Series IV. Family Papers
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Scope and Contents
This series contains manuscripts, documents and letters associated with members of the Lafayette family besides the General. The papers and correspondence of General Lafayette's wife, Adrienne, and his son, George, form the greater part of the material, but there are also letters and documents from Lafayette's father Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, his uncle Jacques de Lafayette, his grandfathers Edouard Lafayette and the marquis de la Rivière, among others. There are documents connected with financial matters, property, and inheritance. Adrienne's primary correspondents were her children (especially George while he was in America), her aunt Madame Chavaniac and the Beauchets (their business manager and his wife). While in the provinces during the early days of the Revolution, she wrote regularly to Madame Beauchet, who was formerly her maid. She wrote two letters to George Washington. Notes from her daughters Virginie and Anastasie often accompany Adrienne's letters. Other documents connected to Madame Lafayette concern her imprisonment and the confiscation of their property during the revolution; she wrote many letters to French officials in her attempts to regain their goods and property. From prison at Olmütz, Adrienne corresponded frequently with Masson and Pilet of Hamburg on such matters as the political events affecting their imprisonment, financial affairs, and communications between them and their friends and supporters. There is also a letter in 1797 from Olmütz to Madame Staël reporting their imminent release.
Dates
- 1520-1973.
Creator
- From the Collection: Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, marquis de, 1757-1834. (Person)
- From the Collection: Lafayette, Marie Adrienne de Noailles, marquise de, 1759-1807. (Person)
- From the Collection: Lafayette, Georges Washington Louis Gilbert Du Motier, marquis de, 1779-1849. (Person)
- From the Collection: Noailles de Tessé, Adrienne-Catherine, comtesse de, -1814. (Person)
- From the Collection: Tessé, René Mans de Froullay, comte de, 1736-1814. (Person)
- From the Collection: Beauchet, Philippe. (Person)
- From the Collection: Hénin, Etiennette de Montconseil, princesse d\'. (Person)
- From the Collection: Staël, Madame de (Anne-Louise-Germaine), 1766-1817. (Person)
- From the Collection: Pinckney, Thomas, 1750-1828. (Person)
- From the Collection: Du Pont de Nemours, Pierre Samuel, 1739-1817. (Person)
- From the Collection: Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, 1797-1851. (Person)
- From the Collection: Bentham, Jeremy, 1748-1832. (Person)
- From the Collection: Owen, Robert, 1771-1858. (Person)
- From the Collection: Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826. (Person)
- From the Collection: Marshall, John, 1755-1835. (Person)
- From the Collection: Madison, James, 1751-1836. (Person)
- From the Collection: Adams, John, 1735-1826. (Person)
- From the Collection: Monroe, James, 1758-1831. (Person)
- From the Collection: Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845. (Person)
- From the Collection: Calhoun, John C. (John Caldwell), 1782-1850. (Person)
- From the Collection: Webster, Daniel, 1782-1852. (Person)
- From the Collection: Clay, Henry, 1777-1852. (Person)
- From the Collection: Sparks, Jared, 1789-1866. (Person)
- From the Collection: Willard, Emma, 1787-1870. (Person)
- From the Collection: Wright, Frances, 1795-1852. (Person)
- From the Collection: Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790. (Person)
- From the Collection: Cadet de Gassicourt, C.-L. (Charles-Louis), 1769-1821. (Person)
- From the Collection: Carnot, Lazare, 1753-1823. (Person)
- From the Collection: France. Armée. Garde nationale (Paris) (Organization)
Language of Materials
Collection material mainly in French, with a few items in English.
Conditions Governing Access
MU-3163 (sword with leather sheath kept by Lafayette) by appointment only.
Conditions Governing Access
Access to Boxes 63, 72, 187, and 189 restricted to the permission of the curator.
Extent
49.6 cubic feet. (49.6 cubic feet.)
Repository Details
Part of the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections Repository
2B Carl A. Kroch Library
Cornell University
Ithaca NY 14853
607-255-3530
607-255-9524 (Fax)
rareref@cornell.edu