John Webster Perit Huntington papers

John Webster Perit Huntington papers, 1855-1869

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Huntington, John Webster Perit, 1831-1869
Title: John Webster Perit Huntington papers
Dates: 1855-1869 (inclusive)
18551869
Quantity: .45 cubic feet (1 document case)
Collection Number: Mss 759
Summary: Papers of a Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Oregon in the mid-19th century. Includes correspondence and financial records relating to the Indian Affairs post. Subjects include the drowning of William Logan, the Dick Johnson Indian murder, Oregon Republican politics, and Republican convention news.
Repository: Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions: The collection is open to the public.
Languages: English
Sponsor: Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

John Webster Perit Huntington, publisher, lawyer, teacher, farmer and Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Oregon, was born on July 5, 1831 in Norwich, Connecticut. A versatile and well educated young man, he joined a group of men who bought a ship, loaded it with mining equipment and sailed around Cape Horn to San Francisco in 1850. Once in California they sold the ship and mining equipment and dispersed. Huntington traveled to Yoncalla, Umpqua County (now Douglas County), Oregon, where he took a land claim in Hayhurst Valley in 1852.

In 1857 Huntington met and married Mary Applegate, daughter of Charles Applegate. Through the Applegate connection, Huntington became associated with the Republican Party and served as an Oregon state legislator in 1860. Because of his work in the Republican Party in Oregon, he was brought to the attention of President Abraham Lincoln and appointed as the Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Oregon.

Under Huntington's tenure as Superintendent, treaties were signed with various Indian tribes including the Snake and Warm Springs tribes. Due to his efficiency and duty to the Union, President Andrew Johnson appointed him to a second term in 1867. This last term ended in the Spring of 1869 and on June 3, he unexpectedly died at the age of 37.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The John Webster Perit Huntington papers (1855-1869), consist mainly of correspondence and financial records created during Huntington's term as Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Oregon. The correspondents include: Benjamin Alvord, Jesse Applegate, William Barnhart, B. F. Dowell, George S. Hinsdale, B. N. Huntington, William C. Johnson, William Kelly, John Kelsay, James W. Nesmith, Simeon G. Reed, and Benjamin Simpson, among others.

Subjects of interest include: the drowning of William Logan and the disappearance of $25,000 in Indian Department money, the Dick Johnson Indian murder, Oregon Republican politics and convention news. Other subjects include Huntington's "Unionist" printing and newspaper publishing business, and a political scrapbook with captions by Huntington. There are also various financial records of the Indian Affairs Department and of his several business interests.

This collection will be of use to the historian interested in the Indian Affairs Department, the Warm Springs Indian Treaty and Republican State Politics.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library before any publication use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation

John Webster Perit Huntington papers, Mss 759, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The collection is arrange in one series.

Acquisition Information

The origin of the collection is unknown.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1/1	Indian Affairs: Sub-Vouchers, bills, checks	1863-1870
1/2	Indian Affairs: Correspondence	1863-1868
1/3	Letters to Huntington, A-Kelley Alvord, Benjamin, April 5, 1864, November 8, 1864 Applegate, E. L., July 22, 1868 Applegate, Jesse, June 20, 1863, July 4, 1863 Applegate, O. C., June 6, no year Backenstos, E. D., December 28, 1865 Barnhart, William, March 3, 1863, November 12, 1864, February 27, 1867, May 21, 1868, June 5, 1868 Carter, C. M., February 8, 1866 Chenoweth, F. S., July 29, 1863 Cole, James,, January 3, 1864 Corey, Isaac H., November 22, 1865, December 15, 1865 Dole, William P., January 28, 1863 Dowell, B. F., May 1864 Earhart, Rockey P., September 4, 1864 Fisher, L. P., July 20, 1867 Hill, William Lair, September 3, 1864 Hinsdale, George S., April 14, 1864, May 11, 1864 Huntington, B. N., February 22, 1863 Johnson, William C., April 5, 1864, May 24, 1864, June 3, 1864 Kelly, John, November 19, 1863, July 8, 1864 Kelly, William, November 1, 1864	1863-1868
1/4	Letters to Huntington, Kelsay-W Kelsay, John, June 19, 1868 Ladd and Tilton, May 13, 1865, May 16, 1865, December 19, 1865 Logan, William, December 18, 1863, April 12, 1864 Luse, H. H., July 25, 1864 McBride, John R., May 20, 1864 Nesmith, James W., June 20, 1865, March 25, 1866, December 6, 1866, January 27, 1867 Reed, Simeon G., March 31, 1868 Simpson, B., December 8, 1863, January 3, 1864, January 11, 1864, January 13, 1864, January 21, 1867, February 8, 1869 Smith, John, February, 1868, May 13, 1868 Taylor, A. G., October 31, 1868 Underwood, D. C., January 20, 1867 Van Riper, G. B., April 1, 1864 Whitson, B. F., April 4, 1864 Wygant, Theodore, May 8, 1869	1864-1869
1/5	Depositions on the Logan Affair	1865-1868
1/6	The Richard Evans Land Claim Affair	1866, 1869
1/7	Unionist Printing Co.	1864-1870
1/8	Deed, Last Will and Testament	1860-1866
1/9	Superintendent of Indian Affairs Papers	1863-1870
1/10	Superintendent of Indian Affairs: Financial Records, Bills, Receipts	1864-1874
1/11	Superintendent of Indian Affairs: Checks	1863-1869
1/12	Indian Affairs: Sub-Vouchers	1863-1868
1/13	General Land Claims; includes Dick Johnson land claim paper	1866, undated
1/14	Treaty with the Snake-Shoshone Tribe (original manuscript)	December 10, 1868
1/15	Photostatic copy of Warm Springs Indian Treaty	1865-1867
1/16	"Political" Scrapbook Titled "Life and times of eminent Oregon politicians, beautifully illustrated," these unbound leaves contain pasted in clippings of newspaper illustrations with satirical captions regarding Oregon political figures, including Asahel Bush. Dates probably from 1850s.	undated
1/17	Ephemera Includes certificate of Appointment of Huntington as Superintendent of Indian Affairs, 1863.	1855-1869

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Indian agents--Oregon--Correspondence
Indians of North America--Oregon--Government relations
Indians of North America--Oregon--Treaties
Indians, treatment of--Oregon
Oregon--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Oregon--History--To 1859
Oregon--Politics and government--1859-1950
Oregon--Politics and government--To 1859

Personal Names

Alvord, Benjamin, 1813-1869--Correspondence
Applegate, Jesse A., 1811-1888--Correspondence
Barnhart, William, ca. 1827-1909--Correspondence
Dowell, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin)--Correspondence
Hinsdale, George S.--Correspondence
Huntington, John Webster Perit, 1831-1869--Correspondence (creator)
Huntington, B. N.--Correspondence
Johnson, Dick, d. 1858
Johnson, William Carey, 1833-1912--Correspondence
Kelly, William, 1829-1871--Correspondence
Kelsay, John, 1819-1897--Correspondence
Nelsmith, James Willis, 1820-1885--Correspondence
Reed, Simeon Gannett, 1830-1895--Correspondence
Simpson, Benjamin, 1816-1910--Correspondence

Corporate Names

Republican Party (Or.)
United States. Office of Indian Affairs. Oregon Superintendency--Archives

Form or Genre Terms

Checks
Depositions
Records
Scrapbooks

Archives West Finding Aid

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