Charles J. Bonaparte Papers (Library of Congress)

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Outline view: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms009084
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Charles J. Bonaparte Papers

A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress

Prepared by Katharine Brand

Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

Washington, D.C.

2008

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.ms009084

Letters Received, General Correspondence, 1882-1919

Letters Received, Financial and Office Correspondence, 1912-1921

Letters Received: Secretary of the Navy, 1905-1906

Letters Received: Attorney General, 1906-1909

Special Correspondence: Theodore Roosevelt, 1905-1917

Outgoing Letters: General Correspondence, 1874-1921

Outgoing Letters: Secretary of the Navy, 1905-1906

Outgoing Letters: Attorney General, 1906-1909

Personal Miscellany, circa 1880-1920

Speech, Article, and Book File, circa 1890-1920

Title: Charles J. Bonaparte Papers
Span Dates: 1760-1921
Bulk Dates: (bulk 1874-1921)
ID No.: MSS13151
Creator: Bonaparte, Charles J. (Charles Joseph), 1851-1921
Extent: 80,000 items; 266 containers; 106.4 linear feet
Language: Collection material in English
Repository: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Abstract: Lawyer, municipal and civil service reformer, and U.S. attorney general and secretary of the navy. Correspondence, articles, speeches, memoranda, notes, personal miscellany, legal records, biographical material, clippings, printed matter, and other papers relating mainly to Bonaparte's public service and political career.

Selected Search Terms

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
Bonaparte family.
Bonaparte, Charles J. (Charles Joseph), 1851-1921.
Brandeis, Louis Dembitz, 1856-1941--Correspondence.
Clark, Champ, 1850-1921--Correspondence.
Dana, Richard Henry, 1815-1882--Correspondence.
Eliot, Charles William, 1834-1926--Correspondence.
Garfield, James Rudolph, 1865-1950--Correspondence.
Gary, Elbert H. (Elbert Henry), 1846-1927--Correspondence.
Gibbons, James, 1834-1921--Correspondence.
Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1850-1924--Correspondence.
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919--Correspondence.
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919.
Schurz, Carl, 1829-1906--Correspondence.
Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930--Correspondence.
Tillman, Benjamin R. (Benjamin Ryan), 1847-1918--Correspondence.
Venable, Richard M. (Richard Morton), 1839-1910--Correspondence.
Wister, Owen, 1860-1938--Correspondence.
Woodruff, Clinton Rogers, 1868-1948--Correspondence.

Organizations
Catholic University of America
Enoch Pratt Free Library.
Harvard University. Board of Overseers.
Maryland. Board of State Aid and Charities.
National Civic Federation.
National Civil Service Reform League (U.S.)
National Municipal League.
Progressive Party (1912)
Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- )
United States. Dept. of Justice.
United States. Navy Dept.

Subjects
Charities--Maryland.
Charities--Maryland--Baltimore.
Civil service reform--United States.
Libraries--Maryland--Baltimore.
Maryland--Social conditions.
Municipal government--United States.
Public welfare--Maryland.
Universities and colleges--Massachusetts.
Universities and colleges--Washington (D.C.)

Locations
Baltimore (Md.)--Politics and government.
Baltimore (Md.)--Social conditions.
Maryland--Politics and government--1865-1950.
United States--Politics and government--1865-1933.

Occupations
Cabinet officers.
Lawyers.
Reformers.

Administrative Information

Provenance:

The papers of Charles J. Bonaparte, lawyer, municipal and civil service reformer, and U.S. attorney general and secretary of the navy, were given to the Library of Congress by Mrs. Bonaparte in 1923.

Processing History:

The Bonaparte Papers were processed in 1958. The finding aid was revised in 2008.

Additional Guides:

A brief note on these papers appeared in the Annual Report of the Librarian of Congress for fiscal 1923, p. 49. A further note indicating extent of the collection is in Curtis W. Garrison's List of Manuscript Collections in the Library of Congress (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1932. 216 p.). In 1958, the Library published Charles Joseph Bonparte, A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress (reprinted 1971).

Copyright Status:

The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Charles J. Bonaparte is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).

Access and Restrictions

The papers of Charles J. Bonaparte 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, Charles J. Bonaparte Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Biographical Note

Date	Event
1851, June 9	Born, Baltimore, Md.
1871	A.B., Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass.
1874	LL.B., Harvard Law School, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
1874	Admitted to bar and began law practice, Baltimore, Md.
1875	Married Ellen Channing Day
1902-04	Member, U.S. Board of Indian Commissioners
1904	Presidential elector from Maryland
1905-1906	Secretary of the navy
1906-1901	Attorney general
1917	Member, Advisory Board, Council of National Defense
1921, June 28	Died, Baltimore, Md.

Scope and Content Note

The papers of Charles Joseph Bonaparte (1851-1921) span the years 1760 to 1921, with the bulk of the material from 1874-1921.

The collection contains incoming and outgoing correspondence, including from his service as secretary of the navy and attorney general. There are nearly matching groups of letters received and outgoing letters. The only appreciable gap appears in outgoing letters of general correspondence after 1916.

The Subject File and several correspondence series relate to Bonaparte's Progressive Party and Republican Party political activities, his cabinet posts under President Theodore Roosevelt, and his positions as member and chairman of council of the National Civil Service Reform League; overseer of Harvard University, 1891-1903; trustee of the Catholic University of America, 1904-1921; president of the Enoch Pratt Free Library; member of the Maryland Board of State Aid and Charities; president of the National Municipal League; and member of the executive committee of the National Civic Federation. A great deal of the material relates directly to Baltimore and Maryland civic, charitable, and political affairs.

Typed or printed copies of the bulk of Bonaparte's speeches and articles are contained in a Speech, Article, and Book File. An index to the speeches indicates the great variety of subject matter included in his public addresses.

A Scrapbooks series derives from Bonaparte's cabinet posts, 1905-1909.

Significant correspondents in addition to Theodore Roosevelt include Louis Dembitz Brandeis, Champ Clark, Richard Henry Dana, Charles William Eliot, James Rudolph Garfield, Elbert H. Gary, James Gibbons, Henry Cabot Lodge (1850-1924), Carl Schurz, William H. Taft, Benjamin R. Tillman, Richard M. Venable, Owen Wister, and Clinton Rogers Woodruff.

Organization of the Papers

The collection is arranged in thirteen series:

Letters Received, General Correspondence, 1882-1919
Letters Received, Financial and Office Correspondence, 1912-1921
Letters Received: Secretary of the Navy, 1905-1906
Letters Received: Attorney General, 1906-1909
Special Correspondence: Theodore Roosevelt, 1905-1917
Outgoing Letters: General Correspondence, 1874-1921
Outgoing Letters: Secretary of the Navy, 1905-1906
Outgoing Letters: Attorney General, 1906-1909
Personal Miscellany, circa 1880-1920
Subject File, circa 1880-1920
Speech, Article, and Book File, circa 1890-1920
Legal Papers, 1760-1920
Scrapbooks, 1905-1909

Description of Series

Container	Series


BOX 1-117	Letters Received, General Correspondence, 1882-1919
		Correspondence received relating to legal, political, and civic activities.
		Arranged chronologically by year and alphabetically therein by name of correspondents.

BOX 118-121	Letters Received, Financial and Office Correspondence, 1912-1921
		Largely bills received and correspondence relating to real estate office activities.
		Arranged chronologically by year and therein alphabetically by name of correspondent.

BOX 122-126	Letters Received: Secretary of the Navy, 1905-1906
		Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent. Letters received from the White House during this period are ins in Container 126.

BOX 127-131	Letters Received: Attorney General, 1906-1909
		Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondence.

BOX 132	Special Correspondence: Theodore Roosevelt, 1905-1917
		Mainly letters received.
		Arranged chronologically.

BOX 133-173	Outgoing Letters: General Correspondence, 1874-1921
		Bound letterpress copy books.
		Arranged chronologically. Numerous gaps appear after November 1916. Some letterpress books overlap chronologically.

BOX 174-181	Outgoing Letters: Secretary of the Navy, 1905-1906
		Bound letterpress copy books.
		Arranged chronologically. Letterpress copies of correspondence relating to telephone cost rates and Navy Department salaries and expenses are in Container 181.

BOX 182-185	Outgoing Letters: Attorney General, 1906-1909
		Bound letterpress copy books.
		Arranged chronologically.

BOX 186-187	Personal Miscellany, circa 1880-1920
		Biographical material, notes, memoranda, charity appeals, real estate office miscellany, clippings and other printed matter.

BOX 188-210	Subject File, circa 1880-1920
		Memoranda, reports, clippings, printed matter, and correspondence.
		Arranged alphabetically by subject.

BOX 211-218	Speech, Article, and Book File, circa 1890-1920
		Mainly typewritten or printed copies of speeches and articles. Also clipped and mounted portions of speeches and articles for unpublished book.
		Speeches are arranged in a numbered, indexed series, except for a small unindexed file arranged chronologically and three files grouped by subject. The index is in Container 211.

BOX 219-256	Legal Papers, 1760-1920
		Early family and personal legal papers, but mainly cases in which Bonaparte was counsel or litigant.
		Arranged alphabetically as docketed. Also papers relating to estates held in trust and printed briefs.

BOX 257-262	Scrapbooks, 1905-1909
		Clippings from newspapers and magazines mounted in scrapbooks. The material relates to Bonaparte's activities while in the cabinet of Theodore Roosevelt.
		Arranged chronologically.

Container List

Container	Contents


BOX 1-117	Letters Received, General Correspondence, 1882-1919
		Correspondence received relating to legal, political, and civic activities.
		Arranged chronologically by year and alphabetically therein by name of correspondents.

BOX 1		1882

BOX 2		1883

BOX 3		1884

			A-L

BOX 4			M-Z

BOX 5		1885

			A-J

BOX 6			K-Z

BOX 7		1886

			A-J

BOX 8			K-Z

BOX 9		1887

			A-K

BOX 10			L-Z

BOX 11		1888

BOX 12		1889

			A-L

BOX 13			M-Z

BOX 14		1890

			A-K

BOX 15			L-Z

BOX 16		1891

			A-H

BOX 17			I-Q

BOX 18			R-Z

BOX 19		1892

			A-D

BOX 20			E-K

BOX 21			L-Q

BOX 22			R-Z

BOX 23		1893

			A-G

BOX 24			H-Q

BOX 25			R-Z

BOX 26		1894

			A-D

BOX 27			E-L

BOX 28			M-R

BOX 29			S-Z

BOX 30		1895

			A-C

BOX 31			D-K

BOX 32			L-R

BOX 33			S-Z

BOX 34		1896

			A-C

BOX 35			D-K

BOX 36			K-R

BOX 37			S-Z

BOX 38		1897

			A-C

BOX 39			D-J

BOX 40			K-O

BOX 41			P-Z

BOX 42		1898

			A-E

BOX 43			F-M

BOX 44			N-Z

BOX 45		1899

			A-C

BOX 46			D-K

BOX 47			L-R

BOX 48			S-Z

BOX 49		1900

			A-F

BOX 50			G-M

BOX 51			N-Z

BOX 52		1901

			A-F

BOX 53			G-L

BOX 54			M-R

BOX 55			S-Z

BOX 56		1902

			A-D

BOX 57			E-L

BOX 58			M-R

BOX 59			S-Z

BOX 60		1903

			A-C

BOX 61			D-G

BOX 62			H-M

BOX 63			N-S

BOX 64			T-Z

BOX 65		1904

			A-C

BOX 66			D-G

BOX 67			H-Q

BOX 68			R-Z

BOX 69		1905

			A-D

BOX 70			E-J

BOX 71			K-R

BOX 72			S-Z

BOX 73		1906

			A-L

BOX 74			M-Z

BOX 75		1907

			A-F

BOX 76			G-P

BOX 77			R-Z

BOX 78		1908

BOX 79		1909

			A-G

BOX 80			H-R

BOX 81			S-Z

BOX 82		1910

			A-F

BOX 83			G-J

BOX 84			K-Q

BOX 85			R-V

BOX 86			W-Z

BOX 87		1911

			A-F

BOX 88			G-J

BOX 89			K-R

BOX 90			S-Z

BOX 91		1912

			A-D

BOX 92			E-G

BOX 93			H-Q

BOX 94			R-Z

BOX 95		1913

			A-D

BOX 96			E-L

BOX 97			M-R

BOX 98			S-Z

BOX 99		1914

			A-F

BOX 100			G-M

BOX 101			N-Z

BOX 102		1915

			A-F

BOX 103			G-L

BOX 104			M-R

BOX 105			S-Z

BOX 106		1916

			A-D

BOX 107			E-L

BOX 108			M-R

BOX 109			S-Z

BOX 110		1917

			A-G

BOX 111			H-Q

BOX 112			R-Z

BOX 113		1918

			A-F

BOX 114			G-M

BOX 115			N-Z

BOX 116		1919

			A-L

BOX 117			M-Z

BOX 118-121	Letters Received, Financial and Office Correspondence, 1912-1921
		Largely bills received and correspondence relating to real estate office activities.
		Arranged chronologically by year and therein alphabetically by name of correspondent.

BOX 118		1912-1914

BOX 119		1919

BOX 120		1920

BOX 121		1921

BOX 122-126	Letters Received: Secretary of the Navy, 1905-1906
		Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent. Letters received from the White House during this period are ins in Container 126.

BOX 122		A-C

BOX 123		D-G

BOX 124		L-Q

BOX 125		R-Z

BOX 126		From the White House

BOX 127-131	Letters Received: Attorney General, 1906-1909
		Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondence.

BOX 127		A-C

BOX 128		D-G

BOX 129		H-L

BOX 130		M-R

BOX 131		S-Z

BOX 132	Special Correspondence: Theodore Roosevelt, 1905-1917
		Mainly letters received.
		Arranged chronologically.

BOX 132		1905-1909, 1915-1917

BOX 133-173	Outgoing Letters: General Correspondence, 1874-1921
		Bound letterpress copy books.
		Arranged chronologically. Numerous gaps appear after November 1916. Some letterpress books overlap chronologically.

BOX 133		18 Oct. 1874-18 Dec.

BOX 134		20 Dec. 1883-16 Aug. 1886

BOX 135		17 Aug. 1886-14 Mar. 1889

BOX 136		17 Feb. 1888-10 Jan. 1891

BOX 137		10 Jan. 1891-28 Jan. 1892

BOX 138		10 Jan.-13 July 1892

BOX 139		14 July 1892-17 Jan. 1893

BOX 140		18 Jan.-24 Oct. 1893

BOX 141		4 Oct. 1893-5 Mar. 1894

BOX 142		7 Mar.-9 July 1894

BOX 143		9 July-1 Dec. 1894

BOX 144		3 Dec. 1894-30 Mar. 1895

BOX 145		30 Mar.-26 July 1895

BOX 146		27 July-23 Dec. 1895

BOX 147		24 Dec. 1895-14 Apr. 1896

BOX 148		14 Apr.-9 Dec. 1896

BOX 149		9 Dec. 1896-23 July 1897

BOX 150		24 July 1897-24 Mar. 1898

BOX 151		24 Mar. 1898-25 Jan. 1899

BOX 152		25 Jan.-26 Dec. 1899

BOX 153		28 Dec. 1899-12 Oct. 1900

BOX 154		12 Oct. 1900-3 Apr. 1901

BOX 155		3 Apr.-5 Dec. 1901

BOX 156		5 Dec. 1901-22 May 1902

BOX 157		21 May 1902-16 mar. 1903

BOX 158		17 Mar. 1903-25 Jan. 1904

BOX 159		25 Jan.-13 July 1904

BOX 160		13 July 1904-10 Jan. 1905

BOX 161		10 Jan.-23 June 1905

BOX 162		23 June 1905-18 Aug. 1906

BOX 163		20 Aug. 1906-6 June 1908

BOX 164		6 June 1908-11 Nov. 1909

BOX 165		11 Nov. 1909-4 Nov. 1910

BOX 166		4 Nov. 1910-21 Nov. 1911

BOX 167		21 Nov. 1911-19 Dec. 1912

BOX 168		19 Dec. 1912-10 Nov. 1913

BOX 169		10 Nov. 1913-31 Dec. 1914

BOX 170		31 Dec. 1914-27 Dec. 1915

BOX 171		27 Dec. 1915-4 Nov. 1916

BOX 172		23 Feb.-30 Oct. 1917

BOX 173		10 Nov. 1920-1 Oct. 1921

BOX 174-181	Outgoing Letters: Secretary of the Navy, 1905-1906
		Bound letterpress copy books.
		Arranged chronologically. Letterpress copies of correspondence relating to telephone cost rates and Navy Department salaries and expenses are in Container 181.

BOX 174		26 June-6 Oct. 1905

BOX 175		6 Oct.-10 Dec. 1905

BOX 176		11 Dec. 1905-1 Feb. 1906

BOX 177		8 Feb.-24 Mar. 1906

BOX 178		24 Mar.-5 June 1906

BOX 179		5 June-24 Aug. 1906

BOX 180		24 Aug.-13 Nov. 1906

BOX 181		Telephone rate book, 16 July-4 Dec. 1906

		Statement of Navy Department salaries and expenses, 1900-1904

BOX 182-185	Outgoing Letters: Attorney General, 1906-1909
		Bound letterpress copy books.
		Arranged chronologically.

BOX 182		17 Dec. 1906-12 Apr. 1907

BOX 183		14 Apr. 1907-28 Feb. 1908

BOX 184		28 Feb.-7 Sept. 1908

BOX 185		7 Sept. 1908-5 Mar. 1909

BOX 186-187	Personal Miscellany, circa 1880-1920
		Biographical material, notes, memoranda, charity appeals, real estate office miscellany, clippings and other printed matter.

BOX 186		Biographical material

		"Private"

		Notes, memoranda

BOX 187		Charity appeals

		Real estate

		Printed matter

BOX 188-210	Subject File, circa 1880-1920
		Memoranda, reports, clippings, printed matter, and correspondence.
		Arranged alphabetically by subject.

BOX 188		Baltimore Bar Association

		Baltimore Reform League, Baltimore, Md.

		Bar Association of America of Maryland

		Belgian Red Cross

		Burnt District Commission

		Catholic Club

BOX 189		Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.

BOX 190		Charity Organization Society

		Children's Aid Society

		Civic Federation

BOX 191-193		Civil Service Reform League, 1902-1917

BOX 194		Consumers' League

		Contested elections, 1909

BOX 195		Election campaigns, 1895, 1904, 1911

BOX 196		Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, Md.

		Federated Charities

		Good Government Club

BOX 197		Harvard University, Cambridge, Md., special reports, printed matter

BOX 198		Harvard, printed matter

BOX 199		Income and expenses

		Indian investigation, 1903

		Indians, 1912-17

BOX 200		Justice Department

		Mission helpers

BOX 201		National Conservation Association

		National Municipal League

BOX 202		Navy Department

		Navy Yard reports

BOX 203		Phi Beta Kappa

		Politics, 1905-1912, 1916

BOX 204		Postal investigation, 1903

			Indexed items

BOX 205			Indexed items, clippings

BOX 206		Progressive Party

			1912-1917

BOX 207			1912-1917

BOX 208		St. Elizabeth's Home, Washington, D.C.

		St. Joseph's Apostolic Society

		Sewerage Commission

		Short ballot

		Society for Prevention of Blindness

		Society for Suppression of Vice

BOX 209		State aid and charities

		Trinity College, Washington, D.C.

		Union for the Public Good

		University of Maryland, College Park, Md.

BOX 210		War preparedness

BOX 211-218	Speech, Article, and Book File, circa 1890-1920
		Mainly typewritten or printed copies of speeches and articles. Also clipped and mounted portions of speeches and articles for unpublished book.
		Speeches are arranged in a numbered, indexed series, except for a small unindexed file arranged chronologically and three files grouped by subject. The index is in Container 211.

BOX 211		Speeches

			Nos. 1-50, index

BOX 212			Nos. 51-125

BOX 213			Nos. 126-200

BOX 214			Nos. 201-254

BOX 215			Nos. 255-280

			Unindexed, 1915-1920

			Navy, 1905-1906

			Maryland campaign, 1906-1907

BOX 216			Civil Service, 1906-1908

			Book manuscript of collected speeches

BOX 217		Articles

			1911-1912

BOX 218			1913-May 1915

			On Theodore Roosevelt, 1919

BOX 219-256	Legal Papers, 1760-1920
		Early family and personal legal papers, but mainly cases in which Bonaparte was counsel or litigant.
		Arranged alphabetically as docketed. Also papers relating to estates held in trust and printed briefs.

BOX 219		Family and Personal

			Deeds, leases, and cases

				1760-1839

BOX 220				1840-1901

BOX 221		Cases

			A

BOX 222			A-B

BOX 223-224			B

BOX 225			B-C

BOX 226			C

BOX 227			D

BOX 228			D-F

BOX 229			F-G

BOX 230			G

BOX 231-232			H

BOX 233			H-I

BOX 234			J-L

BOX 235			L-M

BOX 236-237			M

BOX 238			M-O

BOX 239-240			O

BOX 241			P

BOX 242			P-R

BOX 243			R

BOX 244			R-S

BOX 245			Smith, M. A.

BOX 246			S

BOX 247			T-U

BOX 248			V-W

BOX 249			W-Z, miscellaneous

BOX 250		Other legal material

			Cole estate

BOX 251			Hoffman, Hyatt, Piper estates

BOX 252			Miscellaneous wills, deeds

			St. Mary's Industrial School, Baltimore, Md., commitment papers

BOX 253			Miscellaneous notes

BOX 254-256			Printed briefs

BOX 257-262	Scrapbooks, 1905-1909
		Clippings from newspapers and magazines mounted in scrapbooks. The material relates to Bonaparte's activities while in the cabinet of Theodore Roosevelt.
		Arranged chronologically.

BOX 257		Vols. 1-4, 1905

BOX 258		Vols. 5-7, 1905-1906

BOX 259		Vols. 8-10, 1906-1907

BOX 260		Vols. 11-13, 1907-1908

BOX 261		Vols. 14-15, 1908

BOX 262		Vols. 16-17, 1908-1909

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