This collection contains materials relating to Gov. Thomas Metcalfe and his family. The group consists of two separate accessions to the KHS manuscripts collections. One subgroup contains letters to Thomas Metcalfe from notable figures, genealogical material, and photographs. Included are two 1831 letters from Henry Clay, one a letter of introduction, the other covering politics relating to Masonry and Anti-Masonic parties. Also present is an 1824 letter signed by John C. Calhoun as Secretary of War concerning a pension claim and a letter written by Zachary Taylor during his 1848 campaign for the presidency. There is a long letter written by Metcalfe in 1852 to John C. Breckinridge concerning an address made by an unnamed friend of Breckinridge. An 1849 letter from John J. Crittenden is also present, congratulating Metcalfe on winning election to the U.S. Senate. This subgroup also contains a typed genealogy and coat of arms for the Metcalfe family, and a pamphlet on Metcalfe genealogy published in 1903. A genealogy for the Ball family is present as well. Photographs in the subgroup include undated images of Thomas Metcalfe and his son, Col. Leonidas Metcalfe. A copy of a photograph of Abraham Lincoln is in the group, as well as an image of an unidentified girl. Included are papers concerning John Metcalfe, Thomas Metcalfe's father. Two land grants issued to John Metcalfe from Virginia Governor Edmund Randolph are present. A 1799 inventory of Metcalfe's estate lists his possessions in livestock and household goods. The subgroup includes a few items of political significance relating to Thomas Metcalfe. There is a copy of a resolution taken in the Kentucky General Assembly in 1825 urging the state's Congressional delegation to vote for Andrew Jackson in the upcoming vote in the House. A certificate signed by Gov. John J. Crittenden is also present. This document named Metcalfe as a member of the Board of Visitors for the Western Military Institute. There is also a grant of land in Illinois issued to Metcalfe by President Millard Fillmore for Metcalfe's service in the War of 1812 and an 1851 letter from a friend, Walker Reid, who apparently was a judge seeking reelection. There are also papers relating to the military career of Leonidas Metcalfe. There are some papers concerning the Civil War as well, including a letter of introduction written by Gen. "Bull" Nelson to Secretary of War Salmon P. Chase citing Leonidas' Mexican service. Leonidas received another letter of introduction from Garrett Davis to Secretary of War Simon Cameron, which also gives Davis' assessment of the political situation in Kentucky. A letter from Orlando Moore to Leonidas discussed their misfortunes with the military commanders of Kentucky during the war, J.T. Boyle and Stephen Burbridge. An unusual Civil War item in the collection is a handwritten letter, dated August 23, 1862, by Confederate commander J.S. Scott to an unnamed commander on the Union side, demanding the unconditional surrender of Richmond, Kentucky. The collection also contains many early receipts, as well as a certificate, signed by Grover Cleveland, appointing Henry C. Metcalfe as postmaster for Carlisle, Kentucky.
