Inventory of the T. Butler King Papers, 1773-2003

Collection Number 1252

Manuscripts Department, University Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Collection Information

Descriptive Summary

Administrative Information

Online Catalog Headings

Biographical Note

Collection Overview

Detailed Description of the Collection

1. Correspondence, 1809-1868.

2. Speeches and Writings.

3. Internal Improvements.

Contact Information:: Manuscripts Department; CB#3926, Wilson Library; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890; Phone: 919/962-1345; Fax: 919/962-3594; Email: mss@email.unc.edu; URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/

Descriptive Summary

Repository: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.

Creator: King, T. Butler (Thomas Butler), 1800-1864.

Title: T. Butler King Papers, 1773-1868, 2003 (bulk 1835-1868)

Call Number: 1252

Language of Materials: Materials in English

Extent: Items: About 4,000; Linear Feet: 11.5

Abstract

Thomas Butler King of Retreat Plantation, Saint Simons Island, Ga., was a Georgia and United States legislator, collector of the port of San Francisco, and Georgia representative to various courts in Europe during the Civil War, with special interests in internal improvements and naval affairs.

Papers of King and his wife Anna Matilda Page King, 1835-1840, deal primarily with King's business, managerial, and legislative activities on behalf of the Brunswick and Altamaha Canal Company, the Brunswick and Florida Railroad Company, and the Brunswick Land Company. Papers, 1841-1848, document King's political career as U.S. representative from Georgia's First Congressional District, which included Glynn County and the cities of Brunswick and Savannah. Among these are papers about his activities as member and chair of the U.S. House Naval Affairs Committee and about Whig political activities in Georgia, the South, and the nation. Materials, 1849-1852, deal with King's work in California, first as the personal adviser of President Zachary Taylor and then as the first collector of the port of San Francisco under Millard Fillmore. Between 1853 and 1859, papers deal with family matters and King's investments in and promotion of a transcontinental railroad through Texas. Papers, 1860-1864, relate to his promotion of railroads in south Georgia, his association with the secession crisis, and his activities on behalf of the state of Georgia and the Confederacy in various European capitals during the first years of the Civil War. There also are letters, diaries, and other materials relating to the King sons at various locations during the war and other family letters that reflect the effects of the war. Letters discussing plantation and family matters account for almost half of the collection. Most of these were written between 1850 and 1859 by Anna Matilda Page King, who chiefly discussed agricultural matters, including the treatment of slaves, but also expressed a certain amount of anti-semitism and wrote of her experimentation with the occult.

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Administrative Information

Restrictions to Access: No restrictions.

Alternate Form of Material

Microfilm copy (filmed 1988) available.

Reel 1: Series 1. 1809-1839
Reel 2: Series 1. 1840-1845
Reel 3: Series 1. 1846-1847
Reel 4: Series 1. 1848
Reel 5: Series 1. 1849
Reel 6: Series 1. 1850-1852
Reel 7: Series 1. 1853-1855
Reel 8: Series 1. 1856-1857
Reel 9: Series 1. 1858
Reel 10: Series 1. 1859
Reel 11: Series 1. 1860
Reel 12: Series 1. 1861
Reel 13: Series 1. 1862-1865
Reel 14: Series 1. 1866-1869
Reel 15: Series 2.
Reel 16: Series 3.
Reel 17: Series 4, Series 5.
Reel 18: Series 6.
Reel 19: Volume 8.

Alternate Form of Material: Typed transcription of part of Richard Cuyler King's diary is available in folder 551.

Acquisitions Information: Received from Mrs. Jefferson Randolph Anderson of Savannah, Ga. in 1947; from Alexander Heard of the University of Alabama in 1948 and 1950; and from other sources. Addition of May 1989 (Acc. 89034) received from Ranald T. Adams, Jr., of Alexandria, Va.; addition of September 2003 (Acc. 99657) received from Edwin R. MacKethan III of Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.; addition of August 2004 (Acc. 99873) received from Eileen King of Rockville, Md.

Processing Information: Processed by: Walter Campbell and Roslyn Holdzkom, November 1989; Encoded by: Roslyn Holdzkom, July 2002; Revisions: Finding aid updated in December 2003 by Linda Sellars.; Revisions: Finding aid updated in January 2006 by Nancy Kaiser.

Preferred Citation: [Identification of item], in the T. Butler King Papers #1252, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Copyright Notice: Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

King, Anna Matilda, 1798-1859.

King, T. Butler (Thomas Butler), 1800-1864.

Taylor, Zachary, 1784-1850.

United States. Congress. House--Officials and employees--History--19th century.

United States. Navy--Appropriations and expenditures--History--19th century.

Whig Party (U.S.)

Agriculture--Georgia--History--19th century.

Antisemitism--Southern States--History--19th century.

Confederate States of America--Commerce.

Confederate States of America--Foreign relations.

Family--Georgia--Social life and customs.

King family.

Harbors--California--Port charges--History--19th century.

Harbors--California--Officials and employees--History--19th century.

Occultism--History--19th century.

Plantations--Georgia.

Railroads--Southern States--History--19th century.

Secession.

Women plantation owners--Georgia.

Brunswick (Ga.)--Social life and customs.

California--Commerce--History--19th century.

Georgia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.

Georgia--Politics and government--1775-1865.

Glynn County (Ga.)--Politics and government.

Retreat Plantation (Ga.)

Saint Simons Island (Ga.)--Social life and customs.

San Francisco (Calif.)--Commerce--History--19th century.

Savannah (Ga.)--Social life and customs.

Related Collections

James Hamilton Couper Plantation Records (#185)
William Audley Couper Papers (#3687)
Couper Family Papers (#186)
Nisbet and Marye Family Papers (#4478)
William Page Papers (#1254)
Wilder and Anderson Papers (#1255)
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Biographical Note

27 August 1800	Born in Palmer, Mass., the son of Daniel and Hannah Lord King.
1800-1820	Attended Westfield Academy in Westfield, Mass.; moved to live with relatives in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania at age 15 following the death of his parents; studied law with Judge Garrick Mallery in Wilkes-Barre, and with his own brother Henry in Allentown, Pa.
1820	Stephen Clay King, another brother, married Mary Fort, the daughter of a wealthy cotton planter of Wayne County, Ga. Stephen eventually became a large-scale planter in Georgia.
1823	Migrated to southeastern Georgia.
1824	Married Anna Matilda Page of Retreat Plantation, Saint Simons Island, Ga., the daughter of William Page, a South Carolinian who had purchased Retreat in 1804.
1824-1826	Deaths of Anna Matilda King's parents and her inheritance of a large estate. She and King made their home at Retreat.
1830s	King led the movement to improve and promote the port at Brunswick, Ga.
1832	Elected to the Georgia legislature as senator from Glynn County (Brunswick).
1832-1836	Served in Georgia legislature, championed the cause of states' rights, and pushed for bills related to his internal improvement ventures.
1836	Decided against a re-election bid for the Georgia legislature in order to seek New England capital for his Brunswick projects, then ran an unsuccessful campaign for a seat in the United States House of Representatives.
1837	Elected to the Georgia legislature where he promoted internal improvement measures, especially state credit to private companies.
1838	Elected to the United States House as states rights candidate.
1839-1843	Served in the United States House, aligned himself with the Whig party, proposed establishing a Home Squadron by the Navy (bill passed July 1841), and suffered serious financial setbacks to his plans for the port at Brunswick.
1842	Lost bid for re-election to the House.
1844	Served as chair of the Whig committee in Georgia; accompanied Henry Clay on the latter's tour through Georgia; spoke at Whig rallies in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; and defeated the Democratic nominee, Charles Spaulding, for the congressional seat from Georgia's First District.
6 January 1845	Fought a duel with Charles Spaulding on Amelia Island, Florida Territory.
15 January 1845	Witnessed the marriage of his daughter Hannah to William Audley Couper, a member of one of the most prominent families of Georgia's Golden Isles.
1845-1846	Recommended numerous naval improvement bills from his position on the naval affairs committee.
1846	Defeated Democratic candidate Solomon Cohen for Georgia's First Congressional District seat.
1847	Made chair of the House Committee on Naval Affairs.
1848	Helped nominate Zachary Taylor as the Whig candidate for president and defeated the Democratic candidate, Joseph W. Jackson, in Georgia's First Congressional District race.
16 January 1849	Proposed a detailed report recommending the construction of a railroad across the Isthmus of Panama.
March 1849	Thwarted in his efforts to become secretary of the Navy under Taylor.
May 1849	Appointed as Taylor's special agent to California.
4 June 1849	Toured the mining districts of California.
1 January 1850	Per private instructions from Taylor, set up a law office in San Francisco and failed in his bid to become a senator from California.
February 1850	Arrived in New York from California.
October 1850	Appointed collector of the port of San Francisco by President Millard Fillmore.
1851-1852	Worked as collector of the port of San Francisco and failed in his quest to become a senator from California.
1852	Resigned the collectorship at San Francisco.
1853-1858	Promoted, financed, and lobbied for a transcontinental railroad through Texas.
1856	Attended the Democratic National Convention in Cincinnati
1859	Suffered the deaths of his wife and oldest son, lost his bid to become the Democratic nominee from Georgia's First Congressional District, but was elected as a senator to the Georgia legislature.
1860	Attended the Democratic National Convention in Charleston, S.C., as a lobbyist for the revived transcontinental railroad and the recently formed Macon and Brunswick Railroad.
1861-1862	Represented the state of Georgia at various courts in Europe.
1863	Defeated by Savannahian Julian Hartridge for Georgia's First Congressional District seat.
10 May 1864	Died in Waresboro, Ga.

King's wife, Anna Matilda (Page), was the only child and heir of William Page, a native of South Carolina who had purchased Retreat plantation on Saint Simons Island, Georgia, early in the 19th century. Anna Matilda and most of the ten King children remained at Retreat while King was active elsewhere. Although an overseer or one of the sons supervised the actual plantation work, Anna Matilda managed most of the family affairs and finances. She died in 1859.

The Kings had ten children, including William, who died at age six. The others were: Hannah Page (Tootee); Thomas Butler, Jr. (Butler or Buttie); Henry Lord Page (Lordy); Georgia (Josey); Mallery Page (Mall or Pompey); Florence (Flora or Poyer); Virginia (Appie or Tommie); John Floyd (Floyd or Fuddy); and Richard Cuyler (Cuyler, Tip, Hack, Herks).

Hannah married William Audley Couper, the son of wealthy Georgia landowner James Couper and the brother of James Hamilton Couper, a pioneer in scientific farming. She and her family lived at Hamilton, a plantation adjacent to Retreat, which her husband managed for the granddaughter of James Hamilton. The Kings's oldest son, Butler, attended Franklin College in Athens, Ga.; accompanied his father to California; and managed Retreat until his sudden death in 1859. Lord attended Yale, read law, worked in an office in New York in 1860, became captain and aide-de-camp to Brigadier General Lafayette McLaws in the Confederate army, and was killed at Fredericksburg in December 1862. The King daughters, Georgia, Florence, and Virginia, remained at Retreat until 1861, when the war drove them inland. Saint Simons was occupied by the United States Army and the Freedman's Bureau, and the Kings were unable to return home until the late 1860s. Early in the war, Georgia married William Duncan Smith, a Confederate major, later general, who died in 1862; after the war, she married Joseph Wilder. Florence married Henry Rootes Jackson, and Virginia married John Nisbet.

Mallery followed Butler as manager of the family plantation. He became a Confederate officer, served in Georgia and South Carolina, and married Eugenia (Jenny) Grant. Another son, Floyd, served as chief of artillery under Major General William W. Loring in western Virginia during the Civil War and then managed various plantations on the Mississippi River. In love with Lin Capterton of Elmwood, Va. (later West Virginia), Floyd wrote to her during and after the war, but they did not marry. He later became a lawyer in Louisiana and served that state in Congress, 1879-1887. The Kings's youngest son, Cuyler, attended Bloomfield Academy at Ivy Depot near Charlottesville, Va. A lieutenant in the 1st Battalion, Georgia Sharpshooters, he served in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia during the war.

For more biographical information see: Series 2, folder 16; sketch of King in the Dictionary of American Biography; sketches of King, his brother Henry, and his son Floyd in the Biographical Directory of the American Congress and Edward Marvin Steel, Thomas Butler King of Georgia (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1964).

Collection Overview

There is some documentation in these papers for virtually all aspects of the life of Thomas Butler King, for the adult life of his wife "Anna Matilda King" of Retreat Plantation, Saint Simons Island, Ga., and for much of the childhood and early adult life of each of their several children.

The documents related to Thomas Butler King's career can be roughly divided into five major periods. During the first period, 1835-1840, they deal chiefly with King's business, managerial, and legislative activities on behalf of the Brunswick and Altamaha Canal Company, the Brunswick and Florida Railroad Company, and the Brunswick Land Company. The documents from the second period, 1841-1848, reflect some of King's activities as a member and chair of the United States House Naval Affairs Committee; the change in his political constituency from the people of Glynn County, Ga., (Brunswick) to the voters of the several counties of Georgia's First Congessional District (which included Glynn and Chatham County, Ga., [Savannah]); and Whig political activities in Georgia, the South, and the nation.

The materials related to the third stage of King's career, 1849-1852, deal with his duties and travels in California, first as the personal adviser of President Zachary Taylor and then as the first collector of the port of San Francisco under Taylor's successor, Millard Fillmore. Between 1853 and 1859, a fourth period, the papers deal with family matters and King's investments in and promotion of a transcontinental railroad through Texas. Documents from the fifth and final period of his career, 1860-1864, relate to his promotion of railroads in south Georgia, his association with the crisis of secession and the new Confederate States of America, and his activities on behalf of the state of Georgia in various European capitals during the first years of the Civil War.

Letters discussing plantation and family matters account for almost half of the collection. Most of these were written between 1850 and 1859 by Anna Matilda King, either to her constantly traveling husband or to their children. There are also letters from the children to their parents and to one another, including letters from the sons serving in the military during the Civil War.

Arrangement of Collection

1. Correspondence
2. Speeches and Writings
2.1. Speeches and Writings by Thomas Butler King
2.2. Speeches and Writings by Others
3. Internal Improvements
3.1. Georgia
3.2. Texas
4. Other Papers
4.1. Naval Affairs
4.2. Slave Lists
4.3. Financial and Legal Items
4.4. Invitations, Calling Cards, Receipts, Recipes, and Miscellaneous Items
5. Printed Material
5.1. Printed Form Letters
5.2. Newspaper Clippings
6. Volumes
Additions after 1987
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Items Separated

Oversize papers from Series 1-4 (OP-1252/1-29)
Oversize volume from Series 6 (V-1252/S-8)

Detailed Description of the Collection

1. Correspondence, 1809-1868.

About 3,300 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence of the King family, chiefly related to the political and economic activities of Thomas Butler King and to his family's life at Retreat Plantation on Saint Simons Island, Ga. A wide range of topics are addressed, including local, state, and national politics; internal improvements in Georgia, Florida, Texas, and California; requests for federal positions; and routine family and plantation affairs.

1.1. 1809-1829.

Early papers are those of William Page and his business associates in Liverpool, England, and Charleston, S.C., relating to land in Georgia and the effect of diplomatic events on the price of cotton. In addition, there are Page's letters from Newport, R.I., New York, and Charleston to his daughter Anna Matilda, giving her instructions about running the plantation and punishing a runaway slave, and correspondence from Anna in Savannah to her mother, giving news of friends, social life in the city, and a meeting of Methodist ministers.

Folder 1

1809-1817

Folder 2

1823-1829

1.2. 1830-1832.

Chiefly correspondence between Thomas Butler King and various individuals dealing with his purchase of part of the Middleton estate in southeast Georgia. Notable correspondents include: James Hamilton (several letters, 1830-1832); L (several letters, 1830-1832).

Folder 3

1830

Folder 4

1831-1832

1.3. 1833-1840.

Chiefly correspondence of King and his business associates dealing with their mutual investments in I in Brunswick and elsewhere in Georgia. There are also letters discussing politics in Georgia, King's Middleton purchase, and from Anna Matilda King to her husband.

Notable correspondents include: Laomi Baldwin (one letter, 1836); James Gillespie Birney, American Anti-Slavery Society (one letter, 1839); James S. Calhoun (two letters, 1839); Thomas G. Cary (several letters); S. T. Chapman (two letters, 1838, 1840); Duncan Lamont Clinch (one letter, 1840); H. K. Curtis (several letters); R. R. Cuyler (one letter, 1840); Edward H. Eldredge (several letters, 1836-1837); James Hamilton, Jr. (several letters); Reverdy Johnson (one letter, 1840); J. L. Locke (several letters, 1838-1839); Joseph Lyman (several letters, 1838); B. F. Perham (several letters, 1836-1838); Joseph M. White (one letter, 1837)

Folder 5

1833-1835

Folder 6-10

1836

Folder 11-18

1837

Folder 19-25

1838

Folder 26-32

1839

Folder 33-37

1840

1.4. 1841-1848.

Chiefly correspondence related to King's activities during his congressional service. This includes requests and petitions from those seeking services and federal appointments in Georgia, Florida, and elsewhere, and letters dealing with his interest and involvement in naval affairs, politics, and the Zachary Taylor presidential campaign of 1848. There are also several letters from King's overseers at Retreat, John and George Dunham, and from Anna Matilda King on a number of topics: her husband's financial difficulties, the plantation, tutors, and the disadvantages of raising children around slavery. Particularly noteworthy is a handwritten copy of a 8 January 1845 letter from General Charles Floyd to Captain Thomas Bourke describing a duel on Amelia Island between Thomas Butler King and Charles Spaulding. Correspondence on internal improvements in Georgia ceases in the early 1840s.

Notable correspondents include: E. F. Aldrich (one letter 1848); Anthony Barclay (several letters, 1841, 1843); Francis Stebbins Bartow (several letters, 1846-1848); William Bellinger Bulloch (two letters, 1847); James S. Calhoun (several letters); Thomas G. Cary (two letters, 1846, 1848); S. T. Chapman (several letters); Duncan Lamont Clinch (several letters); Zebeden Cook (one letter, 1846); R. R. Cuyler (several letters throughout); Samuel Draper (several letters, 1848); John Dunham (several letters); Stephen Elliott (one letter, 1841); Charles Floyd (one letter, 1845); William Hodgson (several letters throughout); Samuel Jaudon (several letters, 1846-1848); John Jay (several letters throughout); Reverdy Johnson (several letters); David Law (several letters); J. L. Locke (several letters); Matthew Fontaine Maury (several letters, 1846, 1848); George Meacham (one letter, 1848); Henry Morgan (one letter, 1848); James D. Ogden (two letters, 1848); Francis Oxnard (one letter, 1846); Josiah Quincy (one letter, 1841); James Rees (one letter, 1848); John O. Sargent (several letters, 1847-1848); Henry H. Scranton (one letter, 1848); John G. Shoolbread (two letters, 1841); Alexander Hamilton Stephens (several letters, 1844-1845); Joseph Story (one letter, 1841); Timothy Timpkins (two letters, 1844); Robert Augustus Toombs (one letter, 1847); Daniel Webster (several letters, 1841-1843); Thurlow Weed (one letter, 1848); F. Winter (several letters, 1845-1846).

Folder 38-47

1841

Folder 48-54

1842

Folder 55-59

1843

Folder 60-66

1844

Folder 67-80

1845

Folder 81-120

1846

Folder 121-138

1847

Folder 139-186

1848

1.5. 1849-1852.

Chiefly family letters dealing with the everyday affairs of plantation life, with the education of the King children, and with King's activities in California. King, his wife, and their two oldest sons, Butler and Lordy, are the principal correspondents. These letters include King writing from California to his wife and children; Butler, in his early letters, from Franklin College to his parents, then later, from California to his mother; Lordy from Yale University to his parents; and Anna Matilda King to her husband, sons, and other children. In addition, there are family letters from the other King children to their father and several business and political letters from Californians and northern capitalists to King. (For additional information on King's activities in California see Series 2, folder 478.)

Notable correspondents include: Alex H. Arthur (one letter, 1849); William Henry Aspinwall (several letters); John Barrell (one letter, 1850); Thomas Benning (one letter, 1849); Frederick Billings (one letter, 1850); Simon Fraser Blount (two letters, 1849); Burgoyne & Company (several letters); Henry Clay (one letter, 1851); John Demere (several letters); C. W. Denison (one letter, 1850); Edward M. Dodge (one letter, 1850); Frank Gage (one letter, 1850); Andrew Gray (one letter, 1850); Cyril V. Grey (one letter, 1850); Robert Habersham (several letters); Josiah Holbrook (one letter, 1850); C. H. Hopkins (one letter, 1849); John Eastman Johnson (one letter, 1850); James Longstreet (one letter, 1850); Joseph B. Lynde (two letters, 1850); B. F. Moon (one letter, 1849); W. W. Paine (several letters); John V. Plume (one letter, 1850); Cadwalader Ringgold (several letters); H. E. Robinson (one letter, 1850); Persifor Frazer Smith (one letter, 1849); H. Van Rensselaer (one letter, 1849); Franklin Williams from Shanghai (several letters); Wolcott, Bates & Company, Shanghai (several letters).

Folder 187-218

1849

Folder 219-222

1840s

Folder 223-233

1850

Folder 234-237

1851

Folder 238-244

1852

1.6. 1853-1859.

Family letters on domestic matters form the bulk of the correspondence during this period. After his economic and political failures in California, King began investing in and promoting railroads in Georgia and elsewhere in the South. He was particularly involved with a transcontinental railroad through Texas. There are a number of letters discussing these ventures (which King promoted and managed by constantly traveling between Washington, New York, New Orleans, Texas, and England), but for the most part they reveal little about the projects. Like most of his other business plans, these fell through, and, by 1859, it was clear that for the time being the transcontinental project was dead. (Additional information on King's railroad activities can be found in Series 3.)

Anna Matilda King and Butler, the King's oldest son, are the most frequent correspondents. Butler's letters deal with the management of Retreat Plantation, with his efforts to settle with the Treasury Department his father's accounts as collector at San Francisco, with his own plans to become a cotton factor in Savannah, and with his and his mother's attempts to purchase Hamilton, the neighboring plantation. Anti-semitism surfaces in several of Ann Matilda's letters regarding Hamilton. For the most part, however, her letters concern plantation and local affairs: taking care of sick slaves, entertaining a constant stream of visitors, news from Brunswick and Savannah, and other topics. Particularly noteworthy are several letters from the spring and summer of 1856 in which Anna Matilda discusses table-tipping and her contacts with the spiritual world. Butler died suddenly in January 1859, and Anna Matilda died in August of that year.

Notable correspondents include: Jeptha Fowlkes (several letters, 1857-1858); Samuel Jaudon (several letters); Thomas B. Lincoln (several letters, 1857-1859).

Folder 245-252

1853

Folder 253-268

1854

Folder 269-278

1855

Folder 279-292

1856

Folder 293-312

1857

Folder 313-334

1858

Folder 335-360

1859

Folder 361-364

1850s

1.7. 1860-1865.

Chiefly family correspondence that reflects the effects of the Civil War on the King family. There are letters from the sons from their different war stations. Lord was near Williamsburg in 1861, and, until his death in December 1862, with General McLaws in eastern Virginia (see Series 7, volume 11 for his diary between 4 June and 16 November 1862). Floyd wrote from various places in Virginia and eastern Tennessee throughout the war (mainly from western Virginia as a Major in the artillery under Henry Heth). Mallery wrote from James Island, S.C., in 1862, from Mississippi with Gist's Brigade in 1863 and 1864, and from Pocataligo, S.C., in 1864. Cuyler was near Chattanooga, Chickamauga, and Missionary Ridge, Tenn., and Marietta, Ga., in 1863 and near Atlanta and Dalton, Ga., in the spring of 1864.

The letters of King's daughters deal with the family's relocation from the coast to the interior of Georgia and with news of friends in the army and elsewhere. Georgia King, who married William Duncan Smith in the summer of 1861, wrote most of these: from Richmond in 1860 on meeting Mrs. Jefferson Davis, James Longstreet, and J. E. B. Stuart and riding Stuart's horse; from Fairfax Courthouse, Va., in the fall of 1861 with her brother Floyd and her husband William; from Manassas, Va., in 1861 with the news of Hamilton Couper's death; and from Savannah and elsewhere in Georgia during the rest of the war. Also included are papers dealing with the Charleston convention of 1860, the political situation, King's service in the Georgia legislature during November of that year, Georgia's seizure of Fort Pulaski in 1861, and King's mission to Europe for the state of Georgia.

Notable correspondents include: Lafayette McLaws (several letters); William Duncan Smith (several letters).

Folder 365-384

1860

Folder 385-405

1861

Folder 406-413

1862

Folder 414-420

1863

Folder 421-431

1864

Folder 432-441

1865

1.8. 1866-1868.

Chiefly letters from Floyd in Mississippi and Louisiana (in and near Natchez), where he was managing plantations with German and black labor. Included also are letters from Georgia and Florence King and the Capertons.

Folder 442-452

1866

Folder 453-460

1867

Folder 461

1868

Folder 462

1860s

2. Speeches and Writings.

2.1. Speeches and Writings by Thomas Butler King, 1830s-1863.

23 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Speeches and writings by Thomas Butler King related to presidential campaigns and to his own political campaigns in Georgia. Also included are reports on his tenure as collector of the port of San Francisco and a pamphlet dealing with his correspondence and activities as agent to Europe from Georgia during the first years of the Civil War.

Folder 463

Address on the constitution, slavery, and state rights, [1830s?] (8 handwritten pages)

Reply to "the interrogations of the Citizens of Franklin and Taliaferro County," Ga., on the United States Bank, 14 September 1838 (29 handwritten pages)

Folder 464

Address on the pending presidential election between Harrison and Van Buren, 1840 (43 handwritten pages)

Folder 465

Campaign address in support of Harrison, 1840 (incomplete, 19 handwritten pages numbered 1-2, 1-11, 17-1/2, 28, and 40-44)

Campaign address supporting Harrison, 1840 (5-6 handwritten pages, incomplete)

Folder 466

Draft of speech on the subject of treasury notes, 18 March 1840 (20 handwritten pages, odd numbering but probably complete) "Speech of Thomas Butler King of Georgia on the Bill additional to the Act on the subject of Treasury Notes," 18 March 1840 (about 45 handwritten pages)

Folder 467

Notes on the Home Squadron Bill, 1841 (5 handwritten pages, incomplete)

Report on the Home Squadron Bill; printed congressional report (27th Congress, 1st Session, Report No. 3, House of Representatives.), 7 July 1841 (16 printed pages)

Folder 468

Address, "To the people of the first Congressional District of Georgia," 1844 (4 handwritten pages)

Address, 1844 (incomplete, 4 handwritten pages: 1, 9, 17, 20

Folder 469

Report on the 1846 memorial of the Alabama, Florida, and Georgia Railroad Company, 1848 (12 handwritten pages)

Folder 470

Report on California, 20 February 1850 (8 handwritten pages, incomplete)

"Original Manuscript Copy of Report on California by T. Butler King," 1850 (handwritten, incomplete, pages: 5-78)

Folder 471

Speech to the Young Men's Whig Club of San Francisco, June 1852 (4 handwritten pages)

Notes on activities at San Francisco, undated (about 4 handwritten pages, incomplete)

Report defending conduct while collector of the port of San Francisco, [1853?] (37 handwritten pages)

Folder 472

"Original Manuscript of the Address to the People of the First Congressional District [of Georgia]' May, 1859" (45 handwritten pages)

"Address of Hon. T. Butler King, to the people of the First Congressional District," Savannah, 1859 (printed booklet, 28 pages) (Note: The original of this booklet has been transferred to the Rare Book Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill.)

Folder 473

"A Card to the Public," 27 July 1859 (2 handwritten copies, one 6 pages, another 4 pages, and one printed copy, 1 page)

Folder 474

Notes on state aid to railroads, November 1959 (8 handwritten pages)

"Report on State Aid," 18 November 1859 (2 handwritten pages)

"Brief remarks on the Bill granting State Aid to Railroad Companies," 21 November 1859 (3 pages)

Folder 475

Speech to the residents of Rhode Island on the presidential campaign, 1860 (12 handwritten pages)

"The American Blockade," 1861 (28 handwritten pages)

Folder 476

"Original Preamble and Resolution for the Appointment of a Commissioner to the Continent of Europe [from Georgia]," 1861-1862 (2 handwritten pages)

"Papers Relative to the Mission of Hon. T. Butler King to Europe," Confederate Union Power Press, Milledgeville, Ga., 1863 (printed booklet, 16 pages [Note: The original of this booklet has been transferred to Rare Book Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill])

2.2. Speeches and Essays by Others.

26 items.

Arrangement: alphabetically by author or compiler.

Speeches and writings on the King family and other topics by family members and others.

Folder 477

Mrs. Franklin Dunwoody Aiken (Frances Buford King): "Life at Retreat Plantation (After 1875)," 1942 (photocopy of 3 typewritten pages of a document)

Butler King Couper: "A Story of the Clock," undated (2 typewritten pages)

Folder 478

J. M. Culverwell and J. J. Hansen: "Resume of Information on Thomas Butler King," undated (50 typewritten pages compiled from a number of sources)

Folder 479

William A. Gordon:

"General John Floyd King," 1915 (4 typewritten pages)

"Memorial & Address at Camp 171, U.C.V., Washington, D.C., October 5, 1915" (includes a piece on General J. F. King and other information) (7 typewritten pages)

Folder 480

Thomas Ap Catesby Jones:

"The Bay of San Francisco and its Harbors," undated (6 handwritten pages)

"New York of the Pacific rivisited [sic]," undated. (7 handwritten pages)

"The wants of California Immigrants considered," undated (12 handwritten pages)

Folder 481

Richard Cuyler King:

"The Revolution of America," undated (2 handwritten pages)

"Application of Electricity and Steam," undated (4 handwritten pages)

Charles Spaulding: "The Floyds" (document on the Floyd family), undated (5 handwritten pages)

Carey W. Stiles, et. al.: "Address to the People of the First Congressional District of Georgia," 23 July 1853 (1 printed page)

Folder 482

Authors and dates unknown:

Letter in latin (1 page)

"A monotonious rhyme on monotonious Senators" (1 page)

Poem: "I'd offer thee this hand of mine" (1 page)

Poem: "A very mournful ballad of Saint Simons" (4 pages)

Drama: "Enter Dr. Druggendraft with the Duchess" (1 page)

"A few general remarks on the treatment of cholera" (2 pages)

"The usual mode for procuring Coolies in China" (2 pages)

Folder 483

"The Memorial of the undersigned citizens of the State of Arkansas" (2 pages)

"The two plantations on Saint Simons's Island" (photocopy of 2 pages of typewritten document)

"Thomas Butler King" (photocopy of 4 pages of typewritten document)

"Fire Destroys Historic Clock" (1 page photocopy of clipping from unidentified newspaper)

"Attleboro Citizens Mourning Loss of Famous Clock in Fire" (photocopy of 1 page clipping from unidentified newspaper)

"Neptune Small" (slave who accompanied Henry Lord Page King to war and returned the latter's body to Saint Simons) (1 paragraph photocopy of typewritten document)

Biographical summaries, 1 paragraph each, for Henry King, Thomas Butler King, and John Floyd King (photocopies of 2 typed pages)

"Major William Page" (photocopy of 2 pages)

3. Internal Improvements.

About 60 items.

3.1. Georgia.

32 items.

Documents related to internal improvements in Georgia. Included are reports, bills, charts, and receipts, as well as a map of town lots in Brunswick, Ga., and maps of certain lands in Florida.

Folder 484

Alabama, Florida, and Georgia Railroad Company (chartered 1834-1835), 24 July 1846 (1 printed page)

King's notes on internal improvements in Georgia and Florida, undated (9 handwritten pages)

Map: Stage coach routes, New Orleans to Washington, D.C., Lehman & Duval Lith, 15 x 3 3/4, undated

Map: Plan of the city of Saint Joseph, Fla., lithograph by Baker, 8 Wall St., New York, 23 1/4 x 14 1/4, undated (photographic negative included)

Map: "Map of the Lands of the Forbes Purchase in Middle Florida," (about 1,200,000 acres) printed on tissue with handwritten additions, 12 1/2 x 10 3/4, undated

Folder 485

"T. Butler King's Report on Internal Improvements made in the Senate of Georgia, 1836" (20 handwritten pages)

Folder 486

Draft of a bill for railroad construction in Georgia, undated (11 handwritten pages)

"A Table Showing the cereal products of the several counties [in Georgia] through which the Western and Atlantic RR passes and the Counties contiguous thereto for the years 1840 and 1850" (1 handwritten sheet)

"[Georgia] Counties on and contiguous to the proposed lines of new Road and the value of Lands, city and town property therein," undated (1 handwritten sheet)

Railroad matters, Georgia, 1860 (6 handwritten pages, page 1 missing)

Folder 487

Map: Plan of town lots in Brunswick, undated

Lists of town lots in Brunswick, undated

Folder 488

Brunswick Canal Company: Handwritten invoices and receipts from various individuals for services performed by them; bank deposit notices; a power of attorney, 1836

Brunswick Canal and Railroad Company: Notice of assessment on shares of stock, 1838

Folder 489-490

Brunswick and Florida Railroad Company:

Conditions of subscriptions, 1835

List of articles belonging to and bank deposits of the company; payroll of engineers and assistants surveying for the company, 1837

Declaration on notes and accounts; poetition from Rice, Parker & Company for goods supplied by the firm to the company (including a declaration on notes and accounts), 1838-1841

Account of cash received and paid, undated

Statement of expenses for the building provided by Mr. Curtis for the company's office

3.2. Texas.

About 30 items.

Documents associated with King's railroad activities in Texas. These include maps, reports, bills, contracts, speeches, and newspaper editorials.

Folder 491

"Sketch of part of the march & wagonroad of Lt. Colonel Cooke from Sante Fe to the Pacific Ocean, 1846-1847," undated

Indenture between Thomas Butler King and others concerning Texas lands, 4 August 1852 (7 handwritten pages)

"Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Railway: Draft Prospectus," 1853 (7 handwritten pages)

"Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Railway," 1853 (printed document, 3 pages)

"Texas Western RR Company--Certificate of Location," December 1853 (5 handwritten pages)

"Speech [on railroads] of the Hon. T. Butler King, delivered Dec. 24, 1853, at the Old Capitol, Austin" (27 handwritten pages)

"The Tri-Weekly State Times--Supplement--Speech of Hon. T. Butler King delivered Dec. 24, 1853, at the Old Capitol Austin" (printed version) (1 page)

Folder 492

"Whereas by the provisions of an Act of the Legislature of the state of Texas entitled An act to provide for the construction of the Mississippi and Pacific railroad," 31 August 1854 (19 handwritten pages)

"Articles of agreement between Robert Walker and Thomas Butler King, on the one hand, and, on the other, the Governor of Texas concerning the Mississippi and Pacific Railroad," 1 September 1854 (3 handwritten pages)

"Contract R. J. Walker and T. Butler King with Robert Sorton Parry of London-Mississippi and Pacific Railroad," 3 October 1854 (3 handwritten pages)

Folder 493

Promotional letter for a railroad to the Pacific by a Southern route, 1854-1855 (3 handwritten copies, approximately 30 pages each)

Folder 494

Editorial from the Lamar County, Tex. Enquirer: "The Texas Route for a Railroad to the Pacific," 7 May 1855 (3 handwritten pages)

Editorial for the Frontier Patriot, Paris, Lamar County, Tex., 8 May 1855 (6 handwritten pages)

Map: "Routes for a Pacific railroad, compiled to Accompany the Report of the Hon. Jefferson Davis, Sec. of War," 1855

"An Act to incorporate the Memphis, El Paso and Pacific Rail Road Company," 4 February 1856 (15 handwritten pages)

"An Act supplemental to an act to incorporate the Memphis, El Paso and Pacific Railroad Company," 22 August 1856 (3 handwritten pages)

"An Act to amend the 17th section of an act to incorporate the Memphis, El Paso and Pacific Rail Road Company," 25 August 1856 (2 handwritten pages)

Folder 495

Draft of Thomas Butler King's report to the board of directors of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, 1856 (approximately 90 handwritten pages)

Folder 496

"Report to the Board of Directors of the Southern Pacific Rail Road Company," 1856 (86 handwritten pages)

Folder 497

"Extension of the railroad to San Francisco, costs, etc.," 1856 (4 handwritten pages, page 1 missing)

Consolidation suggestions for the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Memphis & El Paso Railroad, 1856 (handwritten, 4 pages)

Consolidation suggestions for the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Memphis & El Paso Railroad, 1856 (about 8 handwritten pages)

Consolidation proposals for the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Memphis & El Paso Railroad, 1856 (4 handwritten pages rough draft and 4 handwritten pages final copy)

Folder 498

"Articles of Agreement made and entered into by and between the Southern Pacific Railroad Company & the Memphis, El Paso and Pacific Rail Road Company of the state of Texas," [1856?] (2 handwritten pages)

Agreement between Thomas Butler King on behalf of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company and others connected with the Memphis, El Paso & Pacific Railroad Company, 23 August 1856 (1 handwritten page)

"This memorandum of agreement between Samuel R. Brooks of the City of New York..." and other principals for buying land in Texas [1856?] (2 handwritten pages)

"A Bill to be Entitled: An Act Authorizing the Southern Pacific and the Memphis, El Paso & Pacific Railroad Companies to form a Junction and Build a common trunk road to El Paso," 1856 (3 handwritten pages)

A bill relating to construction deadlines, etc., of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, [May 1857?] (6 handwritten pages)

Contract between the Southern Pacific Railroad and Jeptha Fowlkes of the Memphis & El Paso Railroad, 10 September 1857 (12 handwritten pages)

"Articles of Agreement Between the Southern Pacific Railroad Company and Doctor Jeptha Fowlkes, New York, 10 September 1857" (9 handwritten pages)

Folder 499

"Whereas certain important pledges were made to the people of New Orleans...," 1857 (2 handwritten pages)

"To the Members of the Legislature of the State of Texas," speech, 1858 (1 printed sheet)

"A Bill to be Entitled An Act to Amend the 4th Section of an Act to provide for the investment of the Special School Fund," 20 January 1858 (1 handwritten page)

Letter of 20 January 1858 (2 handwritten pages)

Folder 500

"Bill Supplemental to an Act incorporating the Texas Western Railroad Company," 3 February 1858 (3 handwritten pages)

"A Bill To be entitled an act supplemental to an act incorporating the Texas Western Rail Road Company," 4 February 1858 (6 handwritten pages)

"A bill To be entitled an Act to encourage the Construction," 4, 5, 8 February 1858 (2 handwritten pages)

"An Act To Amend an Act to Incorporate the Memphis, El Paso & Pacific RR Company," 10 February 1858 (2 different handwritten copies, 2 pages each)

Folder 501

Southern Pacific Railroad Convention, Louisville Journal Extra, 26 August 1858 (1 printed page)

Southern Pacific Railroad Company construction bond, [1858?] (2 handwritten copies, 2 pages each)

"A Bill to be Entitled: An Act to Encourage the Construction of a National Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean to Pass Through the State of Texas," [1856-1858] (4 handwritten pages)

"An Act Entitled an Act Authorizing Counties to Subscribe to Railroad and Issue Bonds in Payment of said Subscriptions," [1856-1858] (6 handwritten pages)

"Report of Hon. Jacob Waelder," 1856-1858 (4 handwritten pages)

Folder 502

List of articles from the American Railway Review between May 1857 and October 1859 (3 handwritten pages numbered 3 through 5)

"New Policy of the Southern Pacific Railroad Co.," 12 April 1859 (1 printed page)

"Office Southern Pacific Railroad Co., Marshall, Texas, May 1, 1859" (1 printed sheet)

Southern Pacific Railroad matters, 1850s (6 handwritten pages)

"An Act to Authorize the Sale of the Public Domain," 1850s (3 handwritten pages)

Folder 503

"New Orleans, 1st October, 1861" (1 page printed letter)

Notes on Sonora, Mex., undated (6 handwritten pages)

Discussion of railroad matters, distances, etc., undated (8 handwritten pages numbered 5 through 12)

Notes on railroad matters, undated. (3 handwritten pages)

Estimates of a route via Santa Fe, undated (1 handwritten page)

Eastern Texas Railroad Company: Agreement of association, printed sheet of bank share agreement, undated (1 page)

4. Other Papers.

About 130 items.

4.1. Naval Affairs.

About 30 items.

Miscellaneous documents related to King's interests in naval affairs. These include a list of French Navy vessels; information on mail steamers and contracts; a memorandum on railways for the depot of war ships; an act relating to surveyors and pursers of the navy; notes on changes brought about in European navies as a result of the introduction of steam; notes and memos on a steam war Navy; information on Mr. Bancroft and "retrenchment"; a proposal to establish a Navy Yard at Brunswick; a piece entitled "Stand Still or Reform"; and a map "Drawn to Accompany Ambrose W. Thompson's Proposal to Establish Steam Communication between the United States and China."

Folder 504-508

Naval affairs

4.2. Slave Lists.

5 items.

Lists of slaves belonging to the King family and probably to others.

Folder 509

"Return of Thomas Butler King's Taxable Property in the Counties of Glynn & Wayne for 1834"

"Register of Negroes belonging to Tho. Butler King," November 1839

"Stampede" (list of slaves), undated

Unidentified log book, undated (pages 161-162)

List of slaves received by each member of the King family following Anna Matilda King's death in August 1859

4.3. Financial and Legal Papers.

About 35 items.

Deeds, bonds, indentures, maps and plats. Most relate to King's purchase of part of the Middleton estate in the mid-1830s.

Folder 510

Fragments of maps of various places with 18th- and 19th-century dates

Folder 511-512

Papers dealing with Thomas Butler King's purchase of part of the Middleton estate

Folder 513-514

Miscellaneous items

Folder 515

"Notice of Quartz Claim Agreement--Smith & Baldwin and Patrick Develin and Others," 24 September 1852 (3 handwritten pages)

Power of attorney to Thomas Butler King from the owners of the Old Dominion Mining Company, Calaveras County, Calif., 19 October 1852 (2 handwritten pages)

Copy of agreement between the Old Dominion Gold Mining Company and the South Carolina Gold Mining Company concerning Carson's Creek (or Hill), Calif., undated. (7 handwritten pages)

4.4. Invitations, Replies, Calling Cards, Receipts, and Miscellaneous Items.

About 60 items.

Chiefly calling cards and replies to an invitation to a public dinner given in King's honor in New York, 23 March 1847.

Folder 516-523

Calling cards, etc.

5. Printed Material.

About 120 items.

5.1. Printed Items.

About 30 items.

Printed form letters sent to King covering a wide variety of topics and a lithograph of an execution in San Francisco.

Folder 524-527

1838-1847 and undated

Folder 528

Lithograph: "The First Trial & Execution in S. Francisco," [1851-1852?], Quirot & Company, San Francisco, 8 x 11-1/2

5.2. Clippings.

About 90 items.

Newspaper clippings dealing with King and his various interests.

Folder 529-533

Clippings, 1841-1864 and undated

6. Volumes.

12 items.

Folder 534

Volume 1: Anna Matilda King miscellaneous account records, 1839-1840

Folder 535

Volume 2: "Preliminary Remarks on the Sate of France previous to the Revolution of 1789 to serve as an introduction to the history of the French Revolution," 25 February 1848 (17 pages)

Folder 536

Volume 3: Miscellaneous accounts and travel record of William Page, Saint Simons Island, Ga., 1820

Folder 537

Volume 4: Miscellaneous accounts: tobacco, shoes, candy, 1841

Folder 538

Volume 5: Anna Matilda Page in account with William Page: clothes and personal expense, 1822

Folder 539

Volume 6: J. M. Snelling, H. A. Snelling, Augusta, Ga., miscellaneous accounts, undated

Folder 540

Volume 7: Addresses and miscellaneous memoranda, undated

Folder 541

Volume S-8: Plantation record kept by Anna Matilda King, 1842-1858, and others, 1864 (note: these are copyflow prints from microfilm)

Folder 542

Volume 9: Commonplace book, 1855, 1865, of Georgia Page King

Folder 543

Volume 10: Henry Lord Page King diary, 1860, with brief daily entries

Folder 544-545

Volume 11: Henry Lord Page King diary, 4-27 June, 6 August-16 November 1862. The diary was sent in pieces to King's sister Flora as indicated by enclosed notes. During the Civil War, Henry Lord Page King was aide-de-camp to Confederate Brigadier General Lafayette McLaws. The diary discusses troop movements from Williamsburg into Maryland and refers to generals McLaws, Robert E. Lee, T. J. Jackson, D. H. Hill, J. B. Kershaw, and James Longstreet (typed transcription included)

Folder 546

Volume 12: J. Floyd King Bible with Civil War sketches on flyleaves

Additions after 1987

Addition of May 1989 (Acc. 89034)

About 25 items.

Materials in this addition are not included on the microfilm of the collection.

Folder 547

Chiefly letters to Richard Cuyler King, son of Thomas Butler and Anna Matilda Page King. Included are letters from various family members to Richard Cuyler King during his service with the 1st Battalion, Georgia Sharp Shooters during the Civil War. Among these letters are several from his brothers, who were serving with other Confederate forces. Letters largely discuss family matters.

Folder 548

Typed transcriptions of the letters described above. The transcriptions were made in 1975 and 1978 by Jeannette Adams, wife of the donor.

Addition of September 2003 (Acc. 99657)

2 items.

Materials in this addition are not included on the microfilm of the collection.

Folder 549

"Some Bible and Cemetery Records of the Page-King Family," compiled by Edwin R. MacKethan III, July 2003

Folder 550

"Memorandum on the King Family of Palmer, Massachusetts," compiled by Edwin R. MacKethan III, August 2003

Addition of August 2004 (Acc. 99873)

2 items.

Materials in this addition are not included on the microfilm of the collection.

Folder 551

Biographical material and typed transcription of diary of Captain R. Cuyler King, 1st Georgia Sharpshooters

Diary documents the campaign of Hood from Jonesboro, Ga., into Tennessee in Autumn 1864