Granville O. Haller papers, 1842-1993

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Haller, Granville O. (Granville Owen), 1820-1897
Title
Granville O. Haller papers
Dates
1842-1993 (inclusive)
Quantity
2.95 cubic feet
Collection Number
3437
Summary
Papers of a Washington pioneer, army officer and businessman
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

Consult the access restrictions information for each of the accessions listed below.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Granville Haller was born in Pennsylvania on January 31, 1819. He decided upon a career in the military at a young age, and in 1839 was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Infantry. He fought in both the Seminole War and the Mexican-American War in the 1840s, achieving the rank of captain. In 1949 he married Henrietta Maria Hamilton Cox, whose prominent Irish family included a lord chancellor of Ireland and a Bishop of Ely who tutored the English King, Edward VI.

In 1852 the Army sent Haller to the Pacific Northwest, where he served at Fort Vancouver and later at Fort Dalles in Oregon. Haller led troops into the area of present day Boise to punish murderers of men in a wagon train crossing the Snake River in late summer of 1854. Haller also was a leading figure in the Indian War of 1855-1856. Ordered into Yakima Indian territory in November, 1855, Haller found himself badly outnumbered by armed Yakimas and was forced to retreat before reinforcements could arrive. This "defeat" may well have been the reason why Haller was promoted relatively slowly for the rest of his career. Later in the Indian War, Haller established and served as first commander of Fort Townsend. He was one of a handful of American commanders ordered to occupy San Juan Island during the boundary dispute with England in 1859.

When tensions in the San Juans eased later in 1859, Haller was sent east, bouncing among duties in Arizona and California until serving in the Civil War. During the war, he served on the staff of General McClellan throughout the Virginia and Maryland campaigns, and later under General Burnside and General Hooker. In 1863, on the basis of an accusatory letter from a Navy officer, the War Department summarily discharged Haller for "disloyal conduct and the utterance of disloyal sentiments." He made repeated requests for a hearing to contest the dismissal, but the Army steadfastly rejected them all. It took an act of Congress to finally get Haller his hearing, sixteen years later in 1879, and he was exonerated. He accepted reinstatement as a colonel and served for three more years until retirement.

After his dismissal, Haller returned to Washington Territory. He started a farm on Whidbey Island and later bought a sawmill near Port Townsend. The sawmill proved unprofitable, so he opened general stores in Port Townsend and Coupeville. Subsequent eulogists noted how generous he was in extending credit to poor families. When they were unable to repay their debts, Haller acquired from them large tracts of undeveloped land. He then rented this land to amass what one of the eulogists characterized as "a very gratifying income." He served as the president of the State Pioneer Society and was grand master of the territory's Masonic Grand Lodge. His brief return to military service took him away from the Puget Sound region, but he settled in Seattle upon his retirement in one of the city's most spacious and imposing mansions. He died May 2, 1897.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Consult the scope and content information for each of the accessions listed below.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Consult the restrictions governing reproduction and use for each of the accessions listed below.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Arrangement

  • Accession No. 3437-001, Granville O. Haller papers, 1842-1937
  • Accession No. 3437-005, Granville O. Haller papers, 1863-1993
  • Accession No. 3437-006, Granville O. Haller papers, circa 1840s - 1961

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Accession No. 3437-001: Granville O. Haller papers, 1842-1937Return to Top

1.92 cubic feet (5 document cases, two oversized items; plus 1 microfilm reel, positive; 1 microfilm reel, negative.)

Scope and Content: Correspondence, diaries and other writings, military documents; 1842-1896. Includes journal of Haller's son, Theodore N. Haller, 1912-1937; One reel microfilm.

Microfilm contents include the following selections from the Haller diaries and notebooks: Financial record book, 1852-1856 only; Journal and dispatches regarding campaign against Snake Indians, 1854; Orders and special orders from HQ, Winnass Expedition, 1855; Diary kept during Winass Expedition, 1855; Diary, 1855; Diary, 1856.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Some restrictions exist on copying, quotation or publication. Contact Repository for details.

Acquisition Info: Donated by Haller Family, 6/22/1936. Additions gift of Martin Chamberlain, 1956 and 1961.

Container(s) Description Dates
Personal Papers
Box/Folder Accession
1/1-2 3437-001
Autobiographical Features
undated
1/3 3437-001
Chronology of Letters
undated
Incoming Letters
Box/Folder Accession
1/4 3437-001
Alvord, Benjamin
1850-1874
1/5 3437-001
Blackwood, E.
1892
1/6 3437-001
Cann, T.
1886
1/7 3437-001
Cochran, Thomas E.
1862
1/8 3437-001
Couch, D.
1863
1/9 3437-001
Dawson, W.
1885-1886
1/10 3437-001
Dingwall, David
1880
1/11 3437-001
Evans, Elwood
1893
1/12 3437-001
Gibbon, John
1890-1891
1/13 3437-001
Haller, Thomas
1858-1861
1/14 3437-001
Hardie, James A.
1862
1/15 3437-001
Hodges, ____
1858, undated
1/16 3437-001
Johnson, A.
1864
1/17 3437-001
Lee, Theron G.
1851-1891
1/18 3437-001
McClellan, George Brinton
1862-1864
1/19 3437-001
Mendell, G.
1856-1857
1/20 3437-001
Pandosy, (Father)
undated [Oct. 1855]
1/2 3437-001
Patrick, M.
1863, undated
1/22 3437-001
Porter, F.
1895-1896
1/23 3437-001
Randall, Lain J.
1863
1/24 3437-001
Washington State Historical Society
1891-1893
1/25 3437-001
Weir, Allen
1892
1/26 3437-001
Wells, Charles H.
1861-1878
1/27 3437-001
Williams, S.
1862
1/28-34 3437-001
Miscellaneous A-Z
1839-1891, undated
Box/Folder Accession
1/35-42 3437-001
Outgoing Letters (including Tablets)
1847-1896
1/43 3437-001
General Correspondence
1863, undated
1/44-50 3437-001
Papers (Photostats) - re: Mr. Haller's Dismissal from the U.S. Army
1863, undated
Financial Records
Box/Folder Accession
2/1 3437-001
Invoice
1847
2/2-3a 3437-001
Miscellaneous
1844-1889. undated
Box/Folder Accession
2/3b 3437-001
Publications - A System of Target Practice
1858
Speeches and Writings
Box/Folder Accession
2/4 3437-001
"Genius of Indian Dissatisfaction and Hostilities"
undated
2/5 3437-001
"The Indian War of 1855-56 in Washington and Oregon"
undated
2/6 3437-001
"Kamiakin in History"
undated
2/7 3437-001
"San Juan and Secession" (newspaper headline)
1896
2/8 3437-001
"San Juan Imbroglio"
1887, undated
2/9 3437-001
"Another View of the San Juan Imbroglio"
1892
2/10 3437-001
Review of Article "Another View of the San Juan Imbroglio" and Reply of Mr. Haller
1892, undated
2/11 3437-001
"Incidents in the History of Washington Territory" and "Preliminary History of the Boundary"
undated
2/12 3437-001
"Incidents in the History of Washington Territory"
undated
2/13 3437-001
"The History of the North-West Boundary of the U.S."
1859
2/14 3437-001
"Where Rolls the Oregon!"
undated
2/15 3437-001
The Constitution. Article I, Sec. 8
undated
2/16 3437-001
"Moses and Zoroaster"
1896
2/17 3437-001
"Law and Logic"
undated
2/18 3437-001
"The Advent of Mr. Dallas"
undated
2/19 3437-001
On Government
undated
2/20 3437-001
On the Secession Movement
undated
2/21 3437-001
Miscellaneous
undated
Box/Folder Accession
2/22-24 3437-001
Notes
undated
Documents
Box/Folder Accession
2/25 3437-001
Miscellaneous Legal and Personal
undated
2/26 3437-001
Military
1879-1886
folder:oversize
Oversize 3437-001
Military Order of Foreign Wars Certificate
1897
U.S. Military Orders
Box/Folder Accession
2/27 3437-001
Miscellaneous
1846-1882
2/28-29 3437-001
Anti-Chinese Riots
1886
Box/Folder Accession
3/1-2 3437-001
Subject Series - Meigs Lumber and Shipbuilding Co.
1863-1880, undated
3/3 3437-001
Scrapbook
undated
3/4 3437-001
Drawing - View of Mount Baker from the Station, Port Townsend
undated
3/5 3437-001
Photographs - Printing Plate (G.O. Haller)
undated
3/6 3437-001
Journal - "Journal of a Scout"
1842
3/7 3437-001
Journal - "Campaign Against the Snake Indians"
1854
3/8-10 3437-001
Diaries (5 volumes)
1850-1882
4/1-3 3437-001
Diaries (6 volumes)
1883-1889
Notebooks
Box/Folder Accession
4/4 3437-001
Winnass Expedition
General Notes: Includes correspondence and orders
1855
4/5 3437-001
General
General Notes: Includes diary entries
1878
4/5 3437-001
Of Nichols, William A.
1898-1900
Box/Folder Accession
4/6 3437-001
Memo Book
1849-1860
folder:oversize
VF 58 3437-001
Memo Book and Diary
1864-1865
Box/Folder
4/6 3437-001
Financial Records
1849-1860
5/1 3437-001
Ledger - Grain Transactions; Billfold; Medals (2)
1857, undated
Haller, Theodore N.
Box/Folder Accession
5/2-3 3437-001
Journals (2)
1912-1937
Box/Folder Accession
Microfilm 3437-001
Financial record book, Journal and dispatches regarding campaign against Snake Indians, Orders and special orders from HQ, Winnass Expedition, Diaries.
1852-1856

Accession No. 3437-005: Granville O. Haller papers, 1863-1993Return to Top

0.03 cubic feet (1 folder)

Scope and Content: Genealogical chart, 1953,1981; written reminiscence by Henrietta M. Haller, Granville Haller's wife, describing the Haller family's trip around Cape Horn to California and later to Oregon and Washington where they lived from the 1850s on; summary of trial proceedings regarding the dismissal of Granville Haller from the U.S. Army; excerpts from Haller's 1854 diary, transcribed by Martin Chamberlain in 1993.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Some restrictions exist on copying, quotation or publication. Contact Repository for details.

Acquisition Info: Donated by Martin Chamberlain, 1/1/1982.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder Accession
VF 1295 3437-005
Genealogical Chart (circa 1600s to 1970s)
1981
Writings - "Notes by Henrietta M. Haller"
General Notes: photocopy
1898
Court Papers - "Dismissal of Major Granville O. Haller"
General Notes: photocopy
1863
Diary Excerpts - Transcribed by Martin Chamberlain in 1993
General Notes: 15 pages
1854

Accession No. 3437-006: Granville O. Haller papers, circa 1840s-1961 (bulk 1860-1930)Return to Top

1 cubic foot (1 box)

Scope and Content: Diaries, land deeds and abstracts, military receipts, correspondence, autograph books, manuscript plat-maps relating to Skagit and Island Counties particularly to Edison and Samish Island, estate documents and other materials relating to Granville O. Haller, his wife, Henrietta (d. 1910), and their descendants. Descendants include their children Alice Mai (and her children, William A. Nichols, Jr and Charlotte Louise Nichols), Theodore N. Haller, and Charlotte who was married to Redick H. McKee, mapmaker.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Literary rights have been transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Source: Martin Chamberlain, 2004 May 07, 2004 August 12.

Processing Info: 0.42 cubic feet of photographic materials relocated to Visual Materials Collection in 2010.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Agriculture--Washington (State)--Whidbey Island
  • Armed Forces--Officers--Archives
  • Frontier and pioneer life--Washington (State)
  • Indians of North America--Wars--Oregon
  • Indians of North America--Wars--Washington (State)
  • Pioneers--Washington (State)--Archives

Personal Names

  • Haller, Granville O. (Granville Owen), 1820-1897--Archives
  • Haller, Henrietta Maria
  • Steptoe, Edward Jenner, 1815-1865

Corporate Names

  • Meigs Lumber and Shipbuilding Co
  • United States. Army

Form or Genre Terms

  • Diaries
  • Notebooks
  • Photographs
  • Scrapbooks

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)