Howell Cobb family papers, 1793-1932, bulk 1839-1868

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Summary

Creator:
Cobb family
Date:
1793-1932, bulk 1839-1868
Extent:
47.25 Linear Feet (95 boxes)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Howell Cobb family papers, ms 1376. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of papers of Howell Cobb and the Cobb family from 1793 to 1932. The bulk of the collection is correspondence, mostly addressed to Howell Cobb, dating from 1839 to 1868. There is a large amount of correspondence between Howell Cobb, his wife Mary Ann Lamar, and her brother John B. Lamar. The letters discuss politics in both Georgia and the United States, the Confederate States of America including its formation and administration, and information on Cobb's business interests, especially his plantations (and the lives of enslaved persons therein). After Cobb's death in 1868, the remainder of the correspondence is between other family members including John A. Cobb, Howell Cobb, Jr., Alexander Erwin, and Mary Erwin discussing family and social news, business interests, and legal cases. While the correspondence primarily documents the Cobb, Lamar, Erwin, and Barrow faimilies, there is also a large amount of correspondence from the Jackson, Hull, Rootes, Lumpkin, King, Pope, Rutherford, Prince, and Nisbet families.

The earliest material includes indentures and land grants (1793-1829) relating to Zachariah Lamar's business interests.

The clippings do not focus on Howell Cobb, with the very rare exception. These seem to have been donated by family but are very general in nature. The journals and diaries are from family members and friends.

Biographical / historical:

Howell Cobb was born on September 17, 1815, the son of Sarah Rootes and John Addison Cobb. His younger brother, T.R.R. Cobb, was born several years later in 1823. About 1819, the Cobb family moved to Athens, Georgia, where Howell attended the University of Georgia and graduated in 1834. He married within a year to Mary Ann Lamar. With some experience, he became a lawyer in 1836. He and Mary Ann would have twelve children, only six of whom would survive to adulthood.

Cobb excelled in both law and politics, though the latter was his real passion. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1843 to 1851 and then again in 1855 to 1857. He was the Speaker of the House from 1849 to 1851. He was the governor of Georgia from 1851 to 1853. He served under President Buchanan as the Secretary of Treasury from 1857 to 1860. When Georgia seceded in 1861, he also left, and served as the president of the Provisional Confederate Congress from 1861 to 1862.

Notably, Cobb strove to secure the passage of the Compromise of 1850 and often led committees and coalitions to keep the nation together. Due to this, however, he garnered hostility with other Southerners and had to restore his reputation within the Democratic Party.

Yet by 1860, due to secession, he abandoned the Union and joined the Confederacy. He was briefly considered for the Confederate presidency, but his former politics blocked him from the position. When he concluded his provisional term, Cobb turned to the military branch of the Confederacy. He started as a colonel of the Sixteenth Georgia Infantry, but by the end of the war, he would become a major general.

Like almost all other military leaders, Cobb was eventually forced to surrender in 1865 and waited for the next few years for a pardon. When he finally received one, he spoke out against the politics of the Radical Republicans. He died on vacation in 1868 in New York.

Processing information:

Series 1. Howell Cobb includes names of interest for each folder. These names highlight some of the people that regularly corresponded with Howell Cobb, but is not an exhustive list of all correspondents.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into eight series: Howell Cobb, Lamar family, Cobb family, Erwin family, Barrow family, other correspondence, and documents.

Access and use restrictions

Preferred citation:

Howell Cobb family papers, ms 1376. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries.