Catalog of Manuscript Collections

Creator: Chittenden family Extent: ca. 2400 items Description: The papers of this East River, Connecticut family consist chiefly of correspondence, together with journals, writings, deeds, legal and business papers, memorabilia, photos, and other papers, of several generations of the Connecticut shoreline family descended from Samuel Chittenden (1777-1846) and Amanda (Kelsey) Chittenden (1784-1811). Principal persons represented include their son, Samuel C. Chittenden (1811-86), his wife, Amanda Anne (Munger) Chittenden (1813-1901), their sons, Samuel Hosmer (1845-1909) and George Benjamin Chittenden (1849-1939), both engineers, George's wife, Ella Spencer "Kittie" (Delano) Chittenden (1855-1929), and her mother, Elmira Spencer Delano. Included are letters from Samuel Hosmer and George Benjamin Chittenden, written from various parts of the US (chiefly in the West), while on engineering and surveying projects, including the Hayden survey; letters by them from Washington, D.C., where they lived and worked in the 1870s and 1880s, with comments on Washington politics and social life; journal (1809) of a trip to Pittsburgh, Pa., and then to New Orleans, La., by George Munger (1781-1825); essays by Amanda Munger Chittenden and her sisters Clarissa (1806-89) and Caroline Munger (1808-92); journal (1785-99) of the Rev. Joseph Washburn; and other Chittenden, Delano, Munger, and Washburn papers. Research Topics: Correspondence between family members in the East and West in the late 19th century; railroad engineering and surveys in the late 19th century; Hayden survey; late 18th century journal of Rev. Joseph Washburn; George Munger's 1809 account of travelling to New Orleans; East River Library and Reading Room Association; women's literary activities