Letter of William Clark to Meriwether Lewis Clark. Advice on what he could do after finishing school., 1829 Apr 26
Scope and Contents
The Reference Files (Boxes 1-2) consist almost entirely of photocopies, typescripts, and reproductions of documents from other repositories, and should be used as a supplement to the original material in the rest of the Clark Family Collection. This group provides general information about the Clark family and the collection, and also includes reproductions of documents pertaining to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, George Rogers Clark, and William Clark’s work as Superintendent for Indian Affairs. Only two folders from the Reference Files have been microfilmed because they include original material. The first folder (Box 1/Folder 1) contains several printed and handwritten versions of the Clark family genealogy, including “Gen. William Clark’s Family Tree” compiled by John Grady Clark, and newspaper clippings about the family and Minoma—the family home in Pine Lawn, Missouri. The other folder that has been microfilmed (Box 1/Folder 3) contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, and other papers regarding the court case of the estate of Sophie Foster vs. Minnesota Historical Society. The president of the Missouri Historical Society, Charles van Ravenswaay, became involved with the case, which determined ownership of original documents from the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The rest of the Reference Files consist of photocopies, typescripts, and reproductions of documents from other repositories. This series includes information on the following subjects: documents used by Donald Jackson for his book Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents, 1783-1854, including receipts and accounts while Meriwether Lewis was purchasing supplies for the Lewis and Clark Expedition and other financial records, and correspondence (Box 1/Folders 5-7); various papers of William and George Rogers Clark (Box 2/Folder 4); and correspondence of William Clark regarding Native American affairs (Box 2/Folders 5-7). The George Rogers Clark (1752-1818) Papers (Boxes 3-5) span the years 1766 to 1810. They include receipts, accounts, troop returns, enlistment papers, correspondence, and other types of material that focus almost entirely on Clark’s military activities during the American Revolution. Box 5 contains personal papers regarding land and other property (Box 5/Folders 13-16). The collection contains several documents in French, most of which have been translated. The receipts and accounts provide information about the supplies and goods used by soldiers during the war. The enlistment papers include the names of several men who served during the war and also document the use of land, rather than money, as enlistment bounty. The troop returns list the number of staff, commissioned and non-commissioned officers, and rank and file for various regiments. These documents, which can be found throughout the three boxes, provide an overview of supplies and personnel. The correspondence provides more detail of military activities in the Illinois country, including descriptions of conditions and affairs at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, Illinois; Vincennes, Indiana (which Clark renamed Fort Patrick Henry); and Detroit. The correspondence also addresses relations with Native Americans in the region. Correspondents include Patrick Henry, Richard McCarty, John Dodge, John Williams, Valentine Thomas Dalton, John Montgomery, and Thomas Jefferson. The George Rogers Hancock Clark (1816-1858) Papers (Boxes 6-7) consist primarily of correspondence with family, friends, business associates, and matters pertaining to the settlement of the estates of William Clark and William Preston Clark. The papers also include many bills and receipts, several of which pertain to household affairs, throughout the collection. This series contains several letters of William Clark to his son George, dated 1828-1837, offering advice and providing news of family and friends in St. Louis while he was away at school. William’s letters discuss Pompey, brother Julius’s health, brother Lewis’s experiences in the army, and cholera outbreaks in St. Louis. After 1838, the year William Clark died, the letters tend to be business related. This is possibly a combination of George having been named administrator of his father’s estate and of his having finished school and beginning to manage his own financial affairs. The bills and receipts, dated 1832-1857, mostly relate to household expenses, including many bills for work on Clark’s home, dated 1845-1849. Other activities revealed in the receipts include the burial of an African-American child, the family’s attendance at Christ Church, and travel evidenced by hotel receipts from Louisiana. The Meriwether Lewis Clark (1809-1881) Papers (Boxes 8-9) date from 1824 to 1870 and are arranged into personal papers and business papers. The personal papers include correspondence from Meriwether’s parents regarding family news and Native American affairs, several certificates of appointment, and membership certificates with various groups. This group contains several bound volumes including Meriwether’s journal of his Mexican War experience. The personal papers also include correspondence of his two sons, Samuel Churchill Clark and John O’Fallon Clark. The business papers, dated 1848-1852, are arranged into three groups: Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Calendars, and Office of Surveyor General. The Other Family Members Papers are arranged in subseries for the following members of the Clark family: Jefferson Kearney Clark, William Hancock Clark, Eleanor Glasgow Clark, Beatrice Chouteau Clark, William and Lucy Clark Croghan, John Clark, III, Eleanor Glasgow Voorhis, William G. Clark, and John O’Fallon Clark. The papers for each individual are arranged chronologically and the date range for each subseries is in parentheses. The Jefferson Kearney Clark Papers (1837-1904) include bound volumes and correspondence. The bound volumes include a memorandum book and letter book regarding his activities while at St. Mary’s College, account books, and a scrapbook containing information on his family. The papers also contain several recipes from Jefferson Kearney Clark’s wife, Mary Susan Glasgow Clark. The William Hancock Clark Papers (1860-1903) primarily contain correspondence, but also include some newspapers and a journal. The correspondence is from several members of the Clark family, including Jefferson Kearney Clark, Meriwether Lewis Clark, Samuel Churchill Clark, and John O’Fallon Clark, and regards family news and the Civil War. The papers also include an issue of the Fortnightly Intelligencer from Galle, Isle Ceylon, dated November 30, 1860, with news from China, and an issue of the Straits Times Extra from Singapore, dated August 13, 1861, with an account of the American Civil War. William Hancock Clark’s journal, dated February 11–December 10, 1869, regards a European and Mediterranean cruise on the U.S.S. Franklin. The Eleanor Glasgow Clark Papers (1859-1867) consist primarily of correspondence from her son John O’Fallon Clark regarding his school news and the family. The papers also include a printed invitation to the Parade and Rebirth of the Taylor Light Infantry & Artillery Corps at St. Timothy’s Hall in Baltimore, Maryland, dated June 1859, and one letter from George Rogers Hancock Clark to his wife. The Beatrice Chouteau Clark Papers (1867-1904) consist of accounts, receipts and deeds of trust. The papers also include her certificate of marriage to John O’Fallon Clark, dated January 16, 1867, an invitation to George Rogers Clark Day at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, dated June 1904, and an undated letter from Eleanor Glasgow Clark to her son John O’Fallon Clark. The William and Lucy Clark Croghan Papers (1834-1837) consist almost entirely of receipts and orders regarding the court case of Croghan vs. Emerson in Kentucky. The papers also include an undated letter from Eliza Hancock to Lucy Croghan. The John O’Fallon Clark Papers (1789-1798) consist of two documents that were in his possession at one time, but have no apparent connection to his life or activities. The first, dated June 12, 1789, is a land transfer from Jean Coon to Charles Delisle. The second document, dated September 18, 1798, regards the sale of a house for the estate of Louis Chancelier to August Chouteau. Both items are in French and include translations. The Other Family Members Papers also include a notebook with a list of surnames, including John Clark, III, dated circa 1775; a letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Eleanor Glasgow Voorhis, daughter of Julia Clark and Robert Voorhis, dated May 5, 1899; and a letter from Aunt Sue to William G. Clark, son of John O’Fallon and Beatrice Chouteau Clark, dated June 23, 1901. The William Clark (1770-1838) Papers (Boxes 11-14), dated 1789 to 1838, are arranged in chronological order and include correspondence, maps, commissions, receipts, bills, bound volumes and other types of material that document Clark’s family life, his government work, and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The papers include material relating to the expedition, including correspondence between Meriwether Lewis and William Clark as they prepared for the trip, maps, journal drafts, and detachment orders, dated 1803-1807 (Box 11/Folders 8-17). Correspondence between Clark and Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, and John Conrad deals with matters of specimens collected on the journey and with the publication of the captains’ journals. The William Clark Papers contain four of the red Moroccan leather journals, known as the Voorhis journals (Volumes 1-4), written by Lewis and Clark at the end of the expedition, based on their notes. Three of these journals are diaries with several drawings, and cover the following time periods: April 7–July 3, 1805; January 30–April 3, 1806; and April 4–June 6, 1806. The fourth journal contains various notes and maps that overlap the previous dates. The fifth journal is William Clark's elkskin-bound field journal (Volume 6), dated September 11–December 31, 1805, which records daily events. A more complete description of these five journals appears below under the heading “Voorhis Journals and Elkskin Journal.” Correspondence dating from Clark’s tenure as governor of the Missouri Territory covers a multitude of topics ranging from the appointment of local officials to relations with the various Native American tribes living in the territory. Other letters and notes are written to Clark asking him for favors, assistance with particular situations such as trade, and even money. Official documents include Clark’s commissions and petitions and general orders relating to the militia. The papers include letters, memorandum books of Julia Clark, and land documents that relate to Clark’s personal affairs and those of his family. Clark and other family members owned land in Kentucky; therefore, there are letters between Clark and his representative in Louisville, and brother-in-law Dennis Fitzhugh. There are two letters from his daughter Mary Margaret, who died at the age of seven while in Kentucky (Box 13/Folder 8). In addition, there are receipts and bills concerning work done on William Clark’s home primarily in 1835 but also in 1837 (Box 14/Folders 5-8). There is also much correspondence that is difficult to define but which mostly alludes to trade, relations with various tribes, and ventures to the West. People dealing with Clark in either an official or unofficial capacity include Auguste Chouteau, John C. Luttig, George Shannon, Benjamin O'Fallon, John O'Fallon, and Pierre Menard. Various subject files at the end of the collection (Box 14) relate to the following: George Rogers Clark Estate; George Hancock, Sr., estate; John Thruston estate vs. William Clark; and Humphrey Marshall vs. William Clark. Much of this material is original or is noted as a "contemporary copy," which means that the original legal document was filed and that official handwritten copies were provided to the parties involved. Voorhis Journals and Elkskin Journal Voorhis Journal No. 1 begins April 7, 1805, almost one year after the explorers' departure. The party left their winter quarters, called Fort Mandan, and continued west along the Missouri River. By June they encountered the Great Falls of the Missouri and initiated plans for an 18-mile portage. William Clark used the Elkskin Journal as a field journal during the fall of 1805, making daily notes and sketching maps that he later copied into three journals whose purpose was to serve as the official record of the exploration of the West (Codex G, H, and I at the American Philosophical Society). In the Elkskin Journal, Clark recorded the daily occurrences as the party crossed the Bitterroot Mountains; canoed down the Colorado River, the Snake River and the Columbia River to cross the Rocky Mountains; and encountered the rapids and falls of the Columbia River. Along the way, the party encountered the Flathead and became the first Americans to meet the Nez Perce. After they reached the Pacific, the captains took a poll of the party concerning where to camp for the winter, including York and noting Sacagawea’s preference. They established a camp, Fort Clatsop, on the south side of the Columbia River, where they remained until March 23, 1806. Voorhis Journal No. 2 begins January 30, 1806, while the party is encamped at Fort Clatsop on the south side of the Columbia River near the Pacific Ocean. During this time Lewis and Clark recopied many of their field notes, maps, and tables, perfecting their descriptions of the plants, animals, and people they encountered on the journey west. The captains reported their meetings with the various tribes but also included many details about the tribes’ clothing, weapons, canoes, and customs. While the captains recorded their journey, the men busied themselves preparing for their return. Due to the continuing bad weather, the party left Fort Clatsop on March 23, 1806, rather than on April 1 as originally planned. The journal ends on April 3 as the party is encamped along the Columbia River, hunting and preparing provisions for the trek across the sparse Columbia Plateau. Voorhis Journal No. 3 begins April 4, 1806, while the party spent a week encamped along the Columbia River. As they moved up the Columbia they lost one pirogue and one canoe and spent several days procuring horses from Native Americans. The party continued to exchange goods for horses as they headed east. In order to reduce their trip by 80 miles, they left the Columbia and traveled overland to the Clearwater, where they had left the horses used the previous fall in the care of the Nez Perce. However, the Nez Perce informed them that the snows in the Bitterroot Mountains would not melt sufficiently for passage for almost a month. The explorers made camp, Camp Chopunnish, on the Clearwater near the mountains and remained there from May 14 until June 9. Voorhis Journal No. 4 is unlike the other expedition journals that Clark kept. It presents less narrative of the journey. For this reason, portions of it appear throughout several volumes of Gary Moulton's The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It contains assorted notes on flora and fauna and tables that relate to weather and to distance calculations including latitude and longitude readings. It also holds the “Estimate of Western Indians,” Nicholas Biddle’s queries for the explorers to answer in regards to the native people they contacted, and the notes that Clark collected for Biddle. Finally, the journal includes four detailed color maps: 1. Great Falls of the Columbia River [October 22-23, 1805]; 2. Long and Short Narrows of the Columbia River [October 22-28, 1805]; 3. Great Rapids of the Columbia [October 30–November 2, 1805]; 4. Confluence of the Columbia and Snake [circa October 18, 1805]. Voorhis Journal No. 5 is a red Moroccan leather journal like those used by Lewis and Clark for recording their journey to the West. However, this volume, dated 1820-1834, includes nothing related to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Julia Clark used this book to record recipes and household inventories. See Stone and Hinkley’s Clark’s Other Journal for a complete transcription.
Dates
- 1829 Apr 26
Conditions Governing Access
Permission to view any of the original documents in the Clark Family Collection must be obtained from a member of the archives staff. Permission to view any one of the five unique Lewis and Clark Expedition journals must be obtained from the archivist and a member of the archives staff must perform the handling of the item.
Extent
From the Collection: 12.0 Cubic Feet ( (14 boxes; 4 oversize boxes; 26 volumes; 17 microfilm reels))
Language of Materials
English
Creator
- From the Collection: Clark family (Creator, Family)
- From the Collection: Clark, Beatrice Chouteau, 1847-1915 (Author, Person)
- From the Collection: Clark, Eleanor Glasgow (Author, Person)
- From the Collection: Clark, George Rogers, 1752-1818 (Author, Person)
- From the Collection: Clark, George Rogers Hancock, 1816-1858 (Author, Person)
- From the Collection: Clark, Jefferson Kearny, 1824-1900 (Author, Person)
- From the Collection: Clark, John, 1725-1799 (Author, Person)
- From the Collection: Clark, Meriwether Lewis, 1809-1881 (Author, Person)
- From the Collection: Clark, William, 1770-1838 (Author, Person)
- From the Collection: Clark, William G. (Author, Person)
- From the Collection: Clark, William Hancock, 1839-1922 (Author, Person)
- From the Collection: Croghan, Lucy Clark, 1765-1838 (Author, Person)
- From the Collection: Voorhis, Eleanor Glasgow (Author, Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Missouri Historical Society Library and Research Center Repository