JAMES E. MURDOCH PAPERS

(Mss. 667)

Inventory

Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections

Special Collections, Hill Memorial Library

Louisiana State University Libraries

Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University

Reformatted 2003

Revised 2010

CONTENTS OF INVENTORY

SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... 3

BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL NOTE ...................................................................................... 4

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE ................................................................................................... 4

CROSS REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 5

CONTAINER LIST ........................................................................................................................ 6

APPENDIX A ................................................................................................................................. 7

APPENDIX B ................................................................................................................................. 8

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SUMMARY

Size.	35 items

Geographic locations.	Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, England

Inclusive dates.	1837-1903, undated

Bulk dates.	N/A

Language.	English

Summary.	A collection of letters from well-known actors and authors to James E. Murdoch, his daughter Fannie, Reverend John Pierpont, and others. Also includes playbills from productions starring Murdoch.

Organization.	Arranged chronologically by correspondent.

Restrictions on access.	If microfilm is available, photocopies must be made from microfilm.

Related collections.	N/A

Copyright.	Copyright of the original materials is retained by descendants of the creators in accordance with U.S. copyright law.

Citation.	James E. Murdoch Papers, Mss. 667, Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, La.

Stack location(s).	A:2; OS:M

BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL NOTE

James Edward Murdoch (1811-1893), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Thomas and Elizabeth Murdoch, was originally trained as a bookbinder. He made his first appearance as an actor in 1829, and worked as an actor, stage-manager, and lecturer in both the U.S. and England. During the Civil War, Murdoch volunteered as a nurse in Union hospitals in addition to giving dramatic readings to soldiers. He was married to Eliza Middlecott and the two had at least one daughter, Fannie Murdoch. He was also known as a teacher of elocution.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The collection consists of letters written to James E. Murdoch, his daughter Fannie Murdoch, and Reverend John Pierpont from various actors, authors, politicians, abolitionists, clergymen, and others. Letters discuss performances, writings, family news, and abolition. Authors of letters include Salmon P. Chase, Henry W. Longfellow, Edward Everett Hale, and Charles Darwin. See Appendices for detailed lists.

The collection also contains two playbills for performances by James E. Murdoch and an illustration of Charles Darwin.

CROSS REFERENCES

Subject	Date	Description of relevant documents
Authors.	1837-1903	Letters from Lydia M. Child, Horace Mann, Josiah Quincy, Edward Everett Hale, Charles R. Darwin, Jared Sparks, Horace H. Furness, Joseph Jefferson, Francis Wilson, and others

Actors--United States.	1848-1889	Letters from actors including Joseph Jefferson; and 2 playbills, 1848, 1855, advertising James E. Murdoch

Abolitionists--New England.	1837-1844	Letters to John Pierpont, 1837-1844; one from Lydia M. Child, and from Josiah Quincy

Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882.	1851	Letter from Darwin to Sir J. Richardson, December 30, 1851, includes illustration of Darwin

Murdoch, Fannie.	1880-1903	Letters to Fannie Murdoch, daughter of James E. Murdoch

Murdoch, James Edward, 1811-1893.	1843-1889	Letters to James E. Murdoch, actor, lecturer, teacher of elocution

Pierpont, John, 1785-1866.	1837-1851	Letters to Reverend John Pierpont, Unitarian clergyman, author and abolitionist

Playbills.	1848, 1855	2 playbills, Arch Street Theatre, 1848; City Museum [Theatre], 1855

CONTAINER LIST

Stack Location	Box	Folder(s)	Contents (with dates)
A:2	1	1a	James E. Murdoch Correspondence (1843-1889, undated)

		1b	Other correspondence (1837-1876)

		2	Fannie Murdoch Correspondence (1880-1903)

OS:M		3	Playbills (1848, 1855)

APPENDIX A

Correspondents include:

Barrett, Lawrence (1838-1891), American actor

Boker, George Henry (1823-1890), poet, playwright

Bridge, W.F.

Chase, Salmon Portland (1808-1873), American statesman

Child, Lydia Maria Francis (1802-1880), editor, abolitionist, novelist

Daly, Augustin, manager of Daly’s Theatre, New York

Darwin, Charles Robert (1809-1882), English naturalist

Drew, Louisa (1820-1897), actress and wife of actor John Drew

Fields, James Thomas (1816-1881), editor, publisher, poet

Furness, Horace Howard (1833-1912), American Shakespearean scholar and legal writer

Hale, Edward Everett (1822-1909), Unitarian clergyman, author

James, J.A., bookdealer, Cincinnati, Ohio

Jefferson, Joseph (1829-1905), actor, author

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth (1807-1882), poet, editor, educator

Ludlow, Noah Miller (1795-1886), actor, author

Macready, William Charles (1793-1873), English tragedian

Mann, Horace (1796-1859), educator, author

Murdoch, Fannie, daughter of James Murdoch and Eliza Middlecott Murdoch

Murdoch, James E. (1811-1893), actor, lecturer, teacher of elocution

Nicolay, John George (1832-1901), German-born private secretary to Abraham Lincoln; collaborator with John Hay in Lincoln biography (1890)

Pierpont, John (1785-1866), Unitarian clergyman, author, abolitionist

Quincy, Josiah (1772-1864), reformer, educator, author

Read, Thomas Buchanan (1822-1872), American poet famous for “Sheridan’s Ride”

Richardson, Sir J.

Sheridan, Philip Henry (1831-1888), Federal general

Sparks, Jared (1789-1866), educator, historian

Walker, Judge

Wilson, Francis (1854-1935), author

APPENDIX B

Letter Index:

To:	From:	Date:
James E. Murdoch	James Thomas Fields	1843
James E. Murdoch	James Thomas Fields	1847
James E. Murdoch	Thomas Buchanan Read	1856
James E. Murdoch	Thomas Buchanan Read	1863
James E. Murdoch	Thomas Buchanan Read	1863
James E. Murdoch	George Henry Boker	1864
James E. Murdoch	John George Nicolay	1864
James E. Murdoch	Salmon Portland Chase	1865
James E. Murdoch	Philip Henry Sheridan	1878
James E. Murdoch	Noah Miller Ludlow	1880
James E. Murdoch	Augustin Daly	1888
James E. Murdoch	Horace Howard Furness	1888
James E. Murdoch	Augustin Daly	1889
James E. Murdoch	Horace Howard Furness	1889
James E. Murdoch	Horace Howard Furness	1889
James E. Murdoch	Henry Wadsworth Longfellow	undated
Reverend John Pierpont	Josiah Quincy	1837
Reverend John Pierpont	Horace Mann	1838
Reverend John Pierpont	Lydia Maria Francis Child	1842
Reverend John Pierpont	Lydia Maria Francis Child	1844
Reverend John Pierpont	Horace Mann	1851
J.A. James	Jared Sparks	1847
Judge Walker	William Charles Macready	1849
Sir John Richardson	Charles Darwin	1851
W.F. Bridge	Edward Everett Hale	1876
H. Hollinghead	Joseph Jefferson	1888
Fanny Murdoch	Laurence Barrett	1883
Fanny Murdoch	Louisa Drew	1880
Fanny Murdoch	Joseph Jefferson	1889
Fanny Murdoch	Francis Wilson	1891
Fanny Murdoch	Francis Wilson	1903