Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to Use

No usage restrictions.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Charles Lanman Papers, #3974-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Purchased August and September 1973.

Additional Descriptive Resources

A copy of the original finding aid for this collection is filed in folder 1.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Kate Stratton and Jodi Berkowitz, March 2009

This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Bragg, Thomas, 1810-1872.
• Brown, Aaron V. (Aaron Venable), 1795-1859.
• Cobb, Clinton Levering, 1842-1879.
• Craige, Burton (Francis Burton), 1811-1875.
• Deweese, John T. (John Thomas), 1835-1906.
• Gilmer, John A. (John Adams), 1805-1868.
• Lanman, Charles, 1819-1895.
• Legislators--United States--Biography.
• Puryear, R. C. (Richard Clauselle), 1801-1867.
• Reade, E. G. (Edwin Godwin), 1812-1894.
• Smith, William N. H. (William Nathan Harrell), 1812-1889.
• United States. Congress--Biography.
• Vance, Zebulon Baird, 1830-1894.
• Walker, Felix, 1753-1828.

Charles Lanman (1819-1895) was born in Michigan but lived most of his life in Washington, D.C. He was a prolific writer of biography, essays, and travel accounts; editor; amateur explorer of American wildernesses; artist; librarian of War Department, Interior Department, House of Representatives, and of Washington City Library; private secretary to Daniel Webster; and secretary of Japanese legislation.

In 1859 Lanman first published Dictionary of the United States Congress, which he subsequently updated and which was eventually taken over by the government and published as a Congressional document.

The collection includes brief autobiographical sketches submitted to Charles Lanman by members of Congress for inclusion in his Dictionary of the United States Congress. The sketches contain some unpublished material. Subjects include Thomas Bragg (1810-1872), Aaron Venable Brown (1795-1859), Clinton Levering Cobb (1842-1879), Francis Burton Craige (1811-1875), John Thomas Deweese (1835-1906), John Adams Gilmer (1805-1868), Richard Clausell Puryear (1801-1867), Edwin Godwin Reade (1812-1894), William N. H. Smith (1812-1889), Zebulon Baird Vance (1830-1894), and Felix Walker (1753- 1828; this sketch was written by his grandson, Samuel R. Walker). Some sketches are accompanied by cover letters from the authors.