Collection is open to all researchers.
Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.
Houstater Family Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.
The materials were acquired by Special Collections Research Center on 06/08/2009.
Accessioned and minimally described in June 2009 by Ute Schechter.
Series List entered by Michael Lusby in September 2009.
Henry F. Houstater was born on 24 June, 1837 in Cambria TWP, Niagara, NY and died 29 October, 1862 in Sandy Hook, Washington, MD. He was buried at Mount View Cemetery, Pekin, Niagara, NY. His father was Jacob "Isiah" Houstater, b. 4 August, 1802 and his mother Belinda GOULD, b. 2 February, 1809 in NY.
On September 18, 1861, he enlisted, at Lockport; mustered in as private, Battery M, 1st Regiment, Light Artillery, October 14,1861, to serve three years; he was appointed corporal, October 14, 1861; sergeant, February 6, 1862; and died, October 29, 1862, at Sandy Hook, Md. Politically, he affiliated with the Democratic party.
Papers of the Houstater Family, primarily of Henry Houstater (1837-1862) and Harriet (Hattie) Houstater (1842-1931) of New York State. Collection was held by Harriet Houstater. After her death, her sister Sarah Houstater owned it.
Collection includes the papers of Henry F. Houstater, a Democrat who enlisted in the Union Army in 1861. Also contains the papers of several Houstater family members. Henry F. Houstater's papers (1840s-1862) include political speeches and literary manuscripts written before the Civil War. During the war, Henry wrote and received several letters and he also wrote several political essays and produced a handwritten newspaper, the Camp Barry Herald.
Other family members' papers consists of correspondence and financial documents.
Organized into ten series: Series 1: Wills & Related Papers, Series 2: Deeds & Land Surveys, Series 3: Taxes & Payments, Series 4:Bonds, Series 5: Bills, Miscellaneous Documents, Series 6: Mortgages & Payments, Series 7: Letters to/from Houstaters, Series 8: Houstater Newspapers, Series 9: Camp Barry Herald, Series 10: Henry Houstater’s Writings
This Collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Contains several wills of deceased family members Jacob Houstater, Chauncey Keep, Frances E. Lord and Genevieve Pike. Some are official legal documents, another is handwritten.
Documents related to lands owned by the Houstaters (Jacob Houstater and Martin Wolfe).
City documents regarding the Houstaters taxes. Many tax receipts from Jacob Houstater's property are included and they range from 1842 to 1888.
Several bond documents related to the Houstater family including Harriet Houstater's own Bond paperwork.
Various bills related to the Houstaters are included. A receipt for the transport of Henry's Houstater's body as well as an itemized bill for his funerary expenses is included.
Mortgages for the Houstaters and receipts of payment. Includes Jacob Houstater and Harriet Houstater as well as families related to the Houstaters.
Letters from Henry Houstater at Camp Barry to his family and letters to him during the Civil War are included. Telegrams and postal cards included as well. One particular telegrams bears the news of Henry's death to the family. Harriet Houstater also wrote a love letter entitled "What Hattie Thinks of Billy."
Newspapers collected by the Houstaters during the Civil War. The majority are affiliated with the Democratic party. Papers consist of issues dated 3-13, 3-28, 4-7, 4-9, 9-8, 10-1, 11-18 from 1862 of the Lockport Daily Union as well as an issue of Niagra Democrat and Union from 1864 and two from the Lockport Chronicle in 1862.
The Camp Barry Herald was a small paper produced by Henry Houstater. The pieces included are handwritten and feature news from the Civil War, poetry and art. One article recounts the death of a comrade in battle.
Many of these do not include dates. This folder contains various political essays with a clearly Democratic affiliation. One expressed dissatisfaction with the election of Lincoln and called for the election of Stephen Douglas.
Clippings from various newspapers. Includes poetry from the Civil War era, dietary information and a small piece on Colonel Caleb Hopkins.