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Lemon Thomson Letters

An inventory of the collection at Syracuse University

Finding aid created by: MRC
Date: 14 Sep 2015

Revision history:

Biographical History

Lemon Thomson (1822-1897) was a businessman in Central New York. Born in Athol in Warren County, he was the son of Charles C. Thomson and Susanna Harris Williams. He graduated from Union College in 1850, following which he established L. Thomson & Company, a highly successful lumber business. He and his wife Abby had at least two children, Gertrude and Nancy. [Cuyler Reynolds, Genealogical and family history of southern New York and the Hudson River Valley, vol. III. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1914, pp. 1278-1279.]

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Lemon Thomson Letters consists of nearly a hundred pieces of correspondence from Thomson, during and after his time as a student at Union College in Schenectady, New York. Most are to his father, Charles C. Thomson, and to Abby Galusha Sherman of Glens Falls, New York, who later became his wife. The collection includes a letter (14 Oct 1849) to her describing a visit Thomson made to the Shaker settlement at Niskayuna, New York. Together, the letters paint a detailed picture of Thomson's life as a student and later as a fledgling businessman.

The original collector of the letters, who is unknown, had placed each one in a new envelope and written a brief summary of the letter on the outside; these envelopes have been retained, and are filed immediately preceding the letter which they formerly enclosed.

Arrangement of the Collection

Chronological.

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

Sherman, Abby Galusha.
Thomson, Charles C.
Thomson, Lemon.

Corporate Bodies

Shakers (N.Y.)
Union College (Schenectady, N.Y.)

Subjects

Businessmen -- New York (State) -- 19th century.
Students -- New York (State) -- 19th century.

Places

Glens Falls (N.Y.)
Johnsburg (N.Y. : Town)
Schenectady (N.Y.)

Genres and Forms

Correspondence.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Lemon Thomson Letters,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Purchase, 2015.

Table of Contents

Correspondence

Inventory