Isham Family Papers

Collection

Identifier: Midwest-MS-Isham

Staff Only

Scope and Content of the Collection

Letters, photographs and a few mementos of the Isham family of New York and Chicago.

Transcribed letters between Dr. Ralph N. Isham, his father Nelson Isham, brother Charles Isham, and son George S. Isham mostly pertaining to the home and estate of Nelson Isham. Also photographs of Ralph N. Isham and other Isham family members, and a few mementos.

Dates

1875-1923

Creator

Isham, Ralph N., 1831-1904 (Person)

Language

Materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The Isham Family Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).

Ownership and Literary Rights

The Isham Family 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.

Biography of the Isham Family

Family residing in New York and Illinois.

Nelson Isham was born on May 17, 1805. He received his M.D. from the Medical Institution of Yale College in 1828. During the Civil War, he served as surgeon to the 97th Regiment, New York Volunteers. Isham married Delia Snell (b.1810) on April 8, 1830. Their son, Ralph Nelson Isham, was born in Manheim, Herkimer County, New York, on March 16, 1831.

Ralph N. Isham also studied medicine, and received his M.D. from Bellevue Hospital Medical College in 1854. He came to Chicago in 1855, and in 1859 took part in the organization of medical department of Lind University, later Northwestern University. During the Civil War he headed the United States Marine Hospital in Chicago and continued there for several years afterward. He eventually became chair of surgical anatomy and operative surgery at Northwestern University, and was a member of many medical boards and associations. He married Katherine Snow, daughter of George W. Snow, in 1856. They had four children, George S., Ralph, Katherine, and Harriet. Isham died of cancer in 1904.

Extent

0.4 Linear Feet (1 box)

Additional Description

Abstract

Transcribed letters between Dr. Ralph N. Isham, his father Nelson Isham, brother Charles Isham, and son George S. Isham mostly pertaining to the home and estate of Nelson Isham. Also photographs of Ralph N. Isham and other Isham family members, and a few mementos.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by type of material.

Collection Stack Location

1 22 6

Catalog Record

https://i-share-nby.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CARLI_NBY/i5mcb2/alma998264958805867

Provenance

Unknown.

Processed by

Lisa Janssen, 2010.

Acknowledgements

This inventory was created with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this inventory do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.