Title: Lenoir Family Papers

Date/Date Range :   1783-1917 (bulk 1830-1890)

Extent: 2.0 linear feet

Abstract:

The documents within this collection range from 1783 until 1917. A majority of these documents deal with the Lenoir's financial matters. Most of the documents housed in this collection are from the period from 1830 through 1890.

Call number: MS-0016

Repository: University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN

Aquisition Information:

This collection was donated to the Special Collections Library.

Access Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Copyright:

The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of Item], Lenoir Family Papers, MS-0016. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

Collection consists of two boxes divided into three series: Personal and Biographical Information, Correspondence, and Financial Matters.

The Lenoir family of East Tennessee was a prominent family with numerous mercantile endeavors in the area of East Tennessee. The family had extensive land holdings in Tennessee and North Carolina, frequently supplied goods to the United States military, and founded both the American Mining and Manufacturing Company. The patriarch of the family, William Lenoir, was born on May 8, 1751. Two days before his eighty-eighth birthday he passed away. He had ten children, only four of whom outlived their father. The city of Lenoir, Tennessee, is named for this family.

This collection pertains to the Lenoir family of East Tennessee. The bulk of this collection deals with the financial matters of the family. The Lenoir family's involvement in land speculation and several manufacturing endeavors are well represented. The collection has many original land grants from the states of Tennessee and North Carolina. Several documents telling of the Lenoir family's involvement in railroads are present here as well. Over a dozen documents chronicle the family's involvement in slavery. One of the family's slaves joined a regiment of colored troops and his certificate of enlistment is included. Many letters written from one family member to another are also within the collection. Most of the correspondents in this collection were from Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, North Carolina, or Georgia. Other items of interest in this collection include William Lenoir's activities in a Masonic lodge, an oath of amnesty taken by a family member during the Civil War, and papers relating to the construction of a Methodist church in Loudon.

• Lenoir Family.
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
• Slavery -- Tennessee -- History.
• Tennessee -- Commerce -- History.