Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery

Ferdinand C. Latrobe papers- Scope and Content Note

The collection of Ferdinand Latrobe contains papers, letters, documents, diaries, and account books. The earliest document is an essay written by Latrobe in 1833 and the latest is a diary he kept up until his death in 1911. The bulk of the collection covers the later quarter of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. The content ranges from political letters to personal diaries. There is also a substantial amount of documents relating to the B & O Railroad Company. The collection is arranged into three series. Series One contains papers and documents. Series Two contains diaries and journals. Series Three contains documents relating to the B&O Railroad Company.

Series One contains the personal papers of Latrobe including essays, correspondence, legal documents, memorabilia, press clippings, and speeches. There are ten subseries in Series One and approximately 300 pages of documents. Some of the correspondence includes prominent Baltimorean figures. There are letters from Enoch Pratt, Joshua Van Sant, Baltimore mayor from 1871-1875, and Ira Ramsen, President of Johns Hopkins University form 1901-1913. There is a telegram from Vice President of the B & O Railroad, John King, Jr. to Mayor Latrobe in 1877 sent during the Camden Station railroad riot. There are many letters from Baltimore citizens in the subseries "Letters of Congratulations" and "Political" correspondence. Of special interest in Series One are letters from Chun Shen Yin, dating from 1878 to 1879, which Latrobe labeled as from the "Chinese Delegation." It is unclear how Latrobe met the men from the Chinese delegation but it is clear that they kept up a correspondence while the Chinese legation was in America. There are six letters from Chun Shen Yin, one from 1878 and the rest from September and October of 1879. The letters have been transcribed by the processor and are available; some of the words in the letters are illegible and if using the transcription it would be wise to check against the originals. The Baltimore Sun ran an article about the two men from the Chinese legation in September of 1879 which is referenced in one of the letters. An electronic copy of this article is available in the "Cross References" section.

In the "Personal Miscellaneous" section is a Civil War document which we know very little about. This document is the only one of its kind within the collection. There are no other papers relating to the Civil War. The document is three pages. The paper is what appears to be albumen paper or a paper photograph. Henry Pollock, the photographer was familiar with both types of photography and practiced them at his studio in Baltimore. The first page is a cover letter. It reads: "This is the replicate paper signed at the Appomattox CH the two others being retained by Lt. Genl. Grant and Genl. Lee. John Gibbon, Maj. Genl. (Vols) Baltimore Md May 10th 1865." At the bottom of the page is signed "Pollock, Photo., Balto." The second and third pages are the actual photo paper/albumen print of the document, the Articles of Agreement relating to the Surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. The document is in two pages, the first page ending with the third article and the phrase, "allowed to accompany the officers to be…" The third page begins with "turned over at the end of the trip." The document appears to have all of the signatures as on the original. The original document is at the National Archives website: by searching in ARC for the term "Surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia." Subseries Nine is the largest subseries within Series I: Papers and Documents and contains typed, hand-written, and rough draft copies of speeches that Latrobe gave over the course of his career in politics. This subseries is split in two sub-subseries due to the size of the speeches. Speeches written on longer paper are arranged together to better conserve space. As the speeches were not in any particular order when they arrived, they have been arranged according to their size and subject. Subseries Ten contains printed speeches and is arranged chronologically.

Series Two is divided into two subseries: 1. Diaries and 2. Account/Memo Books. The diaries and account books of Ferdinand C. Latrobe span decades. Latrobe kept a diary for every year dating from 1888 to 1911 the year of his death. The 1911 diary ends abruptly on January 11, two days before his death. One diary is by an unknown writer and is dated 1922. The diaries reference many important events in Latrobe's life and career. They are not explicit in detail concerning political opinions or events neither are they revealing when it comes to Latrobe's personal life. Latrobe documented the weather daily and each entry begins with a description of the weather for the day. Many entries are concerned with Latrobe's hunting activity and visits. There are two places which Latrobe mentions very often, Crimea and the Island. Crimea was Thomas Dekay Winans country home in West Baltimore in Leakin Park. The Island may refer to the Carroll Island Gun Club, which Latrobe was a member of.

The account books date from the mid 1860s and go to 1905. The 1900 Maryland Congressional List book contains printed lists of Maryland Senate and House of Delegates, pasted into the book. Some names are underlined in red ink. This book also contains addresses, notes, and two calling cards: Jacob Knipp and Joseph Pearson Farley, a retired Civil War General. The1893-1894 notebook contains memos, notes to self, accounts, expenses, addresses, and daily appointments. It also contains two sketches/cartoons of men holding whips. The 1889 notebook contains an entry for "Prohibiting all vehicles from standing on Lombard Street, Charles, Hanover, Lexington Market." The notebooks from the 1860s contain a section on Maryland population growth contains figures dating from 18th century and projected into 20th century, including slave and free black population figures.

Series Three contains documents relating to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company. The first subseries contains one letter from John H.B. Latrobe. It is labeled "Letter of PE Thomas, after the decision in MD Court of Appeals regards the RR Company" and is dated, January 5, 1830. It is not known who labeled the letter. The bulk of this series contains documents pertaining to a dispute between railroad locomotive engineers, Ross Winans and the B&O Railroad, master machinist, Henry Tyson from 1856-1857. This subseries contains pamphlet documents, correspondence, rough drafts, and copies. It is arranged by similar subject, paper, and corresponding numbering on pages when applicable. It is unclear how Latrobe came to have these documents. Latrobe was counsel for the B&O RR, beginning in 1858, and may have inherited the papers with the position or he may have been given the papers by his father who also served as counsel for the B&O RR. The dispute between Ross Winans and Henry Tyson is well-documented in The story of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, 1827-1927, by Edward Hungerford, published in 1928. The majority of the documents may be drafts of statements issued to Latrobe by Ross Winans or to whoever was the legal counsel for the B&O at the time. These documents describe a pamphlet written by Tyson which alleges that the camel back engines caused accidents in which a few men were killed. It seems that the pamphlet alleged that the engines and cars were unsafe and a new design should be implemented. The dispute is generally recognized to have led to Ross Winans giving up his career in railroad locomotive engineering, as he closed his shop shortly afterwards. These documents could be of great interest to historians of the railroad industry.