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  David Jones estate disbursement, Henderson County, Tennessee, 1863

  Two holographic legal documents disbursing the proceeds of the sale of slaves belonging to the estate of David Jones in Henderson County, Tennessee, on February 16, 1863. In the first document the funds were distributed to D.H. Jones, Elijah H. Spencer, M.A. Marsh, B. Mc. Spencer, A. Barrett, and W.M. Spencer. A second disbursement concerned the minor children of Clark Spencer, Jasper N. Spencer and David J. Spencer. David Jones (January 11, 1782-January 31,1863) was born in North Carolina and married Drucilla Harrison. He lived in Lincoln and Henderson Counties, Tennessee. Their children included: Allen Kincaid (1804-1885), Mary Ann (1808-1887) who married Elijah J. Marsh, Tery H. (born 1814) who married Clark Spencer, Keeton McLemore (born 1815), Ira McEwen (born 1817), and Dudley Harrison (1822-1912).

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  E.S. Campbell letter, 1842

  Letter from E.S. Campbell, Ashport, Tennessee, to John W. Campbell, Jackson, Tennessee, dated January 27, 1842. Discusses possibility of Arthur Campbell of Mississippi buying land in Ashport, mentions other holders of lots, and states the area is healthier than Jackson, Tennessee. A transcription can also be viewed. John W. Campbell, Joseph Jones, William Connor and Matthew Pickett founded Ashport, on the Mississippi River sixteen miles west from Ripley, in 1836. They owned 5,000 acres of land, 200 of which were laid off into lots, of which about 50 were sold in 1838. The river gradually encroached on the land until all of the original lots were washed away.

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  Grand Opera House program, Nashville, 1900

  Program of the Grand Opera House in Nashville, Tennessee, for the week of December 3, 1900, featuring “The Great Diamond Robbery”. The Grand Opera House was at 431 North Cherry Street. The Grand opened July 1, 1850, as The Adelphi amid much publicity calling it one of the finest playhouses in the South. The theater operated under many names and managements as the Nashville, the Gaiety, May’s Grand, Milsom’s, and possibly others. By 1900 it had been occupied for six years by the Boyle stock company--Tony J. Boyle, proprietor--with occasional vaudeville shows.

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  Julia Raine letter, 1878

  Copy of a letter from Julia Raine in Macon (probably Fayette County, Tennessee) to her baby daughter, written on October 8, 1878. Julia and her husband had fled the Yellow Fever epidemic in Memphis but were now stuck in Macon without money to travel to the east by wagon and not daring to take the train because of the epidemic which was being carried by people on the trains. Fearing that they would become victims of the rapidly-spreading disease, Julia wrote a letter to her daughter just in case she should be left an orphan who would never know her parents. A transcript can also be viewed. Julia Woodward was born on June 2, 1857, in Memphis, married Gilbert Dixon Raine (later publisher of the News-Scimitar) in 1877 and had a daughter Kate, born in 1878, and a son Gilbert Jr., born in 1881. Julia and Gilbert divorced in 1909, she remarried and died on September 13, 1937. She wrote articles on divorce and was a composer.

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  Official Program of the 9th Annual West Tennessee Cotton Carnival, 1939

  Official Program of the 9th Annual West Tennessee Cotton Carnival held in Dyersburg, Tennessee, on June 7 to 9, 1939. The 44-page booklet contains information on the carnival, the queens and their maids, the town of Dyersburg, and includes advertising for local businesses.

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  The Haywoodian, Brownsville, Tennessee, 1914

  Vol. 1 of the Haywood County High School, Brownsville, Tennessee, yearbook titled "The Haywoodian" published by the senior class in 1914.

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  The Peoples Savings Bank, Jackson, Tennessee, 1889-1924

  This 16-page booklet was published by the Peoples Savings Bank of Jackson, Tennessee, in 1924 to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of its founding. It includes information on the bank's history, building and assets.

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  West Tennessee Business College catalog, 1929

  Catalog of the West Tennessee Business College (WTBC) in Jackson, Tennessee, 1929. The school was established in 1923 in the Montgomery Ward building at College and Liberty and moved to the Elk’s Building on Baltimore in 1928. The following year, the WTBC and the Jackson School of Business (established in 1888) merged, retaining the WTBC name. In 1958 it moved to East Main Street, and in 1981 moved again to the Highway 45 Bypass.