Charles F. Johnson family papers
Scope and Contents
The collection contains correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, notebooks, sketches, newsclippings and other reference materials. Most of the material concerns Emeline (Johnson) Hilton. Also included is correspondence regarding Hilton's efforts to publish The Long Roll and sketches used in that book. The correspondence does not hold include letters to or from the Duluth artist David Ericson, who was friend of Charles F. Johnson.
General Materials - 1853-1958
General correspondence, 1872-1856
The Long Roll publishing correspondence, 1910-1938
Photographs, portraits and groups, 1853-1890
Charles F. Johnson records
Manuscript on the 1894 Hinckley Fire, copied letters and journal entries, sketches used for The Long Roll, and an 1862 certificate concerning Johnson's service in the Civil War.
Emeline L. Hilton records
Letters from Raymond Swing, a radio commentator, 1941-1952; autobiography, 1944; correspondence and papers relating to the authentication of a Van Dyck painting owned by Emeline Hilton, 1929-1945; autograph letters from authors, radio announcers, and government officials including Dwight Eisenhower, H.L. Mencken, John Pershing, Edward R. Murrow, and Harold Stassen.
Dates
- 1853-1956
Creator
- Johnson, Charles F., 1843-1896 (Person)
- Hilton, Emeline, 1873-1958 (Person)
- Sherry, Mary Susan, 1849-1927 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use in the Kathryn A. Martin Library, Archives and Special Collections.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection may be protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials. Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law.
Biographical / Historical
Charles Fredrick Johnson (1843- February 8, 1896) came to Duluth in 1870 with his wife, Mary Susan Sherry (1849-1927). He established the Pioneer Bookstore and Duluth's first free circulation library in 1870. With Henry Evans, doing business as Johnson & Evans, he was a printer, bookbinder, stationer, and publisher of the Journal of Commerce and Duluth Daily Market Report. Johnson served first as a deputy collector and then as the collector at the U.S. Customs House in Duluth from 1891-1893. He was the Secretary of the Duluth Chamber of Commerce from 1893-1895.
Johnson served in the Civil War with the 9th Regiment New York Volunteer Infantry, known as the "Hawkins Zouaves". He wrote a book, The Long Roll, about his war experiences which was published posthumously after 1911. The Johnsons had two children: Fredrick Berger Johnson (1870-1931) and Emeline Louise Johnson (1873-1958). Emeline later married Afton B. Hilton in 1908 and had one son, George Robert Hilton (1909-1955). Emeline Hilton was a customs collector in Duluth, a position she claims she inherited from her father.
Extent
1.00 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The collection contains correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, notebooks, sketches, newsclippings and other reference materials.
Physical Location
This collection is located at the University of Minnesota Duluth Archives. For more information about this collection or to make an appointment, contact us at libarchives@d.umn.edu or 218-726-8526.
General
This collection is part of the Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections, which are housed in the University of Minnesota Duluth Archives at the Kathryn A. Martin Library, and are on permanent loan from the St. Louis County Historical Society.
- Civil War, U. S., 1861-1865 Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Drawings Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Families Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Hawkins' Zouaves (1861-1863) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Letters Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Photographs Subject Source: Local sources
- Scrapbooks Subject Source: Local sources
- United States. Army. New York Infantry Regiment, 9th (1861-1863) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Guide to the Charles F. Johnson family papers
- Author
- Finding Aid Authors: B. Bruemmer, P. Maus, M. David.
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Collecting Area Details
Contact The University of Minnesota Duluth Archives and Special Collections Collecting Area
Kathryn A. Martin Library
University of Minnesota Duluth
416 Library Drive
Duluth MN 55812-3001
(218) 726-8526
libarchives@d.umn.edu
