Charles Jared Ingersoll papers

Table of Contents

Summary Information

Biographical/Historical note

Scope and Contents note

Administrative Information

Controlled Access Headings

Bibliography

Collection Inventory

Incoming and outgoing correspondence

Richard Rush correspondence

Writings and essays

Miscellaneous letters and papers

Summary Information

Repository

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Creator

Ingersoll, Charles Jared, 1782-1862.

Title

Charles Jared Ingersoll papers

ID

1812

Date [bulk]

Bulk, 1812-1848

Date [inclusive]

1801-1891

Extent

2.0 Linear feet ; 6 boxes

Author

Finding aid prepared by Cary Majewicz

Sponsor

Processing made possible by a generous donation from Charles Ingersoll.

Language

English

Mixed materials [Box]

1-6

Abstract

Philadelphian Charles Jared Ingersoll (1782-1862) was a lawyer, congressman, and writer. This collection of his papers mostly spans his career from the 1810s to the 1840s. The bulk of the materials are incoming letters, many from well-known nineteenth-century individuals, including several U. S. presidents; however, there are also drafts of his writings, clippings, a copy of his 1837 nomination to Congress, and other miscellaneous papers. While indirectly highlighting Ingersoll's work, most of the correspondence contains political, legal, or personal discussions.

Return to Table of Contents »

Biographical/Historical note

Lawyer, politician, and author Charles Jared Ingersoll was born in Philadelphia on October 3, 1782 to Jared Ingersoll, a member of the 1787 Constitutional Convention and district judge, and Elizabeth Pellet. At the time of his birth, the Ingersolls were already a prominent family in the northern colonies, particulary Connecticut and Massachusetts. Ingersoll's father settled in Philadelphia in 1778 after completing his legal education at Middle Temple in London. Ingersoll was the eldest of Jared and Elizabeth's four sons, the younger ones being Harry, Joseph Reed, and Edward.

As a youth, Ingersoll received private tutoring and went on to attend Princeton College (now Princeton University) for three years. Instead of completing his education, Ingersoll travelled and spent the first few years of the 1800s in Europe. In 1804, he married Mary Wilcocks, daughter of Alexander Wilcocks and Mary Chew; the couple went onto to have six surviving sons and two daughters. Ingersoll published several works in the early 1800s, including Rights and Wrongs, Power and Policy of the United States of America (1808) and  Inchiquin, the Jesuit's Letters on American Literature and Politics (1810), before being elected to the House of Representatives in 1812.

Ingersoll served twice as a United States representative, first from 1813 to 1815 and again from 1841 to 1847. In between these terms, he worked as the United States attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 1815 to 1829 by appointment from President James Madison, was Pennsylvania state represetative in 1830, and in 1837, was a delegate to the Pennsylvania state constitutional convention. Over the course of his governmental career, Ingersoll worked with a few U. S. presidents such as James Monroe, John Tyler, and James K. Polk.

In addition to his political career, Ingersoll worked as a lawyer in Philadelphia and was an accomplished writer. Beyond his early works, he published the two-volume History of the War of 1812-15 (1845, 1852). In the mid 1850s, he began a work on the history of the United States territories, including Texas, Oregon, and California. Ingersoll died in Philadelphia on May 14, 1862 and is buried at Woodlands Cemetery.

Return to Table of Contents »

Scope and Contents note

This collection of Charles Jared Ingersoll’s papers is housed in six boxes and primarily spans his career from the early to mid 1800s, though a few items date from outside this range. The bulk of the papers are letters, but there are also drafts of his writings, clippings, a copy of his 1837 nomination to Congress, and other miscellaneous papers. Ingersoll’s correspondence is particularly remarkable and includes letters from U. S. presidents and other prominent nineteenth-century individuals. There are a few folders of Ingersoll’s outgoing letters but most of the correspondence came from outside sources. While some of the letters indirectly highlight Ingersoll’s governmental career, legal work, and family life, the collection contains neither his business nor personal papers. The bulk of the material in in English, but there are a few items in French and German.

Boxes 1 and 2 contain an array of letters Ingersoll received that mostly date from the 1810s to the 1840s. The letter are arranged in folders alphabetically by author and touch upon a wide mix of subjects, from politics and legal issues to current events and personal matters. To highlight just a few individuals, there are letters from John Adams and John Quincy Adams in which they commented on the history of the United States, their philosophies, and their opinions on past and current events. The letters of John Binns, publisher of the Democratic Press, include discussions on the War of 1812 and the publication of political matters in newspapers. Army officer James Burns wrote to Ingersoll about military and naval action against the British forces during the War of 1812. Peter Stephen Du Ponceau, aide to General Baron Von Steuben, discussed legal questions and international law. Secretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford inquired about numerous topics such as politics, Native Americans, revenues, tariffs, manufacturing, and banks. British author Sarah Mytton Maury wrote to Ingersoll on personal and political matters in the United States and England. Other correspondents include actor Thomas A. Cooper, Georgia congressman Bolling Hall, Secretary of State Edward Livingston, Secretary of the Navy James Kirke Paulding, Congressman John Forsyth, French minister to the United States Louis B. C. Serurier, and U. S. presidents James Madison, James Monroe, Martin Van Buren, James Buchanan, John Tyler, and James K. Polk.

A small group of Ingersoll’s outgoing correspondence can be found in Box 2, Folders 1-4. Folder 3 also contains Ingersoll’s diary from February 1823. In his letters, Ingersoll touched upon several subjects, such as legal issues, national affairs, American manufacturing, and diplomacy and government.

Boxes 3 and 4 consist solely of letters dating from 1812 to 1848 to Ingersoll from his close friend Richard Rush. Almost half the letters were written while Rush was comptroller of the United States Treasury from 1812 to 1814, and they relate especially to the War of 1812. The remainder were written while Rush was minister to Great Britain, 1817-1825, secretary of the Treasury, 1825-1829, private citizen, 1829-1847, and minister to France, 1848. In these letters, Rush discussed domestic and international affairs, especially Anglo-American relations.

Box 5 contains several manuscript drafts written by Ingersoll on a variety of topics. Among them is an undated works entitled "Slavery" and "Account of the origins of the war with Mexico." There are also his writings on the histories of the U. S. territories, early American government, and British politics.

Box 6 consists mostly of miscellaneous materials that include a copy of Ingersoll’s 1801 poem "Chiomara,” correspondence of Joseph Reed Ingersoll to Henry D. Gilpin dating mostly from the 1820s to the 1840s, an 1850 opinion and petition concerning the construction of a railroad over the Market Street Bridge in Philadelphia, a copy of Ingersoll’s 1837 nomination to Congress, and a folder of clippings, among which are several issues of Ingersoll’s 1862 obituary.

Return to Table of Contents »

Administrative Information

Publication Information

 The Historical Society of Pennsylvania , 2010.

Conditions Governing Access note

The collection is open for research.

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

Gift of R. Sturgis Ingersoll, 1959, 1961, 1966.

Processing Information note

At one time, the materials in Boxes 5 and 6 were listed under the collection number 1934. These papers were merged with Collection 1812 to form one collection.

Return to Table of Contents »

Controlled Access Headings

Genre(s)

• Correspondence.

Geographic Name(s)

• United States--Continental expansion.
• United States--History--Mexican War, 1845-1848.
• United States--History--War of 1812.
• United States--Territories and possessions.

Personal Name(s)

• Binns, John, 1772-1860.
• Calhoun, John C. (John Caldwell), 1782-1850.
• Cooper, Thomas Abthorpe, 1776-1849.
• Crawford, William Harris, 1772-1834.
• Du Ponceau, Peter Stephen, 1760-1844.
• Forsyth, John, 1780-1841.
• Gilpin, Henry D. (Henry Dilworth), 1801-1860.
• Hall, Bolling, 1767-1836.
• Ingersoll, Joseph R. (Joseph Reed), 1786-1863.
• Livingston, Edward, 1764-1836.
• Maury, Sarah Mytton, 1803-1849.
• Monroe, James, 1758-1831.
• Paulding, James Kirke, 1778-1860.
• Poinsett, Joel Robert, 1779-1851.
• Rush, Richard, 1780-1859.

Subject(s)

• Anglo-American relations.
• Franco-American relations.
• International trade--19th century.
• Slavery--America--Historiography.
• Slavery--Great Britain--History.
• Slavery--Law and legislation--Great Britain--Colonies.
• Slavery--Law and legislation--United States--History.
• Slavery--United States--History.
• Tariffs--Law and legislation.

Return to Table of Contents »

Bibliography

Meigs, William M. The Life of Charles Jared Ingersoll. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1897. (call number Gi .152)

Return to Table of Contents »

Collection Inventory