William F. Vermilion Papers, 1853-1900 (MSS 417)

Series 1) PERSONAL MATERIALS. Arranged in four subseries: A) Family Correspondence, B) Land Deeds, C) Legal Documents and D) Memorabilia and Ephemera.

A) Family Correspondence: Letters between 1853 and 1860 are primarily from Mary Kemper to friends and relate many of the hardships of frontier life. Correspondence between Mary Vermilion and W. F. Vermilion dominates the 1870-1874 file. Mary remained in Centerville, Iowa, with their son Willie while William served a four-year term as a state senator in Des Moines. The 1883-1886 correspondence contains letters from Willie to his father, W. F. Vermilion, written from De Pauw University. Correspondence written during the Civil War (1862-1865) between William and Mary Vermilion and relatives is located in the CIVIL WAR MATERIALS series.

B) Land Deeds: Deeds that were bought or sold by W. F. Vermilion as personal business investments. In the early 1890s, William and Kate Vermilion conveyed numerous holdings into the name of Charles W. Vermilion for a nominal fee.

C) Legal Documents: Three documents, including a pre-nuptial agreement between William and Kate, a power of attorney assigned to Reason R. Vermilion, and a lease for Vermilion's farm, Woodside.

D) Memorabilia and Ephemera: Calling cards, event programs, newspaper clippings, railroad passes, and photographs (a tintype of C. W. Vermilion as a boy and a carte-de-visite of a namesake child). Of interest is W. F. Vermilion's Free Mason's certificate.

Series 2) CIVIL WAR MATERIALS. Arranged in three subseries: A) Correspondence, B) Company Administrative Documents and C) Miscellaneous Materials.

A) Correspondence: The largest subseries in the collection, available digitally. This subseries comprises letters exchanged between William and Mary Vermilion from the time of his commission in the Union Army in 1862 to his discharge in August 1865. Also included are letters from W. R. and Mathew Kemper (Mary's brothers and Union soldiers), Jane Vermilion (William's sister), other relatives, and friends. The correspondence is arranged chronologically.

Letters from William exceed the letters from Mary in the exchange. Almost all of William's letters indicate his location and reflect his movements with the 36th Infantry Regiment of Iowa Volunteers, which was deployed near the Mississippi River in Arkansas. Locales include Helena, Clarendon, De Valls Bluff, Little Rock, and St. Charles. Vermilion's company was part of the force that threatened the Confederate position at Vicksburg. Vermilion participated in the Yazoo Pass Expedition (March 23, 1863), but missed the action at Pine Bluff (May 12, 1864) that decimated his company and led to the capture of Will Kemper.

William Vermilion's letters describe many of the day-to-day events in camp and military actions, provide news of the condition of individual soldiers in his command, and discuss attitudes toward national and local politics. Because of his medical background, Vermilion felt himself well suited to analyze the causes of his company's maladies. Indeed, he asserted to Mary (November 19, 1862) that "sickness is worse than fighting." Much of the content of the correspondence, on both sides, discusses the loneliness and melancholy of separation and the small talk of a marriage, including Vermilion's advice and instruction to Mary on how to conduct her affairs and manage their property.

B) Company Administrative Documents: As company commander, Vermilion was responsible for maintaining his part of the regimental history, which involved making duplicates of documents he submitted to headquarters. This subseries includes orders, inventories of the effects of deceased soldiers, lists of clothing, quarterly returns of clothing, camp and garrison equipage, returns of ordnance and ordnance stores, and surgeon's certificates of disability. The bound volume of company morning reports provides detailed information on Company F's location, strength, composition of ranks, and noteworthy daily occurrences. The muster roll contains the names of individual volunteers, where they enlisted, their rank, and when they were last paid.

C) Miscellaneous Materials: Certificates documenting Vermilion's commission, promotion and discharge from the Union Army. Also included are two small diaries and a tintype studio portrait of Captain Vermilion in uniform.

Series 3) POLITICAL MATERIALS: The bulk of this series comprises letters (1869-1871) to Senator Vermilion from various constituents and political opportunists.

Series 4) BUSINESS MATERIALS. Arranged in six subseries: A) Account Books, B) Business Correspondence and Documents, C) Cancelled Checks, D) Certificates, E) Land Deeds, and F) Miscellaneous.

A) Accounts Books: Includes a pocket-size account book (1884-1889), probably in the handwriting of W. F. Vermilion, for the firm of Walker and Vermilion, which records checks and account balances with Campbell and Company, Bankers. The other account book, written in pencil and possibly in the handwriting of George Bratt, lists expenses.

B) Business Correspondence and Documents: Records of the various legal partnerships in which W. F. Vermilion engaged in over his career. The correspondence usually involves letters from clients requesting services, often the collection of a debt or enforcement of a contract. In addition to correspondence are wills, lists of cases, insurance policies, receipts of payments, and tax accounts. Arranged chronologically.

C) Cancelled Checks: Checks arranged by author, reflecting the different partnerships in which W. F. Vermilion was involved.

D) Certificates: Documents the notary public offices held by Vermilion and his brother, Reason R. Vermilion. It also includes Vermilion's certification to practice law in the U.S. District Court.

E) Land Deeds: Deeds that are not assigned to W. F. Vermilion. The PERSONAL MATERIALS series holds evidence of his business in land ownership. Arranged chronologically.

F) Miscellaneous: Business ephemera, promotional brochures, notes, tax receipts, and documents associated with Vermilion's work for the Chicago and South Western Railroad Company.

Series 5) MICROFILM OF THE CIVIL WAR CORRESPONDENCE: Two users copies--Library and Interlibrary Loan--of the microfilm of the Civil War Correspondence.