Archival Collections

The archival collections featured below provide correspondence from notable scholars and historians who weighed in on the validity of The Horn Papers. Personal research debunking or confirming aspects of the disputed publication are also preserved in such documents. These original records provide interesting insights into the debate and the impact of the forgery. Represented here, among other scholarly collections, are 10 of the 11 members who served on the committee chaired by Solon Justus Buck, Archivist of the United States, to investigate The Horn Papers. Also listed are collections maintained by local organizations in Greene County, Pennsylvania, pertaining to William Franklin Horn's newspaper columns, manuscripts, and correspondence throughout the process of publication and the ensuing investigation.

College of William & Mary

Lester J. Cappon Papers External
Lester Jesse Cappon's [1900-1981] professional career included a tenure as archivist for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, in Williamsburg, Virginia, as well as the roles of Director of the Institute of Early American History and Culture, and Senior Research Fellow at the Newberry Library in Chicago, Illinois. Cappon was a member of the committee, chaired by Solon Justus Buck, Archivist of the United States, that investigated The Horn Papers.

Make an appointment with the William & Mary Libraries Special Collection Research Center External to view this collection. See the Finding Aid External for additional information about the creator and contents.

Collection Identifier: Mss. 90 C17.

Greene County, Pennsylvania Historical Society

Horn Papers Collection External
In 1945, the Greene County Historical Society (GCHS) published the three volume set of The Horn Papers. President Austin Lane Moredock [1870-1954] and member J. L. Fulton [1878-1946] led the initiative. They were the chief fundraisers and editors. After Fulton's death and Horn's retreat, Moredock was also the only surviving representative of the project available for questioning by the committee that investigated The Horn Papers. The GCHS collection includes correspondence, manuscripts, publication materials, and additional ephemera related to the relationship between William Franklin Horn and the organization, as well as information regarding Moredock's cooperation with the committee during the investigation.

Make an appointment with the Greene County Historical Society External to view the original Horn Papers Collection. Copies of Moredock's correspondence, Horn's newspaper columns, and additional documents are also available at the Cornerstone Genealogical Society External.

Huntington Library

Douglass Adair Papers External
Douglass Adair [1912-1968] was the managing editor of the William and Mary Quarterly from 1946 to 1955. During this time, he served as a member of the committee, chaired by Solon Justus Buck, Archivist of the United States, that investigated The Horn Papers. With Arthur Pierce Middleton, Adair co-authored the committee's final report, which was subsequently published by the William and Mary Quarterly in the October 1947 issue. (See the article in the Newspapers and Periodicals section of this guide.)

Make an appointment with the Huntington Library External to view this collection. Selections from the Finding Aid External specific to the Horn Papers include:

Adair, Douglass -- Archives
Boyd, Julian P. (Julian Parks), 1903-1980 -- Correspondence

Lehigh University

Lawrence Henry Gipson Papers External
"[Lawrence Henry] Gipson was also a member of the committee to investigate the authenticity of the Horn Papers, published by the Greene County (Pennsylvania) Historical society. The Horn Papers files include clippings, printed material, and correspondence with Douglass Adair, Julian P. Boyd, Arthur Pierce Middleton, and others, concerning the investigation and the committee’s conclusion in 1947 that the documents were spurious." (Abstract, Finding Aid)

Make an appointment with the Lehigh University Linderman Library External to view this collection. Selections from the Finding Aid External specific to the Horn Papers include:

Series II: Horn Papers

Box 18 - Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania – Kenyon College

Folder 2 - Horn Papers – Correspondence: 1946-1949
Folder 3 - Horn Papers - Printed Material
Folder 4 - Horn Papers - Clippings

Library of Congress

Solon J. Buck Papers
During his tenure as Archivist of the United States from 1941-1948, Solon Justus Buck chaired the committee that investigated The Horn Papers. His collection includes specific documents related to The Horn Papers as well as correspondence with Julian P. Boyd, Librarian of Princeton University, who was a committee member.

Make an appointment with the Library of Congress Manuscript Reading Room to view this collection. Selections from the Finding Aid specific to the Horn Papers include:

Series 1: Correspondence and Other Papers, 1926-1957

Box 6 - Boyd, Julian, 1935-1948
Box 9 - Horn Papers, 1946-1948

Maryland Center for History and Culture

William Bose Marye Collection External
William Bose Marye [1886-1979] was an expert on topics ranging from the history of Maryland to Native American archeology. Marye was a member of the committee, chaired by Solon Justus Buck, Archivist of the United States, that investigated The Horn Papers.

Make an appointment with the H. Furlong Baldwin Library External to view this collection. See the Finding Aid External for additional information about the creator and contents.

Collection Identifier: MS 2458

Penn Museum

Mary Butler Lewis Papers External
"Mary Butler Lewis, professionally known as Dr. Butler, was one of a very small group of women archaeologists who worked in the United States during the early 20th century and the first female archaeologist to be awarded a Ph.D. from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (1936)....Butler’s archaeological work at American Indian sites in western Pennsylvania, including Somerset County, for the Pennsylvania Historical Commission in 1936 is represented in the Pennsylvania—Western PA series. It includes correspondence, field notes, and reports and manuscripts. Major correspondence was conducted with Edgar Augustine, James Griffin, William Ritchie and concerning the Horn Papers authenticity controversy." (Abstract, Finding Aid)

Selections from the Finding Aid External specific to the Horn Papers include:

Series: Pennsylvania--Western Pennsylvania (inclusive: 1936-1970).
Subseries: Correspondence--Horn Papers [Western PA Authenticity Controversy]
Box 7

Princeton University

Princeton University Library Records 1734-2017 (mostly 1952-1995) External
The Julian Parks Boyd subseries contains the records of Julian Parks Boyd, who was Princeton University's Librarian, 1940-1952. Boyd was a member of the committee, chaired by Solon Justus Buck, Archivist of the United States, that investigated The Horn Papers.

Selections from the Finding Aid External specific to the Horn Papers include:

Series 1: University Librarian Records
Subseries 1D: Julian Parks Boyd / Horn Papers
Box 16, Folder 7

Senator John Heinz History Center, Detre Library & Archives

Franklin F. Holbrook Papers 1933-1948 External
Franklin Fisk Holbrook [1883-1955] served as librarian of the Western Pennsylvania Historical Society and editor of its Western Pennsylvania Magazine, among other capacities, for over 24 years. During this time, Holbrook was a member of the committee, chaired by Solon Justus Buck, Archivist of the United States, that investigated The Horn Papers.

Make an appointment with the Senator John Heinz History Center, Detre Library & Archives External to view this collection.

Swarthmore College

Charles F. (Charles Francis) Jenkins Papers, 1865-1950 External
Among his many contributions and interests, Charles Francis Jenkins [1865-1951] was a member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania for over 60 years and its president at the time of his death. Jenkins was a member of the committee, chaired by Solon Justus Buck, Archivist of the United States, that investigated The Horn Papers.

See the Finding Aid External for additional information about the creator and contents.

University of Pittsburgh

Horn Papers, 1938-1946, Darlington Collection, Archives & Special Collections External
"This collection includes the three volumes of The Horn Papers published in 1945 by the Greene County Historical Society. The collection also includes ephemera related to the initial sale of and critical response to the volumes from historians and the public, and transcriptions of the forged historical diaries and correspondence." (Abstract, Finding Aid)

The Finding Aid External provides a history of The Horn Papers controversy and an itemized list of collection contents with links to view the digitized documents online.

Collection number: DAR.1946.01
Series I. The Horn Papers, Volumes 1-3, published 1945
Series II. Printed Ephemera
Series III. Transcriptions

University of Virginia

Correspondence Files, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library 1931-1990s External

Selections from the Finding Aid External specific to The Horn Papers include:

Accession number RG-12/11/4.021.
Series I: Correspondence (General).
Box A28-12P Horn Papers.

Francis L. Berkeley Jr. Papers 1935-2003 External
Francis L. Berkeley Jr. [1911-2003] was Curator of Manuscripts at the University of Virginia Library. He was a member of the committee, chaired by Solon Justus Buck, Archivist of the United States, that investigated The Horn Papers.

See the Finding Aid External for additional information about the creator and contents.

West Virginia University

Delf Norona, Historian, Correspondence External
"Correspondence to and from Delf Norona, a local historian, archeologist, and philatelist of Moundsville. Most of the correspondence concerns The Horn Papers - their publication and eventual discrediting as a historical hoax perpetrated by W. F. Horn. Supposedly based upon authentic eighteenth-century diaries, court records and maps, The Horn Papers was a collection of transcripts about the early settlement of the Ohio Valley. Norona, as an authority on the frontier era, was initially impressed and worked with the Greene County (Pa.) Historical Society to get the transcripts published. He then later served on the investigating committee sponsored by the Institute of Early American History and Culture in Williamsburg, Virginia, which proved the transcripts to be fraudulent." (Abstract, Finding Aid)

See the Finding Aid External for additional information about the creator and contents.

Collection Number: A&M.3076

Wisconsin Historical Society

Charles T. Skow, Genealogy, 1956 External
"A defense of the authenticity of The Horn Papers, held and published by Pennsylvania's Greene County Historical Society, resulting from Skow's genealogical research on the Bozorth-Hargus families of Kentucky and Monongalia County, Virginia; also a cover letter of explanation." (Abstract, Finding Aid)

See the Finding Aid External for additional information about the creator and contents.

Horn Papers: Forged Local History

Local History & Genealogy: Ask a Librarian

Archival Collections

College of William & Mary

Greene County, Pennsylvania Historical Society

Huntington Library

Lehigh University

Library of Congress

Maryland Center for History and Culture

Penn Museum

Princeton University

Senator John Heinz History Center, Detre Library & Archives

Swarthmore College

University of Pittsburgh

University of Virginia

West Virginia University

Wisconsin Historical Society