The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Lincoln Collection, Barton Codex Manuscripts 1829-1940
© 2019 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | Lincoln Collection. Barton Codex Manuscripts |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1829-1940 |
| Size: | 12.5 linear feet (19 boxes, 1 volume) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | Bound materials collected and compiled by William E. Barton, a pastor in Oak Park, Illinois, who published and lectured on Abraham Lincoln. The collection includes books, booklets, scrapbooks, pamphlets, published addresses, and periodicals. Of particular interest is the volume titled Lincoln and His Cabinet. These codex manuscripts form part of the William E. Barton Collection of Lincolniana. |
This collection is open for research.
Original documents, texts, and images represented by digital images linked to this finding aid are subject to U. S. copyright law. It is the user's sole responsibility to secure any necessary copyright permission to reproduce or publish documents, texts, and images from any holders of rights in the original materials.
The University of Chicago Library, in its capacity as owner of the physical property represented by the digital images linked to this finding aid, encourages the use of these materials for educational and scholarly purposes. Any reproduction or publication from these digital images requires that the following credit line be included: Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Commercial publication projects require the permission of the University of Chicago Library and may be subject to a use fee. To order publication-quality reproductions, or for permission to copy or use any part of the digital images attached to this finding aid for any commercial purposes, please contact the Special Collections Research Center.
The images presented here may include materials reflecting the attitudes, language, and stereotypes of an earlier time period. These materials are presented as historical resources in support of study and research. Inclusion of such materials does not constitute an endorsement of their content by the University of Chicago.
The University of Chicago Library appreciates hearing from anyone who may have information about any of the images in this collection.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Lincoln Collection. Barton Codex Manuscripts, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
The Rev. William Eleazar Barton, born on June 28, 1861 (d. December 30, 1930) was one of the early twentieth century's most prominent writers and lecturers on the life of Abraham Lincoln. Born in Sublette, Illinois, in the same year Lincoln assumed the presidency, Barton grew up in an environment heavily influenced by reverence for Lincoln. He began undergraduate studies at Berea College in 1881 and graduated in 1885. However, during his senior year Barton decided to join the ministry and was ordained on June 6, 1885. On July 23, 1885 Barton married Esther Treat Bushnell. Together they would have 5 children. Barton returned to school and earned his divinity degree from the Oberlin Theological Seminary in 1890. He served parishes in Tennessee, Ohio, and Massachusetts before becoming the pastor of the First Congregational Church of Oak Park, Illinois, a position he held until his retirement in 1924. In 1928, Barton accepted an appointment as lecturer at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he also organized and served as pastor of the Collegeside Congregational Church.
Barton's work as a writer produced a number of denominational manuals and a series of books presenting the wisdom and parables of a character he named Safed the Sage. For the last ten years of his life, however, Barton was best known to the public as a prolific author and lecturer on Abraham Lincoln. His publications about Lincoln included The Soul of Abraham Lincoln (1920), The Paternity of Abraham Lincoln (1920), The Life of Abraham Lincoln (1925), The Great and Good Man (1927), The Women Lincoln Loved (1927), and The Lincoln of the Biographers (1930).
In the course of compiling material for his writings and talks, Barton visited Lincoln sites in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois; interviewed surviving Lincoln relatives and acquaintances; and traveled as far as California and England to collect information and conduct genealogical research on the ancestry of the Lincoln family. While acquiring a large collection of books, periodicals, pamphlets, manuscripts, and ephemera related to Lincoln and the Civil War era, Barton also purchased privately or at auction historical materials amassed by other Lincoln collectors such as John E. Burton and Osborn H. Oldroyd.
The Barton Codex Manuscripts is made up of bound materials compiled by William E. Barton, a pastor in Oak Park, Illinois, who published and lectured on Abraham Lincoln extensively. Barton also maintained connections with fellow Lincoln experts and carried out multiple research projects that delved into the many facets of Lincoln's life, times, and family history. This collection divided into six series: ministry; books; theater; booklets, pamphlets and periodicals; published addresses, lectures and research papers; and lastly, scrapbooks. Of particular interest is the volume titled Lincoln and His Cabinet. These codex manuscripts form part of the William E. Barton Collection of Lincolniana.
Series I: Barton Ministry |
This series contains materials related to Barton's career in the Ministry, including books, sermons and sermon notes, clippings and articles.
| Box 1 Folder 1 | First Presbyterian Church Board of Trustees Minutes, Springfield, Illinois, 1829-1866 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Press notices of sermons and addresses by William E. Barton, news-clippings and notes tipped in, 1894-1907 |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | Notes and correspondence, from ledger of church finances, 1903-1915 |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | Actual ledger of church finances 1903-1915 |
| Box 2 Folder 1-2 | Addresses and articles on ministry, containing correspondence, reprints, and clippings, 1911-1928 |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | Order for Evening Worship, Boston: F. H. Gilson Company, 1892. Notes and news-clippings tipped in, 1911-1928 |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | Addresses and articles on education, containing interleaved notes, articles, and reprints, 1913-1926 |
| Box 2 Folder 5 | Papers removed from Addresses and articles on education, 1913-1926 |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | Church programs and bulletins from Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, 1914-1923 |
| Box 3 Folder 1 | "Sermon Outline", sermon notes and outlines (of Barton's), 1915 |
| Box 3 Folder 2 | Clippings removed from "Sermon Outline", 1915 |
| Box 3 Folder 3 | Bound clippings from Barton's column "The Making of the New Testament," 1915-1917 |
| Box 3 Folder 4 | Notes and news-clippings in volume titled "Annual Handbook, Central Congregational Church," 1915 |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | Calendar, contains interleaved notes and news-clippings, 1917 |
| Box 3 Folder 6 | Ministry programs and bulletins, 1897-1922
|
| Box 3 Folder 7 | Barton, William E., Theodore G. Soares, and Sidney Strong. Su Ultima Semana: La Historia de la Pasion y Resurrection de Jesus, Chihuahua: Imprenta Palmore, 1921 |
| Box 3 Folder 8 | Bound clippings regarding Barton's lecture series titled "The Religion of the Ancient Poets," 1923 |
Series II: Books |
| Volume BartonCdx1 | Abraham Lincoln and His Cabinet: A Collection of Autographs, 1851-1889 |
| Box 4 Folder 1 | Worcester, J.E. Elements of History, Ancient and Modern, includes note by Barton, 1833 |
| Box 4 Folder 2 | Correspondence of Robert Weidensall. prepared by the Illinois Historical Records Survey Project in 1940, correspondence dates from 1861-1865 |
| Box 4 Folder 3 | Hale, Edward E. Seven Spanish Cities. Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1883, with letter from Barton, 1923 |
| Box 4 Folder 4 | Barton, William E. Lieutenant William Barton of Morris County, New Jersey, and his Descendants. Oak Park, Ill.: Vaile Press, 1900 |
| Box 4 Folder 5 | Mary Lincoln: A letter to Her Cousin Elizabeth Todd Grimsly, letter written on September 29, 1861, privately printed, 1917 |
| Box 5 Folder 1 | Barton, William E. Abraham Lincoln and His Books, Marshall Field and company, 1920 |
| Box 5 Folder 2 | Wilson, Clarence True. John Wilkes Booth: Thirty-Eight Years a Fugitive, includes correspondence, 1922? |
| Box 5 Folder 3 | Barton, William E. Abraham Lincoln, American, etched book and letter, 1923 |
| Box 5 Folder 4 | Lincoln, Waldo. History of the Lincoln Family, Worcester Massachusetts Commonwealth Press, 1923 |
| Box 6 Folder 1 | Barton, William E. Esther T. Barton: A Biographical Sketch. Foxboro, Mass.: Pine Knoll, 1926 |
| Box 6 Folder 2 | Townsend, William H. Lincoln in His Wife's Home, 1926 |
| Box 6 Folder 3 | Grimsley, Elizabeth Todd. Six Months in the White House, 1926-1927 |
| Box 6 Folder 4 | Barton, William E. The Women Lincoln Loved, printer's dummy, autographed copy, Bobbs-Merrill, 1927 |
| Box 6 Folder 5 | Smith, T.V. Lincoln, Living Legend, The University of Chicago Press, 1940 |
| Box 7 Folder 1 | Baber, Adin. Nancy Hanks of "Undistinguished Families—Second Families", typed and mimeographed by C. Gerald Brann, Bloomington IN, c. 1959 |
| Box 7 Folder 2 | Index to Adin Baber, Nancy Hanks of "Undistinguished Families, undated |
| Box 7 Folder 2 | Baber, Adin. Nancy Hanks, The Destined Mother of a President, privately printed by author, Kansas, Illinois, 1963 |
| Box 8 Folder 1 | Blair, Montgomery. Not General Grant, manuscript presented to Hon. Gideon Welles, undated |
Series III: Theater |
This series contains manuscripts of plays and other documents related to the theater.
| Box 8 Folder 2 | Day, Robert. Anne Rutledge: life, love, immortality, play manuscript and correspondence, 1922 |
| Box 8 Folder 3 | Hermann, Lüdke. "Abraham Lincoln," a play translated from German by Robert L. Floyd, 193-? |
| Box 8 Folder 4 | "A Folk Festival: Out of the Wilderness, the New Salem Years of Abraham Lincoln." Compiled by the workers of the Writers' program of the Work Projects Administration in Illinois, play presented at New Salem state park, 1940 |
| Box 8 Folder 5 | Neff, Elizabeth. "Abraham Lincoln as a Character in American and English drama," Master of Arts thesis, University of Oklahoma, 1942 |
| Box 8 Folder 6 | McNett, Marie. Cradle of Glory: A Drama in Three Acts, play manuscript, 1948 |
Series IV: Booklets, Pamphlets, and Periodicals |
| Box 9 Folder 1 | Irwin, Benjamin F. Lincoln's Religious Belief, clipped from Illinois State Journal, 1874 |
| Box 9 Folder 2 | Herndon, W.H. A Brief Analysis of Lincoln's Character. letter to J.E. Remsburg, 1887 |
| Box 9 Folder 3 | "Unwritten History: The Secret Movement to Supersede Abraham Lincoln in '64." The New York Sun, includes unpublished letters of Horace Greeley, Charles Sumner, Secretary Chase, 1889 |
| Box 9 Folder 4 | MacDonald, Edward. Old Capp's Hill and Burial Ground with Historical Sketches, Industrial School Press, 1895 |
| Box 9 Folder 5 | "The Centennial Celebration of the Old Mud-Meeting House near Harrodsburg, Kentucky." August 25, 1900 |
| Box 9 Folder 6 | Conant, Alban Jasper. Painter of Lincoln and Other Great Men, New York Times, 1913 and A Portrait Painter's Reminiscences of Lincoln, McClure's Magazine 32:512-516, 1909-1913 |
| Box 9 Folder 7 | Clark, L. Pierce. Psychologic Study of Abraham Lincoln, booklet reprinted from The Psychoanalytic Review, Vol III No. I, 1921 |
| Box 9 Folder 8 | Martin, James M. A Defense of Lincoln's Mother: Open Letter to William E. Barton, manuscript of letter originally published in Minneapolis Journal, includes correspondence, 1921 |
| Box 9 Folder 9 | Barton, William E. "Lincoln, The Young Rail Splitter," Official Magazine North American young Men's Christian Association, includes correspondence, 1922 |
| Box 10 Folder 1 | Barton, William E. Mord Lincoln, the Woman Hater, published in the Open Court, May 1924 |
| Box 10 Folder 2 | Townsend, William Henry. "Lincoln the Litigant," American Bar Association Journal, includes typewritten copies of article and revision for separate publication, 1924 |
| Box 10 Folder 3 | Malone, Thomas J. Lincoln, "Like Washington, Was a Miller," published in The Northwestern Miller 145:6 551-569, 1926 |
| Box 10 Folder 4 | City of Norwich Official Guide booklet. Includes postcards, notes, correspondence, 1927. |
| Box 10 Folder 5 | Carter, Mary D. "Putting First Things First," Southern Churchman, 1929 |
| Box 10 Folder 6 | The Abraham Lincoln Association. Lincoln in the Year 1855: Being the Day-by-Day Activities of Abraham Lincoln During that Year, The Abraham Lincoln Association, 1929; The Abraham Lincoln Association. Lincoln in the Year 1856: Being the Day-by-Day Activities of Abraham Lincoln During that Year, The Abraham Lincoln Association, 1929 |
| Box 10 Folder 7 | The Abraham Lincoln Association. Lincoln in the Year 1858: Being the Day-by-Day Activities of Abraham Lincoln During that Year, The Abraham Lincoln Association, 1929 |
| Box 10 Folder 8 | The Abraham Lincoln Association. Lincoln in the Year 1859: Being the Day-by-Day Activities of Abraham Lincoln During that Year, The Abraham Lincoln Association, 1929 |
| Box 10 Folder 9 | The Abraham Lincoln Association. Lincoln in the Year 1860: Being the Day-by-Day Activities of Abraham Lincoln During that Year, The Abraham Lincoln Association, 1929 |
| Box 11 Folder 1 | Catalogue of Herndon-Weik Lincoln Collection. Contains correspondence, 1933 |
| Box 11 Folder 2 | "Lincoln Booklet Dedicated to Dr. Wm. Barton." Children's compositions in manuscript, 19--? |
Series V: Published Addresses, Lectures, and Research Papers |
| Box 11 Folder 3 | Lincoln, Abraham. Lincoln's first address ("His Temperance Lecture", 1842 |
| Box 11 Folder 4 | Lincoln, Abraham. Collection of public addresses, Kansas, 1859 |
| Box 11 Folder 5 | Everett, Edward. "Address following battle at Gettysburg", 1863 |
| Box 11 Folder 6 | John H. Surratt. "The Assassination of Lincoln with an Account of the Several Plots for his Abduction," lecture delivered December 6, 1870, printed in Washington Star December 8, 1870 |
| Box 11 Folder 7 | Barton, William E. "Message to a Young Man," published address delivered at the forty-third anniversary of the Boston YMCA, 1894 |
| Box 12 Folder 1 | Lincoln, Abraham. Reproduction of original book compiled by Lincoln consisting of newspaper clippings of Lincoln's speeches, includes explanatory note by J. McCan Davis, 1903 |
| Box 12 Folder 2 | Berstorff, Count J. Abraham Lincoln as the Germans Regarded Him, public address, 1913 |
| Box 12 Folder 3 | Ballantine, Dr. W. G. Lincoln—America's greatest product, published lecture, 1919 |
| Box 12 Folder 4 | Barton, William E. "Lincoln and Illinois" addresses at Chicago Union League Club, Quincy Illinois, and Illinois State Historical Society, includes correspondence between Barton and event organizers, 1921 |
| Box 12 Folder 5 | Barton, William E. "The Man Who Married Lincoln's Parents", address at Harrodsburg, Kentucky, includes clippings and correspondence, 1922 |
| Box 12 Folder 6 | Blair, Francis G. Newton Bateman, an address given in dedication of the Newton Bateman school, includes manuscript, clippings, correspondence and event pamphlet, 1922 |
| Box 12 Folder 7 | Kaufman, M.S. "Abraham Lincoln, The Friend of God and Man", sermon delivered at the National Soldiers' home in California, 1922 |
| Box 12 Folder 8 | McCamant, Wallace. Manuscript of lecture Lincoln in the Winter of 1861, includes correspondence, 1922 |
| Box 12 Folder 9 | Shaw, James. "A neglected episode in the life of Abraham Lincoln," address delivered before the Illinois State Historical Society at Springfield, 1922 |
| Box 12 Folder 10 | Barton, William E. Lincoln and Chicago, public address at Chicago historical Society, February 10, 1922, includes event pamphlet and related writings, 1922-1924 |
| Box 13 Folder 1 | Barton, William E. "Abraham Lincoln, Kentucky Mountaineer", address delivered at Berea College, 1923 |
| Box 13 Folder 2 | "Lincoln and the Newspapers", a published address by Charles T. White, 1923 |
| Box 13 Folder 3 | "Dr. Barton as a Father," toast delivered by his son Robert Barton, March 12, 1924 |
| Box 13 Folder 4 | Graves, Walter. Abraham Lincoln and the Common Virtues, includes lecture manuscript and correspondence, 1924 |
| Box 13 Folder 5 | Fortune, William. Address on Lincoln before Southwestern Indiana Historical Society, includes correspondence and clippings, 1925. |
| Box 13 Folder 6 | Barton, William E. "The enduring Lincoln," published address delivered in Urbana, Illinois, includes clippings and correspondence, 1928 |
| Box 13 Folder 7 | Henderson, Manfred. "The Handwriting of Lincoln: A Study in Identification," Los Angeles, California, 1931 |
| Box 13 Folder 8 | Scherger, George Lawrence. "Lincoln—a man for the ages", lecture, 1932 |
| Box 13 Folder 9 | Lutz, Phillip. "We stand on sacred soil today" and "The fourth of July in Lincoln's time and today", public addresses, 1935 |
| Box 13 Folder 10 | "The Name and Family of Lincoln," research compiled by the Media Research Bureau, Washington D.C., 1936? |
Series VI: Scrapbooks |
The majority of Barton's scrapbooks consist of published texts into which he pasted folded newspaper clippings, prints, and notes. For additional scrapbooks see Lincoln Collection. Barton Scrapbooks.
| Box 14 Folder 1 | Lincoln Versus Douglas scrapbook. Includes clippings and handwritten notes, 1850-1860 |
| Box 14 Folder 2 | Set of clippings titled "Epitaph on the XXXVII Congress: Anti-Lincoln Tract," 1862 |
| Box 14 Folder 3 | Cartoons from Fun, London, 1862-1869 |
| Box 14 Folder 4 | Untitled scrapbook filled with hand-written notes, an excerpt from John Wilkes Booth's diary, prints, and photocopied manuscripts, 1865-1925 |
| Box 14 Folder 5 | Set of clippings titled "Recollections of Lincoln," 1866-1904 |
| Box 14 Folder 6 | Catalogue of relics owned by William E. Barton and Esther T. Barton, his wife, in William Barton's hand, which also contains a reprint of Barton's "Quest of an Ancestor" from The New England Magazine, 1898 |
| Box 14 Folder 7 | Abraham Lincoln's Religion. William H. Herndon, includes correspondence, public lecture, and clippings of article, 1911 |
| Box 14 Folder 8 | Set of clippings titled "The Parentage of Abraham Lincoln by D.J. Knotts" and subtitled "Articles affirming that he was the son of John C. Calhoun," 1911 |
| Box 15 Folder 1-2 | William E. Barton, "Church Music," loose and bound articles on religious music, 1913-1929 |
| Box 15 Folder 3 | Addresses and articles on the fine arts, mostly reviews (by Barton and others) of painters and paintings, from The Advance, 1914-1915 |
| Box 15 Folder 4 | Papers removed from Addresses and articles on the fine arts, 1913-1915 |
| Box 15 Folder 5 | The Physiognomy of Lincoln, and An Old Likeness of Lincoln, by Truman H. Bartlett, includes clippings and correspondence with William E. Barton, 1917-1921 |
| Box 15 Folder 6 | "Providential Presidents" by John M. Vandermeulen, includes correspondence between Vandermeulen and Barton, 1918-1923 |
| Box 15 Folder 7 | Abraham Lincoln: A Study of his Personality, by Thomas Power O'Connor, includes mounted clippings from the London Daily Telegraph, August 2-3, 1920 |
| Box 16 Folder 1 | Abraham Lincoln as I Knew Him by John H. Littlefield n.p. c. 1891, includes clippings and correspondence, correspondence 1920 |
| Box 16 Folder 2 | Lincoln's First Nomination. Scrapbook includes clippings of writings by Chauncey M. Depew and funeral service materials for Jessie Harvey Robinson (d. 1918), 1920 |
| Box 16 Folder 3 | Mather, Otis M. "Old Hodgenville," clippings from the La Rue County Herald, 1920 |
| Box 16 Folder 4 | Reviews of William E. Barton's the Paternity of Abraham Lincoln. Clippings pasted over "He Shall Seek Peace", 1920-1921 |
| Box 16 Folder 5 | Lincoln: Anne Routledge. Clippings, photographs and correspondence, 1920-1922? |
| Box 16 Folder 6 | Barton, William E. "Aunt Sallie Saunders, an interview with the youngest sister of Ann Rutledge," published interview, clippings, and memorial pamphlet, 1921-1922 |
| Box 16 Folder 7 | The Parents of Abraham Lincoln, includes clippings, correspondence, and typewritten manuscript, 1922 |
| Box 17 Folder 1 | Barton, William E. The American Pulpit on the Death of Lincoln, includes manuscript later published in The Open Court, 1923 |
| Box 17 Folder 2 | Collection of Lincoln letters and articles written by Nathaniel Howard from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, 1924 |
| Box 17 Folder 3 | "Force or Consent as Basis of American Government" by Dr. Mary Scrugham, includes correspondence and published debate between William H. Townsend and Dr. Scrugham, 1924 |
| Box 17 Folder 4 | Fitz Henry, Charles. "The Human and Divine in Lincoln, with Letters," Peoria Journal transcript, correspondence, and photograph, 1926 |
| Box 17 Folder 5 | Rindlaub, Martin Philip. Abraham Lincoln with reminiscences of the Freeport Debate and the Chicago Convention, includes original manuscript, correspondence, and photos, Kiwanis Magazine, 1926 |
| Box 17 Folder 6 | Where Lincoln Attended Church by Rev. Joseph R. Sizoo, published in The National Republic, also includes The Lincoln Pew by L.W. Allen and notes by Barton, 1926 |
| Box 18 Folder 1 | Untitled scrapbook of newspaper clippings about Lincoln assassination, 1865 |
| Box 18 Folder 2 | Newspaper clippings removed from untitled scrapbook, 1930-1941 |
| Box 19 | Barton, William E. Jesse Head, scrapbook includes typewritten and manuscript articles, correspondence, undated |