Samuel McDowell Tate Papers, and undated. 1810-1918

ArchivalResource

Samuel McDowell Tate Papers, and undated., 1810-1918

Samuel McDowell Tate Papers, and undated. 1810-1918

http://www2.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/t/Tate,Samuel_McDowell.html

Samuel McDowell Tate (1830-1897) was a Confederate colonel; president of the Western North Carolina Railroad after the Civil War, except when removed by Republicans; representative of Burke County, N.C., to the General Assembly, 1874-1884; bank examiner, 1886; state treasurer, 1893-1894; and longtime Democratic Party leader of western North Carolina. He married Jennie Pearson, daughter of R. C. Pearson, in 1866. The collection includes correspondence and other papers of Samuel McDowell Tate. Correspondence pertains chiefly to political and business matters relating to the affairs of the railroad, which was involved in corruption during Reconstruction. Tate's political correspondents included most of the Redeemer element of the state. Also included are papers and a volume relating to state bonds; telegraph lines; land speculation; marble, mica, and talc mining; state elections; Burke County schools; a proposed change in the judicial system; prohibition; Wilberforce College; and the Western Insane Asylum. Lastly, there is a small amount of military papers, including appointments and a pardon for enlisted men who had been arrested for being absent without leave; newspaper clippings; and ephemera. There are few Civil War items. The addition of January 2004 consists of correspondence and financial and legal documents. Letters are mainly addressed to Samuel McDowell Tate, but a few early and undated letters are addressed to his wife, Jennie Pearson. The majority of the letters relate to business, railroad, and political affairs. Financial and legal materials include account sheets, receipts, court documents, and deeds. Some early documents pertain to accounts for Tate's father-in-law, R. C. Pearson.

About 2350 items (3.5 linear feet)

eng,

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