Summer 2025 | July 18-20, 2025

Letter from a mother to her children, written from Stockton, California, dated August 14, 1875.

William Lindsay Scruggs (1836–1912) was an American lawyer, diplomat, and writer who played a significant role in U.S. foreign relations in the late 19th century, particularly in Latin America. He served as U.S. Minister to Colombia and later to Venezuela, where he became deeply involved in the boundary dispute between Venezuela and British Guiana. Scruggs strongly advocated for U.S. intervention under the Monroe Doctrine, helping to bring the issue to the attention of President Grover Cleveland and Secretary of State Richard Olney. His lobbying and writings, including the influential pamphlet The Venezuelan Question, were pivotal in prompting U.S. diplomatic involvement that eventually led to international arbitration. Scruggs was also the founder of the Atlanta public school system (1869-1870).

Document Signed, The Riggs National Bank, Washington, D.C., 1903. Bank check showing vignette of the bank.