loss to know how to act, but close the matter as if I were present say to Cos MP to be ready I expect to be in about the first of July all she has to say is to say yes and we will go before the parson and have the not [sic] tied at once. Know all men by these presents that I Goerg Curle do hereby constitute Sally… Read More

L. 1pg. 7 ½” x 9 ¾”. March 7, 1862. Washington, D.C. A letter from the Bell and Green National Claim Office about missing Civil War soldiers. The company wrote on their letterhead to Alexander Gardiner of Claremont, New Hampshire: “…The list of prisoners taken has not yet been received from the South, and until it is obtained no complete rolls authoritative exist in the Department. When it is received those unaccounted for will be presumed to be dead. You can send the claim however, accompanied by the best evidence of his (Straw’s) death, procurable say the affidavit of John Rice, properly authenticated and we think we can get the claim through.” The letter is in fine condition. It appears that the recipient of the letter, Alexander Gardiner, was killed a few months later at Winchester. The condition is very fine with the usual mailing folds.

July 1863-March 1864. A set of six financial documents relating to two ships. The barque Texas and the barque Alamo were owned by Oliver H. Perry, a shipping merchant from Southport, Connecticut. The Texas was lost at sea in late 1862 while serving the Union cause during the American Civil War. Five of the six documents report Perry’s earnings on the ships. These are from Connecticut shipping company Wakeman, Dimon & Co., who operated Perry’s ships. The sixth letter is from the Atlantic Insurance Company. It concerns Perry’s insurance policies on the ships. The documents are in very good condition overall with folds.

(CONFEDERATE SOLDIER LETTER). ALS. 2pgs. September 29, 1864. Camp, [26 miles from Atlanta, Georgia]. An autograph letter from a Confederate soldier of the 19th South Carolina Regiment. He wrote home to his parents, mentioning the possibility of going to Tennessee or Alabama. The letter seems to have been written over several sittings, with a greeting at the beginning of each separate entry. “To My Dear Pa and Ma I now have an opertunity [sic] of writing you a few lines to let you Know that I am all the Boys up my company is well on all that is in the Regt that you know. Pa I will tell you that we are one a going to start up in Tenn and if we do I don’t know when I will get the chance to write to you again. Dear Pa and Ma up if you don’t hear from me soon, you must not think hard of me for I write as often as I see any chance. Ma if I take the trip in Tennessee I will need my clothing up. You must send them the first chance you can send them to me by Capt Harris or Lr. Randall are Both at home… Read More

LESLIE COMBS (1793-1881). Combs was a long-time Kentucky lawyer and politician affiliated with the Whig and, later, Republican parties. He served under William Henry Harrison during the War of 1812, in the Kentucky House of Representatives for four nonconsecutive terms, including as Speaker in 1846, and was Clerk of the Kentucky Court of Appeals from 1860 to 1866. His eldest son was Minister to Guatemala, Honduras and Peru under President Theodore Roosevelt. ALS. 1 pg. 8” x 10”. September 11, 1861. Frankfort. An autographed letter signed “Leslie Combs” to “G.D. Prentice & Co.”. “I congratulate you on your morning paper – It has already done good – I have this day distributed the inclosed [sic] Union hymn in both - Print with a word or two”. G.D. Prentice is George D. Prentice (1802-1870), the creator of the Louisville Journal. Though a slaveholder, Prentice turned the nativist Journal (he is blamed for inciting an anti-immigrant riot that killed 22 in 1855) into a Unionist… Read More

(CIVIL WAR IN LOUISIANA). ALS. 2pgs. April 5, 1864. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. An autograph letter signed “Matilda Victor”. Victor wrote to Major General Benjamin F. Butler (1818-1893) in Fort Monroe, Virginia, asking his help is securing her a pass to travel to New York for free. She also mentions Secretary of War Edwin Stanton (1814-1869). Victor was the Headmistress of St. Mary’s Academy, a Catholic girls’ school in Baton Rouge. “General: Will you obtain for me from the War dept a pass for myself & maid to N. York on a Govnt Transport? Major General Banks wrote to Mr. Stanton requesting a pass for me. I enclose his letter to a certain Col., a friend of mine then at Washington, requesting him to present the letter in person. He had left Washington & I presume the letter has gone to the dead letter office. Gen. B. is now in the field & I know of no alternative but to ask this fresh act of kindness from you. I must go to W. with my papers. I have not the means to meet the expenses of a private… Read More

(MEXICAN WAR). ALS. 2pgs. June 18, 1849. [place illegible] An autograph letter signed by an American soldier on duty during the Mexican-American War. Writing to his brother in college, he hopes that the war will end soon enough for him to make it through alive. “[…] my neglect in not answering your last letter the fact is I have had so much on my mind for the last 2 months that I hardly know what I am about have recd several dispatches from Mexico since I wrote you last all of which tend to make the prospect than less & less flattering the grand trouble is that their congress will not reach our bill this session owing to business of more information brought on by revolutionary movements in that unsettled country and if the bill does not pass I shall not lose all hope but it places too far in the future to be relied on much I did think I should be present at commencement but feel too hour altogether after my Mexican entity shall however see you on your arrival home as I think I shall spend the… Read More

(MEXICAN WAR). ALS. 1pg. May 24, 1846. On Board the Steamer Diana. An autograph letter signed “Tho.s R. Heritage”. Heritage had just enlisted in the United States Army as part of the Louisville Light Artillery and was leaving via New Orleans to fight in the Mexican-American War. He wrote home to his wife and daughter. “My Dear Wife/ It is with a heart somewhat full that I address you at this time but it is not because I have volunteerd [sic] in the service of my Country and bound for the seat of war but from the fact that money has not been furnished me according to promise that I might leave you in a better situation Capt E.B. Howe has given me 2 Dols that I send you by Mr Johnson as I shall not need it When at Orleans and Mustered under Genl Gaines I trust I shall do at every opportunity I should have called and seen you again but concluded it was best not I sincerely hope that you will not worry yourself but keep good Heart trusting that we will meet again at least one year but probably… Read More

ALS. ALS. 2pg. 8" x 10". March 25, 1847. Carlisle. An autograph letter signed "F. C. Stevenson" to Charles L. Heiziman, regarding a man who must dispose of his store possessions on the way to the Mexican War: "Mr. Mchaffey having received a commission in the army has sold out his store to Misters I & W. B. Fleming of this place. Before he left he request me to write to you to know what shall be done with your stock of musical instruments, a memorandum of which I hereunto annex. He also desired to state to you that he expects soon to be in Reading when he will pay you the balance he owes you $26.97. The Misters Fleming are clever young men, if you are disposed to let the instruments remain with them on sale, be pleased to send me an order to that effect accompanied with a copy of the annexed bill. Let the order be so worded as to release Mr. Mchaffey from the amount." Follows is the list of music instruments with their approximate value (ex: 1 Flute- $1.50; 3 Violins- $3.75; etc... ). The letter is in… Read More

ALS. (1786-1857). Marcy was a New York Governor and Senator, and Secretary of War during the Mexican War. ALS. 1pg. 7 ½" x 9 ½". Novr 24th 1846. Philada. An autograph letter signed "Thos Oliver Goldsmith M.D." two times to Secretary of War William Marcy. After the start of the Mexican War, Goldsmith appeals to be sent to Mexico: "As a Regt of Volunteers is called from Pennsylvania, and as many of my friends will be in said Regt, I desire the appointment of Surgeon for Regt. I do not know whether the Col will appoint or the appointment reserved by the War office. In either case I would most anxiously be a candidate for the post. I can produce the best of qualifications as to character and capability (references to Drs. McClellan and Wm. C.C. Barton of Philada). I would state I have lived in the S. West of Louisiana on the lakes, a country similar to Mexico. I know its Geography climate and the nature of its diseases and if such an appointment could be made by you, you will confer a favor... I am a… Read More

(MINNESOTA IN THE CIVIL WAR). DS. 2pg. 7 ¼” x 9 ½”. No date [circa late January 1861]. Belle Plaine, Minnesota. A Civil War petition signed by thirteen residents of Belle Plaine. It is entitled “Memorial to the Senate & House of Representatives of the United States” and states in part: “The undersigned citizens of the town of Belle Plaine, Minnesota, representing the nationalities of the new & old world, fraternally united in devotion to the Constitution of the Federal Union, and the principles of free government thereby secured, look with anxiety & alarm upon the increase in public dissension, evidently arising from the perturbed state of political affairs, now threatening the disruption & overthrow of the most perfect system of civil government ever devised by the wisdom of men…”. The petition was signed by Alex Pace, Peter S. MacDonald, Newton Southworth, Patrick Griffin, Eli Southworth, Joe Guion, David Musser and others. The 1860 Presidential election was Minnesota’s first,… Read More

DS. 8 ½” x 4 ½”. December 7, 1775. No place [likely Massachusetts]. A manuscript document signed “Samuel Place” concerning military disbursements: “Capt Gerrish Sr Please to pay Nathl Pearson one pound five Shilling and reduct the same out of my next payment Samuel Place Decemb 7 1775…Moses Harvarne Bot [sic] of Nath Pearson one pr Breeches at fourteen shillings and eight pence lawful money…”. Colonel Jacob Gerrish of Newbury headed a company that marched from Newbury to Cambridge for the Lexington Alarm on April 19, 1775. Nathaniel Pearson was a private in Gerrish’s regiment and a Minuteman during the Lexington Alarm, as was Samuel Place. The document has irregular edges and some ink that has bled through from the verso; it is in very good condition. An interesting Revolutionary War document.

(CONTINENTAL ARMY SOLDIER). This archive consists of the following three items related to a Continental Army soldier, Asher Merrell, who was killed: a. DS. 1 pg. 4” x 6”. January 12, 1781. Hebron. Document signed “Sam Gilbert Jus Pea” and addressed “To the Committee of Boy Soldiers”: “This may certify that Asher Merrell of Hebron is Natural Guardian & Parent to Asher Merrell Jun of Hebron a Soldier in the Continental Service Deceased he was a Minor and Under Age at the Time of his Death”. b. DS. 1 pg. 4” x 6”. January 12, 1781. Hebron. This is a document signed by two Selectmen of Hebron: “This may certify that Asher Merrell Jun. Served in Connecticut Line in the Continental Army in Col. Chandler’s Regiment before the fifth of Jany 1780”. c. DS. 1 pg. 6” x 8”. March 10, 1781. Hartford. A printed document indicating payment “of Nine Pounds eight shillings & five pence” as the payment due since January 5, 1780 to “Asher Merrell Junr Deceased” and “Paid to… Read More