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Collection of early merchants' papers related to Indigenous affairs

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 100
Abstract The collection of early merchants' papers related to Indigenous affairs, 1816-1838, contains letters, indentures, and other papers created by three early merchants active in the Upper Mississippi Valley region: Thomas Forsyth, Russell Farnham, and Edward Kilbourn. Included in the collection are several letters to Col. George Davenport, indentures marking the sale of Native American lands in the "Half-Breed Tract" of Iowa to Edward Kilbourn and Henry S. Austin in 1838, and other documents...
Dates: 1816-1838

Russell Farnham papers

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 100a
Abstract

Russell Farnham was an important individual in the fur trade, as well as a pioneer in the American Midwest. Farnham became George Davenport’s partner in the fur trade in 1824, and bought local land with him. He was also a member of the American Fur Company, and helped to establish the first American fur trading posts west of the Mississippi. His collection includes a letter to Davenport, as well as a passport for safe passage through Copenhagen, Denmark.

Dates: 1816-1832