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"SC10722"
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Bibliographic Information
Title
Papers, 1854-1887
Author
Fenton, Reuben E. (Reuben Eaton), 1819-1885.
Pages:
4
Item info:
1 copy available at Manuscripts and Special Collections.
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Manuscripts and Special Collections
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SC10722
1
MANUSCRIPT
N (nocirc)
MARC Record
Papers, 1854-1887
Fenton, Reuben E. (Reuben Eaton), 1819-1885.
Control Number:
(OCoLC)122519796
Local call number:
SC10722
Author:
Fenton, Reuben E. (Reuben Eaton), 1819-1885.
Title:
Papers, 1854-1887.
Quantity:
4 boxes (1.25 cubic ft.)
Historical/biog note:
Reuben Eaton Fenton was born near Frewsburg, Chautauqua County, New York, on July 4, 1819. At the age of twenty he entered the lumber business and soon became a prosperous merchant. He also studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1841. Fenton entered politics in the 1840s when he was elected supervisor of the Town of Carroll. In 1852 he was elected to Congress as a Democrat, where he distinguished himself as an opponent to the extension of slavery in passionate speeches against the Kansas-Nebraska Act. For this reason, he left from the Democratic Party to help organize the Republican Party in 1854. He was elected to Congress again in 1856, and served continuously until 1865, when he became governor of New York State. Both as a congressman and as governor, he was a strong supporter of the Lincoln administration and its policies. In 1869 he was elected to the United States Senate and held that office for one term. He failed in his attempt to be re-elected because of a patronage dispute with Roscoe Conkling. In 1878 he was appointed chairman of the International Monetary Conference in Paris. He died in Jamestown, New York, August 24, 1885.
Review:
The Reuben Eaton Fenton papers contain an assortment of manuscript and printed material related primarily to his political career. Manuscripts include select chapters and the table of contents for a proposed biography written circa 1869, letters written by Fenton concerning official business and political matters, and speeches on a variety of topics. The most interesting speeches discuss the issues of the federal election campaign of 1868 and an endorsement of James G. Blaine for president in 1884. In addition, there are a bound folio containing telegrams he received as governor of New York that concern the post-Civil War mustering out of volunteer militia regiments and matters of political patronage, and a scrapbook containing newspaper clippings related to Fenton's nomination for vice president on the Republican Party ticket of 1868..
Provenance note:
The bulk of these papers was accessioned by the repository in 1937, a gift of Mrs. John Minturn. Accretions to this papers were made in 1993 and 2006, with the addition of several items that had been previously accessioned and separately.
Finding aids:
Unpublished guide available in repository and online: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/msscfa/sc10722.htm
Personal subject:
Fenton, Reuben E. (Reuben Eaton), 1819-1885 Correspondence.
Corporate subject:
New York (State). Governor (1865-1869 : Fenton)
Corporate subject:
United States. Congress--History.
Corporate subject:
Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- )--History.
Geographic terms:
New York (State)--History--1775-1865.
Geographic terms:
New York (State)--History--1865-
Geographic terms:
New York (State)--Politics and government--1775-1865.
Geographic terms:
New York (State)--Politics and government--1865-1950.
Geographic terms:
United States--Politics and government--1815-1861.
Geographic terms:
United States--Politics and government--1861-1865.
Geographic terms:
United States--Politics and government--1865-1900.
Geographic terms:
United States--History--1815-1861.
Geographic terms:
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Geographic terms:
United States--History--1865-1898.
Geographic terms:
Jamestown (N.Y.)--History Sources.
Form/genre terms:
Letters. aat
Form/genre terms:
Speeches. aat
Electronic access:
Finding aid: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/msscfa/sc10722.htm
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