Benjamin Helm Bristow Papers
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Benjamin Helm Bristow (1832-1896) span the years 1839-1932, with the bulk of the material from 1874 to 1896. The collection consists of correspondence, speeches, biographical material, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, other printed materials, and photographs relating primarily to Bristow's service as solicitor general and secretary of the treasury in President Ulysses S. Grant's administrations and to his New York City law firm. Included are a letterpress book of incoming and outgoing correspondence of the commissioner of internal revenue concerning the whiskey frauds of 1875.
Among the correspondents are William W. Belknap, James Gillespie Blaine, Henry V. Boynton, George William Childs, David Davis, Anthony Joseph Drexel, George F. Edmunds, Hamilton Fish (1808-1893), William Cassius Goodloe, Ulysses S. Grant, John Marshall Harlan, W. A. Meriwether, Horace Porter, and Noah Haynes Swayne.
Dates
- Creation: 1839-1932
- Creation: Majority of material found within ( 1874-1896)
Language of Materials
Collection material in English
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Benjamin Helm Bristow are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Benjamin Helm Bristow is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
Biographical Note
Biographical Note
- 1832
- Born, Elkton, Ky.
- 1851
- Graduated, Jefferson College, Washington, Pa.
- 1853
- Admitted to Kentucky bar after studying law with his father, Francis Bristow, congressman from Kentucky.
- 1861 - 1865
- Officer in Kentucky infantry and Kentucky calvary; wounded at the Battle of Shiloh (1863) and assisted in the capture of John Hunt Morgan during his raid through Indiana and Ohio (July 1863)
- 1863 - 1865
- Kentucky state senator
- 1865 - 1866
- Assistant United States attorney
- 1866 - 1870
- United States district attorney for Louisville, Ky., district
- 1870 - 1872
- First solicitor general of the United States
- 1874 - 1876
- Secretary of the treasury
- Reorganized Treasury Department and successfully prosecuted the ?Whiskey Ring? accused of defrauding the federal government of tax revenue
- 1876
- Candidate for Republican Party nomination for president
- 1878
- Began law practice in New York
- 1896, June 22
- Died, New York, N.Y.
Extent
16,000 items
20 containers
7.2 linear feet
Abstract
Army officer, lawyer, United States secretary of the treasury, and solicitor general. Correspondence, speeches, biographical material, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, other printed material, and photographs relating primarily to Bristow's service as solicitor general and secretary of the treasury in the administrations of Ulysses S. Grant and to his New York City law firm. Includes a letterpress book of incoming and outgoing correspondence of the commissioner of internal revenue concerning the whiskey frauds of 1875.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged by type of material.
Catalog Record
Provenance
The papers of Benjamin Helm Bristow, army officer, lawyer, United States secretary of the treasury, and solicitor general, were deposited in the Library of Congress by William B. Bristow in 1937 and converted to a gift in 1946.
Processing History
The Bristow Papers were processed in 1972. The finding aid was revised in 2010.
Source
- Bristow, Benjamin Helm, 1832-1896 (Creator, Person)
Subject
- Belknap, William W. (William Worth), 1829-1890--Correspondence. (Person)
- Blaine, James Gillespie, 1830-1893--Correspondence. (Person)
- Boynton, Henry V. (Henry Van), 1835-1905--Correspondence. (Person)
- Bristow, Benjamin Helm, 1832-1896. (Person)
- Childs, George William, 1829-1894--Correspondence. (Person)
- Davis, David, 1815-1886--Correspondence. (Person)
- Drexel, Anthony J. (Anthony Joseph), 1826-1893--Correspondence. (Person)
- Edmunds, George F. (George Franklin), 1828-1919--Correspondence. (Person)
- Fish, Hamilton, 1808-1893--Correspondence. (Person)
- Goodloe, William Cassius, 1841-1889--Correspondence. (Person)
- Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885--Correspondence. (Person)
- Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885. (Person)
- Harlan, John Marshall, 1833-1911--Correspondence. (Person)
- Meriwether, W. A.--Correspondence. (Person)
- Porter, Horace, 1837-1921--Correspondence. (Person)
- Swayne, Noah Haynes, 1804-1884--Correspondence. (Person)
- United States. Department of the Treasury. Office of the Secretary. (Organization)
- United States. Office of Commissioner of Internal Revenue. (Organization)
- United States. Solicitor General. (Organization)
- Title
- Benjamin Helm Bristow Papers
- Subtitle
- A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress
- Author
- Prepared by Manuscript Division Staff
- Date
- 2010
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Part of the Manuscript Division Repository
Manuscript Reading Room
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James Madison Building, LM 101
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