Papers of the elder William Clark include correspondence (1777-1791), pertaining to his service in the Ilinois Regiment, administration of the Illinois grant, and the development of Clarksville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Indiana (including maps). Correspondents include his father Benjamin Clark, Richard C. Anderson, John Armstrong, Daniel Brodhead, Richard Butler, Abraham Chapline, Valentine Dalton, John Dodge, John Edwards, James Harrod, Gilbert Imlay, Harry Innes, John Montgomery, John Rogers, Arthur St. Clair, Robert Todd, and John Williams. Letters (1782-1790) of John Girault in New Orleans and Natchez concern economic conditions and relations with the Spanish in the lower Mississippi River valley. Also includes a letterbook (1782-1789), primarily of letters written to John Girault, a ledger (1784-1785) and daybook (1787-1791), muster rolls, supply inventories, and land survey notes.
Papers of the younger William Clark (1770-1838) include material on midwestern Indian affairs, 1814-1822, primarily messages delivered in 1815 to representatives of the Chippewa (Ojibwa), Kickapoo, Menominee, Potawatomi, and Sauk and Fox (Meskwaki) tribes signed by Clark, Auguste Chouteau, and Illinois territorial governor Ninian Edwards. Also includes the journal, May 14 - August 17, 1804, of Charles Floyd, a sergeant with the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
The bulk of the papers in this series are those of the elder William.
