Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The papers of Gideon Welles, secretary of the navy and newspaper editor, were deposited in the Library of Congress in several installments from 1911 to 1914 by Welles's son, Edgar Thaddeus Welles. Formal conveyance of the papers to the Library was recorded in 1941. Another gift from the Welles family was made in 1915 by Alice Welles, Gideon Welles's granddaughter. Other items were acquired through various gifts and purchases, 1906-2009. The research papers of Henry B. Learned relating to Welles were given to the Library by his wife, Emily Cheney Learned, in 1931.
Processing History
The papers were arranged and bound in volumes in 1918, and an addition was appended in 1979. In 1963, a partial index for approximately four thousand items of correspondence in the collection was completed by John de Porry of the Manuscript Division. In 1987 the volumes were disbound and the papers reorganized and arranged for microfilming by Michael McElderry. Additions to the papers were made in 1997 by Nan Thompson Ernst and 2010 by Karen Linn Femia. The finding aid was updated in 2023 by Maria Farmer as part of a division-wide remediation project by the Inclusive Description Working Group.
Microfilm
A microfilm edition of the first eight series of these papers is available on thirty-six reels. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition as available.
Online Content
The papers of Gideon Welles are available on the Library of Congress Web site at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/collmss.ms000078. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the online edition.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, Gideon Welles Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.