Scope and Contents:
This collection contains a letter dated February 1, 1811, from Illinois Territory judge Stanley Griswold to Elijiah Boardman, describing Griswold’s travel throughout the Midwest.
Stanley Griswold was the appointed secretary of Michigan Territory from 1805 to 1808, and then was appointed as a United States Senator for Ohio for a brief time in 1809. In 1810, he was appointed as a federal judge for Illinois Territory, where he served until his death in 1815.
This letter, written shortly after his appointment as a judge for Illinois Territory, details his trip from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Shawneetown, Kaskaskia, and Cahokia in Illinois Territory, as well as to St. Louis and St. Genevieve in Missouri Territory. In the letter, he described his experience traveling through the prairies of Illinois Territory during his time at court in Kaskaskia and Cahokia, and described the land as easy to travel upon, due to the good soil quality and levelness of the roads. He also discussed the politics of his recent appointment, his preference to serve as a judge as opposed to a Senator or Territorial Governor, and the health of his family who remained in Cincinnati during his travels.
This collection was purchased by the Library in 2024 with the support of the Bruce C. Creamer fund.
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