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George Ticknor Curtis Letters

An inventory of his letters at Syracuse University

Finding aid created by: KM
Date: Apr 1989

Revision history:
23 Sep 2008	converted to EAD (LDC)

Biographical History

George Ticknor Curtis (1812-1894) was an American lawyer, and author, best remembered for his Constitutional history of the United States and a biography of James Buchanan.

Curtis was born in Watertown, Massachusetts in 1812. His brother was Benjamin R. Curtis who would go on to become a Justice of the United States Supreme Court. George Ticknor Curtis attended Harvard Law School from 1833-1834 before serving as a United States Commissioner in Boston. Curtis served as co-counsel, along with Montgomery Blair, for Dred Scott during the Dred Scott Case, 1846-1857 (Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857).

Curtis is also known for his literary works concerning various topics of United States history. Many of these works were written under the pseudonym Peter Boylston. Some of his writings include:

• 1870 - Life of Daniel Webster
• 1883 - Life of James Buchanan: Fifteenth President of the United States
• 1887 - The Life, Character, and Service of General G. B. M'Clellan
• 1889 - A Constitutional History of the United States, from the Declaration of Independence to the Close of their Civil War
• 1889 - John Charaxes; a Tale of the Civil War in America
• 1889 - Plea for Religious Liberty and the Rights of Conscience

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The George Ticknor Curtis Letters consists of outgoing correspondence written between 1881 and 1891 by the lawyer and author.

The collection includes five letters to postmaster and author Nahum Capen, most of which contain offers of assistance in finding subscribers to a book Capen had written. In another of the letters Curtis inquires about the possibility of remuneration for contributing a biographical profile to a book which Hampton L. Carson was compiling.

Arrangement of the Collection

Chonological.

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.

Subject Headings

Persons

Bryce, Lloyd, 1851-1917.
Capen, Nahum, 1804-1886.
Carson, Hampton L. (Hampton Lawrence), 1852-1929.

Subjects

Authors, American.

Genres and Forms

Correspondence.

Occupations

Authors.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

George Ticknor Curtis Letters,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Table of Contents

Correspondence

Inventory