Collection inventory

Special Collections home page

James Lyman Van Buren Collection

An inventory of the collection at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MRC
Date: 8 Nov 2010

Biographical History

James Lyman Van Buren (1837-1866) was a cousin of President Martin Van Buren and an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Before joining the military Van Buren was a lawyer. He entered the military as a lieutenant of New York volunteers, and served as judge-advocate on the staff of General Burnside and as military secretary to Governor Edward Stanly. He received the brevet of lieutenant-colonel for his bravery in the East Tennessee campaign and colonel for his service at Knoxville. With Burnside, he joined Grant's campaign against Richmond. Subsequently in the assult on Petersburg he was awarded the brevet rank of brigadier-general. Only one year after the end of the war, he grew sick and a few months later died from his illness.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The James Lyman Van Buren Collection consists of correspondence and memorabilia.

Correspondence contains incoming and outgoing personal letters and transcripts of letters in the collection.

Memorabilia contains biographical and genealogical information, photographs, and a speech.

Arrangement of the Collection

Correspondence is arranged chronologically with undated material at the end. Memorabilia is arranged alphabetically by type.

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.

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center has numerous other collections on Van Burens and related persons. Please search our collections for more material.

Subject Headings

Persons

Cholmeley-Jones, Henrietta.
Van Buren, James Lyman.

Subjects

Generals -- United States.
Lawyers, Military.

Places

United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.

Genres and Forms

Correspondence.
Photographs.
Transcripts.

Occupations

Soldiers.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

James Lyman Van Buren Collection,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Transfer from Rare Books, 1971.

Table of Contents

Correspondence

Memorabilia

Inventory