Manuscript Collections

Leroy Wilson Coons (187?-1948) received his Bachelors of Divinity from St. Lawrence University in 1895. He married Elsie Loraine Thomas, (SLU n 1900) in the Canton Universalist Church in 1897. Wilson went on to be a leader in churches throughout New England. He pastored the Universalist church in Winthrop, NY until his retirement in 1942.  This collection consists of two series of photo prints. Series 1 are photographs of various rural views in the North Country taken by Leroy Wilson Coons (SLU Div. '95). Series 2 are photographs of the St.

John Stebbins Lee (1820-1902) was born in Vernon, Vermont and was educated at Amherst College, graduating in 1841. He became a respected minister in the Universalist church and held teaching positions and pastorates in New Hampshire and Vermont. From 1858 to 1869, Lee taught Latin and Greek at St. Lawrence University, while also serving as the college's first President. After travelling through Europe and the Holy Land, Lee returned to SLU and taught at the Theological School for many years. He died in 1902 in Canton.

Lewis County became a county March 28, 1805. Lewis County is bordered on the north by St. Lawrence County, on the south by Oneida County, and on the east by Herkimer County and on the west by Jefferson and Oswego Counties. The county has approximately 30 towns and villages with the county seat in Lowville. This collection consists of a 1833-1868 land ledger, a fair souvenir program (1935), and a 1949-1950 flyer on the highway department.

Log book of ships passing Massena, N.Y. on the Saint Lawrence Seaway kept by the Cook family from 1958-1966. Includes name of each ship, length, dates and direction.

Lucia Millham (Mrs. Newton Millham) from Glen Cove, New York was the former Lucia Pink of Kew Gardens. In 1932 she graduated from St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York. This unprocessed collection consists of correspondence dating from 1798 until 1892, with most letters are from the Hazelton (Haselton) family. Other items included are a stockholder meeting notice of the Potsdam and Watertown Railroad Company (1853), pamphlet on Hon. William Kelly (Democratic Candidate for Governor of State of New York), deed between Louisa Olin and S. W.

Diaries of Mabel S. Laidlaw and her daughter Helena Laidlaw Livermore of Canton, St. Lawrence County, N.Y. Collection consists of diaries kept by a wife and a daughter of a Doctor in Canton, N.Y., and provides a daily log of domestic life in the first part of the century. Other items include automobile records, autograph books, scrapbooks, photographs, clippings, correspondence and microfilm of diaries.

The image at left comes from Mrs. Laidlaw's scapbook.

The diaries for 1901 and 1902 have been published as: Dear home Mabel Lila Wait was born in Canton, N.Y. on October 2, 1876. After her parents death she managed the family farm alone until she married Fred Roberts in 1901. Mabel and Fred continued to live on the Wait farm throughout their lives. They had one daughter, Gladys, born in 1908. In addition to doing farm work, Fred taught school in the Brick Chapel district. They both attended Grange functions in Crary Mills, and Mabel was active in the Presbyterian Ladies' Aid Society at Brick Chapel.

Two account books for the town of Madrid, N.Y. Town Supervisor's account book 1829-1868 and "Book of public land of the town of Madrid", 1840-1859. Both contain names of individuals, dates, and amounts paid.

Maitland C. De Sormo was born August 26, 1906 in Canton, N.Y., was educated in Malone, N.Y., Hamilton College, New York University and Columbia University. He was a high school teacher for almost 40 years. He was the owner of Adirondack Yesteryears in Saranac Lake and was the author/editor of many articles and books on the Adirondacks. Maitland C. De Sormo died January 24, 1993 in Saranac Lake, N.Y. The collection consists of 117 letters from various historians (Paul Jamieson and Atwood Manley), the bulk of the correspondence is from individuals at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.

Malcolm McCormick, born in Gouverneur, NY to parents James F (1889-1978) and Eula M. Mckenney McCormick (1892-1979) studied the arts and dance. Malcolm, a 1945 graduate from Canton High School was the soloist(lead dancer) at the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York City from 1951-1959. He returned to northern New York after teaching in the department of dance and theater at UCLA. Malcolm brought with him an interest in the founding of Canton, NY and his father's alma mater, St.

The Man brothers, Alric and Dr Albon, moved to Westville, Franklin County, New York from Addison, Vermont in 1803. Albon had two sons; Buel and Ebenezer. Ebenezer Man was on the first Board of Commissioners of the Water Works, at the time of the Salmon River development, and land agent for Edward Ellice of London who owned large parcels of land around Malone. The papers are closely connected with the Parish-Rosseel collection (MSS. COLL. NO. 005) as Joseph Rosseel, land agent for David Parish, was the general agent for Edward Ellice.

Marianne Craig Moore, American Poet, was born November 15, 1887 in Missouri and died February 5, 1972 in Brooklyn, NY. Miss Moore graduated from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania in 1909. She taught school at the United States Indian School in Carlisle, Pa., was a secretary to a girls school, 1921-1925 was an assistant librarian at the Hudson Park Branch of the New York Public Library, and from 1926-1929 edited the literary magazine "The Dial".

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States, was born in Hyde Park, New York on January 30, 1882 and died April 12, 1945 in Warm Springs, Georgia. He was educated at Groton in Massachusetts, received a B.A. in history from Harvard in 1903, and studied law at Columbia University. He married Anna Eleanor Roosevelt in 1905 and they had six children. He was Governor of New York in 1928 and became President in 1932 until his death in 1945. The Franklin D. Roosevelt collection was donated to St. Lawrence University in February 1965 by Dr. Harold T.

Orrin E. Martin was born December 22, 1847 in Westville, Franklin County, New York. He was the son of Hollis and Selina Martin. He married Mary J. Butler on February 15, 1876 and had three children; Arthur H., Hollis W., and Edith L. During his life he owned and operated a pulp mill near Norwood. In 1877, he and his father operated a wagon hub business in Norwood and in 1880 he moved to Ogdensburg and established a hub business of his own. In 1910 he and his sons established the Martin Pulp and Paper Company in Norwood of which he was president at the time of his death on February 8, 1923.

Diaries of M. L. Howard of Pierrepont, St. Lawrence County, N.Y. The collection consists of two diaries about farm life and logging in St. Lawrence County during the latter half of the nineteenth century.

This unprocessed collection consists of primarily the correspondence between William Murray to his wife Beatrice (Fulton of New York City) during World War II. Also included is a Civil War Diary of a Lewis Murray, miscellaneous items (dog tags, military buttons, bracelet, etc) of William and Mary's as well as a notebook William kept while in the Armored Force School, and material while he was in Officer Candidate School in Fort Knox, Kentucky. St. Lawrence University received this collection from Roger Duvall, heir of Murray family, of Ogdensburg, New York in April, 1998.

The collection consists of photographs of African pottery making, post cards of African Art, broadsides and articles on the American Artist Leonard Baskin.

The collection was donated to St. Lawrence University library by Dr. Mary Saleski, a member of the Modern Languages Department. The common word "Nazi" is a contraction of the German word Nationalsozialismus, or National Socialism, a political movement that emerged after W.W.I. The party was founded in 1920 and led almost from the outset by Adolph Hitler. In 1933 the party gained control of the German state and established a dictatorship, embarking on a program of domestic reconstruction and foreign conquest that culminated in W.W.II.

William S. Connolly of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, was president of the New York and Ontario Power Company. The company applied in 1918 to the International Joint Commission for approval for "...the obstruction of the waters of the St. Lawrence River at Waddington, N.Y." Connolly was also a manager of the Bank of Montreal for 40 years (1890-1930) and spent most of his earnings to gain control of the land in the area that he believed to be, because it was the narrowest part of the river, the logical spot for a power dam. The dam was never built in this location.

These documents, written in French, concern land transactions in Castorland, N.Y.

The Noble family was from Gouverneur, New York (St. Lawrence County). Harvey H. Noble and Edna Wood Noble had three children: Katherine L. Noble, Robert N. Noble and Edward J. Noble (born August 8, 1882). Harvey ran a coal, wood and building supply business and served as an agent for the Rome and Watertown Railroad,. Robert attended Purdue University and studied engineering and Edward attended Yale. Katherine taught school in Weedsport and married Alger Conger.

The collection consists of glass plate negatives by unknown photographer(s) depicting people, places, and activities in the North Country (NY) between 1895-1925. Series 1 divided into groups and individuals (most unidentified). Series 2 consists of activities such as: children's games, dramatic groups, bicycling, boating and social gatherings. Series 3 consists of interiors and exteriors of homes - most unidentified. Series 4 consists of photos of towns, places and trades: Watertown, Waddington, Hermon-Dekalb, Theresa, Saranac Lake; Mills, construction sites and other unidentified industries.

Maps relating to the North Country, NY. The collection consists of, but not limited to, maps of St. Lawrence, Franklin, Jefferson and Lewis Counties ; St. Lawrence River, St. Regis Mohawk Reservation, Ogdensburg, Macombs Purchase, Adirondack Mountains, and New York State railroads.

This collection contains newspaper clippings, photocopies of news articles and other accounts of various murders committed in the North Country. Folders are organized alphabetically by the victim's last name.