Archive of Documents for Captain of Illinois Company in Civil War and Connecticut Secretary of State

This collection of 18 documents comes from the lives and relatives of David Milliken, who served as captain of a company in the 20th Illinois Volunteer Infantry in 1864 and 1865, and John P. C. Mather, a Yale graduate and attorney who served in a variety of local, state, and federal offices in New London, Connecticut, including as Connecticut Secretary of State.

[CIVIL WAR.] Archive of Milliken and Mather family records, 1831-1891, 19 documents, 48 pp. General toning; some edge and several fold tears.

Contents and Excerpts
- John P. C. Mather, Copy of Five Poems and 1828 Accounts, April 25-28, 1831, New London, [Connecticut.] 4 pp., 8" x 10".

- Richard Yates, Commission of David Milliken as a Justice of the Peace in Monee, Will County, Illinois, April 28, 1862, Springfield, Illinois. 1 p., 8.25" x 12.5"

- W. W. [Van?], Partially Printed Letter Signed, to Commanding Officer of Unassigned Company of 20th Illinois Volunteer Infantry [David Milliken], February 24, 1865, New York, New York. 1 p., 5.25" x 7.75"
"I have this day paid the sum of Thirty dollars reward for the arrest and delivery of Private William Halpin a deserter from your Company, which amount must be charged against him on your next Muster Roll."

- Captain James A. Hall, 1st U.S. Cavalry, Mustering Officer, Certificate of Discharge for Private Ralph W. Marshall, March 1, 1865, Camp Butler, Illinois. 1 p., 8.5" x 11"
"Know ye, That Ralph W. Marshall a Private of New Company 20th Regiment of Illinois Infantry Volunteers...is hereby Discharged from the service of the United States this 1st day of March 1865, at Camp Butler Illinois to accept Commission as 1st Lt in New Co in 20th Ill Inf (No objection to his being re-enlisted is known to exist.)"

- Commander of Company A, 20th Illinois Volunteer Infantry [David Milliken] Partially Printed Letter, to Chief of Ordnance, April 8, 1865, Near Goldsboro, North Carolina. 1 p., 8" x 10.5"
"I have the honor to transmit herewith the Original and Duplicate copies of the Return of the Ordnance and Ordnance Stores appertaining to 'A' Co. 20th Regiment Ills. Vol. Infantry, for which I am accountable for the first quarter of 1865."

- Captain Henry King, Partially Printed Document Signed, Appointment of S. Cutler Scott as 1st Sergeant in Company A of the 20th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, April 28, 1865, Raleigh, North Carolina. 1 p., 15" x 10"

- Captain Henry King, Partially Printed Document Signed, Appointment of William Brandt as a Corporal in Company A of the 20th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, April 28, 1865, Raleigh, North Carolina. 1 p., 15" x 10"

- Captain Henry King, Partially Printed Document Signed, Appointment of Ephraim Spaulding as a Corporal in Company A of the 20th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, April 28, 1865, Raleigh, North Carolina. 1 p., 15" x 10"

- John R. McGinness, Partially Printed Letter Signed, to David Milliken, June 27, 1865, Washington, D.C. 1 p., 8" x 10"
"Your return of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores pertaining to An Independent Company of the 20th Illinois Infantry for the First quarter of 1865, has been examined in this Office, and referred to the Second Auditor for settlement."

- 1st Lt. Augustus P. Noyes, 16th Wisconsin Veteran Infantry, Certificate of Discharge for Captain David Milliken, July 16, 1865, Louisville, Kentucky. 1 p., 8.5" x 11"
"Know ye, That David Milliken a Captain of Lieut. Col. Henry Kings 20th Regiment of Illinois Infantry Volunteers...is hereby Discharged from the service of the United States this Sixteenth day of July, 1865, at Louisville Ky by reason of instructions from War Dept July 1st 1865. (No objection to his being re-enlisted is known to exist.)"

- Captain George L. Woods, Partially Printed Document Signed, Commission of John P. C. Mather as Commissioner of Deeds for the State of Oregon, January 16, 1867, Salem, Oregon. 1 p., 17" x 14", with embossed foil seal.
George L. Woods (1832-1890) was Governor of Oregon from 1866 to 1870 and Territorial Governor of Utah from 1871 to 1875.

- Carte-de-visite of a woman in an envelope labeled "Grandma Milliken / Personal." 2.5" x 4"; with Chorus Ticket to The World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival, Boston, June 1872. 2 pp., 4.5" x 3"

- Edwin E. Marvin, Autograph Letter Signed, to John P. C. Mather, February 17, 1881, Hartford, Connecticut. 1 p., 8" x 10"
"On motion of T. M. Walter you were to-day reappointed U.S. Circuit Court Commissioner for this district. If you will take subscribe and file your official oath (Sect 1756 R.S. I suppose) I suppose you will be ready for duty."

- Certificate of Membership for Jane P. Milliken in the Golden Rule Alliance, July 17, 1883, Boston, Massachusetts. 1 pp., 11" x 16.5"; with The Constitution of the Golden Rule Alliance, Governing the Subordinate Chapters (Boston: W. E. Fletcher, n.d.). 20 pp., 3.75" x 5.5"
The Golden Rule Alliance was a fraternal benefit association founded in 1880 in Boston to provide life insurance to members, who had to be members of evangelical churches. It continued in operation until the late 1890s.

- Program for The Calumet Club, Tenth Annual Reception to the Old Settlers of Chicago, May 17, 1888, Chicago, Illinois. 6 pp., 8.5" x 11"; with Admission Ticket for Isaac Lawrence Milliken and Wife. 1 p., 4.5" x 3.125"
Isaac Lawrence Milliken (1815-1889) was an older brother of David Milliken. Isaac L. Milliken moved to Chicago in 1836 and worked as a blacksmith. He served as the Democratic mayor of Chicago from 1854 to 1855, and as a commissioner of enrollment during the Civil War.

- Copy of Last Will and Testament of John P. C. Mather of New London, Connecticut, February 11, 1891, [New London, Connecticut]. 2 pp., 8" x 12.5"

David Milliken (1822-1888) was born in New Hampshire. He went to Maine as a boy and attended Westbrook Seminary, after which he indentured himself to a dyer. In 1844, he married Jane Philena Johnson (1825-1913), and they had nine children between 1846 and 1869, five of whom died as infants. He worked at dyeing in Maine until 1855, when he moved to Chicago, where he clerked in the office of his brother, who was an attorney. In the spring of 1856, Milliken began farming in Will County, forty miles southwest of Chicago. He also taught each winter. He was one of four brothers who served in the Civil War. During the first two or three years of the war, he was captain of a company called the Monee Guards, and he helped with enlisting and drilling soldiers for the army. In the summer of 1864, Governor Richard Yates commissioned him as a captain, and he opened a recruiting office in Joliet. He served as a captain in the 20th Illinois Volunteer Infantry and joined Sherman's army for its "March to the Sea" and the Carolinas campaign. He was mustered out with the regiment on July 16, 1865, in Louisville, Kentucky. After the war, he rejoined his family in Maine and resumed work in dyeing from 1865 to 1887 in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Ill health forced his retirement to a farm in southern Massachusetts.

John P. C. Mather (1816-1891) was born in Connecticut to a commander in the United States Revenue Marine Service and his wife. He graduated from Yale College in 1837, studied law, and gained admission to the bar in 1839. He practiced in New London until retiring in 1886. He served as mayor of New London (1845-1850), state representative (1849), Connecticut Secretary of State (1850-1854), federal collector of customs at New London (1858-1861), state senator (1878-1879), and judge of the New London County Court of Common Pleas (1879-1886), among other state, local, and federal offices. He never married or had children.

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