Papers of Jefferson Davis documents and reference collection
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
- Creation: 1815-2015, bulk 1850-1880
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1850 - 1880
Creator
- Rice University. Jefferson Davis Association (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
This material is open for research.
Boxes 1-40 stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.
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
Abstract
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.
Subject
- Davis, Jefferson (Person)
- Davis, Varina Howell (Person)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- 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
Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA
713-348-2586
woodson@rice.edu