Scope and Content Note
The papers of Waddy Thompson (1798-1868) reflect aspects of southern antebellum life and several of the political crises in which Thompson was directly or indirectly involved, including the nullification crisis and relations with Mexico. The papers date from 1826 to 1882, with the bulk concentrated in the period 1840-1857. Included are typed transcripts of some letters and explanatory items.
The collection is highlighted by correspondence from persons such as George Bancroft, A. P. Butler and Pierce Mason Butler (brothers-in-law of Waddy Thompson), Thomas Corwin, F. W. Pickens, and Hugh Swinton Legaré. The nature of the correspondence is varied. Some letters are little more than speaking invitations; other correspondence, notably that of A. P. Butler, William Dickinson Martin, and James Lewis Petigru, dwells on political questions. Letters from the two Gardiner brothers, George A. Gardiner and John C. Gardiner, concentrate on the trial of George in a matter relating to Mexico. The correspondence of Pickens in particular deals with plantation life, including the sale of slaves and land. The largest single group of correspondence in the collection is that of William C. Preston; it concerns nullification, Thompson's appointment to the Mexican post, the workings of the John Tyler administration as perceived by Congress, and general news. Other correspondence of note includes a letter from the State Department signed by Daniel Webster and an invitation to dine at the Maryland Historical Society from a committee that included Brantz Mayer and John Pendleton P. Kennedy.
A small group of Thompson family papers includes an 1832 copy of a 1786 land survey, Thompson's appointment as a brigadier general in the South Carolina Militia in 1833, his credentials as minister to Mexico signed by John Tyler in 1843, the will of John D. Jones (relating to the Thompson family), Waddy Thompson's will, and two legal documents relating to the Thompson estate.