Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Jacob M. Howard journal
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Jacob M. Howard journal
- Date
- 1869-1871 (inclusive)
- Creator
- Howard, Jacob Merritt, 1805-1871
- Extent
- 0.06 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Journals (bookkeeping)
- Households -- Accounting.
- Washington (D.C.)
- Politics
- Family.
- Travel.
- Railroad travel.
- Parent and child.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged chronologically. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0813: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Jacob M. Howard journal, 1869-1871, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Jacob Merritt Howard (1805-1871) was born in Shaftsbury, Vermont to Otis Howard (1773-1853) and Mary Millington (1779-1859). He attended Williams College, graduating in 1830, before moving on to study law. In 1832, he moved to Detroit, Michigan and was admitted to the bar in 1833. While living in Detroit, Howard became active in politics, becoming city attorney of Detroit in 1834 and then a member of the Michigan House of Representatives in 1838. From 1841 to 1843, Howard served in the US House of Representatives as a Whig, however after his term ended he returned to practice law in Detroit where he began to identify with the anti-slavery wing of the Whig Party. After the election of 1852, viewing that the Whig Party was no longer viable for abolitionists, Howard helped to draw up the platform of the first Republican Party convention in Jackson, Michigan in 1854, and is considered the one who chose the name "Republican" for the new party. He then ran for Michigan Attorney General as its first Republican nominee and served from 1855 to 1861. Following the death of Kinsley S. Bingham in 1861, Howard was elected to fill his vacancy in the US Senate, which he served in through 1871. During his tenure as a senator, Howard was chairman of the Committee on Pacific Railroads, an active member of the Judiciary, Military Affairs, and Private Land Claims Committees; chief sponsor of the False Claims Act, worked closely with President Abraham Lincoln to draft and pass the thirteenth amendment, served on the Joint Committee on Reconstruction, which drafted the fourteenth amendment; and authored the final report on President Andrew Johnson's removal of Edwin M. Stanton as Secretary of War, which led to Johnson's impeachment.
- In his personal life, Howard married Catherine Amelia Shaw (1810-1866) in 1835 and together the couple had seven children, Edward Wellington (died at age 3), Mary Elizabeth (b. 1836), Jacob Merritt Jr. (1842-1900), Hamilton Gay (1845-1926), Catherine Shaw (1848-1853), Charles Millington (b. 1849), and Jennie (1852-1903).
- 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.
- Scope and Content
- The Jacob M. Howard journal (dated 1869-1871; 0.06 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprises one journal that documents the daily life and accounts of Michigan Senator Jacob M. Howard while serving in congress in the mid-nineteenth century. In the journal, Howard details money spent on his children, including tuition, travel costs, clothing, and boarding; searching for a kitchen maid and housekeeper, traveling between Michigan and Washington D.C., visits from friends and colleagues, updates about his children's lives, and events attended in Washington D.C. and Michigan. Also included in the journal are clippings on Howard's activities in congress and his unexpected death.
- The Jacob M. Howard journal collection is 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
- 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
Jacob M. Howard journal, 1869-1871
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.
