Seven handwritten pages, in ink, of a letter from various Cherokee leaders to Tennessee Governor Joseph McMinn discussing the removal of Cherokees west of the Mississippi. Notation at top: "For the Raleigh Register." At end of letter: "A True Copy...
The document is a four page, unnumbered handwritten document found in "Acts of the Southwest Territory." It is dated September 27, 1794 and signed by Governor William Blount and Secretary David Wilson.
Reprint of a Federal Statute (Chapter XLVII) from the published Acts of Congress, entitled An Act for the admission of the State of Tennessee into the Union. Approved June 1, 1796.
This document is a nine page, unnumbered handwritten document found in "Acts of the Southwest Territory." It is dated July 11, 1795, and signed by Governor William Blount and Joseph Hardin.
"An act for the establishment of Washington College in honor to the Illustrious President of the United States at Salem in Washington County." The act is handwritten and is five pages in length. The resolution passed at Knoxville on July 10,...
The document is a six page, unnumbered handwritten document found in the "Acts of the Southwest Territory." It is dated September 27, 1794 and signed by Governor William Blount and Secretary David Wilson.
"An Ordinance for Circumscribing the Counties of Greene and Hawkins and Laying Out Two New Counties" is the first resolution appearing in the bound collection of acts passed by the Southwest Territory. The act is written in script and is four pages...
Governor John Sevier's address to the Tennessee General Assembly as transcribed by Daniel Smith. Sevier debriefs members about the outcome of Tennessee's appeal for admission. At this time, he also summons the members to attend the first session...
23 pages handwritten in ink that comprise the Cherokee Constitution of 1827. This early copy may have been written by Sam Houston. It was found in the 1827 Tennessee legislative papers and may have been given to the State of Tennessee in exchange...
Original manuscript of the Cumberland Compact of Government, or Articles of Agreement, entered into by settlers on the Cumberland River, May 1, 1780, at what is now Nashville, and signed May 13, 1780 by 255 inhabitants of five stations on the...
This constitution is the "Houston Constitution," rejected by Franklin's Second Constitutional Convention of 1785 in Greeneville. Constitutional committee member and major contributor Rev. Samuel Houston had these pamphlets printed to argue the...
Edward Dudley Tarpley worked as a miller in Texas and Mexico and served several months with the state militia. He arrived in Memphis, Tenn., two days after the Sultana disaster, and described the Mississippi River as being "gorged with dead...
Journal documenting the 1779-1780 river voyage of Col. John Donelson and others, including women, children, and African Americans. The travelers sought to establish the first permanent settlement west of the Appalachians. Handwritten in ink on...
Governor John Sevier's address to the first General Assembly as transcribed by Daniel Smith. Provides a more detailed account of the proceedings related to Tennessee's admission to the Union. Also directs the General Assembly to focus its first...
Centennial celebrations; Public speaking; Exhibitions; Souvenirs
Three-page souvenir transcript of an address by J.W. Thomas, President of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, delivered at the opening of the exposition on May 1, 1897. Thomas proclaimed that the event was to celebrate the state's past and...
The first in a bound collection of colonial documents is a complete copy of the Proclamation of 1763 promulgated at the end of the French and Indian War by King George III of Great Britain. The item is hand-written in ink on paper, copied by John...
Facsimile letter to Governor John Sevier from Representatives William Blount and William Cocke giving the status of Tennessee's admission as a state. The letter explains problems encountered during the admission process, such as political...
Photograph of James Coble's grave marker accompanied by the transcript of an article detailing Coble's death. He was a membe of the 10th Tenn. Cav. (Forrest's) Regt., CSA. Coble was the sole casualty in a skirmish near Jackson, Tenn., in December...
This handwritten account of the Battle of Shiloh was recorde by Pvt. Thomas J. Watkins, Co. H, 4th Tenn. Inf. (Neely's), CSA, 52 years after the battle. The account ends abruptly after 15 pages. The donor contributed a transcript (see additional...
This bound volume maintained by the Secretary of State represents the chronological recording of civil and military commissions issued by the Governor of Tennessee, John Sevier, from the beginning of statehood in 1796 to 1801. The front section of...
