Correspondence, 1795-1889

Scope and content:

The Correspondence is arranged chronologically. Correspondence discusses personal and family matters; presidential elections; the Mexican War; the annexation of Texas and Oregon (1845); the activities of McCalla and others in the Democratic and American Parties; the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln and the coming of the Civil War; various business ventures in Kentucky and Washington, D.C.; letters from several former McCalla slaves who settled in Liberia (circa 1834 and 1836); conditions in the Eastern Lunatic Asylum in Lexington, Kentuckey (circa 1826); McCalla's duties as U.S. marshal for the District of Kentucky; and his service as 2nd auditor in the Treasury Department.

Some of the letters in this series discuss personal or financial matters. For example, on Dec. 15, 1818, McCalla writes to Congressman Henry Clay asking his assistance in gaining compensation from the government. There are also 1820s letters between John McCalla and his brother, William Latta McCalla (a controversial Presbyterian minister), discussing personal difficulties, their families, and the Ebenezer Presbytery of Kentucky. Beginning in 1828, and continuing into the 1850s, a personal correspondence develops between John McCalla and Medard Coutre of Frenchtown, Monroe County, Michigan. Both men had participated in the River Basin Campaign of 1812-1813, and Coutre’s family settled on the site of the battle of Jan. 22, 1813.

The Correspondence also contains a large number of letters discussing political matters and disputes. Letters about the character and affairs of Henry Clay are written by Duff Green (1829), Thomas Patrick Moore (June 24, 1829) and S.H. Laughlin of Nashville (Sept. 2, 1844). John McLean, Supreme Court Justice, writes to congratulate McCalla on his appointment as U.S. Marshal on Feb. 16, 1830. On March 31, 1845, McCalla was appointed second auditor of the U. S. Treasury and immediately moved his family to Washington D.C. His term lasted until 1849. With Taylor's election, General McCalla left the Treasury Department to enter private law practice in Washington. Wm. 0. Butler writes in 1851 on his candidacy for the Presidency. There are details on the second auditor's office as McCalla gathers material for charges against his successor, Philip Clayton. With Franklin Pierce in office, McCalla again sought governmental appointment. In 1853, Pierce received letters from several individuals, all recommending that McCalla be re-appointed as second auditor.

On June 8, 1860, John McCalla's son, Dr. John Moore McCalla, Jr., becomes agent for the United States government in the return of slaves captured from a slaver. Materials related to his work with the American Colonization Society are also present in the Personal Papers series.

Along with business correspondence, McCalla's letter books contain financial accounts, poetry, property rentals, personal correspondence, and construction information. From the 1830s through the 1850s, these letter books contain mostly business correspondence of McCalla to various government officials, including President Andrew Jackson.

Contents

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