Title: Felix K. Zollicoffer Letter

Date/Date Range :   1853 April 19

Extent: 0.1 linear feet

Abstract:

In this letter, Felix Zollicoffer responds to rumors regarding Granville Searcy that Moses White mentioned in an earlier communication. According to these whisperings, Searcy is an "unusually profane man" , a "whore-house bully" , a "notorious drunkard" , has "left an insane wife at home ... at the point of death" , and attended a "negro ball." Zollicoffer concedes that he has seen Searcy drink and heard him swear (although neither to excess), but denies the rest of the accusations, saying that he has always considered Searcy a "very respectable man."

Call number: MS-1719

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

Aquisition Information:

Collection was transferred from the University of Tennessee Archives.

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], Felix K. Zollicoffer Letter, MS-1719. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

Collection consists of a single folder.

Felix Kirk Zollicoffer was born on May 19, 1812 in Bigbyville, Tennessee to John Jacob and Martha Kirk Zollicoffer. He was educated at Jackson College in Columbia, Tennessee and became a printer after graduation. He was elected State Printer of Tennessee in 1835 and later owned and edited The Columbia Observer and The Southern Agriculturalist. He also edited the Republican Banner, the Whig party's state organ. Zollicoffer served as the comptroller of the Tennessee State Treasury from 1845 to 1849 and in the State Senate from 1849 to 1852. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1853 and served until 1848. He was a member of the 1861 peace convention held in Washington to devise a means of avoiding war, but served in the Confederate Army when the Civil War began. He died of wounds received near Mill Springs, Kentucky, on January 19, 1862.

Granville Deaderick Searcy was born in about 1807 in Davidson County, Tennessee. He was educated in the public schools and eventually obtained his LLD. He practiced law in Somerville, Tennessee before moving to Tipton county in about 1830. He married Elizabeth Booker in Tipton County in 1832, and the couple had five children. The family moved to Memphis in 1846. Searcy served as a Representative in the Tennessee State Senate twice: he represented Tipton County from 1835 to 1837 and Shelby County from 1849 to 1851. He died on December 19, 1853 and is buried in Elmwood Cemetery.

In this letter, Felix Zollicoffer responds to rumors regarding Granville Searcy that Moses White mentioned in an earlier communication. According to these whisperings, Searcy is an "unusually profane man" , a "whore-house bully" , a "notorious drunkard" , has "left an insane wife at home ... at the point of death" , and attended a "negro ball." Zollicoffer concedes that he has seen Searcy drink and heard him swear (although neither to excess), but denies the rest of the accusations, saying that he has always considered Searcy a "very respectable man."

• Zollicoffer, Felix Kirk, 1812-1862.
• Searcy, Granville Deaderick, 1807-1853.
• Tennessee -- Politics and government.