MCCRARY, GEORGE W.
Gilded Age Collections
(Description ID: 594283)
Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums
George W. McCrary
GA-26
Introduction
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content
Inventory
Addenda
Introduction
The bulk of this collection is composed of manuscripts acquired from the estate of the late Sidney H. Boteler, of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Hayes Presidential Center also has available the microfilm of the George W. McCrary Papers held by the Jackson County Historical Society, Independence, Missouri. That collection is composed mostly of incoming correspondence from the years McCrary served as Secretary of War (1877-1879) during the Hayes administration.
Biographical Sketch
George Washington McCrary, U. S. Senator and Secretary of War during the Rutherford B. Hayes administration, was born in Evansville, Indiana, in 1835. McCrary moved with his family to Iowa when it was still a territory. In 1854, McCrary began the study of law in Keokuk, Iowa. A year after he began practicing law, McCrary was elected to the Iowa state legislature. He was elected to the state senate in 1861 and the U. S. House of Representatives in 1866. He served as chairman of the committees on railroads and canals and elections. Considered an authority on election law, McCrary took an active role in the Disputed Election of 1876 and was one of the first to support the Republican position. He framed and introduced the bill which resulted in the organization of the electoral commission. President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed him U. S. Secretary of War. As Secretary of War, McCrary withdrew federal troops from South Carolina and Louisiana, authorized the use of federal troops in the Railroad Strike of 1877, and ordered troops across Mexican border to pursue marauders. He served in Hayes' cabinet until December 1879, when he was appointed Judge of the U. S. Circuit Court of the Eighth Judicial District. In 1884, he resigned his judgeship and settled in Kansas City, Missouri, where he was general counsel of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad until 1890. He died in St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1890.
Scope and Content
The collection contains original papers dating from 1824 to 1936 consisting of correspondence, envelopes, cards, lithographs, of medicine, military and social affairs addressed to George W. McCrary, Dr. W.C. Boteler, and others. Several pieces of outgoing correspondence of George W. McCrary also can be found in the collection as well as two old family letters, manuscripts by Charles Pinckney Sumner to Philip Barbour and Jefferson Davis to John C. Calhoun, and a Mark Twain letter to McCrary. The remainder of the material found in the collection was added at varying times. The item-level inventory provides an alphabetical list of correspondents. The lithographs and single photograph were transferred to the Hayes Presidential Center Photograph Collection. .
Inventory
126 items
ANONYMOUS ("Dear Doctor")
GWM to , dtd Kansas City, Mo., Jly. 11, 1888.
ANONYMOUS (President of the United States)
To Mr. & Mrs. Geo. W. McCrary dtd n.p., Dec. 18, n.y. Prtd. Invitation.
ANTHONY, H. B.
GWM to , dtd War Dept., Wash., D.C., Dec. 4, 1878.
BENTLEY, John A. (Commissioner of Pensions)
GWM to, dtd War Dept., Wash., D.C., Dec. 4, 1878.
BLAINE, James G.
To GWM dtd "Confidential," n.d.
To GWM dtd n.p., n.d.
To GWM dtd U.S. Senate Chamber, Wah., May 23, 1877.
To GWM dtd U.S. Senate Chamber, Wash., Jan. 27, 1879.
To GWM dtd Augusta, Me., Dec. 10, 1879.
BLAINE, Mr. & Mrs. James G.
To Mr. & Mrs. Geo. W. McCrary dtd 821 15th St., Wash., n.d. Prtd. card.
BUTLER, Benj. F.
GWM to, dtd War Dept., Wash., D.C., Jly. 21, 1877.
CLEMENS, Cyril (brother of Samuel L. Clemens)
To Sidney Helen Boteler (SHB) dtd Webster Groves, Mo., Jan. 26, 1936. Postcard.
CONKLIN, R. R.
To Mr. & Mrs. Geo. W. McCrary dtd n.p. Mar. 11, 1886.
CONKLING, Roscoe
To Jas. D. Cameron dtd Utica, N. Y., Sept. 18, 1876.
To GWM dtd U.S. Senate Chamber, Wash., Feb. 19, 1878.
To GWM dtd New York, Oct. 8, 1879.
CORTELYOU, George B.
To Mrs. William C. Boteler dtd Executive Mansion, Jan. 27, 1903.
DEVENS, Charles
GWM to, dtd War Dept., Wash., D.C., Mar. 7, 1879.
GWM to, dtd War Dept., Wash., D.C., Mar. 13, 1879.
GWM to, dtd War Dept., Wash., D.C., Mar. 26, 1879.
To Mr. & Mrs. Geo. W. McCrary dtd Boston, Mar. 3, 1886.
EVARTS, William M.
To GWM dtd Dept. of State, Wash., D.C., Apr. 13, 1877.
To GWM dtd Dept. of State, Wash., D. C., Apr. 19, 1877.
To GWM dtd Dept. of State, Wash., D.C., Oct. 22, 1877.
To GWM dtd Dept. of State, Wash., D.C., Dec. 10, 1877.
FITZGERALD, David
To GWM dtd War Dept. Library, Wash. City, Mar. 10, 1886.
GARFIELD, James A.
To GWM dtd n.p., n.d.
To GWM dtd Mentor, O., May 11, 1877.
To GWM dtd Mentor, O., Jly. 14, 1877.
To GWM dtd Wash., D.C., Aug. 26, 1877.
To GWM dtd Wash., D.C., Nov. 14, 1877.
To GWM dtd 1227 I St., Wash., D.C., Feb. 1, 1878.
To GWM dtd House of Reps., Wash., D.C., Mar. 21, 1878.
To GWM dtd Wash., D.C., May 14, 1878.
To GWM dtd Wash., D.C., Jne. 5, 1878.
To GWM dtd Ebbitt House, Wash., D.C., Nov. 7, 1879.
GATES, Mrs. Gen.
To GWM dtd Wash., D.C., Mar.22, 1877. Signature missing. W/endorsements of Wm. T.
and Sherman and McCrary on the verso.
GILLIS, S. H.
To "My dear General" dtd U.S.S. Franklin, Norfolk, Apr. 23, 1878.
HAMPTON, Wade
To GWM dtd State of South Carolina, Exec. Chamber, Columbia, Jne. 15, 1877.
To GWM dtd U.S. Senate Chamber, Wash., Dec. 6, 1879.
HANCOCK, Winfield S.
To GWM dtd Office of the President, Governor's Island, N.Y.H., Dec. 25, 1879.
HENRY, Professor & Mrs. Joseph
To GWM dtd Smithsonian Institution, n.d.
INGERSOLL, Robert G.
To GWM dtd Wash., D.C., Mar. 14, 1878.
To GWM dtd Wash., D.C., Jly. 21, 1879.
INGERSOLL, Robert G. and Ebon C.
To GWM dtd Wash., D.C., Jne. 21,1878.
KEY, David M.
To Mr. & Mrs. Geo. W. McCrary dtd Chattanooga, Tenn., Mar. 1, 1886.
LITTLEFIELD, Georgia K.
To Mrs. Wm C. Boteler dtd n.p., Aug. 2, n.y.
LOGAN, John A.
To GWM dtd n.p., Jne. 14, 1879.
To GWM dtd n.p., Aug. 13, 1879.
To GWM dtd Chicago, Ill., Aug. 20, 1879.
McCOOK, Gen. A. McD.
GWM to, dtd War Dept., Wash., D.C., Nov. 7, 1879.
McCRARY, Katie
To "Dear Frank" dtd Keokuk, Iowa, Sept. 24, 1876.
McKINLEY, President & Mrs. William
To Dr. & Mrs. C. Boteler dtd Exec. Mansion, Feb. 11, 1898.
To Mr. & Mrs. Dr. Wm. C. Boteler dtd White House, Jan. 25, 1899.
To Dr. & Mrs. Wm. C. Boteler dtd Exec. Mansion, Jan. 31, 1900.
McVEAGH, Wayne
GWM to, dtd U.S. Circuit Court, 8th Judicial Dist., Keokuk, Iowa, Mar. 7, 1881. W/endorsement
by S. J. Kirkwood.
MAYO, Dr. Charles H.
To Sidney Helen Boteler dtd Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., Jly. 13, 1923.
To William C. Boteler dtd Rochester, Minn., Oct. 8, 1932.
MAYO, W. J.
To Dr. Wm. C. Boteler dtd Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., Jne. 7, 1923.
NOBLE, John W.
To GWM dtd St. Louis, Mo., May 8, 1877.
PERRY, Samuel E.
GWM to, dtd War Dept., Wash., D.C., Jne. 18, 1877.
PIATT, Donn
GWM to, dtd War Dept., Wash., D.C., Mar. 25, 1878.
PORTER, J. A. (Secretary to President McKinley)
To Mrs. W. C. Boteler dtd Executive Mansion, Jan. 13, 1900.
ROBESON, George Maxwell
GWM to, dtd War Dept., Wash., D.C., Apr. 20, 1879.
ROPES, John C.
GWM to, dtd War Dept., Wash., D.C., Nov. 20, 1878.
RUNKLE, Benj. P.
GWM to, dtd Kansas City, Mo., Nov. 22, 1886.
SCHURZ, Carl
To GWM dtd Dept. of the Interior, May 9, 1877.
To GWM dtd Dept. of the Interior, Jne. 21, 1877.
To GWM dtd Dept. of the Interior, Aug. 13, 1877.
To GWM dtd Dept. of the Interior, Mar. 13, 1878.
To Dr. W. Clarence Boteler dtd 16 E. 64th St., N.Y., Feb. 20, 1897.
SHERIDAN, Gen. P. H.
To Wm. T. Sherman dtd Hdqtrs. Military Div. Of the Missouri, Chicago, Ill., Jan. 3, 1879.
SHERMAN, John
To GWM dtd Treasury Dept., Mar. 27, 1877.
To GWM dtd Treasury Dept., Apr.21, 1877.
To GWM dtd Treasury Dept., May 5, 1877.
To GWM dtd Treasury Dept., Feb. 25, 1878.
To GWM dtd Treasury Dept., Oct. 10, 1878.
To GWM dtd Treasury Dept., Nov. 30, 1878.
To GWM dtd War Dept., Wash., D.C., Mar. 5, 1879. Warrant signed. No. 692.
To GWM dtd Treasury Dept., Apr. 25, 1879.
To GWM dtd Treasury Dept., Sept. 13, 1879.
SHERMAN, William T.
To Judge John F. Dillon dtd Hdqtrs. Army of the U.S., St. Louis, Mo., Jan. 14, 1875.
TAFT, William Howard
To Dr. W. C. Boteler dtd Middle Bass Is., O., Aug. 31, 1908.
TOWNSEND, M. I.
GWM to, dtd War Dept., Wash., D.C., Jne. 4, 1877.
WOOD, F. L.
GWM to, dtd War Dept., Wash., D.C., Aug 13, 1877.
WOOSTER, A. F.
GWM to, dtd War Dept., Wash., D.C., Jly. 25, 1877.
HAYES FAMILY ITEMS IN THE GEORGE W. McCRARY PAPERS
HAYES, Lucy Webb
To Mrs. Geo. W. McCrary dtd n.p., Feb. 22, 1878.
To Mrs. Geo. W. McCrary dtd Executive Mansion, Washington, Jan. 16, 1879.
HAYES, Rutherford B.
To GWM dtd n.p., 1877-1881.
To GWM dtd Exec. Mansion, Wash., May 28, 1877.
To GWM dtd Exec. Mansion, Wash., Aug. 25, 1877.
To GWM dtd Exec. Mansion, Wash., Dec.
To GWM dtd Exec. Mansion, Wash., Oct. 14, 1878.
To GWM dtd Exec. Mansion, Wash., Jan. 28, 1879.
To GWM dtd Exec. Mansion, Wash., Mar. 19, 1879.
To GWM dtd Exec. Mansion, Wash., Apr. 29, 1879.
To GWM dtd Exec. Mansion, Wash., May 28, 1879.
To GWM dtd Exec. Mansion, Wash., Jne. 12, 1879.
To GWM dtd Exec. Mansion, Wash., Dec. 18, 1879.
To GWM dtd Spiegel Grove, Fremont, O., Mar. 14, 1881.
PLATT, Emily
To Mrs. George W. McCrary dtd Executive Mansion, Mar. 17, 1877.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
•B&W photograph (snap shot) of Soldier's Home in Washington, D.C. where the Hayes
family spent the summers; taken Mar., 1929. No. 120.
•Lithograph of Attorney General Charles Devens by Bureau of Engraving & Printing,
n.d. Transferred to the photo collection, Nov. 14, 1978.
•Lithograph of Secretary of War George Washington McCrary by Bureau of Engraving &
Printing, n.d. Transferred to photo collection, Nov. 14, 1978.
•Lithograph of Secretary
of the Navy Richard W. Thompson by Bureau of Engraving & Printing, n.d. Transferred
to photo collection, Nov. 14, 1978.
•Lithograph of Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz by Bureau of Engraving & Printing,
n.d. Transferred to photo collection, Nov. 14, 1978.
•Lithograph of Secretary of State William M. Evarts by Bureau of Engraving & Printing,
n.d. Transferred to photo collection, Nov. 14, 1978.
•Programme for "Farewell to Miss McCrary, Apr. 29, 1884."
•A Happy New Year's card with personalized cards from W. A. Patterson, C. J. Carter,
J. A. Hughes, and S.T. Paul, 1884.
•Autographed signature of Dr. Charles H. Mayo.
•Brief biographical profile of Charles Pickney Sumner, the father of Charles Sumner,
on letterhead of Mrs. Henry L. McCune, Bellerive Hotel, Kansas City, Mo.
Addenda
DEVINS, Charles
GWM to, dtd War Dept., Washington City, Dec. 12, 1878.
GWM to, dtd War Dept., Washington City, Jne. 26, 1878.
POORE, Maj. Benj. Perley
GWM to, dtd War Dept., Washington City, Feb. 12, 1879.
TOWNSEND, Martin
GWM to, dtd War Dept., Washington City, Feb. 7, 1878.
THOMPSON, Richard W.
GWM to, dtd War Dept., Washington, Mar. 19, 1877. Original in R.W. Thompson Scrapbook.