Summary
Overview
Auerbach, Herbert S. (Herbert Samuel), 1882-1945.
Herbert S. Auerbach Collection on Mormons and Indians
6.0 linear feet, in 11 boxes
Princeton University. Library. Dept. of Rare Books and Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
One Washington Road
Princeton, New Jersey 08544 USA
Abstract
Consists of copies of letters, documents, stories, newspaper articles, reports, tables, artifacts, and extracts relating to Mormons and Indians, as collected by Herbert S. Auerbach, an American renaissance man, involved in music, writing, politics, and philanthropy.
Description
Description
The collection consists primarily of copies of letters, documents, stories, newspaper articles, reports, tables, and extracts from various sources collected by Auerbach and relating to Mormons and Indians. Included are a brief history of the Mormons; letters and reports regarding official Indian business in the Southwest and Northwest, often sent by the local Indian agent to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs or to local governors; documents found in the Indian Office at Washington, D.C., some of which concern the Mountain Meadows Massacre (Utah) in 1857; accounts of discussions regarding the restoration of refugee Indians to their homes in Indian territory (1883); a copy of a journal kept in 1849 by Isaac Foster en route to Alta, Calif.; a history (1888) of the Nauvoo (Utah) Legion relating an incident of the Black Hawk War; an itinerary of the mail route from Great Salt Lake City to San Francisco (ca. 1850); and a table of distances of the overland daily stage line from Kansas to Utah (1862).
Also present are two volumes of selected items of Utah and Mormon history; typescripts for a reminiscence of pioneering in California, "From Cradle to the Grave," by W. B. Meek and "The Mormons as I Know Them" by Charles Mostyn Owen (1859- ); 17 albumen cartes-de-visite (ca. 1870s) of unidentified persons; photostats of letters by John Wolcott Phelps (1813-1885) written while on a military expedition to Utah in 1857-1859; and a scrapbook (1922) of newspaper clippings about Auerbach and Utah.
The papers contained in this collection are, for the most part, typescripts taken from originals. The last series contains unprocessed material similar to materials included elsewhere in the collection, as well as a writing slate reputed to have been owned by Brigham Young.
Collection Creator
Biography
Herbert Samuel Auerbach was born on October 4, 1882, in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was educated abroad, first at the J. J. Meier School in Wiesbaden, Germany, and then at the Conservatory of Music and Lausanne Technical School in Switzerland. After completing his studies, he toured the continent as a concert violinist. In 1906 he returned to the United States and pursued a master's degree in electrometallurgy at Columbia University School of Mines. He helped run the family business of department stores in Utah, and was a member of the Board of Regents of the University of Utah. After the United States became involved with World War I, he became a major in the Ordnance Department until 1919. With diverse interests, Auerbach was also a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, and a part of the Utah State Legislature for two terms. One of his favorite hobbies was Western history, which led to his collection of books, manuscripts, maps, documents, and pictures of the Old West. Auerbach was also a writer, poet, and philanthropist. He passed away on March 19, 1945.
Collection History
Custodial History
The collection was formed as a result of a departmental practice of combining into one collection manuscript material of various accessions relating to a particular author.
Processing Information
Finding aid written in 1994. Updated by Valerie Addonizio in 2010 and 2012.
Biography written by Alyxandra Cullen, '09.
Access and Use
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research use.
Use Restrictions
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. No further photoduplication of copies of material in the collection can be made when Princeton University Library does not own the original. Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Associate University Librarian for Rare Books and Special Collections. The library has no information on the status of literary rights in the collection and researchers are responsible for determining any questions of copyright.
Preferred Citation
Herbert S. Auerbach Collection on Mormons and Indians; 1808-1935, Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.
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