David Fox Nelson Scrapbooks

The David Fox Nelson scrapbooks consist of five scrapbooks assembled by Nelson between 1869 and 1890, containing materials that span from 1863 to 1895. The scrapbooks mainly contain newspaper clippings covering a variety of subjects, often related to topics that were of significance to African Americans following the Civil War, such as congressional debates regarding protecting African Americans from discrimination and violence, reflections on newly freed African Americans’ place in society, emigrations to Liberia, and living conditions of African Americans in various states. Clippings also consist of articles about acquaintances of Nelson, such as New York Times editor Henry J. Raymond and politician Roscoe Conkling, and the activities of the New York Post Office, where Nelson worked. Other clippings include poetry and drawings published in newspapers. Nelson labeled many of the clippings contained in the scrapbooks with the name of the newspaper and the date.