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Letter signed Julius Mallinckrodt, Dortmund, Missouriton P.O., Missouri, to H.R. Gamble, St. Louis. Concerning my suits with Emil Mallinckrodt resulting from the time Gustav Julius and Emil Mallinckrodt were transacting business in 1831 and 1832; and with Sophia Mallinckrodt who was married to Cooper Koch, brother of Dr. W. Koch in this county last Thursday by a Justice of the Peace from Warren County. Individuals mentioned include Emil Mallinckrodt, Julius Mallinckrodt, Gustav Mallinckrodt, Sophia Mallinckrodt, [Cooper] Koch and Dr. W. Koch. Places mentioned include Warren County. [In 1837 Julius and Conrad Mallinckrodt came from Westphalia, Germany, and located about one mile west of Augusta. The elder brother, Julius, shortly afterward platted and laid out the town of Dortmund, which he named for his native city in Germany. The place was killed in its infancy; in fact, soon after Mr. Mallinckrodt had sold many of the town lots, and before building operations began, the ever changing waters of the Missouri swept around the opposite side of the broad bottom lands and left the village without a river front. This unfortunate circumstance nipped the embryo city in the bud and the property again came into the possession of its original owner. The property platted as Dortmund is one mile west of Augusta, in the low lands formed by a creek emptying into the Missouri. “History of St. Charles, Montgomery and Warren Counties, Missouri 1885,” Mo. Case in library Mo.9.10Sa2c, pages 236 – 237.] (3 pages), 1841 Nov 23

 Item — Box: 7, Folder: 6

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The Hamilton Rowan Gamble Papers consist of deeds, early land grants, surveys, a St. Louis court docket book (1816-1833), bills of sale, legal papers regarding land ownership and business agreements, letters pertaining to causes of the Civil War, letters regarding the raising of a state militia, correspondence with political and military leaders, account books and receipts. Papers pertaining to land cases include deeds from French and Spanish ownership of this area, such as a deed between Pierre Chouteau and his wife who sold land for $248 to Meriwether Lewis (box 1/folder 2); a land grant to Andrew Bowen from President James Monroe with the presidential seal (box 1/folder 5); notes on Doit Delany’s land between Creve Coeur Lake and the Missouri River, part of a land grant to Antoine Reynal by the Spanish government (box 6/folder 1); a copy of the land paper from May 23, 1772, signed by Laclede Liguest, et al., designating land granted in the name of the king (box 5/folder 3). Papers regarding slave cases in the courts of Missouri include an 1805 freedom suit by Celeste, an Indian woman, versus Madame Chevalier (box 1/folder 2). An 1827 case of Margrite versus Pierre Chouteau, Sr., explains that the plaintiff’s grandmother, an Indian, was taken in war by the French and possibly sold as a slave in 1769 (box 2/folder 5). Subsequent papers in the collection show that the case was dismissed in 1838 for want of jurisdiction (box 6/folder 6). Letters to and from Gamble from the years before and during the Civil War illuminate the issue of slavery and emancipation in a border state. A copy of a letter from Gamble in 1861 states his view of abolitionists (box 9/folder 13). A copy of an address at an 1862 meeting of loyal states in support of President Lincoln and emancipation bears a notation that Governor Gamble refused to sign it as governor of Missouri (box 10/folder 3). The original draft and copy of Gamble’s 1863 message before a party convention concerns emancipation for the state of Missouri (box 10/folder 7). Critical papers and letters between Gamble and President Abraham Lincoln cover such issues as: raising and paying for a state militia (box 9/folder 3); the situation in Missouri at the beginning of the Civil War (box 9/folder 8); and disagreements between Gamble and Union generals over who should be in control of the state militia (box 10). Collection includes several letters signed by President Lincoln (box 9/folder 12, box 10/folder 9). The collection includes official papers with government seals from 1824 when Gamble was appointed secretary of state of Missouri (box 2/folder 2), and from 1849 on a certificate admitting Gamble as an attorney and counselor of the U.S. Supreme Court (box 8/folder 5). Miscellaneous letters consist of one against gambling and playing roulette from “The Friends of Morality” (box 4/folder 6); plans for a 2nd Presbyterian Church on 5th Street, including drawings of the church interior (box 7/folder 1); and a letter soliciting donations to establish Linden Wood Female College (box 8/folder 9). Other letters and journal entries discuss treatments of diseases, e.g., cholera and neuralgia (box 8/folder 5). Receipts and account books show costs of clothing, household items, food, building materials and bills of sale for slaves to and from Gamble (box 2/folder 6; box 3/folder 7; box 5/folder 1, 5; box 7/folder 5; box 8/folders 4, 6, 11; box 9/folder 2). Letters written near the end of the Civil War, shortly before Gamble’s death, discuss the status of the provisional government (box 10/folder 7).

Dates

  • 1841 Nov 23

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Extent

From the Collection: 5.7 Cubic Feet ( (11 boxes; 2 oversize folders))

Language of Materials

English

Creator

Repository Details

Part of the Missouri Historical Society Library and Research Center Repository

Contact:
225 S. Skinker Blvd.
St. Louis MO 63105 United States
314-746-4510