Scope and Content Note
The papers of the Polk family span the years 1767-1859. Bound in two volumes, the collection contains correspondence, indentures and legal agreements, circulars, pamphlets, and miscellaneous material. Letters to William Polk concern the University of North Carolina, elections of 1824 and 1828, Bank of the United States, and the politics of John Quincy Adams, William Harris Crawford, Henry Clay, and Andrew Jackson. Included are copies of documents relating to the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence and an 1859 biography of William Polk. Other family members represented include Leonidas Polk and James K. Polk. Correspondents include John Quincy Adams, Alfred Balch, John Branch, Joseph Caldwell, Andrew Jackson Donelson, John Henry Eaton, Daniel Graham, Andrew Jackson, William Berkeley Lewis, Willie Person Mangum, and Thomas Ruffin.