William Gibbs McAdoo letter

William Gibbs McAdoo letter

Descriptive Summary

Title: William Gibbs McAdoo letter
Creator: McAdoo, W. G. (William Gibbs), 1820-1894
Inclusive Dates: 1872 February 3
Language(s): English
Extent: 1 folder(s) (1 letter)
Collection Number: ms845
Repository: Hargrett Library

Collection Description

Historical Note

William Gibbs McAdoo, Sr., married Mary Faith Floyd. He served in the Tennessee state government and as attorney general in Knoxville before the Civil War. In 1863 he moved to Georgia intending to reside on his wife's family plantation, but bleak prospects forced them to stop in Marietta and then settle in Milledgeville, the old state capital. During the last years of the war, McAdoo fought in Georgia as a Confederate officer. Like many southerners, he never recovered financially after the war, but tried to replace material advantage with intellectual pursuits. Both he and his wife wrote essays and book reviews for the local press. McAdoo struggled to find work in Milledgeville before securing a professorship at the University of Tennessee in 1877 and moving the family back to Knoxville. --Derived from "McAdoo, William Gibbs." American National Biography Online. http://www.anb.org/ (Retrieved December 17, 2008)

Munsell, Joel (14 Apr. 1808-15 Jan. 1880), printer and publisher, was born in Northfield, Massachusetts, the son of Joel Munsell, a wagon- and plowmaker, and Cynthia Paine. Munsell attended the local elementary school and worked with his father for three years. In 1825, he went to Greenfield, Massachusetts, where he became an apprentice in a printing shop and continued his education by reading widely and studying Latin, French, and Spanish. He left for Albany, New York, in 1827 and for six years held a variety of jobs there. He amassed volumes of scrapbooks on literary, historical, and typographic subjects and continued to do so all of his life. On 1 May 1834, with a partner, Munsell bought the Microscope, a newspaper on which he had worked, and its printing office... He established himself as a full-fledged publisher and bookseller... Joel Munsell principally became the greatest printer of his era because of his contributions to the art of typography, his work in printing history, and the voluminous output of his press, which included almost every type of reading material available in his day. Although much of the printing was undistinguished due to the necessity of containing costs to meet competition, he nevertheless established an outstanding reputation. "Munsell, Joel." American National Biography Online. http://www.anb.org/ (Retrieved December 17, 2008)

Scope and Content

One letter from William Gibbs McAdoo to Joel Munsell of Albany, N.Y., requesting a copy of C. C. Jones, Jr.'s Reminiscences of the Last Days, Death, and Burial of General Henry Lee for review purposes. He suggests that copies be sent to booksellers L. W. Hunt & Co. of Milledgeville for sale. He also mentions that a painting is being done of General Robert E. Lee at the tomb of his father.


Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

William Gibbs McAdoo letter, ms845, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries.


Related Materials and Subjects

Subject Terms


Series Descriptions and Folder Listing

 
boxfolder
11Letter, 1872 February 3

Special Collections Libraries
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602-1641