Justus Steinberger was born in Pennsylvania in 1825, and was named for Dr. Justus Dunott of Philadelphia. In the 1850s, he worked in Portland as an agent for Adams & Co. and the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was appointed colonel, with the authority to raise a regiment in the Washington Territory and California. For a brief period in 1862, he was commander of the District of Oregon. Steinberger remained in the military following the war, becoming an officer in the regular U.S. Army's pay department. He was killed in 1870 when his horse threw him in Helena, Montana. He was buried at Fort Shaw, Montana.
The collection consists of correspondence and records from Justus Steinberger's career in the 1850s as the Portland agent for Adams & Co. and for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. Included are letters both to and from Steinberger, reports Steinberger wrote, a journal Steinberger kept in 1858, a letterpress copy book of letters written between 1852 and 1861, and ship manifests and receipts.
While a large bulk of the collection's loose correspondence is with the Pacific Mail Steamship Company's president, William H. Davidge, and agents Andrew B. Forbes and William F. Babcock, it also includes letters to Steinberger from prominent figures of the Oregon Territory such as Joseph Lane, Asahel Bush, Benjamin Alvord, and George H. Atkinson. The correspondence also includes numerous letters from Rufus Ingalls, who was then a captain but would become Chief Quartermaster of the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. Of particular note is a letter from Lane dated October 18, 1858, which includes a copy of a letter that Lane sent to Asahel Bush that same day, breaking off contact between Lane and Bush. The letterpress copybook includes letters addressed to Attorney of Oregon Amory Holbrook. An additional item of interest is an 1867 letter that Ulysses S. Grant wrote to Senator Henry Wilson, vouching for Steinberger's character.
Collection was designated Mss 74 prior to 2018.
Collection is arranged in two series: Series A. Correspondence; Series B. Other papers.
Collection is open for research.
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Justus Steinberger papers, Coll 686, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Acquired from unknown source in either May or June 1946 (Lib. Acc. 29287).
Records of Adams & Co. are designated Mss 751, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Some additional papers of Steinberger's are held at the Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.
Original letterpress copybook requires assistance to view, and researchers are encouraged to use typescript copies instead. Contact library staff for assistance.
Most letters from Andrew B. Forbes and William F. Babcock are signed as "Forbes & Babcock, agents."
Most letters are addressed to either Andrew B. Forbes and William F. Babcock or to William H. Davidge. Letters are copies not sent by Steinberger, as indicated by instances where two different letters occupy the same sheet. Many letters also have words, phrases, or sections crossed out, suggesting that these were initial drafts of letters that Steinberger sent.
Initial journal entry is misdated as 1848. Typescripts give inaccurate page numbers for letterpress copybook entries up to November 10, 1852.