George B. Cortelyou Papers
Scope and Content Note
Part I
Part I of the papers of George Bruce Cortelyou (1862-1940) spans the years 1891-1941, with the bulk of the material dating from 1901 to 1908. The material consists of correspondence, letterpress copybooks, memoranda, and printed matter and is organized into the following series: Letterbooks , General Correspondence , Political Correspondence , Executive File , Subject File , and Miscellany .
The Letterbooks , General Correspondence , and Political Correspondence series contain a few family letters, but relate mainly to the administration of the government departments that Cortelyou headed and to his role as chairman of the Republican National Committee in the presidential campaign of 1904. Politics, political appointments, and personal business affairs are other subjects of the correspondence series. The Executive File contains a great number of letters to or from Theodore Roosevelt and his secretary, William Loeb (1866-1937). The Subject File is principally composed of material assembled for a projected biography of William McKinley.
Principal correspondents in Part I include James Sullivan Clarkson, Charles Gates Dawes, Elmer Dover, Harry S. New, Thomas Collier Platt, and Nathan Bay Scott. Among other prominent correspondents are Alvey A. Adee, Robert Low Bacon, Albert Jeremiah Beveridge, Cornelius Newton Bliss, Edward William Bok, Charles J. Bonaparte, Nicholas Murray Butler, Joseph Gurney Cannon, Andrew Carnegie, William R. Day, Charles W. Fairbanks, John H. Finley, Moreton Frewen, Richard Watson Gilder, John Hay, Frank H. Hitchcock, Henry Cabot Lodge, Ida Saxton McKinley, James Clark McReynolds, Victor Howard Metcalf, William H. Moody, Henry C. Payne, Jacob A. Riis, Elihu Root, Leslie M. Shaw, Charles Emory Smith, Oscar S. Straus, and William H. Taft.
Part II
Part II of the Cortelyou Papers spans the period from 1871-1948, with the material chiefly dating from 1897 to 1902. Part II is organized into the following series: Diaries , Correspondence , Subject File , and Miscellany . Correspondence contains some Cortelyou family correspondence, but more of the letters and memoranda pertain to McKinley's presidential administration. The series includes letters sent and received by McKinley as well as a few items of the presidential correspondence of Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison. The bulk of the material in the Subject File concerns the Spanish-American War and related events, although files relating to the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, assassination plots against President McKinley, and presidential protection are also included. Financial ledgers of both Cortelyou and McKinley, press clippings, invitations, and other printed matter are in Miscellany . Significant correspondents include Alvey A. Adee, Andrew Carnegie, William R. Day, Mark Alonzo Hanna, John Hay, Henry Cabot Lodge (1850-1924), Ida Saxton McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and John Sherman.
Dates
- Creation: 1871-1948
- Creation: Majority of material found within ( 1897-1908)
Language of Materials
Collection material in English
Access and Restrictions
The papers of George B. Cortelyou 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 George B. Cortelyou is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
Biographical Note
Biographical Note
- 1862, July 26
- Born, New York City, N.Y.
- 1879
- Graduated, Hempstead Institute, Hempstead, Long Island, N.Y.
- 1882
- Graduated, Massachusetts State Normal School, Westfield, Mass.
- 1883
- Studied stenography, New York, N.Y.
- 1883 - 1885
- Shorthand reporter, New York, N.Y.
- 1885 - 1889
- Preparatory school principal, New York, N.Y.
- 1888
- Married Lily Morris Hinds
- 1890 - 1891
- Private secretary to surveyor of Port of New York, New York, N.Y.
- 1891 - 1895
- Private secretary and clerk, office of fourth assistant postmaster general, Washington, D.C.
- 1895
- LL.B., Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
- 1895 - 1897
- Stenographer and executive clerk to President Grover Cleveland
- 1896
- LL.M., George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
- 1898 - 1901
- Assistant secretary and secretary to President William McKinley
- 1901 - 1903
- Secretary to President Theodore Roosevelt
- 1903
- Appointed first secretary of the Department of Commerce and Labor
- 1904
- Elected chairman of the Republican National Committee; resigned as secretary of the Department of Commerce and Labor
- 1905
- Appointed postmaster general
- 1907
- Appointed secretary of the treasury
- 1909 - 1935
- President, New York Consolidated Gas Co.
- 1940, Oct. 23
- Died, Huntington, Long Island, N.Y.
Extent
17,000 items
76 containers
35 linear feet
Abstract
Public official and presidential secretary. Correspondence, letterbooks, diaries, memoranda, subject files, printed matter, and miscellany relating to Cortelyou's duties as secretary to William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, his service as secretary of commerce and labor, postmaster general, and secretary of the treasury, and his work as chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged in ten series:
Part I:
Part II:
Catalog Record
Provenance
The papers of George B. Cortelyou, public official and presidential secretary, were deposited in the Library of Congress in 1942 by his wife, Lily Hinds Cortelyou, and son, George B. Cortelyou, Jr., and converted to a gift in 1966 by various members of the Cortelyou family. An addition to the papers was given by George B. Cortelyou, Jr., in 1966, and other material was added in 1967 and 1973.
Processing History
The papers of George B. Cortelyou were arranged and described in 1967. The collection was expanded and revised in 1973. The finding aid was revised in 1982 and 2011.
Source
- Cortelyou, George B. (George Bruce), 1862-1940 (Creator, Person)
Subject
- Adee, Alvey A. (Alvey Augustus), 1842-1924--Correspondence. (Person)
- Bacon, Robert Low, 1884-1938--Correspondence. (Person)
- Beveridge, Albert Jeremiah, 1862-1927--Correspondence. (Person)
- Bliss, Cornelius Newton, 1833-1911--Correspondence. (Person)
- Bok, Edward William, 1863-1930--Correspondence. (Person)
- Bonaparte, Charles J. (Charles Joseph), 1851-1921--Correspondence. (Person)
- Butler, Nicholas Murray, 1862-1947--Correspondence. (Person)
- Cannon, Joseph Gurney, 1836-1926--Correspondence. (Person)
- Carnegie, Andrew, 1835-1919--Correspondence. (Person)
- Clarkson, James Sullivan, 1842-1918--Correspondence. (Person)
- Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908--Correspondence. (Person)
- Cortelyou, George B. (George Bruce), 1862-1940. (Person)
- Dawes, Charles Gates, 1865-1951--Correspondence. (Person)
- Day, William R. (William Rufus), 1849-1923--Correspondence. (Person)
- Dover, Elmer, 1873-1940--Correspondence. (Person)
- Fairbanks, Charles W. (Charles Warren), 1852-1918--Correspondence. (Person)
- Finley, John H. (John Huston), 1863-1940--Correspondence. (Person)
- Frewen, Moreton, 1853-1924--Correspondence. (Person)
- Gilder, Richard Watson, 1844-1909--Correspondence. (Person)
- Hanna, Marcus Alonzo, 1837-1904--Correspondence. (Person)
- Harrison, Benjamin, 1833-1901--Correspondence. (Person)
- Hay, John, 1838-1905--Correspondence. (Person)
- Hitchcock, Frank H. (Frank Harris), 1867-1935--Correspondence. (Person)
- Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1850-1924--Correspondence. (Person)
- Loeb, William, Jr., 1866-1937--Correspondence. (Person)
- McKinley, Ida Saxton, 1847-1907--Correspondence. (Person)
- McKinley, William, 1843-1901--Correspondence. (Person)
- McKinley, William, 1843-1901. (Person)
- McReynolds, James Clark, 1862-1946--Correspondence. (Person)
- Metcalf, Victor Howard, 1853-1936--Correspondence. (Person)
- Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917--Correspondence. (Person)
- New, Harry S. (Harry Stewart), 1858-1937--Correspondence. (Person)
- Payne, Henry C. (Henry Clay), 1843-1904--Correspondence. (Person)
- Platt, Thomas Collier, 1833-1910--Correspondence. (Person)
- Riis, Jacob A. (Jacob August), 1849-1914--Correspondence. (Person)
- Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919--Correspondence. (Person)
- Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919. (Person)
- Root, Elihu, 1845-1937--Correspondence. (Person)
- Scott, Nathan Bay, 1842-1924--Correspondence. (Person)
- Shaw, Leslie M. (Leslie Mortier), 1848-1932--Correspondence. (Person)
- Sherman, John, 1823-1900--Correspondence. (Person)
- Smith, Charles Emory, 1842-1908--Correspondence. (Person)
- Straus, Oscar S. (Oscar Solomon), 1850-1926--Correspondence. (Person)
- Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930--Correspondence. (Person)
- Pan-American Exposition (1901: Buffalo, N.Y.) (Organization)
- Republican National Committee (U.S.) (Organization)
- United States. Department of Commerce and Labor. (Organization)
- United States. Department of the Treasury. (Organization)
- United States. Postmaster General. (Organization)
- Title
- George B. Cortelyou Papers
- Subtitle
- A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress
- Author
- Prepared by Lloyd A. DunlapRevised and expanded by Anita Nolen
- Date
- 2011
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Part of the Manuscript Division Repository
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