Collection Details:

Collection Name and Number: Niles Family Papers (Z/1831).
Creator/Collector: Niles family members.
Date(s): 1829-1941.
Size: 3.00 cubic feet.
Language(s): English.
Processed by: MDAH staff.
Provenance: Gift of Donor, of Place, State, on Date; Z/U/XXXX.XXX.
Repository: Archives & Records Services Division, Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Rights and Access:

Access restrictions: Collection is open for research.

Publication rights: Copyright assigned to the MDAH. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to Reference Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the MDAH as the owner of the physical items and as the owner of the copyright in items created by the donor. Although the copyright was transferred by the donor, the respective creator may still hold copyright in some items in the collection. For further information, contact Reference Services.

Copyright notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

Preferred citation: Niles Family Papers (Z/1831), Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Biography:

Jason Niles

Jason Niles was born in Burlington, Vermont, on December 19, 1814. He was the son of Daniel S. and Alice Reed Niles of Massachusetts. Niles received a bachelors degree from the University of Vermont at Burlington in 1837. He also taught school in Ohio and Tennessee for several years. Niles married Harriet McRee of Shelbyville, Tennessee, in 1847. They were the parents of six children: Alice Niles Boyd, Henry C. Niles, Jennie Niles Brown, Lucy Niles Potts, Mary Niles McCool, and Sallie Houston Niles Alexander.

Niles read law and was admitted to the bar in 1851. He began practicing law in Kosciusko, Attala County, Mississippi. Niles was a delegate to the Mississippi constitutional conventions of 1851, 1865, and 1868. He was a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1870. Niles resigned his seat to become circuit judge of the thirteenth judicial district of Mississippi, serving from 1871 to 1872. A Whig-turned-Republican, Niles was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1872, serving from 1873 to 1875. He failed to be reelected to a second term in the House in 1874.

Jason Niles returned to Kosciusko where he resumed the practice of law and served as editor of the Kosciusko Chronicle. Niles died in Kosciusko on July 7, 1894. He is buried in the city cemetery in Kosciusko.

 

Scope and Content Note:

This collection contains correspondence, legal and financial records, compositions, printed material, photographs, and scrapbooks of Jason Niles and his family from 1829 to 1941. The correspondence primarily concerns family matters and the opinions of Jason Niles and his brother, William, regarding the sectional issue of secession. Letters written during the Civil War and Reconstruction reveal the impact of war and subsequent military rule on Kosciusko and Attala County, Mississippi. There are legal documents such as land deeds, summonses, pension applications, and guardians certificates. Several account books record funds that Niles received from clients. There are financial records such as canceled checks, promissory notes, and statements from various dry-goods stores in the Kosciusko area. Of interest are compositions that Niles wrote while attending the University of Vermont. The eight scrapbooks include newsclippings, anecdotes, poetry, and biographical and genealogical information on the Niles and Potts families. One scrapbook compiled by Mary Niles McCool chronicles the political career of Judge James F. McCool. Another scrapbook contains newsclippings on the life and death of Confederate president Jefferson Davis.

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Correspondence. 1851-1918; 1941; n.d. (1.00 c. ft.)
This series contains the personal correspondence of Jason, Alice, Harriet, Henry, Jennie, Lucy, Mary, Sallie, and William Niles. The letters of Jason Niles and his brother, William, of Concord, New Hampshire, who corresponded before, during, and after the Civil War, contrast southern and northern lifestyles. Their letters relate family matters, local marriages and deaths, and the hope of visiting one another. In a letter of February 18, 1862, William Niles expresses his opinions of southern men who were in favor of secession. The letters also contain valuable insight into the effect of Reconstruction on life in Kosciusko, Mississippi. In a letter dated June 28, 1865, Niles relates the presence of federal troops in Kosciusko. Another letter from a cousin, dated February 8, 1867, mentions the depressed economy of Memphis, Tennessee. Although most letters were written during Niles's years as a public servant, they reflect an interest in his children's education more than his political career.

Box 1, folders 1-5, 1851-1873.
Box 1, folders 6-10, 1874-1877.
Box 2, folders 1-4, 1878-1918; 1941; n.d.

 

Series 2: Legal Records. 1855-1897; 1909; 1924. 3 folders.
This series contains various legal documents, including summonses, land deeds, insurance papers, pension claims, guardians certificates, and a list of taxable property owned by Jason Niles.

Box 4, folders 1-3

 

Series 3: Account Books. 1855-1887; 1904. 4 folders.
This series contains nine account books, including eight that were kept by Jason Niles. The other account book contains receipts and other documents concerning Dr. Charles Betts Galloway, Sr. It also contains the will of John T. Steele. Niles's account books record fees collected from legal clients and the cost of goods purchased. Also included are records of Niless court cases and fees for services rendered to his clients.

Box 4, folders 4-7

 

Series 4: Financial Records. 1835; 1854-1883; 1890-1897; 1905-1906; 1908; 1915; n.d. 5 folders.
This series consists of promissory notes, statements from various dry-goods stores, and canceled checks. There are several promissory notes concerning A. J. Boyd and Dr. Charles Betts Galloway, Sr. A checkbook belonging to Harriet Niles contains some canceled checks.

Box 5, folders 1-5

 

Series 5: Compositions. 1835-1836; 1838-1839; 1871; n.d. 1 folder.
This series consists of compositions that Jason Niles wrote while a student at Charleston Academy and the University of Vermont. Included are compositions entitled "Agriculture," "Composition and Declamation," "The Indians," "Self-Government," and "The Traveller," which was published in the American Whig, Woodstock, Vermont, on June 1, 1832. There are some mathematical notes of Niles. There is one composition of Sallie Houston Niles Alexander dated March 25, 1871.

Box 5, folder 6

 

Series 6: Publications. 1879; 1889; 1909; 1912-1913; 1916. 1 folder.
This series contains the following publications: Mississippi University Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 4, April 1879; Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, December 21, 1889; Journal of the Proceedings of the One Hundred and Eighth Annual Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New Hampshire, 1909; Church Fly-Leaf, Vol. 22, No. 3, July 1912; Youth's World, Vol. 7, No. 3, March 1913; and Parish Leaflet: Christ Church Parish Guide, Vol. 17, No. 12, August 1916 (Vicksburg, Mississippi).

Box 5, folder 7

 

Series 7: Photographs. 1848; 1914; 1937; n.d. 1 folder.
This series contains four photographs: Jason Niles (1848); home of the Reverend William N. Niles in Concord, New Hampshire, with Niles standing on the porch (1914); wedding of Edward and Mary McCool Fenwick (1937); and Dick McCool, (n.d.).

Box 5, folder 8

 

Series 8: Scrapbooks. 1858-1900; 1914; 1916; 1918-1919; n.d. (2.33 c. ft.)
This series consists of eight scrapbooks containing newsclippings and memorabilia. Some scrapbooks were apparently compiled by Jason Niles and others by his daughters, and they reflect an interest in Mississippi history and politics. Mary Niles McCool compiled a scrapbook on the political career Judge James F. McCool. Jennie Niles Brown compiled another scrapbook. Two scrapbooks contain newsclippings on Jefferson Davis and other national figures. There is an article on the death and funeral Jefferson Davis from a December 11, 1889, issue of the Times-Democrat, New Orleans, Louisiana. There is also a magazine article on Varina Anne Jefferson Davis from an April 24, 1895, issue of Harper's Bazaar. There is one newsclipping entitled "An Autobiography of Judge J. A. P. Campbell," a former law partner of Niles. This series also contains biographical and genealogical information on the Niles and Potts families. Loose items from the scrapbooks have been separately foldered.

Box 3, scrapbook 1, 1858-1890 (compiler unknown).
Box 7, scrapbook 2, 1873-1891 (compiler unknown).
Box 6, scrapbook 3, 1876-1887 (compiled by Mary Niles McCool).
Box 7, scrapbook 4, 1876-1886 (compiled by Mary Niles McCool).
Box 6, scrapbook 5, 1877-1895 (compiled by Jennie Niles Brown).
Box 8, scrapbook 6, 1881-1919 (compiled by Mary Niles McCool).
Box 8, scrapbook 7, 1886-1893 (compiler unknown).
Box 8, scrapbook 8, 1889 (compiled in memory of Jefferson Davis).
Box 9, folders 1-7 (loose items removed from scrapbooks).