Correspondence, 1854-1895 (bulk 1879-1892) and undated

Extent:

167 containers; 72 lin. ft.

Scope and content:

This series consists almost entirely of letters sent to Mahone, although there are a few scattered letters from Mahone to others. The most prominently represented topics relate to local and state political matters in Virginia. Among them are the Virginia state debt; rise of the Readjuster movement; Mahone's gubernatorial and senatorial campaigns; canvassing of voters before elections; requests and recommendations for governmental positions; the use of clubs to encourage involvement in politics; and the schism which developed in the Republican Party in Virginia in the late 1880s.

Other subjects include railroad matters in Virginia, particularly as they concerned the financial issues surrounding the Atlantic, Mississippi, and Ohio Railroad; the Richmond Whig; legislation relating to the taxation of various products such as whiskey and tobacco; and several correspondents' interest in having Mahone serve in Benjamin Harrison's cabinet.

Many of the letters are numbered on the back and list the name of the letter writer, the date of the letter, a brief summary of the letter's contents, and the place where the letter was written. This information is also preserved in the correspondence indexes. However, not all the correspondence for these years is covered by these volumes. See the description of the Correspondence Indexes below. The correspondence is arranged chronologically.

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