Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	Del Mar, Alexander, 1836-1926.
Title:	Alexander Del Mar Letters
Inclusive Dates:	1866-1896
Quantity:	22 items (SC)
Abstract:	Papers of the American mining engineer, economist, historian, politician. Delmar was Director of the U.S. Bureau of Statistics and Chairman of the National Silver Party. Incoming correspondence in reply to requests for reports from the heads of various government agencies (Horatio C. Burchard, William Pitt Kellogg, N.C. McFarland, Joseph Nimmo, Charles W. Seaton).
Language:	English
Repository:	Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center

Biographical History

Alexander Del Mar (1836-1926) was an American mining engineer, economist, author, and historian, who served as the director of the Bureau of Statistics from 1866 to 1869.

Born in New York on August 9, 1836, the oldest son of Jacques and Belle Del Mar, Del Mar's spent some of his adolescence in England and Spain. He attended the Madrid School of Mines, while in London he stayed with his uncle, Manuel Del Mar, an author.

A student of history and political economy, Del Mar served as the director of the Bureau of Statistics from 1866 to 1869. The Bureau was charged with compiling relevant statistics for the government, a task which previously fell to the Treasury and State departments. After this position, Del Mar undertook various pursuits including joining the Liberal Republican Party and attending the International Statistical Congress in St. Petersburg. In 1876, Del Mar served as a mining engineer of the United States Monetary Commission. Two years later, he served as a clerk to the committee on naval expenditures of the House of Representatives.

Alexander Del Mar married Emilia José Rose in 1861. After being widowed in 1912, Del Mar was remarried to Alice Demorest. He died at his daughter's home in Little Falls, New Jersey on July 1, 1926.

Selected Works by Alexander Del Mar
	1872	Proceedings of the Second Session of the National Insurance Convention
	1880	A History of the Precious Metals from the Earliest Times to the Present
	1885	The Science of Money
	1886	Money and Civilization
	1899	The History of Money in America from the Earliest Times of the Establishment of the Constitution
	1890	The Worship of Augustus Caesar
	1900	The Middle Ages Revisited; or, the Roman Government and Religion and Their Relations to Britain
	1900	Ancient Britain in the Light of Modern Archeological Discoveries
	1907	The Messiah

Return to top

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Alexander Del Mar Letters consist of incoming items written between 1866 and 1896. The bulk of the correspondence are replies to Del Mar's requests for annual reports from the heads of various government agencies (Horatio C. Burchard, William Pitt Kellogg, N.C. McFarland, Joseph Nimmo, Charles W. Seaton). A letter from William Barnes approves Del Mar's plan for the Great Western Loan Insurance Company of New York. Allen Granberry Thurman's letter expresses anticipation for reading Del Mar's A History of the Precious Metals, while George H. Pendleton writes for information concerning tariffs, internal revenue, and finance. Hearing of the decision of the National Silver Party, William Teller writes:

I could see nothing for the friends of silver to do but support Bryan and Sewall, and if all the friends of silver will do that, I am confident Bryan will be the next President.

Return to top

Arrangement of the Collection

The collection contains one series, Correspondence, arranged alphabetically by the correspondents' last names.

Return to top

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Return to top

Subject Headings

Persons

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

Genres and Forms

Occupations

Return to top

Inventory

	Correspondence
SC 50		Barnes, William 20 Jul 1867 (1 letter)
SC 50		Berry, C. R. 13 Jan 1882 (1 letter)
SC 50		Brown, W. Colvin 18 May 1867 (1 letter)
SC 50		Burchard, Horatio Chapin 1880, 1882 (2 letters)
SC 50		Hoffman, John Thompson 1872, undated (2 letters)
SC 50		Kellogg, William Pitt 11 Dec 1867 (1 letter)
SC 50		Lamont, Daniel Scott 10 Apr 1885 (1 letter)
SC 50		McFarland, N. C. Dec 1881 (1 letter)
SC 50		Nimmo, Joseph 13 Dec 1881 (1 letter)
SC 50		Pendleton, George Hunt 25 Jun 1869 (1 letter)
SC 50		Seaton, Charles W. 13 Dec 1881 (1 letter)
SC 50		Stern, Simon 1866, 1867 (2 letters)
SC 50		Teller, Henry Moore 22 Jul 1896 (1 letter)
SC 50		Thurman, Allen Granberry 1881, 1884 (2 letters)
SC 50		Walker, Amasa 24 Feb 1868 (1 letter)
SC 50		Miscellaneous 1867, 1875 (3 letters)

Return to top