Arranged and described by Brenda Howitson Steeves
Raymond H. Fogler Library Special Collections Department
June 2004
 
 
Introduction and Summary Information
 
Collection Title: Edwin F. Littlefield Papers.
Dates of the Collection: 1814-1922 (inclusive); 1859-1897 (bulk).
Provenance: The Littlefield papers were purchased by the Special Collections Department in 1969, 1970 and 2002.
Collection Number: MS 301.
Box Numbers: 1-2 (formerly Cage Boxes 17-17a and new accession 2002-0703i).
Size and Arrangement: The collection consists of two archival record cartons of material (2 cubic feet).
Conservation Note: The collection has been re-housed in acid-free folders and boxes. Documents have been surface cleaned as needed and metal fasteners removed.
Preferred Citation: Edwin F. Littlefield Papers, Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University of Maine.
Restrictions on Access and Use: Kept at Fogler Library's offsite storage facility. One week's notice required for retrieval.
 

Biography
 
The collection contains the business and personal papers of Edwin F. Littlefield, a ship captain from Winterport, Maine. Very little biographical information is available about Littlefield, but it appears that he was a ship owner, captain and agent between 1854 and 1897, the year of his death. He was involved in management of the ships Alert, Callender, Jenny Lind, Joseph Clark, and William Wilcox, among others.
 

Scope and Content Note
 
The collection was re-foldered sometime after its arrival at Fogler Library; many of the folder headings assigned then have been retained in the present arrangement. Materials purchased by the Library in 2002 have been integrated into the collection.
 
The collection begins with personal and business correspondence to Littlefield, 1859-1897. Frequent correspondents include Edward D. Peters & Co., commission merchants in Boston; W.H.H. Curtis of the steam yacht Nourmahal; Alvah Littlefield of Alvah Littlefield & Co., apothecaries in Boston; and Edwin Littlefield’s son, Charles E. Littlefield.
 
The next section of the collection contains Littlefield’s legal and financial papers, including deeds and insurance documents for his personal property as well as an account book and a cashbook. Ships’ papers for the various vessels with which he was involved follow the financial material. Included in these folders are bills and receipts for ships’ stores and provisions, correspondence to Captain Littlefield, etc. The collection also contains a folder of Winterport town documents, mostly of the town clerk, a small group of papers of Charles E. Littlefield, Edwin Littlefield’s son, and a folder of store invoice forms from the U.S.S. Siren.
 
Also included in the collection are papers of Amaziah and Martha Long of Tenants Harbor, Maine, as well as letters of the Thorp(e) family, postcards received by members of the Tufts family, and a small group of papers of Ellery Bowden of Winterport. The connection of these families and individuals to each other and to the Littlefields is unclear.
 
The researcher may also want to consult the Edwin F. Littlefield Collection (Coll. 92) owned by the G.W. Blunt White Library, Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic, Connecticut.
 

Box List
 
Box 1
 
Folder
 
1 Correspondence, 1859-1869
2 Correspondence, 1870-1872
3 Correspondence, 1873-1879
4 Correspondence, 1880-1897
5 Correspondence from E.D. Peters & Co., 1860’s-1870’s
6 Correspondence from W.H.H. Curtis, 1897
7 Correspondence from Alvah Littlefield, 1870’s-1880’s
8 Correspondence from Charles E. Littlefield, 1877-1878
9 Envelopes
 
10 Deeds, insurance documents, etc.
11-12 Bills and receipts, 1850’s-1890’s
13 Account book, 1848-1855
14 Cashbook, 1858-1872
15 Cashbook, 1869-1879, Ship Alert and other accounts
16 Papers, 1870-1880, Ship Alert
17 Bills and receipts, 1874-1884, Ship Alert
18 Papers, 1860-1873, Ship Callender
19-20 Papers, 1850-1861, Ship Jenny Lind
21-23 Papers, 1862-1870, Ship Joseph Clark
 
Box 2
 
1-2 Papers, 1869-1884, Ship William Wilcox
3 Account book, 1849-1854, Ships Nancy Treat, Albania and others
4 Miscellaneous documents re shipping
5 Winterport town documents, 1860’s-1890’s
6 Papers and correspondence of Charles E. Littlefield, 1890’s
7 U.S.S. Siren: Store invoice forms, 1898
8 Advertising cards
9 Miscellaneous pamphlets
10 Amaziah Long: Correspondence, legal documents, insurance, bills and
receipts, 1880’s-1890’s
11 Amaziah Long: Account books with grocers, 1892, 1894
12-13 Correspondence to Martha Long, 1870’s-1890’s
14 Long family documents
15 Thorp family letters, 1814-1816
16 Thorp family letters, 1849-1851
17 Tufts family postcards (Maine scenes)
Box 2 cont.
 
Folder
 
18 Papers of Ellery Bowden, 1922
19 Unidentified photographs
20 Miscellaneous documents
21 Miscellaneous correspondence
22-23 Miscellaneous envelopes