Walter Quintin Gresham collection, 1863-circa 1970s
A Guide to the Collection at the Indiana University Archives
Finding aid prepared by Katherine
Siebenaler
Summary Information
Repository
Indiana
University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives
Creator
Indiana University, Bloomington.
University Archives (2016- )
TitleWalter Quintin Gresham collection, 1863-circa 1970s
Collection No.
C649
Extent
.1 cubic feet (4 folders)
Language
Materials are in English
Abstract
Walter Q. Gresham, 1832-1895, was an
Indiana lawyer. He also served as a brigadier general in the Civil War, a U.S.
District Judge, a U.S. Circuit Court Judge, Postmaster-General, Secretary of the
Treasury, and Secretary of State. This collection consists of correspondence from
Gresham and about Gresham received by Indiana University from multiple sources, as
well as some cards designed to display alongside Gresham’s Civil War sword, which
was donated to the university by Gresham’s family in 1911.
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research. Advance notice required.
Historical Note
Walter Q. Gresham was born in 1832 in Indiana. He briefly attended the preparatory
school at Indiana University and eventually became a lawyer. He then served as a
member of the Indiana General Assembly before serving as a brigadier general in the
Civil War. After the war, he was appointed as a U.S. District Judge and received his
honorary LL.D. from Indiana University in 1883. Gresham was also briefly the United
States Postmaster General and then the Secretary of the Treasury for President
Arthur from 1883 to 1884. He then became a U.S. Circuit Court judge until 1893.
President Cleveland appointed him as Secretary of State in 1893, a post Gresham held
until his death in 1895. In 1911, Gresham’s family gave Indiana University Gresham’s
sword from the war, along with some of Walter Gresham’s correspondence. There is a
dining hall named for him on the Bloomington campus.
Arrangement
Collection consists of a single series, arranged roughly chronologically.
Transcriptions of letters are filed with the original, handwritten versions.
Scope and Content Note
The collection contains correspondence from Walter Gresham to his wife Tillie and
correspondence between others about Gresham. The correspondence contain details of
Gresham’s experience during the Civil War, including his pride in his regiment (the
Indiana 53rd) and how he missed his family. It is arranged chronologically by
original item, with transcriptions behind the original items. Undated items are at
the end of the series. Also included are two signs formerly used in the display of
his sword, which was donated to Indiana University in 1911. The sword is no longer
owned by the university.
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Indexing Terms
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The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
IUCAT, the IU Libraries'
online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by
searching the catalog using these terms.
Related Material
Related photographs may be available in the
University Archives
Photographs Database
The Walter Quintin
Gresham papers, 1857-1932
, are located at the Library of Congress
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Accession: 2016/115
Usage RestrictionsThe donor(s) of this collection have transferred their copyrights for the
materials to the Trustees of Indiana University. For more information, please
contact the Indiana University Archives staff.
The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of
others and does not claim any copyrights for non-university records, materials
in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift.
Responsibility for the determination of the copyright status of these materials
rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials. Researchers are
responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights
holders for any reuse of these materials that extends beyond fair use or other
statutory limitations.
Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives
are made available for noncommercial educational and research purposes only. If
you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have
questions about its inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University
Archives staff.
Preferred Citation
[Item], Indiana University Archives collection on Walter Quintin Gresham,
Collection C649, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.
Provenance
The items in this collection were removed from the Indiana University Archives
reference file on Walter Q. Gresham in October 2016. Most of the correspondence
appears to have been transferred from the President’s Office to the IU Archives
at an unknown date. Other items may have been removed from the IU President’s
Office records collections (C286 and C270) or received from other sources.
Processing InformationProcessed by Katherine Siebenaler and Mary Mellon.
Completed in March 2018
Container List
Series:
Walter Quintin Gresham collection, 1863-circa 1970s
Box SC7
Correspondence between Otto Gresham and William Lowe Bryan,
1863, 1910
Walter Q. Gresham to Tillie Gresham, July 6, 1863
(handwritten letter and envelope)
Provenance Note
Letter was forwarded with Otto Gresham’s letter to Bryan, October 16,
1910
Letter, Otto Gresham to William Lowe Bryan, October 16, 1910
The letter includes a handwritten transcription of a letter from W.
Q. Gresham to Tillie Gresham, Vicksburg, Mississippi, July 24,
1863.
Correspondence between Mary Ketcham Piercy and William Lowe
Bryan, 1884, 1932
Walter Q. Gresham to C. B. Ketchum [Charles B. Ketcham],
November 19, 1884
(handwritten letter, envelope, and typed
transcription)
Provenance Note
Letter was forwarded with Piercy’s letter to Bryan, November 3,
1932.
Mary Ketcham Piercy to William Lowe Bryan, November 3, 1932
(handwritten letter and transcription)
William Lowe Bryan to Mary Ketcham Piercy, November 9, 1932
Gresham sword ceremony and display,1910 and undated (after 1910)
Draft of letter from William Lowe Bryan to Frederick D.
Grant, November 22, 1910
(photocopy)
“The Sword of General Walter Q. Gresham” placards, after 1910
(2 items)
Articles and biographical information, 1917-1993 and undated
Articles about Walter Gresham,
Indiana
University Alumni Quarterly,
1917-1933
Biographical information on Walter Q Gresham, circa 1930s-1970s
Includes page of handwritten notes by unidentified researcher.
