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Ann Honselman papers

 Collection
Identifier: COU:799

Scope and Contents

The Ann Honselman Papers consists of letters written to her in the 1850s and 1860s. These letters were written by her sisters, son, nephews, and cousins as well as several other individuals. There is also information on the history of the Honselman family in Piatt County, Illinois.

Dates

  • 1850 - 1860

Biographical Note

Ann Honselman was a pioneer woman born on February 14, 1806 in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania to John and Catherine Piatt. She married in Godfrey Honselman, son of Phillip Honselman, in 1832. Godfrey immigrated to the United States from Germany with his brother, Henry Honselman, who joined the Mexican War and was never heard of again. Godfrey and Ann moved to Piatt County, Illinois in 1939 and had five children together: William, born 1934, James, born 1936, Abraham, born 1838, Caroline, born 1841, and Melissa, born 1843. Godfrey Honselman died of a sickness in 1846. Honselman’s son, William, travelled to Colorado and Wyoming for mining opportunities and to fight the Indian tribes during the 1960’s. After William returned home, he lived with his mother until her death in October of 1905. He died in 1915 in Piatt County, Illinois. Another son of Honselman’s, James, married in 1865 to Nancy Keenan and had one son, Charles, born in 1870. During the American Civil War, he enlisted in Company H, Sixty-third Illinois Infantry in 1862 and served for one year. He died in 1912.

Extent

.5 linear feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Ann Honselman resided in Monticello, Piatt County, Illinois in the l850s and 1860s and corresponded with relatives in Virginia, Texas and Colorado. Her son, William, wrote letters from Colorado Territory about his mining activities and his service in the Colorado volunteer cavalry and the U.S. cavalry in 1868 to suppress depredations by Indian tribes on the high plains. The collection includes letters dated from 1857 through 1868.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into the following series:

LETTERS TO ANN HONSELMAN FROM

Physical Location

A7 I3

Status
Completed
Author
Athena T. Knudson
Date
October 2015
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries, Rare and Distinctive Collections Repository

Contact:
1720 Pleasant Street
184 UCB
Boulder Colorado 80503 United States