Manuscript Collections

Spencer St. Lawrence Seaway Expansion Research Files

This partially-processed collection consists of Richard Spencer’s personal research files on the U.S. and Canadian Seaway agencies’ winter navigation and other expansion proposals.

St. Lawrence County Collection

The collection consists of photographs, photo booklets, cemetery records of Nicholville, deeds, high school yearbooks, various newspapers, clippings about the county, and many articles and booklets.

St. Lawrence County Early Land Records Collection

This collection contains letters, maps deeds and other documents describing land speculation, purchases and other transactions in parts of St. Lawrence County prior to 1815.

St. Lawrence County Town Clerk Vital Statistics Records 1847-1850

Lists of births, deaths and marriages recorded in the Town Clerk's offices of all 25 St. Lawrence County towns then organized between the years of 1847 and 1850.

St. Lawrence Figure Skating Club Collection

This collection consists of correspondence, financial statements, minutes of meetings, rules and regulations of the club, its constitution and by-laws. Also included are photographs, newspaper clippings, and programs of the club's annual ice shows.

St. Lawrence Seaway Collection

The St. Lawrence Seaway Collection at St. Lawrence University consists of approximately 1200 items. The whole collection is actually made up of four smaller collections or series, each with its own strengths and unique characteristics. Most of the materials in the overall collection come from the period 1930-1959. One of these series is the papers and documents accumulated by St. Lawrence University. The other three series were donated by individuals with some connection to the St. Lawrence Seaway project.

St. Lawrence University Images

This digital collection consists of 100+ images selected from the campus photographs housed in the University’s Archives. The originals are from the 1860’s to present.

Stage Door Canteen

Stage Door Canteen collection consists of a 23 page lecture on its history, 35 photocopies of pictures, and 35 photographs.

Steinman Vietnam Veteran Poetry Collection

The collection consists of correspondence, poetry manuscripts, and ephemera related to the 1987 St Lawrence University David B. Steinman Festival of the Arts entitled “Art and the Vietnam Experience.” The collection consists mostly of unpublished poem manuscripts written by people who served in the armed forces during the Vietnam War.

Stereoscope and View-master

The collection consists of eight stereoscopic photo cards depicting activities related to a moose hunt by members of the Oh You! Scraggy Club in 1910. None of the people in the photos are identified but five of the three-dimensional images have some writing on the back.  The collection includes a viewer for the images called a Holmes stereoscope. In the collection is also a GAF View-Master and a View Master disk of images of Ausable Chasm.

Stillwater Club Records

The Stillwater Club, an Adirondack hunting club, occupies 14,600 acres on the North and Middle Branch of the Grass River in the town of Clare, St. Lawrence County.  This collection has mainly two types of materials: photographs and notebooks.

Stop the Olympic Prison (S.T.O.P.) Collection

This collection documents the widespread effort over a two year period (1978-1979) to raise public awareness of and
build opposition to the post-Olympic use of the athletes’ housing as a federal prison. It consists primarily of photocopies of hundreds of newspaper and magazine stories, newsletters, editorials and other material documenting
the opposition to the prison effort. Also included is internal and external correspondence among and between North
Country clergy active in Stop The Olympic Prison (STOP), the New York Moratorium on Prison Construction, and
state and federal politicians, as well as posters, brochures and fliers, and a transcript of a civil lawsuit filed by the
USOC against STOP. The collection is organized chronologically by type of material.

Sudds Family Photographs

Photos show family portraits, interiors and street scenes in Gouverneur, N.Y. as well as river scenes in Chippewa Bay, N.Y.  May also include Todd family photographs.

Sunderland Family Civil War Correspondence

This collection consists of 65 letters (64 originals and one photocopy), transcriptions of letters, 9 envelopes, photocopies of national archives records and research papers on both Darwin and John Sunderland prepared by St. Lawrence University students.

Sunderland Family Correspondence

This collection consists of 65 letters (64 originals and one photocopy) of John and Darwin Sunderland describe camp life, battles, hospitals, and medical care during the Civil War.

The David & William Tyler Civil War Collection

The collection consists of correspondence and a few poems created mostly by the brothers William and David Tyler after their enlistment in the 106th New York Volunteer Regiment in 1862. The other authors are other members from the regiment or other members of the Tyler family. David died on February 6th, 1863 from complications from pneumonia and William was killed in action during the Battle of Cold Harbor, which took place between May 31 - Jun 12, 1864. Most of the letters are addressed to the brothers’ parents or at least one sibling, usually a sister, though sometimes more.

The Hill News

A digital archive of the "Hill News", St. Lawrence University's student newspaper, is now available for editions published between 1911-2008. The entire archive is fully indexed and searchable.

Thomas John Carlisle Papers

The collection consists of approximately 800 poems, 29 letters and 2 pieces of sheet music. The poems are typewritten and many contain references to biblical verses. The correspondence consists of letters to and from publishers about his books.

Thomas Purves Collection

The collection consists of two manuscript notebooks written by Purves donated to St. Lawrence University in 1989 by Allegra Fourtanati (relative of Purves) of California. The first notebook is an account of Purves and his family's journey from Scotland to America in 1819. The second book is entitled "A Shorthand Dictionary Consisting of Invented Characters for Words and Sentences." Also included is a newspaper article about the notebooks.

Thousand Islands Collection

This collection contains photo booklets of the Islands and the St. Lawrence River, newspapers, index to summer cottages in the late 18th century, and an engraved plate for making money from the Sackets Harbor Bank.

Tintype of Native American

A tintype photograph of a Native American in traditional dress about 1870.

Town of Colton Collection

This collection consists of an assessment roll for 1868, voting registers of general elections, a 1919 Ballot, mortgages, and receipts of paid bills.

Twentieth Century Paperbacks Collection

This collection consists of 220 paperbacks, published between 1929 and 1978. They represent 19 publishing houses, most notably Pocket Books. The cover art represents the work of a score of anonymous illustrators. The heft, feel, smell, and aura of the books embodies the iconic place these everyday objects have in libraries and people’s lives.

U.S. Presidential Inauguration Memorabilia

The United States Presidential Inauguration collection was donated to St. Lawrence University by J. Harold Launders, class of 1932. Mr. Launders was a member of the Inaugural Committee for several years during which time he collected the materials.

Ulysses S. Milburn Collection of Nathaniel Hawthorne

This collection consists of letters written by Hawthorne dating between 1837 and 1863, and letters written by family members. The collection also includes manuscripts by Hawthorne, members of his family, and historical documents.

Ulysses S. Milburn Illustrated Lecture Photograph Collection

The majority of items in this collection consist of hand-colored photo glass slides, glass slide negatives and gel negatives of scenery, buildings and people in England, Scotland, Ireland, Switzerland and other European countries; Mexico, Central and South America, and Africa.

Universalism Collection

The collection consists of booklets, magazines, pamphlets, photographs, sermons, and clippings all relating to the Universalist churches throughout the United States and written by Universalist clergy.

Van de Water Family Postcard Collection

This collection consists of approximately 600 vintage and a few contemporary post cards of locations, destinations and points of interest around the Cranberry Lake area.

Van Horne St. Lawrence County Postcards Collection

The collection consists of approximately 450 photographic postcards and lithograph images dating from before the turn of the 20th century to the 1960's.

Vietnam War-era Photographs

Photographs by American G.I.s and nurses depicting battlefields, soldiers, prisoners, and villages and city life in Vietnam, as well as protests and peace marches in the United States.

W.F. Willson & Co. Business Ledgers

This collection consists of five bound volumes: four account books and an index from W.F. Willson & Co., Dealers in General Merchandise, located in Massena.

Wal-Gene Camps Collection

Collection consists of a guest register, photograph album, photographs and post cards of the camp, unidentified guests, fish and lake.

War of 1812 Pamphlet Collection

This collection consists primarily of contemporary pamphlets and newspapers published during the War of 1812. Also contained in the collection is an Orderly Book pertaining to the Battle of Plattsburgh.

Watson Berry Papers

This collection consists of correspondence, railroad ephemera, and photographs of logging in the North Country. Also included are pamphlets on the Mohawks, transcriptions of Preston King letters and assorted research material and stories on the North Country written by Berry.

Wells Family United Nations Stamp Collection

The collection consists of sheets of commemorative UN postage stamps issued between 1983 and 2009, First Day Covers (colorful UN-issued envelopes with cancelled stamps) issued between 1969 and 1991, and UN postal cards issued between 1989 and 1996. Also included are commemorative philatelic collection cards from 1972 to 1994.

Wetherell Family Papers

This collection documents the lives of several St. Lawrence County families including the Coltons, Hatchs, and Randalls, and the social and cultural history of the county as well as the ethnic history of the settlers responsible for the westward expansion of the United States.

William B. Goodrich Collection

This collection consists of the correspondence and journals related to two military members active in the Civil War: William B. Goodrich and Patrick (P.H.) Wells. The Goodrich papers include documents and memorabilia from Goodrich and his daughter, Stella Goodrich Russell with dates ranging from 1853-1898. The P.H. Wells papers include letters from Wells to his friend and eventual wife, Sadie and personal diaries.

The total collection consists of 63 letters, 16 journals/diaries, 18 legal, business papers and certificates, a booklet entitled "The American Nation", 17 photographs, and other miscellaneous articles and memorabilia.

William H. Carr Diary

This diary, covering the time between January 1, 1865 and July 22, 1865, was kept by Private William H. Carr who served in the 14th New York Heavy Artillery. It is very detailed with Carr writing nearly every day. With the diary is a student paper on Carr containing transcriptions of most of the entries, as well as copies of Carr’s pension documents.

William H. Davies Papers

This collection consists of 54 letters, written between November 8, 1861 and April 26, 1863 by William H. Davies to his family while he was serving in the 16th NY Volunteers in Virginia.

William H. Rasbeck Collection

This collection consists of 28 diaries of William Rasbeck, one for each year from 1887 through 1916. The diary entries most concern the weather for each day and the routine happenings and chores of the day.