Charles Swan - Correspondence,, 1849-1874 and undated

Summary:

Letters date from 1849 to 1874, with the majority dating from 1849-1865. The series includes a single undated letter fragment written by J.A.R., housed in the final folder at the end of the series.

The majority of the correspondence was received from John A. Roebling (1806-1869), Washington A. Roebling (1837-1926), and Ferdinand W. Roebling (1842-1917). The content of these letters reflects Charles Swan's position in the Roebling family household as both manager and supervisor of the Trenton wire rope business, and as family friend. The series includes 28 letters written from the front during the Civil War (1861-1865), 26 of which were written by Washington A. Roebling.

Approximately 260 of the nearly 350 letters in this series were written by John A. Roebling. These date from February 1849 through July 1865. Most of these letters were written while J.A.R. was away from Trenton working on various bridge projects: specifically, the High Falls Aqueduct (circa 1849); the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge (circa 1852-1855); the Kentucky River Railway Bridge (circa 1853-1854 & 1858), the Monongahela & the Allegheny River bridges in Pittsburgh (circa 1857-1860); and the Covington & Cincinnati Bridge (1856-1858 & 1863-1865). There are no letters from J.A.R. dating from the period of June 1860-March 1863.

The majority of J.A.R.'s letters deal with business matters: e.g. the quality, price, manufacture of, and orders for wire rope; machinery and buildings for the factory; as well as details of the bridge projects. There are a limited number of letters which comment on personal affairs: such as a letter dated January 6, 1854, in which J.A.R. expresses surprise about the birth of his son, Edmund. Other letters include remarks on economics and politics, which inevitably return to business affairs. Letters from 1854, for example, comment on the high price of iron, the declining market economy, and poor prospects for the completion of the Kentucky bridge. There are also some notable comments concerning J.A.R. 's relationship to his workforce and concerns over labor agitation. In a letter dated July 27, 1863, for example, J.A.R. declares, in reference to labor problems on the Covington & Cincinnati Bridge, that the Germans are "loyal", the Irish alone are "disloyal" and "No democrat can be trusted".

Virtually all the letters from John A. Roebling to Charles Swan were gathered, transcribed and bound into the volume, "Letters: John A. Roebling to Charles Swan: 1849-1865". Both the manuscript letters from John A. Roebling, and the transcript book are included in this series.

This volume originally formed part of a two-volume set.

Letters from Washington A. Roebling to Charles Swan date from early in 1854, when W.A.R. was a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic in Troy, New York and continue to 187 4. The majority were written between 1858 and 1864. Two letters from 1854 describe conditions at Rensselaer and in Troy, with additional comments on affairs at the Trenton factory. Later correspondence, written from Pittsburgh (1858-1860), discusses conditions and progress on the bridge projects and other business affairs while lending a decidedly chattier tone than the letters from J .A.R. In addition to business, W.A.R. comments on a variety of topics ranging from social and political conditions in Pittsburgh, the weather, J.A.R. 's water cure, and visiting relatives.

The series also includes letters written by W.A.R. while on active service in the Civil War (1861-1864). Washington Roebling's Civil War letters to Charles Swan begin in the summer of 1861, when W.A.R. was stationed at Camp Cameron, Washington, D.C. Correspondence from W.A.R. continues as he served with the Army of the Potomac, through 1864, the Wilderness campaign, and his service with General Warren. The final Civil War letter in this series is addressed from "Headquarters 5th Army Corps", and is dated December 13, 1864.

The letters from Ferdinand W. Roebling begin in September 1858 when F.W.R. was settling in Washington, D.C. at the house of E.R. Knorr: "Washington is not so nice a looking city as Trenton ... ". Two more letters marked "Sept" 1858 discuss money for school, the use of wire on the construction of the Capitol building, and so on. Other letters from this period discuss topics such as F.W.R.'s lack of stamps and the prospects of making a compost heap out of a dead cow.

Two additional Civil War letters are included in this series. One, which is dated 12 May 1864 (?) may well have been written by F.W.R. It is addressed from the U.S. Sanitary Commission on the Potomac, near Fredericksburg. The other Civil War letter was written jointly by Private Joseph van Routon and Colonel Gilliam van Routon of the 21st NJ Volunteers, dated 14 November 1862.