The Denby Family
A Register of Its Papers in the Library of Congress
Prepared by Laura J. Kells
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Manuscript Division,
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
2002
Contact information:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division,
2007
Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms007015
Title: Denby Family Papers
Span Dates: 1850-1911 ID No.: MSS84834 Creator:
Denby
family Extent: 2,000
items;
8 containers;
3.2 linear feet
Language: Collection material in
English
Repository:
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress,
Washington, D.C. Abstract: Correspondence between
members of the Denby family. Includes letters of Charles Denby (1830-1904), a
lawyer and diplomat; Charles Denby (1861-1938), a diplomat; and Edwin Denby, a
member of the United States Congress and secretary of the navy. Relates to the
Civil War, diplomatic life in China, and the Spanish-American War.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person
or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed
alphabetically therein.
Names: Denby,
Charles, 1830-1904--Correspondence Denby,
Charles, 1861-1938--Correspondence Denby,
Edwin, 1870-1929--Correspondence Denby,
Graham--Correspondence Denby,
Harriet--Correspondence Denby,
Martha Fitch--Correspondence Denby,
Thomas Garvin--Correspondence Denby,
Wythe--Correspondence Fitch,
Graham N. (Graham Newell), 1809-1892--Correspondence Fitch,
Harriet Satterlee--Correspondence Denby
family China.
Hai guan zong shui wu si shu United
States. Army. Indiana Infantry Regiment, 42nd (1861-1865) United
States. Army. Indiana Infantry Regiment, 80th (1862-1865) United
States. Congress United
States. Dept. of State United
States. Philippine Commission (1899-1900) United
States. War Dept. College of
New Jersey (Princeton, N.J.) Hellmuth
Ladies’ College (London, Ont.) Yosemite
(Cruiser)
Subjects: Customs
administration--China Diplomatic and consular
service, American--China Diplomatic and consular
service, American--China--Beijing Mining
engineering--Alaska Mining
engineering--Arizona Mining
engineering--Utah Practice of
law--Indiana--Evansville Spanish-American War,
1898 Universities and
colleges--New Jersey--Princeton Universities and
colleges--Ontario--London Alabama--History--Civil
War, 1861-1865 China--Commerce China--Foreign
relations--United States Europe--Description and
travel Evansville (Ind.)--Social
life and customs Indiana--History Indiana--History--Civil
War, 1861-1865 Kentucky--History--Civil
War, 1861-1865 Logansport (Ind.)--Social
life and customs Philippines--Description
and travel Tennessee--History--Civil
War, 1861-1865 United States--Foreign
relations--China Washington (D.C.)--Social
life and customs
Provenance: The papers of the Denby family were given to the Library of Congress
by Gilbert Wilkes in 2001 and 2002.
Copyright Status:The status of copyright in the unpublished writings by members of the
Denby family is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17,
U.S.C.).
Preferred Citation:Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Denby Family Papers, Manuscript
Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Charles Denby (1830-1904)
Date |
Event |
1830, June 16 |
Born, Mount Joy, Va. |
1850 |
Graduated, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington,
Va.
|
1855 |
Admitted to the Indiana bar; began practicing law in
Evansville, Ind.
|
1858 |
Married Martha Fitch |
1861 |
Appointed lieutenant colonel, 42nd Indiana
Volunteers
|
1862 |
Engaged in battle of Perryville, Ky. Appointed colonel, 80th Indiana Volunteers
|
1863 |
Resigned from military |
1876 |
Delegate to Democratic National Convention, St. Louis,
Mo.
|
1884 |
Delegate to Democratic National Convention, Chicago, Ill.
|
1885-1898 |
United States minister to China |
1898 |
Named to United States Commission Appointed by the President
to Investigate the Conduct of the War Department in the War with Spain
|
1899 |
Appointed to United States Philippine Commission Visited Philippines
|
1904, Jan. 13 |
Died, Jamestown, N. Y. |
1906 |
Posthumous publication of
China and Her People (Boston: L. C. Page and Co.
2 vols.)
|
Charles Denby (1861-1938)
Date |
Event |
1861, Nov. 14 |
Born, Evansville, Ind. |
1882 |
Graduated, College of New Jersey, Princeton, N. J. (now
Princeton University)
|
1885-1893 |
Second secretary, United States legation, Peking,
China
|
1893-1897 |
First secretary, United States legation, Peking,
China
|
1895 |
Married Martha Dalzell Orr |
1897-1900 |
In business with Arnhold, Karberg and Co., Tientsin,
China
|
1900 |
Appointed secretary general of provisional government,
Tientsin, China
|
1902-1905 |
Foreign advisor to viceroy of Chilhi Province, China
|
1905-1907 |
Chief clerk, State Department, Washington, D. C. |
1907-1909 |
United States consul general, Shanghai, China |
1909-1915 |
United States consul general, Vienna, Austria |
1915-1917 |
Vice president, Hupp Motor Car Corp., Detroit, Mich. |
1917 |
Director, Bureau of Foreign Agents, War Trade Board,
Washington, D. C.
|
1918 |
Special representative, State Department, Japan and
China
|
1922-1923 |
Special representative, United States Shipping Board, Japan
and China
|
1938, Feb. 14 |
Died, Washington, D. C. |
Edwin Denby
Date |
Event |
1870, Feb. 18 |
Born, Evansville, Ind. |
1887-1894 |
Served in Chinese Maritime Customs Service |
1896 |
Received law degree, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor,
Mich. Started law practice, Detroit, Mich.
|
1898 |
Gunner’s mate, Yosemite
(auxiliary cruiser)
|
1903 |
Elected to Michigan House of Representatives |
1905-1911 |
Republican congressman, Michigan First District, United
States House of Representatives
|
1911 |
Married Marion Bartlett Thurber |
1917 |
Enlisted in United States Marine Corps. |
1920-1921 |
Chief probation officer, Recorder’s Court, City of Detroit,
Mich., and Circuit Court of Wayne County, Mich.
|
1921-1924 |
Secretary of the navy; resigned following Teapot Dome affair
|
1929 |
Died, Detroit, Mich. |
The papers of the Denby family span the years 1850-1911 and consist
primarily of correspondence and related matter exchanged among family members.
The bulk of the letters are between Charles Denby (1830-1904), a lawyer and
minister to China, his wife Martha Fitch Denby (“Mattie”), and their children
Graham, Charles, Harriet (“Hattie” and “Ethel”), Wythe, Edwin (“Ned”), and
Thomas Garvin (“Garvin”). Charles Denby (1861-1938) was also a diplomat in
China, and Edwin Denby served as a member of the United States Congress and as
secretary of the navy. There are also letters from Martha’s mother, Harriet
Satterlee Fitch (“Moo”) and her father Graham Newell Fitch, a doctor who served
as United States senator from Indiana.
The major portion of the correspondence from the 1850s is between
Charles Denby and Martha Fitch during their two-year engagement. The letters
document their long-distance courtship. Charles was a young lawyer in
Evansville, Indiana, struggling to make enough money to marry Martha. She was
from Logansport, Indiana, and spent part of the time in Washington, D.C., while
her father served in Congress.
During the Civil War Charles Denby wrote letters from Kentucky,
Tennessee, and Alabama while serving as lieutenant colonel in the Forty-Second
Indiana Volunteers. Those from October 1862 describe the battle of Perryville,
Kentucky, in which Denby was slightly injured and his horse killed. In late
1862, Denby was appointed colonel of the Eightieth Indiana Volunteers
headquartered in Columbia, Kentucky. In addition to describing camp life and
home life during this period, correspondence between Charles and Martha Denby
indicates that she traveled to visit him while he was in camp in Huntsville,
Alabama, as well as at Columbia. An undated account relates to Martha’s stay in
the deserted mansion of Clement C. Clay in Huntsville, Alabama.
Correspondence from the mid 1860s through the 1870s records births,
deaths, illnesses, and other activities of the growing Denby family, local and
national events, and Charles Denby’s work as a lawyer. There are numerous
letters from the Denbys’ son Charles (1861-1938) describing his life at the
College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and from their daughter
Harriet, who attended Hellmuth Ladies’ College in London, Ontario, Canada.
The Denby family resided in China from 1885 until 1905, starting when
the elder Charles Denby was appointed minister to China. He held this post for
thirteen years during which time some of the children returned to the United
States. Martha Denby made the long trip between the United States and China
several times to tend to family members. Son Charles (1861-1938) spent the
longest time in China, working in diplomatic service and in business. Edwin
Denby served in the Chinese Maritime Customs Service for seven years and wrote
letters from Macao, where he was stationed for part of this period. Letters
from China describe the official, social, and domestic lives of the diplomatic
community in Peking. The Sino-Japanese War and the Boxer Rebellion are
discussed in the correspondence. Lengthy letters between family members
separated by great distances document efforts to the keep each other informed
of events in their lives and indicate the emotional and financial problems
caused by the slowness and unreliability of the mail.
The Spanish-American War is also treated in the correspondence. Son
Edwin and son-in-law Gilbert Wilkes served aboard the Yosemite (auxiliary cruiser) in 1898. Charles Denby,
Sr., spent time in Washington, D. C., as a member of a commission appointed by
the president to investigate the conduct of the War Department during the war
with Spain. In 1899 he traveled to the Philippines as a member of the United
States Philippine Commission. Martha Denby and son Thomas Garvin accompanied
him on that trip. A letter from Martha Denby contains a journal describing
their activities and the people she met.
Correspondence beginning in the 1890s documents the adult lives of
the Denby children. Wythe Denby became a mining engineer in Utah, Arizona, and
Alaska. In letters to his mother in 1904 and 1905, Edwin Denby gave accounts of
his election to Congress and his early days in Washington. Charles Denby
(1861-1938) wrote in 1905 and 1906 describing his work in the State Department.
The last letters were written by Edwin Denby to his sister during his honeymoon
trip in Europe. The bulk of the correspondence ends with the death of the
parents, and subsequent periods of the careers of Edwin Denby and the younger
Charles Denby are not documented.
This collection is arranged chronologically; undated material arranged
alphabetically by correspondent.
Container |
Contents |
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BOX 1
|
1850-1857
|
|
(8
folders)
|
|
BOX 1
|
1858
|
|
BOX 1
|
Jan.-June
|
|
(5
folders)
|
|
BOX 2
|
July-Nov.
|
|
(3
folders)
|
|
BOX 2
|
1859-1865
|
|
(13
folders)
|
|
BOX 3
|
1866-1879
|
|
(17
folders)
|
|
BOX 4
|
1880-1888
|
|
(14
folders)
|
|
BOX 5
|
1889-1893
|
|
(13
folders)
|
|
BOX 6
|
1894-1896
|
|
(10
folders)
|
|
BOX 6
|
1897
|
|
BOX 6
|
Jan.-Oct.
|
|
(3 folders)
|
|
BOX 7
|
Nov.-Dec.
|
|
BOX 7
|
1898-1904
|
|
(11
folders)
|
|
BOX 8
|
1905-1911
|
|
(4
folders)
|
|
BOX 8
|
Undated
|
|
BOX 8
|
Denby, Charles
(1830-1904)
|
|
BOX 8
|
Denby, Charles
(1861-1938)
|
|
BOX 8
|
Denby, Charles
(1861-1938)
|
|
BOX 8
|
Denby, Martha Fitch (“Mattie”)
|
|
(2
folders)
|
|
BOX 8
|
Denby, Thomas Garvin
(“Garvin”)
|
|
BOX 8
|
Denby, Wythe |
|
BOX 8
|
Fitch, Harriet Satterlee (“Moo”)
|
|
(3
folders)
|
|
BOX 8
|
Miscellaneous |
|
BOX 8
|
Wilkes, Harriet Ethel Denby
(“Hattie,” “Ethel”)
|
|