Simon Bolivar Buckner papers, 1828-1913, bulk 1862-1912

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Summary

Creators:
Buckner, Simon Bolivar, 1823-1914
Abstract:
Papers belonging to Confederate general and Governor of Kentucky Simon Bolivar Buckner.
Extent:
26.80 Linear Feet (24 boxes, 3 letter books, 19 oversize folders)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Simon Bolivar Buckner papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Chiefly letters, including three letter books, with documents, manuscripts, 38 Civil War maps, nine photographs, newspaper clippings, and other ephemera relating to Buckner's service in the Civil War, Reconstruction, Kentucky and national politics, and Buckner's business and personal affairs. The papers deal with various aspects of the Civil War: Buckner-Bragg controversy, Chickamauga campaign, battle of Perryville, siege of Fort Donelson, various Confederate armies, departments, and districts. Included are military maps, especially for Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, and the Chickamauga Campaign. Also included are papers of Joseph Walker Taylor, nephew of Zachary Taylor, scout for Buckner and a major in Adam Johnson's Partisan Rangers (10th Kentucky). The portion of the collection covering Reconstruction includes a group of letters by Buckner's sister Mary Buckner Tooke, written from Texas, and letters from various other people. Also included are materials related to Buckner's political affairs, including his gubernatorial campaign and various state governmental and political questions. Buckner's business affairs are represented by the materials of the litigation involving his Kentucky and Chicago property (Kingsbury suit), his insurance activities as regional manager of the Globe Mutual Life Insurance Co., and interest in railroads. The collection also contains poetry written by Buckner; letters of Buckner's sister, Mary Buckner Tooke; letters of his first wife, Mary Kingsbury Buckner; and letters of his daughter, Lily Buckner Belknap. Also present is Theodore Roosevelt letter signed to Simon Bolivar Buckner, 1908 September 23 (SB 920).

Biographical / historical:

Simon Bolivar Buckner was a Confederate general, businessman, Democratic governor of Kentucky from 1887 to 1891, and the vice-presidential candidate of the National Democratic Party in the 1896 campaign. He died in 1914, in "Glen Lily," his country estate near Munfordville, Kentucky. He married Mary Kingsbury in 1850 and Delia Claiborne in 1885. His son, General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr., was one of the highest-ranking military officers killed during World War II.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Mrs. Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr., 1956.
Processing information:

Processed by Huntington Library staff. In 2020, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid. 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. Correspondence; 2. Miscellaneous and printed matter; 3. Calling cards, receipts, and cancelled checks; 4. Oversize folders; 5. Letter books; 6. Maps.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

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]. Simon Bolivar Buckner 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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