4079410Thomas Townsend collection of Civil War and Reconstruction clippings4079410Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Butler Library, 6th FloorColumbia University, Mail Code 1127535 W. 114th St.New York, NY 10027Business Number: (212) 854-5153Fax Number: (212) 854-1365rbml@libraries.cul.columbia.eduURL:

This finding aid is made available for public use following the Universal 1.0 Public Domain Dedication Creative Commons designation.

GUIDE TO THE INDEX must be used to find information in other volumes and then proceed backward through each group. PDF finding aid reviewed fall 2018 and deemed duplicative.

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-12-16 20:20:15 -0500.Description is written in: English, Latin script.Describing Archives: A Content Standard Rare Book and Manuscript Library Thomas Townsend collection of Civil War and Reconstruction clippings Townsend, Thomas S (Thomas Seaman), 1829-1908 4079410 B973.7 T662 F English /repositories/2/resources/3172 127 volumes 127 volumes 1860-1890 Arrangement

Cataloged.

 Biographical / Historical

In 1860 Thomas S. Townsend began the compilation of this collection by filing all items pertaining to the Civil War from all the important New York daily papers as well as from one Boston paper, one Philadelphia paper, and one Washington paper to form a contemporary record of the Great Rebellion. In 1865 George Templeton Strong recorded in his diary that on April 13, 1865 he saw this great collection at the Union League Club in New York. It then consisted of 64 huge folios.

 Restrictions on Access

This collection is located on-site and has no restrictions on access.

 Restrictions on Access

To use this collection effectively, researchers must follow a multi-step path through several related volumes. Begin with the Guide to the Index, which directs you to one of the four Indexes. The index entry will then point you to the relevant volume within the 29 encyclopedias. From there, the encyclopedic summaries lead to specific articles in the 91 scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings. (The sequence: Guide to the Index → Index → Encyclopedia → Scrapbook).

 Summary

Scrapbooks of mounted newspaper clippings relating to the Civil War and the Reconstruction period, taken chiefly from contemporary New York papers, are arranged generally in a chronological sequence and entitled THE GREAT REBELLION (91 v.); ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE GREAT REBELLION consists of précis of the newspaper articles and refer to larger group by volume and page number (29 v.); INDEX refers to the ENCYCLOPEDIA by volume and page number and is arranged in large subject groupings as by state (4 v.); and GUIDE TO THE INDEX has subjects and individual names arranged alphabetically and refers to the INDEX by volume and page number (1 v.).

 Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Townsend library of national, state, and biographical records; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

 Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

 Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--Schermerhorn, Frederic Augustus. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--05/--/1895. Accession number--M-95-05.

 Processing Information

Cataloged Christina Hilton Fenn 09/--/89.

Processed by Melissa Cabarcas 12/11/2025

 Processing Information

In 2025, the collection was renamed the "Thomas Townsend Collection of Civil War and Reconstruction Clippings" to conform with DACS standards. Previously, the collection was known as the "Townsend Library of National, State, and Biographical Records," and was also known as the "Encyclopedia of the Great Rebellion."

 Reconstruction United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 United States -- History -- 1865-1898 Southern States -- History -- 1865-1877 Scrapbooks Clippings (Information Artifacts) Newspapers Series 1: Indexes/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851691860-1890Scope and Contents

This series consists of five bound index volumes. Volume 1A serves as the guide to the indexes, and Volume 1B is a supplement to that guide. The remaining volumes (Volumes 1–4) are the indexes themselves. The guide functions as the primary access point, directing users to one of the four index volumes, which then provide the corresponding volume and page numbers for the encyclopedia and associated newspaper clippings.

Guide to indexes/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851701860-18901AIndex Supplement/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851711860-18901BIndex v.1/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851721860-1890Index 1Index v.2/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851731860-1890Index 2Index v.3/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851741860-1890Index 3Index v.4/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851751860-1890Index 4Series 2: Encyclopedias of The Great Rebellion/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851761860-1890Scope and Contents

This series includes 29 large encyclopedic bound volumes with handwritten summaries and transcriptions of the clippings, organized by topic, and referencing the corresponding volume and page number for each clipping.

V.1/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851771860-1890Encyclo. V. 1V.2/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851781860-1890Encyclo. V. 2V.3/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851791860-1890Encyclo. V. 3V.4/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851801860-1890Encyclo. V. 4V.5/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851811860-1890Encyclo. V. 5V.6/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851821860-1890Encyclo. V. 6V.7/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851831860-1890Encyclo. V. 7V.8/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851841860-1890Encyclo. V. 8V.9/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851851860-1890Encyclo. V. 9V.10/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851861860-1890Encyclo. V. 10V.11/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851871860-1890Encyclo. V. 11V.12/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851881860-1890Encyclo. V. 12V.13/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851891860-1890Encyclo. V. 13V.14/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851901860-1890Encyclo. V. 14V.15/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851911860-1890Encyclo. V. 15V.16/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851921860-1890Encyclo. V. 16V.17/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851931860-1890Encyclo. V. 17V.18/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851941860-1890Encyclo. V. 18V.19/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851951860-1890Encyclo. V. 19V.20/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851961860-1890Encyclo. V. 20V.21/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851971860-1890Encyclo. V. 21V.22/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851981860-1890Encyclo. V. 22V.23/repositories/2/archival_objects/17851991860-1890Encyclo. V. 23V.24/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852001860-1890Encyclo. V. 24V. 25 4079410 /repositories/2/archival_objects/17856651860-1890Encyclo. V. 25V. 26/repositories/2/archival_objects/17856661860-1890Volume Encyclo. V. 26V. 27/repositories/2/archival_objects/17856671860-1890Encyclo. V. 27V. 28/repositories/2/archival_objects/17856681860-1890Volume Encyclo. V. 28V. 29/repositories/2/archival_objects/17856691860-1890Volume Encyclo. V. 29Series 3: Scrapbooks of newspaper clippings about The Great Rebellion/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852011860-1890Scope and Contents

This series contains 91 large bound scrapbook volumes of cutout newspaper clippings regarding the Civil War and Reconstruction. There is also one numberless bound volume that is blank. The majority are papers from New York as well as one Boston paper, one Philadelphia paper, and one Washington paper.

V.1/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852021860-1890Clippings V.1V.2/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852031860-1890Clippings V.2V.3/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852041860-1890Clippings V.3V.4/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852051860-1890Clippings V.4V.5/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852061860-1890Clippings V.5V.6/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852071860-1890Clippings V.6V.7/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852081860-1890Clippings V.7V.8/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852091860-1890Clippings V.8V.9/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852101860-1890Clippings V.9V.10/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852111860-1890Clippings V.10V.11/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852121860-1890Clippings V.11V.12/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852131860-1890Clippings V.12V.13/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852141860-1890Clippings V.13V.14/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852151860-1890Clippings V.14V.15/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852161860-1890Clippings V.15V.16/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852171860-1890Clippings V.16V.17/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852181860-1890Clippings V.17V.18/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852191860-1890Clippings V.18V.19/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852201860-1890Clippings V.19V.20/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852211860-1890Clippings V.20V.21/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852221860-1890Clippings V.21V.22/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852231860-1890Clippings V.22V.23/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852241860-1890Clippings V.23V.24/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852251860-1890Clippings V.24V.25/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852261860-1890Clippings V.25V.26/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852271860-1890Clippings V.26V.27/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852281860-1890Clippings V.27V.28/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852291860-1890Clippings V.28V.29/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852301860-1890Clippings V.29V.30/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852311860-1890Clippings V.30V.31/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852321860-1890Clippings V.31V.32/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852331860-1890Clippings V.32V.33/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852341860-1890Clippings V.33V.34/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852351860-1890Clippings V.34V.35/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852361860-1890Clippings V.35V.36/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852371860-1890Clippings V.36V.37/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852381860-1890Clippings V.37V.38/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852391860-1890Clippings V.38V.39/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852401860-1890Clippings V.39V.40/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852411860-1890Clippings V.40V.41/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852421860-1890Clippings V.41V.42/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852431860-1890Clippings V.42V.43/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852441860-1890Clippings V.43V.44/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852451860-1890Clippings V.44V.45/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852461860-1890Clippings V.45V.46/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852471860-1890Clippings V.46V.47/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852481860-1890Clippings V.47V.48/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852491860-1890Clippings V.48V.49/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852501860-1890Clippings V.49V.50/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852511860-1890Clippings V.50V.51/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852521860-1890Clippings V.51V.52/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852531860-1890Clippings V.52V.53/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852541860-1890Clippings V.53V.54/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852551860-1890Clippings V.54V.55/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852561860-1890Clippings V.55V.56/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852571860-1890Clippings V.56V.57/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852581860-1890Clippings V.57V.58/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852591860-1890Clippings V.58V.59/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852601860-1890Clippings V.59V.60/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852611860-1890Clippings V.60V.61/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852621860-1890Clippings V.61V.62/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852631860-1890Clippings V.62V.63/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852641860-1890Clippings V.63V.64/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852651860-1890Clippings V.64V.65/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852661860-1890Clippings V.65V.66/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852671860-1890Clippings V.66V.67/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852681860-1890Clippings V.67V.68/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852691860-1890Clippings V.68V.69/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852701860-1890Clippings V.69V.70/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852711860-1890Clippings V.70V.71/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852721860-1890Clippings V.71V.72/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852731860-1890Clippings V.72V.73/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852741860-1890Clippings V.73V.74/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852751860-1890Clippings V.74V.75/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852761860-1890Clippings V.75V.76/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852771860-1890Clippings V.76V.77/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852781860-1890Clippings V.77V.78/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852791860-1890Clippings V.78V.79/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852801860-1890Clippings V.79V.80/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852811860-1890Clippings V.80V.81/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852821860-1890Clippings V.81V.82/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852831860-1890Clippings V.82V.83/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852841860-1890Clippings V.83V.84/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852851860-1890Clippings V.84V.85/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852861860-1890Clippings V.85V.86/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852871860-1890Clippings V.86V.87/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852881860-1890Clippings V.87V.88/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852891860-1890Clippings V.88V.89/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852901860-1890Clippings V.89V.90/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852911860-1890Clippings V.90V.91/repositories/2/archival_objects/17852921860-1890Clippings V.91