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Palmer-Loper Family
A Register of Its Papers in the Library of Congress


Prepared by Audrey Walker, Michael Spangler, and Lisa Madison 
Revised and expanded by Michael Spangler 
2003
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress 
Washington, D.C.
Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress 
Manuscript Division, 2003


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Collection Summary

Title:    Palmer-Loper Family Papers , 1667 - 1994 (bulk 1790 - 1930 ) 
ID No.:    MSS35410 
Creator: Loper family 
Creator: Palmer family 
Extent:    10,000 items ; 34 containers plus 3 oversize ; 13.6 linear feet ;
11 microfilm reels 
Repository:    Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington,
D.C. 
Abstract:    Seafaring and merchant families. Correspondence, logbooks
and journals, ships' papers, financial and business records, and printed
matter documenting the voyages and business activities of Nathaniel
Brown Palmer, Alexander Smith Palmer, Richard Fanning Loper, and
other members of these maritime families of Stonington, Connecticut.

Selected Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of
person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed
alphabetically therein. 
Names:
Loper family 
Palmer family 
Bush, Frederick T.--Correspondence 
Cook, Frederick Albert, 1865-1940--Correspondence 
Crosby, John Schuyler, 1839-1914--Correspondence 
Dixon, Nathan Fellows, 1812-1881--Correspondence 
Dixon, Nathan Fellows, 1847-1897--Correspondence 
Fanning, Edmund, 1769-1841--Correspondence 
Forbes, R. B. (Robert Bennet), 1804-1889--Correspondence 
Gregory, Francis H., 1848-1929--Correspondence 
Hobbs, William Herbert, 1864-1952--Correspondence 
Loper, Elizabeth Dixon Palmer, 1848-1929--Correspondence 
Loper, Richard Fanning, 1850-1914--Correspondence 
Palmer, Louis Lambert, 1845-1887--Correspondence 
Palmer, Theodore Dwight, 1816-1865--Correspondence 
Pendleton, Benjamin, 1787-1857--Correspondence 
Smith, Francis Hopkinson, 1838-1915--Correspondence 
Stanton, Charles T.--Correspondence 
Stanton, Joseph W. (Joseph Warren)--Correspondence 
Stanton, Thomas P.--Correspondence 
Loper family--Correspondence 
Palmer family--Correspondence 
United States. Army--Procurement 
United States. Navy--Procurement 
A.A. Low & Bros.--Correspondence 
Annawan (Sealing ship) 
Baldwin and Spooner--Correspondence 
Charles Adams (Ship) 
G. Woodhull and Minturns--Correspondence 
Garrick (Ship) 
Hero (Sloop) 
Lawrence Giles Company--Correspondence 
Loper, Dorman, and Company 
Madgie (Yacht) 
Magic (Yacht) 
Mary of London (Ship) 
Olive Branch (Sloop) 
Penguin (Schooner) 
Russell & Company (Guangzhou, China) 
Southerner (Ship) 
Yale College (1718-1887) 
Hart, Ira. Sermon notes of Ira Hart 
Loper, R. F. (Richard F.) Papers of R. F. Loper 
Palmer, Alexander Smith, 1806-1894. Papers of Alexander Smith Palmer 
Palmer, Nathaniel Brown, 1799-1877. Papers of Nathaniel Brown Palmer 

Subjects:
Business records--Connecticut--Stonington 
Clipper ships 
Packets 
Practice of law--Illinois--Chicago 
Sealing 
Shipbuilding 
Shipping 
Ships 
Ship's papers--19th century 
Spanish-American War, 1898--Cuba 
Universities and colleges--Connecticut--New Haven 
Voyages and travels 
Whaling 
Yachting 
Yachts 
Antarctica--Discovery and exploration 
Chicago (Ill.)--Commerce 
China--Description and travel 
Connecticut--History 
France--Description and travel 
Italy--Description and travel 
New Orleans (La.)--Description and travel 
New York (State)--Description and travel 
Philippines--History--Philippine American War, 1899-1902 
Stonington (Conn.)--Census 
Stonington (Conn.)--Commerce 
Stonington (Conn.)--History 
United States--History 
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865 

Administrative Information
Provenance:
The papers of Nathaniel Brown Palmer and his brother, Alexander Smith
Palmer, sea captains and merchants of Stonington, Connecticut, and other
members of the Palmer family, together with the papers of Richard
Fanning Loper, sea captain, shipbuilder, merchant, and inventor of
Stonington, Connecticut, and Philadelphia, were deposited in the Library
of Congress in several installments between 1927 and 1937 by Elizabeth
Dixon (Mrs. Richard Fanning) Loper, Alexander Palmer Loper, and other
members of the Loper family. These deposits were later converted to gifts
and purchases. Additional papers were given to the Library by Alexander
P. Loper in 1938-1939, and by Harriet B. Brown, Malcolm F. Brown, and
Mark Palmer between 1992 and 2000.

Processing History:
Part I of the Palmer-Loper Papers was arranged and described in 1983.
Material received between 1992 and 1994 was processed as Part II in
1995. Material received between 1996 and 2000 was organized as an
addition to Part II in 2003. A description of the Palmer-Loper Family
Papers appears in Library of Congress Acquisitions: Manuscript Division,
1992, pp. 11-15.

Transfers:
One nautical chart has been transferred to the Library's Geography and
Map Division where it is identified as part of these papers.

Copyright Status:
Copyrights possessed by Harriet B. Brown and Malcolm F. Brown in the
papers of the Palmer-Loper Family have been dedicated to the public. The
status of other copyrights in the unpublished writings in the papers of the
Palmer-Loper Family is governed by the Copyright Law of the United
States (Title 17, U.S.C.).

Microfilm:
Microfilm editions of part of these papers are available on eleven reels.
Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division concerning
availability for purchase or interlibrary loan.

Preferred Citation:
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following
information: Roman numeral designating the Part followed by a colon and
container or reel number, Palmer-Loper Family Papers, Manuscript
Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Biographical Notes
Nathaniel Brown Palmer
Date Event 
1799 , Aug. 8 Born, Stonington, Conn. 
1813  Shipped on coasters trading between New York and New England 
1819  Second mate, brig Hersilia; commanded coasting schooner Gleaner 
1820 - 1821  Master, sloop Hero; discovered Antarctic continent 
1822  Master, sloop James Monroe, sealing and exploring in Antarctic 
1823 - 1828  Master, brigs Cadet and Tampico 
1826  Married Eliza Thompson Babcock (died 1872) 
1829 - 1833  Master, brig Annawan, sealing and exploring in South Seas 
1833 - 1840  Commanded packet ships out of New York, N.Y., to New
Orleans, La., and Liverpool, England 
1840 s Master, ships Houqua, Samuel Russell, Oriental, and Paul Jones;
engaged in the China trade 
1849  Retired from active sea duty; engaged in shipping business and
pursued yachting interests 
1853  Superintended the rebuilding of the ship Great Republic, which had
burned on the eve of her maiden voyage 
1870  Retired and traveled 
1877 , June 21  Died, San Francisco, Calif. 

Alexander Smith Palmer
Date Event 
1806 , Jan. 26 Born, Stonington, Conn. 
1821  Sailed on brig Alabama, part of sealing fleet to Antarctic 
1824 - 1826  Mate on brigs Tampico and Cadet, master of Tampico on two
voyages 
1827 - 1830  Commanded schooner Penguin, sealing in South Seas 
1831 - 1833  Commanded ship Charles Adams on whaling and sealing
expedition to South Shetland and Falkland islands 
1834 - 1838  Master, packet ships Louisville and Shakespeare sailing
between New York, N.Y., and New Orleans, La. 
1837  Married Priscilla D. Dixon (died 1851) 
1839 - 1845  Master, packet ships Garrick and Southerner in Liverpool
trade 
1844 - 1846  Master, clipper Houqua, New York, N.Y., to Canton, China 
1847  Master, the Southerner, New York, N.Y., to Liverpool, England (last
voyage); entered shipping business 
1854 - 1857  Operated fleet of tugs and barges on Mississippi River from
New Orleans, La. 
1858 - 1877  Active in politics; elected town selectman, state
representative, and state senator in Connecticut 
1894 , Oct. 22  Died, Stonington, Conn. 

Richard Fanning Loper
Date Event 
1800 , Feb. 3 Born, Stonington, Conn. 
1810  Sailed on coasting trips and became master at age fifteen 
1817 - 1819  Commanded schooner Nancy Cobb 
1820 - 1821  Second mate on board sloop Hero during voyage of
discovery in Antarctic 
1821  Settled in Philadelphia, Pa.; started packet ship trade between that
city and Hartford, Conn. 
1826  Married Margaret Mercer Baird (died 1898) 
1826 - 1831  Master, schooners Alonzo and Maid 
1840  Retired from active sea duty; began career in Philadelphia, Pa., as
shipbuilder; continued to operate several coastwise shipping lines 
1843  Agent, Delaware and Raritan Canal Co. 
1844  Developed composite iron and wood shipbuilding methods;
invented blade screw propeller 
1846  Satisfied contract to build and deliver 150 surf type boats in thirty
days for General Winfield Scott's Mexican campaign at Vera Cruz,
Mexico 
1848 - 1877  President, Philadelphia Steam Propeller Co. and Swiftsure
Transportation Co. 
1849 - 1867  President, Philadelphia and Hartford line of steamers 
1855 - 1870  Active, New York Yacht Club; built and raced several yachts 
1856 - 1865  President, Gloster Ferry Co. 
1861 - 1862  Outfitted and chartered ships for the War Department 
1870  Returned to Stonington, Conn.
First successful defender of the America's Cup in yacht Magic (formerly
Madgie), New York Harbor, N.Y. 
1880 , Nov. 8 Died, New York, N.Y. 

Scope and Content Note

Part I 
Part I of the papers of the Palmer-Loper Family covers the years 1767 to
1930, with the bulk of the papers falling within the years 1840-1880. The
collection reflects the close association between the Palmer and Loper
families brought about by shared sailing and mercantile interests and the
marriage of Alexander Smith Palmer's daughter, Elizabeth, to Richard
Fanning Loper's son, Richard, in 1873. The papers include
correspondence, logs and journals, financial and business records,
miscellany, and printed matter.

The most prominent figure in Part I of the collection is Nathaniel Brown
Palmer (1799-1877), a sea captain known for his discovery of the
Antarctic archipelago and peninsula bearing his name. The Miscellany
series contains several descriptions of his discoveries, including the
version Palmer related to Frederick T. Bush, former United States consul
in China, and an extract from the logbook of the Frederick, whose captain,
Benjamin Pendleton, had directed Palmer to investigate the area for
additional seal rookeries. The logbook of the sloop Hero, which Palmer
commanded during this cruise, is also included among the group of ships'
papers in the collection. Palmer's papers also contain documents touching
on most phases of his career, from his years aboard sealing and whaling
vessels, trans-Atlantic packet ships, and China clippers, to his mercantile
and shipping interests pursued ashore following his retirement from active
sea duty.

The papers of the younger brother, Alexander Smith Palmer (1806-1894),
also a sea captain, who had sailed in his earlier years with Nathaniel and
who later commanded packet ships in the Liverpool trade and shared
commands of clippers in the China trade with his brothers, Nathaniel and
Theodore, relate in part to his career at sea. However, most of Alexander's
papers are concerned with his life after he gave up the sea and center on
his family and on financial investments in shipping, particularly his
ownership of various vessels. Little material in the collection pertains to
his involvement in Connecticut politics.

Papers of Richard Fanning Loper (1800-1880) form the largest segment of
Part I of the collection. Loper, who had sailed as second mate on the Hero
with Nathaniel B. Palmer in 1820, enjoyed a varied career as sea captain,
shipbuilder, owner and operator of shipping lines, and transport agent for
the United States War Department. He also achieved recognition for his
invention of a screw propeller which was tested for use by the United
States Navy along with one designed by John Ericsson. His papers relate
mainly to business and financial matters. Loper's contracts with the army
and navy during the Civil War were later the subject of an investigation
which ultimately exonerated him of charges of profiteering. Copies of
documents relating to these charges are attached to the biography of Loper
located in the Miscellany series.

Early correspondence in the General Correspondence series in the
collection belongs to members of the Palmer family and includes both
family and business letters. Family correspondence, mainly between
Nathaniel, Alexander, and Theodore Dwight Palmer, with some letters
from in-laws, contains descriptive details of voyages as well as family
news. Business letters follow the careers of Alexander and Nathaniel
Palmer from their sealing and whaling expeditions to the South Shetland
Islands in 1822 to their voyages to China in the 1840s. Several letters
contain comments on the clipper ship Houqua. References to the sailing of
packet ships between England and the United States found mainly in the
correspondence of Alexander and Theodore Palmer discuss business
arrangements for voyages, cargo consignments, market conditions, and the
arrival and departure of ships. After 1849, when both Nathaniel and
Alexander Palmer had quit the sea, their correspondence centers on
investments in cargoes and ownership of shares in ships.

Richard F. Loper's correspondence in Part I, which becomes predominant
around 1874, focuses on his business interests in the years subsequent to
his life at sea. A few letters concern his role in chartering vessels during
the Civil War, but most relate to his shipbuilding activities and to the
operation of his company, Loper and Dorman.

The latter part of the General Correspondence series contains numerous
letters from the children of Alexander S. Palmer, particularly Nathaniel
("Natty") Brown Palmer II (1840-1877) and Louis Lambert Palmer
(1845-1887). Letters after 1880 belong almost exclusively to Louis L.
Palmer and Richard Fanning Loper, Jr. (1850-1914). Other correspondents
in Part I include Frederick T. Bush, John Schuyler Crosby, Edmund
Fanning, Elizabeth ("Libby") Dixon Palmer Loper, Benjamin Pendleton,
Francis Hopkinson Smith, Charles T. Stanton, Thomas P. Stanton, and the
business firms of A. A. Low & Brothers, Baldwin & Spooner, G.
Woodhull & Minturns, Lawrence Giles Co., and Russell & Co.

Financial and business records constitute the largest series in Part I. Within
this series, the group of ships' papers relating mainly to the vessels of the
Palmer brothers is both noteworthy and voluminous. It includes letters of
instruction, registration and ownership records, journals, logbooks and
abstracts of logbooks, financial records, passenger lists, and miscellaneous
nautical calculations. Among the more significant logbooks are those of
the Annawan, a sealing ship captured off the island of Juan Fernandez and
forced to sail to Chile; the sloop Hero; and the Southerner, a packet ship
engaged in the Liverpool trade. Some logbooks contain entries for more
than one ship. The logbook of the Garrick, for example, contains entries
for the Southerner and an unidentified vessel. The logbook of the Mary of
London was also used for the Olive Branch, and journals of voyages of the
whaling ship Charles Adams are bound with journal of the schooner
Penquin. Also contained within the series are files from Richard F. Loper's
service as United States War Department transport agent and
miscellaneous legal and real estate records of Louis L. Palmer, who had a
law practice in Chicago.

Part II

Part II of the papers of the Palmer-Loper Family spans the years
1667-1986 with the bulk of the material concentrated between 1790 and
1930. The material supplements Part I of the collection, providing
expanded insight into the personal and business affairs of two prominent
New England maritime families. The papers include correspondence,
subject files, financial and legal documents, genealogical notes,
photographs, diaries, and printed matter.

The major series in Part II is the Correspondence file, which contains
letters exchanged principally between family members over several
generations. The correspondence generally pertains to family news but
often includes discussions of business affairs, information on sailing
vessels, and observations on local and national events. Prominent family
correspondents include Nathaniel Brown Palmer, his brother, Alexander
Smith Palmer, and Richard Fanning Loper. The letters of Nathaniel B.
Palmer relate mainly to business and shipping matters. Letters between
Alexander S. Palmer and his wife, Priscilla Dixon Palmer, daughter of
Rhode Island Senator Nathan Fellows Dixon, and their children are
numerous including an exchange of correspondence in early 1861 between
Alexander Smith Palmer and his son Nathaniel ("Natty") B. Palmer II, who
was employed in a mercantile house in New Orleans. As the secession
crisis intensified and hostilities appeared imminent, Nathaniel Palmer
described the heightened tensions in the city and efforts to recruit him for
its defense. Although there is little material pertaining to Richard F. Loper,
there are numerous letters relating to the family of his son Richard F.
Loper, Jr. (1850-1914), and his wife, Elizabeth ("Libby") Dixon Palmer
Loper.

Correspondence of other family members includes letters of Louis
Lambert Palmer to his father Alexander S. Palmer pertaining to his
attendance at preparatory school and Yale University and to his business
activities and law practice in Chicago. William H. Loper, a career sergeant
in the army engineers, wrote several letters describing his activities in
Cuba during the Spanish-American War and experiences during two tours
of duty in the Philippine Islands. The latter letters contain information on
the forces of Emilio Aguinaldo and guerilla warfare in the Philippines at
the turn of the century.

Also included are letters written primarily during the 1830s by naval
officer Francis H. Gregory to Nathaniel B. and Eliza Palmer. Gregory,
whose long naval career culminated in the rank of rear admiral, met the
Palmers in 1832 at Callao, Peru, shortly after their ship had been
commandeered and released by convicts escaping Chile's Juan Fernández
Islands. Letters of Joseph W. Stanton, brother-in-law of Nathaniel B. and
Alexander S. Palmer and plantation owner and merchant in New Orleans
with close ties to the Connecticut maritime families, express Stanton's
business and political concerns. In a letter dated November 9, 1864, to
Nathaniel B. Palmer II , Stanton stated his disappointment at Lincoln's
reelection, but then goes on to assert that "New England was the cause of
this war and she has controuled [sic] its course and management.... But it
will end in our [New England] loosing our monopoly in navigation and the
commerce connected with it." He then reminded Palmer that his father,
Alexander S. Palmer, held the same views. Other correspondents include
Nathan Fellows Dixon (1812-1881), Nathan Fellows Dixon (1847-1897),
Edmund Fanning, William Grant, Alexander Smith Palmer, Jr.
(1843-1891), Theodore Dwight Palmer, and John Randolph Spears, the
biographer of the elder Nathaniel Brown Palmer.

The Subject File in Part II contains printed matter, notes, correspondence,
and other material relating to such topics as Antarctica, Stonington,
Connecticut, and yachting. Noteworthy items include a census of Long
Point, Stonington, conducted in 1776, and several receipts and other
documents relating to the yacht Madgie, later renamed Magic, which
Richard F. Loper piloted in the first successful defense of the America's
Cup in 1870. Also contained in this file are copious genealogical notes and
other documents concerning the Palmers, Lopers, and several related
families.

Financial and legal records constitute the Miscellany series in Part II.
Financial material includes balance sheets, receipts, and canceled checks;
deeds, wills, patents, and other items comprise the legal records. Other
notable items include brief diaries of journeys to New York and New
Orleans by Priscilla Dixon Palmer, late eighteenth century sermon notes
by Ira Hart, photographs and prints, and printed matter, including clippings
pertaining to the Palmers and Lopers.

The Addition series includes correspondence, diaries, account books,
deeds, financial records, and printed matter. Personal and business letters
received by family members comprise the bulk of the correspondence. An
exception is a draft letter apparently penned by Elizabeth Dixon Palmer
Loper describing in detail the fatal voyage to China in 1877 of her uncle
Nathaniel B. Palmer with her brother Nathaniel ("Natty") B. Palmer II, a
nephew of the elder Palmer and a victim of tuberculosis. Undertaken as a
remedy, the journey so weakened Natty that he died at sea on May 16 on
the return trip. Exhausted emotionally and physically, Nathaniel B. Palmer
died also on June 21, only days after he returned with Natty's body to San
Francisco. A letter from Robert Bennet Forbes, China merchant and
shipowner, to Richard F. Loper in 1862 discussed supplying ships outfitted
with Loper's patented propeller to the United States Navy. Other
correspondents include Frederick Albert Cook, Francis H. Gregory, and
William Herbert Hobbs. Elizabeth Dixon Palmer Loper's diary records her
journeys with other family members through France and Italy in
1871-1872 and includes descriptions of major cities and attractions.
Nathaniel ("Natty") B. Palmer's journal from early 1861 documents his
brief employment in New Orleans and describes the mounting war fever
there. On his return trip to Stonington in May, he noted while passing
through the upper South that "many planters are plowing up the cotton
which is about two inches high, and putting in corn and wheat in
preparation for the war." Deeds and other legal and financial records
further document family land transactions and fiscal matters in Stonington.

Organization of the Papers
The collection is arranged in two parts and nine series:

Part I 
Diary, 1862-1864 
General Correspondence, 1822-1900, n.d. 
Financial and Business Records, 1767-1892, n.d. 
Miscellany, 1813-1930, n.d.
Part II 
Correspondence, 1762-1972, n.d. 
Subject File, 1776-1986, n.d. 
Miscellany, 1667-1979, n.d. 
Addition, 1716-1994, n.d.
Oversize, 1767-1949, n.d.

April 15, 2004