Time Travel Tueaday: Samuel Marshall Passport, 1855These images show several pages of the passport b

Time Travel Tueaday: Samuel Marshall Passport, 1855

These images show several pages of the passport book from the Samuel Marshall Papers (Milw Mss AQ). The book consists of a certificate and forty-two pages with travel stamps and notations. Marshall was a banker in Milwaukee beginning in the 1840s, and was very well traveled.

The passport certificate, second photo above, was sewn into the book, obscuring some of the description section, and making it particularly delicate to unfold. It also features several stamps and notations, indicating that it was used to document Marshall’s travels along with the rest of the pages in the book.

The third photo includes a description of Marshall so he can be identified by his passport. Included in the description are notes that he had a “prominent” nose and forehead, a “small” mouth, and a “sound” chin. How do you think the written description compares to this undated photograph of Marshall (third, left)?

Visit the UWM Archives to see more of this passport, or stay tuned here for more selections over the summer.