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Horace Maynard Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS-0415

  • Staff Only

This collection contains scrapbooks, speeches, correspondence, photographs, essays, eulogies, and a biography documenting the life and work of Tennessee statesman Horace Maynard. There are a few items of unknown origin, including a deed for 60 acres on the south side of the French Broad River to John Wright signed by Governor William Carroll and two certificates of sale for land in Ohio purchased by Mathew Heuston and signed by President James Madison.

Dates

  • 1800-1954
  • Majority of material found within 1828-1882

Conditions Governing Access

Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Conditions Governing Use

The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Extent

4 Linear Feet (4 boxes [2 record, 2 flat])

Abstract

This collection contains scrapbooks, speeches, correspondence, photographs, essays, eulogies, and a biography documenting the life and work of Tennessee statesman Horace Maynard. There are a few items of unknown origin, including a deed for 60 acres on the south side of the French Broad River to John Wright signed by Governor William Carroll and two certificates of sale for land in Ohio purchased by Mathew Heuston and signed by President James Madison.

Biographical/Historical Note

Horace Maynard was born on August 30, 1814 in Westboro, Massachusetts. He graduated from Amherst College as valedictorian in the summer of 1838 and came to East Tennessee College (now the University of Tennessee, Knoxville) to teach in the fall. He was quickly promoted, first to teacher of Mathematics and Ancient and Modern Languages and later to Professor of Rhetoric and Belles-Lettres. In 1840, Maynard began writing a series of articles for the Knoxville Times under the pen name Zadock Jones. He also studied law; he was admitted to the Bar and commenced practicing in 1844.

Maynard also involved himself in politics. He served as presidential elector twice, first on the Whig ticket in 1852 and then on the Republican ticket in 1856. He was unsuccessful in his first bid for national office in 1853 but was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives in 1857. He was re-elected twice and served until Tennessee seceded from the Union. He went on to serve as the Attorney General of Tennessee (1863-1865) and as a delegate to the Southern Loyalist Convention in Philadelphia (1866).

After Tennessee was readmitted to the Union, Maynard was once again elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He served until 1875, but chose not to run for re-election in 1874 in order to campaign (unsuccessfully) for the governorship of Tennessee. President Ulysses S. Grant appointed him U.S. Ambassador to Turkey in 1875, and he remained at this post until May 1880. President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed him Postmaster General in June 1880, and he served until 1881.

Maynard married Laura Ann Washburn (1813-1896), daughter of Azel and Sally Skinner Washburn, in 1840. Together, Horace and Laura had seven children: Edward (1843-1868), Washburn (1844-1913), Eleanor (1846-1848), Ephraim Horace (1848-1850), Laura (1851-1852), James (1853-1926), and Anne Mary (Maynard) Kidder (1856-). Maynard died in Knoxville, Tennessee, on May 3, 1882 and is buried in Old Gray Cemetery.

Arrangement

This collection consists of four boxes. The material is arranged into four series: Correspondence; Early Childhood Material; Speech Material; and Personal Material.

Acquisition Note

Mrs. Robert Lindsay of Maryville, Tennessee donated this collection to Special Collections on June 20, 1967.

Related Archival Materials

Interested researchers may also wish to consult:

Missing Title

  1. MS.0900: Horace Maynard Letters, 1861 December 17-1873 May 29
  2. MS.1662: Horace Maynard Letter, 1870 May 2
  3. MS.2231: Horace Maynard Letter, 1857 December 12
  4. MS.2245: Horace Maynard Letter, 1866 March 23
  5. MS.2253: Horace Maynard Letter, 1869 March 7
  6. MS.2359: Maynard Family Letters, 1841 March 27-1913 February 6
  7. MS.3000: Horace Maynard Photograph, undated

Repository Details

Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository

Contact:
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville TN 37996 USA
865-974-4480