Fillmore Millard 1800 - 1874 A new discovery being an original, unpublished journal kept by Millard Fillmore, signed six times by him and once by his wife Caroline

Fillmore complains of "Whig Treachery" and tries to stave off the impending bank crisis, which would lead to the Panic of 1837 by securing loans from the likes of John Jacob Astor.

Manuscript journal, signed "Millard Fillmore," and "Fillmore," in text and again initialed "M.F." four times, 6.5" x 8", 51 leaves, Buffalo (among other locales), September 25, 1834 to August 16, 1836, and October 1860, bound in marbled boards and leather spine.The first portion (1834-1836) is a journal of correspondence, kept primarily in Fillmore's hand, summarizing various legal matters with which he was involved, as well as an account book. The journal also features Fillmore's wife, Caroline C. Fillmore, who adds an Autograph Note Signed "C. C. Fillmore," to the front pastedown. Expertly rebound with the original boards and spine, light soiling and scattered foxing, else very good to fine condition.

The account book details the workings of Fillmore's legal practice during his early years in politics as he transitioned from the Anti-Masonic Party to the Whig Party, which nominated its first national candidates in the election of 1836. The early Whig party was marked by factional strife, which frustrated Fillmore to no end. Although many of his notes concern ongoing legal and financial matters, politics occasionally comes up. In New York State, the nascent Whig Party was roundly defeated in the elections for the New York assembly by the highly-organized Democrats. On November 5, 1835, only a day after the election, Fillmore lamented the Whig drubbing at the polls, noting the result in Buffalo won handily by the Democratic candidate: "Political: Barker Election to the Assembly by Whig Treachery & money." Fearing that Whig disorganization would further undermine its efforts on the national stage the following year, Fillmore hoped for a "Union upon Harrison or no body" Sadly, although the Whigs did nominate Harrison for President that December, it also nominated three other candidates, including Daniel Webster, Hugh Lawson White and Willie Person Morgan as well. In November 1836, Van Buren handily defeated them all, garnering more popular and electoral votes than all the Whig candidates combined. Despite the off-season defeat of his local candidate, Fillmore wrote that he was "indifferent as to Result" as there was "plenty of business."

Ironically, one reason Fillmore was enjoying "plenty of business," was because the economy was in decline. Beginning in 1836, a series of business failures plagued Buffalo, bringing a good deal of work to Fillmore's law practice. Part of his journal also documents a series of trips that Fillmore undertook to obtain a loan to stave off the impending financial crisis, which met with little success, but documents the early stages of what would become known as the Panic of 1837. Starting in Washington in May 1836 he subsequently traveled to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York where he even applied personally to John Jacob Astor "Ans. To theirs of 21. Had seen Robinson: and much depended on Duer's success in England where he had gone for money $1,000,000 to be pd. Into T. Co. on a new stock 13 June but mostly promised. Nothing at present of Astor, Bard would help but can do nothing" Hartford and Boston yielded similar disappointing results. Writing from "Boston June 1836... Arrived here from N[ew]. Haven on Wed Evg. Saw Henry A. Perkins, Esq. Cashier of the Hartford Bank & Elisha Colt Esq Cash. of the Exchange Bank at Hartford. Hard times. Colt thought money might be loaned to brokers when times easier etc." Andrew Jackson's "Specie Circular" of 1836, which demanded that western land could only be purchased with gold and silver coin, had drained the eastern banks of their specie reserves, forcing them to scale back lending severely, while spurious banks issued mountains of paper currency of questionable value. Meanwhile, the Bank of England had raised its interest rates three to five percent, enough to dampen international lending. This move forced banks in the United States to raise their rates and within two months the price of cotton had dropped by 25% setting off a string of bank failures that would engulf the nation into a business depression that lasted until 1843. (Fillmore and the Whigs also benefited from this development, as Martin Van Buren bore the brunt of the blame for the economic distress and would go down in defeat in the Election of 1840 to Harrison).



The balance of the book contains newspaper clippings compiled by Fillmore's second wife, Caroline C. Fillmore who writes on the front pastedown of the journal: "Account from the papers of the visit of the Prince of Wales to N.Y. Ect - Oct[to]b[er] 1860 - Mrs. C. C. Fillmore" The visit of the Prince of Wales, apart from the bitterly-contented presidential election of 1860 which brought Abraham Lincoln to the White House, was the other major news item that fall. The Prince of Wales at the time was Albert Edward (1841-1910) who would ascend the British throne as Edward VII in 1901.

The journal, which is apparently unpublished, offers a fresh look at Fillmore's early legal and political careers, filling in previously unknown details of his life. An exhaustive search of records shows no similar journal of a President or future President ever being offered publically. Originally, and until just a short time ago, the entire journal was obscured by the newspaper accounts that Caroline Fillmore had pasted on every page. Had it not been for the eagle eyes of a knowledgeable historian who saw some writing beneath the newsprint, Fillmore's words would have been hidden for the ages. A spectacular Presidential item and a great story.