Scope and Content Note
The papers of John Middleton Clayton (1796-1856) span the years 1798-1868, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period 1819-1850. The collection consists mainly of correspondence, legal papers, memoirs of Clayton by Robert Montgomery Bird, and newspaper clippings pertaining chiefly to Clayton’s service as secretary of state, 1849-1850.
Topics include negotiations for the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, 1850, and Whig politics. A group of earlier papers relates to the Pea Patch Island controversy, 1819-1847, between Delaware and New Jersey. The main correspondents are Henry Clay and John J. Crittenden. Other correspondents include James A. Bayard, Thomas Hart Benton, Robert Montgomery Bird, Henry Lytton Bulwer, Charles Augustus Davis, members of the Du Pont family, Millard Fillmore, Samuel M. Harrington, Reverdy Johnson, Abbott Lawrence, Willie Person Mangum, Morton McMichael, William C. Rives, William Henry Seward, E. G. Squier, Zachary Taylor, J. Watson Webb, Daniel Webster, Elisha Whittlesey, and Robert C. Winthrop.