Harris, John T. Papers, 1771-1937 (bulk 1850-1900)

Repository:

Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University

Creator:

John T. Harris, 1823-1899

Title:

John T. Harris Papers

Collection No.:

SC 0089

Date:

1771-1937 (bulk Bulk 1850-1900)

Extent:

7 Hollinger boxes and 2 oversized folders, 2.95 linear feet

Language of the Material:

English

Abstract:

The John T. Harris Papers, 1771-1937, consist of a large number of personal and political documents relevant to the life and career of John T. Harris. The bulk of the collection is comprised of letters of John T. Harris and his family, and of Peyton Randolph and his family. Several letters discuss Southern secession and the American Civil War. Also included are Randolph family letters, James Clarkson Papers, Civil War documents and Harris genealogy.

John T. Harris (1823-1899) was perhaps one of the most prominent citizens of Rockingham County throughout the nineteenth century. The son of Nathan and Ann Harris, he was commonwealth's attorney for Rockingham County from 1852 to 1859, and in 1856 served as a Presidential elector for James Buchanan. Thereafter, he served in the United States Congress from 1859 until the outbreak of the Civil War. Despite his strong Unionist sentiments and his continual efforts to keep Virginia in the Union, Harris remained loyal to Virginia when she seceded in May 1861. During the war he served two terms in the Virginia General Assembly. Following the war John T. Harris was judge of the 12th judicial circuit, which included Rockingham County. In 1870 he was again elected to Congress and was continuously re-elected until 1880, after which he resumed his law practice in Harrisonburg. John T. Harris returned to politics in 1889 as a rival of P.W. McKinney for the Democratic nomination for the governorship. Later he was appointed by Governor McKinney as one of the representatives for Virginia to the World's Columbian Exposition in 1892. He died in Harrisonburg, October 14, 1899.

In addition to the Harris family letters, there are a large number of miscellaneous letters (3 Hollinger boxes) of the related Peyton Randolph Family. The Randolph family papers came into the Harris family when John T. Harris's son, John T. Harris, Jr., married Peyton Randolph's daughter, Mary Elizabeth Randolph. Born in Washington, D.C. in 1833, Peyton was the son of James Innes Randolph, a congressional clerk, and Susan Armistead Randolph. However, despite the numerous letters to him, little is known about Peyton Randolph. Prior to the Civil War he attended Columbian College (now George Washington University) and was an engineer on numerous railroad projects in Virginia, Indiana, and Alabama through the 1850's. He enlisted in the army in Mobile, Alabama, at the outbreak of war and served as an engineer in Pickett's division, rising to the rank of major by 1865. Thereafter, even less is known of his life. He married Mary Fisher following the war, returned to the engineering profession, and died November 28, 1888.

The John T. Harris Papers, 1771-1937 (bulk 1850-1900), consists of seven Hollinger boxes and two oversize folders (2.95 linear feet). [It is also available on microfilm; see Contents List.] Although the collection contains a large number of personal and political documents relevant to the life and career of John T. Harris, the bulk of the collection is comprised of letters of John T. Harris and his family, and of Peyton Randolph and his family. A small number of James Clarkson Papers are also present. The collection is arranged in five series: Letters, Personal and Family Papers, Political Papers, Miscellaneous and Oversize. Brief descriptions follow here. Notable items are listed under their appropriate folder in the Contents List.

Series 1, Letters, 1831-1937, is arranged chronologically in four subseries:

Subseries 1.1: John T. Harris Letters, 1841-1899, consists of letters to Harris from his constituents requesting personal favors. Letters from 1860 to 1861 primarily address the issue of Virginia seceding from the Union. Echoing the sentiments of many residents of western Virginia, most of the letters express pro-Unionist feelings and encourage Harris to work for a compromise in Congress to avert violent conflict. Moreover, the contents of these letters, suggest that Harris worked with and may have been a close friend of Stephen A. Douglas. Also included is a letter dated May 24, 1871 to Harris from William Nelson Pendelton written on behalf of Henry Clay White of Rockbridge County requesting appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The letter is property of Carrier Library at James Madison University, and is not available on microfilm.

Subseries 1.2, Harris Family Letters, 1831-1937, consists chiefly of letters among various members of the Harris family, and provide descriptions of family life. However, there are several letters to John T. Harris, Jr., from Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt.

Subseries 1.3, Peyton Randolph Letters, 1846-1884, consists of letters from several college friends and Peyton Randolph's immediate family. Notable among these are letters from college friend Henry Force. Force was the son of historian Peter Force and acted as surveyor on the Border Commission dispatched to study the newly acquired lands in present-day New Mexico and Arizona. In a series of letters to Peyton from 1848 to 1853, Force describes his encounters with Mexican soldiers and Apache Indians, as well as his duties on the trek from New Orleans to San Diego. Transcriptions are available for 8 of Force's letters, 1848-1851.

Subseries 1.4, Randolph Family Letters, 1837-1928, includes letters to Peyton and his sisters, Mollie, Nannie and Sue from their mother, Susan Armistead Randolph, correspondence between the siblings, as well as a few miscellaneous items of Peyton Randolph's including a book of psalms which he carried during the Civil War. The letters from Susan Armistead Randolph form the bulk of this subseries. In her weekly four-page letters Mrs. Randolph describes life in Washington, D.C. during the 1850's, including the inauguration of Franklin Pierce and the funeral of Henry Clay. Susan Randolph was acutely aware of the political climate of her era and took particular interest in the Know-Nothing party in the 1850's. In several letters she outlines the platform of the Know-Nothings and even urges Peyton to join the party. However, despite her vivid political commentaries and her proximity to the arena of the conflict, she does not mention the issue of slavery. In addition to her political and social sketches, she provides detailed accounts of family life, including rather grisly descriptions of the deaths of various family members. Her letters from Richmond during the war describe the changes in life in that city through the course of the war and include detailed examples of the rampant inflation of prices on common goods such as bacon and flour. Of particular interest are Mrs. Randolph's inquiries concerning her first cousin, General Lewis Armistead, who was said to be the first Confederate soldier to cross into Union lines during Pickett's Charge at the battle of Gettysburg. See Randolph Harris Moulton's Some Randolphs Around Civil War Times for transcriptions of some of the Peyton Randolph letters.

Series 2, Personal and Family Papers, 1843-1936, is arranged topically and contains a variety of materials. General papers include John T. Harris' law license, an 1861 will, and his post-Civil War oath of allegiance to the U.S. [A certificate in which President Benjamin Harrison appoints Harris as Virginia's representative at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1892 is located in the oversize miscellaneous file.] Also in this series is a photocopy of his handwritten 1898 autobiography, which gives many particulars of his life, as well as a photocopy of his son John T. Harris Jr.'s typed 1936 autobiography, which includes characterizations of the lawyers with which the younger Harris was acquainted. Genealogical notes and charts as well as newspaper clippings pertaining to the Harris family are also present.

Series 3: Political Papers, 1856-1896, consists primarily of copies of John T. Harris' Congressional speeches as well as several made by other members of Congress. The most notable of these is the resignation speech of Preston B. "Bully" Brookes, who was censured by Congress for caning Charles Sumner in 1856. In addition, there are election returns from elections in which Harris was a candidate. These include reports from Rockingham County and localities throughout the Shenandoah Valley. A large number of political broadsides, handbills, and selected pages from newspapers regarding local and national elections, are housed in Series 5, Oversize.

Series 4, Miscellaneous, 1771-1933, contains a variety of materials, including general miscellany and receipts, Civil War documents, indentures, James Clarkson Papers, photographs and undated material. Among the Civil War documents are requests for exemption from military service, requisition receipts from Confederate military authorities, contracts between individuals and their military substitutes, and requests to John T. Harris for release from Union prisoner-of-war camps. The James Clarkson Papers primarily are comprised of legal documents from Albemarle County. These documents were preserved by John T. Harris's wife, Virginia Harris, who was a descendant of James Clarkson. Among the photographs is a print of Peyton Randolph and his four brothers, a photographed portrait of James Innes, and photographs of John T. Harris' writing desk, a young Isabelle Heard, and an unidentified young girl. Undated material consists of any items in this series that may be undated, including print material, notes, memoranda, receipts, various lists, writings, and calling cards.

Series 5, Oversize, 1821-1900, consists of two folders. One folder contains oversized items such as political broadsides, handbills, and selected pages from newspapers regarding local and national elections from Series III, Political Papers. The second folder contains oversized items from Series 4, Miscellaneous. Materials include a certificate signed by Benjamin Harrison appointing him as Virginia's representative at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1892; a land grant to Joel S. Graves signed by Governor Thomas M. Randolph; and a sheet dated March 11, 1861, signed by members of the provisional government of secession (Civil War) from South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

The collection is arranged in five series

1. 1. Letters, 1831-1937
2. 1.1. John T. Harris Letters, 1845-1899
3. 1.2. Harris Family Letters, 1831-1937
4. 1.3. Peyton Randolph Letters, 1846-1884
5. 1.4. Randolph Family Letters, 1837-1928
6. 2. Personal and Family Papers, 1843-1936
7. 3. Political Papers, 1856-1896
8. 4 Miscellaneous, 1771-1933
9. 5 Oversize, 1821-1900

Boatner, Mark Mayo. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: David McKay Co., Inc., 1959.

Dabney, Virginius. Virginia: The New Dominion. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1971.

Daniels, Jonathon. The Randolphs of Virginia. New York: Doubleday, 1972.

Johnson, Allen & Malone, Dumas, ed. Dictionary of American Biography. Vol. VI. NY: Scribner's Sons, 1931.

Krick, Robert K. Lee's Colonels: A Biographical Register of the Field Officers of the Army of Northern Virginia. Dayton, Ohio: Press of Morningside Bookshop, 1979.

Members of Congress Since 1789. Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1977.

The National Cyclopedia of American Biography. Vol. XIX. NY: Charles T. White and Co., 1926.

Tewksbury, Donald G. The Founding of American Colleges and Universities Before the Civil War. NY: Archon Books, 1965.

Wakelyn, Jon L. Biographical Dictionary of the Confederacy. Westport, CN: Greenwood, 1977.

Wayland, John W. A History of Rockingham County, Virginia. Dayton, VA: Ruebush-Elkins, 1912.