0711.xml RETURN I. HOLCOMBE: An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society Finding aid prepared by David B. Peterson. Minnesota Historical Society
St. Paul, MN.

Manuscripts Collection

 Finding aid encoded by Christopher G. Welter, February 2009. Finding aid written in English. OVERVIEW Minnesota Historical Society Holcombe, R. I. (Return Ira), 1845-1916. Return I Holcombe papers. 1859-1916. Materials in English. Correspondence, manuscript histories, background materials, and related miscellany of this St. Paul (Minn.) author, editor, librarian, and historian. 3.0 cu. ft. (7 boxes, including 6 volumes; 3 oversize folders; 4 Reserve items). See Detailed Description for shelf locations. SCOPE AND CONTENTS

Papers of St. Paul author, editor, librarian, and historian Return I. Holcombe that relate to the U.S. Dakota War of 1862. Included are reminiscences and letters by Joseph R. Brown, Samuel J. Brown, Charles D. Gilfillan, Dr. Jared W. Daniels (Battle of Birch Coulee), Mrs. Nancy M. Huggan, and others. Additional material covers Missouri and Minnesota history, the Civil War, correspondence about Civil War pensions, newspaper clippings of local history items and political events (especially the 1876 Hayes-Tilden campaign), and Holcombe family genealogical data.

The papers also include partial manuscripts, galley proofs, and notes related to histories that Holcombe wrote or to which he contributed: Minnesota in Three Centuries, 1655-1908 (1908, volumes 2-3); History of the Minnesota State Agricultural Society: From Its Organization in 1854 to the Annual Meeting of 1910 (1910), Compendium of History and Biography of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Minnesota (1914); The Great Sioux Outbreak, Massacre, and War of 1862; History of the First Regiment Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, 1861-1864 (1916); and Compendium of History and Biography of Carver and Hennepin Counties (1915).

Born in Huntington Township, Gallia County, Ohio, on February 24, 1845, Holcombe moved to St. Paul in 1890, where he worked for the Minnesota Historical Society from 1893 to 1894, arranging the papers of Henry Hastings Sibley.

He also worked as a writer for St. Paul's Pioneer Press and Dispatch newspapers until 1905. Aside from authoring numerous publications, Holcombe also contributed greatly to C. C. Andrews' 1890 history of St. Paul and to the publications Compendium of History and Biography of Polk County (1916) and History of McLeod County, Minnesota (1917).

CATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics: Birch Coulee, Battle of, Minn., 1862. Dakota Indians -- Wars, 1862-1865. Military pensions -- United States. Presidents -- United States -- Election -- 1876. Persons: Brown, Joseph Renshaw, 1805-1870. Brown, Samuel J., 1844-1925. Clemens, Samuel Langhorne, 1835-1910. Daniels, Jared Waldo, 1827-1904. Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889. Gilfillan, Charles Duncan, 1831-1902. Holcomb family. Huggan, Nancy McClure, 1836-1927. Nicolay, John G. (John George), 1832-1901. Rice, Henry M. (Henry Mower), 1816-1894. Organizations: Minnesota State Agricultural Society. United States. Army. Minnesota Infantry Regiment, 1st (1861-1864). Places: Carver County (Minn.). Hennepin County (Minn.). Minneapolis (Minn.). Missouri -- History. Document Types: Autographs. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Return I Holcombe papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 1,942

 Processing Information:

Processed by: David B. Peterson, May 1986; Christopher G. Welter, February 2009

Catalog ID number: 1733327

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION P814 1 Correspondence, undated, 1859-1894. 6 folders.

Includes C. L. and Nancy Huggan letters (April 13-October 21, 1894).

 P814 2 1895-1916. 5 folders.

Includes correspondence among Holcombe, William Watts Folwell, Marion P. Satterlee, and William Watts concerning Henry Mower Rice and his early connections with the fur trade, the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux, and the U.S.-Dakota War.

 P814 3 Biographical material, undated, 1893-1916. Clippings, undated, 1860-1916. 2 folders. Clippings scrapbook (disassembled), undated, 1898-1919. Miscellaneus notes and reference material, undated, 1882-1915. P814 7 Clippings scrapbook: Civil War and miscellaneous, undated, 1865-1886. Minnesota Agricultural Society officers and memorandum book, 1853-1887. Anonymous account of 1865 Indian troubles, undated. Nellie Carrigan's account of the 1861 Sioux trouble, 1895. Nellie Carrigan's account of the 1862 Sioux uprising, undated. P814 4 Manuscripts: History of the First Regiment of Minnesota Volunteers, ca. 1914. 7 folders. P814 5 Compendium of History and Biography of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Minnesota, ca. 1914. 4 folders. Minnesota in Three Centuries (incomplete), ca. 1905. 2 folders. P814 6 Compendium of History and Biography of Carver and Hennepin Counties (complete?), ca. 1915. 2 folders. Jeanne R. Lamprey's Wenonah story, undated. Miscellaneus writings and manuscripts, undated. +144 1 Galley proofs:

These proofs are components of the Compendium of History and Biography of Carver and Hennepin Counties, Minnesota, which is in the Minnesota Historical Society library collection.

 History of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Minnesota (chapters 14-17, annotated), ca. 1914. +144 2 History of Carver and Hennepin Counties, Minnesota (chapters 1-9, annotated), ca. 1915. Res. 93 1 Reserve letters: S[amuel] L[anghorne] Clemens to “Dear Sir” [R. I. Holcombe], September 4, 1883. 1 leaf folded to 4 pages (script on pages 1 and 4) and envelope.

On letterhead of G. J. Langdon, Elmira, New York, suggesting contact with his brother Orion Clemens in Keokuk, Iowa, for data about his father. ALS.

 S[amuel] L[anghorne] Clemens, Hartford, to “Dear Sir” [R. I. Holcombe?], September 17, 1883. 1 leaf (script on one side).

Regarding “steel portrait.” ALS.

 Jefferson Davis, Beauvior, Mississippi, to R. I. Holcombe, March 8, 1886. 1 leaf (2 sides).

Regarding his thoughts about Missouri and Kentucky joining the Confederacy. ALS.

 Jno. [John] G. Nicolay to R. I. Holcombe, May 5, 1887. 1 leaf folded to 4 pages (script on pages 1 and 3).

On U.S. Supreme Court, Washington, letterhead, returning notations to Holcombe’s history of Clay County [Missouri?] and wishing the Library of Congress could acquire all of Holcombe’s county histories. ALS.