Finding aid prepared by Ida Sell
M. Rey Yarberry papers
1848-1939
University of Kentucky Special Collections
Collection is arranged chronologically.
Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
55M71: [Identification of item], M. Rey Yarberry papers, 1848-1939, University of Kentucky Special Collections.
0.23 Cubic feet
1 box
The M. Rey Yarberry papers are comprised of correspondence, clippings, journals, photographs, a scrapbook and miscellany related to the life and career of M. Rey Yarberry, a Kentucky politician, detective and legislator.
Mont Rey Yarberry was born in Adair County, Kentucky, and upon graduation from Columbia High School in Columbia, Kentucky, became a farmer there. A Republican, Yarberry ran for sheriff of Adair County and won. Following his term as sheriff, Yarberry served in the State Legislature (1900-1901) and was the only Republican who served on the committee which chose the governor after the disputed 1899 election between William S. Taylor (1853-1928) and William Goebel (1856-1900). In 1901, Yarberry accepted an appointment as a secret service operative with the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of the Treasury in Washington, D. C. While there, he studied at George Washington University and received his Law degree in 1903. Yarberry returned to Louisville in 1913 and engaged in manufacturing. In 1927, he was selected by the Louisville Board of Public Safety to be chief of detectives.
The M. Rey Yarberry papers are comprised of correspondence, clippings, journals, photographs, a scrapbook and miscellany related to the life and career of M. Rey Yarberry, a Kentucky politician, detective and legislator. The bulk of the collection consists of clippings and correspondence from Yarberry's years as chief of detectives, including information on some of his major cases. Clippings and correspondence from his earlier years are also present, although the correspondence consists mainly of letters of recommendation to President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) endorsing Yarberry for a United States Consulate.
Also present are Yarberry's journals (1906-1913) during his years with the Internal Revenue Service, giving an account of his daily activities and expenses. Included with the collection are miscellaneous papers of J. Bruce Mathews, who served as an agent for various railroads, for the Department of Justice and for Internal Revenue's Prohibition Office in New Orleans. Correspondence concerning his work in New Orleans, letters of recommendation, and commissions and resignations from the National Guard of Tennessee's Chattanooga Riflers, of which Mathews was once a member, are present.