The John Samuel collection covers the years 1868-1907, but deals almost exclusively with the period he resided in St. Louis. Nearly all the papers concern co-operation in this country and in England, the Knights of Labor, and related topics. Correspondence and notebooks are available both in paper form and on microfilm; publications are on microfilm only. Also with the original paper manuscripts are thirteen boxes (approximately one hundred fifty volumes) of newspaper clippings arranged under the general categories of co-operation, the Grange, and labor. The clippings cover approximately the same dates as the other papers, but within each category are pasted in scrapbooks in random order. The exact dates and sources of most of the clippings are unknown, but among the journals heavily represented are the St. Louis Post Dispatch, the Union (St. Louis), the Sociologic News (Brooklyn, New York), and the Co-Operative News (London). Due to the arrangement and physical condition of the scrapbooks, microfilming them was considered unfeasible.
The correspondence file dates from 1873 to 1907 and contains a copybook, incoming and outgoing letters, printed reports of various co-operative ventures, and a few labor-related broadsides. The copybook covers only 1884 and 1885 and concerns the activities of the Knights of Labor Co-Operative Board. It consists of summaries of incoming letters, and some complete copies of incoming and outgoing letters. The balance of the correspondence is filed chronologically except where Samuel drafted replies on the back of the incoming letters. Letters from the 1870s are sparse but include several of William H. Earle and J. Butterfield of the Sovereigns of Industry. Dated February 1878 are brief statistical and narrative reports for approximately twenty-five co-operative stores affiliated with the Sovereigns. The correspondence between 1880 and 1890 deals primarily with Samuel's Knights of Labor activities. As a Knights of Labor organizer, he received numerous requests from Missouri and adjoining states for assistance in organizing locals, and also corresponded with Knights' officials including Terrence V. Powderly and Robert D. Layton. As a member of the Co-Operative Board, Samuel received many descriptions of and requests for financial assistance for existing and proposed co-operatives. His correspondence with other Board members including J. J. McCartney, reflects the Knights' internal struggle over funding of the Co-Operative Board. Other prominent correspondents for the period include Amos Fayram of Detroit and Joseph H. Osborn of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
The correspondence is light between 1889 and 1891, picks up again from 1892-1896, and is very light for the balance of the period. The prime correspondent for the 1890s is Imogene C. Fales, editor of the Sociologic News (renamed New Commonwealth in 1894). Most of the letters deal with the affairs of the journal, the co-operative movement in general, and arrangements for several Co-Operative Congresses.
The notebooks consist of nineteen small handwritten volumes primarily concerning the Knights and co-operation. The volumes on the Knights include miscellaneous notes on their early history, notes on the proceedings of the General Assembly meetings, 1878-1883, and records of locals organized, 1882-1885. The local assembly records show the location of the local, note whether it was made up of a single trade or was “mixed,” and whether it included women or black workers. The six volumes on co-operation contain varied information, such as copies of speeches and articles on the topic, and notes on the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society of England, and minutes of the Missouri Co-Operative Coal Association. The final notebook contains a description, dated 1879, of the Missouri Bureau of Labor Statistics, and some statistics on a survey of living conditions, probably in St. Louis.
A list of the items in the publications series is included in the contents list below.
