Letter signed Fred. Frey and other cabin passengers on board the steamboat Mogul, Mississippi River, to Captain Sparhawk, steamboat Majestic, thanking the captain for removing the ship from a bar in Horse Shoe Bend. Also includes undated typescript article titled “Death of Captain George W. Sparhawk,” newspaper clipping regarding his death, and letter signed Mrs. F.M. Leavenworth, to the Missouri Historical Society, March 9, [no year], telling of the activities of her father and his activities. (4 items), 1836 June 23
Scope and Contents
The Steamboats and River History Collection is an artificial, or subject-based, collection comprising a variety of documents that have been placed in this collection over the years due to their common subject matter. The bulk of the collection relates to river travel and commerce primarily in the vicinity of St. Louis and on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. The collection includes more than 60 receipts and bills of lading, mostly dated pre-1900, for merchandise shipped on the rivers; letters, reminiscences, and journals, many of which contain accounts of nineteenth-century steamboat travel; brochures, booklets and other printed advertising material for tourist excursion boats, including the popular twentieth-century St. Louis steamboats Admiral, President, and Delta Queen; several twentieth-century newspaper clippings reflecting on the steamboat era in the West; menus; tickets; and licenses for steamboat officers. Of particular note is a letter and petition of Robert R. Livingston and Robert Fulton to the governor of Upper Louisiana, dated 1810, requesting a monopoly to operate steamboats on the Upper Mississippi River.
Dates
- 1836 June 23
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use.
Extent
From the Collection: 2.2 Cubic Feet ( (3 boxes; 3 volumes; 4 oversize folders))
Language of Materials
English
Repository Details
Part of the Missouri Historical Society Library and Research Center Repository