Letter signed Henry Papin, Saint Louis, to Jno. F. Darby [John F. Darby], Washington City, D.C. States, “. . . .The chimneys of your house have all been cemented: it is well you advised me of it, because we have had a wet winter. . . .Railroad items exclude all other news from our city papers. Our Legislature has been very liberal toward railroads through the different parts of the State. We have granted a right of way to the R.R. through the Duchouquette Grant. Many think that you sold in the wrong time. . . .Do not fail to have all the ‘Spanish grant’ to the heirs of Joseph Marie Papin confirmed by the Congress. Should you need any papers, advice etc. to facilitate you in the Kercerault Claim let me know. . . .Young Henry Chouteau and Young Benoist are engaged in the Banking Business under the style of Chouteau & Benoist – capital $40,000. The liberalities of Page & Bacon to depositors which all other Bankers have been obliged to follow will be a death blow to new firm. . . .” [filed 1853 Jan 1-31], 1853 Jan 12

Item — Box: 3, Folder: 7

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

This collection consists largely of the papers of John F. Darby and his wife Mary F. Darby, and relates mostly to the political, social, and business history of St. Louis. The papers also include family correspondence with relatives in North Carolina, Kentucky, and Missouri, and correspondence regarding legal and business matters. Of special note are the minute books of the Jefferson Society and the St. Louis Debating Club (1827-1828), both regional debating societies of which Darby was a member; letters of Mary F. Darby; correspondence with Montgomery Blair, William T. Sherman, and George Caleb Bingham; and fragments of a history of the Mormons by John Corrill, dated 1839.