Title: U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs Copied Documents
Inclusive Dates: 1616-1906

Creator:

• United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs

Call Number: U.S. Mss BN

Quantity: 36.7 c.f. (7 black boxes, 59 oversize black boxes, 28 card file boxes, and 3 flat boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Photostat and typescript copies of various U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs files, 1801-1860, relating to the Wisconsin area; and calendars compiled by Newton D. Mereness summarizing these and other Indian Office documents, 1801-1906. Included are letters to Lewis Cass, George B. Porter, and Stevens Thomson Mason.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0000bn

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These copies are part of the result of a project to survey and copy documents in the files of the federal government relevant to the Wisconsin region. Calendar cards summarizing such documents were prepared in Washington, D.C. from about 1912 to 1933.

The survey was begun by Dr. Leo F. Stock, working in Indian Office materials. Dr. Stock's card entries were very brief and made in pencil. The State Historical Society of Wisconsin secured typewritten copies of the records he calendared. In later years his calendar entries were typed on cards [see Mss 450].

About 1915, Dr. Newton D. Mereness took up the work that had been begun by Dr. Stock and soon six other historical agencies in the Middle West joined in the project. Dr. Mereness' method was to examine a set of records, study each item in it to see if it contained information on any of the seven agencies, and if it did, to calendar the item and note which of the seven would be interested in the item. To simplify matters, each of the seven agencies was assigned a letter of the alphabet. Wisconsin's letter was “c”. These letters will be found on the lower right-hand corner of each Mereness card.

Periodically, usually four times a year, the set of cards that touched upon its interests was sent to each agency, and from these cards the agencies could order photostatic copies of the records if they so desired. When he had finished surveying a group of records, Dr. Mereness would make a summary card of the contents and approximate number of cards he had made for the set. These summary cards, usually typewritten on orange cards, are filed at the beginning of each set of cards.

Dr. Mereness continued work in the Indian Office records, at that time filed in various places in Washington. The Wisconsin Historical Society ordered copies of all records relating to its region at that time. These were made by photostat and constitute the documents found in this collection. Next Dr. Mereness worked on the House Files, and the Wisconsin Historical Society ordered copies of these records.

Dr. Mereness continued his work in the State Department, Senate Files, and elsewhere. The last calendar cards were made in a resurvey of the Indian Office Files to catch some items not included in the first survey and others that had turned up after the survey started.

This, in brief, describes the rather complicated matter of typewritten copies, photostatic copies, and no copies of records. Dr. Mereness' quarterly reports, on typewritten sheets, are filed in the Manuscript Section. They explain in great detail the progress of the survey. Probably most, if not all, of the records he examined and calendared are now filed in the National Archives.

	Series: Photostats Note: Eight documents from this collection are also available online; click here.
	Indian Office Files, 1804-1860
Box   0	, 1804-1823 (and Miscellaneous Duplicates)
Box   1	1824-1827
Box   2	1828-1829
Box   3	1830
Box   4	1831
Box   5	1832, No. 1-152
Box   6	1832, No. 153-321
Box   7	1833
Box   8	1834
Box   9	1835, No. 1-199
Box   10	1835, No. 200-417
Box   11	1836, No. 1-128
Box   12	1836, No. 129-417
Box   13-13a	1837, No. 00-136 Physical Description: 2 flat boxes
Box   14	1837, No. 317-705
Box   15	1838, No. 1-267
Box   16	1838, No. 268-478
Box   17	1838, No. 479-757
Box   18	1839, No. 1-269
Box   19	1839, No. 270-617
Box   20	1840, No. 1-334
Box   21	1840, No. 335-674
Box   22	1841, No. 1-179
Box   23	1841, No. 180-514
Box   24	1842, No. 00-206
Box   25	1842, No. 207-410
Box   26	1843, No. 1-119
Box   27	1843, No. 220-445.5
Box   28	1844
Box   29	1845
Box   30	1846
Box   31	1847
Box   32	1848
Box   33	1849
Box   34	1850, No. 1-154
Box   35	1850, No. 155-365
Box   36	1851
Box   37	1852
Box   38	1853
Box   39	1854
Box   40	1855
Box   41	1856
Box   42	1857-1858
Box   43	1859-1860
	Indian Office Special File
Box   44	No. 1-290
Box   45	No. 291-479
Box   46	No. 480-640
	Indian Office Letter Books, 1824-1860
Box   47	Vol. 1-15
Box   48	Vol. 16-23
Box   49	Vol. 24-32
Box   50	Vol. 33-40
Box   51	Vol. 41-51
Box   52	Vol. 52-65
Box   53	Indian Office Letter Books, Vols. A-F, 1801-1824
Box   53	Indian Office Letter Books, Trade, Vols. A-F, 1808-1822
	Northern Superintendency, Special, chiefly 1850-1860
Box   54	No. 1-232
Box   55	No. 233-521
Box   56-56a	Northern Superintendency Letter Books, Vols. 1-3, 1852-1856; Saulte Ste. Marie Agency, Letter Book, , 1822-1832, and Letters Received, , 1816-1817, 1822-1833
Box   57	Michigan Superintendency Letter Books, 1814-1823
Box   57	Mackinac Agency Letter Book, 1833-1835, and Letters Received, , 1816-1836
Box   57	Commissary General Letter Books, Vols. B-D, 1833-1836
Box   58	Cass Letters Received, 1819-1831
Box   59	Wisconsin Superintendency Letter Books, Vols. 1-4, 1836-1848 Physical Description: Flat box
Box   59	Porter Letters Received, 1831-1835 Physical Description: Flat box
Box   59	Mason Letters Received Physical Description: Flat box
	Typed transcripts from Indian Office Files, 1801-1836 Note: Calendared in Mss 450.
Box   60	1801-1823
Box   61	1824-1826
Box   62	1827-1828
Box   63	1829-1831 February
Box   64	1831 March-1832
Box   65	1833-1834
Box   66	1835-1836
	Series: Calendar Cards	⇧
	Indian Office Files, 1804-1860 Note: Was 18 drawers of cards.
Box   67	1804-1830
Box   68	1831-1833
Box   69	1834-1835
Box   70	, 1836-1837 (No. 1-402)
Box   71	, 1837 (No. 403-705)-, 1838 (No. 1-528)
Box   72	, 1838 (No. 529-757)-, 1839
Box   73	, 1840-1841 (No. 1-186)
Box   74	, 1841 (No. 187-514)-, 1842
Box   75	, 1843-1844/45 (No. 1-279)
Box   76	, 1844/45 (No. 281-455)-, 1847
Box   77	1847-1849
Box   78	1850-1852
Box   79	1853-1856
Box   80	1857-1860
	Indian Office Letter Books, 1824-1860 Note: Was 8 drawers of cards.
Box   81	Vol. 1-15
Box   82	Vol. 16-25
Box   83	Vol. 26-34
Box   84	Vol. 35-41
Box   85	Vol. 42-53
Box   86	Vol. 54-65
	Indian Office Letter Books, 1861-1870 Note: No copies held at WHS. Physical Description: About 1200 cards
Box   93	1861
Box   94	1862-1870
Box   87	Wisconsin Superintendency Letter Books, Vols. 1-4, 1836-1848 Physical Description: 248 cards
Box   87	Northern Superintendency, Special, chiefly 1850-1860 Note: Not chronologically arranged. Physical Description: 520 cards
Box   88	Northern Superintendency Letter Books, Vols. 1-3, 1852-1856 Physical Description: 168 cards
Box   88	Saulte Ste. Marie Agency Letter Books, Vol. 1, 1822-1832 Physical Description: 58 cards
Box   88	Saulte Ste. Marie Agency Letters Received, Vol. 1-3, 1616-1617, 1822-1833 Note: Not all this material is included in the copies held at WHS. Physical Description: About 163 cards
Box   88	Saulte Ste. Marie Agency Letters Received: Additional calendar cards from the second examination by Mr. Mereness, 1822-1833 Note: Not all this material is included in the copies held at WHS. Physical Description: About 225 cards
Box   89	Michigan Superintendency Letter Books, 1814-1823 Physical Description: 132 cards
Box   89	Mackinac Agency Letter Book, 1833-1835 Physical Description: 20 cards
Box   89	Mackinac Agency Letters Received, 1816-1836 Physical Description: 61 cards
Box   89	Mackinac Agency Letters Received: Additional calendar cards from the second examination by Mr. Mereness, 1816-1836 Note: Not all this material is included in the copies held at WHS. Physical Description: About 150 cards
Box   89	Commissary General Letter Books, Removal and Subsistence Vols. B-D, 1833-1836 Physical Description: 97 cards
Box   90	Indian Office Letter Books, Vols. A-F, 1801-1824 Physical Description: 166 cards
Box   90	Indian Office Letter Books, Trade, Vols. A-F, 1808-1822 Physical Description: 218 cards
Box   90	Cass Letters Received, 1819-1831 Physical Description: 274 cards
Box   91	Porter and Mason Letters Received, 1831-1835 Physical Description: 98 cards
Box   91	Indian Office Special File Note: Not chronologically arranged. Physical Description: 640 cards
Box   92	Folio Cards Choctaw Academy, 1825-1848 Note: Not chronologically arranged. No copies held at WHS. Physical Description: About 100 cards
	Report Books, 1860-1885, Vol. 12-53 Note: No copies held at WHS. Physical Description: About 1300 cards
Box   92	1860-1881
Box   93	1882-1885
Box   93	Indian Trade Papers, 1800, 1815-1823 Note: Not chronologically arranged. No copies held at WHS. Physical Description: About 250 cards
Box   93	General Land Office, 1845-1906 Note: Not chronologically arranged. Physical Description: 242 cards