Galt-Motter-Bowman-Sitgreaves-Vail-Miller family papers

A collection of papers pertaining to the Galt (chiefly from Maryland), Bowman, Vail, Motter, Sitgreaves, Miller, and a few members of other related families. The largest run of correspondence are those letters between Margaret E. Galt, her beau (then husband) James Taylor Motter, and their son Murray Galt Motter. There is also correspondence of Bishop Samuel Bowman, Bishop Thomas H. Vail, and other members of their families.

The correspondence deals with the social life and customs of the day. This includes buying fabric for making dresses, parties, touring battlefields, the behavior of soldiers in towns, orators, and so on. The women of these families wrote about the social climate of their respective cities. Parties, lectures, religious meetings, who came and who went, were all discussed. The letters of I. Everett Vail, who served in the Union Navy during the Civil War, are filled with interesting facts about various bombardments and battles on board ships blockading harbors in the South. Murray Galt Motter, a physician in Washington, D.C., wrote to his parents about the practice of medicine, his long hours and poor pay. Some letters are from students at school or college, including Yale College, Pennsylvania College, and others, and undoubtedly relate stories of school events. Some of the materials about Peter Galt shed light on his work as a jeweler, while other papers record his involvement with the Maryland militia.

There are quite a number of different forms of material in the collection, ranging from manuscript and typed letters, to programs, invitations, rewards of merit (including a medal from the Southern Home School in Baltimore), estate records (Joshua Motter was named executor of several estates), Maryland militia rosters, certificates and diplomas, brochures, news clippings (most now photocopied), and photographs. Some genealogical charts are also included, but a comprehensive one tying all the names together is not found. (A brief summary of genealogical information relating to the more prominent members of the families is available at this repository.).

Most of the photographs are of family members. Also found are a photo of scientific instruments given to Pennsylvania College (now Gettysburg College) by the Class of 1886 (in a folder of miscellaneous Murray Galt Motter material); photos of Motter homes; a photo of an early Episcopal Church in Kansas, a rude log structure; and some photographs of President Woodrow Wilson, including the sheep he kept on the White House lawn during World War I.

The materials in Series II extend the history of the Motter and Miller families into the 20th century, and bring in papers of the Junker family. (Ralph D. Junker married Margaret Esther Miller.) Included are courtship letters between Margaret Miller and her fiancé Edgar Grim Miller, Jr.; many letters written to Thomas Hubbard Vail Motter, plus letters he wrote during his World War II service in Africa; letters to Margaret Esther Miller (daughter of Margaret Motter and Edgar Grim Miller, Jr.); and extensive papers pertaining to Episcopal priest Curtis W. V. Junker, who was chaplain on the U.S.S. Eldorado during World War II. Especially endearing are some of the home-made cards found in these papers. Letters from Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, and additional photos of her and President Woodrow Wilson are also found.

Also found in Series II are many, many family photographs. A number are from the 19th century, including cartes de visite and cabinet photographs, most of which are identified. An extensive collection of daguerreotypes and ambrotypes is also found. Many of these are of the Galt family, but members of the Motter and Vail families are also depicted, as well as other relatives and friends. Of particular note are daguerreotypes of Celia Williams, a mulatto servant in the Galt family in Baltimore, and of Hillary [surname unknown], a slave and then servant in the Galt family of Washington, D.C. Also found are tintypes of Mary Ford, a slave freed by Sterling Galt who continued to be a servant to the family of Margaret Galt Motter. (Miss Ford's manumission papers are found in Series I.) Many 20th century snapshots, some identified, some not, are also found in the collection.