Manuscript Collections

The Stillwater Club, an Adirondack hunting club, occupies 14,600 acres on the North and Middle Branch of the Grass River in the town of Clare, St. Lawrence County. It was founded by a group of men from Canton, New York on May 13, 1893, as a hunting and canoeing club; from its first days, the club showed an interest in conservation as a way to preserve its deer herds for future hunters and its trout for future fishermen. This collection has mainly two types of materials: photographs and notebooks.

The first known meeting to discuss the idea of a federal prison in the Lake Placid area occurred in May, 1976. In January, 1977 the Office of Management and Budget (part of the Executive branch of the federal government) approved plans for the Bureau of Prisons to build the prison. On March 22, 1977 at a meeting of the NYMPC (New York Moratorium on Prison Construction) the NMPC (National Moratorium on Prison Construction) agreed to formally establish and co-sponsor S.T.O.P. (Stop the Olympic Prison). This collection was donated to St.

William F. Sudds (1843-1920) was born in England but grew up in Gouverneur, N.Y. He attended Boston Conservatory and composed musical scores published by Oliver Ditson & Co. as well as others. The family had a summer home in Chippewa Bay, N.Y. Photos show family portraits, interiors and street scenes in Gouverneur, N.Y. as well as river scenes in Chippewa Bay, N.Y. May also include Todd family photographs.

Darwin W. Sunderland and John R. Sunderland, brothers from Rensselaer Falls, NY, were the sons of Albert and Prudence Sunderland. Both served in the Union Army during the Civil War. This collection consists of 65 letters (64 originals & 1 photocopy, .75 linear feet)

Letters describe camp life, battles, hospitals, and medical care during the Civil War.

Thomas John Carlisle was born October 11, 1913 in Plattsburgh, N.Y. and died August 17, 1992. He was educated at Williams College, Union Theological Seminary, and was ordained as a United Presbyterian minister in 1937. He was the author of a number of books of religious poetry, as well as a tutor and teacher various colleges. He wrote the lyrics to "Rise Up, My Love, My Fair One" and "Two Famous Men", and contributed more than 1500 articles and poems to newspapers, religious and literary publications and magazines.

Thomas Purves was born on September 28, 1785 in Whitebank, Scotland. He brought his family to the United States in 1819 hoping to work for the Parish family at the iron works in Rossie, NY. He received a cold reception from Parish's agent and instead went to work for Governor Ogden in Waddington, NY as a gardener. He died January 12, 1853 in Waddington. The collection consists of two manuscript notebooks written by Purves donated to St. Lawrence University in 1989 by Allegra Fourtanati (relative of Purves) of California.

The Thousand Islands are located on the St. Lawrence River between the United States and Canada, just east of Lake Ontario. The actual number of islands is actually closer to two thousand, with the official count standing at 1,793. The larger islands are inhabited throughout the year but a few are too small to be inhabited, most of the islands feature summer homes ranging from rustic cottages to mansions, and a couple of castles (Boldt and Jorstadt). This region has the longest undefended international boundary on earth.

On April 12, 1843 Colton became the 27th town of St. Lawrence County. In 1842 Colton village was called Matildaville when Abel Brown and his son James moved from Parishville to the west side of the Racquette River. Colton is named for Jesse Colton Higley, a pioneer who settled on the east side of the Racquette River and was instrumental in the formation of the township, serving in every public office available. Colton was the site of many sawmills, a potato starch factory, and one of the largest tanneries in the state.

The United States Presidential Inauguration collection was donated to St. Lawrence University by J. Harold Launders, class of 1932. Mr. Launders was a member of the Inaugural Committee for several years during which time he collected the materials. The collection consists of materials from the U.S. Presidential Inaugurations of 1933 to 1985 (excluded are the inaugurations of 1945, 1953, 1965, and 1977).

Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist was born July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts and was educated at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. He married Sophia Amelia Peabody in 1842 and settled in Concord, Massachusetts. In 1846 Hawthorne became surveyor of the Salem customhouse and in 1850 he moved to Lenox where he wrote House of the Seven Gables in 1851. In 1852 he became the consulate in Liverpool, England for four years and lived in Italy for a couple of years before returning to the United States.

Universalism was brought to America by John Murray who preached his first sermon September 30, 1770 in Potter's Meeting House in Murray Grove, New Jersey. In 1779 Murray occupied the pulpit of the Independent Christian Church of Gloucester, Massachusetts, which was the first organized Universalist church in America. John Murray is often referred to as the "Father of Universalism in America". St. Lawrence University was founded in 1856 as a Theological Seminary with the corner stone of the first building laid by the eminent Universalist, Horace Greeley.

This collection consists of five bound volumes: four account books and an index from W.F. Willson & Co., Dealers in General Merchandise, located in Massena. They range from 1862 till 1917 and record the names of all the customers for that time, what they purchased, and the prices for each item.  St. Lawrence University received this collection from Paul Schaefer of the Massena Public Library.

Wal-Gene Camps was a fishing lodge located in Redwood, New York, on Butterfield Lake, Jefferson County. Collection consists of a guest register, photograph album, photographs and post cards of the camp, unidentified guests, fish and lake.

The War of 1812 was fought between Great Britain and the United States from June 18th 1812 until December 24th, 1814 when the warring sides signed the Treaty of Ghent in Belgium, reinstating pre-war conditions.  While neither country can be considered the "victor" in the conflict, the War of 1812 did serve to confirm the true independence of the U.S.

This collection consists primarily of contemporary pamphlets and newspapers published during the War of 1812. Also contained in the collection is an Orderly Book pertaining to the Battle of Plattsburgh. 

Watson Banks Berry was born June 29, 1870 in North Lawrence, N.Y. and died in Potsdam, N.Y. on August 18, 1963. He was educated at Lawrenceville Academy, Cazenovia Seminary and Cornell University, studying law, history and political science. Berry worked with the New York Herald and the Watertown Daily Times covering organized labor, the financial markets, and politics.

The Wetheralls moved from Vermont to Russell, St. Lawrence County, N.Y. in the early 1800's. Some family members moved west to Illinois, Kansas, and Wisconsin. Two sons, Willard and Darius enlisted in the 60th N.Y. Volunteers. Contains correspondence, a civil war diary by Willard, photographs, printed ephemera and broadsides from 1790-1930, with the bulk of the collection from 1830-1900. This collection documents the lives of several St.

Goodrich was born in Wilna, Jefferson County, New York, practiced law in Madrid, N.Y. and was a Lieutenant Colonel during the Civil War. P. H. Wells was in the Navy stationed in Brooklyn, N.Y. and visited Gouverneur and Madrid, N.Y. where his wife's (Sadie Olin) parents lived. This collection consists of letters, diaries, business papers, photographs, and memorabilia.

Private William H. Carr of Rossie, New York enlisted in the 14th New York Heavy Artillery, Company L. in 1863. The collection consists of a diary kept by Carr from January to July 1865 and a student paper by Heather Ford that contains transcriptions of most of the entries.

William H. Davis of Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence County, N.Y. enlisted in the 16th New York Infantry Regiment. The collection consists of 54 letters and a Declaration for Invalid Pension (1890). Correspondence to his family in which he describes his activities in camp & on the Virginia battlefields while serving with the 16th New York Volunteers.

William Rasbeck and his brother Harrison (Has) were fishing and hunting guides at Cranberry Lake, St. Lawrence County, N.Y. The collection consists of a hotel log book (1910-1912), of the Columbian Park Hotel, Cranberry Lake, and 28 diaries of William H. Rasbeck. The diaries give daily accounts of the weather and Rasbeck's life as a guide.

William Rose Benét was born on February 2, 1886 in Fort Hamilton, N.Y. and died May 4, 1950. He was educated at Albany Academy and Yale University, Benét was a poet, editor, critic, anthologist, translator, and children's author. He wrote, edited, or collaborated on 36 books and was best known for his column "The Phoenix Nest" in the Saturday Review of Literature (1924-1950). The collection consists of galley proofs for books of poetry by various authors (Frances Frost, Howard Griffin, Alfred Noyes, Edith Sitwell and Stephen Spender).

This collection contains material primarily focusing on the contentious solid waste disposal debate in St. Lawrence County during the 1980s and early 1990’s and the vehement opposition to an incineration option proposed by county leaders, organized by the environmental advocacy group Work on Waste.

Held to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s arrival in the Americas, the World’s Columbian Exhibition was held in 1893 in Chicago. Over 600 acres in size and containing over 200 exhibit halls, the fairgrounds were located in the southern part of the city. The Exposition, or World’s Fair had participation from 46 countries and over 27 million people attended during it's 6-month run. The fair was a major cultural event that spotlighted industrial innovations, new consumer goods and new forms of entertainment.