BESHOAR FAMILY PAPERS

Series arranged alphabetically comprise the papers of this collection. Correspondence constitutes the bulk of the collection, reflecting the number of people that Beshoar knew. The correspondence details his business activities, his medical practice, his friendships and other aspects of his life from 1864-1907. Later papers, dating to 1927 document his wife, Anna ("Annie") Beshoar's real estate transactions after his death. Notes, correspondence and newspaper clippings from the 1930s to the 1960s comprise Barron Beshoar's (grandson) work upon Hippocrates in a Red Vest, biography of Michael Beshoar.

Correspondence from acquaintances and patients that Beshoar treated at Benton Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri comprises this series. It also contains flyers advertising Beshoar's private medical practice. A list of the nurses who served with Beshoar at Benton Barracks is included in Oversize Box 1.

Postwar correspondence from Confederate friends constitutes the bulk of this series. The series contains a speech transcript and memoir written by Beshoar and a day book of his surgical practice as a Confederate Surgeon.

This series contains correspondence related to court matters that Beshoar dealt with in his role as a county judge.

The agreements and correspondence in this series reflect the importance of ditch companies to provide water for irrigation in southern Colorado. The documents reveal Beshoar's investments in these companies and his efforts to organize the companies officially.

Detailed property inventories of medical supplies and furniture comprise a portion of the series and are also contained in the oversize series. These original documents sometimes list the drugs used by Beshoar in his treatments and provide insight into the health of the soldiers, such as when Beshoar listed bedding recommended for disposal because smallpox patients had used it.

Correspondence from other U.S. Army Acting Assistant Surgeons stationed in the West describes events at Fort Leavenworth, Fort Ellsworth and Fort C.F. Smith while Beshoar served at Fort Kearny. The series also contains correspondence that Beshoar received in the decades after his U.S. Army service from Fort Kearny soldiers whom he had treated, usually requesting his help in obtaining pensions.

Correspondence, supply inventories, financial records, invoices and receipts document the businesses that Beshoar established in Trinidad and Pueblo, Colorado to complement his medical practice. Correspondence also confirms the drugstores established by Beshoar in Kearny City, Nebraska and in Pocahontas, Arkansas.

Records from fraternal organizations including the Masons and the Knights of Pythius document Beshoar's memberships and their importance to him. The general correspondence often mentions shared membership especially when friends and acquaintances request special favors from Beshoar.

Correspondence comprises this series. The letters were sent and received by Beshoar from people all over the United States he knew through his memberships in organizations, from his medical practice, and from his early life in Pennsylvania and Arkansas. Beshoar's correspondence reflects his lifelong interest in politics, his diverse mining and real estate investments, his reputation in the medical profession and his many friendships. Also included are papers from businesses or about topics that were of special interest to Beshoar.

This series contains inquiries Beshoar received about Trinidad, Colorado. People he never met asked how they could make a living there and if the climate would be good for their health. The correspondence came as early as 1873, but the bulk of it arrived after he published his book, All About Trinidad, in 1882.

This series consists of correspondence related to a laundry in Trinidad, Colorado, one of Beshoar's investments. From the letters, he considered the proper equipment for the laundry and the right people to employ in the business.

The papers in this series relate to the nearby territory in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado that was part of the Maxwell Land Grant. The nearby location of land owned by the Grant influenced potential mining investors. Beshoar helped homesteaders who filed preemption claims on land they claimed was not part of the grant, disputed by the company. He also joined with Charles Goodnight in a lawsuit about the territorial claims of the company.

Correspondence from patients, treatment logs, medical organization papers and publications confirm Beshoar's lifelong commitment to his medical practice. The documents provide detailed insight into a general practitioner's procedures in the nineteenth century. For example, parents wrote requesting a vaccine for their children when they heard reports of smallpox. Correspondence from Beshoar's patients reveals their health and physical condition with vivid, precise language and also provides insight into personal problems that people revealed only to their doctor including women's unwanted pregnancies and men's venereal disease problems. This series also includes correspondence from life insurance companies that paid Beshoar for physical examinations of their potential customers.

Beshoar's active pursuit of mining interests is evident from the volume of correspondence received from investors and from prospectors he hired to explore various areas seeking mineral deposits. The bulk of correspondence contained in this series relates to coal mining lands not far from Trinidad, Colorado. Cincinnati, New York and Philadelphia promoters wrote about the formation of The Gray Creek Coal Company or The Cincinnati-Colorado Coal, Coke and Iron Company to develop coal mines upon Beshoar-owned property. Initial correspondence conveys investors' enthusiasm as they planned the venture. Later correspondence is angry and frustrated, leading to legal papers involving Beshoar in numerous lawsuits explained by an undated page of notes in which Beshoar relates the refusal of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Company to haul coal from his mines. Also, investors corresponded about concerns regarding the boundaries of the nearby Maxwell Land Grant.

This series contains correspondence, election certificates, ballots and newspaper clippings documenting Beshoar's influential position in the region. He was elected to various positions of authority including Colorado State Representative, Las Animas County Judge and Las Animas County Coroner. Unsuccessful campaigns included his race against Casimiro Barela for Colorado State Senator and his 1876 failed campaign for Colorado Lieutenant Governor.

Correspondence, incorporation papers, agreements, legal papers and newspaper clippings constitute this series detailing Beshoar's efforts as a publisher and editor. He began The Pueblo Chieftain in Pueblo, Colorado and The Advertiser in Trinidad, Colorado. Papers reveal that Beshoar sold both papers though he re-invested in the Trinidad paper and maintained close ties with both throughout his lifetime. In 1882, Beshoar published All About Trinidad by broadening The Advertiser to include a publishing company. He also published numerous articles in journals.

Correspondence contained in this series documents Beshoar's complex relationship with railroads. His recognition of their importance is evident in unrealized plans to start railroad lines. Other correspondence reveals income and passes gained by acting as surgeon for employees of various railroad companies. Agreements and deeds indicate that Beshoar knew where railroad lines would by built and bought property to negotiate right-of-way claims as investments. Beshoar also invented a highway gate for railroads that is documented by a patent.

Deeds, preemption certificates, tax receipts, correspondence, title abstracts and lease agreements comprise this series. The land transactions dated original actions in the 1870s to those continued by his wife and children after his death until the 1920s. Considerable landholders in Las Animas County, Colorado, the Beshoars paid property taxes upon their parcels of land over the years, insisting upon profits when they sold them. They also watched for tax auctions and bought land when the taxes were delinquent.

The correspondence, article and speech transcript contained in this series document Beshoar's interest in public education, especially after his children entered elementary school. Letters of application from teacher candidates comprise much of the correspondence.

Contracts, deeds and correspondence reveal Beshoar planned an investment in building irrigation canals and farm land on the Snake River in Oregon and Idaho. Cincinnati and New York City promoters joined him to sell plots that included residences, barns and warehouses.

Papers reveal that Michael Beshoar, Jr., managed the brick yard in Trinidad, Colorado. Invoices, receipts and payrolls list expenses and employees.

Correspondence sent and received from various family members comprises the bulk of this series. Beshoar's correspondence to his wife, Annie, consists of copies and is arranged by date. Letters received from his oldest son, Michael Beshoar, Jr., reveal the relationship and its problems. Other documents include insurance papers, a wedding guest list in 1872 and biographical information collected in the middle twentieth century.

Copies of notes by grandson, Barron Beshoar, for his 1973 biography, Hippocrates in a Red Vest constitute this series.

Oversize documents comprise this series including certificates, real estate papers, U.S. Army Acting Assistant Surgeon inventories and an 1864 roster of St. Louis Benton Barracks nurses.