Couzins Family Papers

Collection

Identifier: A0335

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Couzins Family Papers contain papers relating to John E.D. Couzins’s efforts to hold Missouri in the Union during the Civil War, including letters, commissions, and a loyalty oath; papers relating to Mrs. Adaline Couzins’s work as a volunteer nurse during the Civil War, including printed memorials to the U.S. Senate, dated March 27, 1888, praising her work; papers relating to Phoebe Couzins, including articles and addresses by her; correspondence and articles regarding Couzins family history; and photocopies of newspaper clippings, many of which appear to have been copied from a family scrapbook, mostly relating to J.E.D. Couzins and Phoebe Couzins.

Dates

1825-1950

Creator

Couzins family (Creator, Family)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, quote from, or reproduce material in this collection, please contact the Archives Reference Desk at archives@mohistory.org. Copyright restrictions may apply. The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright.

Biographical Sketches

John E.D. Couzins was born November 24, 1813, on the Isle of Wight, England. While still a child, he came with his parents to New York City, where he eventually learned the business of an architect and builder. He married Adaline Weston of New York, and settled in St. Louis in 1834, where he began the practice of his profession. He served as chief of the volunteer police department, chief of police, inspector of buildings, and inspector of customs. In early 1861 he served on the Committee of Public Safety, which was formed in St. Louis to work to hold Missouri in the Union. In 1884 he was appointed U.S. marshal of the Eastern District of Missouri by President Chester Arthur. He died September 1, 1887, in St. Louis. As a member of the St. Louis Ladies’ Union Aid Society during the Civil War, Mrs. Adaline Weston Couzins (1815-1892) worked as a volunteer nurse, and traveled to battlefields and hospitals to care for sick and wounded soldiers. During the siege of Vicksburg in 1863 she was wounded in the knee. Following the war she continued her charitable works and was active in the movement for women’s suffrage. She died May 9, 1892, in St. Louis. Phoebe Wilson Couzins, the daughter of John E.D. and Adaline Couzins, was born September 8, 1842. In 1871 she became the first woman to graduate from Washington University Law School. In the years following her graduation, she campaigned for women’s suffrage and temperance. She lectured extensively, and her talks drew large crowds. She died in poverty on December 6, 1913, in St. Louis.

Extent

0.3 Cubic Feet ( (7 folders; 1 oversize folder))

Language of Materials

English

Latin

Additional Description

Arrangement

The papers are arranged chronologically with the exception of the photocopies of newspaper clippings, which are filed in folders 6 and 7.

Physical and Technical Requirements

There are no physical or technical restrictions.

Donor Information

The bulk of the collection was donated by Addie Couzins Owen in 1923, 1929, and 1934. The reproduction of a report from the faculty of the Law Department of Washington University addressed to the Rev. William G. Eliot, regarding the admission of Phoebe Couzins to the law school, dated 1868, was donated by Mrs. Robert A. Banashek (in memory of father, Naftalie Lefkowitz) in August 1963.

Digital Copies

The Couzins Family Papers were partially digitized by Madison Sullivan in 2012. The images may be viewed online by clicking the links beside each item in the inventory.