John James Beckley Family Papers
A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress
Prepared by Gerard W. Gawalt with the assistance of Andrew
Passett
Revised and expanded by Karen Linn Femia
Manuscript Division,
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
2009
Contact information:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division,
2009
Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms009183
Title: John James Beckley Family
Papers
Span Dates: 1789-1918
ID No.: MSS78596
Creator:
Beckley,
John James, 1757-1807
Extent: 205 items;
3 containers;
1.2 linear feet
Language: Collection material in
English
Repository:
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress,
Washington, D.C.
Abstract: Librarian of Congress
and clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Correspondence,
memorandum books, autobiography, scrapbook, newspaper clipping, and other
papers relating to John James Beckley and his son Alfred Beckley.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person
or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed
alphabetically therein.
Personal Names
Beckley
family.
Beckley, Alfred,
1802-1888. Alfred Beckley papers.
Beckley,
John James, 1757-1807.
Organizations
Library
of Congress.
United
States. Army--Officers.
United
States. Congress.
House.
Locations
United
States--Politics and government--1783-1865.
Occupations
Clerks, U.S. House of
Representatives.
Librarians of
Congress.
Provenance: The family papers of John James Beckley, Librarian of Congress and
clerk of the United States House of Representatives, were given to the Library
of Congress by his great-great-great grandson, Paxton Davis, in 1989. An
addition to the papers was given to the Library in 1996 by Anne Rigby.
Processing History:The family papers of John James Beckley were arranged and described in
1994. The collection was expanded and revised in 1997. The finding aid was
revised in 2009.
Additional Guides:The family papers of John James Beckley have been described in
Library of Congress Acquisitions: Manuscript Division,
1989, pp. 10-13.
Copyright Status:The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of the family
papers of John James Beckley is governed by the Copyright Law of the United
States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions:The family papers of John James Beckley are open to research.
Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to
visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to
retrieve these items for research use.
Preferred Citation:Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, John James Beckley Family Papers,
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The family papers of John James Beckley (1757-1807) span the years
1789-1918 and consist of papers of John James Beckley and his son Alfred
Beckley. The material in John James Beckley's papers dates from 1789 to 1829
and that of his son from 1829 to 1918. John James Beckley was the first clerk
of the House of Representatives and the first Librarian of Congress. His papers
include a memorandum book containing notes on events in the House of
Representatives with commentaries on the development of parliamentary
procedures in the House. His correspondence discusses political issues and
personal financial activities, in particular his extensive land speculation.
The addition contains books signed by Beckley that were part of his
library.
Alfred Beckley moved to Fayette County, Virginia (now Raleigh County,
West Virginia), in 1837 with his wife Amelia Craig. His papers include family
correspondence, memorandum books and journals, an autobiography, scrapbook, and
a newspaper clipping relating his Civil War reminiscences.
This collection is arranged alphabetically by name of person.
| Container |
Contents |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Beckley, Alfred |
|
| BOX 1
|
Autobiography,
1886
|
|
(3
folders)
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Craig, Amelia, correspondence,
1829-1849, undated
|
|
(4
folders)
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Cullum, George W.,
Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U. S.
Military Academy at West Point, N. Y., from March 16, 1802 to January 1,
1850 |
|
| BOX 1
|
Memorandum and account
books
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Volume 1,
1845-1869, 1876-1881
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Volume 2,
1856-1865, 1918
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Miscellaneous papers,
1823, 1836-1840, undated
|
|
(2
folders)
|
|
| BOX 2
|
Scrapbook,
1877-1887, 1912, undated
|
|
| BOX 2
|
Beckley, John James |
|
| BOX 2
|
Letters,
1791-1799, 1804-1807, 1829, undated
|
|
| BOX 2
|
Volume of memoranda and
correspondence,
1791-1792, 1797-1799, undated
|
|
| BOX 3
|
Addition |
|
| BOX 3
|
Beckley, Alfred, newspaper
clipping,
circa 1887
|
|
| BOX 3
|
Beckley, John James, books from
his library
|
|
| BOX 3
|
Debates and other proceedings of the Convention of
Virginia,
1789
|
|
| BOX 3
|
Journal of the House of Representatives of the United
States, at the first session of the Fourth Congress,
1795
|
|
| BOX 3
|
Official letters to the honorable American Congress,
written, during the war between the United States and Great Britain, by his
excellency, George Washington, Commander in Chief of the continental forces,
now President of the United States,
1795
|
|
(2
vols.)
|
|
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