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Holmes Hutchinson Papers
1803-1889; bulk, 1855-1865

SC12068

Quantity: 2 boxes (0.50 cubic ft.)
Access: Open to research
Acquisition: Purchase, George Hodges, 1948
Processed By: Manuscripts and Special Collections, ca. 1948; revised May 2014

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Biographical Note:

Holmes Hutchinson was born January 5, 1794, in Genoa, Cayuga County, New York. He pursued a career in civil engineering and became prominent in the field. He settled in Utica, New York, about 1819 when he took up a position as an engineer on the Erie Canal. He served as chief engineer of the Erie Canal from 1835 to 1841, during which time the canal was enlarged. He was also involved with other canal construction projects in New York and New England, of which the most prominent was the Cumberland and Oxford Canal in Maine, from 1828-1835. During the later years of his life he was involved in building and managing railroads in New York State. He died February 22, 1865, in Utica, New York.

Scope and Content Note:

These papers include correspondence, accounts, receipts, agreements, bonds, deeds, and other legal and business papers related to Holmes Hutchinson's personal life and professional career. Many of the files relate specifically to the canals and railroads in which he had business and professional interests.  These include the Erie Canal, the Chemung Canal, the Cumberland and Oxford Canal, the Hudson River Railroad, and the Oswego and Syracuse Railroad. Also included are files related to special projects: the bridge at Fort Plain, New York; the Black River survey; the Oswego River Starch Company; the survey of the Sullivan Swamp; and the survey of the Great Swamp in Madison County, New York. His correspondence includes a number of letters from Gerrit Smith, a noted abolitionist, social reformer, and politician during the mid-nineteenth century. 

Box and Folder List:


Box Folder Description
1 1 Account book. 1842-1861. Land records. Includes Douglass Ditch. Real estate. (1 vol.)
1 2-3 Accounts, 1814-1860 (83 items)
1 4-5 Agreements, 1827-1860 (78 items)
1 6 Black River survey with map (3 items)
1 7 Bonds, 1827-1866 (16 items)
1 8 Booklist, ca. 1860s (1 item)
1 9 Bridge at Fort Plain, ca. 1857-1860 (4 items)
1 10 Canaseraga Swamp, ca. 1829-1858 (29 items)
1 11 Check stub, 1868 (1 item)
1 12 Chemung Canal, 1830-1842 (6 items)
1 13 Cumberland and Oxford Canal (Maine), 1825-1835 (3 items)
1 14 Deeds, 1825-1861 (16 items)
1 15 Douglass Ditch, 1856-1858 (5 items)
1 16 Erie Canal enlargement, ca. 1840 (2 items)
1 17 Estate papers; also inventories, 1867-1886 (14 items)
1 18 Hudson River Railroad, 1856 (11 items)
1 19 Judgments, 1834-1865 (14 items)
1 20-21 Letters to Holmes Hutchinson, 1831-1865 (78 items) -  See appended index.
1 22 Letters by Holmes Hutchinson, 1840-1864 (18 items)
  1. To Virgil Bull, Chittenango, [N.Y.], November 7, 1856
  2. To Carpenter and Vermilye, Utica, [N.Y.], December 22, 1856
  3. To Carpenter and Vermilye, Utica, [N.Y.], September 18, 1857
  4. To Carpenter and Vermilye, New York, [N.Y.], February 19, 1857
  5. To Carpenter and Vermilye, Utica, [N.Y.], June 7, 1858
  6. To Carpenter and Vermilye, Utica, [N.Y.], March 30, 1858
  7. To Carpenter and Vermilye, Utica, [N.Y.], July 19, 1858
  8. To Carpenter and Vermilye, Utica, [N.Y.], October 4, 1858
  9. To Carpenter and Vermilye, Utica, [N.Y.], October 6, 1858
  10. Directions to ?, n.p., n.d.
  11. To Edmund Faile, Esq., Utica, [N.Y.], July 9, 1856
  12. To H.G. Jenkins, Esq., Utica, [N.Y.], June 17, 1861
  13. To Hon. E.W. Leavenworth, Utica, [N.Y.], November 26, 1864
  14. To Henry Nichols, Esq., Utica, [N.Y.], March 14, 1858
  15. To Henry Nichols, Esq., Utica, [N.Y.], June 14, 1858
  16. To E. Pennock, Esq., n.p., February 20, 1871
  17. To Horatio Seymour, Esq., n.p., November 24, 1845
  18. To Stephen H. Smith, Utica, [N.Y.], February 22, 1856
1 23 Letters to William Hutchinson and others 1836-1871 (15 items)
  1. Letter to E.A. Wetmore, Esq., from E.W. Leavenwothr, Syracuse, [N.Y.], April 29, 1836
  2. Letter to Horatio Seymour, Esq., from George B. Rowe, Canastota, [N.Y.], August 6, 1842
  3. Letter to Horatio Seymour,  from D. Luirs, E.S. Colton and C. Strowd Canastota, [N.Y.], August 8, 1859
  4. Letter to Hunt and Waterman from William Ure, Durhamville, [N.Y.], May 11, 1861
  5. Letter to Horatio Seymour from Stephen Watkins, Sullivan, [N.Y.], October 1, 1861
  6. Letter to J.A. Leintner, Esq., from E.W. Leavenworth, Syracuse, [N.Y.], May 20, 1865
  7. Letter to J.A. Leintner from James A. Christie, Horseheads, [N.Y.], August 9, 1865
  8. Letter to Dr. Edwin Hutchinson from Hiram Denio, Utica, [N.Y.], January 19, 1866
  9. M.C. Walrath, to W.A. Hutchinson,  Chittenango, [N.Y.], June 10, 1867
  10. E. Pennock, to W.A. Hutchinson, Chittenango, [N.Y.], February 14, 1871
  11. E. Pennock, to W.A. Hutchinson,  Chittenango, [N.Y.], March 22, 1871
  12. Letter to C.W. Hutchins, Esq., from Lansing and Kellogg, Chittenango, [N.Y.], August 23, 1871
  13. Horatio Seymour, to W.A. Hutchinson, Utica, [N.Y.], April 3, 1878
  14. Wm. H. Walrath, to W.A. Hutchinson, Utica, [N.Y.], July 1, 1889
  15. Letter to [?] from M.A. Hutchinson, n.p., n.d.
2 24 Locks: Dimensions, etc., ca. 1840 (1 vol.)
2 25 Memoranda, 1827-1860  (22 items)
2 26 Miscellaneous (6 items)
2 27 Mortgages, 1827-1858 (16 items)
2 28 Notes, 1833-1860 (14 items)
2 29 Oneida Reservation, 1856-1859 (11 items)
2 30 Oswego and Syracuse Railroad, 1854-1856 (5 items)
2 31-32 Oswego (new) River Starch Company, 1857-1861 (76 items)
2 33 Newspaper clippings and other printed material, ca. 1881 (8 items)
2 34 Receipts (1829-1862)
2 35 Sketch maps (6 items)
2 36 Sullivan Swamp, Great Marsh and Great Swamp, Madison County, 1841-1866 (19 items)
2 37 Surveys: Miscellaneous, 1803-1856 (27 items)
2 38 Tax receipts, 1834-1859 (24 items)
2 39 Utica, Chenango and Susquehanna Railroad, 1867 (1 item)

Index of letters to Holmes Hutchinson found in Folders 20-21

John Adams, Sullivan, [N.Y.?], December 19, 1855
John Arnott, Elmira, [N.Y.], July 5, 1855
V.B. Backman, Horseheads, [N.Y.], June 19, 1860
Cyrus Barlow, Horseheads, [N.Y.], November 21, 1853
Wm. G. Barlow, n.p., November 11, 1853
John Bates, Chittenango, [N.Y.], March 9, 1859
F.C. Bloomer, Horseheads, [N.Y.], April 20, 1861
George Brinkerhoff, Albany, [N.Y.], May 11, 1835
E. Carpenter, Horseheads, [N.Y.], January 11, 1854
E. Carpenter, Horseheads, [N.Y.], November 6, 1855
E. Carpenter, Horseheads, [N.Y.], October 26, 1857
E. Carpenter, Horseheads, [N.Y.], December 2, 1857
E. Carpenter, Horseheads, [N.Y.], January 11, 1858
E. Carpenter, Horseheads, [N.Y.], May 13, 1859
E. Carpenter, Horseheads, [N.Y.], August 17, 1859
E. Carpenter, Horseheads, [N.Y.], August 30, 1859
E. Carpenter, Horseheads, [N.Y.], November 9, 1859
E. Carpenter, Horseheads, [N.Y.], December 14, 1859
E. Carpenter, Horseheads, [N.Y.], March 8, 1860
Carpenter and Vermilye, New York, [N.Y.], December 20, 1856
Carpenter and Vermilye, New York, [N.Y.], December 29, 1856
Carpenter and Vermilye, New York, [N.Y.], March 2, 1858
Carpenter and Vermilye, New York, [N.Y.], March 3, 1858
Carpenter and Vermilye, New York, [N.Y.], March 6, 1858
Carpenter and Vermilye, New York, [N.Y.], March 9, 1858
Carpenter and Vermilye, New York, [N.Y.], May 31, 1858
Sam'l R. Case, n.p., April 30, 1861
James A. Christie, n.p., March 11, 1860
James A. Christie, Horseheads, [N.Y.], August 17, 1860
James A. Christie, Horseheads, [N.Y.], March 18, 1861
Lucius P. Clark, Morrisville, [N.Y.?], March 6, 1857
L.B. Clark, Canajoharie, [N.Y.], June 21, 1861
David Collins, Fayetteville, [N.Y.], November 10, 1859
Jas. H. Gardner, n.p., July 19, 1858
Seymour Green, Osceola, November 15, 1859
W.P. Hastings, Horseheads, [N.Y.], April 5, 1854
S. Hathaway, Jr., Elmira, [N.Y.], May 6, 1848
Nancy Hefferan, Chittenango, [N.Y.], July 23, 1864
Michael Hoffman, Albany, [N.Y.], October 18, 1841
M. Hutchinson, Cayuga, [N.Y.], January 27, 1833
M. Hutchinson, Cayuga, [N.Y.], June 7, 1853
E.W. Leavenworth, Syracuse, [N.Y.], January 5, 1864
D. Lewis, Canastota, [N.Y.], May 29, 1859
W.W. McCoy, Bath, [N.Y.], August 26, 1831
W. Maxwell, Elmira, [N.Y.], November 18, 1849
Patrick McNicholes, New Boston, [    ] 28, 1843
Henry Morgan, Aaron, [?], June [?] 7, 1856
Henry Morgan, Aaron, [?], February 14, 1861
G.J. Olcott, Durham, May 31, 1858
E. Pennock, Chittenango, [N.Y.], July 6, 1859
E. Pennock, Chittenango, [N.Y.], July 3, 1869
J.W. Porter, Syracuse, [N.Y.], November 2, 1858
H.C. Potter, East Saginaw,  [Mich.?], March 3, 1862
D.H. Rasbach, Chittenango, [N.Y.], January 21, 1856
Van R. Richmond, Syracuse, [N.Y.], September 22, 1855
C.M. Rickey, Horseheads, [N.Y.], August 31, 1839
James Roosevelt, New York, August 2, 1852
John Seymour, Albany, [N.Y.], March 23, 1863
Gerrit Smith, Peterboro, [N.Y.], June 30, 1841
Gerrit Smith, Peterboro, [N.Y.], May 14, 1855
Gerrit Smith, Peterboro, [N.Y.], May 20, 1859
Gerrit Smith, Peterboro, [N.Y.], August 19, 1862
Stephen H. Smith, Providence, [R.I.?], May 19, 1855
L.A. Spalding, Lockport, [N.Y.], May 23, 1860
L.A. Spalding, Lockport, [N.Y.], July 20, 1860
L.A. Spalding, Lockport, [N.Y.], November 9, 1861
L.A. Spalding, Utica, [N.Y.], July 17, 1862
L.A. Spalding, Lockport, [N.Y.], March 3, 1863
John E. Stone, n.p., December 10, 1858
John E. Stone, Oneida, [N.Y.], June 27, 1861
B. Townsend, Oswego, [N.Y.], June 28, 1849 [?]
B. Townsend, n.p., June 28, 1849
W.H. Walrath, Chittenango, [N.Y.], December 10, 1856
Wm. H.. Walrath, Chittenango, [N.Y.], November 9, 1858
Wm. Walrath, Chittenango, [N.Y.], December 17, 1863
P.G. Webster, Fort Plain, [N.Y.], December 19, 1862
P.G. Webster, Fort Plain, [N.Y.], January 26, 1857
P.G. Webster, Fort Plain, [N.Y.], February 5, 1863
S.D. Westlake, n.p., January 5, 1857
Allis and Wheeler, Salina, [N.Y.], March 4, 1861
Last Updated: January 13, 2022