Sale 2455 - Printed & Manuscript Americana, September 28, 2017

181 c   (NAVY.) Archive of Slidell family letters relating to their distinguished naval service. 13 manuscript letters, various sizes, condition generally strong but a few with separations at folds and one with dampstaining. Vp, 1820-29 [1,500/2,500] The Slidells were a remarkable naval family—two sons served with distinction, and daughter Jane mar- ried Commodore Matthew C. Perry.The central figures in this archive are John Slidell Jr. (1793-1871), who later served as a United States Senator for Louisiana and then joined the Confederacy; his brother Alexander Slidell Mackenzie (1803-1848), who changed his last name to receive an inheritance from his grandfather, and became a naval commander best known for controversially executing three mutineers in 1842; and their brotherWilliam Johnson Slidell, who died in naval service in 1828. These letters were sent among various members of the extended Slidell family, and most relate to their naval service.Three were written by Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, and two by John Slidell Jr. In the first of these letters, John Slidell Sr. writes to young midshipman Alexander in 1820 to discuss the death of Commodore Stephen Decatur Jr.:“Commander Decatur fell a victim to the accursed practice of Duelling. It may with truth be said that he committed Suicide, for he goaded Commodore Baron on till at length he consented to become his murderer.”Two letters fromAlexander Slidell Mackenzie describe his visit to Washington, 25 February and 1 March 1829, describing it as “a detestable hole, the very ugliest city I have ever seen.” He attended sessions of Congress and the Supreme Court, pronouncingVice President Calhoun “a thin-legged starved-looking politician with little in his appearance to recommend him,” while Chief Justice John Marshall had “not a very pleasing countenance, yet he looks healthy and unbroken.” Seven of these letters relate to William J. Slidell and his premature death in 1828.They begin with a letter from William dated 10 March 1828, discussing the sudden death of New York governor DeWitt Clinton: “He has left behind his Erie Canal, and whilst its walls can be traced through our state, his name will be familiar with the lowest of his country.”William’s boat capsized in Norfolk, VA during a training exercise on 7 April, and three of the men drowned, also including the son of Commodore John Rodgers.This lot includes a letter from Commodore Rodgers to Commodore Mat- thew Perry, 21 April 1828, calling the incident “the most distressing of my whole life” and describing the search for the three bodies. The next week, Alexander wrote to sister Jane Slidell Perry: “The remains of our dearWilliam, with that of his two young friends and companions in that fatal disaster, were recovered on Saturday last. . . . Commodore Rodgers was present aiding the party employed on this melancholy service” (28 April 1828).Two undated letters from John Slidell Jr. in New Orleans to his parents attest to his own grief: “The fateful intelligence reached me without any preparation. I first saw it in a newspaper which I had accidentally taken up. . . . My own grief was almost for- gotten in the idea of the sorrow that has overwhelmed you all.” On 21 May, sister Caroline Slidell announced the birth of the latest addition to the extended family, Commodore Perry’s son William Frederick Perry:“He is to be called by a name which as yet I cannot hear pronounced without pain.” Also included in the lot are an 1843 pamphlet on Mackenzie,“Inquiries into the Somers Mutiny: with a full account of the Execution of Spencer, Cromwell and Small”; and two later newspaper clippings on the family.A full listing of this family archive is available upon request. 182 c   (NEBRASKA.) Minutes of the Bellevue Settlers’ Club, formed to adjudi- cate land claims in Nebraska’s oldest incorporated town. 13 manuscript pages, 12 1 / 2 x 7 3 / 4 inches, on 4 folding sheets, stitched; moderate foxing, partial separations along center fold. Bellevue, NE, 23 September 1854 to 14 July 1855 [1,500/2,500] The Bellevue Settlers’ Club, also known as the Bellevue Claim Club, was a private association of set- tlers which administered frontier justice against squatters and claim jumpers. These minutes begin with an organizational meeting, followed by by-laws including “We will recognize no claim made before the ratification of the treaties with the Omaha, Otoe & Missouri Indians.” A list of 123 members follows the by-laws. The following February, the by-laws were expanded to clarify that the marshal was appointed to enforce the group’s rulings, and “shall have power if necessary to call upon all members of this association to assist.”