Series: 1 WW (Volume 1)
Scope and Content Note

Original papers, 1791-1817, of both uncle and nephew. Only a few, however, are those of the elder Symmes. Included are three letters (1791, 1800) to Governor Arthur St. Clair of the Northwest Territory, detailing political and judicial differences between the two men, and one letter (1811) to James Henry discussing the burning of Symmes's house, a Fourth of July celebration in Cincinnati, and immigration to the Miami Purchase area.

The bulk of the papers are those of the younger Symmes. Among his military papers are contemporary copies of two orders (1803, 1804) by James Wilkinson. Extensive personal correspondence (1802-1817) was exchanged between Symmes and his brothers Daniel and Peyton, his wife Marianne, his mother Mercy, his uncle, and other family members. Within some letters are discussions of life in Cincinnati and on frontier military posts in both war and peace, particularly Bellefontaine on the Missouri River. Others pertain to the early development of his theory on the hollow construction of planets. Among other correspondents are Madeleine Askin, Ethan A. Brown, Anthony Campbell, John Campbell, E.B. Clemson, William Eustis, Willis Foulk, Thomas Hamilton, William Henry Harrison, Jacob Kingsbury, Hugh Moore, R.C. Nicholas, Charles Peltier, Horatio Stark, William Swan, and David Walker.

Series: 2 WW (Volume 2)
Scope and Content Note

Papers, 1795-1846, but mainly correspondence, lecture notes, diagrams, and memoranda, 1818-1828, concerning the junior Symmes's theory of planetary construction. Correspondence with editors, congressmen, military and naval officers, diplomatic representatives of Russia and Great Britain, and academic societies throughout the world attest to his efforts to arouse interest in his theory and to gain support for a scientific polar expedition. Family papers include a few autobiographical notes, one letter from his cousin Anna (“Nancy”) Symmes Harrison (Mrs. William Henry Harrison), two to his brother Peyton, undated fragments written to his wife during his army career, and undated notes for a will. A few letters and notes refer to provisions for use or sale of his three slaves. There are several drafts of military letters (1805) and notes and a newspaper article (1821) pertaining to service of the First Regiment in the War of 1812. Symmes's other correspondents included Eben I. Bell, Lewis Bissell, William B. Champney, Thomas S. Hinde, James McBride, John McLean, Samuel L. Mitchell, Horatio Gates Spafford, and William A. Trimble.

The few papers of the elder Symmes in this volume include an Ohio land agreement to which Symmes, Jonathan Dayton, Israel Ludlow, Arthur St. Clair, and James Wilkinson were principal parties, and a list of mortgages to be sold by Symmes in 1804. A biographical and genealogical account of the judge and his family is embodied in a letter (1846) by John Cleves Short.

Series: 3 WW (Volume 3)
Scope and Content Note

Primarily copies, extracts, and summaries of correspondence and papers of the elder Symmes, made by Draper in 1846 from a manuscript volume loaned to him by John Cleves Short. Included are a few biographical entries from Symmes's daybook, 1812-1813, a letter (1776) on the death of his first wife, and an extensive series of business letters, 1788-1796. More than sixty of these were to and from Jonathan Dayton, but there are also a few to and from Elias Boudinot and members of the board of proprietors of the Miami Company.

Major topics discussed were the Miami Purchase and its early settlements, the government of the Northwest Territory, and military operations against the Indians. The latter portion of this volume contains notes and articles copied by Draper from the Ohio State Journal (Columbus, Ohio) and the Cincinnati Gazette. Among these are reminiscences of the Miami settlement signed by the initials “E. F.,” Joseph R. Underwood's recollections (1828) of William Dudley's defeat and the treatment of American prisoners of war in 1813, and obituaries (1826-1828) for Thomas Hinde, John Dunn Hunter, Thomas Todd, and Thomas Worthington.

Series: 4 WW (Volume 4)
Scope and Content Note: An original manuscript law of the Northwest Territory prescribing the duty and powers of coroners. Dated July 16, 1795, the document bears the territorial seal, and each of the several sheets of text contains the signatures of Governor Arthur St. Clair and of territorial judges John Cleves Symmes and George Turner.