Finding aid for the Elisha Whittlesey Papers

Biography of Elisha Whittlesey

Elisha Whittlesey (1783-1863) was a lawyer and politician who practiced in Canfield, Ohio. Born in Litchfield, Connecticut, he studied law in the office of his brother, Mathew Beale Whittlesey, in Danbury, Connecticut. He was admitted to the Connecticut bar in 1805 and moved with his wife to the Western Reserve in 1806 where he served as the prosecuting attorney from 1807-1823. Whittlesey joined the Ohio Militia in 1806 and during the War of 1812 he was the private secretary to General William Henry Harrison. He was a senior partner with Eben Newton in a large, well known law practice, specializing in land issues. He invested in land and banks in the Western Reserve as well.

Whittlesey served two terms in the Ohio Assembly beginning in 1820, and from 1823-1838 he served in the United States Congress, first as a National Republican and then as a Whig. From 1849-1857 and again in 1861-1863, he served as the comptroller of the United States Treasury.

Beginning in 1836, he was an active member of the American Colonization Society, serving as Vice President and Chairman of the Executive Committee. Whittlesey married Polly Mygatt in 1806, and they had ten children.

View the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Elisha Whittlesey

Scope and Content

The Elisha Whittlesey Papers, 1769-1869 and undated, consist of correspondence, legal papers, receipts, account ledgers, memoranda, drafts of legislation, and land deeds.

The Elisha Whittlesey Papers deal with his career as a member of the United States Congress for sixteen years, comptroller of the United States Treasury for eight years, and Auditor of the Post Office Department for two years. His voluminous correspondence involves a large number of men prominent in national, late, and local affairs, particularly the Whig Party, American Colonization Society, the American Bible Society, and the development of the canals, rivers, harbors, railroads, and banks of northern Ohio and the Western Reserve. His mass of legal papers deals with the practice of his law office in Canfield, Ohio, his large holdings of land in the Western Reserve, Firelands, and the Maumee Valley. His wife and family occupy another prominent place in his correspondence, and he also had an interest in agricultural problems and served in the War of 1812.

The papers are of prime importance in the history of the Western Reserve and much of Ohio in the nineteenth century because they contain correspondence with most of the area's leading figures between 1806-1863. The papers dealing with his land and legal practice are also of great local importance.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

The researcher should also consult MS 104 Harmon Family Papers.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 1200 Elisha Whittlesey Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Processing Information

Processed by John J. Horton and Alma B. Jones in 1962.

Detailed Description of The Collection