Fortress of Louisbourg Library Number: 2003-36

MAJOR UNITED STATES RESEARCH TRIPS SERIES
    

United States ~ Springfield (Illinois) ~ (1) Fortress of Louisbourg Research
  
Research Trip to the United States: Ottawa (Canada) / Springfield (Illinois) / St. Louis (Missouri) ~ August 13 to September 21, 2003  

I have visited the Illinois State Archives in Springfield, Illinois. Lynda Krause provided transcription assistance. 

• Of major interest were two collections: 

(1) Raymond H Hammes Collection 

(2) Perrin Collection

• Some Recommendations:

(1) The Fortress of Louisbourg should purchase the following microfilm from the following series:

(A) The Raymond H. Hammes Collection consists of 157 reels. Some were filmed by the Genealogical Society, Salt Lake City, at the State Archives, Springfield, Illinois. These, and others, are described in Jeffrey D. Garman, Inventory of Microfilms in the Raymond H. Hammes Collection  (1988) which is available at the Illinois State Archives. The reels selected for purchase are as follows:
  

		GARMAN DESIGNATION
Drawer 1, Reel No. 2, Roll No. 1535995		1. Land transactions (1720-1814) 2. Land transactions (1678-1814) 3. Abstracts (1791-1806) 4. Surveys (1810-1814) 5. Surveys (1814-1827)
Drawer 2, Roll 4		Randolph County Records, Kaskaskia Manuscripts, Record Book II anee 1722, 1783, 1784
Drawer 2, Roll 7		Randolph County Records, Kaskaskia Mss, Circuit Clerk, Commercial Papers 1, 1718-1741
Drawer 2, Roll 8		Public Papers, Volume One and Volume Two (French), 1720-1744
Drawer 2, Roll 9		Kaskaskia Manuscripts, Private Papers, Volume One and Volume Two (French), 1739-1748, 1722-1739
Drawer 2, Roll 10		Kaskaskia Manuscripts (Some French) Misc. Documents late 1700's-1800
Drawer 2, Roll 11		Randolph County Records (Some French) Misc. Documents late 1700's-1800
Drawer 2, Roll 12		Randolph County Records (Some French) Misc. Documents late 1700's-1800
Drawer 2, Roll 13		Randolph County Records, Circuit Clerk, 19th century translation of French Records 1, first date 1747, last date 1740. NOTE: This reel is not mentioned on the Gagnon Inventory of microfilm
Drawer 2, Roll 14		Randolph County Records, Kaskaskia Mss (1) Public Papers, Volume 3, 1748-1779 (2) Public Papers, Volume 4, 1779-1788
Drawer 2, Roll 15		Randolph County Records, Kaskaskia Mss, (1) Public Papers, Volume 5, 1782-1816 (2) Private Papers, Volume 3 (1739-1741) (3) Private Papers, Volume 4 (1741-1746)
Drawer 2, Roll 16		Kaskaskia Manuscripts, Private Papers, 1741-1746, Commercial Papers (French) 1737-1739
Drawer 2, Roll 17		Kaskaskia Manuscripts Commercial Papers, Volume 4 (1740-1741); Commercial Papers, Volume 5 (1740-1741)
Drawer 2, Roll 18		Kaskaskia Manuscripts Commercial Papers, Volume 5 (1740-1741) and Volume 6 (1742-1745)
Drawer 2, Roll 19		Kaskaskia Manuscripts Commercial Papers, Volume 7 (1746-1748) and Volume 8 (1749-1756)
Drawer 2, Roll 20		Kaskaskia Manuscripts Commercial Papers, Volume 8 (1756-1783), Volume 9 (1757-1760), and Volume 10 (1760-1763)
Drawer 2, Roll 21		Kaskaskia Manuscripts Commercial Papers, Volume 10 (1763-1764), Volume 11 (1765-1779), and Volume 12 (1748-1796)
Drawer 2, Roll 22		Kaskaskia Manuscripts Commercial Papers, Volume 12 (1748-1796)
Drawer 2, Roll 36		Kaskaskia Manuscripts, Private Papers, Volume Five (1747-1769)
Drawer 2, Roll 37		Kaskaskia Manuscripts, Private Papers, Volume Six (1727-1781), and Volume Seven (1782-1796)
Drawer 2, Roll No. 39		Randolph County Records, Misc Kaskakaskia Manuscripts, 1718-1790, [Series K Miscellaneous I, 1718-1790]
Drawer 3, Roll 11-39		Randolph County Records, Misc Manuscripts, Kaskaskia Manuscripts
Drawer 3, Roll 30-16		Randolph Co, Circuit, Court Records, Section A, 1737-1789; Section B, 1790-1818 [Territorial Period]
Drawer 3, Roll No. 30 - 53		Raymond H. Hammes Collection, Perrin Collection, Record of Registrations and Donations in Kaskaskia Dist 1739-1796. (Also Illinois Land Records, Kaskaskia, Translations of French Early Grants 1722 and Up.)
Drawer 3, U of I, Reel 1		Miscellaneous Illinois Archives, Microfilmed November 1759 by the U of I Library, Record Book I: 1748-1783
		UNKNOWN GARMAN DESIGNATION
Roll No. 1 (1012401)		Kaskaskia French and English Deed Record, Volumes A (1804-1805) and B (1805-1806)
Roll No. 2 (1012402)		Kaskaskia French and English Deed Record, Volumes C and D
Roll No. 3 (1012403)		Kaskaskia Translation of French-English Early Grants and Transfers, Volumes A, B, C & D

(2) The Fortress of Louisbourg should purchase the following book, which is still in print, as a general history book and for its extensive bibliography:

(A) Clarence Walworth Alvord, The Illinois Country, 1673-1818 (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1920 [1987]), Published for the Illinois Sesquicentennial Commission and the Illinois State Historical Society. The Sesquicentennial History of Illinois, Volume 1, with a new Introduction by Robert M. Sutton 29.95 USA)

• The following two books were closely examined for structural history material, but neither revealed anything of significance for Louisbourg. However, if they ever appear for sale, they might be considered for purchase for their general worth although they do post-date the Louisbourg period:

(A) Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library, Volume 2, Virginia Series, Volume 1, Cahokia Records, 1778-1790. Clarence Walworth Alvord, editor (Published by Illinois State Historical Library, Illinois, 1907) [The French is on one side; the English translation on the other]

(B) Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library, Volume 5, Virginia Series, Volume 2, Kaskaskia Records, 1778-1790. Clarence Walworth Alvord, editor (Published by Illinois State Historical Library, Illinois, 1909) [The French is on one side; the English translation on the other]

According to the Consolidated Index, Hammes Collection, which Karl Moore of the Illinois State Archives kindly made available to us:

"INTRODUCTION

The Hammes Collection is an abstract and index to selected Illinois records created prior to statehood (1818). Mr. Hammes chose documents located in the Randolph and St. Clair County Courthouses, in the Illinois State Archives, and on microfilm from the National Archives. His emphasis was on records relating to land transactions. 

Mr. Hammes planned to publish twenty or more volumes. As only a portion of Volume II was in the final form before he died, most of the material on these microfilms are his rough drafts. Occasionally, his hand written remarks can be found in the margins.

The Consolidated Index includes all of the volumes II through XX. Each volume also contains a separate index. The chronological listing appearing after Volume XX are not included in the Consolidated Index. There is no Volume 1 as it was to be an introductory volume that was yet to be written when he died. 

THE COLLECTION

Note: Although this calendar is a valuable research tool in many ways, as a index to structural matters it was not forthcoming in any direct manner. Only an examination of the microfilm itself provided the basis for the material listed below. Please note that due to time constraints the microfilm rolls were often quickly scanned and sampled rather than  closely read page by page (or folio by folio).

(2) Perrin Collection

Karl Moore of the Illinois State Archives also kindly made available to us the following:

(A) Index to Perrin Inventory which was a Calendar of the Perrin Collection (1722-1823) prepared by Ico Iben. This calendar was similar to the Hammes Collection Consolidated Index, in that as a index to structural matters it was not forthcoming in any direct manner. Note too that the Hammes Collection also holds some of the same documents as does the Perrin Collection.

• Due to time constraints, this collection was not examined..

(B) Two bound volumes containing typed summaries of wills, deeds of gift and similar documents from the Registre des Insinuations des Donations (1734-1769). The typed material consisted of modern 20th-century transcriptions of the original French and corresponding translations. 

• One partial selection from the bound volumes was retrieved.

• Note: The bound volumes were based, in part at least, on the following Microfilm Reel # 30-53 of original French manuscripts: "Raymond H. Hammes Collection, Perrin Collection, Record of Registrations and Donations in Kaskaskia Dist 1739-1796. ( Also Illinois Land Records, Kaskaskia, Translations of French Early Grants 1722 and Up.)"