Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

The Barbourville (Ky.) Debating Society minutes concern the group's weekly meetings in the late 1830s. Each set of minutes contains attendees' names, the number of affirmative and negative votes regarding that week's question, and the next week's discussion topic. Members discussed subjects related to national and state politics, finances, penal codes, gender, and morality.

The Barbourville (Ky.) Debating Society minutes (122 pages) concern the group's weekly meetings between May 27, 1837, and November 16, 1839, with breaks between November 18, 1837-March 10, 1838, and August 4, 1838-March 30, 1839. The first entry and those that immediately follow the breaks contain the society's 3 constitutions. In addition to meeting minutes, the volume includes a 2-page membership list.

Most sets of weekly minutes list the names of attending members, the names of members selected to debate that meeting's assigned topic, the results of the society's vote, and the topic to be discussed at the following meeting. The minutes also reflect administrative matters settled during meetings, frequently regarding the admittance of new members and the election of officers. The Barbourville Debating Society mainly discussed political matters; some topics were debated on multiple occasions. Issues for debate included banking and taxation, the death penalty, revision of the Kentucky constitution, the admission of Texas to the Union, the relative worth of wealth and talent, the intellectual capacity of men and women, foreign immigration to the United States, the propriety of sanctioning divorces, and the desired amount of government funding for education and infrastructure. On at least two occasions, the society considered whether Native American removal or slavery was the greater evil, and on one occasion they considered whether the United States government could be justified in its actions against the Seminole tribe (July 13, 1839). The society also debated the legacies of politicians such as Andrew Jackson and Napoleon Bonaparte, and discussed the possibility of Henry Clay running for president in 1840.

• Bradley, Erwin Stanley. Union College, 1879-1954: Written in Commemoration of the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of Its Founding. Barbourville, Ky.: The College, 1954.
• Cobb, Ann. Kinfolks: Kentucky Mountain Rhymes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1922.

The Port William (Ky.) Town Trustees minute book pertains largely to property ownership and improvement, taxation, and elections in Port William (later Carrollton), Kentucky, from 1797-1840.

This "Order Book of the Trustees" (365 pages) pertains to the affairs of the board of trustees for Port William (later Carrollton), Kentucky, between April 4, 1797, and March 30, 1840. The board initially met at residents' homes and later convened at the Gallatin Circuit Court clerk's office. Secretaries recorded the date of each meeting, the names of those present, and the group's resolution(s). Most resolutions pertained to property and surveyors' reports. The board sometimes paid residents to survey land or make improvements to streets and public buildings, such as the market house. The minutes regularly report the results of elections for the board of trustees, listing each voter's selections. The volume includes a small number of lists of taxes owed on each lot of property. The entry of May 8, 1838 (p. 342) is the first to refer to the town as "Carrollton."

This collection contains letters received by Roger Quarles of Fayette County, Kentucky, regarding financial affairs and real property; correspondence related to Quarles's grandson, Patrick Henry Thomson, and to Thomson's wife, Julia Maria Farnsworth; and financial documents and receipts related to Roger Quarles.

This collection (59 items) contains letters received by Roger Quarles of Fayette County, Kentucky, regarding financial affairs and real property; correspondence related to Quarles's grandson, Patrick Henry Thomson, and to Thomson's wife, Julia Maria Farnsworth; and financial documents and receipts pertaining to Roger Quarles.

Roger Quarles received the first 13 items in the Correspondence series (34 items) between 1805 and 1838. Most of the letters concern his financial and business interests, often related to land in Fayette County, Kentucky, and to Kentucky turnpikes. Some correspondents wrote from Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg, Virginia. Quarles also received a personal letter from his nephew, David Thomson. Most items dated after 1838 pertain to the Thomson family, who discussed family news, health, and their social lives. Julia Maria Thomson and Patrick Henry Thomson corresponded with their siblings in Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis, Tennessee; Julia's sister, Sarah, wrote about her experiences at the Female Eclectic Institute in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and mentioned that the school's founder, Dr. Philip Slater Fall, had officiated the wedding of a free black couple (1840). Later items in the series include letters to Roger Quarles, particularly concerning financial difficulties and family news.

The Accounts and Receipts series (11 items) contains receipts addressed to Roger Quarles. Some concern taxes; on one occasion, Quarles paid for an official to record a deed. Two items relate to legacy payments to Elizabeth Winslow Hutchinson.

Legal Documents (14 items) mainly relate to land in Virginia and Kentucky; one includes a surveyor's map (April 11, 1796). Many items are partially printed indentures or manuscript copies of similar documents, and most refer to Roger Quarles. The series also contains 2 printed items concerning legislation about Kentucky turnpikes.