This entire collection has been digitized and is available at https://www.jstor.org/site/vanderbilt/manuscripts/jamesrobertsonpapers-29775068/.

The James Robertson Papers are composed of original letters and documents of James Robertson for the dates 1784-1814 given by his son Dr. Felix Robertson to the University of Nashville. They were arranged in a chronological order and bound in two volumes by Nathaniel Cross, a member of the faculty. As a preface to the volumes, the following statement is made: “The correspondence etc., of Gen. James Robertson, who has been styled the ‘Father of Tennessee,’ was obtained from his son, Dr. Felix Robertson of Nashville, with permission to select from it such papers as might be considered worth preserving; inasmuch, however as many of those, that were of a private nature, contained the allusions to political occurrences and Indian border troubles of the day, it was deemed best to preserve the correspondence entire.” For the sake of better preservation, these volumes have been taken apart and the correspondence has been arranged alphabetically by author of the letter.

This valuable collection for the early period contains letters from many of the pioneers in the Cumberland Settlements, a number of Indian chiefs of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek Nations, and Indian agents, many of whom took part in the Indian Wars and in treaty making. Some letters contain information about land transactions and proposed early roads, especially the Natchez Trace. In addition to a letter signed by George Washington and the Secretaries of War, Henry Dearborn, Henry Knox, James McHenry, and Timothy Pickering, there are letters written by W. P. Anderson, Tim Barnard, William Blount, Willie Blount, H. Bradford, Abraham Bradley, John F. Brevard, Baron of Carondelet, John Clark, William Cocke, Alexander Cornell, Francis Cruzat, George M. Deaderick, Silas Dinsmoor, Thomas Doyle, R. C. Foster, G. Granger, George Haller, Benjamin Hawkins, David Henley, James Hoggatt, Andrew Jackson, Robert King, Alexander McGillivray, John McKee, John McLeish, Joseph McMinn, William MacLin, Allan B. McGruder, William Martin, Return J. Meigs, Esteban Miro, Seth Penn, Andrew Pickens, John Pitchlynn, Thomas Portell, William Prince, Thomas Purson, John Reid, John Rhea, James Robertson, James Seagrove, John Sevier, William Sharpe, Dan Smith, John Sommerville, R. Sparke, A. Tatum, Charles Thompson, John Thompson, James White, B. W. Williams, John Williams, Hu Williamson, James Winchester and Thomas Wright. A deposition of James Powell, a report of Isaac Titsworth, and a statement made by the historian A. W. Putnam make up the remainder of the collection.

Approximate number of items: 376