Guide to the Archival Collections.pdf - Missouri History Museum

Scovel, Sylvester Henry (1869-1905).
Papers, 1896-1917. 7 boxes
Sylvester Henry (Harry) Scovel was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1869 to Dr.
Sylvester Scovel, who later became president of Wooster University in Wooster, Ohio. Sylvester
(Harry) Scovel, after a series of jobs, became the general manager and chief fund-raiser for the
Cleveland Athletic Club. In 1896, he went to Cuba as a newspaper correspondent to cover the
Spanish-American War for the Pittsburgh Dispatch and the New York Herald. He was arrested in
1896 by Spanish authorities. After his escape from prison, he was hired by the New York World
as their correspondent in Cuba. He lived for eleven months with the insurgents and ran through
the Spanish military lines several times. He was captured again in 1897 and released on demand
of the United States Senate. He married Frances Cabanne of Saint Louis in 1897. Scovel was
then sent to Greece to cover the Turco-Greek war. After his return, he and Frances traveled to the
Klondike region as correspondents for the New York World. He returned to Cuba before the
sinking of the Maine. He stayed in Cuba long enough to report the transition of Havana to the
United States. During the transferring ceremony, Scovel exchanged blows with General William
Rufus Shafter, the commanding United States officer in Cuba. He remained in Cuba after the war
and continued to write articles for the New York World until 1899. After his resignation from the
World in 1899, he became a consulting engineer for the United States military in Cuba. He died
February 2, 1905, and was buried in Wooster, Ohio. Frances Scovel returned to St. Louis and
was the society editor for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from 1909 to 1917. She married Captain
William F. Saportas, who she met while on the Klondike expedition. She died in 1959.
The collection contains both the personal and professional papers of Sylvester Scovel. The
biggest part of the collection deals with his venture in Cuba with the insurgents and on the battle
fronts. Notes, correspondence, dispatches, etc. cover this period. Also includes a diary while in
prison, 1897; various statements and maps of violent actions committed by the Spanish; an
autobiographical sketch of Scovel; case notes and testimonials relating to the Shafter vs. Scovel
case; photographs of the U.S. Maine, 1898; notes and testimonials regarding the Uncas case
(Scovel was accused of being a stow away on the Uncas, which was a United States military
ship); diary while traveling with General Antonio Maceo in 1896; copies of original dispatches
sent by Scovel regarding the victory celebration ending hostility in Cuba and problems arising
from evacuation and reconstruction periods; correspondence between Scovel and Bradford
Merrill, the New York World editor, 1898-1899; numerous newsclippings regarding the sinking
of the Maine; correspondence to Frances Scovel from Sylvester from Greece and Cuba; a
newsclippings scrapbook regarding imprisonments of Scovel; material and correspondence from
the Klondike expedition; notebooks of Scovel; many loose newsclippings regarding Scovel’s
professional career.
Includes some Spanish.
Cite as: Sylvester Henry Scovel Papers, Missouri History Museum Archives, St. Louis.
A1496
Scullin, John.
Railroad passes collection, 1891-1917. 4 card file boxes
Various railroad passes issued to John Scullin and his family.
Cite as: John Scullin Railroad Passes Collection, Missouri History Museum Archives, St. Louis.
A1495
Scullin Steel Company (Saint Louis, Missouri).
Selected records, 1900-1978. 2 boxes; 1 volume