Harden family papers, 1772-1940

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Summary

Creator:
Harden family
Abstract:
Collection includes correspondence, diaries, account books, daybooks, and legal and other papers, of Edward Harden, planter, lawyer, and politician, of Athens, Ga.; of his son, Edward Randolph Harden, lawyer and politician; and of other members of their family. The material concerns U.S. and Georgia politics, Cherokee Indian affairs (1840s), military recruitment in the Civil War, the 44th Georgia Infantry, military operations in the Confederacy, Reconstruction and economic conditions, the Republican Party in the south, social life and customs, genealogy, and other matters. Also includes a diary kept by Evelyn Harden Jackson during the last months of the war referring to the general alarm preceding Sherman's activities in Georgia.
Extent:
4 Linear Feet (6 boxes, 2,531 items including 27 volumes.)
Language:
Materials in English
Collection ID:
RL.10114

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains political, family, and business papers of Edward Harden (1784-1849), planter and politician; of his second wife, Mary Ann Elizabeth (Randolph) Harden (1794-1874); of their son, Edward Randolph Harden (1815-1884), telegraph operator and lawyer; of their daughter, Mary Elizabeth Greenhill Harden (1811-1887); and of Edward Randolph Harden's children.

Papers of Edward Harden include a diary with information concerning the operation of 'Silk Hope,' a rice plantation near Savannah, with inventory of equipment and work done during 1827; lists of slaves; courtship letters to Mary Ann Elizabeth Randolph; letters to his wife about farm work to be done in his absence; letters of Peter Randolph, father-in-law of Harden; letters to his wife while in the Georgia legislature in 1825; and letters and papers pertaining to his duties as counsel for the Cherokee Indians, U.S. marshal in Georgia, 1843, and collector of the port of Savannah, 1844. Letters in 1846-1847, from Washington, D.C., while Harden served as Indian Commissioner, concern Washington social life and customs, office seekers, bureaucracy, James K. Polk and Sarah (Childress) Polk, and Dolly (Payne) Todd Madison. Also included are letters from Howell Cobb, concerning his efforts to obtain political offices for Harden; legal papers consisting chiefly of depositions, letters, and notes pertaining to Harden's law practice; letters relative to the course of study and tuition fees of Harden's daughter, Mary, while at the Latouche School in Savannah; letters connected with the activities of the Georgia Historical Society; and information regarding Thomas Spalding of Sapelo Island. Other papers consist of an account by Harden of his appointment to and removal from the collectorship of the port of Savannah; receipts; a few account books and diaries; deeds, letters of dismissal, and other papers pertaining to the Mars Hill Baptist Church; and references to various residents of Athens, Georgia, where Harden conducted a law school after 1830.

Letters of Mary Ann Elizabeth (Randolph) Harden are to her husband; to her daughter, Mary Elizabeth Greenhill Harden, while the latter attended school in Savannah; and to her son, Edward Randolph Harden, while he attended the University of Georgia, Athens, 1829-1830. Papers, 1849-1860, chiefly concern her efforts to get land warrants for her husband's services in the War of 1812, and papers, 1865-1874, deal with her attempts to obtain a pension on the same grounds.

Letters of Edward Randolph Harden from 1854 to 1856 describe his duties as judge of the first court in the territory of Nebraska and conditions there. Letters, 1859-ca. 1870, of Edward Randolph Harden, of his daughter Anna, and of other children of Mary Ann Elizabeth (Randolph) Harden, reflect the poverty of the family and conditions of the time. Civil War letters of Edward Randolph Harden describe the activities of the army while he served as an officer of the Georgia state troops, civilian life, and commodity prices. Postwar letters concern his removal from Rome to Cuthbert and later to Quitman, all in Georgia; and his desultory practice of law supplemented by storekeeping and, in 1870, by work as a census enumerator.

There are also letters of the related Jackson family, including correspondence between Asbury Hull Jackson and his family describing his service in the 44th Georgia Regiment, the fighting around Richmond in 1862, and the battles of Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania. Clippings concern the formation of the 3rd, 4th, 6th, 10th, and 16th Georgia Regiments in the early days of the war.

Among the letters to Mary Elizabeth Greenhill Harden is a proposal of marriage from John Howard Payne, author of "Home Sweet Home!" whom she met when he visited Georgia in the interest of the Cherokee Indians. According to tradition her father refused to allow the match. The collection also contains other proposals, all of which she refused; and her diary, 1853-1883.

Throughout the collection are frequent letters from Henrietta Jane (Harden) -Wayne, daughter of Edward Harden by his first marriage and wife of James Moore Wayne's nephew. Her letters give detailed accounts of life in Savannah and the people there, including mention of James Moore Wayne (1790-1867).

Among the correspondents are John Macpherson Berrien, Sr., Benjamin Harris Brewster, Joseph Emerson Brown, Howell Cobb, William Crosby Dawson, Hugh Anderson Haralson, Benjamin Harvey Hill, Amos Kendall, John Henry Lumpkin, John Howard Payne, Richard Rush, Thomas Jefferson Rusk, Thomas Spalding, Wil]iam Henry Stiles, Israel Keech Tefft, George Michael Troup, James Moore Wayne, and Lewis Williams.

Biographical / historical:

Edward Harden (1784-1849), was a planter and politician in antebellum Georgia. He managed a rice plantation near Savannah called Silk Hope. He moved to Athens, Georgia, where he conducted a law school after 1830. During his career he served as counsel for the Cherokee Indians, U.S. marshal in Georgia, 1843, and collector of the port of Savannah, 1844. Mary Ann Elizabeth (Randolph) Harden (1794-1874) was his second wife. Their son, Edward Randolph Harden (1815-1884), attended the University of Georgia, Athens, 1829-1830 and later was a telegraph operator and lawyer in the Athens area along with their daughter, Mary Elizabeth Greenhill Harden (1811-1887).

Acquisition information:
The Harden Family Papers were acquired by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library between 1933 and 1951.
Processing information:

Processed by: Rubenstein Library staff.

Finding aid written by: Bob Malme

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

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Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48-hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], in the Harden Family Papers Collection, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.