Arrangement: chronological.

Chiefly letters to Calvin Jones from various acquaintances and business associates. Among those whose letters or writings appear in this series are President John Adams, who wrote an address in 1798 to the officers of the Johnston Regiment of Militia in North Carolina, of which Jones was a member; Benjamin Williams, governor of North Carolina and Jones's friend; Joseph Caldwell, president of the University of North Carolina, who wrote to Jones about troubles at the University; Davy Crockett, who wanted to lease land Jones owned in Tennessee; President James Madison, who agreed to subscribe to a magazine Jones was planning to publish; and John P. Ervin, Felix Grundy, and John R. Eaton, who, representing the citizens of Nashville, Tenn., sent an invitation to Jones to dine. Also included are a number of receipts, promissory notes, and bills and accounts for items Jones purchased.

Many of the letters between 1785 and 1810 are addressed to Doctor Calvin Jones, first at Smithfield, N.C., and later at Raleigh, N.C. These include letters Jones received letters from other physicians about specific cases and from patients wanting advice on or treatment of illnesses. There are also bills for drugs from New York supply houses. Jones was apparently interested in new methods of medical treatment, as is indicated by a letter he received from Benjamin Williams, former governor of North Carolina, who was in Fayetteville, N.C., undergoing shock treatment from an electrifying machine to benefit his nervous system and restore his sight. Among other diseases, doctors wrote him about treatments for hydrocele and gonorrhea.

Most of the letters from 1811 to 1813 address routine military business, such as the appointment of officers and arrangements for a military muster, and some letters from 1811 are addressed to General Jones. There are a few letters from William Hamilton about the defense of Mobile Bay and other matters in 1812. Also included is a letter, 15 July 1813, from Governor J. S. Barbour of Virginia to Jones accepting his offer of a corps of volunteers to help guard the Virginia coast. Atlas Jones, brother of Calvin Jones, wrote in 1813 praising him for keeping the coast free of the enemy.

In addition to being in the militia, Jones was involved in other business interests at this time, including part-ownership of the Star, a Raleigh newspaper, with Thomas Henderson, Jr., between 1810 and 1815. Scattered in the papers during these years are bills and receipts for the newspaper and some correspondence, chiefly from friends, about obtaining subscriptions. In the spring of 1819, a few of letters refer to Jones's efforts to start an agricultural magazine called the Farmer's Magazine. John Taylor, former president of the Agricultural Society of Virginia, wrote to him on the subject, as did James Madison.

Jones remained in the militia until his resignation around 1821. In 1823, he was apparently appointed postmaster at Wake Forest, N.C. He also went back into medical practice in partnership with Hamilton Taylor, as is indicated by a circular advertising their business. He remained at Wake Forest until 1831, when he moved with his family to Bolivar, Tenn. Calvin Jones, accompanied by his son Montezuma, apparently went panning for gold in Burke County, N.C. Both father and son wrote to Temperance B. Jones describing their experiences. A few other financial items and letters indicate that Calvin Jones owned a gold mine in North Carolina.

After the move to Tennessee, many of the items relate to his farming activities. He received letters from his cotton factors in New Orleans about his cotton sales and the cotton market in England. Also included is a letter, 11 November 1835, from Thomas J. Shelton, requesting to be re-employed as Jones's overseer for 1836, expressing his desire to do a better job in the future by being tougher on the hands, and explaining past failures. In 1836, there is a letter from Farrington & Son about making a cotton gin for Calvin Jones, and a letter from B. F. Richards about breeding Calvin Jones's horses. Jones had earlier shown interest in different farming techniques. Included in 1822 is a copy of a letter written by Calvin Jones to the American Farmer about techniques for fertilizing fields with lime. He also received a letter from Pomroy Jones about farming techniques for corn and wheat in 1829.

Many items relate to Calvin Jones's land transactions in North Carolina and Tennessee. He bought and sold numerous parcels of land in both states. Included are letters, receipts, indentures, and records of entries of land. His brother Atlas Jones acted as his agent in many of his business deals and paid taxes on some of the parcels of land. In 1820 and 1821, most of the letters are about Calvin Jones's efforts to purchase land. Another large portion of the items relate to the repayment of loans owed to Jones. Included is correspondence from debtors and individuals employed by Jones to collect his debts.

There are also a few items that relate to slavery and slaves. In 1805, there is a letter from Governor Benjamin Williams about two runaway slaves belonging to Jones who had been caught and jailed. Also included is a typed transcription of a letter written by Calvin Jones on 28 December 1830 to Governor Montfort Stokes about a rumored slave insurrection. Other letters, particularly in 1801, relate to the University of North Carolina.

Items of interest include the following:

Arrangement: chronological.

Chiefly letters between members of the Jones family. Several of the children were away at school during these years and wrote home to their parents. Letters from Montezuma Jones at the University of North Carolina from 1841 through 1843 are included. He wrote about events, such as helping a neighbor put out a fire in his room and seeing a patriot's corpse pass through town. He also wrote about his health, his studies, and his finances. Also included is a letter from Elisha Mitchell, professor at the University of North Carolina, to Calvin Jones, containing information on Montezuma Jones's account balance. Montezuma periodically mentioned "Gov. Swain" in his letters, referring to the president of the University of North Carolina, David Lowry Swain, who apparently was the son of Calvin Jones's old friend, George Swain of Asheville, N.C. Octavia Jones was apparently attending school in Columbia, Tenn., in 1841 (possibly at Columbia Female Institute) and received a few letters. Paul Jones attended school in La Grange, Ala., in 1845 and received letters from his brother Montezuma and sister Octavia.

In 1844, Calvin Jones and his daughter Octavia took a trip to Europe. Included in the papers are his passport, bills and receipts from the voyage, a letter of introduction, and several letters to them from friends and relatives. Calvin wrote from Paris to his son Paul describing his trip, especially visits to Versailles and the Louvre. See Series 2, folders 58-59, for additional information about this trip.

Also included are scattered letters to and from other family members, letters from friends, a few business letters to Calvin Jones, and a letter to James Wood (relationship to Jones unknown) from a man whose overseer had caught one of Wood's slaves.

The series ends in 1846 with the death of Calvin Jones on 20 September 1846. An epitaph for Jones is included in the papers.

Arrangement: chronological.

Chiefly the business papers of Montezuma Jones, son of Calvin Jones. Most of the papers are bills, receipts, promissory notes, indentures for land, loan agreements, tax receipts, and other financial and legal documents. There is very little correspondence, and the letters that are included chiefly relate to business matters.

Most items document Montezuma Jones's efforts to grow and sell cotton and his land transactions. Included are statements from cotton factors, receipts for shipping, and other items relating to the cotton trade. Montezuma Jones chiefly used cotton factors in Memphis, Tenn. Papers representing his land transactions include indentures and correspondence about land sales. Many papers are bills and accounts for supplies. There are also bills of sale for slaves and an 1850 letter from a man who caught several of Montezuma Jones's runaway slaves.

Montezuma Jones was also involved in business interests outside the cotton trade. Papers show that he contracted to do work on the Mississippi Central and Tennessee Railroad in 1855. There are also letters describing a business started by his cousins for which he lent money in 1858.

There are only a few items relating to the Civil War. They include a letter from William R. Johnston in 1862 about acquaintances serving in the army and news of the war. Johnston occasionally wrote to Montezuma Jones about the progress of Jones's crops and was probably an overseer for Jones. Also included is a letter from F. T. Wood about a party of Union soldiers who took his stock and threatened to burn his house down. There are also a permit, 1864, issued by the United States government, allowing Montezuma Jones to transport and sell cotton in Memphis, and a certificate permitting him to vote in 1865. Some items show that he hired freedmen to work for him, and there is an 1867 document showing that Montezuma Jones transported forty freedmen from Georgia to Bolivar, Tenn., under the auspices of the federal government.

The few personal items include a letter in 1853 to Octavia Jones Polk from her cousin, who mentioned, among other things, that she and her family had managed to get out of Vicksburg before yellow fever appeared. There are two letters written during the Civil War by R. H. Wood, who was serving in the Confederate Army, to his parents. His relationship to the Jones family is unclear. He wrote about the army's movements and gave his opinion of General Polk. Wood was stationed at Camp Columbus and Camp Beauregard. In 1866, Tempri(?) Jones, believed to be the daughter of Montezuma Jones, wrote from school in Florence, Ala. In 1872, Paul Tudor Jones, Jr., received a letter from Chapman Maupin about prestigious medical schools in Germany; Paul was apparently planning to study medicine. There is also a group of personal letters to William Jones, son of Paul Tudor Jones, Jr., in 1876 and 1877, containing family news.

Arrangement: by subject.

Correspondence of Edwin Polk, Calvin Jones's son-in-law. The bulk of the items are personal correspondence between Polk and his wife, Octavia Jones Polk. Almost all the letters from Polk to his wife were written from Nashville, Tenn., where he was a member of the state legislature from 1847 to 1854. His letters are chiefly expressions of his love, but also contain comments on his life in Nashville; mutual friends; Sarah Polk, widow of James K. Polk; and on matters pending before the Judiciary Committee, bills for internal improvements, and for establishing common schools in Tennessee. Additionally, the political papers reflect on politics and legislative matters, including correspondence with other members of the legislature, drafts and notes of bills, lists of voters by parties, invitations to attend political clubs, and receipts from hotels in Nashville. Also included are letters and a pamphlet defending the late Colonel Ezekiel Polk, against charges that he was a loyalist during the Revolutionary War. The business papers primarily reflect Polk's interest in the Bolivar-LaGrange Railroad Company, and include correspondence, minutes of a meeting, a draft of a speech on the importance of railroads, and a bill to authorize subscriptions for stock.

Arrangement: chronological.

Chiefly correspondence, some business and some personal, of James W. Jones, an attorney, member of the Tennessee legislature, and son of Montezuma Jones. Scattered letters of other members of the Jones family are also included. Among the letters to James W. Jones is one from Senator John Sharp Williams in which he gave his views on an eight-hour work day for railroad workers.

The letters from 1919 are chiefly thank-you notes to Marshall DeLancey Haywood, who wrote a book on Calvin Jones and sent it to libraries and to prominent associations and individuals.

Undated items have been arranged by type: correspondence, writings, financial items, and miscellaneous items. Undated correspondence is about half family letters and half letters from acquaintances and business associates. Included are several letters to Calvin Jones and a letter to Montezuma Jones about treating a boy (slave?) for a disease of the jawbone. Also included is a letter written by Edwin Polk, husband of Octavia Jones Polk, about Indian mounds in his fields in Tennessee. Writings appear to relate chiefly to Calvin Jones, although few of them are signed. Included is a speech to the Masons, military writings, letters to the editors of the Star and the American Farmer, writings on religion, resolutions made by a railroad company, instructions relating to agriculture and medical treatment, and an item signed "Clinton" on the importance of railroads. Financial items consist chiefly of bills and receipts. Among the miscellaneous items are surveyor reports and legal documents.

Diary and scrapbook of Frances Irene Jones (Fannie), daughter of Montezuma Jones, written when she was in her early teens, presumably in Bolivar, Tenn. Fannie Jones wrote about subjects of interest to a teenaged girl--events during Christmas in 1869, her return to school, her school friends, studying, and other activities at school. She also mentioned two families of gypsies camping near town and seeing an organ grinder and his monkey perform one day. The scrapbook contains newspaper clippings on many topics, including several biographical sketches of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and other leaders of the woman's suffrage movement.

Exercise books, one kept by William Jones, the other a Latin exercise book. Also included are "Family Album Selections," three volumes of transcribed letters Jameson Jones compiled for family members.

Acquisition Information: Accession 98660

Note that, while this addition has not been integrated into the original deposit, it has been arranged according to the organization scheme of the previously deposited materials.

Acquisition Information: Accession 98300

Transcriptions of materials in the addition of June 2000 (Acc. 98660). The Calvin Jones family papers belonging to Mrs. Robert Hancock Jones, Jr., were copied by Carol Melton in July 1998. These copies were sent to Jameson James, who transcribed them. Spelling and punctuation are recorded as found in the manuscripts. Also included is a fourteen-page inventory of the letters.

Acquisition Information: Accession 98796

Biography of Calvin Jones written by Jameson Jones in 2000. The biography discusses aspects of Calvin Jones's life and personality.

Acquisition Information: Accession 98829

Letters relating to Calvin Jones and other members of his family. The letters are primarily between Calvin Jones and his brother Atlas, focusing on Atlas's collegiate and professional career. There are also letters from Calvin Jones to various correspondents that relate to his medical practice and to political matters including the French Revolution and Calvin Jones's involvement with the Whig party, and to Calvin Jones's wife Temperance and her sister Ruina that discuss their day-to-day lives in early 19th-century North Carolina and Tennessee.

Acquisition Information: Accession 101243

"Family Album: Letters and Documents of Calvin Jones (1775-1846), his Family, and Some of his Descendants, Volume 1: 1795-1846. Compiled, Transcribed and Commented by Jameson Miller Jones. Edited by Calvin B. Jones."