Indiana Historical Society - Manuscripts & Archives
User information
Biographical sketch
Scope and Content note
Folder listing
Cataloguing information
Processed by
Charles Latham
16 February 1994
VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 4 folders, 1 oversize folder
COLLECTION DATES: 1835-1938
PROVENANCE: William Anderson, Louisville KY, 16 February 1994
RESTRICTIONS :None
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS: Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing from the Indiana Historical Society
ALTERNATE FORMATS: None
OTHER FINDING AIDS: None
RELATED HOLDINGS: SC 2236, Charles Millard Fillmore (cousin); M 211, Arthur Mitten-- Folder 54-- four letters by Millard Fillmore
ACCESSION NUMBER: 94.0478
Millard Fillmore (1800-1874) was born in Locke, Cayuga County, New York, the oldest son of Nathaniel and Phoebe (Millard) Fillmore. The family soon moved westward, and Millard henceforward resided in East Aurora and Buffalo. He was admitted to the bar in 1843.
Fillmore was early involved in politics, first as an Anti-Mason, then as a Whig. He served in the New York legislature from 1828 to 1832, and in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1833 to 1835 and from 1837 to 1841. He joined the Henry Clay wing of the Whigs, and was chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee during his last term in Congress.
Fillmore was Comptroller of New York State in 1848-1849, but resigned in 1849 to become Vice President under Zachary Taylor. When Taylor died in 1850, Fillmore filled out his term to 1853. His approval cleared the way for passage of the Compromise of 1850, and he favored opening up trade with Japan. As party lines began to unravel in the 1850s, Fillmore failed to be renominated by the Whigs in 1852, but ran unsuccessfully as a Know-Nothing in 1856. He became the first Chancellor of the University of Buffalo after its founding in 1867.
Fillmore was married twice, to Abigail Powers in 1823 and to Caroline Carmichael McIntosh in 1858. He had two children, Mary Abigail and Millard P. Fillmore.
The papers in this collection concern a number of other Fillmores in several generations. Of these the most prominent is Cyrus Fillmore, who with his wife Laura lived in Greenfield Township, LaGrange County, Indiana, from the 1840s into the 1880s. Probably a brother of Millard, he signed several mortgages to him in 1843, all of which were marked "Satisfied" by Millard in 1866. In their old age in 1888 Cyrus and Laura signed over a good deal of their property to Allman L. Fillmore, probably a son.
Millard Fillmore's direct descendants also appear in the documents. His son, Millard P. Fillmore, had a son, Millard C., whose wife was Lucinda, and they had a son, Efner Fillmore.
Several other Fillmores, whose relationships are undetermined, appear in the documents: Benjamin F., Louise, James C., and Clayton. Most members of the family continued to live in LaGrange County.
Sources: Who Was Who in America, historical volume
Dictionary of American Biography
Materials in collection
This collection, filling four folders and one oversize folder, contains documents from the Fillmore family, mainly dealing with real estate, and spanning the years 1835-1938.
The most significant items are four mortgages from Cyrus Fillmore to Millard Fillmore dated 1843, all marked "Satisfied" by Millard in 1866.
Another interesting series deals with the old age of Cyrus and Laura Fillmore. In 1888 they sign over a good deal of their property to Allman Fillmore; then in 1891-1896 there are more documents providing for the care of Laura in her extreme old age.
Oversize documents dated 1843-1857 are in OM 311.
FOLDER
1 1835-1859
2 1860-1888
3 1891-1913
4 1929-1938
5 (OM 311) 1843-1857
MAIN ENTRY: Fillmore, Millard, 1800-1874
SUBJECT ENTRIES: Fillmore, Millard, 1800-1874
Fillmore, Cyrus
Fillmore, Laura
Fillmore, Allman L.
Fillmore, Millard P.
Fillmore family
Aged--Care--Indiana--LaGrange County
Mortgages--Indiana--LaGrange County
Real property--Indiana--LaGrange County
LaGrange County (Ind.)
END