Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#950
JASON NILES PAPERS
Inventory
Full text of diary, 22 June 1861-31 December 1864
Abstract: Diaries, scrapbooks, and other records of Niles,
who practiced law for 46 years in Kosciusko, Miss.,
and served as a Republican U. S. representative, 1873-
1875. The diaries, 34 volumes (ca. 6,800 pages),
cover Niles's early life and education in Vermont,
1831-1838; teaching school at several places in Ohio
and Tennessee, 1838-1848; residence in Mississippi,
1848-1890; and numerous trips, including trips to
Canada in 1864, Ohio and New Orleans in 1871,
California in 1872, and Texas in 1873. The diaries
provide an unusually full and articulate record of the
experiences and opinions of a New Englander residing
in the South. Fifteen scrapbooks, 1847-1888, of
clippings, pamphlets, broadsides, and other items,
contain material on Mississippi and national politics,
particularly during Reconstruction, on Niles' New
England literary interest, and on many other events
and subjects. Also included are a diary and
scrapbook, 1869-1871, of Henry C. Niles, and a
Kosciusko town school record, 1853-1854.
Online Catalog Terms:
California--Description and travel--1869-1950.
Canada--Description and travel--1763-1867.
Diaries--Mississippi--History--19th century.
Kosciusko (Miss.)--History.
Lawyers--Mississippi--History--19th century.
Migration, Internal--United States--History--19th century.
Mississippi--Politics and government--19th century.
Mississippi--Social life and customs--19th century.
Niles, Henry C., fl. 1869-1871.
Niles, Jason, 1814-1894.
New Orleans--Description and travel--19th century.
Ohio--Description and travel--19th century.
Reconstruction--Mississippi.
Schools--Mississippi--Kosciusko--Records and correspondence.
Scrapbooks--Mississippi--History--19th century.
Teachers--Ohio--History--19th century.
Teachers--Tennessee--History--19th century.
Texas--Description and travel--19th century.
United States--Politics and government--19th century.
Vermont--Social life and customs--19th century.
Size: 52 volumes (5.5 linear feet).
Provenance: Received from Mrs. Swanson Niles of Kosciusko,
Miss., in February 1945.
Access: No restrictions.
Processing Note: This collection was processed with support
from the Randleigh Foundation Trust.
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers,
or their descendants, as stipulated by United
States copyright law.
Table of Contents:
Biographical Note
Series Descriptions
Series 1. Diaries
Series 2. Other Volumes
Series 3. Scrapbooks
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Jason Niles was born 19 December 1814 at Hatley, Quebec. He
lived in the vicinity of Burlington, Vt., from 1831 to March
1838, attending the University of Vermont from 1834 until his
graduation in 1837. He lived in Massachusetts, Ohio, and
Tennessee from 1838 to 1848, teaching school. He married Harriet
"Qu" McRee of Shelbyville, Tenn., on 15 August 1847.
Niles moved to Kosciusko, Miss., on 20 July 1848. Having
started reading law in January, he was admitted to the bar in
1851 and practiced intermittently throughout his residence in
Kosciusko. He was editor of the Kosciusko Chronicle, 1851-1853;
a delegate to the state constitutional conventions of 1851, 1865,
and 1868; a member of the state House of Representatives in 1870;
a circuit judge in 1871 and 1872; and Republican member of the
United States Congress March 1873 to March 1875 (he was defeated
in the 1874 election). Niles died at Kosciusko, Miss., on 7 July
1894.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Diaries
1831-1890. 33 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Diaries of Jason Niles begin during his youth and college in
Burlington, Vt., and continue through his teaching positions in
Ohio and Tennessee, 1838-1848, and his business and political
career in Kosciusko, Miss., 1848-1890. There are also accounts
of trips to Canada in 1864, Ohio and New Orlean in 1871,
California in 1872, and Texas in 1873.
Folder 1 Volume 1: 1831-1836, 150 pp. Diary of Niles
while residing in Burlington, Vt., and environs.
2 Volume 2: 1836-1838, 171 pp. Diary of Niles
begun in Burlington, Vt.
3 Volume S/3: 1838, 170 pp. Diary of Niles begun at
Haverhill, Mass., and continued at Tupper's
Plains, Ohio.
4 Volume 4: 1838-1839, 157 pp. Diary of Niles
begun while teaching in Zanesville, Ohio.
5 Volume 5: 1839, 165 pp. Diary of Niles begun
while teaching in Middleton, Tenn.
6 Volume 6: 1839-1841, 165 pp. Diary of Niles
begun while still teaching in Middleton, Tenn.
7 Volume 7: 1841, 128 pp. Diary of Niles, probably
still teaching in Middleton, Tenn.
8 Volume 8: 1841-1842, 139 pp. Diary of Niles
begun at Athens, Ohio.
9 Volume 9: 1842-1843, 130 pp. Diary of Niles
begun at Tupper's Plain, Ohio.
10 Volume 10: 1843-1844, 136 pp. Diary of Niles
begun at Nashville, Tenn. Included is an account
of a steamboat trip to Cairo.
11 Volume 11: 1844-1845, 147 pp. Diary of Niles
while teaching in Tennessee.
12 Volume 12: 1845-1846, 291 pp. Diary of Niles
while in Tennessee.
13 Volume 13: 1846, 147 pp. Diary of Niles while in
Tennessee.
14 Volume 14: 1846-1848, 153 pp. Diary of Niles
while in Tennessee and Mississippi. Another diary
notes his marriage to Harriet "Qu" McRee on 15
August 1847.
15 Volume 15: 1850-1861, 250 pp. Diary of Niles
while practicing law in Mississippi.
16 Volume 16: 1862-1864, 182 pp. Diary of Niles
while in Mississippi.
17 Volume 17: 1864-1865, 180 pp. Diary of Niles
while in Mississippi.
18 Volume 18: 1865-1866, 176 pp. Diary of Niles
while in Mississippi.
19 Volume 19: 1867, 1870, 50 pp. Diary of Niles,
with a few entries about travels to Canada.
20a Volume 20-A: 1871, 100 pp. Diary of Niles on a
trip from Kosciusko to Cincinnati and back.
20b Volume 20-B: 1872, 1873, 100 pp. Diary of Niles
on a trip through St. Louis, Texas, New Orleans,
and back in 1873 and to California in 1872.
21 Volume 21: 1873-1876, 336 pp. Diary of Niles at
Kosciusko, Miss., and Washington, D.C.
22 Volume 22: 1876, 164 pp. Diary of Niles while in
Mississippi.
23 Volume 23: 1876-1877, 170 pp. Diary of Niles
while in Mississippi.
24 Volume 24: 1871-1878, 222 pp. Diary of Niles
while in Mississippi.
25 Volume 25: 1878-1880, 216 pp. Diary of Niles
while in Mississippi.
26 Volume 26: 1880-1881, 216 pp. Diary of Niles
while in Mississippi.
27 Volume 27: 1881-1883, 192 pp. Diary of Niles
while in Mississippi.
28 Volume 28: 1883-1884, 136 pp. Diary of Niles
while in Mississippi.
29 Volume 29: 1884-1885, 197 pp. Diary of Niles
while in Mississippi.
30 Volume 30: 1885-1886, 111 pp. Diary of Niles
while in Mississippi.
31 Volume 31: 1886-1887, 195 pp. Diary of Niles
while in Mississippi.
32 Volume 32: 1887-1889, 242 pp. Diary of Niles
while in Mississippi.
33 Volume 33: 1889-1890, 150 pp. Diary of Niles
while in Mississippi.
Series 2. Other Volumes
1853-1870. 4 items.
Other volumes include commonplace books, a township school
record, and a chapter of an unpublished history based upon
material in Niles's diaries.
Folder 34 Volume 34: 1861, 50 pp. Collectanea with
writings on history, classics, etc., written by
Niles.
35 Volume 35: 1853-1854, 50 pp. Township School
Record, Kosciusko, Miss.
36 Volume 36: 1869-1871, 202 pp. Commonplace book
of Henry C. Niles.
37 Volume 37: 1973 [1860-1870], 61 pp. Photocopy of
a typescript of Chapter 9, "The Fourth Decade,
1860-1870, Civil War and Military Rule" by James
P. Coleman for his Choctaw County History.
Coleman quoted extensively from Niles's diaries.
Series 3. Scrapbooks
1847-1890. 15 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Fifteen scrapbooks of newspaper clippings belonging to Jason
Niles and Henry Niles. These volumes contain clippings,
pamphlets, broadsides, and ballot sheets pertaining to Republian
Mississippi and national politics. There are also clippings on
literary criticism with an emphasis on New England authors of the
1840s; items on American history; European political and literary
affairs; celebrated murders, marriages and lynchings; and poetry,
obituaries, and other clippings showing an interest in U. S.
Grant, Wendell Phillips, Horace Greeley, Daniel Webster, Margaret
Fuller, Emerson, Stoddard, and Blaine. Also included is material
relating to Jason Niles's own political activities in Mississippi
in the late 1860s.
Folder 38 Volume 38: 1847-1868, 150 pp. Scrapbook of
newspaper clippings about literature, history,
travel, European affairs, and poetry.
39 Volume S-39: 1847-1859, 125 pp. Scrapbook with
European affairs, Daniel Webster, poetry, etc.
40 Volume 40: 1848-1850, 300 pp. Scrapbook of
newspaper clippings about local politics and
events and general and literary matters.
41 Volume 41: 1849-1890, 542 pp. Scrapbook of
newspaper clippings of local clippings,
broadsides, and material on Jason Niles's
political career (pasted over record of the
thirty-sixth Congress, 1860).
42 Volume 42: 1848, 1867-1870, 125 pp. Scrapbook of
newspaper clippings of obituaries, poems, and
general feature articles.
43 Volume 43: 1868-1872, 100 pp. Henry Niles's
scrapbook of newspaper clippings about Republican
politics in Mississippi, poems, and information on
Horace Greeley.
44 Volume 44: 1870-1872, 85 pp. Scrapbook of
miscellaneous newspaper clippings.
45 Volume 45: 1872, 100 pp. Scrapbook of clippings,
pamphlets, and published speeches concerning the
election and campaign, with U. S. Grant material.
46 Volume 46: 1872-1873, 75 pp. Scrapbook of
newspaper clippings about literature, history, and
Washington information.
47 Volume 47: 1872-1882, 300 pp. Scrapbook of Jason
Niles with newspaper clippings of poetry, literary
criticism, public affairs, political issues and a
few murders.
48 Volume 48: 1877-1882, 150 pp. Scrapbook of
newspaper clippings about politics, speeches, and
miscellaneous topics.
49 Volume 49: 1878-1886, 425 pp. Scrapbook of
newspaper clippings of obituaries, biographical
material on public and literary men, marriages,
murder trials, and miscellaneous items.
50 Volume 50: 1879-1885, 370 pp. Scrapbook of
newspaper clippings.
51 Volume 51: 1879-1883, 75 pp. Scrapbook of
newspaper clippings dealing chiefly with the
National Republican Convention of 1880 (pasted in
a county school record of the 1860s).
52 Volume 52: 1885-1888, 370 pp. Scrapbook of
obituaries and miscellaneous clippings.