Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
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)18421993
- 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
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Accession No. 3437-001: Granville O. Haller papers, 1842-1937Return to Top
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
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
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