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George Edwin Dolton papers

 Collection
Identifier: Midwest-MS-Dolton

Scope and Content of the Collection

Dolton's Civil War letters to his German immigrant wife Wilhelmina (Minnie) Christliebe Nietzsche and diaries provide detailed and highly descriptive information about daily military life, the people and scenes he encountered, politics, and the need for and consequences of the war.

Postwar family and business correspondence, diaries, and printed ephemera from Illinois, and after 1871 from St. Louis, document Dolton's wholesale merchandising business, his difficult family relationships, and involvement in Veterans and political organizations.

Includes correspondence, diaries, printed ephemera, photographs, artifacts, and research materials and transcriptions for "The Path of Patriotism: Civil War Letters of George Edwin Dolton" by Theodore A. Dolton.

Dates

  • Creation: 1831-2009
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1862-1906

Creator

Langauge

Materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The George Edwin Dolton papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).

Ownership and Literary Rights

The George Edwin Dolton papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections at reference@newberry.org.

Biography of George Edwin Dolton

George Edwin Dolton was born July 27, 1840, near Thornton, Illinois. He enlisted in the Army on August 11, 1862, and three days later, he married Wilhelmina “Minnie” Christliebe Nietzsche. Minnie was a former pupil of Dolton’s who emigrated from Germany to the United States.

During the Civil War, Dolton served (1862-1865) in the Battery M of the 1st Regiment of Illinois Light Artillery in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. After the war, his family moved to St. Louis where he became a county surveyor and businessman, serving as a wholesale distributor of household items such as carriages, sewing machines, Grange regalia, and musical instruments. Dolton died in 1906.

Extent

2.5 Linear Feet (6 boxes)

Abstract

Letters, diaries, printed ephemera, photographs, and other material of school teacher and surveyor George Edwin Dolton, of Thornton, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri, who served (1862-1865) in the Battery M of the 1st Regiment of Illinois Light Artillery in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. Postwar family and business correspondence, diaries, and printed ephemera from Illinois, and after 1871 from St. Louis, document Dolton's wholesale merchandising business, family life, and political activities. Dolton's Civil War letters have been transcribed, researched, and extracts by subject prepared by Theodore A. Dolton, great grandson of the Civil War veteran, who published "The Path of Patriotism: Civil War Letters of George Edwin Dolton" in 2003.

Arrangement

Arranged by type of material and subject.

Collection Stack Location

1 55 1

Provenance

Gift of Theodore and Catherine Dolton, 2016.

Processed by

Martha Briggs, 2016.

Title
Inventory of the George Edwin Dolton papers, 1831-2009, bulk 1862-1906
Status
Completed
Author
Catherine Grandgeorge
Date
©2016.
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 2024-03-16: Collection reprocessed, adding folder numbers and additional title and date information.

Repository Details

Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512