Title: William Randolph Hackley Letters

Date/Date Range :   1863-1866

Extent: 0.1 linear feet

Abstract:

This collection consists of 43 letters from William Randolph Hackley to his wife and family in Illinois written from 1863-1866. During this time, he worked as a local special agent and cotton agent with the United States Department of the Treasury in West Tennessee and Mississippi. The correspondence describes Hackley's efforts to make money to send home to his family, the low salary paid to treasury employees, the corrupt nature of the Treasury Department, and the cynicism of government workers. The letters also demonstrate Hackley's homesickness and love for his family.

Call number: MS-0339

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

Aquisition Information:

R.L. Goulding donated this collection to the Special Collections Library in March of 1966.

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], William Randolph Hackley Letters, MS-0339. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

Collection consists of 43 letters in a single folder.

William Beverly Randolph Hackley was born to Richard and Harriet Randolph on October 7, 1806 in Virginia. He moved to Florida (probably to Tallahassee) in 1826. The details of his education are not known, but he was admitted to the Florida bar on March 31, 1827 and began practicing law in Key West in late 1828. He married Matilda Rhoda Agnes Clark Folker in 1841. He was appointed U.S. District Attorney for the Southern District of Florida in 1849 and he remained in that position until the family moved to Joliett, Illinois in 1857. Hackley moved to Memphis in 1863, apparently for financial reasons. From 1863 to 1865, he worked for the U.S. Treasury Department as a local special agent and then as a cotton agent. He was appointed an Assistant Special Agent of the Treasury Department for gathering Confederate States Cotton in Mississippi in 1865. He held this post until 1866. He died in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1867.

This collection consists of 43 letters from William Randolph Hackley to his wife and family in Illinois written while he was working with the United States Department of the Treasury in West Tennessee and Mississippi. The correspondence describes Hackley's efforts to make money to send home to his family, the low salary paid to treasury employees, the corrupt nature of the Treasury Department, and the cynicism of government workers. The letters also demonstrate Hackley's homesickness and love for his family.

Interested researchers may also wish to consult MS-1275 for transcriptions of these letters.

• Hackley, William Randolph, 1806-1867.
• Cotton trade -- Southern States -- History -- 19th century.
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
• United States. Dept. of the Treasury.