Collection #

M 0286

MATHIAS C. VAN PELT
PAPERS, 1825–1897

Collection Information

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Content Note

Series Contents

Cataloging Information

Processed by

Paul Brockman
17 May 2000
Revised 14 September 2001

Manuscripts and Archives Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269

www.indianahistory.org

COLLECTION INFORMATION

VOLUME OF COLLECTION:	2 manuscript boxes
COLLECTION DATES:	1825–97; bulk 1850–78
PROVENANCE:	C. W. Ballard, Pittsboro, Indiana, April and July 1945
RESTRICTIONS:	None
COPYRIGHT:
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS:	Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society.
ALTERNATE FORMATS:
RELATED HOLDINGS:
ACCESSION NUMBER:	1945.0410; 1945.0703
NOTES:

BIOGRAPHiCAL SKETCH

Mathias Van Pelt (d. 1878) was a merchant in Shelbyville, Shelby County, Indiana, 1833–1836, and in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1839–1878. Alfred Buckingham was a surgeon with the 77^th Pennsylvania Regiment and in Camps Butler and Douglas, post hospitals in Illinois.

Sources:
A Guide to Manuscript Collections of the Indiana Historical Society and the Indiana State Library, p. 186

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The bulk of the collection consists of Van Pelt's family correspondence from 1850–1878.  Included are letters from relatives in St. Paul, Shelby County, and New Albany, Floyd County.  There also is correspondence between Van Pelt's daughter, Edna, and her fiancé, Alfred Buckingham, while he was serving as a surgeon with the 77^th Pennsylvania Regiment (1862) and at the post hospitals at Camps Butler and Douglas, Illinois (1864–1865).  Also included is a small amount of Van Pelt's business correspondence, primarily between the years 1833–1850.

series CONTENTS

Series 1: Van Pelt Family Papers

CONTENTS	CONTAINER
Van Pelt Papers, 1825–32	Box 1, Folder 1
Van Pelt Papers, 1833–46	Box 1, Folder 2
Van Pelt Papers, 1838–41	Box 1, Folder 3
Van Pelt Papers, 1850–57	Box 1, Folder 4
Van Pelt Papers, 1858–59	Box 1, Folder 5
Van Pelt Papers, 1860–61	Box 1, Folder 6
Margaret Van Pelt Cooper Letters, 1863–66	Box 1, Folder 7
Cooper & Van Pelt Family Papers	Box 1, Folder 8
Van Pelt Receipts & Checks, 1854–66	Box 1, Folder 9
Van Pelt Receipts & Checks, 1867–97	Box 1, Folder 10
Van Pelt Family Papers & Letters, 1862	Box 2, Folder 1
Photocopies of Letters, 1863	Box 2, Folder 2
Van Pelt Letters, 1863	Box 2, Folder 3
Van Pelt Letters, 1864–66	Box 2, Folder 4
Van Pelt Letters, 1865	Box 2, Folder 5
Van Pelt Letters, 1866	Box 2, Folder 6
Van Pelt Letters, 1867	Box 2, Folder 7
Van Pelt Letters, 1868–69	Box 2, Folder 8
Van Pelt Letters, 1870–80s	Box 2, Folder 9
Van Pelt Letters, n.d.	Box 2, Folder 10

CATALOGING INFORMATION

For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:

1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog:  http://157.91.92.2/

2. Click on the "Traditional Search" icon.

3. Click on the "Call Number" radio button.

4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, M 0286).

5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.