OHY_Mss1037 Guide to the Alden Hatch Steele Papers 1849-1884 Steele (Alden Hatch) papers Collection processed by Mikki Tint, December 2005 Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Oregon Historical Society, Research Library © 2006
1200 SW Park Avenue Portland, Oregon 97205 Phone: 503-306-5240 Fax: 503-219-2040 E-mail: libreference@ohs.org
Finding aid encoded by ArchProteus2006 Finding aid is in English Finding aid based on DACS ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard) Oregon Historical Society, Davies Family Research Library Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue Portland, Oregon 97205 Phone: 503-306-5240 Fax: 503-219-2040 E-mail: libreference@ohs.org
Mss 1037 Steele, Alden Hatch Alden Hatch Steele papers 1849-1884 1850-1870 .25 cubic feet (1 document case) The bulk of the collection consists of business and personal letters to Dr. Alden Hatch Steele. Also included are three personal letters to Mrs. Steele from G.H. Atkinson, a book of notes made by Dr. Steele concerning medical conditions and treatments, and receipts for various purchases and expenditures. Materials entirely in English. Biography of Dr. Alden Hatch Steele:

Alden Hatch Steele was born in Oswego, New York, in 1823. He attended medical school at the University of New York, graduating in 1846. He practiced briefly in Oswego before coming to the Oregon Territory with the 1st Rifle Regiment, U.S. Army in 1849. He practiced at Fort Vancouver for four years, then left the Army and moved to Oregon City where he was married to Hannah H. Blackler in 1854. They had two children.

In Oregon City, Steele was a councilman, city recorder, and served three terms as mayor. During the Civil War, Steele served as post surgeon at Fort Dalles, Fort Stevens, and finally at Fort Steilacoom. Dr. Steele left the Army in 1869 when the troops were reassigned to Alaska. He moved to Olympia, Washington Territory, where he and his family lived until his death in 1902. He was a member of the city council, a regent of the Territorial University (now the University of Washington), and a director of the First National Bank, and a member of the Episcopal Church.

The bulk of the collection consists of business and personal letters to Dr. Alden Hatch Steele. Many of the letters concern rental interests and accounts. Some possibly concern accounts from Dr. Steele's medical practice. Personal letters discuss the California gold rush, life in Steele's hometown of Oswego, New York, and the advisability of moving to Oregon. Also included in the collection are three personal letters to Mrs. Steele from G.H. Atkinson concerning church affairs. The book of notes made by Dr. Steele concerning medical conditions and treatments includes brief paragraphs on many illnesses, and recipes for treatments. A miscellaneous group of receipts covers various expenditures, such as grocery purchases, freightage, rent receipts and accounts. There is one bill of sale for a horse, and two telegrams regarding steamships. The third telegram requests the doctor to come to a patient.

The letters to Dr. Steele are filed alphabetically.

Origin of the collection is unknown.

The collection is open to the public.

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.

Alden Hatch Steele papers, Mss. 1037, Oregon Historical Society Research Library

Copies of three letters are included here; the originals are in Mss. 1512, the Postal Collection.

The collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings:

Steele, Alden H. Steele, Hannah H. Blackler Oregon City (Or.) Olympia (Wash.) Physicians Oregon Washington (State) Medicine and Health Religion Letters (correspondence) Notebooks Receipts Telegrams 1 Letters to Dr. Steele, A-B 19 items 1 Abbey, Clark 1858 May 3 1 Abbey, Westminster S. 1862 April 2 1863 December 23 1 Adkins, William G. 1854 October 5 1 Allen & Lewis 1866 July 12 1868 May 19 1 Alvord, Benjamin 1865 January 13 1 Atkinson, George Henry 1867 February 7 1 Badger, William M 1863 November 17 1863 December 14 1864 March 25 1 Barclay, Forbes 1867 October 12 1869 September 20 1869 October 3 1 Barnes, Joseph K. 1861 May 28 1 Beatty, John T. 1852 February 6 1 Bellows, Russell N. 1864 November 30 1 Blanchard & Lea 1864 January 30 2 Letters to Dr. Steele, C-H 29 items 2 Campbell, J.G. 1863 July 11 1863 July 30 1863 August 10 1864 November 1 1866 July 19 2 Carrington, Jesse 1850 September 5 2 Condon, Thomas 1866 June 18 2 Crane, Azra 1849 November 24 1850 November 21 1851 October 22 1864 October 19 1865 March 11 2 Ellsworth, Stukely 1863 November 25 2 Gaines, A.K. 1852 June 14

(also typescript)

 2 Gibbs, George 1850 June 14

(also typescript)

 2 Glisan, Rodney 1866 March 31 1868 August 20 2 Gray, T.G. 1851 June 30 2 Greenman, C.N. 1864 July 31 2 Hatch, John P. 1850 June 16 2 Huelat, Septimus 1864 March 10 2 Hurford, Joseph E. 1863 November 27 1864 January 12 1864 March 29 1864 November 16 1865 February 21 1865 February 27 3 Letters to Dr. Steele, J-M 29 items 3 Johnson, H.V.V. 1864 April 9 1865 October 10 1865 November 4 [No year given] November 9 3 Johnson & McCown 1866 July 19 1870 March 3 3 Kamm, Jacob 1866 September 25 3 Kelly, James Kerr 1868 July 29 3 Kinney, Aaron 1851 February 2 1852 March 7 3 Lane, R. 1853 February 18 3 Latham, John 1869 January 6 3 Lawson, James G. 1867 August 6 3 Long, John E. 1855 July 28 3 Lord, William P. Undated 3 Lyford, Charles P. 1864 December 26 3 McCormac, Johnston 1862 November 17 3 McKay, William Cameron 1864 September 24 undated 3 Mattison, H.N. 1854 September 30 3 Morris, R.M. Undated 3 Myers, John 1865 July 17 1865 August 12 1865 September 4 1865 December 4 1866 April 25 1866 July 10 1869 June 2 1869 July 13 4 Letters to Dr. Steele, N-R (14 items) 4 Nelson, Thomas 1852 June 19 4 Palmer, George W. 1851 March 28 4 Percival, Samuel W. 1861 November 29 4 Pitkin, G. Welles 1850 April 10 1851 February 1 1851 May 20 1852 November 29 1854 January 30 1854 March 22 1856 January 21 1856 December 25 1858 January30 [No year given] May 6 4 Ritz, Philip 1858 December 17 5 Letters to Dr. Steele, S-W (20 items) 5 Scott, Thomas F. 1861 September 16 5 Sellwood, James R.W. 1861 November 27 5 Seymour, Allan M. 1853 April 5 5 Smith, J.N. 1865 February 28 5 Smith, William B. 1859 April 6 5 Spencer, William Valentine 1866 June 20 1866 July 1 5 Starling, E.A. 1852 February 26 1853 May 16 5 Stile, Charles C. 1851 August 7 5 Suckley, George 1855 April 17 5 Sumner, Willis 1852 June 3 5 Tappan, William H. 1851 October 8 1852 November 30 5 Waldron, H.J. 1866 May 29 1866 June 9 1866 August 16 5 Wiley, Mary M. 1850 April 10 5 Wilson, Gustaf 1870 January 25 5 Wilson, Robert Bruce 1851 April 19 5 Wygant, Theodore 1866 May 24 6 Letters to Mrs. Steele (3 items) 6 Atkinson, George Henry 1877 November 14 1882 December 1 1884 April 30 7 Miscellaneous (42 items) 7 Bill of sale 1861 March 30 7 Cartage receipts 1859 June 13 1860 account 1860 December account 7 Freightage receipts, 1857-1858 account 1858 March 29 1858 July 26 1858 August 17 1859 December 7 1859 December 15 1859-1860 account 1860 March 29 1860 May 31 1860 account 1860 August 31 1860 November 6 1860 November 13 1860 account 1861 January 12 7 Miscellaneous accounts 7 Azra Crane 1853 7 Smith & Davis 1857-1858 7 Taylor & Ralston 1859 7 [unlabeled] 1862 1866 7 J.E. Husford 1863-1864 7 Unlabeled 1868-1869 7 Undated 2 items 7 Purchases 1858 February account

1859 April account, 1859 account, 1859 October account, 1859 November 25, 1860 January 14, 1860 July account, 1860 July 14, 1860 October account, 1860 November account, 1860 December 24, undated account

 7 Telegrams 1868 March 10 1868 March 24 1868 November 25 8 Medical notebook