John Charles Frémont and Jessie Benton Frémont Papers
Scope and Content Note
The papers of John Charles Frémont (1813-1890) and Jessie Benton Frémont (1824-1902) span the years 1828-1980 with the bulk of the material dating from 1835 to 1890. The collection includes correspondence, presidential campaign material from 1856, Civil War items, writings, prints, photographs, printed matter, and books. Throughout the collection are typed transcripts of letters, lists of items, and occasional typed descriptions of items. These were not created by the Library of Congress but came with the collection and have been retained as supplemental information.
The Civil War file contains no items written by John Charles Frémont. Some letters are addressed to Frémont as commander in charge of the Western Department and the Mountain Department. Other items are related to his command during the war or are addressed to Major George E. Waring who took over his command in Missouri. Before and after the war, Waring was a prominent sanitary engineer and civic reformer, leading projects such as the engineering of the drainage system for New York's Central Park.
The correspondence consists mainly of letters sent by Jessie Benton Frémont and John Charles Frémont. All but five letters are written by the Frémonts. The Jessie Benton Frémont correspondence includes many letters to Robert Underwood Johnson and Edward William Bok. A lengthy run of letters to T. W. (Trenor William) Park in the John Charles Frémont correspondence primarily concerns the Frémont's California property. Other notable correspondents include Henry Ward Beecher and Joel Roberts Poinsett.
The presidential campaign of 1856 material includes pamphlets supporting and opposing Frémont, songbooks, and graphic material. The printed matter contains both items written by the Frémonts and items written about them. The book collection, part of the printed matter file, includes items authored by the Frémonts. The books remain unorganized in four record center cartons. A list of contents is in each box. Other items in the collection include engravings, prints, photographs, legal papers, printed matter, and a dispatch box.
Dates
- Creation: 1828-1980
- Creation: Majority of material found within ( 1835-1890)
Language of Materials
Collection material in English
Access and Restrictions
The papers of John Charles Frémont and Jessie Benton Frémont papers 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 John Charles Frémont and Jessie Benton Frémont is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
Biographical Note
John Charles Frémont (1813-1890) first gained public attention through his participation in and eventual leadership of scientific and mapping expeditions in the American West (1838, 1841, 1842, 1843, and 1845). In 1841 he married Jessie Ann Benton (1824-1902), the daughter of Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, who was an advocate of United States expansion into the West and a political supporter of his son-in-law's expeditions, which received Congressional backing. Jessie Benton Frémont assisted in the writing of her husband's 1844 expedition report, which enjoyed popularity with the general public, and with his subsequent writings. During his final expedition, Frémont became involved in California's uprising against Mexico. He was appointed military governor of California, but later was arrested and court-martialed in Washington, D.C., in 1847-1848 for disobedience. His penalty was set aside by President James K. Polk and he and Jessie moved to California in 1849. They became wealthy after the discovery of gold on their Las Mariposas land grant. In 1850, Frémont was elected senator from the new state of California and served briefly in that office. He ran as the first presidential candidate of the Republican party in 1856 on a free-soil anti-slavery platform. He served as a Union general in the Department of the West during the Civil War. Frémont was governor of the Arizona terrritory, 1878-1883. He died in New York City in 1890. The Frémonts suffered economic reversals and in later years were supported primarily through Jessie Benton Frémont's writings. During the 1870s through the 1890s she authored books, stories, and many articles that appeared in leading magazines. She died in Los Angeles, California, in 1902.
Extent
1,000 items
9 containers
1 oversize
1 artifact
9 linear feet
Abstract
Explorer of the western United States, army officer, and politician (John Charles Frémont). Author (Jessie Benton Frémont). Correspondence, presidential campaign material from 1856, Civil War items, writings, prints, photographs, and printed matter relating to the careers of both John Charles Frémont and Jessie Benton Frémont.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material and chronologically therein, except for the Civil War file, which is arranged alphabetically.
Catalog Record
Provenance
The papers of John Charles Frémont and Jessie Benton Frémont were acquired by the Library of Congress through purchase in 1903 and 2011 and by transfer in 1930.
Transfers
Some prints and photographs have been transferred to the Library's Prints and Photographs Division where they are identified as part of the John Charles Frémont and Jessie Benton Frémont papers.
Processing History
The 1903 purchase contained three items and formed the John Charles Frémont letters and was part of the Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection until 2011. The 1930 transfer also contained three items and formed the Jessie Benton Frémont Papers and was part of the Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection until 2011. When the Library purchased the John Charles Frémont and Jessie Benton Frémont Papers, which had been at the James S. Copley Library in La Jolla, California, the two previous MMC collections were incorporated into the new collection during processing in 2011. While organizing the papers received from the Copley Library, the Correspondence and Newspapers of Jesse A. Park were separated from the Frémont material and made into its own collection as it had been previously at the Copley Library.
Source
- Frémont, John Charles, 1813-1890 (Creator, Person)
- Frémont, Jessie Benton, 1824-1902 (Creator, Person)
Subject
- Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1887--Correspondence. (Person)
- Bok, Edward William, 1863-1930--Correspondence. (Person)
- Frémont, Jessie Benton, 1824-1902. John Charles Frémont and Jessie Benton Frémont papers. 1828-1980. (Person)
- Frémont, John Charles, 1813-1890. (Person)
- Johnson, Robert Underwood, 1853-1937--Correspondence. (Person)
- Kern, Richard H., 1821-1853. Richard H. Kern diary. 1848-1849. (Person)
- Park, T. W. (Trenor William), 1823-1882--Correspondence. (Person)
- Poinsett, Joel Roberts, 1779-1851--Correspondence. (Person)
- Waring, George E. (George Edwin), 1833-1898. (Person)
- United States. Army. Mountain Department. (Organization)
- United States. Army. Western Department. (Organization)
- Title
- John Charles Frémont and Jessie Benton Frémont Papers
- Subtitle
- A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress
- Author
- Prepared by Karen Linn Femia
- Date
- 2011
- 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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