Personal Papers
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7001, Joseph Henry Collection
Joseph Henry (1797-1878), educator, investigator in physics, and first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, was born in Albany, New York, on December 17, 1797,
to William and Ann Alexander Henry. He obtained a minimal education in Galway, where he lived for a time with his mother's brother, and in Albany. While in Galway Henry discovered
the joy of reading and thus began his love of learning. After his father's death in 1811, Joseph returned to Albany and was apprenticed to John F. Doty, watchmaker and silversmith,
where he worked until his master's business went under. During this time Henry also developed a strong interest in the theater and joined a group of young people who felt
a similar calling. Until his chance encounter with
As a result of his newly found interest in science, Henry set out to prepare himself for admittance into the advanced curriculum at the Albany Academy, an academic high school. He attended the Academy from 1819 until 1822, first passing the examination of the Academy with honors after seven months of preparation and then continuing on to more advanced studies. He took one year off during this time to teach in a rural school to earn money. This position was the only one for which he ever applied; thereafter employers would come to him.
For the ten years after Henry completed his education at the Albany Academy he was employed there in a variety of capacities ranging from lab assistant to teacher. During this time he was also a tutor of Henry James and of the children of General Stephen van Rensselaer. In 1825, Henry headed a leveling party that was engaged by New York State to assist in the preparation of new road sites from the Hudson River to Lake Erie. In the spring of 1826 he was elected to the professorship of mathematics and natural philosophy at the Academy. While in this position he began research in a comparatively new field dealing with the relation of electric currents to magnetism. His first notable scientific accomplishment was his improvement of William Sturgeon's electromagnet, which he achieved by both insulating individual coils and developing multi-layer coils. During this time he also developed an electromagnet with the capacity to lift 750 pounds.
In 1830 Henry married his cousin, Harriet Alexander, a daughter of his mother's brother. All told they had six children. Four lived through infancy, although the only son, William Alexander, died in 1862. Their three surviving daughters were Helen, Mary, and Caroline.
In 1831 Henry developed the "little machine," or the electromagnetic engine. During this year he constructed the first electromagnetic telegraph. He was also responsible
for the completion of an electromagnet for Yale University with the capacity to lift 2,300 pounds. The following year Henry published the results from his experiments that
proved magnetism could produce electricity. The article was published in the
Henry received an appointment to the chair of natural philosophy at the College of New Jersey, (Princeton University) in October of 1832. That same year he constructed for Princeton a magnet with the capacity to lift 3,500 pounds. At Princeton Henry continued his scientific experiments in electricity and magnetism as well as conducting research in terrestrial magnetism, meteorology, and other geophysical topics. Henry continued to be interested in these fields the rest of his life. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1835, and often served as an officer.
In 1837 Henry took his first voyage to Europe. While on his six-month trip he visited England, France, Scotland, and Belgium and had the opportunity to meet a number of scientists including Michael Faraday. It was this experience that caused Henry to resume his former level of scientific research, which had significantly diminished between 1832 and 1837. Between the years 1838 and 1842 Henry did a good deal of research into the induction of one current by another. He also participated in the investigation of solar radiation and the heat of sunspots as well as becoming interested in the cohesion of liquids and capillarity. On November 2, 1838, Henry made a presentation before the Philosophical Society in which he delivered a paper that described his discoveries of inducing currents of the third, fourth, and fifth orders.
On December 3, 1846, Henry's appointment from the Board of Regents to the office of Secretary of the new Smithsonian Institution was announced. He left Princeton for Washington
on December 14, 1846, to assume his position as first Secretary of the Smithsonian. Henry intended to follow the letter of James Smithson's will, which had left the funds
to the United States to establish the Smithsonian Institution for "the increase and diffusion of knowledge." To Henry that meant supporting knowledgeable and skilled persons
doing original research and providing for the dissemination of the findings from those and other experiments through periodical publications. To encourage this Henry established
a system for the exchange of publications between nations. This plan was presented to the Board of Regents on December 8, 1847, with his first report as Secretary and was
titled
The first major scientific undertaking of the Institution was the Smithsonian Meteorological Project, which directed the systematic collection of data from all over the
United States. It was proposed with Henry's
In 1858 the Institution began accepting the national collections from the United States government. Until this time Henry had resisted the assumption of the collections because he was concerned about the Institution becoming too much a part of the government and because of the cost of their maintenance. The acceptance of these materials brought with it the beginning of direct federal funding. Under Henry the Smithsonian gained its reputation as the nation's attic.
The cornerstone for the Smithsonian Castle was laid on May 1, 1847. The building was completed in 1858, although the Henry family began to inhabit the east wing in 1855. A fire on January 24, 1865, destroyed the Upper Main Hall and primary towers including Henry's offices in the south tower, taking with it many of Henry's papers, both personal and official.
The telegraph was a major point of contention in Henry's life. Samuel Morse was not the only individual who made discoveries along the lines of the electromagnetic telegraph; Henry was also a contributor. However, Morse patented the electromagnetic telegraph in 1840. Henry did not oppose Morse by applying for his own patent because he believed that patents prevented the sharing of scientific information. The telegraph controversy was finally settled in 1857 when an investigative board stated that Morse's claims against Henry were "positively disproved." In 1849 Henry was elected to the post of president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an organization he helped to found. Henry received an appointment to the Light-House Board at the time of its establishment in 1852. During the course of his capacities as a Light-House Board member Henry devoted himself to research and experimentation in the fields of sound, light, fog, fog signals, and illuminating oils. In recognition of his efforts Henry was appointed the board's chairman in 1871, a position he held to his death.
Henry was also an original member of the National Academy of Sciences, formed in 1863. In 1866 he became its vice-president and in 1868 its president. The Philosophical Society of Washington was founded in 1871. Henry was involved in its establishment and served as its president. He held both these positions until his death in 1878.
Henry's second trip to Europe was in 1870. While on this four-and-one-half month voyage he visited England, Scotland, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, France, and Germany. The main purpose of this expedition was to attend an international conference on the metric standard in Paris and to testify on the administration of science in London.
In 1871 the Institution supervised Professor John Wesley Powell's federal expedition of the Colorado River. The expedition not only surveyed the area but also collected specimens of various kinds. The Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876 also had a substantial impact on Henry's Institution. The display of specimens at the International Exposition was the major activity of the Institution in 1876. Items from the Exhibition became permanent parts of the Smithsonian's holdings. These items so expanded the collections that a new Material Museum Building was planned, which opened in 1879.
In December 1877 Joseph Henry became ill with nephritis, and on May 13, 1878 he succumbed to his illness. Congress approved the erection of a memorial statue on June 1, 1880. William W. Story's bronze likeness of Henry was unveiled on April 19, 1883. At the International Congress of Electricians held in Chicago during the 1893 World's Fair the standard unit of inductance was named the 'henry' in honor of Joseph Henry.
For more extensive information on Joseph Henry's life, see
The Joseph Henry Collection documents Henry's personal, professional, and official life as well as some activities of his family members. Included are records from his time teaching and doing research at the Albany Academy (1826-1832) and at the College of New Jersey now Princeton University (1832-1846). There are likewise many materials from his years as the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (1846-1878). Henry's records and materials from his time with various organizations are also included in the collection. The three main organizations with materials to document his involvement are the Philosophical Society of Washington (1871-1878), the National Academy of Science (1863-1878), and the Light-House Board (1852-1878). Some of the collection postdates Henry's life, including condolences to his family, memorial materials, newspaper clippings, as well as letters of relatives.
Series 4 is the first that contains original Henry materials, letterpress books, which postdate the Smithsonian Institution fire of 1865. Correspondence, both incoming and outgoing, is in the following two divisions. Many of the letters are science and academic related. Science correspondence is often concerned with the telegraph, electricity, meteorology, light, and surveying. A portion of the letters are related to repairs of the Castle following the 1865 fire, to preparing to build what would be the Arts and Industries Building, as well as to Smithsonian activities. The volume of letters drops off considerably for the years 1854-1864, most likely due to the Smithsonian fire of 1865.
There is a good deal of materials related to Henry's scientific papers; both his notes and published materials as well as experimental data and science records. Copies
of his lectures and lecture notes from his years at the Albany Academy and the College of New Jersey are also in the collection, as well as several student notebooks from
his Princeton classes. There are also many addresses and reports and a copy of volume one of
Documenting Henry's scientific thoughts and ideas between the years 1835 and 1877 are his pocket notebooks, Series 7. The "Records of Experiments" (1834-1862) is the single longest sustained account of his experimentation. Henry kept desk diaries during his Smithsonian years, although not all survived; those that are available are listed in the contents of boxes 14 and 15. There is a three-volume set of notebooks documenting his 1837 trip to Europe; there is not such an extensive set of documentation for the 1870 European voyage. In two locations in the collection are extracts from the Locked Book, similar to a personal diary, for the years 1850-1876.
There are many papers and materials that postdate Henry's life, including copies of memorials from clubs and organizations to which he belonged, and one given during a
session of the House of Representatives. There is a set of two bound scrapbooks titled
In the same category as the postdated materials are those having to do with Joseph Henry's daughter Mary and are contained in Series 18 and 19. The "Mary A. Henry Memoir" division contains copies of letters, notes, and other Henry materials as well as her work at composing a memoir of her father. The last series of the collection is called "Family Papers" and contains the letters between Joseph and his wife Harriet, other family members and letters between family members after Henry's death.
Microfilm available for most of the collection.
This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
This series contains Henryana. Henryana is an abstracted list consisting of 295 typewritten pages with in-depth descriptions of what is in the Joseph Henry Collection. In the letters section of Henryana each letter is given a paragraph. The first line of the paragraph tells whom the letter was to and whom it was from. The date and location of the writing of the letter are also told if known. What follows is a description of what information can be found in the letter. All the names mentioned in the letter are underlined for easy locating. Henryana also contains descriptions of other written materials in the collection including the Mary A. Henry Memoirs. The problem with Henryana is that the collection is no longer organized in the same manner and therefore, although the information is useful it is not easily accessible.
This series contains copies of materials contained at the Henry E. Huntington Library, in Pasadena, California. The copies are of items that Rhees removed from the premises during the course of his employment at the Smithsonian Institution. After his death his wife sold the materials he had collected instead of returning them to the Smithsonian. Rhees had collected the materials in the hopes of someday writing a biography of Joseph Henry. The division primarily contains copies of letters, biographical and autobiographical data, and cards indexing the letters.
The contents of the series have been placed on microfilm. Researchers should use the microfilm edition of the three letterpress books.
Joseph Henry's Letter to Thomas Hun, February 24, 1869 (Image nos. SIA2012-6794 and SIA2012-6795)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Alexander Dallas Bache, August 18, 1865 (Image nos. SIA2012-7640 to SIA2012-7643)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Felix Flugel, August 12, 1865 (Image nos. SIA2012-6792 and SIA2012-6793)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Benjamin Peirce, February 25, 1867 (Image nos. SIA2012-6796 and SIA2012-6797)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Isaac W. Jackson, March 23, 1867 (Image nos. SIA2012-7638 and SIA2012-7639)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Felix Flugel, August 14, 1871 (Image nos. SIA2012-7633 to SIA2012-7635)
Joseph Henry's Letter to John Tyndall, November 6, 1872 (Image nos. SIA2012-7636 and SIA2012-7637)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Louis Agassiz, November 12, 1872 (Image nos. SIA2012-7631 and SIA2012-7632)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Louis Agassiz, November 24, 1870 (Image nos. SIA2012-7621 to SIA2012-7630)
This series contains letters written between James Coffin and Joseph Henry. The main interest of these letters is meteorology and astronomy. They are a prime example of the intellectual discussion and debate that took place between the great scientific minds of the period. The intellectual communication ended only with Coffin's death in February 1873.
Smithsonian Budgets $1,000 for Meteorology Program, March 19, 1848 (Image no. SIA2012-2724)
This series primarily contains correspondence written to Joseph Henry and by Joseph Henry. The correspondence covers the length of his professional life, from his days at the Albany Academy to his death while serving as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The main subjects of the correspondence are science and experiment related. Specifically they regard the telegraph, electromagnetism, leveling, terrestrial magnetism, meteorology, astronomy, geophysics, and various topics in the general field physics. They help to illustrate Henry's increasing respect in the scientific community. The correspondence comes from many sources: from students, scientific organization members, university professors, and national and international scientists. In the first folder of box 7 there are a few letters written to Joseph Henry's father, William Henry, in the early years of Joseph Henry's life.
Joseph Henry's Letter to John R. Henry, July 9, 1831 (Image nos. SIA2012-2935 to SIA2012-2937)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Parker Cleaveland, November 16, 1831 (Image nos. SIA2012-2938 to SIA2012-2940)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Edward Hitchcock, January 27, 1832 (Image nos. SIA2012-2941 to SIA2012-2943)
Senior Class of the College of New Jersey's Letter to Joseph Henry, February 13, 1837 (Image no. SIA2012-2944)
Joseph Henry's Letter to the Editor of the Newark Daily Advertiser, August 1, 1838 (Image nos. SIA2012-2932 to SIA2012-2934)
Robert M. Patterson's Letter to Joseph Henry, January 27, 1841 (Image no. SIA2012-2847)
Senior Class of the College of New Jersey's Letter to Joseph Henry, June 25, 1841 (Image nos. SIA2012-2947 and SIA2012-2948)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Samuel F. B. Morse, February 24, 1842 (Image nos. SIA2012-2848 to SIA2012-2850)
Chalk Drawing of an Earthquake contained in Henry D. Rogers' Letter to Joseph Henry, June 15, 1843 (Image nos. SIA2012-2851 to SIA2012-2853)
Joseph Henry's Letter to M. W. Jacobus, July 19, 1843 (Image nos. SIA2012-3623 to SIA2012-3625)
Joseph Henry's Letter to William Brooke O'Shaughnessy, October 30, 1843 (Image nos. SIA2012-2854 and SIA2012-2855)
Joseph Henry's Letter to James Lenox, March 18, 1845 (Image nos. SIA2012-2863 to SIA2012-2866)
Lewis R. Gibbes's Letter to Joseph Henry, March 1, 1845 (Image nos. SIA2012-2856 to SIA2012-2859)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Francis Dwight, March 3, 1845 (Image nos. SIA2012-2860 and SIA2012-2861)
Charles Phillips Letter to Joseph Henry, June 14, 1845 (Image nos. SIA2012-2867 to SIA2012-2869)
Lewis R. Gibbes's Letter to Joseph Henry, June 30, 1845 (Image nos. SIA2012-2870 to SIA2012-2873)
Joseph Henry's Letter to James Rodney, March 25, 1846 (Image nos. SIA2012-2879 to SIA2012-2886)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Charles Wheatstone, February 27, 1846 (Image nos. SIA2012-2874 to SIA2012-2878)
Robert M. Patterson's Letter to Joseph Henry, June 8, 1846 (Image nos. SIA2012-2887 to SIA2012-2889
Alfred Vail's Letter to Joseph Henry, July 17, 1846 (Image nos. SIA2012-2890 to SIA2012-2892)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Benjamin Silliman, Jr., August 13, 1846 (Image nos. SIA2012-2893 to SIA2012-2895)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Charles Francis McCay, August 25, 1846 (Image no. SIA2012-2896 to SIA2012-2898)
Joseph Henry's Letter to William Leslie Harris, August 1846 (Image nos. SIA2012-3619 to SIA2012-3622)
Samuel F. B. Morse's Letter to Joseph Henry, October 17, 1846 (Image nos. SIA2012-2899 to SIA2012-2903)
Francis M. Levison's Letter to Joseph Henry, December 29, 1846 (Image nos. SIA2012-2909 and SIA2012-2910)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Gideon Hawley, December, 28, 1846 (Image nos. SIA2012-2904 to SIA2012-2908)
George Washington Smith's Letter to Joseph Henry, January 26, 1847 (Image nos. SIA2012-2911 and SIA2012-2912)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Gideon Hawley, July 1, 1847 (Image nos. SIA2012-2913 to SIA2012-2915)
George Mifflin Dallas' Letter to Joseph Henry, August 6, 1847 (Image no. SIA2012-2925)
Joseph Henry's Letter to George Mifflin Dallas, August 12, 1847 (Image nos. SIA2012-2926 to SIA2012-2928)
Joseph Henry's Letter to George Mifflin Dallas, August 12, 1847 (Image nos. SIA2012-2929 to SIA2012-2931)
Robert M. Patterson Letter to Joseph Henry, August 25, 1847 (Image nos. SIA2012-2922 to SIA2012-2924)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Edmund Burke, September 11, 1847 (Image nos. SIA2012-2945 and SIA2012-2946)
John Torrey's Letter to Joseph Henry, June 20, 1850 (Image nos. SIA2012-2919 to SIA2012-2921)
Asa Gray's Letter to Joseph Henry, December 6, 1852 (Image nos. SIA2012-2949 to SIA2012-2951)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Alexander Dallas Bache, September 7, 1853 (Image nos. SIA2012-3614 and SIA2012-3615)
Joseph Henry's Letter to James Hadley, May 7, 1869 (Image nos. SIA2012-2916 to SIA2012-2918)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Joseph Patterson, April 19, 1878 (Image nos. SIA2012-3617 and SIA2012-3618)
The information contained in this series spans a large portion of Joseph Henry's professional career and is mainly concerned with his scientific interests. The notebooks in this series contain information regarding his trips to Europe, including the names and addresses of persons he had met on his trips; other travel notes and thought; experimental notes; notes on fog, lard oil, terrestrial magnetism, the telegraph, and meteorology; and his jottings on his various thoughts as they occurred to him. The desk diaries contained in the series are records of who was seen or called upon, who was written to and whom letters were received from, as well as what transpired at various meetings and gatherings and what will need to happen at later get-togethers.
There is an extensive listing of the contents of the pocket notebooks,
Joseph Henry Notebook, Weather, post-1863
Joseph Henry Notebook, Oil and Oil Lamps, 1865
Joseph Henry's Pocket Diary, 1865
Joseph Henry Notebook, Sound, Weather, 1865-1866
Joseph Henry Notebook, Sound, Ear Trumpets, Light Houses, 1866
Joseph Henry's Daily Journal, 1865
Excerpt from Joseph Henry's Desk Diary, October 10, 1866
Excerpt from Joseph Henry's Desk Diary, January 29, 1872 (Image no. SIA2012-3176)
A typescript copy of selected passages from Joseph Henry's notes on magnetic induction can be found in the Smithsonian Archives' reading room. Albert Gluckman prepared this typescript.
Joseph Henry's Natural Philosophy Syllabus, 1844
Student Notes from Joseph Henry's Natural Philosophy Course, c. 1840s
Joseph Henry's First Lecture for his Natural Philosophy Course, c. 1840s
Introductory Remarks for Natural Philosophy Course, May 28, 1846
Joseph Henry's Notes on Magnetism and Electromagnetism, c. 1830s
Joseph Henry's Closing Remarks for Natural Philosophy Course, April 25, 1846
Joseph Henry's Record of Experiments Book 1, August 15, 1834 to September 1839
Joseph Henry's Record of Experiments Book 2, 1839-1842
Joseph Henry's Record of Experiments Book 3, 1842-1863
This series contains the various drafts and final copies of the eulogy of Alexander Dallas Bache that was prepared by Joseph Henry. Bache was born on July 19, 1806 and died on February 17, 1867. During his life he worked primarily in the in the field of physics, especially geophysics. Henry and Bache had become friends during the years when Henry was at Princeton and Bache was at the University of Pennsylvania, they remained close friends until Bache's death. Like Henry, Bache was a member of the American Philosophical Society, National Academy of Sciences, and the Light-House Board. Bache was also a member of the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents and was involved in persuading Henry to leave his position at Princeton and accept the Smithsonian appointment.
This series' contents are primarily addresses given by Henry and reports written by Henry. There are also drafts of articles and other scientific writings as well as several eulogy drafts. Towards the end of this series are located materials from after Henry's death in 1878: newspaper clippings of obituaries, information regarding the Joseph Henry Fund, a Henry Portrait, the 'henry' and the Henry Medallion, and recollections of Joseph Henry collected by Mary Henry and William Jones Rhees.
Joseph Henry's Inaugural Address to Albany Academy, September 11, 1826
Joseph Henry's Address to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, August 22, 1850 (Image nos. SIA2012-7617 and SIA2012-7618)
J. Halsey's Letter to William J. Rhees, May 21, 1883 (Image nos. SIA2012-3051 to SIA2012-3065)
This series contains loose notes, notebooks, poetry, a manuscript, and other materials. Henry prepared all the materials found in this series, unless otherwise noted.
Sketch of Philosophical Hall at the College of New Jersey, c. 1930s (Image no. SIA2012-3616)
The materials contained in this series are related to the Light-House Board. President Fillmore established the Light-House Board in 1852. It was at this time that Henry was appointed be a part of the Board. He continued to serve the Board in various capacities until the time of his death in May 1878. Henry did experimental and test work regarding light, sound, and fog signals, and lard and sperm oils. His Light-House Board work, along with other materials and letters, are contained in this series.
The contents of this letterpress book are varied. It contains copies of letters, speech drafts, records of monetary accounts, and receipt copies. One letter is rather extensive and begins "In compliance with your request that I would give an account of my scientific researches during my connection with the College of New Jersey I furnished the following brief statement of my labors within the period mentioned (page 283)." Other letters are to the United States President, other political figures, and heads of organizations. The contents of this series are primarily of an official or business nature.
This series contains extracts from the Locked Book that is similar to a personal diary. Folders 6 through 10 contain honors and awards arranged chronologically. Folders 12 through 21 contain invitations and notices arranged alphabetically. In Folders 26 through 29 honors, awards and memberships can be found in chronological order.
An alphabetical listing of groups and organizations giving honors and awards to Joseph Henry; and an alphabetical listing of groups and organizations issuing invitations and notices to Joseph Henry is in the Smithsonian Institution Archives control file.
Joseph Henry's Locked Book Entry, March 22, 1864 (Image no. SIA2012-3313)
Excerpt from Joseph Henry's Locked Book, January 16, 1864 (Image nos. SIA2012-3314 to SIA2012-3316)
Simon Cameron's Letter to Henry Knox Craig, April 20, 1861 (Image no. SIA2012-2952)
This series contains publications. The first two boxes contain copies of articles and scientific writings by Joseph Henry. The third box in the series consists of items that were extracted from the Joseph Henry Library and that date from after Henry's death in 1878. Various memorials as well as an autobiographical effort are included in the next box, all in published pamphlet form. The next box of this publications series contains telegraph information. Duplicate copies of the materials in the memorial and telegraph boxes are housed in the last box of this series.
This series contains memorial materials. Box 46 and Box 47 contain materials related to Joseph Henry's death. Specifically, there are copies of addresses, letters, memorials, and paper work relevant to preserving his memory and paying respects. Box 48 consists of a draft and final copy of the memorial of Joseph Saxton that was prepared by Joseph Henry.
This series contains both correspondence and non-correspondence. The correspondence consists of both copies and holographs pulled from the materials that had been in Mary Henry's possession. The non-correspondence consists of items that were pulled from the correspondence chronology, frequently they were materials sent with a letter.
Hotel de Normandie Newspaper Clipping, 1837 (Image no. SIA2012-3551)
British Museum Ticket, April 3, 1837 (Image no. SIA2012-3552)
Laboratory of Science Ticket, 1837 (Image no. SIA2012-3553)
Society of Arts Ticket, 1837 (Image no. SIA2012-0050)
A business card for an optician in Paris, a souvenir from Joseph Henry's 1837 tour of Europe. (Image no. SIA2012-1000)
Cary Instrument Maker Business Card, 1837 (Image nos. SIA2012-7615 and SIA2012-7616)
Asa Gray to Joseph Henry, letter dated October 7, 1876 (Image no. SIA2009-1214)
This series consists of some of Mary Henry's private papers. The materials were donated to the Smithsonian by Caroline Henry after her sister Mary's death in 1902.
Mary Henry Diary, 1864-1868: This diary spans the years of 1864-1868 and covers life in the Washington, D.C. Mary lived with her family in the Smithsonian Institution Building, or Castle, and witnessed the tumultuous years of the Civil War, its impact on Washington and the reconstruction of the country. Her entries include details of visitors to the Castle, her father's work with the Smithsonian, and events of the Civil War.
Mary Henry Diary, 1858-1863: This diary spans the years of 1858-1863 and covers life in the Washington, D.C. Mary lived with her family in the Smithsonian Institution Building, or Castle, where she was the at the center of D.C. events. Her entries include details of visitors to the Castle, her father's work with the Smithsonian, and the beginning years of the Civil War.
This series, like series 18, contains materials donated to the Smithsonian by Caroline Henry after Mary Henry's death in 1902. The donated materials consist of Mary's collection of her father's papers and Mary's manuscript materials from her work on a biography of her father. Several chapters were drafted before the project was discontinued as a result of Mary's failing health and her dissatisfaction with Professor Hopkins, the man who the Smithsonian arranged to assist Mary in composing the biography.
Joseph Henry's Letter to Harriet Henry, May 4, 1835 (Image nos. SIA2012-3626 to SIA2012-3629)
Joseph Henry's Letter probably to Thomas Cooper, November 26, 1833 (Image nos. SIA2012-3612 and SIA2012-3613)
This series contains Henry family papers. There are many correspondences arranged by whom they were written to and then by date. The individuals with the largest
sets of letters are Harriet Henry, Stephen Alexander, and James Henry. Joseph Henry wrote many of the correspondence contained in these arrangements. Contained in this series
are also items from after the date of Joseph Henry's death as well as three notebooks and albums and Mary Henry's copy of
Joseph Henry's Letter to Harriet Henry, December 28, 1836 (Image nos. SIA2012-3542 to SIA2012-3545)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Harriet Henry, August 1, 1837 (Image nos. SIA2012-2817 to SIA2012-2822)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Harriet Henry, May 3, 1847 (Image nos. SIA2012-2831 to SIA2012-2835)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Harriet Henry, April 13, 1847 (Image nos. SIA2012-2826 to SIA2012-2830)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Harriet Henry, January 26, 1847 (Image nos. SIA2012-2823 to SIA2012-2825)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Harriet Henry, July 14, 1848 (Image nos. SIA2012-2842 to SIA2012-2844)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Harriet Henry, September 4, 1856 (Image nos. SIA2012-2836 to SIA2012-2839)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Helen Henry, April 21, 1865 (Image nos. SIA2012-3537 to SIA2012-3539)
Joseph Henry's Letter to Harriet Henry, May 18, 1864 (Image nos. SIA2012-3540 and SIA2012-3541)
Valentine to Mary Henry, c. 1850s. (Image nos. SIA2012-2990 and SIA2012-2991)
Joseph Henry Letter to Stephen Alexander, April 26, 1861 (Image no. SIA2012-3536)
Joseph Henry Letter to Stephen Alexander, March 9, 1863 (Image nos. SIA2012-2845 and SIA2012-2846)