Processed by
Paul Brockman
30 April 2001
Revised 3 July 2002
Updated 2 April 2, 2004
Manuscripts and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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VOLUME OF |
4 manuscript boxes; 11 reels of microfilm |
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COLLECTION |
1831–1865 (bulk 1854–1858) |
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PROVENANCE: |
Vigo County Historical Society, Terre Haute, Indiana, December 1957 and December 1962 |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE |
Microfilm |
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RELATED |
Abiather Crane (M 0075); Charles Lanman (M 0185)--also contains photograph of Davis; Samuel Douglass (M 0086); Conrad Baker (M 0008) |
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ACCESSION |
1957.1207 and 1962.1207 |
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NOTES: |
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John Givan Davis (1810–66) was a prominent businessman and active member of the Democratic Party in Parke County, Indiana. He served as Parke County Sheriff, 1830–33; Clerk of the Parke County Court, 1833–50; and U.S. Representative from the 7th Indiana Congressional District, 1851–55 and 1857–61. Davis retired from active political life in 1861 and moved to Terre Haute, Vigo County, in 1863.
Davis was an adamant supporter of Stephen A. Douglas while in the House and was considered for election to the Speakership of that body in 1858. He lost his 1854 election bid to a coalition of Know-Nothings and Temperance Republicans, but won back his seat two years later based on his oppositon to the proposed Lecompton Constitution for the admission of Kansas into the Union. Within Indiana's Democratic Party, he was identified with the political opponents of Senator Jesse D. Bright, and was a close friend of Governor Joseph A. Wright.
Source:
Original collection guide.
The majority of the Davis' papers cover his Congressional career, concentrating on the years 1854 and 1858. Included are letters reporting on the political climate in Indiana and in his west-central Indiana district. There are letters regarding railroads and the Kansas-Nebraska controversy, as well as letters from fellow Congressmen regarding political matters and letters from his constituents regarding patronage. The collection also contains Davis' letters from Washington to his wife and children and letters from settlers in Kansas and Nebraska, 1857–58. Also included are letters regarding Davis' business interests in Parke and Vigo counties. The collection contains a series of typed and handwritten abstracts prepared prior to the material's donation.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Correspondence, 1831–36 |
Box 1, Folder 1 |
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Correspondence, 1837–39 |
Box 1, Folder 2 |
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Correspondence, 1840–49 |
Box 1, Folder 3 |
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Correspondence, 1850–52 |
Box 1, Folder 4 |
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Correspondence, January–March 1853 |
Box 1, Folder 5 |
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Correspondence, April–December 1853 |
Box 1, Folder 6 |
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Newspapers, 1854 |
Box 1, Folder 7 |
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Correspondence, January 1854 |
Box 1, Folder 8 |
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Correspondence, February 1854 |
Box 1, Folder 9 |
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Correspondence, March 1854 |
Box 1, Folder 10 |
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Correspondence, April 1854 |
Box 1, Folder 11 |
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Correspondence, May 1854 |
Box 1, Folder 12 |
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Correspondence, June 1854 |
Box 1, Folder 13 |
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Correspondence, July 1854 |
Box 1, Folder 14 |
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Correspondence, August 1854 |
Box 1, Folder 15 |
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Correspondence, October–December 1854 |
Box 1, Folder 16 |
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Correspondence, January 1855 |
Box 2, Folder 1 |
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Correspondence, February–December 1855 |
Box 2, Folder 2 |
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Correspondence, 1856 |
Box 2, Folder 3 |
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Newspaper Articles, 1856 |
Box 2, Folder 4 |
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Correspondence, January–March 1857 |
Box 2, Folder 5 |
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Correspondence, April–June 1857 |
Box 2, Folder 6 |
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Correspondence, July–October 1857 |
Box 2, Folder 7 |
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Correspondence, November 1857 |
Box 2, Folder 8 |
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Correspondence, December 1857 (1 of 2) |
Box 2, Folder 9 |
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Correspondence, December 1857 (2 of 2) |
Box 2, Folder 10 |
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Newspaper Articles and Envelopes, n.d. |
Box 2, Folder 11 |
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Correspondence, January 1858 (1 of 3) |
Box 2, Folder 12 |
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Correspondence, January 1858 (2 of 3) |
Box 2, Folder 13 |
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Correspondence, January 1858 (3 of 3) |
Box 2, Folder 14 |
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Correspondence, February 1858 (1 of 3) |
Box 2, Folder 15 |
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Correspondence, February 1858 (2 of 3) |
Box 2, Folder 16 |
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Correspondence, February 1858 (3 of 3) |
Box 2, Folder 17 |
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Correspondence, March 1858 (1 of 3) |
Box 2, Folder 18 |
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Correspondence, March 1858 (2 of 3) |
Box 2, Folder 19 |
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Correspondence, March 1858 (3 of 3) |
Box 3, Folder 1 |
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Correspondence, April 1858 (1 of 3) |
Box 3, Folder 2 |
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Correspondence, April 1858 (2 of 3) |
Box 3, Folder 3 |
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Correspondence, April 1858 (3 of 3) |
Box 3, Folder 4 |
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Correspondence, May 1858 (1 of 2) |
Box 3, Folder 5 |
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Correspondence, May 1858 (2 of 2) |
Box 3, Folder 6 |
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Correspondence, June 1858 |
Box 3, Folder 7 |
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Correspondence, July–August 1858 |
Box 3, Folder 8 |
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Correspondence, September–October 1858 |
Box 3, Folder 9 |
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Correspondence, November–December 1858 |
Box 3, Folder 10 |
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Correspondence, 1858, n.d. |
Box 3, Folder 11 |
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Correspondence, January 1859 |
Box 3, Folder 12 |
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Correspondence, February 1859 |
Box 3, Folder 13 |
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Correspondence, March–April 1859 |
Box 3, Folder 14 |
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Correspondence, May–September 1859 |
Box 3, Folder 15 |
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Correspondence, October–November 1859 |
Box 3, Folder 16 |
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Correspondence, December 1859 |
Box 3, Folder 17 |
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Correspondence, January 1860 |
Box 4, Folder 1 |
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Correspondence, February 1860 |
Box 4, Folder 2 |
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Correspondence, March 1860 |
Box 4, Folder 3 |
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Correspondence, April 1860 |
Box 4, Folder 4 |
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Correspondence, May 1860 |
Box 4, Folder 5 |
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Correspondence, June 1860 |
Box 4, Folder 6 |
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Correspondence, July–August 1860 |
Box 4, Folder 7 |
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Correspondence, September–December 1860 |
Box 4, Folder 8 |
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Correspondence, January 1861 |
Box 4, Folder 9 |
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Correspondence, February 1861 |
Box 4, Folder 10 |
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Correspondence, March–December 1861 |
Box 4, Folder 11 |
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Correspondence, 1862 |
Box 4, Folder 12 |
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Correspondence, 1863 |
Box 4, Folder 13 |
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Correspondence, 1864 |
Box 4, Folder 14 |
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Correspondence, 1865 |
Box 4, Folder 15 |
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Correspondence, n.d. (1 of 2) |
Box 4, Folder 16 |
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Correspondence, n.d. (2 of 2) |
Box 4, Folder 17 |
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Correspondence, 1831–60 |
F 0161; F 0161a–F 0161d; F 0162 |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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1831–53 |
Box 4, Folder 18 |
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1854–57 |
Box 4, Folder 19 |
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1858 |
Box 4, Folder 20 |
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1859–64 |
Box 4, Folder 21 |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Microfilm of Davis Papers at the Wisconsin Historical Society |
F 0163 |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://157.91.92.2/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, M 0082).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.