George Washington Polk, civil engineer and genealogist of San Antonio, Tex., was the son of Lucius Junius Polk (1802-1870), planter of Maury County, Tenn., and Mary Ann Eastin Polk (1810-1847), who was Mrs. Andrew Jackson's niece, and nephew of Leonidas Polk (1806-1864), Episcopal bishop and Confederate general. The collection includes scattered 19th-century papers of members of the Polk and related families and extensive 20th-century papers about them. Early papers are chiefly of Lucius Junius Polk, Mary Eastin Polk, and Lucius's father, William Polk (1758-1834), who owned much land in North Carolina. Letters pertain to politics, planting, family matters, lands, and other business interests. Included are letters from Andrew Jackson and Leonidas Polk, and papers of General John Coffee (1772-1833) of Alabama and other members of the related Coffee, Donelson, and Eastin families of Tennessee. Postbellum papers are chiefly of William Harrison Polk (fl. 1875) of Paris, Ky., and George Washington Polk. The majority of these later papers relate to George's genealogical and historical interests. Also included are George's reminiscences of his childhood during the Civil War, education at schools in Tennessee and at the University of Virginia in the late 1860s, and experiences in Texas and the West as a civil engineer working primarily on the westward expansion of railroads.
