Scope and Content Note
The papers of the Shelby family span the years 1738-1916, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1757-1829. The papers center on the careers of Evan Shelby (1719-1794) and his son, Isaac Shelby (1750-1826).
Approximately half of the collection relates to Evan Shelby, a prominent eighteenth-century frontiersman, farmer, merchant, and soldier. This material includes receipts, bonds, notes, surveys, deeds, accounts, bills, quitrent payments, and occasional correspondence. It documents early frontier life and development in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
The material pertaining to Isaac Shelby, a Revolutionary War hero and the first governor of Kentucky, encompasses Shelby’s varied public activities as well as his personal and business affairs. The correspondence is particularly valuable as a source of information concerning Shelby’s personal and business concerns and includes numerous letters relating to state and national affairs. Prominent correspondents include John Brown, Arthur Campbell, Henry Clay, John J. Crittenden, Christopher Greenup Martin D. Hardin, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Jefferson, and John Sevier. Shelby’s land operations are documented in agreements, deeds, depositions, receipts, and other documents scattered throughout the collection. Shelby was involved in military activities throughout his adult life, and his papers include material relating to Indian wars, the Revolutionary War, and frontier defense in the years after the American Revolution. A memorandum book kept by Shelby in 1792-1794, during his service as the first governor of Kentucky, contains memoranda of his official correspondence, orders, nominations, and appointments.
The collection also contains a small amount of correspondence, clippings, and miscellaneous items pertaining to the descendants of Evan and Isaac Shelby. Family correspondents include John Warren Grigsby, Susan Preston Shelby Grigsby, Nathaniel Hart, Susan Hart McDowell Irvine, Susan Hart Shelby Shannon, Alfred, Shelby, Thomas Hart Shelby, Virginia Hart Shelby, Charles Stewart Todd, and Letitia Shelby Todd.