George M. Britton Collection

Collection

Identifier: MSS.0052

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This .42 linear feet collection is divided into four series:

Series I contains documents related of the Republic of Texas. These include writs, petitions, and briefs from 1837-1845 regarding persons originally from the State of Tennessee who played a key role in Texas history. The files are alphabetical.

Series II contains pamphlets relating to the history of Tennessee from 1817-1862. Topics are varied by include: vacant lands, presidential candidates, party organizations, tariffs, government expenditures, and foreign relations. The files are chronological.

Series III contains original United States Senate and U.S. House of Representatives broadsides from the 24th through the 30th Congresses in Washington, D.C., relating to the state of Tennessee, from 1835-1848. The Bills cover increases in pensions, invalid pension rolls, payment for horses, establishment of a Marine Hospital at Memphis, and work on the Cumberland Road. The files are chronological.

Series IV contains letters, speeches, circulars, broadsides, monographs, reports, and bills relating to the American Civil War, 1860-1865. The collection was originally assembled as two scrapbooks, on self-adhesive pages but with a backing for each item. The two scrapbooks chronicle the Civil War from beginning to end. The original order of materials has been maintained.

Dates

1817 - 1924

Biographical Note - George M. Britton

George Mellinger Britton [1947 - ] received a B.A. degree in 1969 in Political Science from Vanderbilt University. His wife, Shelley Guilford Roberts Britton also attended Vanderbilt. He became a broker in Houston, Texas, collecting rare manuscripts and maps. He has also donated materials, relative to the Early Republic of Texas to Rice University, University of Houston, and the University of Texas.

The collection is comprised of four parts: first, documents of the Republic of Texas, 1837-1845; second, the early documents of Tennessee, 1817-1862; third, Senate and House broadsides from 1835-1848, and finally scrapbooks relative to the American Civil War, 1860-1865.

Extent

.42 Linear Feet (1 Hollinger box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection is comprised of documents related to the history of Texas and Tennessee from 1817-1865. It comprises four parts: documents of the Republic of Texas, 1837-1845; the early documents of Tennessee, 1817-1862; Senate and House broadsides from 1835-1848; Scrapbooks relative to the American Civil War, 1860-1865.