Early Western Travels 1748-1846 
The subtitle of this is "A series of annotated reprints of some of the best and rarest contemporary volumes of travel, descriptive of the Aborigines and Social and Economic conditions in the Middle and Far West, during the period of Early American settlement." This 32 volume set, published in 1904, reprints published and unpublished material: letters, journals, diaries, and other accounts. The last two volumes contain a very good index to the collection, and are available online: v. 31 and v. 32. The volumes have been digitized and are available in HathiTrust. (Available in the Standish Room on the 2nd floor of Seymour Library.)
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents 1610-1791
The subtitle of this is "Travels and Explorations of the Jesuit Missionaries in New France." This 73 volume set, published around 1900, is a collection of the records of the Jesuit missions in and around New England, the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. The last two volumes contain a very good index to the collection. Many of the volumes have been digitized and are available in HathiTrust. See especially the two index volumes: 72 and 73. (Located in the Standish Room.)
American State Papers
These are documents of Congress arranged by topic in separate volumes: Indian Affairs, Finance, Foreign Relations, Commerce & Navigation, Military Affairs, Naval Affairs, Public Lands, Claims, and Miscellaneous. They contain communications from various offices who would have reported to Congress: the President, cabinet secretaries and Congressional committees. The dates of coverage vary with the topic area. There are useful tables of contents and very good name and subject indexes in each volume. The print volumes are located in the Finley Room on the 2nd floor of Seymour Library and they are also available online at the Library of Congress.
U.S. Serial Set
House and Senate Reports and Documents make up the Serial Set. This collection dates back to 1789 and includes internal Congressional publications such as manuals and journals, reports on private and public legislation, reports of Congressional investigations, and annual and special reports from executive and non-governmental agencies covering 1817 - 1912. Portions of the Serial Set are available online at the Library of Congress.
The Knox College Special Collections & Archives houses rare books, manuscripts and material relating to the history of Knox College and the founding of Galesburg.
The Strong Collection has historically significant maps, photographs and reports from early United States explorations of the American West including materials from the Wheeler Survey expeditions. The Finley Collection focuses on the early Midwest. In it are the most significant pre-1861 maps and books related to the exploration and settling of this part of America.
The Special Collections & Archives also maintains various collections of uncatalogued material, such as manuscripts, letters, diaries, photographs and ephemera. Even though this material is not discoverable by using the Knox Library Catalog, the staff of the archives maintains some finding aids for much of the material, and, most importantly, the Archives staff should always be consulted for help in locating appropriate material.
