Skip to main content

Papers of Jefferson Davis documents and reference collection

 Collection
Identifier: MS 638
Finding aid note: Boxes 1-6, 40 stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information. Boxes 7-39, all file drawers, and card catalog stored onsite. Box 40 stored offsite at LSC and requires 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Scope and Contents

This collection includes the wealth of documentation identified from across the United States and beyond and assembled for the purpose of the publication of the Papers of Jefferson Davis, a 14-volume set, funded by the NHPRC, and other activities and persons, beginning in the 1960s and running through 2015. Many of the speeches and letters published in the edition, either in full or summarized, are present in this collection as photocopies or on microfilm. Not every document featured in the edition is currently represented here, as many were on microfilm on loan from the owning repositories for one-time reference use by the project, and such reels have been returned to the owning repositories.

Dates

  • 1815-2015, bulk 1850-1880
  • Majority of material found within 1850 - 1880

Creator

Access Restrictions

This material is open for research.

Conditions Governing Access

Boxes 1-6, 40 stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information. Boxes 7-39, all file drawers, and card catalog stored onsite.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish from this material must be facilitated through the Woodson Reserach Center. Contact woodson@rice.edu.

We cannot allow the copying of any manuscripts except those owned by the Rice University, Davis family members, Library of Congress, and the National Archives. Only if the researcher secured permission from the owner, whether repository or individual, can a copy be made from our copy. Copying of typescripts, transcriptions, and printed versions is permitted.

Biographical / Historical

Best known as president of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, Jefferson Davis served in the Mexican War, in the House of Representatives and the Senate, and was secretary of war under Franklin Pierce. After the Civil War he became a symbol of the Lost Cause.

The Papers of Jefferson Davis, a documentary editing project based at Rice University in Houston, Texas, has prepared (1971-2015) a 14-volume edition of his letters and speeches, published by LSU Press.

Extent

270 Linear Feet (80 file drawers, 40 boxes, 1 card catalog)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

This collection includes the wealth of documentation identified from across the United States and beyond and assembled for the purpose of the publication of the Papers of Jefferson Davis, a 14-volume set, funded by the NHPRC, and other activities and persons, beginning in the 1960s and running through 2015. Many of the speeches and letters published in the edition, either in full or summarized, are present in this collection as photocopies or on microfilm. Not every document featured in the edition is currently represented here, as many were on microfilm on loan from the owning repositories for one-time reference use by the project, and such reels have been returned to the owning repositories.

Arrangement

Copies of speeches and letters are arranged in boxes of microfilm grouped by owning repository and in file drawers arranged chronologically.

Researchers often begin their work by exploring the master card set which is arranged in chronological order, following the order of the documents featured in the 14-volume set. These cards contain information about the content of the document, as well as about the source of the original document, suggesting to the user whether the copy is in this collection as a photocopy, on microfilm, or in some cases is no longer part of this collection (cases when the owning repository took possession of the microfilm it has loaned for this project).

Other reference tools are arranged by date or alphabetically as appropriate, as can be seen by reviewing the box and file drawer listing in this finding aid.

The card catalog for the Papers of Jefferson Davis, supplementing the Vertical and Reference Files, is available in the reading room of the Woodson Research Center, and can be especially useful for topics such as locating Varina Davis documents and biographical sketches which were published in the multi-volume set.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was donated by the Papers of Jefferson Davis Project after the last volume of the edition was published.

Related Materials

Jefferson Davis Letters and related materials, MS 005, Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University. (Finding aid online at http://archives.library.rice.edu/repositories/2/resources/5)

Jefferson Davis Project website includes valuale timeline and genealogical information: https://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/

Subjects

Record Groups

Related Names

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Papers of Jefferson Davis documents and reference collection, 1815-2015
Status
Completed
Author
Lynda Crist and Amanda Focke
Date
2016
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

http://woodson.rice.edu/woodson
Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA

Broaden your search:
Texas Archival Resources Online - statewide search of archival finding aids
ArchiveGrid - international search of archival finding aids
Scholarship.rice.edu - Rice University digital content

© 2022 Woodson Research Center
Fondren Library, Rice University
Physical Address: 6100 Main, Houston, Texas 77005-1827
Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892