Henry Kahn Collection Processed by Victoria Grey 2014 Memphis and Shelby County Room Memphis Public Library

Henry Kahn Collection

Processed by Victoria Grey 2014

Memphis and Shelby County Room Memphis Public Library and Information Center Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library 3030 Poplar Avenue

Memphis, TN Biographical Note:

Henry Kahn was a businessman who lived in Hardeman County, Tennessee. He and his wife Louise, originally from Germany, immigrated to the United States, and set up a dry goods store in Bolivar, Tennessee in 1844. Located on the Hatchie River, Bolivar established itself as a trading hub and Kahn’s store prospered accordingly. By all accounts he was a successful businessman, and in 1853 relocated to Louisville, Kentucky. Kahn established a similar business in that city, leaving his wife and five children in Bolivar. He retired in 1868, and died in 1880, and left a business legacy for his sons, notably Isaac and Samuel, who continued in the same line of work until the late 1890s.

Scope and Content:

The Henry Kahn Collection consists of one box, with three folders, and is almost wholly made up of personal and business correspondence and receipts of arrears and transactions. It initially appeared to have been organized as loosely chronological, but eventually deviated from that format. Aside from that, the collection remains in its original order. The bulk of the collection ranges in date from the 1820s up until the 1850s, with several items dating from the latter nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Interestingly, the collection contains little of Henry Kahn’s own personal effects. Instead, with the exception of a short, personal letter to his family, the collection holds items authored by many other prominent Bolivar residents. Although many of the residents feature more than once, much of it exists in isolation: there appears to be no overarching relationship between different pieces in the collection, aside from geographical location. The value of the collection in fact lies within its fragmented nature. It allows for a unique look at many different facets of nineteenthcentury Bolivar life, and a window to several of its most prominent founding citizens and their business, family and social interactions and activities.

Single photocopies or scans of unpublished writings in these papers may be made for purposes of scholarly research.

While the Memphis Public Library & Information Center may house an item, it does not necessarily hold the copyright on the item, nor may it be able to determine if the item is still protected under current copyright law. Users are solely responsible for determining the existence of such instances and for obtaining any other permissions and paying associated fees that may be necessary for the intended use. Any image from the library’s collection published in any form must cite as the source: Memphis and Shelby County Room, Memphis Public

Library & Information Center. For all requests, please contact the History Department at 901.415.2742 or [email protected].

As previously mentioned, the collection is housed in one box, and measures .21 linear feet. The contents of each folder shall be described below, with descriptions of author (generally by surname), locations and content when applicable.

Container List:

Folder One: (12 items) 1. Correspondence: Ashurst, of Philadelphia, to Rhea and McCrabb of Bolivar, TN, 1828. 2. IOU agreement: between McCrabb, Smith and Pearsall, 1827. 3. Correspondence: Con to Rhea and McCrabb, concerning the purchase of a boat, 1827. 4. Correspondence: Burke of Philadelphia to Rhea McCrabb & Merchants, 1828. 5. Correspondence: Rhea to Con, concerning the boat purchase mentioned above, 1828. 6. Correspondence: Boon of Washington to Judah of Vincennes, Indiana, discussion of the Supreme Court, and District Attorney fees, 1830. 7. Correspondence: Eveline McNeal of Bolivar to brother Albert McNeal, Coffeeville, Mississippi, concerning family matters, 1837. 8. Correspondence: E to A. McNeal, admonishment at dearth of letters, 1837. 9. Correspondence: Schaffer of Philadelphia, to Bills of Bolivar, concerning payment of debts, 1848. 10. Correspondence: Mansfield and McIntosh, to McHardy of Bolivar, bill of sale, 1848. 11. Correspondence: Ashurst to Rhea, McCrabb and Merchants, receipt and log of money owed, 1828. 12. Correspondence: Bills of Bolivar, to a John of Ripley, Mississippi, 1838.

Folder Two (12 items): 1. Correspondence: E.P. McNeal of Bolivar to brother Sam McNeal of Ripley, Mississippi, concerning family matters, 1838. 2. Correspondence: A.E. Laird of Louisville, Kentucky to Sam McNeal of Ripley, Mississippi, concerning local gossip, a letter between friends, 1839. 3. Correspondence: E.P. McNeal of Bolivar to brother Albert McNeal of Coffinsville, Indiana, concerning family matters and local business, 1841. 4. Correspondence: J.J. Neely of Louisville, Kentucky too Sam McNeal of Ripley Mississippi, local gossip, reminiscences of Bolivar, a letter between friends, 1842. 5. Correspondence: To Bills of Bolivar from Nashville, discussion of business, wills and estate holdings, 1842. 6. Correspondence: Graham of Washington City, to Bills of Bolivar, concerning federal Whig politics and Tennessee’s representation in Congress, 1847. 7. Land title deed: A.T. Browne to Jarrett, seventy five acres of land annexation and sale, 1849. 8. Correspondence: Goodich & Co. to Bills of Bolivar, discussion of market conditions and sales, 1850. 9. Land title deed: Minder and Hardy of Hardeman County, land annexation, 1861. 10. IOU: Originating from Philadelphia, to the value of five hundred and eighty dollars – signature no longer intact, but amount payable to Armstrong of Bolivar, 1827. 11. Land title deed: T.C. Price and E.H. Morgan of Hardeman County, land annexation and sale, 1881. 12. Correspondence: Henry Kahn of Louisville, Kentucky, to wife and family in Bolivar, concerning local business and family matters, 1875.

Folder Three (7 items): 1. Land title deed: Miller of Hardeman County, 1874 2. Correspondence: Schaffer of Philadelphia, to Bills of Bolivar, business receipt of payment, 1857. 3. Correspondence: Protection Insurance Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, to Bills of Bolivar, concerning insurance business and payments, 1852. 4. Business title transfer: Sam Kahn of Godfrey, Frank & Co., note of transfer of ownership and share in firm of Kahn Bros. of Bolivar to Isaac Kahn, 1896. 5. Correspondence: Frederic J. Haskins from The Nashville Tennessean Information Bureau, to a Mr. Kahn, reply to a request for information, 1940. 6. Certificate: State of Mississippi Office of Adjutant General, acknowledgement of election of Sam McNeil to office of Judge Advocate of 49th Regiment, Mississippi Militia, 1839. 7. Pamphlet: War Department Pension Office informational pamphlet, rules and regulations of applications for war pensions, 1827.