Arranged and described by Brenda Howitson Steeves

Collection title: Paul Family Papers
Collection number: MS 389
Dates of collection: 1771-1917
Size of collection: 1 box

Biography

The collection primarily contains papers of the Paul family of Eliot, Maine. Moses Paul, Jr., the son of Moses Paul and Mary Tobey Paul, was born ca. 1814 and was a farmer in Eliot. He married Sarah J. Remick in 1839. Sarah, the daughter of Horace Remick, was born in 1817. Moses and Sarah had four children: Elbridge R. Paul, born ca. 1840; Moses Newbury Paul, born ca. 1843; Alta J. Paul, sometimes called Altie or Alte, born ca. 1844; and Horace Paul, born ca. 1851.

Elbridge Paul was a private in the Maine 27th Infantry Regiment, Company G, serving in 1862-1863; Moses N. Paul was a private in the 9th New Hampshire Infantry, Company E, enlisting in May 1862. He was wounded at the battle of South Mountain in September 1862 and was discharged for disability in December 1862. He married Ida A. Frost; they lived in Eliot, Maine, and were the parents of Gladys Paul.

Scope and Content Note

The collection contains personal papers of various members of the Paul family of Eliot, Maine, as well as a few documents from the Bartlett, Hammond, Leighton and Shapleigh families of Eliot. A folder of papers of Horace Remick is also included.

The collection begins with a few documents from Hugh Paul and Moses Paul, early members of the family, followed by bills, receipts, etc., of Moses Paul, Jr., son of Moses Paul. Papers of Sarah Jane Paul, wife of Moses Paul, Jr., are also included. The majority of the Paul family papers is letters and other documents of brothers Elbridge and Moses N. Paul during their service in the Civil War. Many of the letters are to their sister Alta J. Paul. A few items from Alta W. Paul, Ida A. Paul and Gladys Paul complete the section of Paul family papers.

The remainder of the collection has letters, bills, receipts and financial documents from other families from Eliot. The best represented are those of Horace Remick, Sarah J. Paul’s father.

The collection ends with a few items that cannot be identified with any particular person in the collection. Most significant among this group is a ledger from the 1760s from an unidentified individual or business in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Many items in this collection were removed from the Paul E. Taylor Collection (MS 489) and added to this collection when MS 489 was re-processed in 2008. The provenance of the original collection of Paul family papers is unknown but may also have been a gift of Dr. Taylor.

Contents of Box

Box 1

Folder

1     Paul, Hugh. Bills, receipts, deeds, arithmetic books, legal and financial documents, etc., 1813-1816, undated
2     [Map of Eliot including Moses Paul’s land], surveyed Jan. 10th 1810 by Stephen Neal
3     Paul, Moses, Jr. Bills, receipts, etc., 1840s-1870s
4     Paul, Moses, Jr. and Sarah Paul. Insurance policies, 1846-1882
5     Paul, Sarah Jane. Letters from family and friends, 1860s, 1887, undated
6     Paul, James. Letter from brother Moses Paul, Jr., 1844; letter to Moses Paul, Jr., 1849
7-8  Paul, Alte. Letters from brother Moses N. Paul, Aug. 9, 1862-Dec. 1863
9     Paul, Alte. Letters from brother Elbridge R. Paul, 1862
10   Paul, Alte. Letter from Ephraim, 1863
11   Paul, Elbridge. Bills, receipts, 1860s
12   Paul, Elbridge. Miscellaneous Civil War documents (includes photograph of Elbridge Paul)
13   Magnus’ half dollar portfolio published for the Union soldiers by Chas. Magnus, 1863; copy belonging to Elbridge Paul
14   Paul, Moses N. Civil War documents, 1862-1863
15   Paul, Moses N. Letter to friend written from hospital, Fort Schuyler, NY, [1862]
16   Paul, Moses N. Letters from sister Alte, 1863
17   Paul, Moses N. Letters from family and friends, 1860s, 1870s
18   Paul, Moses N. Bills, receipts, etc., 1860s-1880s, 1913
19   Paul, Alta W. Autograph album, 1880s
20   Paul, Alta W. Letters, etc., 1880s, undated
21   The submission of Maine to Massachusetts … by J.L.M. Willis, 1909 [copy belonging to Alta W. Paul Bartlett
22   Paul, Ida A. Letters from family and friends, 1880s
23   Paul, Gladys. Letter from Paul Taylor, 1924; letter re Frost family, 1963; letter re Elbridge Paul and the 27th Maine Regiment, 1968
24   Letter to Jane, undated [from Alice S. Paul?]
25   Bartlett family. Deed, letters, 1822-1894
26   Miscellaneous photographs; one of Mary Charlotte Bartlett
27   Hammond family; George Hammond. Bills, receipts, deeds, financial documents, etc., 1700s
28   Leighton, William. Letter from sister Mary, 1818
29-30 Remick, Horace. Bills, receipts, deeds, appointments, record books, legal and financial documents, 1820s-1830s
31   Shapleigh family. Arithmetic book; receipt, 1844
32   Ledger, Portsmouth, N.H., 1760s
33   Miscellaneous documents: recipe, notes, receipts, bills, court documents, etc
34   Newspapers. “Maine Democrat,” 1878; “Weekly Chronicle,” March 5, 1853 (copy of Moses Paul); “Frank Leslie’s Illustrated         Newspaper,” October 30, 1880
35   “Map of state of Maine showing state highways,” 1919
36   Letter to A.N. Cook, Portland, 1928; includes drawings