Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	Sedgwick, C. B. (Charles Baldwin), 1815-1883.
Title:	Charles Baldwin Sedgwick Papers
Inclusive Dates:	1814-1891
Quantity:	1.75 linear ft.
Abstract:	Papers of the New York State lawyer, U.S. Congressman (1859-1863), abolitionist, born near Pompey, N.Y. Correspondence (1847-1891); genealogical material; legal and financial records (1814-1879); writings (1837-1884), including essays, speeches, and published letters; and memorabilia. Largely family correspondence with additional letters of Louis Agassiz, Samuel Bowles, Salmon P. Chase, F.J. Child, James Freeman Clarke, Roscoe Conkling, George W. Curtis, John A. Dahlgren, Richard H. Dana, H.L. Dawes, Daniel S. Dickinson, J.T. Fields, John M. Forbes, John C. Frémont, William Lloyd Garrison, George W. Geddes, George F. Hoar, John Jay, Thomas Starr King, Samuel J. May, Robert B. Minturn, Levi P. Morton, Charles Eliot Norton, Elizabeth P. Peabody, Wendell Phillips, William H. Seward, Gerrit Smith, Israel Washburn, R.S. Watson, Andrew D. White, and others.
Language:	English
Repository:	Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Ave., Suite 600 Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center/university-archives

Biographical History

Charles Baldwin Sedgwick (1815-1883) was an American attorney and U.S. Congressman from New York State. While an attorney in Syracuse he was a member of the defense counsel for the Jerry Rescue case.

Sedgwick was born on March 15, 1815 near Pompey, New York. His parents, Stephen and Anne Baldwin Sedgwick, sent him to Pompey Hill Academy. Later in 1834 he graduated from Hamilton College. Around 1835 he married Ellen Smith who died in 1846. In 1847 Sedgwick married Deborah Gannett of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 1846 Sedgwick moved from Pompey to Syracuse, N.Y. and opened a law office. During the latter part of the decade he became involved with various social reform causes, particularly the anti-slavery movement. He was affiliated with American Anti-Slavery Society, and was a member of the Syracuse Vigilance Committee which aided runaway slaves. Sedgwick was one of the attorneys for the defense in the Jerry Rescue Case.

Sedgwick was elected to Congress in 1859 where he served two consecutive terms as the representative of the twenty-forth District. As a member of Congress he distinguished himself as an anti-slavery advocate, and as Chairman of the Navy Committee. In 1863 he returned to private life, and the practice of law.

See the genealogical table for the Sedgwick family tree.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Charles B. Sedgwick Papers consist of correspondence, legal and financial Records, memorabilia, and writings.

Correspondence, 1847-1891, consists largely of letters written by Charles Baldwin Sedgwick to various members of his family, especially his wife. These discuss family matters as well as subjects with broader social implications. Some of the letters concern his duties in Congress and the progress of the Civil War. About one third of the correspondence consists of letters written to Sedgwick by his family and various associates. Among this latter group are a number of notable individuals including Roscoe Conkling, John A. Dahlgren, William Lloyd Garrison, John Jay, Wendell Phillips, and Gerrit Smith. An index to selected correspondents appears at the end of this finding aid.

Legal and financial records, 1814-1879, consist of routine documents pertinent to the business affairs of the Sedgwick family. It also contains a few items that pre-date Sedgwick's birth.

Memorabilia dating from 1862 to 1883 contains various items of incidental interest including clippings, biographical material, and obituaries of Charles B. Sedgwick and his son Frank.

Writings date from 1837 to 1884. There are essays, published letters, and speeches authored by Charles B. Sedgwick. Of special interest in this section is an essay, probably written by Sedgwick, on "The Legal Conditions of Women," 1837. There is also a small group of writings by others.

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Arrangement of the Collection

Correspondence is in chronological order. The remaining series are in alphabetical order by type or title.

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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.

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Subject Headings

Persons

Subjects

Places

Genres and Forms

Occupations

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Charles Baldwin Sedgwick Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Finding Aid Information

Created by: MLB
Date: Apr 1973
Revision history: 12 Jul 2009 - converted to EAD (MRC); 16 Jul 2009 - adds, M84-31 (MRC); 5 Jan 2017 - fixed index code (MRC); 8 Jun 2023 - subject term updated (DTF); 10 Apr 2025 - collection rehoused, inventory upated (MS)

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Inventory

	Correspondence
Box 1		[General] Mar 1847-Jun 1861 (27 folders)
Box 2		[General] Jul 1861-Jan 1865 (22 folders)
Box 3		[General] Feb 1865-Feb 1891 (13 folders)
Box 3		[General] undated
Box 3		Fragments

	Legal and financial records
		Appointment certificates
Box 3			Master and Examiner in Chancery for County of Onondaga issued by the State of New York 1841
Box 3			Attorney and Counsellor of Supreme Court of the United States 1850
Box 3			United States Representatives election certification by the New York State Secretary of State 1860
Box 3		Bills and receipts 1867-1879, undated
Box 3		Brief: Supreme Court of the United States, Peter Miller and others, claimants of the Bark Hiawatha, her cargo, &c. vs the United States circa 1866
Box 3		Rockefeller property 1814, 1822
Box 3		Specifications for house construction undated

	Memorabilia
Box 3		Biographical material
Box 3		Clippings
Box 3			Obituaries 1862-1883
Box 3			Miscellaneous 1852-1885, undated
Box 4		Fragments

	Writings
		Essays
Box 4			"The Legal Condition of Women #2" 1837 - handwritten
		Published letters
Box 4			A correspondence between Charles Sedgwick and George Thompson to set right a newspaper account of the annual meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society May 1851
		Speeches
Box 4			Acceptance of donation on behalf of the board of trustees of Wells College
Box 4			"An Oration...Delivered Before the United Chapters of the Sigma Phi Fraternity at Their General Convention Held in Geneva, N. Y." 1850 - printed item
Box 4			"Emancipation and Enrollment of Slaves In the Service of the United States" 1863
Box 4			Eulogy on Abraham Lincoln 1865
Box 4			On old Pompey Academy undated
Box 4			"State of the Union" 1861 - printed item
Box 4			"The Republican Party: The Result of Southern Aggression" 1860 - printed item
Box 4			"To Raise Additional Soldiers" 1863 - printed item
		Miscellany
Box 4			"A Girl of Sixteen at Brook Farm," by Deborah G. Sedgwick - manuscript of essay published in the Atlantic Monthly, March 1900
Box 4			"Wendell Phillips," pamphlet by George William Curtis 1884
Box 4			Verse - printed item

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Selected index to correspondence

All items are to Charles Baldwin Sedgwick, unless otherwise noted.

• [ ], Raymond : 1860 Mar 24
• [Grimms?], J.W. : 1862 Jul 31
• [Sedgwick?], Melly : 1847 May 12
• Agassiz, Louis : 1864 Mar 17
• Andrews, [ ] : 1860 Apr 19
• Barten & Guestier : 1877 Aug 16
• Bowles, Samuel : 1875 Apr 8
• Calvin, D.C. : 1853 Jun 10
• Chase, Salmon P. : 1861 Jul 30
• Child, F.J. : 1861 May 19
• Clarke, James Freeman : 1860 Apr 16
• Conkling, Roscoe : ca. 1855 Nov 9; 1860 Jul 12; 1860 Jul 19; 1863 Mar 26; 1869 Mar 8
• Curtis, Anna Shaw : 1872 Aug 20 (to Deborah G. Sedgwick)
• Curtis, George W. : 1860 Jun 17; 1861 Jun 28; 1861 Jul 9; 1861 Aug 20; 1861 Sep 1; 1861 Sep 6 (to Deborah G. Sedgwick); 1862 Jan 27 (to Deborah G. Sedgwick); 1862 May 20; 1863 Nov 22; 1869 Oct 7; 1869 Oct 23; 1870 Jul 16 (to Deborah G. Sedgwick); 1871 Sep 11 (to Deborah G. Sedgwick); 1871 Sep 14 (to Deborah G. Sedgwick); 1871 Oct 27; 1878 Feb 8; 1891 Feb 9 (to Deborah G. Sedgwick)
• Dahlgren, John A. : ca. 1861 Jul 10; 1865 Aug 21 (to Deborah G. Sedgwick)
• Dana, Richard H., Jr. : 1862 Dec 4; 1865 Apr 25 (to Deborah G. Sedgwick)
• Dawes, H.L. : 1869 Mar 1; 1883 Feb 9 (to Deborah G. Sedgwick)
• Dickinson, D.S. : 1861 Feb 23
• Ellis, Meamy K. : undated
• Field, John W. : 1862 Jan 2; 1863 May 1
• Fields, J.T. : undated
• Forbes, John M. : 1861 Jul 17 (telegram); 1861 Jul 17; 1862 Mar 18; 1862 Jun 7; 1862 Jul 2; 1862 Jul 13; 1864 Jun 3
• Forbes, John W. : ? Jul 27; 1879 May 25; 1862 Aug 4; 1863 Jul 10
• Fremont, John C. : 1861 Dec 17
• Garrison, William Lloyd : 1862 May 20; 1851 May 10 (to Deborah G. Sedgwick)
• Geddes, George : 1860 Mar 20; 1860 Apr 20
• Gott, Anne : undated
• Hoar, George F. : 1884 Nov 28 (to CBS?)
• Howell, [John H.?] : 1863 Jan 1
• Jay, John : 1862 Apr 20; 1862 Jul 7
• Kennedy, G.H. : 1861 Jul 8
• King, Thomas Starr : 1861 Oct 24
• Lathrop, J.H. : 1853 May 22
• May, Samuel J. : 1860 Apr 4; 1862 Jun 5 (to ?)
• Minturn, Robert B. : 1863 Mar 25; 1863 Jun 12
• Morton, Levi P. : 1864 May 3
• Norton, Charles Elliot : ca. 1861
• Norton, Grace : 1854 Jan 22; ca. 1861 (on reverse, Charles Elliot Norton to CBS); ca. 1860 Dec 30
• Peabody, Elizabeth P. : 1860 Apr 19
• Phillips, Wendall : 1860 Apr 15
• Porter, Daniel D. : 1863 Dec 6
• Quintard, George W. & Edward P. Rozus : 1863 Jul 22
• Rogers, T.[?] S. : 1877 Apr 11
• Sedgwick, C.M. : undated; 1859 Jun 27; 1856 Jul 28 (to ?)
• Sedgwick, Charles Hamilton : 1862 Dec 31 (to Deborah G. Sedgwick)
• Sedgwick, Charles : 1847 Mar 15; 1847 May 19; 1847 Jun 7; 1847 Jul 21; 1849 Mar 28; 1849 May 18; 1849 Jun 22; 1850 Apr 7; 1851 Feb 16; 1851 Apr 30; 1851 Dec 18; 1852 Jul 18; [1853?] Jan 19; 1853 Mar 3; 1853 Mar 8; 1853 Jun 9; 1853 Jun 16; 1853 Jul 10; 1853 Jul 10; 1853 Sep 2; 1854 Nov 22; 1854 Nov 31; 1855 Jul 20; 1863 Dec 14 (to Deborah G. Sedgwick)
• Sedgwick, E.R. : 1860 Apr 22
• Sedgwick, John : 1863 Jan 23; 1864 Jun 27
• Sedgwick, S.J. : 1884 Mar 10 (to Deborah G. Sedgwick)
• Seward, William H. : undated
• Smith, Gerrit : 1860 May 14; 1860 Nov 15; 1870 Jul 4; 1872 Dec 27 (to Deborah G. Sedgwick)
• Smith, Gordon : 1864 Oct 5
• Valerio, J. : 1860 May 11
• Washburn, Israel, Jr. : 1861 Jan 22 (CBS?); 1862 Jun 2; 1862 Sep 11
• Watson, R.S. : 1863 Jul 10
• White, Andrew D. : 1876 Oct 5
• Wilkinson, [Alfred?] : 1860 Apr 22; 1861 Jul 4; 1861 Jul 8; 1861 Jul 12
• Wise, [Henry Augustus?] : 1863 Apr 20; 1863 Jun 30
• Wister(?), Sarah B. : 1865 Apr 28 (to Deborah G. Sedgwick)

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