Bicha, Karel D. C. C. Washburn and The Upper Mississippi Valley. New York: Garland Publishers, 1995.
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Columbia University
Library of Congress
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WASHBURN, Cadwallader Colden
1818–1882
Biography
WASHBURN, Cadwallader Colden, (brother of Israel Washburn, Jr., Elihu Benjamin Washburne, and William Drew Washburn), a Representative from Wisconsin; born in Livermore, Androscoggin County, Maine, April 22, 1818; completed preparatory studies and taught school in Wiscasset, Maine, in 1838 and 1839; moved to Davenport, Iowa, in 1839 and was employed in the geological survey of that State; moved to Rock Island, Ill., and studied law; elected surveyor of Rock Island County, Ill., in 1840; moved to Wisconsin and settled in Mineral Point, Iowa County, in 1842; was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice at Mineral Point; founder of the Mineral Point Bank in 1852; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-fourth, Thirty-fifth, and Thirty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1855-March 3, 1861); chairman, Committee on Private Land Claims (Thirty-sixth Congress); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1860; moved to La Crosse, Wis., in 1861; delegate to the peace convention held in Washington, D.C., in 1861 in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war; served in the Union Army during the Civil War; colonel of the Second Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry, February 6, 1862; brigadier general of Volunteers July 16, 1862; major general November 29, 1862; resigned May 25, 1865, and returned to La Crosse, Wis.; elected to the Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses (March 4, 1867-March 3, 1871); chairman, Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings (Fortieth Congress); was not a candidate for renomination in 1870; Governor of Wisconsin 1872-1874; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1873; engaged in the manufacture of lumber; owned and operated large flour mills in Minneapolis, Minn.; died May 15, 1882, at Eureka Springs, Carroll County, Ark., while on a visit at the springs for his health; interment in Oak Grove Cemetery, La Crosse, Wis.
View Record in the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
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Wisconsin Historical Society
Madison, WI
Papers:
1844-1941, 0.6 cubic foot plus additions of 0.9 cubic foot and 37 photographs.
The papers of Cadwallader C. Washburn largely contain personal letters from various members of his family, especially Elihu B. Washburne, a brother. The correspondence relates to the land and collection agency and law business of the firm of Washburn and Woodman at Mineral Point, Wis., and also touches upon the lead shot manufacturing interests of the firm at Helena, Wisconsin, and the establishment of the Bank of Hallowell, in Maine, an important source of money for the Mineral Point firm's speculative activities. From 1861 to 1865, there are military papers and correspondence relating to the sale at Helena, Arkansas, of government cotton, and military operations in Arkansas and Texas. Numerous letters from Elihu B. Washburne, ambassador at Paris from 1869 to 1877, comment upon the siege of Paris, diplomatic matters, and American politics generally. Other letters, beginning about 1873, deal with family finances, and a few relate to whiskey ring frauds. The processed portion of this collection is summarized above and dates 1844-1877. There are additional accessions dating 1875-1941 which are described below. They include miscellaneous business papers of the Washburn-Crosby Company mills and the genealogical research of Jeannette (Washburn) Kelsey. Additions, 1875-1941, consisting of correspondence, legal documents, land contracts, business records, and family history. The business papers document Washburn's milling operation, Washburn-Crosby Co., and include newspaper clippings, business records, and correspondence and receipts.
Papers:
In the John E. McConnell Papers, 1839-1928, 0.4 cubic foot.
The collection contains 21 letters, 1839-1877, to Wisconsin political leader C. C. Washburn from Henry Dodge, B. F. Wade, Charles M. Webb, Philetus Sawyer, Cyrus Woodman, and others. McConnell's possession of these letters is unexplained.
Columbia University
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
New York, NY
Papers:
1 letter (September 25, 1867) in the John Adams Dix collection.
Finding aid in repository.
Duke University Library
Durham, NC
Papers:
In the Algernon S. Washburn Correspondence, 1832-1884, 214 items.
Correspondents include C.C. Washburn. Topics concern real estate investment, financial conditions, the Panic of 1857, his political life, and Civil War service.
Library of Congress
Manuscript Division
Washington, DC
Papers:
1877, 1 item.
A letter from C.C. Washburn to an identified recipient written on August 9, 1877.
Papers:
In the James Power Smith, Papers 1861-1864, 20 items.
Persons represented include General C.C. Washburn.
Papers:
In the E.B. Washburn Papers, ca. 1829-1889, 31.4 linear feet.
Correspondents include Cadwallader C. Washburn.
Massachusetts Historical Society
Boston, MA
Papers:
In the Washburn Family Correspondence, 1833-1882, 0.25 cubic foot.
Other authors include Cadwallader Colden Washburn.
Minnesota Historical Society
St. Paul, MN
Papers:
1869, 19 items.
Letters from William D. Washburn to C.C. Washburn. These are copies of originals in the Wisconsin Historical Society.
Papers:
In the Frank A. Carle Papers, 1884-1927, 0.4 cubic foot.
Other authors include C.C. Washburn.
Papers:
In the William De la Barre Papers, 1861-1924, 0.5 cubic foot.
Correspondents include C.C. Washburn.
New-York Historical Society
New York, NY
Papers:
October 27, 1863; January 28, 1870. 2 letters.
Finding aid in repository.
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Miwaukee, WI
Papers:
In the John Goadby Gregory Papers, 1846-1946, 1.6 cubic feet.
Other authors include Cadwallader Colden Washburn.
Papers:
In the Washburn Family Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1847-1862, : 0.1 cubic foot.
Persons represented include C. C. Washburn.
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Bibliography / Further Reading
Hunt, Gaillard. Israel, Elihu, and Cadwallader Washburn: A Chapter in American Biography. New York: Macmillan, 1925.
Marquette, Clare L. "The Business Activities of C. C. Washburn." Ph.D. diss., University of Wisconsin, 1940.
Wisconsin. State Historical Society. Memorial addresses on the life and character of Hon. C.C. Washburn, LL. D., late Governor of Wisconsin. Madison, Wis.: D. Atwood, printer, 1883.