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Samuel Finley Breese Morse
A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress
Prepared by Charles W. Orhvall and Michael J. McElderry
Revised and expanded by Margaret McAleer
2001
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress
Manuscript Division,
1999 encoding revised to EAD version 1; 2000 finding aid revised; 2001
finding aid revised
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents for Samuel Finley Breese Morse
Collection Summary
Selected Search Terms
* Names:
* Subjects:
* Occupations:
Administrative Information
* Provenance:
* Processing History:
* Transfers:
* Copyright Status:
* Microfilm:
* Preferred Citation:
Biographical Note
Scope and Content Note
Description of Series
* General Correspondence and Related Documents, 1793- 1877, n.d.
* Family Correspondence, 1906- 1941, n.d.
* Letterbooks, 1854- 1872.
* Diaries and Notebooks, 1805-ca. 1840.
* Scrapbooks, Clippings, and Newspapers, 1815- 1944.
* Printed Matter, 1823- 1944, n.d.
* Miscellany, ca. 1830- 1944, n.d.
* Addition, 1807- 1871, n.d.
* Oversize, 1844- 1872, n.d.
Container List
* GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE AND RELATED DOCUMENTS, 1793- 1877, n.d.
* FAMILY CORRESPONDENCE, 1906- 1941, n.d.
* LETTERBOOKS, 1854- 1872
* DIARIES AND NOTEBOOKS, 1805-ca. 1840
* SCRAPBOOKS, CLIPPINGS, AND NEWSPAPERS, 1815- 1944
* PRINTED MATTER, 1823- 1944, n.d.
* MISCELLANY, ca. 1830- 1944, n.d.
* ADDITION, 1807- 1871, n.d.
* OVERSIZE, 1844- 1872, n.d.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Collection Summary
Creator: Morse, Samuel Finley Breese, 1791-1872
Title: Papers of Samuel Finley Breese Morse 1793-1944 (bulk 1807-1872)
Size: 10,060 items; 73 containers plus 3 oversize; 18.4 linear feet; 36
microfilm reels
Repository: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Abstract: Artist and inventor. Family and general correspondence,
letterbooks, diaries, notebooks, scrapbooks, and other papers. Includes
letters from Samuel Finley Breese Morse to his family describing his
studies in England during the War of 1812 and his subsequent struggle to
support himself as a portrait painter in the United States; correspondence
and other papers relating to Morse's invention of the telegraph, law suits
over patents, and his dispute with Joseph Henry who also claimed to have
invented the telegraph.
Selected Search Terms
Names:
Agassiz, Louis, 1807-1873--Correspondence
Allston, Washington, 1779-1843--Correspondence
Chapman, J. G. (John Gadsby), 1808-1889--Correspondence
Clinton, DeWitt, 1769-1828--Correspondence
Cogdell, John S. (John Stevens), 1778-1847--Correspondence
Cole, Thomas, 1801-1848--Correspondence
Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851--Correspondence
Cornell, Ezra, 1807-1874--Correspondence.
Daguerre, Louis Jacques Mandé, 1787-1851--Correspondence
Evarts, Jeremiah, 1781-1831.--Correspondence
Field, Cyrus W. (Cyrus West), 1819-1892--Correspondence
Greenough, Horatio, 1805-1852--Correspondence
Grimké, Thomas Smith, 1786-1834--Correspondence
Henry, Joseph, 1797-1878--Correspondence
Kendall, Amos, 1789-1869--Correspondence
King, Charles Bird, 1785-1862--Correspondence
Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, marquis de,
1757-1834--Correspondence
Leslie, Charles Robert, 1794-1859--Correspondence
Morse, Jedidiah, 1761-1826--Correspondence
Morse, Lucretia Pickering Walker, d. 1825--Correspondence
Morse, Sidney E. (Sidney Edwards), 1794-1871--Correspondence
Rush, Richard, 1780-1859--Correspondence
Seward, William Henry, 1801-1872--Correspondence
Stuart, Gilbert, 1755-1828--Correspondence
West, Benjamin, 1738-1820--Correspondence
Wilberforce, William, 1759-1833--Correspondence
Clausing, Ludwig, 1809?-1834. Papers
Subjects:
Abolitionists--United States
Anti-Catholicism
Architecture, European
Architecture, Italian
Art--Study and teaching--Great Britain--19th century
Art, American
Art, British
Art, Italian
Art, European
Germans--United States
Immigrants--United States
Nativism
Patent law and legislation
Photography
Portrait painting, American--19th century
Slavery--United States
Telegraph--History
Telegraph--Patents
Europe--Description and travel
Great Britain--Description and travel
Italy--Description and travel
United States--History--War of 1812
Occupations:
Artists
Inventors
Administrative Information
Provenance:
The papers of Samuel Finley Breese Morse, artist and inventor, were given
to the Library of Congress by his son, Edward Lind Morse, and his
granddaughter, Leila Livingston Morse, between 1916 and 1944. Other items
were added to the papers through purchase and gift between 1922 and 1995.
Processing History:
The papers of Samuel Finley Breese Morse were processed in 1975; additional
material received between 1981 and 1995 was incorporated into the
collection in 1996. Three maps were moved from Container 71 to the Oversize
series in 2001.
Transfers:
Some photographs and silhouettes have been transferred to the Library's
Prints and Photographs Division where they are identified as part of these
papers.
Copyright Status:
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Samuel Finley Breese
Morse is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17,
U.S.C.).
Microfilm:
A microfilm edition of these papers is available on thirty-six reels from
the Library's Photoduplication Service for purchase subject to the
Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.). This microfilm
edition may also be requested on interlibrary loan through the Library's
Loan Division. No more than ten reels may be requested for each loan period
of one month. A copy of the register of the Samuel Finley Breese Morse
Papers is available at the beginning of each reel of microfilm.
Preferred Citation:
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following
information: container number or reel number, Samuel Finley Breese Morse
Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date Event
1791 , Apr.
27 Born, Charlestown, Mass.
1799 Entered Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass.
1810 Graduated Yale College, New Haven, Conn.
1811 - 1815 Studied art in England with Washington Allston and attended
the Royal Academy of Arts, London, England
1815 Opened an art studio in Boston but spent much time
traveling
1817 Patented, with brother Sidney E. Morse, a flexible piston
pump for fire engines
1818 Married Lucretia Pickering Walker (died 1825)
1822 Invented a marble-cutting machine
1823 Opened an art studio in New York, N.Y.
1826 Founder and first president, National Academy of Design,
New York, N.Y.
1827 - 1832 Began study and experiments in electricity and the
telegraph
1829 - 1832 Traveled, studied, and painted in Europe
1832 Returned to New York, N.Y.
Appointed professor of painting and sculpture, University
of the City of New York, New York, N.Y.
1832 - 1836 Active in the Native American Party
Worked on developing the telegraph
1835 PublishedForeign Conspiracy Against the Liberties of the
United States (New York: Leavitt, Lord, & Co. 208 pp.)
1836 Candidate for mayor of New York on Native American ticket;
polled 1,500 votes
1837 Withdrew from painting to devote attention to inventing
Filed for a patent for the telegraph
Edited Confessions of a French Catholic Priest (New York:
D. Van Nostrand. 255 pp.)
1843 Congress voted $30,000 for an experimental telegraph line
from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, Md.
1844 Sent telegraph message, "What hath God Wrought?" from the
Supreme Court chamber in the United States Capitol to
Baltimore, Md., on May 24
1848 Married Sarah Elizabeth Griswold
1854 Unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Congress,
Poughkeepsie district, N.Y.
1857 - 1858 Served as an electrician for Cyrus W. Field's company in
laying the transatlantic telegraph cable
1861 Cofounded Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
President, National Academy of Design, New York, N.Y.
1869 Published Examination of the Telegraphic Apparatus and the
Processes in Telegraphy (Washington, D.C.: Government
Printing Office. 166 pp.)
1872 , Apr.
2 Died, New York, N.Y.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Samuel Finley Breese Morse (1791-1872) span the years
1793-1944, with the bulk of the material dating from 1807 to 1872. The
collection is composed primarily of incoming correspondence, but also
contains letterbooks, diaries, scrapbooks, clippings and newspapers,
printed matter, photographs, maps, drawings, and a tape of the first
telegraphic message annotated by Morse. The papers are arranged in nine
series: General Correspondence and Related Documents; Family
Correspondence; Letterbooks; Diaries and Notebooks; Scrapbooks, Clippings,
and Newspapers; Printed Matter; Miscellany; Addition; and Oversize.
Morse had a long and distinguished life, succeeding first as an artist
between 1811 and 1837 and then as an inventor from 1832 to 1872. As an
artist, he excelled in portrait painting and founded the National Academy
of Design in New York in 1826, serving as its first president until 1842.
As an inventor, Morse is most widely known for the invention of the
electro-magnetic telegraph. He was also interested in abolitionism and in
the nativist movement.
The bulk of the General Correspondence and Related Documents series
consists of correspondence contained in bound volumes. Correspondence from
1811 to 1838 focuses particularly on Morse's career as an artist. Morse's
letters to his family during this period describe his studies in England
during the War of 1812 and his subsequent struggles to support himself as a
portrait painter in the United States. The letters are replete with
observations on American, British, and European art and artists. The series
also includes letters to and from artists Washington Allston, John Chapman,
Thomas Cole, John S. Cogdell, Horatio Greenough, Charles B. King, Charles
Robert Leslie, Gilbert Stuart, and Benjamin West. There are numerous
exchanges with the Marquis de Lafayette, whose portrait Morse painted. As
an artist, he was interested in the developing science of photography and
corresponded with Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre on the subject.
Much of Morse's correspondence from 1832 to 1844 concerns his development
of the telegraph. Beginning in 1848, Morse became embroiled in law suits
over patents which lasted until his death. He carried on a particularly
acrimonious dispute with Joseph Henry, who also claimed to have invented
the telegraph. Other correspondence includes scientific exchanges with
Louis Agassiz and business-related correspondence with Ezra Cornell, Cyrus
W. Field, Amos Kendall, and Francis O. J. Smith. Morse corresponded with
numerous lawyers and political leaders, including DeWitt Clinton, Jeremiah
Evarts, Richard Rush, and William H. Seward. His correspondence with James
Fenimore Cooper, Thomas Smith Grimké, and William Wilberforce reflects his
interest in abolitionism.
Unbound items in the General Correspondence series consist largely of
Morse's letters to his parents, brothers, and wife. The bulk of Morse's
outgoing correspondence from 1854 to 1872 is contained in a series of
letterbooks, several of which are indexed.
The collection contains numerous diaries. Apart from a journal kept by
Morse in 1805 at age fourteen, each of the diaries describes his European
travel. The earliest entries record Morse's voyage to and from England in
1811 and 1815. While the diary does not cover the intervening years when
Morse attended the Royal Academy of Art, it does contain several pages of
notes entitled Thoughts and Observations on the Fine Arts. The bulk of the
diaries date between 1829 and 1831 when Morse resided in Italy. These
diaries, which also contain numerous sketches, record Morse's travels, his
observations on art and architecture, and numerous descriptions of Roman
Catholic religious services and ceremonies.
The Miscellany series includes the papers of Louis Clausing, a German
immigrant and anti-Catholic figure whom Morse befriended after returning to
the United States in 1832. After Clausing's death Morse acquired some of
his personal effects. Scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, and other printed
matter pertaining to art and the telegraph comprise a separate series which
also provides biographical information on Morse.
The Additionconsists mainly of correspondence. Included are eighteen
letters from Morse to his brother, Sidney E. Morse, acquired by the Library
in 1992, and four letters transferred from the division's Miscellaneous
Manuscripts Collection. This correspondence is supplemented by photocopies
of Morse's letters located in the New-York Historical Society. The addition
also contains microfilm of family correspondence reproduced by the Library
in 1944 before it was given to the Library.
Description of Series
Microfilm edition available. Shelf no. 16,372.
Box Reel Series
BOX
1-52 General Correspondence and Related Documents, 1793 - 1877 , n.d.
REEL
1-26
Family, personal, and business letters sent and received,
supplemented by clippings, drawings, contracts and agreements,
drafts of writings, notes, and receipts.
Arranged in groupings of bound volumes and unbound letters and
chronologically therein.
BOX 53
REEL Family Correspondence, 1906 - 1941 , n.d.
26
Correspondence of Leila Livingston Morse and other family members.
Arranged alphabetically by family member and chronologically
therein.
BOX
54-58 Letterbooks, 1854 - 1872 .
REEL
26-31
Letterpress copies of letters sent. Several volumes are indexed.
Arranged chronologically.
BOX
59-60 Diaries and Notebooks, 1805 -ca. 1840 .
REEL
32-33
Diaries arranged chronologically, and notebooks arranged by
subject.
BOX
61-66 Scrapbooks, Clippings, and Newspapers, 1815 - 1944 .
REEL
33-34
Bound and loose newspaper clippings, newspapers, and broadsides.
Grouped by type of material and arranged in approximate
chronological order.
BOX
67-70 Printed Matter, 1823 - 1944 , n.d.
REEL
34
Books, pamphlets, magazines, and broadsides.
Arranged by subject matter.
BOX
71-72 Miscellany, ca. 1830 - 1944 , n.d.
REEL
34-35
Correspondence, notes, maps, drawings, radio scripts, menus,
broadsides, speeches, genealogical records, poems, prayers,
handwritten religious tracts, papers of Louis Clausing,
resolutions, and a telegraphic message tape.
BOX 73 Addition, 1807 - 1871 , n.d.
REEL 1
Original and reproduced correspondence, photograph of a portrait,
and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Microfilm shelf no. 6,295A.
BOX OV Oversize, 1844 - 1872 , n.d.
1-OV 3
Scrapbook, first telegraphic message, maps, and resolution re death
of Morse.
Organized and described according to the series, containers, and
folders from which the items were removed. Microfilmed in their
original locations.
Container List
Microfilm edition available. Shelf no. 16,372
Microfilm shelf no. 6,295A
Box Reel Contents
GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE AND RELATED DOCUMENTS, 1793 - 1877 , n.d.
BOX 1 REEL 1 Bound volumes
1793, July 2-1807, Dec. 2
BOX 2 1807, Dec. 23-1812, Apr. 15
BOX 3 REEL 2 1812, Apr. 21-1814, Mar. 15
BOX 4 1814, Mar. 16-1816, Jan. 29
BOX 5 REEL 3 1816, Jan. 30-1818, Dec. 28
BOX 6 1818, Dec. 30-1820, Feb. 12
BOX 7 REEL 4 1820, Feb. 13-1821, Jan. 21
BOX 8 1821, Jan. 24-1823, Dec. 8
BOX 9 REEL 5 1823, Dec. 9-1828, Feb. 9
BOX 10 1828, Feb. 11-1832, July 13
BOX 11 REEL 6 1832, July 14-1835, Nov. 27
BOX 12 1835, Nov. 28-1838, Apr. 18
BOX 13 REEL 6-7 1838, Apr. 24-1839, Nov. 16
BOX 14 REEL 7 1839, Nov. 26-1842, June 17
BOX 15 1842, June 20-1843, Sept. 12
BOX 16 REEL 8 1843, Sept. 13-1844, Jan. 13
BOX 17 1844, Jan. 15-June 8
BOX 18 REEL 9 1844, June 10-Oct. 21
BOX 19 REEL 9 1844, Oct. 22-1845, Mar. 1
BOX 20 REEL 10 1845, Mar. 4-Dec. 29
BOX 21 1845, Dec. 30-1846, Dec. 8
BOX 22 REEL 11 1846, Dec. 9-1847, May 17
BOX 23 1847, May 18-1848, Jan. 28
BOX 24 REEL 12 1848, Jan. 31-Aug. 11
BOX 25 1848, Aug. 15-1849, Apr. 20
BOX 26 REEL 13 1849, Apr. 21-Oct. 23
BOX 27 1849, Oct. 24-1850, Mar. 19
BOX 28 REEL 14 1850, Mar. 22- May 23
BOX 29 1850, May 24-1851, Jan. 20
BOX 30 REEL 15 1851, Jan. 25-1852, Apr. 15
BOX 31 1852, Apr. 17-1853, Jan. 7
BOX 32 REEL 16 1853, Jan. 8-1854, Mar. 26
BOX 33 1854, Mar. 28-1854, Aug. 11
BOX 34 REEL 17 1854, Aug. 12-1855, June 22
BOX 35 1855, June 26-1856, Jan. 26
BOX 36 REEL 18 1856, Jan. 30-Oct. 5
BOX 37 1856, Oct. 6-1857, July 7
BOX 38 REEL 19 1857, July 9-1858, Apr. 2
BOX 39 1858, Apr. 3-1859, Mar. 18
BOX 40 REEL 20 1859, Mar. 31-1860, Mar. 28
BOX 41 REEL 20 1860, Apr. 2-1862, July 7
BOX 42 REEL 21 1862, July 13-1864, May 16
BOX 43 1864, May 26-1866, Oct. 22
BOX 44 REEL 22 1866, Oct. 29-1868, Jan. 5
BOX 45 1868, Jan. 6-1869, June 2
BOX 46 REEL 23 1869, June 12-1871, Feb. 15
BOX 47 1871, Feb. 28-1877, Aug. 10
BOX 48-51 REEL 24-25 Undated
BOX 52 REEL
25-26 Unbound letters See also Container 75, Reel 1
1810, Feb. 2-1872, Jan. 20, and undated
Undated fragments
FAMILY CORRESPONDENCE, 1906 - 1941 , n.d.
BOX 53 REEL
26 Morse, Leila Livingston (granddaughter), 1928-1941, n.d.
Other family members, 1906-1932, n.d.
LETTERBOOKS, 1854 - 1872
* Filmed out of sequence
BOX 54* REEL
29 1854, June 2-1855, Oct. 8
REEL 27 1855, Oct. 8-1857, Oct. 23 (2 vols.)
BOX 55* REEL
26-27 1858, Dec. 22-1860, July 6
BOX 56* REEL
29 1860, May 24-1862, Feb. 18
1861, June 14-1863, Nov. 26
1862, Feb. 21-1863, Nov. 30
REEL 28 1863, Nov. 26-1865, July 22
BOX 57* 1865, June 7-1866, June 19
REEL 30 1866, Sept. 29-1868, Feb. 17
1868, Feb. 24-1868, Nov. 21
BOX 58 REEL
31 1868, Dec. 1-1870, June 23
1870, June 30-1871, Oct. 11
1871, June 24-1872, Mar. 14
DIARIES AND NOTEBOOKS, 1805 -ca. 1840
BOX 59 REEL
32 Diaries
1805, Jan. 28-Oct. 2
1811, July 13-1815, Oct. 18
1829, Dec. 22-1831, July 31
(38 vols.)
BOX 60 REEL 33 1831, Aug. 2- Sept. 12
(5 vols.)
Fragments
Notebooks
Photography, ca. 1840
Art
Miscellaneous
SCRAPBOOKS, CLIPPINGS, AND NEWSPAPERS, 1815 - 1944
BOX 61 REEL
33 Scrapbooks
1838-1869
(3 vols.)
BOX 62 1845-1861 See Oversize
BOX 63 Bound clippings on the telegraph
1842-1861
BOX 64 REEL 34 1862-1872
BOX 65 (NOT
FILMED) Unbound newspaper clippings, 1832-1944
BOX 66 (NOT
FILMED) Newspapers, 1815-1944
PRINTED MATTER, 1823 - 1944 , n.d.
BOX 67 REEL
34 Art and miscellaneous subjects, 1826-1944, n.d.
BOX 68-69 Telegraph, 1823-1944, n.d.
BOX 70 Biographical material on Morse
MISCELLANY, ca. 1830 - 1944 , n.d.
BOX 71 REEL
34 Award certificate
Drawings and sketches
First telegraphic message, 24 May 1844 See Oversize
Fragments of correspondence, Morse code tape, and posters
Genealogical record
Invitations and programs
Maps See also Oversize
Notes
Notes regarding telegraph and patent controversy
Manuscript, Confessions of a French Catholic Priest, 1837
Manuscript re controversy with Charles D. Jackson regarding
the invention of the telegraph
BOX 72 REEL
35 Papers of Louis Clausing
Passport
Patent certificate to Alexander Bain for improvement in
electric telegraph
Poems
Prints and photographs
Prospectus for the European and American Submarine
Telegraph Co.
Radio scripts
Reports
Resolution of the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New
York re death of Samuel Finley Breese Morse, 1872 See
Oversize
Speeches and writings of persons other than Morse
Unidentified correspondence concerning telegraph revenues
and improvements
ADDITION, 1807 - 1871 , n.d.
BOX 73 REEL 1 Correspondence
Microfilm of selected family letters, 1816-1870,
reprocessed and refilmed See also Container 52,
Reels 25-26
(NOT FILMED) Original
Harris, David P., 1865
Huger, Benjamin, 1855
Lanman, Charles, 1870
Morse, Sidney E., 1827-1868
(3 folders)
Nicholson, Charles G., 1871
Photocopies of Morse's letters held by the
New-York Historical Society, New York, N.Y.,
1807-1868, n.d.
(4 folders)
Photograph of a portrait, n.d.
Printed matter, 1827
OVERSIZE, 1844 - 1872 , n.d.
BOX OV 1 Scrapbooks, Clippings, and Newspapers
Scrapbooks
1845-1861 (Container 62, Reel 33)
BOX OV 2 Miscellany
First telegraphic message, 24 May 1844 (Container
71, Reel 34)
BOX OV 3 Maps, 1854-1855, n.d. (Container 71, Reel 34)
Resolution of the Chamber of Commerce of the State
of New York re death of Samuel Finley Breese
Morse, 1872 (Container 72, Reel 35)
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