Naval History and Heritage Command

University of Rochester
Rush Rhees Library
Department of Rare Books and Special Collections
Rochester, NY 14627-0055

Carr, Norman
Papers, 1864-1865

0.5 feet

Clark, Edward W.
Papers, 1847-1929

Letters by and about Edward W. Clark, listed in Rochester Directory, 1861 as a clerk in the office of the Superintendent of Schools. Several of the letters are written to Clark's father, Hiram, a Rochester skate maker, and describe activities of the Mississippi Squadron on the Yazoo River in January and February 1863.

1 box

Hanford, Franklin
Papers, 1864-1936

During his years at the Naval Academy, Hanford saw duty in the Civil War. He was graduated in 1866 and received his first assignment on board USS Saco. In 1868, he was assigned to the ship Kearsage, on board which he was promoted, first to ensign, then to master, and finally to lieutenant. In 1871, he was assigned to the flagship Wabash, on which he served in the European Station. After three years in Europe, Hanford held several assignments in the Asiatic Station, followed by three years on ordnance duty at the New York Navy Yard. From 1881 to 1884, Hanford served as navigator on board USSPensacola. In 1885, he was promoted to lieutenant commander. While serving as senior aid to the commandant of the New York Navy Yard from 1892 to 1895, he was promoted to commander. His next assignment was to serve as Commandant of USS Alert on the Pacific Station from 1895 to 1897. Afterwards, he held the post of lighthouse inspector on the Great Lakes until 1900, when he assumed the office of Commandant, U.S. Naval Station at Cavite, Philippine Islands. He was ordered home in 1902, and he retired with the rank of Rear Admiral in 1903.

24 boxes

Harkness, William
Papers, 1849-1900

William Harkness was born in Ecclefechan, Scotland on December 17, 1837. He came to the United States in 1839. He studied at Lafayette College from 1854 to 1856, and at the University of Rochester from 1856 to 1858, from which he graduated. He then studied medicine at the New York Homeopathic Medical College, and served as a volunteer surgeon during the Civil War. On August 1, 1862 he was appointed as aide to the United States Observatory, and professor of mathematics there in 1863. From 1865 to 1866 he served on board USS Monadnock. On the cruise from Philadelphia to San Francisco he investigated the variations of the compass. His report was published in 1871 by the Smithsonian Institution. He was then attached to the United States Hydrographic Office. During a total eclipse of the sun in 1869 he discovered the coronal line K 1474. In 1871 he was appointed as one of the members of the Transit of Venus Commission. He was in charge of the transit of Venus parties in 1874 at the theory of the focal curve of achromatic telescopes in 1879. His inventions of better photographic equipment and methods made possible new accuracy in the measurement of distances to Venus, and to the sun and their relative positions. He retired from the Navy with the rank of Rear Admiral. He died in 1903 at Jersey City, New Jersey. The papers consist of Dr. Harkness' records, charts, photographs, and drawings from his various scientific observations and experiments.

4 boxes

Mills, Allen P.
Papers, 1931-1945

0.5 feet

Otis, Elwell S.
Papers, 1856-1928

 The collection includes a letterpress book of about 300 pages of Otis' typed outgoing correspondence, 1898-1900, much of it to Admiral Dewey; manuscript essays from his college days; and manuscript and typescript essays, undated and from the early 1900s, on such topics as colonial admin­istration, the Philippines, Indian experiences, and the Civil War. Also in the collection are two scrapbooks of clippings related to Otis, ca. 1898-1900, and a scrapbook of articles on his death and funeral.

3 boxes