Lewis Caleb Beck papers

Dates

1798 - 1853
Majority of material found within 1819 - 1853

Scope and Contents

The 4.4 cubic feet of the various manuscripts and documents comprising the papers of Lewis C. Beck (1798-1853) span the years 1819 to 1853. Beck obtained his medical degree in 1817 and was initially trained as a physician. However, he developed what was to be a lifelong interest in the natural sciences, i.e., botany, chemistry, physics, geology. He pursued a professional career as teacher and lecturer in these fields.

During the early part of his professional life, approximately 1820 to 1830, Beck traveled extensively from his home state of New York to the mid western states of Illinois and Missouri. From his travels, Lewis beck kept detailed accounts of the people he met, sights he saw, and the cities and countryside of early nineteenth century America. These accounts were compiled and incorporated into much of his five volume set of diaries. He also began writing and published articles in the areas of botany and geology.

The main bulk of material from this collection spans the years, approximately, 1830 to 1849. Lewis Beck continued teaching and lecturing at such institutions as: Albany Medical College, the Vermont Academy of Medicine, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Rutgers College in New Brunswick.

Beck's interest in the natural sciences went beyond teaching. He gave many addresses on these topics and published several textbooks and manuals in the areas of chemistry and botany. Also, in 1837, Beck was employed as mineralogist for the New York State Survey of Mineralogy. In his travels for this job, Beck also kept detailed travel journals.

The Lewis Beck papers are arranged into six series: TRAVEL JOURNALS; WRITINGS; SCRAPBOOKS AND CLIPPINGS; COMMONPLACE BOOKS; PHOTOGRAPHS; and, finally, PERSONAL AND FAMILY MISCELLANY. The series WRITINGS is further broken down into five sub-series: Reminiscences; Addresses; Lectures; Research Notes; and Manuscript Essays/Published Articles.

The collection's strength is the inclusion of Beck's many notebooks (all holograph manuscripts) which are included in the series WRITINGS. He writes with minute detail on the subjects of botany, geology, physics, and chemistry. One gets a perspective of how the natural sciences were taught and the philosophy of the sciences of that period. Also, many of Beck's notebooks contain his own pencil drawings which he used in his lectures. Beck had an avid interest in religion, and included are some of his addresses on the topic of temperance.

The series SCRAPBOOKS AND CLIPPINGS contains Beck's notebooks filled with clippings of personal family material and scientific information. Beck's COMMONPLACE BOOKS include information he put together for his own reference- biblical citations and information on poetry, literary notes, and scientific notes. The PHOTOGRAPHS are of several family members and PERSONAL AND FAMILY MISCELLANY contains a scattering of miscellaneous family material as well.

Special Collections and University Archives has a collection of Rutgers University faculty biographical files. Included is a file on Lewis Beck.

Extent

4.4 Cubic Feet (11 manuscript boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Biographical / Historical

Lewis Caleb Beck (1798-1853)

1798: Born October 4, 1798, in Schenectady, New York, the fifth and last child of Caleb Beck (1771-1798) and Catherine (Romeyn) Beck.

1815: Graduated from Union College, New York.

1816-1817: Studied medicine with Dr. Thomas Dunlop in Schenectady. Also studied at the New York Hospital of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, where he obtained a Medical Degree.

1818: Admitted to practice medicine by the Albany County Medical Society.

1819-1820: Began trip on October 25, to visit brother, Abraham, in St. Louis, Missouri. Arrived January 6, 1820.

1820-1822: Return trip to Schenectady, December 6, 1820 March, 1821. Upon the death of his brother Abraham, took a second trip to St. Louis, October-December, 1821. Returned to Albany, April-June, 1822. In 1821, also elected as an honorary member of the New York Historical Society.

1823: A Gazeteer of the United States of Missouri and Illinois; containing a general view of each state, a general view of their counties, and a particular description of their towns, villages, rivers with a map and other engravings, was published (Albany, N.Y. : C.R. & G. Webster). On December 8, read before the Albany Lyceum, "Description of a Cavern in the vicinity of St. Louis in the State of Missouri."

1824: Began lecturing on Botany at the Berkshire Medical Institution in Pittsfield, Mass. Became Junior Professor at the Rensselaer School (later to become Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), lecturing on Botany, Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Zoology.

1825: Married Hannah Maria Smith, daughter of Major Israel Smith of Albany, New York. For the few short months of its existence, was Professor of Materia Medica at the Troy Medical School in New York State.

1826: "An Account of the Salt Springs at Salina, Onondaga County, State of New York: with a chemical examination of the water and of several varieties of salt manufactured at Salina and Syracuse" was published (New York : J. Seymour). "Contributions towards the botany of the states of Illinois and Missouri," in 3 parts, was published, American Journal of Science and Arts, 1826-1828. Became Senior Professor at the Rensselaer School. Became Professor of Botany and Chemistry at the Vermont Academy of Medicine in Castleton, Vermont. Gave a course of short lectures on Botany at the Fairfield New York Medical School in Herkimer, New York. Made a corresponding member of the Linnaean Society of Paris.

1827: Co-authored important paper on, "A Scale of Chemical Equivalents," with Professor Joseph Henry.

1828: On March 6, read, "On the Geographical Botany of the United States," for the Albany Institute, which was eventually included in the first volume of the Transactions of the Albany Institute.

1829: Gave up his Professorship at the Rensselaer School.

1830-1831: Published the first edition of his textbook, "Manual of Chemistry; containing a condensed view of the present state of the science, with...references to more extensive treatises, original papers, etc." (Albany, N.Y. : Webster & Skinner). In mid 1830, was appointed Professor of Chemistry and Natural History at Rutgers College, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Actually started lecturing in May, 1831. In 1830, also started lecturing on Chemistry at the Albany Academy, of which his brother, Theodoric, was principal. Delivered address to the medical graduates at Castleton, Vermont, 1830-1831.

1832: Delivered Annual Address before the Albany Institute. Delivered, in January, before the Albany Temperance Society, "Temperance, the work of the people." And in February, delivered, "Intemperance, the Grave bstacle." In July, was appointed by the Governor of the State of New York, to study the cholera epidemic which first appeared in Albany, New York. The report was published in "Transactions of the New York Medical Society." Also appeared in "The Edinburgh Medical & Surgical Journal." Moved to New Brunswick, New Jersey.

1833: Published, "A Manual of Chemistry; containing a condensed view of the purest state of the science, with copious references to more extensive treatises, original papers, etc., intended as a text for medical schools, colleges and academies. 2nd edition, rev. and enl." (Albany, N.Y. : E.W. & C. Skinner). On July 14, delivered an address on the anniversary of the Philosophical Society at Rutgers College, "On the Importance of Natural Science and the reasons why it should form a part of every system of education."

1834: Was made Professor of Chemistry at the University of the city of New York (later New York University), where he gave lectures until the end of 1838, when, all but one of the faculty, including Beck, was dismissed.

1835: Awarded a prize for his article, "A Short Series of Elementary Lectures on Chemistry, Electricity, and Magnetism, and the Application of Science to the Useful Arts." Received an honorary membership to the Philomathean Society of the University of the city of New York. Described and wrote an article on a tornado which passed over New Brunswick and which was published in the New York Evening Star and for the New Brunswick Home News (June 21 and June 24, respectively).

1836: In June, Governor William T. Marey of the State of New York, appointed Beck as Mineralogist of the New York Mineralogical Survey. This survey extended to mid-1842, when Beck's final report was published. From 1836 to 1842, Lewis Beck spent much of his time traveling through New York State compiling survey data. He traveled back and forth to New Brunswick giving lectures and teaching.

1838: The third edition of Beck's "Manual of Chemistry" was published (New York : W.E. Dean).

1839: Published, in Silliman's Journal, "Notices of Native Copper, Ores of Copper, and other Minerals found in the vicinity of New Brunswick."

1840: Elected Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacy at the newly formed Albany Medical College. Became a resident member of the New Jersey Historical Society. Made a resident member of the National Association for the Promotion of Science, in Washington, D.C.

1842: Published, "Mineralogy of New York, comprising detailed descriptions of the minerals hitherto found in the State of New York, and notices of their uses in the arts and agriculture" (Albany, N.Y. : A. White & J. Vischer). Published, "Notices of some Trappean Minerals found in New York and New Jersey," in Silliman's Journal. Made a corresponding member of the Boston Society of Natural History.

1843: Published, "On some Pseudo morphous Minerals of the State of New York," in the Annual Report of the Association of American Geologists and Naturalists. Also published, in Silliman's Journal, "Remarkable example of the force of expansion and contraction, exerted by bodies when subjected to alternations of temperature..." .

1844: A fourth edition of "A Manual of Chemistry" was published, with revisions (New York : W.E. Dean). Published, in Silliman's Journal, "Views concerning igneous action, chiefly as deduced from the phenomena presented by some of the minerals of the State of New York."

1846: Published, "Adulterations of Various substances used in Medicine and the Arts, with the means of detecting them; intended as a manual for the physician, the apothecary, and the artisan" (New York : S.S. and W. Wood).

1848: A second edition of "Botany of the United States, North of Virginia" was published (New York : Harper & Brothers). Began his study on breadstuffs (wheat flour) at the request of Edmund Burke, United States Commissioner of Patents.

1848-1849: Two publications came out in connection with his study on breadstuffs: "Report on the Breadstuffs of the United States -their relative value, and the injury which they sustain by transport, warehousing, etc." (Washington, D.C. : U.S. Patent Office, 1848) and "Report on the Breadstuffs of the United States made to the Commissioner of Patents" (Washington, D.C. : Wendell and Van Benthuysen, 1849).

1851: Became an acting member in the Natural History Society of the State of New York. Made an honorary member of the Medical Society of New Jersey.

1853: Returned to Albany in the winter and died, April 20, leaving his wife, and six of their nine surviving children born to them.

1856: Two of his works were published: "Catalogue of the Cabinet of Natural History of the State of New York and of the Historical and Antiquarian Collection annexed thereto" (Albany, N.Y. : C. Van Benthuysen) and a second, revised and enlarged, edition of "Botany of the United States North of Virginia..." (New York : Harper & Brothers).

1868: A second and revised, enlarged edition of, "Botany of the United States, North of Virginia; containing descriptions of the flowering and fern like plants hitherto found in those states, arranged according to the natural system. With a synopsis of the genera according to the Linnaean System, a sketch of the rudiments of botany, and glossary of terms," was published (New York : Harper).

Arrangement

The materials in the Lewis C. Beck papers were accessioned at four different times, covering a twenty year span, from 1961 to 1981. In total, the material was contained in one envelope and six boxes (a total 2.4 cubic feet). The great majority of materials were contained in notebooks, both hardcover and softcover.

There was no order to the collection and therefore, each item had to be looked over document and/or item by item. In many cases, Beck himself had titled his notebooks. And basically, this is how series and sub series were devised, i.e., Travel Journals, Lectures, Scrapbooks, Addresses, etc.

The series, TRAVEL JOURNALS, was singled out and not included in the main series, WRITINGS. Beck was hired for the purposes of: 1) Investigating the cholera epidemic and 2) Investigating and reporting on the geology and mineralogy of New York State. His research and journals were kept separate from his writings as lecturer and educator.

In some instances, Beck had taken extracts from various sources on both scientific and historical matters and included them in notebooks. Many of his research notes were used for reference in lectures and the writings of his books. These are included in the sub series, Research Notes.

Documents, all holograph manuscripts, which were essays Beck had written or articles he had published were included in the sub series, Manuscript Essays/Published Articles.

For the most part, documentation pertains to his professional career. There are no personal papers of correspondence between Beck and family members. Nor is there any inclusion of his financial papers or documents. Therefore, except for PHOTOGRAPHS and FAMILY AND PERSONAL MISCELLANY, the series pertain to Beck's career as educator, writer, and lecturer.

Arrangement

Series Descriptions

SERIES 1: TRAVEL JOURNALS, 1832, 1836-1841 and 1836-1839? (.4 cubic ft.)

Arranged alphabetically by folder heading. All holographs. Documentation of Beck's research in two areas: 1) His journal of the investigation of Asiatic cholera which broke out in Albany, New York, in 1832. Beck was commissioned by Governor Throop of New York to visit all parts of the state and gather information on the origin, progress, spread, treatment, and prevention of the disease. These journals give evidence of his investigations and the results of his research resulted in a publication published in the Transactions of the New York Medical Society, and 2) Beck's detailed account of his work as Mineralogist on the commissioned New York State Survey, 1836 1841. His job was to make a comprehensive survey of the state's extensive mineral resources. His research also resulted in a book, Mineralogy of New York.

SERIES II: WRITINGS, 1819-1852 (2.8 cubic ft.)

Arranged by the various sub-series, each which has its own unique arrangement. Holograph manuscripts (except for the photocopy of his Reminiscences). Documentation of Beck's career as educator, traveler, lecturer, and author.

SUB-SERIES I: Reminiscences, 1819-1841 (.4 cubic ft.)

Arranged by volume number (I-V), both for the photocopy and for the original holographs. These reminiscences or diaries document Beck's account of his travels from New York State in 1819 to St. Louis, Missouri in the 1820s. Also, his travels in the 1830s and 1840s. He writes about the cities he visited, people he met, the ways he traveled (i.e., steamboat, coach and wagon, on horseback, etc.), and the characteristics of early nineteenth century America.

SUB-SERIES II: Addresses, 1823-1834 (.2 cubic ft.)

Arranged chronologically by date of address. Holographs. (Addresses on Temperance were kept together, although two addresses were not dated. Then, arrangement was alphabetically by title). These are addresses Beck made to organizations or institutions.

SUB-SERIES III: Lectures, 1830-[late 1840s?] (1.0 cubic ft.)

Firstly, arranged chronologically by date of lecture, when specified. Many of these lecture notebooks were not dated and therefore were then arranged alphabetically by folder heading (i.e., title of lecture). The chronological date, however, took precedence. Holographs. This particular sub series is quite comprehensive and covers many fields in the natural sciences. During the specified time span, Beck was the most active in his professional career and did his most work. Documents his lectures on botany, chemistry, and geology. In his "Chemistry Applied" lectures, Beck covers such areas as acetic acid, common salt, building materials, gunpowder, iron and steel, metallurgy, and silver and gold, for example. And in his "Chemistry of Nature" lectures, he writes about such topics as air pressure, meteorological phenomena, earthquakes, and volcanoes.

SUB-SERIES IV: Research Notes, undated (.4 cubic ft.)

Arranged alphabetically by folder heading, because, for the most part, notebooks were not dated. Holographs. Documents research notes used for addresses, lectures, and published material. Many contain extracts of other sources, i.e., other books, encyclopedias, newspapers, periodicals, lectures Beck attended, etc. Many of these notebooks containing extracts were used as reference for Beck's addresses, lectures, and writings. For example, his research notes on Aeronautics and History of Climate were used for his Chemistry of Nature lectures. And his notes on the Plants of Illinois and Missouri furnished material for his book, A Gazeteer of the United States of Missouri and Illinois . . . .

SUB-SERIES V: Manuscript Essays/Published Articles, undated (.8 cubic ft.)

Arranged alphabetically by folder heading, because much of the material was not dated. Holographs. Documents essays Beck had written but not published and/or published articles. Many of these notebooks relate to the sub series, Research Notes, which Beck used as reference for his writings.

SERIES III: SCRAPBOOKS AND CLIPPINGS, 1834-1852 (.8 cubic ft.)

Arranged alphabetically by folder heading. Documents Beck's arrangement of notebook clippings on various subjects from his research on breadstuffs, historical information, and personal and family matters (i.e., births, deaths, etc.).

SERIES IV: COMMONPLACE BOOKS, undated (.19 cubic ft.)

Arranged alphabetically by folder heading. Contains two commonplace books kept by Beck. The notebook of biblical citations was probably used for his own interest in religion and for reference on addresses he made in the area of temperance. This book is arranged alphabetically by a subject or word and then the location of the phrase in the bible. (For example, under 'B' we have 'Bees .. a swarm of' 2 Kings, 2.24.) The other book contains selections from literature.

SERIES V: PHOTOGRAPHS, undated (.01 cubic ft.)

There are four pictures and/or photographs of family members contained. These are: T. Romeyn Beck (two pictures), Lewis C. Beck, and Mrs. Lewis Beck [1870s?].

SERIES VI: PERSONAL AND FAMILY MISCELLANY, 1817-1856 (.2 cubic ft.)

Arranged alphabetically by folder heading. Miscellaneous family materials.