Shepard Cary papers

Collection

Identifier: Coll. 4232

Staff Only

Scope and Content note

The collection includes correspondence, land leases, business and financial records, estate papers, maps, printed matter, and various account books and ledgers. This material relates primarily to Cary’s varied business enterprises, including his lumber operations and sales, employee records, and land leases and management. A portion relates also to his political positions and roles. Correspondence regarding his position as sutler, and his ensuing removal, are included, as are a handful of personal letters. The material is grouped by record type and arranged chronologically within groups.

Dates

1808 - 1889

Creator

Cary, Shepard, 1805-1866 (Person)

Access

Unrestricted

Copyright

Access to collections at Maine Historical Society is not an authorization to publish. Rights and reproduction requests may be submitted in writing to the MHS Image Services Coordinator or Research & Administrative Librarian, subject to format.

Biographical note

Shepard Cary (1805-1866) was born in New Salem, Massachusetts, and moved with his family to Houlton, Maine, in 1822. He married Susannah Whitaker (1815-1871) in 1832, and together they had five children, three of whom survived into adulthood: Theodore, George, and Jefferson. Cary, in sometime partnership with his brother-in-law Collins Whitaker, established significant mercantile businesses in the area, including storekeeping, lumbering, and milling. By the 1840s, Cary’s timber operations in Aroostook County employed over 2,000 people. Cary also served sixteen terms in the Maine House of Representatives and Senate between 1832 and 1862, was a Democratic member of the U.S. Congress from 1843 to 1845, ran as the Liberty Party’s candidate for Maine governor in 1854, and was sutler for Hancock Barracks.

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet (3 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Provenance

Gift of E. Christopher Livesay, June 20 and June 27, 2022 (acc. no. 2023.021).

Related Materials

The Maine Historical Society also holds the following relevant collections:

Shepard Cary papers, Coll. 233
Cary family collection, Coll. 2318
Papers [of Shepard Cary], Coll. 411

Processing note

E. Christopher Livesay gifted these papers to MHS as part of a larger donation of material compiled over decades as a collector of Maine-related manuscripts and books. All of the material from the donation shares accession number 2023.021.

The papers arrived arranged, described, and inventoried. The material was grouped by record type and arranged in chronological order within each group. This order has been largely retained, though group order was reversed and folders were combined when appropriate. The material was processed as an individual collection.