Lyman Draper
Lyman Copeland Draper, (September 4, 1815 – August 26, 1891) was a librarian and historian who served as secretary for the Wisconsin Historical Society at Madison, Wisconsin. Draper also served as Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin 1858-1860.[1]
Draper was born in Lockport, New York, and was a descendant of early Massachusetts settler James Draper. Starting in the 1830s, Lyman Draper corresponded with people who were early settlers in the Trans-Allegheny region during the second half of the 18th century. He planned on writing a series of biographies on early settlers in the region and document the Indian Wars that occurred in the Ohio River Valley. He also traveled extensively in the region to gain a better feel for the territory in question. His correspondence with various survivors of the time and their close relatives provide the largest single first-hand account of the settlement of the region.
Lyman Draper never finished his biographies, although he did publish 10 volumes of historical notes for the Wisconsin Historical Society as well as a volume about the Battle of King's Mountain, which featured many of the people who were also early settlers. Draper's professed purpose was to shed light on the era and gain knowledge before they became completely forgotten.[2]
Published works
The Lyman Draper Manuscript Collection are the works and papers of a number of notable early Americans, collected by Lyman Draper on the history of the trans-Allegheny West, an area that includes portions of the Carolinas, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, the entire Ohio Valley and the Mississippi Valley. The most famous personal papers in the Draper Collection include those of Daniel Boone, George Rogers Clark, Thomas S. Hinde, John Donelson, James Robertson, Joseph Martin (General), and Simon Kenton. Most materials cover the time period from the 1740s through the 1810s. There are nearly 500 volumes in this collection. The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, for which Draper served as corresponding secretary from 1854–1886, now owns the collection of original 18th and 19th century papers. Major research libraries around the U.S. have microfiche files of the Collection. An index of the Lyman Draper Manuscript Collection is shown below:
Series Title Volumes A George Bedinger Papers Vo. 1 B Draper's Life of Boone Vol. 1-5, 7-9 C Boone Papers Vol. 1-6, 10-33 D Border Forays Vol. 1-5 E Brady and Wetzel Papers Vol. 1-16 F Joseph Brant papers Vol. 1-22 G Brant Miscellanies Vol. 1-3 H Daniel Broadhead Papers Vol. 1-3 J George Rogers Clark Papers Vol. 1-64 K George Rogers Clark Misec….. Vol. 1-5 L Jonathan Clark Papers Vol. 1-2 M William Clark Papers Vol. 1-6 N William Croghan Papers Vol. 1-3 O Daniel Drake Paper Vol. 1-2 P Draper's Biographical Sketches Vol. 1-3 Q Drapher's Historical Misc… Vol. 1-8 R Drapher's Memoranda Books Vol. 1-3 S Draper's Notes Vol. 1-33 T Thomas Forsyth Papers Vol. 1-9 U Frontier Wars Papers Vol. 1-24 V Georgia, Alabama & So. Carolina Papers Vol. 1 W Josiah Harmar Papers Vol. 1-2 X William Henry Harrison Vol. 1-5 Y Thomas S. Hinde Papers Vol. 1-41 Z Illionas Papers Vol. 1 AA William Irving Papers Vol. 1-2 BB Simon Kenton Papers Vol. 1-13 CC Kentucky Papers Vol. 1-36 DD Kings Mountain Papers Vol. 1-18 EE London Documents At Albany Vol. 1 FF Mecklenburg Declaration, By Draper Vol. 1-3 GG Mecklenburg Declaration Papers Vol. 1-3 HH Mecklenburg Declaration Misc….. Vol. 1-2 JJ Newspaper Extracts Vol. 1-4 KK North Carolina Papers Vol. 1 LL Paris Documents at Albany Vol. 1 MM Robert Paterson Papers Vol. 1-3 NN Pittsburg and Northwest Virginia Papers Vol. 1-10 OO Pension Statements Vol. 1 PP Potter Papers Vol. 1 QQ William Preston Papers Vol. 1-6 RR Rudolph-Noy Papers Vol. 1-10 SS David Shepherd Papers Vol. 1-5 TT South Carolina Papers Vol. 1 UU South Carolina In The Revolution Misc…… Vol. 1-2 VV Thomas Sumter Papers Vol. 1-24 WW John Cleves Symmes Papers Vol. 1-4 XX Tennessee Papers Vol. 1-7 YY Tecumseh Papers Vol. 1-13 ZZ Virginia Papers Vol. 1-16
Sources
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