| The M.P White collection consists of 72 folders the majority of which involve correspondence between lawyers representing the heirs of Thomas H. Fairbairn and various lawsuits spanning more than 35 years. These primarily involve family claims to property in Boyd, Carter and Greenup counties in Kentucky. In addition to updating the parties on the status of the cases, the letters include depositions relating to genealogical questions involving the Henry and Fairbairn families, relevant to the resolution of property ownership of several large tracks of land, a number of which had valuable timber and coal resources and several furnaces, specifically the Brine (Viola?) Furnace, and the Star Furnace. More than half of these items are from Thomas Joyes and John Hampton in Kentucky, to either Samuel Ogle Tilghman,(SOT) (1839-1866) and Elizabeth Fairbairn (1839-1875). A number also involve correspondence to or from Frank Fairbairn, to either Samuel Ogle Tilghman (53), Elizabeth Fairbairn (47,62, 64,65), or Thomas Joyes (51,61). Frank Fairbairn is also the subject of ongoing comments about his business acumen throughout this correspondence.
Although the letters cover the period of the Civil War, with only a couple of exceptions there is little mention of the conflict. An unknown correspondent in a June 4 1864 letter to SOT urges him to quickly sell land because money is rapidly depreciating and the government will be driven to tax lands heavily.(52). Frank Fairbairn to SOT on December 1, 1874 discusses the former's arrest under order of General Burbridge, Commander of the Union forces in the state, time in a Federal Prison "What they call Sherman's Colony," July 18, 1864, his release and rearrest.(53) Feb. 26, 1865, to Elizabeth Fairbairn, Thomas Joyes laments and reference to "depression and sadness…of the loss of country, and ruin and distribution of our people." (55) Of particular interest are two certificates of compensation filed by Samuel Ogle Tilghman for the enlistment of two of his slaves in the 39th Reg. U.S. Colored Troops. John Goldsborough's certificate notes ownership since birth, and a birth year for Goldsborough of 1845. Thomas Gross is noted with a birth year of 1823. (56) Both claims were filled out and witnessed March 28, 1865.
Other items in the collection include an 1805 letterbook of Thomas H. Fairbairn in which he makes comparisons about Baltimore to other cities on the content (2), Gaither family bible records from 1854-1888 (69), and courtship letters (15, 18) of John Huston to Mary Tilghman. An 1839 letter from Charles Tilghman to Samuel Ogle Tilghman from San Antonio (3) includes references to the distinctive markings of the Negroes in the area, including holes, and blue lines. He also makes reference to curfews placed on the Negroes. An April 6, 1844 letter from John Huston to Maria E. Tilghman (16) references a new in-town placement of a servant girl "Debby that will increase the latters value to Mrs. Tilghman."
Folder 70 contains eight separate items, a number of which relate to the poet Lizette Woodward Reese. (1856-1935)
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