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The papers document three generations of the Woolsey family. The most prominent figures in the collection are William Walton Woolsey (1766-1839), land owner and merchant in New York City; his son, Theodore Dwight Woolsey (1801-1889), Greek scholar, political theorist and president of Yale College; and Theodore Salisbury Woolsey (1852-1929), professor of international law at Yale Law School, son of Theodore Dwight Woolsey. The papers of William Walton Woolsey contain extensive business correspondence, ledgers, legal papers, documents relating to land sales in New York and Ohio, as well as family and personal letters. Since he was engaged in the importation of sugar, cotton and hardware, some of his business correspondence is political with discussions of the Jay Treaty of 1794, the problems of piracy, American neutrality in the 1790s and the general politics of the period. Important correspondents are Chauncey Goodrich, Archibald Gracie, Eli Whitney, Noah Webster, Elihu and Nathaniel Chauncey, Oliver Wolcott, Benjamin Tallmadge, Jedidiah Morse, James Roosevelt, John A. Schuyler, Comfort Sands, John Broome, and Nicholas Bayard. The papers of Theodore Dwight Woolsey contain his writings on Greek language and literature, the Bible, international law and the texts of his sermons.

The papers consist of diaries, lectures, and writings on various aspects of European culture, and a notebook on "Medieval Asia" kept by Morris Franklin Tyler's son, Leonard S. Tyler. The diaries (1875-1907) are largely devoted to family life in New Haven and Woodbridge, Connecticut, but also comment on current political issues, particularly the presidential elections of 1876 and 1884. Also in the papers are letters from John James Audubon to Andrew Bigelow, and from William A. Buckingham to Daniel Tyler.

Miscellaneous letters by William Howard Taft, two speeches (one on strikes, the other on liberty under the law) and a colored pen and ink drawing by Sir Francis Carruthers Gould, entitled "Ex-President Taft in Retirement." Among the letters the most important was written to Colonel J.C. Hemphill from the White House, July 28, 1911 and discusses Senator Robert M. La Follette's attempt to introduce protectionist legislation on wool. In a number of letters in 1917 Taft writes to classmates of his Yale College class of 1878 to raise money for a special fund for their fortieth reunion. Also included are copies of notebooks of lectures and other teaching materials (1913-1916) kept while he was Kent Professor at the Yale Law School. A student essay, "The Third Term Question," circa 1874-1875 is included in the papers.

Correspondence, writings, reports, memoranda, printed material, and miscellanea documenting the personal and professional life of George H.E. Smith, an author, educator at Yale University, director of the League of Nations, Non-Partisan Association of Detroit, Michigan, and secretary, staff director, and consultant to the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee (1944-1962). The papers document Smith's work for the Republican Policy Committee through memoranda, correspondence, handbooks, articles, newsletters, and printed material. These same materials were distributed to Republican senators for use in speeches, position papers, and political campaigns. The Republican Party position on such issues as domestic policy, economic policy, elections, foreign relations, and political parties is detailed. The workings of the Committee itself can be charted through the minutes of meetings, correspondence, and subject files, as can the development of the Committee staff. Writings and general correspondence focus on Smith's literary work on topics including: national politics, political parties, and domestic and foreign policies. Charles A. Beard, James Couzens, John Danaher, Roman Gorski, and Lindsay Rogers are primary correspondents. Additional material documents Smith's financial work as director of the Detroit, Michigan, League of Nations office, his teaching career at Yale University, and his personal life.

The papers consist of correspondence correspondence, legal and financial documents, printed matter, and other papers of Edwards Pierrepont, attorney, judge, Attorney General of the United States, and minister to Great Britain. Some of the correspondence relates to such questions as Reconstruction, bimetallism, the "whiskey ring" controversy, the Hayes-Tilden election, and the Republican Party. Important correspondents include William Maxwell Evarts, Adelbert Ames, Hamilton Fish, Ulysses S. Grant, William H. Seward, Edwin M. Stanton, and Roscoe Conkling.

Correspondence and printed material concerning the business affairs of the Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa, the economic development of South Africa, and the Jameson Raid; together with articles and speeches (1893-1934) relating to Hammond's activities as a speechmaker in behalf of the Republican Party, organizer of the National League of Republican Clubs, special ambassador and representative of President William Howard Taft to the coronation of George V, king of Great Britain, and vice-president of the Boys' Clubs of America. Includes photostatic copies from the papers of Richard Olney, concerning Hammond's part in the Jameson Raid. Also included is a two volume set, The Autobiography of John Hays Hammond. Photographs of Hammond and his home are included in the papers.

Correspondence, diaries, letterbooks, financial papers, writings, scrapbooks, and memorabilia of the Farnam family of New Haven, Connecticut, 1721-1929. The papers of Henry Farnam (1803-1883), and two of his sons, Henry Walcott Farnam (1853-1933) and William Whitman Farnam (1844-1929) form this collection. The papers of Henry Farnam include personal and professional correspondence concerning his family, life in New Haven, and the building of several canals and railroads in Connecticut and the Midwest. Materials documenting the New Haven and Northampton Company, Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, Mississippi and Missouri Valley Railroad, Northern Indiana Railroad, and Peoria and Bureau Valley Railroad is arranged here. The papers of Henry Walcott Farnam include personal and professional correspondence, financial papers, writings, subject files and scrapbooks relating to his family, life in New Haven, student and teaching experiences at Yale, membership in local, state, and national academic and reform organizations, and philanthropic activities on behalf of educational and charitable institutions. The papers of William Whitman Farnam include correspondence and topical files relating to family matters, Yale University, and New Haven Park Commission activities.

The papers consist of correspondence relating to Dunham's research and writing as a professor of history and chairman of the department at Yale University and his political activity as a consultant to the Central Intelligence Agency. Correspondents include Joseph T. Curtis, Lewis Perry Curtis, K. Harvard Drake, Wallace Notestein, George Wilson Pierson, Frederick Bernays Weiner, and Louis Booker Wright.

Correspondence (primarily letters received) and other papers of David Daggett, Connecticut lawyer, jurist, politician, teacher, and author. The papers relate primarily to Daggett's legal and political activities and to Federalist Party politics. Important correspondents include Simeon Baldwin, Abraham Bishop, Isaac Bronson, John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, Charles Denison, Elizur Goodrich, Gideon Granger, Roger Griswold, Rufus King, William Leffingwell, Josiah Meigs, Timothy Pickering, Benjamin Rush, John Cotton Smith, Daniel Webster, William Wirt, and Oliver Wolcott.

Correspondence, writings, teaching materials, clippings, photographs and memorabilia reflecting Conover's activities as a political science professor, an author, a temperance and prohibition advocate and a 1932 candidate for United States Senator as an Independent Republican in Connecticut.His correspondents include close family members and colleagues at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Yale University and Dickinson College, as well as political scientists on other campuses. The professional correspondence is largely concerned with administrative and technical matters connected with teaching. In his political correspondence as senatorial candidate in 1932 and through his lifelong interest in prohibition, he was in touch with Alfred Abrahamson, William J, Pape, Albert Levitt, Allen B. Lincoln, Nathan B. Stone, Charles Beard and Albert Bushnell Hart. In his attempt to found the Commonwealth Party, ca. 1933, he corresponded with Edward F. Blake, Patrick H. Callahan, Edwin C. Dinwiddie, Howard L. Holmes, Clinton N. Howard, Raymond E. Mendhall, Howard Hyde Russell, Robert P. Shuler and William R. Varney. He also corresponded with a mumber of leaders of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, among them Nellie Scott Coleman, Helen G. H. Estelle, Ida B. Wise Smith and Mary Welles.

The papers consist of correspondence, diaries, journals, manuscripts, notebooks, sermons, writings, two books with manuscript notes, legal and financial records, photographs, printed material and miscellanea documenting the personal lives and professional careers of four generations of the Bingham family. The papers include material documenting Hiram Bingham (1789-1869) and his missionary work in Hawaii; Hiram Bingham (1831-1908) and his missionary work in the Gilbert Islands, his literary efforts, and family matters; and Hiram Bingham (1875-1956) and his academic career, his South American explorations, including the discovery of the ruins of Machu Picchu in 1911, and his political career as lieutenant governor, governor, and United States senator from Connecticut. Papers relating to several other family members are also included in the papers.

The papers of Alexander M. Bickel include correspondence; writings, both published and unpublished; memoranda on legislation and government policy; papers from his legal practice; papers relating to his teaching at the Yale Law School; and personal papers and photographs. Bickel's writings as well as his legal cases reflect his general political position as a classical liberal, and revolve around such issues as segregation in the schools, racial discrimination, the role of the Supreme Court in American life and politics, separation of powers, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech. From 1958 until his death, Bickel often assisted in drafting social legislation. As the papers document, most prominent among these efforts was his share in the school desegregation legislation (1970-1974). His interest in the reform of the Democratic Party is shown in such materials as drafts of testimony before the Credentials Committee of the Party (1968). His active support for Charles H. Percy in 1967 and Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 is shown by substantive correspondence and memoranda from these years. As an editor of The New Republic he wrote on legal and political issues, contributing many signed and unsigned editorials and articles. His extensive writing and reviewing for other popular magazines and in monograph form are supported in the papers with correspondence and drafts. His service in the U. S. Army during World War II and his work with the High Commissioner for Germany and the State Department in the early 1950s are also documented.

The papers detail the personal lives and professional careers of several generations and family lines of the Baldwin family. The legal, political, and business activities of family members in Connecticut, New York, and elsewhere are documented. Major topics include: family, women, law, education, Connecticut and New York politics and government, New Haven, Connecticut, and Yale University.