Series I. Correspondence, 1827-1860, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This series includes correspondence, business and legal papers, and pressed copies of letters belonging to the merchant William George Stewart. The majority of the materials concern Stewart's business ventures both in the United States and abroad, including Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and England.
A large portion of the series relates to Stewart's attempts to build a telegraph line in Mexico. These include correspondence related to the construction of the first telegraph in Mexico which was an effort shared between Stewart and his longtime friend Juan de la Granja. Therefore, much of the materials concern De la Granja and there are several personal letters of his scattered throughout the length of the collection. Furthermore, there are documents related to the financial and legal disputes that occurred between Stewart and De la Granja concerning the construction of the telegraph line. Once De la Granja dies in 1853, much of the materials relate to Stewart's attempts to build a second telegraph line in Mexico. These include letters to several Mexican government officials in order to receive permission for the construction as well as financial support for the project.
The series also concerns Stewart's other business ventures which include that of printing. There are papers related to Stewart's function in the building of a paper mill in Cuba. These include correspondence with Estevan Mestre, who was in charge of the project, which mention Smith, Winchester, & Co. and William Kemble from West Point Foundry. Some correspondence relates to the printing of several books, pamphlets, and newspapers in the United States and across Latin America. These include the newspaper "Courrier des États-Unis" as well as "El Semanario Mayagüezano." In addition, the materials include records of which printed matter was shipped where. There are letters and documents regarding the construction of printing machines such as David Bruce Jr's type casting machine. Also present are correspondence with Joaquin Muñoz y Muñoz and J. Modesto Muñoz y Muñoz. These act as representatives of the business interests of Stewart's in Veracruz which include the importing of printing materials, zarzaparilla, and pieces to construct the telegraph.
The materials of this series also provide insight into US-Mexico relations before and after the Mexican American War. Due to the fact that Stewart was Vice-Consul of Mexico in New York during the years following the war, there is some correspondence addressed to Mexican government officials including a few that concern the President of Mexico.
This series also contains some correspondence that relates to the "Amistad" schooner controversy. This is addressed in a series of letters to the Spanish Ambassador Ángel Calderón de la Barca y Belgrano and Saturnino Carrias, whose nephew owned the slaves aboard "Amistad." These discuss Congress's failure to pass a resolution that would pay back the men for the loss of their slaves.
Other materials in this series include correspondence to family members, Stewart's search for opal in Mexico, and the shipment of medicine across the Western hemisphere.
A large portion of the material is written in Spanish.
Arrangement
Series I is largely arranged in alphabetical order by correspondent with miscellaneous materials placed at the end. It is important to note that the contents of each folder have not been altered from the arrangement that they were found in by the processing archivist in June 2019. This is especially notable for the many "miscellaneous" folders, which were left as found in case the seemingly random documents in any one folder were in fact related in some way not perceived by the processing archivist. In addition, some of the folders' labels were determined by the processing archivist by analyzing the contents of the folder while others received the same label that they had prior to their processing in 2019.
Furthermore, some folders are labelled by correspondent — "De la Granja, Juan" — and others are labelled by the alphabetical letter that corresponds to the group of correspondents within a folder — "D". Those that are labelled by a letter will have a Scope Note that will highlight the frequent correspondents of each folder. At times, some of the folders might be labelled by topic as well.
Any materials that are especially notable will be noted in a Scope Note for the folder. The same will be done for those folders that are labelled "Miscellaneous."
Bossero, Luis G. (2 folders), 1852-1855, inclusive
Bruce Jr, David, 1843
Scope and Contents
Includes patent, designs, and photos of David Bruce Jr's type casting machine.
Correspondence, C, 1849-1854, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Javier Calpini, Perfecto de la Cerda, F. Camerden, Francisco de la Cerda, and Ceballos y Rubira.
Correspondence, C, 1849-1854, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Ceballos y Rubira, James H. Causten, John N. Caulkin, and Manuel Castañeda y Nájera.
Correspondence, C, 1846-1853, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Manuel Castañeda y Nájera, Ygnacio Fernández de Castro, Antonio Casas y Ramón, Saturnino Carrias, and J. W. Carmen. Correspondence with Saturnino Carrias addresses "Amistad" schooner.
Correspondence, C, 1846-1853, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Captain W. D. Cargill, Vicente Canalizo, Fredrick Camerden, Antonio Canalizo, and J. M. Caminero.
Correspondence, C, 1847-1852, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Fredrick Camerden and Angel Calderon de la Barca y Belgrano who was the Spanish Ambassador at Washington. Calderon de la Barca addresses attempts to receive a financial settlement following "Amistad" case.
Caballero, José M., 1848-1850, inclusive
Cabrera, Eduardo, 1850-1852, inclusive
Correspondence book, 1848-1850, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Copies of letters related to Stewart's time as Vice-Consul of Mexico.
Crespo de la Serna, Juan, 1848-1849, inclusive
Cumplido, Ignacio, 1855-1859, inclusive
Correspondence, D, 1847-1854, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: M.S Dannais, Henry Davies, H. A. Dalton, and James Dongal.
Dabelsteen, O. L., 1851-1853, inclusive
Darquí, Salvador, 1846-1850, inclusive
De la Huerta, Servando, 1847-1850, inclusive
De la Granja, Juan, 1827-1852, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes correspondence belonging to De la Granja dating before his acquaintance with Stewart. These concern business and legal issues that De la Granja faced.
De la Rosa, Luis (2 folders), 1849-1852, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Mentions of work of Felix Varela.
De la Sierra, Ramón, 1847-1851, inclusive
Díaz de Castro, Juan, 1846-1849, inclusive
Ethiopian languages, 1833, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Materials concerning the pronounciation and writing of several Ethiopian languages.
García del Río, J.A., 1849-1853, inclusive
Giol, Pedro, 1847-1848, inclusive
Gómez y Gómez, José, 1845-1852, inclusive
González de la Vega, José M., 1850-1852, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Correspondence concerns President Mariano Arista of Mexico, General Carlos Butterfield, Stewart's printing of a pamphlet for the Mexican Government, and US-Mexico relations.
Gordida, Tomás, 1849-1859, inclusive
Correspondence, H, 1846-1854, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: R. Hoe & Co., A. de Haro y Tamariz, and Luis Hargous.
Correspondence, H, 1848-1854, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: C. Henschel, Howland & Aspinwall, J. N. Hull, Haskel and Merrick, Daniel Henarie, and C. Hawley Jr.
Correspondence, H, 1848-1852, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Servando de la Huerta, Thomas Hendrickson, W Dionisio Hidalgo, and L. C. Hopkins.
Hagar, William, 1846-1854, inclusive
Correspondence, J, 1847-1852, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Gregorio Jimenez, L. Johnson & Co., Harrison Jones, L. K. Jones, Louis Joralemon, and James Joralemon.
Javier Gómez, Francisco, 1844-1856, inclusive
Correspondence, K, 1847-1855, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: William Kemble, William Kumbel, Green Kendrick, W. F. Kent, William Kerr, and Krogh & Lorenzen.
Correspondence, L, 1832-1852, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Vital Lapeyre, Jonas P. Levy, Manuel Pedro de Llana, La Rosa, A. S. Levy, and Lebaron & Son.
Correspondence, L, 1840-1855, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Theodore Lacombe, Cosme Varela, Jonas P. Levy, and Pedro de Landero.
Ladeveze, J. B. G., 1848-1852, inclusive
Lapeyre, Vital, 1849
Lestrado Hermanos, 1850-1851, inclusive
Correspondence, M, 1846-1854, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Manning Mackintosh, Miguel Marco, W. Murdock, F. C. de Mosquera, Juan de Molina, and Moale & Medcalfe.
Macfadden, David, 1854-1856, inclusive
Macia, Pedro, 1848-1853, inclusive
Maneyro, Luis, 1851-1854, inclusive
Markoe Price & Co., 1848-1854, inclusive
Marroquin, José, 1847-1849, inclusive
Martí, Carlos, 1847-1850, inclusive
Matute, Fernando, 1847-1850, inclusive
Mendarte, Felix, 1848-1849, inclusive
Merino, Felix, 1849-1853, inclusive
Mestre, Estevan, 1846-1850, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Correspondence related to construction of paper mill in Cuba.
Mexican Government (3 folders), 1838-1846
Scope and Contents
Correspondence with government officials of Mexico.
Millet, Anastasio, 1841-1843, inclusive
Muñoz y Muñoz (7 folders), 1847-1854, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes letters from Joaquin Muñoz y Muñoz and J. Modesto Muñoz y Muñoz.
Muñoz y Muñoz (4 folders), 1849-1859, inclusive
Correspondence, O, 1851-1959, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Manuel de Ocampo and John O'Sullivan.
Correspondence, P, 1848-1854, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: A. P. de la Peña, Manuel Perez, L. Petit and Pfeiffer, José Pizarro, John Pilkington, and H. Plummer.
Correspondence, P, 1946-1853, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Aaron H. Palmer, Miguel Pando, William M. Parks, Manuel Payno, and A. Paya.
Correspondence, P, 1847-1852, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Probst and Meinertzhagen, Manuel de Prega, J. B. Purroy, O. C. Putnam, Luis Pradel, and Post & Taylor.
Palenque, Agustin, 1848-1851, inclusive
Palhouzie, Pedro (2 folders), 1848-1852, inclusive
Parrot, Magdalena, 1851-1854, inclusive
Pascual, A. D., 1850-1852, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Addresses printing of "Los cuatro postrimerias del hombre" and "El semanario mayagüezano."
Pasquel, José M., 1850-1853, inclusive
Pezuela, Jacobo, 1848-1849, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes edits of "Ensayo histórico de Cuba."
Picabia, B. M., 1847-1848, inclusive
Ponz y Ardil, Manuel, 1844-1853, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Relates to the shipment of medicine to New York and Mexico.
Prescott, William H., 1849-1854, inclusive
Correspondence, R, 1848-1854, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Luis de la Rosa, J. S. Rogers, Jose Guadalupe Romero, and Rojas & Segrestáa.
Correspondence, R, 1850-1852, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: José M. Rufino and Rosenberg Hermanos.
Correspondence, R, 1847-1854, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Rojas and Segrestáa, Rafael Rafael, José F. Ramirez, Ramon de Rivera, Francisco Ramirez, John A. Rockwell, and Luis de la Rosa.
Correspondence, R, 1849-1854, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Luis de la Rosa, Rafael Rafael, and Carlos Rabadan.
R. Hoe & Co., 1849-1852, inclusive
Rikeman and Seymour, 1849
Correspondence, S, 1845-1854, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: A. X. San Martin, Robert Schonberg, William Serrell, Catherine Smith, and James Smith.
Correspondence, S, 1849-1857, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: A. X. San Martin, Smith Winchester & Co., A. Salisbury, and Southmayd and Harrison.
Smith Winchester & Co., 1846-1852, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes details of paper mill machinery to be built in Cuba.
Stewart Family, 1849-1859, inclusive
Taylor, A.B., 1848-1852, inclusive
Telegraph (6 folders), 1843-1856, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Juan de la Granja, Luis de la Rosa, and Luis Bossero. Also contains contracts, agreements, and government documents.
Telegraph (7 folders), 1855-1856, inclusive
Townsend's Sarsaparilla, 1850-1852, inclusive
Travelling passes
Correspondence, V, 1847-1859, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Cosme Varila, L. A. Van Boskerck, Pablo Vergara, H. de Viya, and F. J. Vingnt.
Venancio Marco, Miguel, 1847-1849, inclusive
Correspondence, W, 1847-1853, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Washington and Myers, J. H. Williams, J. Whitney, Wilmer & Rogers, Caleb Woodhall, and Samuel Whitwell.
Yglesias y Pardo, Gregorio, 1847-1854, inclusive
Miscellaneous, 1841-1852, inclusive
Miscellaneous, 1848-1855, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Correspondence relates to Stewart's business arrangements including those with Juan de la Granja. Frequent correspondence with Luis Bossero.
Miscellaneous, 1845-1855, inclusive
Miscellaneous, 1839-1846, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondence with William Hagar, Eliza J. Stanton, and Daniel Mossier.
Miscellaneous, 1847-1855, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Some correspondence addresses the efforts to build a telegraph in Mexico.
Miscellaneous, 1845-1859, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondence with Henry Makepeace regarding the telegraph in Mexico.
Miscellaneous, 1842-1857, inclusive
Miscellaneous, 1838-1857, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondence with Luis Bossero. Material related to printing business and Stewart's work as Vice-Consul for Mexico.
Miscellaneous, 1841-1852, inclusive
Miscellaneous, 1840-1859, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes letter from Juan de la Granja to President Santa Anna of Mexico. Materials addressing Mexican-American War.
Miscellaneous, 1842-1856, inclusive
Miscellaneous, 1842-1855, inclusive
Miscellaneous, 1844-1855, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Some correspondence addresses Juan de la Granja's death. Agreement between Henry F. Makepeace and William George Stewart for the construction of telegraph line in Mexico.
Miscellaneous, 1843-1856, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondence with Pedro Giol concerning sale of Tabascos.
Miscellaneous, 1843-1845, inclusive
Miscellaneous, 1843-1849, inclusive
Miscellaneous, 1841-1852, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondence between Juan de la Granja and F. Stodart. Materials addressing printing business.
Miscellaneous, 1845-1860, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Frequent correspondents include: Joaquín Múñoz y Múñoz, J. A. Ingram, Daniel Henarie, and Juan de la Granja.