Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Gholson-Kittredge family papers
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Gholson-Kittredge family papers
- Date
- 1839-1916 (inclusive)
- 1839-1860 (bulk)
- Creator
- Gholson, William Y. (William Yates), 1807-1870
- Extent
- 0.65 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Lawyers -- Correspondence.
- Lawyers -- Ohio -- Cincinnati.
- Legal documents.
- Letters.
- Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)
- Supreme Court of Ohio
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged chronologically. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0101: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Gholson-Kittredge family papers, 1839-1916, bulk 1839-1860, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- William Yates Gholson (1807-1870) was born in Southampton, Virginia to Thomas Gholson Jr (1780-1816) and Ann Yates Gholson (1788-1856). His father, Thomas, was a Virginia State Representative. Gholson studied at the College of New Jersey, now known as Princeton University, graduated in 1825 and became an attorney after training at Needham, the home of Judge Creed Taylor. At Needham Gholson met his first wife, Martha Anne Jane Taylor (1805-1831), whom he married Christmas day 1827. They had two children together, Samuel Creed Gholson (1828-1910) and Anne Gholson (1831-1893); unfortunately, Anne passed away shortly after giving birth to her daughter. In 1834, Gholson left his children at Needham, moved to Pontotoc County, Mississippi, gained admission into the Mississippi bar and began to build a successful law practice. While in Mississippi, he assisted in the founding of the University of Mississippi in 1844 and served as one of the original members of the university's board of trustees. He also remarried in 1839 to Elvira Wright (1820-1885) with whom he had two more children – Virginia Elizabeth (1840-1880) and William Yates Jr. (1842-1862).
- In the late 1840s, Gholson moved from Mississippi to settle in Cincinnati, Ohio where he opened a law office. Shortly after, he was appointed city solicitor. While in Cincinnati, his practice participated in a number of cases involving legal issues concerning patents and copyrights. Gholson used the notoriety he gained from patent infringement and other cases to successfully campaign for a seat on the Superior Court of Hamilton County from 1854 to 1859. In 1859, the Ohio Republican party placed Gholson on the ballot for the Supreme Court of Ohio where he defeated Democrat Judge Henry C. Whitman for a six-year term. Gholson resigned from the Court before the completion of his term in 1863, citing poor health, and returned to Cincinnati to resume his law practice. Gholson continued to write on legal topics after leaving the Court and became involved in issues arising from the end of the Civil War and reconstruction until his death in 1870.
- Edmund Webster Kittredge (1833-1916) was an attorney in Cincinnati, Ohio and married William Gholson's daughter, Virginia (1840-1880). He formed a law partnership in the mid to late 1800s under the name of Kittredge & Wilby.
- American Letters collector Wade Hall (1934-2015) was a native of Union Springs, Alabama. Starting in 1962, he lived in Louisville, where he taught English and chaired the English and Humanities/Arts programs at Kentucky Southern College and Bellarmine University. He also taught at the University of Illinois and the University of Florida. He held degrees from Troy State University (B.S.), the University of Alabama (M.A.), and the University of Illinois (Ph.D.). He served for two years in the U.S. Army in the mid-fifties. Dr. Hall was the author of books, monographs, articles, plays, and reviews relating to Kentucky, Alabama, and Southern history and literature. His most recent books include A Visit with Harlan Hubbard; High Upon a Hill: A History of Bellarmine College; A Song in Native Pastures: Randy Atcher's Life in Country Music; and Waters of Life from Conecuh Ridge.
- Source: Supreme Court of Ohio. William Yates Gholson Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/SCO/formerjustices/bios/gholson.asp
- Scope and Content
- The Gholson-Kittredge family papers (dated 1839-1916, bulk 1839-1860; 0.65 cubic feet; 8 folders) comprise letters, notes on legal cases, legal opinions and decisions, deeds, contracts, receipts, and creative writings. The majority of the letters are from both Gholson and Kittredge concerning either legal business or personal letters to their wives, although there are letters to and from other family members as well. The legal contracts and deeds pertain mostly to property leases and issues. Additionally, the collection contains extensive legal opinions and notes on decisions rendered between 1841-1858 composed by Gholson and Kittredge on a variety of cases, and these documents include exhaustive legal citations. The poetry, short prose, and small essays included in the collection cover education and teaching, remembering deceased loved ones, practicing another language, and personal opinions. There are three oversized documents, all indentures of lease resulting from the execution of different wills.
- The Gholson-Kittredge family papers are part of the Wade Hall Collection of American letters, which includes correspondence and diaries from all over North America covering the time period of the Civil to Korean Wars. The materials were collected by Wade Hall and document everyday men and women.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- The collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
