Carter, Henry Kendall. Papers
Acknowledgments
Processed with assistance from the CLIR-funded Black Metropolis Research Consortium "Color Curtain Processing Project."
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Carter, Henry Kendall. Papers
- Dates
- 1823-1880
- MS_No
- Crerar Ms 208
- Language
- Documents in English
- Size
- 4 linear feet (5 boxes)
- Repository
-
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research CenterUniversity of Chicago Library1100 East 57th StreetChicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.
- Abstract
- The Henry Kendall Carter Papers (1823-1880, bulk 1840-1870) are made up of business documents, primarily concerning Carter's time in New Orleans (circa 1842-1874), personal and business correspondence, and personal memo books and diaries (1850-1878). Together, these items shed light on business life in Antebellum New Orleans, and on the realities of personal and business life in a divided country during the Civil War.
Information on Use
Access
The Henry Kendall Carter Papers are open for research in accordance with the University of Chicago Library's "Policies and Regulations Governing the Use of Manuscript and Archival Collections."
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Citation
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Carter, Henry Kendall. Papers, Crerar MS 208, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Biographical Note
Henry Kendall Carter was born circa 1805 (some census data suggests 1812) in Connecticut. Around 1837 he married Henrietta Whitlocke, also of Connecticut. In 1842, he moved to New Orleans and entered the cotton business, first working for D. Pratt & Co. and then under his own name as H. Kendall Carter & Co. As a cotton trader and partial owner of one of New Orleans' leading newspapers (The New Orleans Commercial Bulletin, bought in 1849), Carter enjoyed substantial wealth and influence throughout the city.
In 1850 Carter purchased a home in Hartford, Connecticut and maintained partial residence there, as did his family. By this time he and Henrietta had four daughters: Henrietta, Mary, Ella, and Isabel (Belle). However, his business operations continued to be concentrated in New Orleans, and he travelled extensively back and forth before and even during the Civil War. In 1863 New Orleans was seized by Union troops, and Carter's spacious offices were taken over by General Butler. As a result of the war, he lost nearly all of the $300,000 that he had loaned out to planters, though he continued to do business in New Orleans through the early 1870s.
After the Civil War, Carter purchased a farm on the Fox River in Kendall County, IL, not far from his daughter Henrietta and son-in-law, John H. S. Quick, who lived in Chicago. Henrietta Whitlocke Carter died in 1867 in Illinois, and Carter did not remarry. He lived and focused on the farm in his later years, and died around 1880.
Members of Henrietta Whitlocke Carter's family appear in Series I and II of the collection, as Henry Carter was heavily involved in the family's business affairs. Most notable are Eulalia Whitlocke, her mother, who died in 1862, her brother-in-law, William L. Johnson, with whom Eulalia lived for many years, and Eulalia's sister Elizabeth Bertram. After Eulalia's death, Carter corresponded with Elizabeth and William both about personal matters and about affairs related to Eulalia's estate. There are also a number of early letters addressed to Henrietta in care of her brother-in-law Isaac Seymour, husband of Henrietta's sister Caroline Eulalia Whitlocke.
The collection gives insight not only into Carter's life and business, but also that of his extended family. Letters and journals reveal a family that was surprisingly mobile and far-flung, with members spread among Connecticut, New York, Georgia, New Orleans, and Illinois.
Scope Note
The collection is divided into three series: Personal, Correspondence, and Business Records.
Series I, Personal, contains personal records, diaries, and other ephemera. This includes a school composition by a young Henrietta Carter and records of business dealings with family, particularly with regard to Henrietta Carter's mother's estate and resultant transactions. The series also contains a number of small leather bound memo books that document Carter's personal and household expenses, letters written, laundry sent out, and travel. Sundry ephemera and incidental papers were found inside the books, such as newspaper clippings, recipes, and receipts. There are three later diaries documenting Carter's farm ventures after relocating to Illinois, his daily activities, and some of his private thoughts. Of particular interest to researchers are the incidental papers in Box 1, Folder 2, which include a recipe for alcoholic bitters, a Confederate government bond, and a pass that allowed travel from Louisiana to New York during the Civil War. Folder 7 contains a newspaper clipping with the text of the 1875 Civil Rights Act, and Folder 12 includes a scrap of paper with an idea for a hollow rubber horse shoe. Personal papers will come first in the series, arranged chronologically. The memo books and diaries follow, also arranged chronologically. Each book is housed with any material found in its covers. Material pertaining to Whitlocke family estates and affairs is at the end.
Series 2, Correspondence, contains letters from Carter to his wife Henrietta, as well as letters to Henrietta from her family, mostly dating from before her marriage to Carter. There are also a few letters from Carter to other members of his family, and several to other members of Henrietta's family. Whitlocke family correspondence is first, arranged chronologically, then letters written by H. K. Carter.
Series 3, Business Records, contains documents relating to Henry Kendall Carter's business activities. It primarily reflects Carter's time in New Orleans, before he moved to Kendall County, IL. The material in this series consists of account ledgers, balance sheets, promissory notes, employment contracts, statements of accounts, business correspondence, legal documents such as mortgages and records of land sales, and other documents related to Carter's involvement in the cotton industry in New Orleans, as well as his involvement in The New Orleans Commercial Bulletin. It also contains bills and receipts for business expenses, rent, etc. Of particular interest is a bill of sale for two slaves, Nancy and Cordelia (a mother and child), in Box 4, Folder 6.
Series 4, Oversize, contains a fragile letter housed in Mylar, and a bound volume of business letters from Carter with many loose pages. The letters provide valuable information about the growth of Carter's cotton business in New Orleans.
Indexed Terms
INVENTORY
- Title
- Blank Pocket Diary, Lock of Hair, undated
- Title
- Account Book – H. K. Carter & Co., 1852-1872
- Title
- Account Book – Carter & Pratt, 1855-1859