Cravens mss., 1850-1872
Papers of Various at the Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington,
Indiana
Electronic finding aid encoded by Indiana University
Libraries.
Summary Information
Repository
Lilly
Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
Indiana University
1200 E. Seventh St.
Bloomington, IN 47405-5500
Phone: 812-855-2452
Fax: 812-855-3143
Email: liblilly@indiana.edu
http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly
Creator
Various
TitleCravens mss., 1850-1872
Collection No.
LMC 1226
Extent
1 box (78 items)
Language
Materials are in English.
Abstract
The Cravens mss., 1850-1872, consist of
correspondence and papers of James Addison Cravens, 1818-1893, farmer, soldier, Indiana
legislator, and U.S. congressman.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Biographical Note
James Addison Cravens, 1818-1893 was a farmer, soldier, Indiana legislator, and U.S.
congressman. He was born November 4, 1818, in Rockingham county, Virginia, the son of John
and Ann C. (Newman) Cravens. His family migrated to Indiana in 1820 and settled near
Hardinsburg in Washington county. He attended public schools, engaged in agriculture and
stock raising, and married Susan Hardin, daughter of Aaron and Sarah (Leatherwood) Hardin.
In June 1846, he enlisted as a private in Company K, 2nd regiment, Indiana infantry, in
Mexican War. He rose to rank of major and was discharged July, 1847. From 1848-1849, he was a member of the Indiana
House of representatives; From 1850-1853, he was in Indiana state senate; In 1844 he was commissioned a
Brigadier general in the Indiana militia. From 1861-1865, he served in the U.S. Congress. He resumed
agricultural pursuits. In 1866, he was a delegate to Union national convention of conservatives at
Philadelphia. In 1868, 1876, 1880, and 1884, he was a delegate to National democratic conventions. On June
20, 1893, he died at Hardinsburg, Indiana, and was buried in Hardin cemetery.
Scope and Content Note
The Cravens mss., 1850-1872, consist of correspondence and papers of James Addison
Cravens, 1818-1893, farmer, soldier, Indiana legislator, and U.S. congressman.
The mss. in this collection fall principally in the years, 1861-1865, when Cravens was a
member of Congress. They consist largely of letters from constituents, soldiers, and
political figures, and relate in the main to national and state politics, the progress
of the War, army hospitals, prisoners of war, appointments, postoffices and mail routes,
bills before Congress, the distribution of free cotton seed and shrubs, and speaking
engagements. Included are a letter of March 29, 1862, from Nathan Kimball to Cravens
describing the Battle of Kernstown on March 23, 1862; a draft of an 1862 speech by
Cravens relating to the confiscation of rebel property and the emancipation of the
slaves; and a statistical "Distribution of [draft] quotas of Washington co., Ind.,"
1864.
The collection also contains a few political letters and papers, 1850-1852, when Cravens
was in the Indiana Senate; political and business letters, 1866-1872, at which time
Cravens no longer held public office; and a scrapbook of newspaper clippings and other
printed materials, 1884-1900, and undated.
Among the correspondents represented in the collection are John C. Albert, James S.
Athon, George Augustus Bicknell, Schuyler Colfax, Thomas Leonidas Crittenden, Cyrus
Livingston Dunham, Michael Crawford Kerr, Nathan Kimball, Henry Smith Lane, Charles
Lanman, Abraham Lasher, John Law, John Irwin Morrison, Benjamin Newland, John B. Norman,
and Caleb Blood Smith, John J. Hardin, W. Scott Whitman.
Collection size: 78 items
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Gift: 1960
Usage RestrictionsPrior arrangements are not necessary before coming to the Library, however, patrons
from out of town are encouraged to communicate with the Library in advance of their
visits to ascertain availability of materials.
Photocopying permitted only with permission of the curator.
Preferred Citation
[Item], Cravens mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Cravens mss.
1 box
(78 items)
