Knut (Sargeant Prentiss) Papers, 1830-1972, bulk 1865-1938

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Summary

Title:
Sargeant Prentiss Knut papers
Dates:
1830-1972, bulk 1865-1938
Creators:
Knut, Sargeant Prentiss, 1855-1939
Abstract:
A collection of letters and documents related to the life and work of American lawyer Sargeant Prentiss Knut.
Extent:
22.67 Linear Feet (20 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Sargeant Prentiss Knut papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

A collection of 2,700 items from 1830 to 1972; it contains professional papers and personal, professional, and family correspondence of Sargeant Prentiss Knut. Included is material related to the Civil War claims regarding family property and other litigation, including the settlement of Lily Barret Knut's estate. The collection also contains material from Knut's professional and political career. Also included is correspondence of the Barret and Knut families, biographical information, notebooks, typewritten copies of the diaries of Dr. Rush Nutt (1805) and Rittenhouse Nutt (1834), newspaper clippings and ephemera.

Biographical / historical:

Sargeant Prentiss Nutt (who later changed his name to the old spelling, "Knut") was a Mississippi lawyer who was involved in Democratic politics. Knut was born approximately 1854, one of the eleven children of Dr. Haller Nutt and Julia Nutt; Dr. Nutt was a wealthy cotton planter at Natchez, Mississippi. In 1860, Dr. Nutt began the construction of his mansion, Longwood, designed by the architect Samuel Sloan. A Union sympathizer, Dr. Nutt suffered tremendous losses during the Civil War. After his death in 1864, his widow filed a lawsuit against the Federal government in an attempt to recover some of the damages. Sargeant Prentiss Knut attended the University of Virginia, and was admitted to the bar at Natchez in 1878. He then practiced law in Washington, D.C., pursuing the settlement of the war claims of his own family and the claims of many other Southerners. In 1896, he married Lily Barret who died in 1898, a few days after giving birth to their daughter Lily Knut Brown. At her death, Lily Barret Knut willed her large estate to her daughter Lily Knut Brown; this will later became the subject of much litigation in which father and daughter opposed each other. Sargeant Prentiss Knut was also involved in Democratic politics and was the treasurer of the Mississippi Democratic Association in Washington, D.C; he died there in 1939 and was buried at Longwood.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Miss Carolyn Pollard and Ward Pollard, June 1977.
Processing information:

Processed by Huntington Library Staff, circa 1985. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the finding aid derived from a legacy summary report. In 2022, Melissa Haley enhanced description of the presidential material present in the collection as part of the American Presidential Papers Project.

Arrangement:

Organized in the following series: 1. Personal and family correspondence; 2. Business correspondence of the Nutt family; 3. Business, personal, and political correspondence of Sargeant Prentiss Knut; 4. Correspondence of the Barrett and Knut families; 5. Correspondence and documents relating to war claims; 6. Biographical and genealogical data; 7. Newspaper clippings and ephemera; 7. Sargeant Prentiss Knut's notebooks, diaries of Rittenhouse Nutt and Dr. Rush Nutt (copies).

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Gayle Richardson
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2022-10-12 11:02:02 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Sargeant Prentiss Knut papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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