Manuscript Resources on The History of Transportation

Ellery, A. R. Letter, 1820 March 12. 1 item. Location: Misc. Resident of New Orleans. Letter to a friend in New York comments on heavy steamboat traffic on the river and recent presence of 'sickness' in the city. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3199.

Fearn Donegan & Co. Letter, 1852 Apr. 20. 1 letter. Location: Misc. An agent of Fearn Donegan & Co. in New Orleans, La., writes to another in Huntsville, Ala., remarking on the difficulty and expense of transporting railroad iron by boat to Tuscumbia, Ala., the cotton accounts of some clients, and the state of the cotton market in New Orleans. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 4009.

Fessenden, Anson D., b. 1839. Papers, 1862-1863, undated 82 items, 1 ms. vol. Location: W:36. Captain in the 53rd Massachusetts Infantry in the Civil War and resident of Townsend, Massachusetts. Letters to Fessenden's family describe camp life in New York and New Orleans, the sea voyage to New Orleans, and the Port Hudson campaign. A diary records experiences in that campaign. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3137.

Fisher, Jacob. Letter, 1850. 1 item. Location: Misc. Postmaster of the Village Post Office, Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana. Typewritten copy of a letter from Fisher to his brother, Frederick Fisher, describing his trip from New Orleans to San Francisco by schooner and the economic and social conditions in Sacramento, following the discovery of gold in California. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1082.

Foreign trade price lists collection, 1824-1833. 3 items. Location: Misc:F. J. W. Bastian & Son was a firm in Bremen, Germany, importing coffee, sugar, tobacco, and other staples as well as linens, dyes, and spices. Mariatequi, Knight & Co. was a firm based in Havana, exporting sugar, coffee, molasses, and provisions to New Orleans, Louisiana, and other parts of the United States, and to Europe. The foreign trade price lists report the prices of commodities being exported and imported from Bremen, Germany (1824), St. Petersburg, Russia (1824), and Havana, Cuba (1833). Also listed are exchange rates, in London, Amsterdam, Hamburg, and Paris. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3326.

Foster, Murphy J. and family. Papers, 1880-1955 (bulk 1880-1930). 4.3 linear ft. Location: UU:286-287, 98:F. The collection extensively documents Foster's political career, his relationship with his wife Rose Ker Foster, and their children's formative years. Materials in the collection include correspondence, financial papers, legislative papers, and printed items. Topics addressed include family matters such as the development and education of the Foster children; Rose's management of Dixie Plantation in Murphy's absences; and Foster's political career and the issues that concerned him, such as the Anti-Lottery campaign, a national income tax, regulating railway rates, flood control, poll taxes, and protection of sugar growers. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 4710.

Frierson, Philip Bernard. Letters, 1872, 1879-1880. 5 items. Location: Misc. Photocopies of letters (1879-1880) from a LSU cadet giving an account of his journey by horseback and riverboat from his home in DeSoto Parish, Louisiana, to the University, and of his first two weeks as a student. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1974.

Fulton, J. Alexander. Diary, 1854-1855. 2 vols. [on microfilm]. Location: Mss. Mf.:F. Lawyer of Kittanning, Pennsylvania, member of the State House of Representatives. Diary and observations of J. Alexander Fulton of a trip from the East through Midwest, and via the Mississippi River and New Orleans, to Texas and return. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1643.

Garland, Henry Lastrapes, 1826-1908. Papers, 1778-1940 (bulk 1860-1940). 804 items. Location: 79:94, Vault MRDF 2, Vault:1. Lawyer and landowner of Opelousas, Louisiana. Correspondence, land documents, and legal and business documents of Garland and his wife Celeste. Papers include a legal agreement in French (1778), letters of Confederate civilians, materials relating to St. Landry Parish schools, and materials on railroads in the state. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3087.

Gay-Butler-Plater family. Papers, 1814-2016. 30.5 linear ft., 25 volumes. Location: G:43-85, OS:G, Q:1-6. Planters of Iberville, Lafourche, and Terrebonne parishes, Louisiana. Correspondence, financial records, legal records, photographic materials, and personal papers created and accumulated by the Gay, Butler, Plater, and Price families of Louisiana documenting their political, social, and financial affairs. Mss. 4872.