William Cogswell (1838-1895) Papers |
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WILLIAM COGSWELL (1838-1895) PAPERS, 1861-1894
Collection Summary | |
| Repository: | The Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum 132 Essex Street Salem, MA 01970 Phone: 978-745-9500 Fax: 978-531-1516 |
| Creator: | Cogswell, William, 1838-1895 |
| Title: | William Cogswell (1838-1895) Papers |
| Dates: | 1861/1894 |
| Quantity: | 2 linear feet (4 boxes) |
| Abstract: | The William Cogswell papers document Cogswell's career as a politician and military officer. |
| Collection Number: | MSS 212 |
Series List
SERIES I. Military and Political Papers
SERIES II. Speeches
Scope and Content Note
The William Cogswell papers document Cogswell's career as a politician and military officer. The collection is divided into two series.
Papers in Series I. Military and Political Papers
describe his daily work as quartermaster of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.
The papers include accounts of battles, military maps, and letters from other
military officers recommending Cogswell's promotion to brigadier general. The
political papers draw from his activities as Salem mayor, Massachusetts senator, and
United States congressman. Box 1 Folder 10 contains some letters and news clippings about Cogswell’s refusal to accept the Salem postmastership.
Series II. Speeches contains the bulk of Cogswell's
papers. It consists of his speeches made before political, civic, and military
groups during his terms as United States congressman. Cogswell spoke on a variety of
topics including military campaigns, fisheries, agriculture, and the political
arena.
Biographical Sketch
William Cogswell (1838-1895) was born in Bradford, Massachusetts, educated at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, graduated from Harvard Law School in 1860, and practiced law in Salem, Massachusetts. He served in the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry as a captain in 1861, rising to brigadier general in 1864. Cogswell's political positions included mayor of Salem (1867-1869, 1873-1874), member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1870-1871, 1881-1883), member of the Massachusetts Senate (1885-1886), and member of the United States House of Representatives (1887-1895). He died in Washington, D.C., on May 22, 1895, and was buried at Harmony Grove Cemetery in Salem.
Index Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in Philcat. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Restrictions
Restrictions on Access
This collection is open for research use.
Administrative Information
Copyright
Requests for permission to publish material from the collection must be submitted in writing to the Manuscript Librarian in the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum.
Preferred Citation
William Cogswell (1838-1895) Papers, MSS 212, Phillips Library, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass.
Provenance
The Cogswell papers are a reorganization and integration of one scrapbook and two boxes. A folder of orrespondence, speeches, clippings, 1866-1871 (B1 F10), was donated by William B. Welch on February 21, 1968. The rest of the collection is from an unknown source.
Processing Information
Collection processed by John Henderson, May 1986. Updated by Lee Jacoby, December 2015.