Andrew Johnson Collection mssJohnsona
Melissa Haley
The Huntington Library
2021
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Andrew Johnson collection
Creator:
Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875
Identifier/Call Number: mssJohnsona
Physical Description:
4.5 Linear Feet
(1 flat box, 1 oversize folder)
Date (inclusive): 1822-1870
Date (bulk): 1860s
Abstract: This collection consists of 14 letters from U.S. President Andrew Johnson, eight letters from others, two signed checks, and
a copy of Johnson's apprenticeship order, 1822 to 1870.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
Conditions Governing Use
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]. Andrew Johnson collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Anderson Galleries, George S. Hellman collection sale, November 1919.
Custodial History
Collection had been given by Johnson's daughter Martha Patterson to her friend Laura Carter Holloway Langford, author of The
Ladies of the White House; or, In the Home of the Presidents (1870). Langford apparently sold the material to New York collector
George S. Hellman.
Biographical / Historical
Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808-July 31, 1875), the seventeenth president of the United States, was born in Raleigh, North
Carolina, the son of a porter and a seamstress. He was apprenticed as a tailor and relocated to Tennessee, where he set up
a tailor shop in Greeneville. In 1827, he married Eliza McCardle (1810-1876); the couple had five children. In 1835 and 1839,
Johnson was elected as a Democrat to the Tennessee House of Representatives, and in 1841 to the state's Senate. He was elected
to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1843, serving until 1853 when he became governor of Tennessee. In 1857, he was elected
to the U.S. Senate. During the Civil War, Johnson was appointed military governor of Tennessee following the recapture of
parts of the state by Union troops. In 1864, he was elected vice president on the National Union Party ticket with Republican
Abraham Lincoln and became president after Lincoln's assassination on April 15, 1865. In May, he offered amnesty to most former
Confederates who signed an oath of loyalty. An enslaver prior to the Civil War, Johnson did not endorse Black suffrage during
the post-war Reconstruction period, considering voting rights to be a state matter. He also opposed the Freedman's Bureau
Bill in 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868. The purchase of Alaska, negotiated by Secretary of State William
H. Seward, was completed during Johnson's presidency in 1867. In February 1868, he was impeached by the House of Representatives
over his violating the Tenure of Office Act by removing Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; a Senate trial failed to remove
Johnson from office. The Democratic Party did not choose Johnson as their candidate in the 1868 presidential election. In
his remaining months in office, he issued amnesty to former Confederates and pardons to surviving Lincoln assassination conspirators.
In 1874, Johnson was again elected to the U.S. Senate, but served only five months before his death by stroke at age 66.
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of 14 letters from Andrew Johnson, eight letters from others, two signed checks, and a copy of Johnson's
apprenticeship order; material dates from 1822 to 1870. Johnson's letters are primarily to his son, Robert Johnson, and his
son-in-law, David Trotter Patterson. These letters discuss politics in Tennessee and nationally, including the Democratic
Party and presidential elections; events in Greeneville and Nashville, Tennessee; foreign relations; appointments; and personal
matters of Robert Johnson. Letters from others, most of which are to Johnson or family members, primarily concern Tennessee
and the Civil War.
Processing Information
This collection was reprocessed in 2021 by Melissa Haley as part of the American Presidential Papers Project. Previously assigned
item-level call numbers have been retained; material was rehoused during reprocessing. The number of pages for each item is
noted in parentheses in item-level Scope and Contents notes. Page count for letters includes enclosures but not envelopes
or addressed covers. Previously assigned legacy terminology regarding autograph status was retained; items marked
autograph indicate the item is in the handwriting of the author of the letter or document.
General
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssHM 8197-8215, 8217-8222.
Separated Materials
Related Materials
The Huntington Library holds several individual items for Andrew Johnson including an account book that primarily details
his tailoring business in Greeneville, Tennessee from 1831 to 1841 (mssHM 633); see library catalog for details.
Arrangement
Collection is arranged chronologically.
Publication Note
All letters from and to Andrew Johnson are published in LeRoy P. Graf and Ralph W. Haskins, editors, The Papers of Andrew
Johnson (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1967-2000) with the exception of Andrew Johnson to Ambrose Burnside, 1863
June 5 (mssHM 8209) and New York citizens to Andrew Johnson, 1865 May 17 (mssHM 8213).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Greeneville (Tenn.)
Tennessee -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Tennessee -- Politics and Government
Tennessee -- Politics and Government -- 1861-1865
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
United States -- Politics and Government -- 1849-1877
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century
Brownlow, William Gannaway, 1805-1877
Churchwell, Wm. M. (William Montgomery), 1826-1862
Dix, John A. (John Adams), 1798-1879
Harris, Isham G. (Isham Green), 1818-1897
Johnson, Eliza McCardle, 1810-1876
Leadbetter, Danville, 1811-1866
Patterson, David Trotter, 1818-1891
Stanton, Edwin M. (Edwin McMasters), 1814-1869
Democratic Party (Tenn.)
Democratic Party (U.S.)
Folder Oversize 1
Order binding Andrew Johnson as apprentice to James Selby, Wake County, North Carolina HM 8200
1822 February 18
Scope and Contents
Handwritten 19th century copy made from the minutes of Wake County Court, February term 1822. Johnson is listed as "an orphan
boy... 14 years of age," bound to learn the trade of a tailor. Item is undated; date is that of original minutes entry. (1
page)
Box 1, Folder 1
Andrew Johnson, Washington, D.C., letter to David Trotter Patterson HM 8201
1844 May 13
Scope and Contents
Autograph letter signed. Regarding the annexation of Texas and relations with Mexico; the state of the Democratic Party and
the 1844 presidential race; and several politicians including Martin Van Buren, Lewis Cass, John Tyler, Henry Clay, Thomas
Hart Benton, James K. Polk, and others. Letter also mentions a recent tariff bill defeat. (5 pages)
Box 1, Folder 2
Andrew Johnson, Washington, D.C., letter to David Trotter Patterson, Greeneville, Tennessee HM 8202
1850 April 5
Scope and Contents
Autograph letter signed, with addressed envelope and franking signature. Regarding a cadet appointment for Reuben Arnold,
emigration to California, and the editorship of the Greeneville "Spy" and its future. (4 pages)
Box 1, Folder 3
Andrew Johnson, Nashville, letter to Robert Johnson HM 8203
1856 July 11
Scope and Contents
Autograph letter signed. Regarding Robert Johnson's partnership with McFarland, a fire in Nashville, politics and the presidential
election. (4 pages)
Box 1, Folder 4
Andrew Johnson, Washington, D.C., letter to Robert Johnson HM 8204
1858 December 26
Scope and Contents
Autograph letter signed. Discusses relations between Spain and Mexico; Robert Johnson's potential January visit to Washington,
D.C.; his boredom and the inactivity of Congress. (4 pages)
Box 1, Folder 5
Andrew Johnson, Washington, D.C., letter to Robert Johnson, Greeneville, Tennessee HM 8205
1859 February 22
Scope and Contents
Autograph letter, with addressed envelope and franking signature. Regarding the appointment of William Churchwell and possible
appointment for Robert Johnson, candidates for Congress from Tennessee, and politics. (4 pages)
Box 1, Folder 6
Andrew Johnson, Greeneville, Tennessee, letter to Robert Johnson, Nashville HM 8206
1859 October 20
Scope and Contents
Autograph letter signed, with addressed envelope and franking signature. Discusses the position of state geologist and Tennessee
state politics; the recharter of banks, the currency issue, and banking; and activities in Greeneville. (8 pages)
Box 1, Folder 7
Andrew Johnson, Washington, D.C., letter to Robert Johnson, Nashville HM 8207
1860 January 12
Scope and Contents
Autograph letter signed, with addressed envelope and franking signature. Regarding Congress, William H. Barksdale's bill proposing
the expulsion of free persons of color from Tennessee, the Tennessee state convention, and Stephen A. Douglas as a presidential
candidate. (8 pages)
Box 1, Folder 8
Andrew Johnson, Washington, D.C., letter to Robert Johnson HM 8208
1860 April 22
Scope and Contents
Autograph letter signed. Regarding the nomination of Stephen A. Douglas as presidential candidate and Tennessee's position.
Letter marked private. (4 pages)
Box 1, Folder 9
Isham Green Harris, Nashville, letter to Mrs. L.C. Brown HM 8217
1861 January 8
Scope and Contents
Autograph letter signed. Discusses Tennessee and the state of the Union, Johnson's speech, secession, the future of Tennessee,
and predictions on the Confederacy. (4 pages)
Box 1, Folder 10
Danville Leadbetter, headquarters Greeneville, letter to Martha Patterson HM 8197
1861 November 29
Scope and Contents
Letter signed. Written to Johnson's daughter regarding the use of the Johnson family house as a military hospital by the Confederacy.
(3 pages)
Box 1, Folder 11
William M. Churchwell, headquarters Department of East Tennessee, Knoxville, letter to Eliza McCardle Johnson HM 8221
1862 April 26
Scope and Contents
Autograph letter signed. Regarding her departure from Tennessee including timeframe and routes, passports and escorts to be
provided. (1 page)
Box 1, Folder 12
Isham Green Harris, Murfreesboro, letter to Eliza McCardle Johnson HM 8218
1862 October 12
Scope and Contents
Autograph letter signed. Reports that General Forrest is sending a flag of truce to Nashville for Eliza Johnson's travel.
In pencil. (1 page)
Box 1, Folder 13
Edwin M. Stanton, Washington, D.C., letter to Andrew Johnson HM 8222
1863 April 18
Scope and Contents
Letter signed. Stanton sends orders from the War Department to Johnson as Brigadier General/ Military Governor of Tennessee
for the military takeover of the state. (3 pages)
Box 1, Folder 14
Andrew Johnson, Nashville, letter to Ambrose E. Burnside, Cincinnati HM 8209
1863 June 5
Scope and Contents
Letter, with addressed envelope. Introducing Samuel J. Carter of Nashville. Written and signed for Johnson by his secretary.
(1 page)
Box 1, Folder 15
Andrew Johnson letter to Samuel Carter, Nashville HM 8210
1863 August 7
Scope and Contents
Autograph note signed, with addressed envelope. Johnson requests "pure whiskey." In blue pencil, items are mounted. (1 page)
Box 1, Folder 16
Andrew Johnson, Nashville, letter to Robert Johnson HM 8211
1863 November 21
Scope and Contents
Autograph letter signed. Regarding Robert Johnson's resignation from his regiment, and Andrew Johnson's disappointment. In
pencil. (2 pages)
Box 1, Folder 17
Andrew Johnson, Nashville, letter to Robert Johnson HM 8212
1863 November 23
Scope and Contents
Autograph letter signed. Regarding Robert Johnson's determination to reform and become sober. In pencil. (2 pages)
Folder Oversize 1
New York citizens letter to Andrew Johnson HM 8213
1865 May 17
Physical Description: On vellum; 63 x 48 cm.
Scope and Contents
Sending "a Coach, span of horses, harness, blankets, et cetera" to Andrew Johnson as a token of their appreciation of his
fidelity to the country. Includes signatures for 40 individuals or companies. Includes addressed envelope.
Box 1, Folder 18
Andrew Johnson, Washington, D.C., letter to A.A. Low; Phelps, Dodge & Co.; Hoyt Brothers; J.S. Schulty & others HM 8214
1865 May 22
Scope and Contents
Letter signed. Sent in response to New York citizens letter offering gifts, 1865 May 17 (HM 8213), which he states he is unable
to accept. (2 pages)
Box 1, Folder 19
Andrew Johnson signed checks, Washington, D.C. HM 8198, 8199
1866 September 18, 1868 November 17
Scope and Contents
Two documents signed. One check made out to "self," the other to the president of Georgetown College. Items are mounted together.
(1 page)
Box 1, Folder 20
William G. Brownlow, Nashville, letter to unidentified recipient HM 8220
1868 August 21
Scope and Contents
Letter signed. Addressed to "Dear General." Regarding the state of things in Tennessee. (3 pages)
Box 1, Folder 21
John A. Dix, Paris, letter to Andrew Johnson, Washington, D.C. HM 8219
1869 February 12
Scope and Contents
Autograph letter signed, with addressed envelope and seal. Sending his resignation as minister to France. (2 pages)
Box 1, Folder 22
Andrew Johnson, Greeneville, Tennessee, letter to Emily Miller, Washington, D.C. HM 8215
1870 January 22
Scope and Contents
Autograph letter initialed, with addressed envelope and franking signature. Regarding a copy of an address he is sending,
reports he is not sure when he'll be in Washington, D.C. In pencil. (2 pages)
Publication Note
Published in Papers of Andrew Johnson as "To Unknown." Addressed envelope identifies recipient as Emily Miller.
