Manuscripts Department
Library at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#309
HARDING AND JACKSON FAMILY PAPERS
Inventory
Abstract: Harding and Jackson family of Tennessee, including John
Harding (1777-1865), owner of Belle Meade plantation near
Nashville, Tenn.; his son William Giles Harding (1808-1886), who
bred horses and cashmere goats; Elizabeth McGavock Harding (d.
1867), wife of William Giles Harding; William Hicks Jackson
(1835-1903), son-in-law of William Giles Harding and a horse
breeder; and Howell Edmunds Jackson (1832-1895), son-in-law of
William Giles Harding, senator, circuit court judge, and justice
on the United States Supreme Court.
Correspondence, financial and legal papers, speeches,
Supreme Court opinions, clippings, account books, horse breeding
records, a bank book, and a political notebook relating to
members of the Harding and Jackson family. Correspondence
consists chiefly of letters from business associates, political
friends, and other acquaintances rather than family members.
William Giles Harding received letters on his horse breeding
activities and his cashmere goat breeding business. William
Hicks Jackson received letters regarding his involvement with a
number of agricultural organizations, including the Grange, in
the 1870s. Howell Edmunds Jackson corresponded about political
and legal issues after his election as senator and appointments
as U.S. circuit court judge and Supreme Court justice. There is
also a group of letters written by Elizabeth Harding to her
husband, William Giles Harding, in 1862 when he was imprisoned by
federal troops at Fort Mackinaw, Mich., in which she discussed
conditions in Nashville under the Union occupation and family and
plantation affairs, including comments on crops like cotton,
animals, and slaves. There are only a few financial and legal
papers, most of which relate to the cashmere goat business.
Other papers include documents from William Hicks Jackson's
involvement in farmers' organizations, Supreme Court opinions
written by Howell Edmunds Jackson, and printed speeches by other
political figures. Also included are clippings about Belle Meade
plantation, and account books of John and William Giles Harding
containing records for boarding and breeding horses.
Online Accounting--Books of account.
Catalog Belle Meade Plantation (Nashville, Tenn.).
Terms: Confederate States of America--Social conditions.
Cotton growing--Tennessee--History--19th century.
Family--Tennessee--Social life and customs--19th
century.
Farmers--Tennessee--Political activity--History--19th
century.
Goats--Breeding--History--19th century.
Harding, Elizabeth McGavock, d. 1867.
Harding, John, 1777-1865.
Harding, William Giles, 1808-1886.
Horse breeders--Tennessee--History--19th century.
Jackson, Howell Edmunds, 1832-1895.
Jackson, William Hicks, 1835-1903.
Judges--United States--History--19th century.
Kashmir goat--Tennessee--History--19th century.
Legislators--United States--History--19th century.
Nashville (Tenn.)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Patrons of Husbandry--History--19th century.
Plantations--Tennessee--Nashville.
Slavery--Tennessee.
Tennessee--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Tennessee--Politics and government--1865-1950.
United States. Supreme Court--Officials and employees.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Prisoners
and prisons.
Size: About 500 items (2.0 linear feet).
Provenance:Received from Mrs. Hill McAllister of Nashville,
Tennessee, before 1940, and from Mrs. M. G. Buckner of Nashville,
Tennessee, before 1940, and in July and August 1942.
Access: No restrictions.
Processing Note:This collection was rehoused under the
sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the
Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.
Copyright:Retained by the authors of items in these papers, or
their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
INTRODUCTION
Biographical Note:
John Harding (1777-1865) was born in Virginia. Around
1805, he moved to Tennessee and established the Belle Meade
Plantation. His wife was Susannah Shute.
William Giles Harding (1808-1886) was the son of John
Harding. He attended the University of Nashville and the
American Literary, Scientific, and Military Academy in
Middletown, Connecticut (later Norwich University in Norwich,
Vermont), run by Alden Partridge. His first wife was Selene
McNairy, with whom he had one son, John. His second wife was
Elizabeth McGavock (d. 1867), with whom he had two daughters:
Selene, who married William Hicks Jackson; and Mary, who married
Howell Edmunds Jackson. William Giles Harding lived first at
Stone's River Farm, where his son John later lived, and then at
Belle Meade, where he raised cashmere goats and race horses. He
was a brigadier general in the Tennessee militia and was usually
referred to as General Harding.
William Hicks Jackson (1835-1903), the son of Dr.
Alexander Jackson and his wife Mary Hurt, lived in Jackson,
Tennessee, attended West Tennessee College, graduated from the
United States Military Academy, and served in the United States
army until 1861. He then became an officer in the Confederate
army, rising to the rank of brigadier general. After the war, he
managed his father's cotton plantation until his marriage in 1868
to Selene Harding, at which time he became associated with
William Giles Harding in the management of Belle Meade. After
Harding's death, Jackson continued to operate Belle Meade as a
partner of his brother Howell Edmunds Jackson, who married
Harding's daughter Mary. William Hicks Jackson was active in the
farmers' movement. He belonged to the Tennessee Agricultural and
Mechanical Association and the Grange, and sat on the Tennessee
Bureau of Agriculture.
Howell Edmunds Jackson (1832-1895) was also a son of
Dr. Alexander and Mary Hurt Jackson. He was a graduate of West
Tennessee College, the University of Virginia, and the law school
of Cumberland University. He married first Sophia Malloy, and,
in 1874, Mary Harding. He practiced law in Memphis and Jackson,
Tennessee, and served as a member (Democrat) in the Tennessee
legislature. He was a member of the United States Senate, 1881-
1886, judge of the United States Circuit Court and the Circuit
Court of Appeals, 1886-1893, and associate justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States, 1893-1895.
Collection Overview:
Correspondence, financial and legal papers, speeches,
Supreme Court opinions, clippings, account books, horse breeding
records, a bank book, and a political notebook relating to
members of the Harding and Jackson family.
Correspondence consists chiefly of letters from business
associates, political friends, and other acquaintances rather
than family members. William Giles Harding received letters on
his horse breeding activities and his kasmir goat breeding
business. William Hicks Jackson received letters on his
involvement with a number of agricultural organizations in the
1870s. Howell Edmunds Jackson corresponded about political and
legal issues after his election as senator and appointments as
U.S. circuit court judge and Supreme Court justice. There is
also a group of letters written by Elizabeth Harding to her
husband, William Giles Harding, in 1862 when he was imprisoned by
federal troops at Fort Mackinaw, Mich., in which she discussed
conditions in Nashville under the Union occupation and family and
plantation affairs, including comments on crops, animals, and
slaves.
There are only a few financial and legal papers, most of
which relate to the cashmere goat business. Other papers include
documents from William Hicks Jackson's involvement in farmers'
organizations, Supreme Court opinions written by Howell Edmunds
Jackson, and printed speeches by other political figures. Also
included are clippings about Belle Meade plantation, and account
books of John and William Giles Harding containing records for
boarding and breeding horses.
The arrangement scheme is as follows:
Series 1. Correspondence
Subseries 1.1. 1826-1829
Subseries 1.2. 1830-1854
Subseries 1.3. 1860-1861
Subseries 1.4. 1862
Subseries 1.5. 1863-1868
Subseries 1.6. 1871-1874
Subseries 1.7. 1875-1886
Subseries 1.8. 1888-1894
Subseries 1.9. 1910-1911
Subseries 1.10. Undated
Series 2. Financial and Legal Papers
Series 3. Other Papers
Series 4. Clippings
Series 5. Account Books and Other Volumes
Subseries 5.1. John Harding Account Books
Subseries 5.2. William Giles Harding Account Books and
Other Volumes
Subseries 5.2.1. Account Books
Subseries 5.2.2. Horse Breeding Book
Subseries 5.2.3. Bank Book
Subseries 5.3. J. J. B. Southall Receipt Book
Subseries 5.4. Howell Edmunds Jackson Political Notebook
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Correspondence
1826-1911 and undated. About 340 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Subseries 1.1. 1826-1829
About 20 items.
Chiefly correspondence of William Giles Harding with
classmates and other friends during his years at school. He
attended the American Literary, Scientific, and Military Academy
in Middletown, Connecticut, run by Alden Partridge, between 1826
and 1828, and studied law in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1829.
Letters discuss school days and the current activities of the
correspondents.
Folder 1 1826-1829
Subseries 1.2. 1830-1854
About 60 items.
Scattered letters to William Giles Harding over a 25-
year period. Harding began overseeing the horse-breeding
operations at Belle Meade Plantation sometime in the 1830s, and,
by the 1840s, there were frequent letters to him from others
involved in horse breeding and racing. Correspondence is
scattered, from many different individuals, and covers many
different topics.
In 1838, there is a group of letters to Harding and G.
C. Childress from friends who were attempting to mediate in a
disagreement between the two men, who were apparently
contemplating a duel.
Included in 1841 is a photostatic copy of a letter to
Harding from Sam Houston, who wrote about being unable to pay his
debt to William because of poor conditions in Texas. He also
complained about government corruption.
In 1844 and 1849, Harding received two letters from R.
R. Rice. One discussed removing his filly from Harding's care
because of financial difficulties; the other discussed politics,
agriculture, and the death of one of his sons.
Between 1850 and 1852, most of the letters to Harding
are from his friend H. W. Paynor. In addition to letters about
business, horses, and the activities of their mutual
acquaintances, Paynor wrote about his plantation in Louisiana.
He described working on his levee, the dancing and praying
parties of his slaves, and also discussed politics, including a
recent speech by Daniel Webster. In January 1852, Paynor wrote
indicating that he had lost his plantation, and, in March,
Harding received letters reporting Paynor's death.
Also included in 1850 are a group of letters of
introduction written for Harding by his friends. Harding and his
family evidently took a trip to New England, and the letters are
addressed to various individuals in the North.
Scattered throughout this subseries are printed
circulars from Alden Partridge about his efforts to expand the
American Literary, Scientific, and Military School.
There are also a few items addressed to individuals
other than Harding. These include an 1850 letter to Dr. Jackson
from J. W. McCullough about the state ecologist's report and
about Jackson's sons, particularly Howell, who were doing very
well at school. In 1853, there is a letter from William Jackson
at West Point, to his brother Howell, describing his studies and
leisure activities.
Folder 2 1830-1839
3 1840-1845
4 1849-1854
Subseries 1.3. 1860-1861
About 20 items.
Chiefly correspondence about the United Cashmere
Company, William Giles Harding's cashmere goat company. Harding
was apparently working in a partnership with R. Williamson, who
travelled about the country selling goats, while Harding bred
them at Belle Meade. There are a number of letters from R.
Williamson to Harding about the business, including accounts of
sales of goats to various individuals.
Folder 5 1860-1861
Subseries 1.4. 1862
About 40 items.
Chiefly typed transcriptions of letters written to
William Giles Harding between April and September 1862, while he
was imprisoned by federal forces in Detroit and at Fort Mackinaw,
Michigan. Most of the letters were written by his wife,
Elizabeth McGavock Harding, with a few written by his daughter,
Selene. He also received letters from his nephew, Randall
Southall, who was in prison at Johnson's Island; from a Mr.
Hague, who worked for him at the plantation; from his sister, M.
Southall; from his daughter-in-law Maggie; and from a friend
named Randal M. Ewing. One letter, dated 25 August 1862, was
apparently dictated to a friend by one of his slaves, Susannah.
Elizabeth's letters include descriptions of life in
Nashville under the occupation by Union troops. She wrote about
the constant fears of citizens in Nashville of arrest and
confiscation of their property. Prominent men in Nashville,
including clergymen, were being arrested and sent to prison if
they refused to take the oath of allegiance to the United States.
In particular, Elizabeth was worried over a recent proclamation
allowing officers to choose new mounts if they needed them. She
feared that the thoroughbreds at Belle Meade would be taken.
Elizabeth wrote of her attempts to gain permission from General
Johnston to visit Harding in prison, and she told of her efforts
to make it possible for him to stay in a hotel during her visit.
Elizabeth's letters also included minute descriptions of
life at Belle Meade, including comments on the health of everyone
at the plantation.
She wrote about daily activities, visits of neighbors, and short
trips made by herself and her daughters. She kept her husband
up-to-date on the activities of his friends, letting him know who
had been arrested and who were suspected of taking the oath. She
described to him the progress of the crops and the condition of
the horses.
In July, Elizabeth made several attempts to visit
Harding, but failed in her efforts. Federal troops were
restricting the movements of individuals, and she feared leaving
the plantation in case they confiscated property. She mentioned
that the slaves had offered her their gold pieces to use for the
trip because they knew it was difficult to obtain cash. Towards
the end of July, the situation in Nashville grew worse, as it
appeared the Confederates would attempt to retake the town.
Letters to Harding continue through August. The final
letter is an unfinished one from Harding to Elizabeth, dated 24
September 1862.
Folder 6 Jan-June 1862
7 July-Sept 1862
Subseries 1.5. 1863-1868
About 20 items.
Chiefly letters to William Giles Harding from R.
Williamson in reference to their cashmere goat business.
Williamson continued to travel about selling goats and reporting
on his sales to Harding, who would then ship the animals. Also
included are a few letters to R. Williamson from William F.
Moellen, who was selling goats for Williamson.
There are two letters to members of the Jackson family
in this series. One, dated 1866, is to General William H.
Jackson about training his horse. The other is to Howell Jackson
from his father, Alexander Jackson, about his plantation and the
state of his cotton crop. He expected to make quite a bit of
money from his 1866 crop.
Also included is a letter to Harding from T. L. Witter
of the Texas Rangers, thanking him for his hospitality and giving
him news of the army. The letter is undated, but was apparently
written during the Civil War.
Folder 8 1863-1867
Subseries 1.6. 1871-1874
About 20 items.
Chiefly letters to William Hicks Jackson about
agricultural affairs and the farmer's movement in Tennessee.
Jackson was involved in a number of organizations, including the
Tennessee Agricultural and Mechanical Association, the Grange,
and the Tennessee Bureau of Agriculture, which promoted the
interests of farmers, who were enduring extreme economic
difficulties during this period.
In 1871, Jackson was involved in organizing a congress
of state agricultural associations to meet at Nashville and
create a National Agricultural Association. He received two
letters from the commissioner
of agriculture, Frederick Watts, approving his plan. In 1873,
Jackson was apparently president of the Tennessee Bureau of
Agriculture and was again involved in arranging a convention of
farmers to be held in Nashville. He was a member of the Grange
and received letters from several individuals on Grange business.
One of the complaints of farmers was the high
transportation costs they were forced to pay to sell their
produce. Jackson received several letters from Jesse Frye in
Brooklyn, New York, who was attempting to get donations from
various granges to subsidize a railroad that would be used
exclusively to transport farmers' produce.
Also included in this series are two letters to Howell
Jackson from his father. One is about money matters and family
health; the other is a letter of condolence to Howell after the
death of his wife Sophie.
Folder 9 1871-1874
Subseries 1.7. 1875-1886
About 100 items.
Chiefly letters to Howell Edmunds Jackson during his
career as a United States senator from Tennessee.
Included are a few letters from 1875 through 1879 to
Howell from his brother William about the sale of horses and the
progress of his crops.
In January and February of 1881, there are a number of
letters to Howell congratulating him on being elected senator.
Beginning in 1881, he received letters from Tennessee attorneys
and other individuals on political issues, such as state credit
and his efforts to gain a pension for the widow of James Polk to
obtain reparations for property confiscated during the Civil War.
There is also a group of letters in August 1882, relating to his
dispute with former Tennessee governor Isham G. Harris, who was
then serving as a United States senator.
Howell was apparently associated in business with a
company called the Jackson Oil Mills, and, in 1883 and 1884, he
received several lengthy letters about company operations and
profits. He also continued to receive scattered letters from his
brother William and others about farm matters.
In September 1885, Howell received several letters
congratulating him on his speech in favor of the Blair
educational bill. This bill was introduced five times between
1882 and 1890 by Henry W. Blair of New Hampshire, and was
designed to provide federal aid to public education. Although it
passed in the Senate several times it never passed in the House.
Few letters in January 1886 relate to Howell's federal court
bill, although the majority of the correspondence in 1886 is
about Howell's appointment by Grover Cleveland as United States
circuit court judge for the 6th circuit. He received letters
urging him to accept the appointment and letters of
congratulation.
Folder 10 1875-1881
11 1882-1883
12 1884
13 1885
14 1886
Subseries 1.8. 1888-1895
About 40 items.
Scattered letters written to Howell Edmunds Jackson
during his career as circuit court judge and United States
Supreme Court justice. A few of the letters deal with court
business and legal cases. Also included are a few letters on
political issues.
Howell's brother, William Hicks Jackson, wrote once from
Belle Meade about rates for boarding horses.
In 1894, during Howell's term as a United States supreme
court justice, he fell ill and was unable to serve on the bench.
He received a number of letters from Horace Gray, justice on the
Supreme Court, and Melville W. Fuller, chief justice, about his
health and about court business. He died in 1895. and the series
ends with two letters of condolence to his wife.
Folder 15 1888-1890
16 1892-1895
Subseries 1.9. 1910-1911
About 10 items.
Several letters to John Harding and Mary Harding Jackson
from W. A. Ellis and A. W. Wills, about publishing a history of
Norwich University, formerly the American Literary, Scientific,
and Military Academy attended by their father, William Giles
Harding. Ellis and Wills were interested in obtaining
information on William Harding and other Tennesseans who had
attended the Institute.
Folder 17 1910-1911
Subseries 1.10. Undated
3 items.
Three undated letters, one letter to John Harding, a
fragment to William Giles Harding, and one letter to an unknown
recipient, possibly from M. Easen.
Folder 18 Undated
Series 2. Financial and Legal Items
1826-1895 and undated. About 40 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Miscellaneous financial and legal items relating to John
Harding, William Giles Harding, William Hicks Jackson, and Howell
Edmunds Jackson.
Included are some accounts and legal agreements executed
by William Giles Harding, a few bills and receipts, an account of
sale of cotton bales by Josias Nichol (relationship to Harding
and Jackson family members unknown), and several bills for drugs
and groceries purchased by Howell Jackson. There are also a few
items relating to horse breeding and racing, including an
agreement by the Walnut Jockey Club Association, of which William
Giles Harding was a member, to lease a race track.
Beginning in 1859, there are a number of items relating
to the cashmere goat business, including certificates of sale for
goats by the United Cashmere Company. Between 1863 and 1865,
most of the documents are William Giles Harding's receipts.
Folder 19 1826-1859
20 1860-1895
21 Undated
Series 3. Other Papers
1861-1894 and undated. About 60 items.
Arrangement: by type.
Included are William Jackson's papers relating to the
farmer's movement, Howell Jackson's Supreme Court opinions and
other legal papers, printed speeches and legal opinions written
by various individuals, and miscellaneous items.
Folder 22 William Jackson: Farmer's movement
23 Howell Jackson: Supreme court opinions and other
legal papers
24 Printed speeches and opinions
25 Miscellaneous items
Series 4. Clippings
1879-1907 and undated. About 40 items.
Arrangement: by type.
Clippings about about Belle Meade and members of the
Harding and Jackson families. Also included is a folder of
miscellaneous clippings chiefly on political issues in Tennessee
and elsewhere.
Folder 26 Belle Meade
27 Miscellaneous
Series 5. Account Books and Other Volumes
1819-1879 and undated. 16 items.
Arrangement: by owner.
Chiefly account books kept by members of the Harding and
Jackson families. The volumes have been arranged by owner.
Subseries 5.1. John Harding Account Books
1819-1838. 10 items.
Ten account books kept by John Harding between 1819 and
1838. Although the books were kept annually, memoranda for later
years were frequently jotted down in an earlier volume. For
example, the volume for 1830 also includes some accounts and
lists for 1831 and 1832.
John Harding kept records of money owed to him by
various individuals, chiefly for the care of horses, including
transporting them and having them shod. He also kept records of
money owed to him for clover hay, fodder, corn, and cotton. In
volume 1, there is an account with Rubin Graham, who is listed as
"a free negro," for the care of his brown horse.
Harding also jotted down miscellaneous information in
the front and back of the volumes. Included in volume 1 is a
list of apple trees he got from Richard Drury. Included in
volume 3 are some horse breeding notes. Other notes include some
cures for horse diseases in volume 4, and notes in volume 9 on
the number of bales of cotton made and delivered from 1830
through 1832.
Folder 28 Volume 1 1819 [and 1820]
29 Volume 2 1820 [and 1821]
30 Volume 3 1821 [and 1822]
31 Volume 4 1823 [and 1824]
32 Volume 5 1825 [and 1824-1826]
33 Volume 6 1826 [and 1825-1827]
34 Volume 7 1827 [and 1828]
35 Volume 8 1828-1829 [and 1830]
36 Volume 9 1830 [and 1831-1832]
37 Volume 10 1837-1838
Subseries 5.2. William Giles Harding Account Books and Other
Volumes
1839-1879. 4 items.
Subsubseries 5.2.1. Account Books
1839-1842. 2 items.
Two account books similar to those kept by John Harding
for the boarding and care of different horses.
Folder 38 Volume 11
39 Volume 12
Subsubseries 5.2.2. Horse Breeding Book
1879. 1 item.
Cash account and horse breeding book for 1879, possibly
kept by both William Giles Harding and William Hicks Jackson.
Included are cash accounts of amounts paid out and received.
Also included are extensive records of the mares bred to
Harding's stallions, Bonnie Scotland, Great Tom, and John Morgan,
and a list of the foals that were born. Also included are a few
accounts for boarding horses for individuals and some farming
records of crops and livestock. In the back of the volume are
records of sales of horses in 1879.
Folder 40 Volume 13
Subsubseries 5.2.3. Bank Book
1846-1847. 1 item.
Bank book of William Giles Harding with the Union Bank
of Tennessee.
Folder 41 Volume 14
Subseries 5.3. J. J. B. Southall Receipt Book
1840-1851. 1 item.
Receipts made out to J. J. B. Southall by individuals
for various amounts, chiefly for money received from executions.
It is probable that Southall was a lawyer who was involved in
collecting on judgments in lawsuits.
Folder 42 Volume 15
Subseries 5.4. Howell Edmunds Jackson Political Notebook
Undated. 1 item.
Small undated notebook, possibly kept by Howell Jackson
in the 1880s. Many of the notes appear to relate to the state
credit issue.
Folder 43 Volume 16
SHELF LIST
Box 1. Series 1.1 (folder 1)
Series 1.2 (folders 2-4)
Series 1.3 (folder 5)
Series 1.4 (folders 6-7)
Series 1.5 (folder 8)
Series 1.6 (folder 9)
Series 1.7 (folders 10-14)
Series 1.8 (folders 15-16)
Series 1.9 (folder 17)
Series 1.10 (folder 18)
Series 2. (folders 19-20)
Box 2. Series 2. (folder 21)
Series 3. (folders 22-25)
Series 4. (folders 26-27)
Series 5. (folders 28-30)
Box 3. Series 5. (folders 31-35)
Box 4. Series 5. (folders 36-43)