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Nutt (Rush and Haller) Papers
mssNU  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Preferred Citation
  • Immediate Source of Acquisition
  • Biographical / Historical
  • Scope and Contents
  • Processing Information
  • Arrangement
  • General

  • Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library
    Title: Rush and Haller Nutt papers
    Identifier/Call Number: mssNU
    Physical Description: 10.3 Linear Feet (9 boxes and 1 oversize folder)
    Date (inclusive): 1805-1933
    Date (bulk): 1817-1862
    Abstract: Papers belonging to American physicians, scientists, and planters, Dr. Rush Nutt and his son Dr. Haller Nutt.
    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]. Rush and Haller Nutt papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Immediate Source of Acquisition

    Purchased from James E. Smalldon, 1964 and 1971.

    Biographical / Historical

    Dr. Rush Nutt, planter, physician, enslaver, and scientist of Jefferson County, Mississippi. A native of Virginia, he studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania under Dr. Benjamin Rush. (He changed his first name from Rushworth to Rush in honor of his teacher.) In 1805, he moved West, settling on a large plantation, Laurel Hill, near Rodney, Mississippi. He taught and practiced medicine and was one of the founders of the Agricultural and Mechanical College in Alcorn, Mississippi. Dr. Nutt was particularly interested in scientific principles and methods of agriculture. He was known for the development of a new brand of cottonseed. He was married to Eliza Ker, daughter of Judge David Ker. His son, Dr. Haller Nutt (1816-1865), was also a planter, physician, enslaver, and scientist. Having received his medical degree at the University of Louisville, joined his father in the management of the plantations. Together with his father, he also worked in the improvement of the cotton gin, use of various fertilizers, and selection of cottonseed. He inherited his father's plantations in Tensas Parish, Louisiana, and Laurel Hill, and later purchased several other plantations in Mississippi and Louisiana. In 1840, he married Julia Augusta Williams of Ashburn in Natchez, Mississippi. He served as justice of the peace and the president of the Police Jury in Tensas Parish, Louisiana. In 1860, he began the construction of his mansion Longwood in Natchez, an octagonal building designed by the Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan. Also in 1860, Dr. Haller Nutt's listed property included over 800 enslaved people. A Union sympathizer, Dr. Nutt suffered losses during the American Civil War. After his death, his widow filed a lawsuit against the Federal government to recover some of the damages.

    Scope and Contents

    Personal, professional, and business correspondence and papers of Dr. Rush Nutt and Dr. Haller Nutt. Included are materials dealing with cotton cultivation and trade, plantation management, enslaved people, medicine, the construction of the Longwood House, the Civil War, religious life, and scientific interests.

    Processing Information

    Processed by Huntington Library staff. In 2022, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.

    Arrangement

    Arranged chronologically.

    General

    Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssNU 1-365, mssHM 36702-36724.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Agriculturists -- Louisiana -- Archives
    Agriculturists -- Mississippi -- Archives
    Cotton growing -- Southern States -- History -- Sources
    Cotton manufacture -- Southern States -- History -- Sources
    Cotton trade -- Southern States -- History -- Sources
    Octagonal houses -- Mississippi -- Natchez
    Physicians -- Louisiana -- Archives
    Physicians -- Mississippi -- Sources
    Plantation owners -- Louisiana -- Archives
    Plantation owners -- Mississippi -- Archives
    Slaveholders -- Louisiana -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
    Slaveholders -- Mississippi -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
    Slaves -- Louisiana -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
    Slaves -- Mississippi -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
    Louisiana -- History -- 1803-1865 -- Sources
    Mississippi -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
    Natchez (Miss.) -- History -- Sources
    Family papers -- Louisiana -- 19th century
    Family papers -- Mississippi -- 19th century
    Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century
    Personal papers -- Louisiana -- 19th century
    Personal papers -- Mississippi -- 19th century
    Professional papers -- Louisiana -- 19th century
    Professional papers -- Mississippi -- 19th century
    Nutt, Haller, 1816-1864
    Nutt, Rush, 1781-1837
    Sloan, Samuel, 1815-1884