Manson Franklin Backus papers, 1855-1935

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Backus, Manson Franklin, 1853-1935
Title
Manson Franklin Backus papers
Dates
1855-1935 (inclusive)
Quantity
2.27 cubic feet (5 boxes, 1 tube, and 99 items)
Collection Number
0221
Summary
Papers of a banker of Seattle, Washington
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Open to all users.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Manson Backus (1853-1935) was born in New York state. He was educated in the public schools of New York, and after completing his education he became cashier in his fathers bank, First National Bank at Union Springs, New York. He then studied law and in 1889 was admitted to the bar at Buffalo, N.Y. Later that year he moved to Seattle, and with Mr. Edward O. Graves, organized the Washington National Bank of Seattle, of which he became president in 1900. A long and successful career in banking and in the financial institutions of Seattle followed. Besides banking and financial concerns, Backus was a regent of the University of Washington, 1909; he served as president of the Washington Society of the Sons of the Revolution, 1917; he was a member of the Rainier Club, and its president in 1922. He supported the Fine Arts Association, was a trustee of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, and on the advisory board of Children's Orthopedic Hospital.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Business and family letters, pocket diaries, pioneer correspondence, documents, account books

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on copying, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Organized into 3 accessions.

  • Accession No. 0221-001, Manson Franklin Backus account books and correspondence, 1912-1934
  • Accession No. 0221-002, Manson Franklin Backus documents and correspondence, 1855-1917
  • Accession No. 0221-003, Manson Franklin Backus papers, 1871-1935

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Accession No. 0221-001: Manson Franklin Backus account books and correspondence, 1912-1934Return to Top

6 items, including 4 volumes

Scope and Content: Account books, 1912-1920; letters to Backus, 1932, 1934.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Donated by Mr. F. Backus.

Accession No. 0221-002: Manson Franklin Backus documents and correspondence, 1855-1917Return to Top

93 items

Scope and Content: Pioneer correspondence, documents.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Donated by L.M. Backus, Jr., 1955 and 1957.

Accession No. 0221-003: Manson Franklin Backus papers, 1871-1935Return to Top

2.27 cubic feet (5 boxes, 1 tube)

Scope and Content: Business and family letters, pocket diaries, and other items related to Backus's banking and commercial interests in Seattle and Washington State, to personal and family matters, and to his son LeRoy's commercial interests. Includes correspondence of Lue Adams Backus, Manson's second wife, and a European travel diary she kept.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Donated by Manson and Frances A. Backus, 7/11/1996.

Container(s) Description Dates
Series 1: Personal Papers
Box/Folder Accession
1/1 0221-003
Joseph C. Anderson incoming letters
1881
1/2-4 0221-003
Lue Adams Backus incoming letters
1889-1897
1/5 0221-003
A. N. Banks incoming letters
1916-1917
1/6 0221-003
Alvin Coburn incoming letters
1889
1/7 0221-003
E. B. Fellows incoming letters
1917
1/8 0221-003
George B. Goodbury incoming letters
1871
1/9 0221-003
Otis Harlan incoming letters
1917
1/10 0221-003
Ralle M. Harlan incoming letters
1893
1/11 0221-003
H. Kabis and P. Kabis incoming letters
1896
1/12 0221-003
Charles O'Brien incoming letters
1886
1/13 0221-003
Anna A. Putti incoming letters
1898
1/13 0221-003
Elise Putti incoming letters
1897
1/14 0221-003
G. D. Russell incoming letters
1917
1/15 0221-003
Incoming letters re: death of his wife
1901
1/16 0221-003
Incoming letters re: resignation
1911
1/17 0221-003
Outgoing Letters
1917
1/18-2/3 0221-003
Diaries
1907-1934
2/4 0221-003
Photographs
2/5 0221-003
Calling Cards
1901
2/6 0221-003
Clippings
1889
6/1 0221-003
Certificate
1935
Series 2: Leroy Backus
Box/Folder Accession
2/7 0221-003
Manson Backus incoming letters
1917
2/8 0221-003
Lake Chelan Land Company incoming letters
1916-1918
2/9 0221-003
A. L. Sheldon incoming letters
1916-1917
2/10 0221-003
A. G. Spalding and Brothers (San Francisco, Ca.) incoming letters
1916
2/11 0221-003
Panama-Pacific International Exposition incoming letters
1916-1917
2/12 0221-003
H. H. Pile incoming letters
1917-1918
2/13-14 0221-003
A-Z incoming letters
1906-1918
2/15 0221-003
Manson Backus incoming telegrams
1916-1917
2/16 0221-003
A-Z incoming telegrams
1916-1917
2/17-18 0221-003
Outgoing Letters
1909-1918
2/19 0221-003
Outgoing Telegrams
1916-1917
2/20 0221-003
Safe Harbor at Neah Bay: William E. Humphrey incoming letters
1909-1911
2/21 0221-003
Safe Harbor at Neah Bay: Puget Sound Navigation Company incoming letters
1910
2/22 0221-003
Safe Harbor at Neah Bay: A-Z incoming letters
1909-1911
2/23 0221-003
Safe Harbor at Neah Bay: Outgoing Letters
1910-1911
2/24 0221-003
Safe Harbor at Neah Bay: General Correspondence
1909-1911
2/25 0221-003
Safe Harbor at Neah Bay: Statistics
3/1 0221-003
Financial Records
3/2 0221-003
Legal Documents
3/3 0221-003
School Records
Series 3: Lue Adams Backus
Box/Folder Accession
3/4 0221-003
Sarah A. Adams incoming letters
1897
3/5-4/12 0221-003
Manson F. Backus incoming letters
1886-1898
4/13 0221-003
N. E. Backus incoming letters
1891-1897
4/14 0221-003
Amos M. Clark incoming letters
1897
4/15 0221-003
Irene B. Harlan incoming letters
1899-1900
4/16 0221-003
H. A. Hughitt incoming letters
1888
4/17 0221-003
Sarah Mills incoming letters
1893
4/18 0221-003
Josephine Root incoming letters
1886, 1889
4/19 0221-003
S. Sheppard incoming letters
1889
4/20 0221-003
Gertrude Tidball incoming letters
1893
4/21 0221-003
Augusta incoming letters
1897
4/22 0221-003
Diaries
1885, 1896
Series 4: Washington National Bank (National Bank of Commerce)
Box/Folder Accession
5/1 0221-003
Incoming Letters
1905-1912
5/2 0221-003
Incoming Letters to Manson Backus
1906-1917
5/3 0221-003
Capitol National Bank incoming letters to Leroy Backus
1906-1912
5/4 0221-003
Kerr and McCord incoming letters to Leroy Backus
1907-1912
5/5 0221-003
Rothchild, Golden, and Rothchild incoming letters to Leroy Backus
1909-1913
5/6 0221-003
A-Z incoming letters to Leroy Backus
1906-1917
5/7 0221-003
Outgoing Letters
1905-1918
5/8 0221-003
General Correspondence
1906-1917
5/9 0221-003
Interoffice Correspondence
1916-1917
5/10 0221-003
Agreements
5/11 0221-003
Clippings
5/12 0221-003
Miscellaneous
5/13 0221-003
Reference Index
undated

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)

Personal Names

  • Backus, Manson Franklin, 1853-1935--Archives
  • Humphrey, William E. (William Ewart), 1862-1934

Corporate Names

  • Puget Sound Navigation Company

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Adams, Sarah A (creator)
    • Ames, Edwin Gardner, 1856-1935 (creator)
    • Anderson, Joseph C (creator)
    • Backus, LeRoy M., 1880?-1948 (creator)
    • Backus, Lue Adams (creator)
    • Backus, N. E (creator)
    • Ballinger, Richard Achilles, 1858-1922 (creator)
    • Banks, A. N (creator)
    • Bryan, William Jennings, 1860-1925 (creator)
    • Clark, Amos M (creator)
    • Coburn, Alvin (creator)
    • Donworth, George (creator)
    • Evans, Elwood, 1828-1898 (creator)
    • Fellows, E. B (creator)
    • Ferry, Elisha P. (Elisha Peyre), 1825-1895 (creator)
    • Goodbury, George B (creator)
    • Harlan, Irene B (creator)
    • Harlan, Otis (creator)
    • Harlan, Ralle M (creator)
    • Hughitt, H. A (creator)
    • Johnson, Hiram, 1866-1945 (creator)
    • Kabis, H (creator)
    • Kabis, P (creator)
    • Lister, Ernest, 1870-1919 (creator)
    • Mason, Charles H., 1830-1859 (creator)
    • McMullin, Fayette, 1805-1880 (creator)
    • Mills, Sarah (creator)
    • O'Brien, Charles (creator)
    • Pickering, William T., 1798-1873 (creator)
    • Pile, H. H (creator)
    • Putti, Anna A (creator)
    • Putti, Elise (creator)
    • Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945 (creator)
    • Root, Josephine (creator)
    • Russell, G. D (creator)
    • Semple, Eugene, 1840-1908 (creator)
    • Seward, William H (creator)
    • Sheldon, A. L (creator)
    • Sheppard, S (creator)
    • Shiels, Archie W. (Archibald Williamson), b. 1878 (creator)
    • Squire, Watson C. (Watson Carvosso), 1838-1926 (creator)
    • Sulzer, William, 1863-1941 (creator)
    • Tidball, Augusta (creator)
    • Tidball, Gertrude (creator)
    • Walsh, Thomas James, 1895-1933 (creator)
    • Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924 (creator)
    Corporate Names
    • A. D. Spalding and Brothers (San Francisco, Calif.) (creator)
    • Lake Chelan Land Company (creator)
    • National Bank of Commerce (Seattle, Wash.) (creator)
    • New York (State). Panama-Pacific Exposition Commission (creator)
    • Seattle (Wash.). City Clerk
    • Washington National Bank (Seattle, Wash.) (creator)