Content Description John L. Stephens (1805 - 1852), with Henry Chauncey and William H. Aspinwall, played a crucial role in the planning, financing and promotion of the Panama Railroad, the first commercial link between the Atlantic and Pacific that traversed the Isthmus of Panama. An attorney by profession, Stephens tired of his legal career and, using health as an excuse, began a two-year voyage in 1834 to Europe and the Mediterranean. Beginning in 1837, Stephens published accounts of his travels:...

Scope and Contents

The John F. Stevens Papers consist of correspondence, manuscripts, news clippings, books, photographs, blueprints and maps collected by John F. Stevens. The Papers are arranged in 8 Series according to subject and material type, in 11 boxes and 1 map case drawer.

Scope and content note This collection consists of the letters and legal documents of John Popkin Adams (1812-1856), his wife, and daughters. The material relates to Adams' work as U.S. consul at La Guaira, Venezuela, his efforts to establish an inter-oceanic railroad on the ithsmus of Panama, land speculation in the U.S., and his pursuit of monetary claims against Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador related to privateering during the Spanish American wars of independence. Letters are arranged chronologically from...