Details
Creator Du Ponceau, Peter Stephen, 1760-1844 .
Contributor Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain, 1768-1844, correspondent.
Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, marquis de, 1757-1834, correspondent.
Levasseur, Auguste, correspondent.
Peyre, Antoine Marie, 1770-1843 correspondent.,
Livingston, Edward, 1764-1836, correspondent.
Barnet, I. Cox (Isaac Cox), d. 1833 correspondent.,
Vaux, Roberts, 1786-1836, correspondent.
McAllister, John A. 1822-1896, former owner.
Title Peter S. Du Ponceau Papers. 1787-1844 (inclusive).
Physical Description 1 box .21 linear feet.
Description The Peter S. Du Ponceau Papers holds both incoming and outgoing correspondence with friends and business associates. Most of the letters in the collection, however, are in the second subseries: twenty-six letters written to Du Ponceau by the Marquis de Lafayette, and two by his secretary Auguste Levasseur. They range in date from January 1825, during their tour of America, until just prior to Lafayette's death in 1834. Lafayette's correspondence deals partly with personal and family topics, but also raises contemporary political issues.
Notes On deposit at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For service, please contact the Historical Society at 215-732-6200 or http://www.hsp.org.
Biographical / historical note A noted linguist, Peter Stephen Du Ponceau was born in St Martin de Ré, France, on June 3, 1760. In 1777 he came to the American colonies as secretary to Prussian military officer Friedrich Wilhelm Augustus, Baron von Steuben, during the American Revolution. Du Ponceau served as a captain in the American army until 1781 when illness forced him to resign; afterward, he remained in America, eventually settling in Philadelphia and becoming a lawyer. He was an active member of Philadelphia's cultural organizations, serving as president of the American Philosophical Society (elected to membership in 1791), the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He was a founding member of the French Benevolent Society of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Bar Association.
Subject Beaumont, Gustave de, 1802-1866.
Tocqueville, Alexis de, 1805-1859.
Revolutions.
Prisons -- United States.
Geographic subject United States -- History -- 19th century -- Sources.
France -- History -- July Revolution, 1830 -- Sources.
France -- Politics and government -- 19th century.
Paris (France) -- Politics and government.
Poland -- History -- Revolution, 1830-1832 -- Sources.
Belgium -- History -- Revolution, 1830-1839 -- Sources.
Genre Letters.
Provenance McAllister, John A. (John Allister), 1822-1896, former owner.
Location Library Company of Philadelphia| MSS | McA MSS 019
Accession number (McAllister)