Blair and Lee Family Papers, 1640-1946 (mostly 1812-1920)

Contents and Arrangement

Papers of Francis Preston Blair, 1640-1911 (mostly 1791-1876)

54 boxes

Description:

The papers of Francis Preston Blair, journalist and politician, consist of writings, correspondence, documents, materials regarding Blair as a subject, printed matter, papers of other persons, and additional papers. The writings include his speeches, editorials, addresses, articles, essays, and general works; these date from 1830, when Blair was called to Washington, D.C., by President Andrew Jackson to edit the Globe, the official newspaper of the Democratic administration. Although he never held an elected office, Blair was considered a person of political importance and influence in the mid-19th century, and his correspondence is indicative of this, containing letters from Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), Martin Van Buren (1782-1862), and Andrew Johnson (1808-1875), as well as senators Lewis Cass (1782-1866), John Charles Fremont (1813-1890), and John Jordan Crittenden (1787-1863), and congressmen Schuyler Colfax (1823-1885), Edward Livingston (1764-1836), and Thomas Patrick Moore (1797-1853).

178 boxes

Description:

The papers of Samuel Phillips Lee, naval officer and farmer, consist of miscellaneous writings and notes, diaries, memoranda books, and account books (1858-1896), logs and journals (1847-1866), correspondence, documents, naval records (1861-1872), maps, photographs, memorabilia, artifacts, miscellaneous material, printed matter, and papers of others. Although a professional naval officer (1825-1873), Lee spent his retirement years (1873-1897) at Silver Spring Farm, the management of which had been transferred to him by his father-in-law, Francis Preston Blair. The collection reflects these dual careers as well as Lee's business interests in real estate, especially holdings in St. Louis, Missouri, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. An avid record keeper and commentator, his logs, journals, notebooks, and correspondence contain memoranda of explanation and insightful personal notations.

21 boxes

Description:

The papers of Elizabeth Blair Lee consist of correspondence, documents, photographs, memorabilia, artifacts, miscellaneous material, and papers of others. The correspondence contains letters by her husband, Samuel Phillips Lee, and her father, Francis Preston Blair, as well as other family members and friends, including Rachel Jackson (1767-1828) and Jessie Benton Fremont (1824-1902), whose photographs are also included in the collection. Locks of hair belonging to Elizabeth Blair Lee can be found among her memorabilia, while the artifacts contain bobbins, a necklace, a pair of satin slippers, and sewing tapes. Other materials, such as cookbooks, notebooks, recipes, prescriptions, and papers relating to the Washington City Orphan Asylum, of which she was an active member, are also included.

4 boxes

218 boxes

Description:

The papers of Blair Lee, lawyer and U.S. senator, consist of his writings, correspondence, legal files, documents, financial material, miscellaneous material, printed matter, and papers of others. The writings contain essays in literature, philosophy, and politics, and course notebooks in languages, science, the Bible, and other subjects while an undergraduate at Princeton (1876-1880), as well as notes taken at Columbian Law School (1880-1883), and manuscripts of political speeches.

1 folder

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of the personal and family papers of five members of the Blair and Lee families of Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia -- Francis Preston Blair (1791-1876); his daughter, Elizabeth Blair Lee (1818-1906); her husband, Samuel Phillips Lee (1812-1897); their son, Blair Lee (1857-1944, Princeton Class of 1880); and his cousin, Andrew Alexander Blair (1848-1932) -- reflecting their various political, journalistic, naval, family, business, legal, and domestic interests. While the collection largely pertains to these five family members, their papers also contain a significant amount of correspondence, documents, and writings of other members of the Blair and Lee families. Among other topics, materials in this collection document the families' involvement in American politics spanning from the Jacksonian Era through World War I.

The Blair family papers consist primarily of papers of politician and journalist Francis Preston Blair (1791-1876), including writings and lectures, documents, family correspondence, articles and other materials related to his editorship of the Globe, estate records, and correspondence with prominent political figures, including many involved with the administration of Andrew Jackson. The papers of his daughter, Elizabeth Blair Lee, document the political and social lives of the Blair and Lee families, as well as her work with the Washington City Orphan Asylum. The papers of Blair's grandson, Andrew Alexander Blair, contain additional family correspondence and span his time at the United States Naval Academy prior to becoming a chemist.

The Lee family papers include the papers of Samuel Phillips Lee, which document his service in the United States Navy, including his involvement in the U.S. Coast Survey, as well as the management of the Silver Spring Farm, real estate ventures, and family and domestic life. The papers of his son, the lawyer and politician Blair Lee, relate to his life as a student, work as a lawyer and United States senator during World War I and the administration of Woodrow Wilson, service in various organizations, and personal and family life.

Collection Creator Biography:

The Blairs were a prominent United States political family based in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. Along with members of the related Lee family, individuals in the Blair family were active in American politics, business, journalism, law, and philanthropy throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Francis Preston Blair Sr. (1791-1876) was an American newspaper editor, journalist, and politician. Blair was born in Virginia, raised in Kentucky, and later made a home at an estate he named Silver Spring in Montgomery County, Maryland, where his descendants lived after his death. He was a member of Andrew Jackson's Kitchen Cabinet and advised Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. From 1831 to 1845, Blair ran The Globe (Washington, D.C.), a newspaper that promoted the interests of the Democratic Party during the administrations of Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren. Blair married Eliza Violet Howard Gist (1794-1877), with whom he had five children, Montgomery Blair (1813–1883), Juliet Blair (1816-1819), Elizabeth Blair (1818-1906), James Lawrence Blair (1819-1852), and Francis Preston Blair Jr. (1821–1875). His son Frank P. (Francis Preston) Blair Jr. (1821–1875) was a politician, lawyer, and major general in the United States Army during the Civil War. He became a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 1852 to 1856 and later represented Missouri in the United States House of Representatives (1857-1864) and Senate (1871-1873). He and his wife, the philanthropist and organizer Apolline Agatha Alexander Blair (1828–1908), had eight children, including chemist Andrew A. Blair (1848-1932), Christine Biddle Blair Graham (1852-1915), James Lawrence Blair (1854-1904), and Francis Preston Blair III (1856-1914). Elizabeth Blair Lee (1818-1906), who was also active in Washington, D. C., political and philanthropic circles, married Samuel Phillips Lee (1812-1897), a naval officer, in 1843. They had one son named Blair Lee (1857-1944), who became a lawyer, legislator and social reformer.

Acquisition:

The papers were originally deposited at Princeton University Library on August 1, 1942, and later gifted to the university by P. Blair Lee (Class of 1918) and E. Brooke Lee (Class of 1916) in 1965-1969 (AM 21313).

Appraisal

No materials were separated during 2017 processing.

Sponsorship:

Reprocessing and description enhancement for portions of this collection were sponsored by the Delafield Fund.

Processing Information

The collection was initially arranged by a Mrs. Larrabee, whose work was completed by Caroline W. Hiatt in 1948.

The collection was later processed by Judith Golden in 1992. Finding aid written by Judith Golden in 1992.

Portions of the finding aid were revised by Kelly Bolding in 2017, with assistance from Julia English '19 and Fiona Bell '18.

A box of oversize materials, formerly housed in Box 441, were rehoused into flat files in September 2021. As a result, there is no Box 441.

Some materials in this collection were treated for mold in 2018.

During 2022, restrictions were lifted as part of a restrictions review project.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

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Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

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