Edward Griffin Beckwith and John Laurence Fox Papers: Finding Aid mssBF
Brooke M. Black
The Huntington Library
June 2022
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Note
Last updated by Brooke M. Black in January 2024.
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Edward Griffin Beckwith and John Laurence Fox papers
Creator:
Beckwith, E.G. (Edward Griffin), 1818-1881
Identifier/Call Number: mssBF
Physical Description:
8 Linear Feet
(11 boxes, 7 volumes, 4 oversize folders)
Date (inclusive): 1805-1909
Date (bulk): 1837-1865
Abstract: Papers belonging to military officers Edward Griffin Beckwith and John Laurence Fox.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
Conditions Governing Use
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. Edward Griffin Beckwith and John Laurence Fox papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Edward B. Fox and Julia Fox Hunt, August 1992. An 1854 diary and family photographs were donated by Edward
B. Fox, October 1994.
Biographical / Historical
Edward Griffin Beckwith (1818-1881 was a United States Army officer. From 1849 to 1855 he served in the New Mexico Territory.
In 1853, following the death of John Williams Gunnison, he was assigned to complete the Central Pacific Railroad survey. During
the American Civil War, he served as chief of Commissariat for the Department of Pennsylvania, of the Shenandoah, of the 5th
Army Corps, of the Army of Virginia, Banks' Red River Expedition, and of the Gulf. He was promoted to Major and brevetted
Brigadier-General. After the war he remained in the Army and served in the Subsistence Department. In 1850, Beckwith married
Cornelia Williamson. Their only daughter Nelly married Rear Admiral Charles Eben Fox (1851-1916), son of John Laurence Fox.
John Laurence Fox (1811-1864) was a Surgeon of the U.S. Navy, graduated from Amherst College in 1831, and received his M.D.
from Harvard in 1835. He was appointed assistant surgeon of the U.S. Navy in 1837 and promoted to Surgeon in 1847; he served
on the Porpoise and the Vincennes of the U.S. Exploring Expedition from 1838 to 1842, the USS Cumberland during its voyage
to the Mediterranean from 1843 to 1845, the USS Yorktown, part of the African Squadron deployed to Western Africa to curtail
the slave trade, from 1847 to 1850, and USS Mississippi, the flagship of Matthew C. Perry's voyage to the Far East from 1857
to 1859. Since 1843, Fox also worked at Chelsea Marine hospital where he spent the first two years of the Civil War. In September
1863, he was assigned to the USS Niagara and remained there until his appointment to the post of the Fleet Surgeon with the
North Atlantic Blockade Squadron. He died in Roxbury, Massachusetts in December 1864.
Scope and Contents
Professional and personal papers of Edward Griffin Beckwith including his journals, ledgers, accounts, military records, and
personal and official correspondence, chiefly related to his post-Mexican War service. His journals were kept during his service
in California and his letters to his wife recount his life in the West, including details of the death of John Williams Gunnison
and his encounters with Mormons. Also included are two annotated maps of New Mexico Territory, California, and Utah, Beckwith's
records of spiritualistic seances from 1860 to 1872, and some photographs. The collection also contains letters of John Laurence
Fox to his parents, wife, and son written between 1837 and 1864. Included are letters dealing with the Exploring Expedition,
the mission to the Mediterranean, slave trade in West Africa, Matthew C. Perry's mission to Japan, foreign intervention in
China, Taiping Rebellion, and the American Civil War. This portion of the collection also contains his surgeon's commission
in 1847, and newspapers clippings related to the death of Charles Eben Fox.
Processing Information
The collection was cataloged by Olga Tsapina in June 2003. In 2022, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.
Arrangement
Organized in the following series: 1. Correspondence, journals, account books, military papers, manuscripts, ephemera; 2.
Volumes; 3. Oversize folders.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Mormons -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Pacific railroads -- Exploration and surveys -- Sources
Red River Expedition, 1864 -- Sources
Slave trade -- Africa, West
Spiritualism -- United States -- History -- Sources
Spiritualists -- United States -- Archives
California -- Description and travel
China -- History -- Foreign intervention, 1857-1861 -- Personal narratives, American
China -- History -- Taiping Rebellion, 1850-1864 -- Sources
United States -- Foreign relations -- China -- Sources
United States -- Foreign relations -- Japan -- Sources
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Equipment and supplies -- Sources
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Medical care -- Sources
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
Utah -- Description and travel
West (U.S.) -- Discovery and exploration -- Personal narratives
West (U.S.) -- Sureys
Accounts -- United States -- 19th century
Diaries -- United States -- 19th century
Family papers -- United States -- 19th century
Journals (accounts) -- United States -- 19th century
Letter books -- United States -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Maps -- West (U.S.) -- 19th century
Military records -- United States -- 19th century
Military records -- United States -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Personal papers -- United States -- 19th century
Professional papers -- United States -- 19th century
Fox, John L. (John Laurence), 1811-1864
Gunnison, J. W. (John Williams), 1812-1853
Mississippi (Side-wheel steamer)
United States Exploring Expedition (1838-1842) -- Personal narratives
United States Marine Hospital at Boston -- Officials and employees -- Archives
United States. Army -- Officers -- Archives
United States. Army of Virginia -- Officers -- Archives
United States. Army. Corps, 5th (1862-1865) -- Officers -- Archives
United States. Army. Department of Pennsylvania -- Officers -- Archives
United States. Army. Department of the Shenandoah -- Officers -- Archives
United States. Army. Department of the Gulf (1862-1865) -- Officers -- Archives
United States. Army -- Procurement -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources
United States. Navy. African Squadron
United States. Navy. North Atlantic Blockading Squadron (1861-1865)
United States. Navy -- Surgeons -- Archives
United States. War Department. Subsistence Department -- Officials and employees -- Archives
Correspondence, journals, account books, military papers, manuscripts, ephemera
1805-1909
Box 7
U.S. Navy-Young, and unidentified
Box 8
Journal and account books
Box 9
Subsistence and sequestration papers
Box 10
U.S. Army, miscellaneous orders and circulars
Oversize folders
1848-1904
Folder 1
Annotated map: New Mexico Territory to San Pedro, California
1849-1850
Folder 2
Annotated map: Green River to Sevier River, Utah
1853
Folder 4
Surgeon's commission: John L. Fox
1848
Scope and Contents
Signed by James Knox Polk.
