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Virginia. Governor (1910-1914 : Mann). Executive Papers of Governor William Hodges Mann, 1899-1914 (bulk 1910-1913). Accession 41428, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Transferred from the Governor's Office at unknown date.
William Hodges Mann was born 30 July 1843 in Williamsburg, Virginia, to John Mann (d. 1843) and Mary Hunter Bowers Mann. He moved with his family to Rockbridge County, Virginia, in 1852, and attended Brownsburg Academy. In 1857, he moved to Petersburg, Virginia, where he apprenticed as a court clerk while studying law. When the Civil War began, Mann enlisted in the 12th Virginia Infantry until disabled by an injury. He worked for the Confederate government and as clerk of the circuit court of Dinwiddie County, Virginia. After the war ended, Mann began practicing law in Nottoway County, Virginia. He was elected judge and served from 1870 to 1891. Mann represented Nottoway, Brunswick, and Lunenburg Counties in the Virginia State Senate from 1899 to 1908. A prohibitionist, Mann authored the "Mann Bill" which closed saloons in 70 out of 100 Virginia counties. Mann narrowly won the Democratic primary for governor and then easily won election for governor in 1909. Serving as governor from 1910 to 1914, Mann was the last Confederate veteran to hold the position as governor of Virginia. During his administration, Mann nearly succeeded in gaining statewide prohibition, but his bill failed to pass the Senate. Mann too sought to further advances in agriculture by establishing a United Agricultural Board, as well as a Convict Lime Board to build facilities to grind limestone with the use of convict labor. Important events occurred during his governorship in the area of capital punishment with the executions of Virginia Christian, the first female executed in Virginia, and Claude & Floyd Allen whose murder of Commonwealth's Attorney William Foster in a Carroll County Courthouse made national news. After his term, Mann moved to Petersburg, where he practiced law with his son. Mann also became president of the Citizens' Bank at Blackstone and the Bank of Crewe. He married first married Sallie Fitzgerald (d. 1882) in 1870, and they had no children. He married second Etta Donnan (ca. 1862-1960) October 1885, and they had two children, one of whom survived to adulthood. Mann died in Petersburg 12 December 1927, and was buried in Blandford Cemetery.
Governor William H. Mann's Executive papers are organized in two series. Series have been designated for Correspondence (Alphabetical) and Subject Files. These papers mainly consist of incoming and outgoing correspondence during William H. Mann's four-year term as governor between 1 February 1910 and 1 February 1914. The largest and most significant series is the Correspondence (Alphabetical) Series. This series provides an alphabetical arrangement of Governor Mann's correspondence, both incoming & outgoing, during his governorship. The Subject Files series provides a more in depth look into the major concerns confronting Mann as governor.
This collection is arranged into the following series:
Series I: Correspondence (Alphabetical) Series II: Subject FilesOversized items have been removed to Boxes 55-56.
Series I. The Correspondence (Alphabetical) series is housed in thirty archival boxes and is arranged alphabetically by first letter of the last name of correspondent, then chronologically. This series documents correspondence received and sent by Governor Mann during his four-year term as governor of Virginia. In addition to correspondence, there are reports, proclamations, telegrams, orders, resolutions, acts, publications, news clippings, invitations, proceedings, financial statements, invoices, and other sundry items. Correspondence in this series relates to appointments, recommendations, legislation, speaking engagements, the appointment of ex-governor Claude A. Swanson as senator to replace the late John W. Daniel, extraditions, roads, convicts & the Penitentiary, state mental hospitals, pardons & commutations, conferences, rewards for escaped convicts, Confederate pensions, invitations, education, Floyd Allen & the Hillsville Massacre, prohibition, the Jackson Equestrian Statue, the Gettysburg Anniversary Reunion & monument, and others.
Noteworthy correspondents include Edwin A. Alderman, President of the University of Virginia; Gov. M.F. Ansel, South Carolina; O.C. Brunk & G.W. Brown, Superintendents of Eastern State Hospital; Ernest P. Bricknell, National Director of the American National Red Cross; Joseph V. Bidgood, Secretary of Virginia Military Records; J.M. Bauserman, Commissioner of Virginia State Hospitals; David Bottom, Superintendent of Public Printing; Gov. O.B. Colquitt, Texas; Gov. Austin L. Caruthers, Maryland; Gov. Locke Craig, North Carolina; William F. Drewry, Superintendent of Central State Hospital; J.S. DeJarnette, Superintendent of Western State Hospital; S.R. Donohoe, Auditor of Public Accounts; Gov. John Dix, New York; Gov. Adolph O. Eberhart, Minnesota; J.D. Eggleston, Jr., Superintendent of Public Instruction; J. Taylor Ellyson, Lieutenant Governor & President of the Confederate Memorial Association; Gov. Bert M. Fernald, Maine; Gov. Eugene M. Foss, Massachusetts; W.W. Finley, President of the Southern Railway Company; Gov. Albert W. Gilchrist, Florida; Gov. William E. Glasscock, West Virginia; J.E. Graves, Commandant of the Lee Camp Soldiers' Home; Gov. P.L. Goldsborough, Maryland; Carter Glass, U.S. House of Representatives; J. Silas Harris, Secretary of the Negro National Educational Congress; Gov. Ben W. Hooper, Tennessee; Charles Hutzler, President of the Prison Association of Virginia; Gov. Henry D. Hatfield, West Virginia; John H. Johnson, Pension Clerk; James Keith, President of the Supreme Court of Appeals; P.C. Knox, Secretary of State; G.W. Koiner, Commissioner of Agriculture; Gov. W.W. Kitchin, North Carolina; J.C. King, Superintendent of Southwestern State Hospital; E.A. Long, President of the Negro Teachers' & School Improvement League of Virginia; H.R. McIlwaine, State Librarian; Thomas Martin, U.S. Senate; C. Lee Moore, Auditor of Public Accounts; Gov. John A. Mead, Vermont; Gov. James B. McCreary, Kentucky; Charles C. Moore, President of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition; Joseph T. Mastin, Secretary of the State Board of Charities & Corrections; E.W. Nichols, Superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute; Robert L. Owen, U.S. Senate; Gov. Tasker L. Oddie, Nevada; Maj. James D. Patton, President of the Board of Directors of the Virginia Penitentiary; Gov. A.J. Poithier, Rhode Island; A.S. Priddy, Superintendent of the Virginia State Epileptic Colony; A. Parator, Royal Italian Consul; Col. John W. Richardson, Register of the Land Office; Virginia E. Randolph, African-American educator; D.C. Richardson, Mayor of Richmond; Claude A. Swanson, U.S. Senate; Gen. W.W. Sale, Adjutant General; Huntington Wilson, Acting Secretary of State; Gov. J.Y. Sanders, Louisiana; E.L.C. Scott, Pension Clerk; Gov. W.R. Stubbs, Kansas; R.C. Stearnes, Superintendent of Public Instruction; Rev. Dr. James Power Smith, President of the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Association; Lyon G. Tyler, President of the College of William & Mary; J. Hoge Tyler, former governor; Gov. John H. Tener, Pennsylvania; Gov. Park Trammell, Florida; Gov. Frank B. Weeks, Connecticut; Ennion G. Williams, Commissioner of Health; Gov. Augustus E. Willson, Kentucky; Gov. Woodrow Wilson, New Jersey; Maggie L. Walker; J.B. Wood, Superintendent of the Virginia Penitentiary; Gov. Oswald West, Oregon; James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture; and P. St. Julian Wilson, State Highway Commissioner.
Significant correspondence includes the following: Pierre Lefvre Pontalis, Charge d' Affaires, Washington, D.C., re. France's acceptance of a replica of the Houdon Statue of Washington by the General Assembly of Virginia (1910 May 25); J.C. Duke, Lyceum Secretary, encl. complimentary ticket to National Socialist Lyceum Course & broadside on "Janet Fenimore: First Speaker of the National Socialist Lyceum Course" (1912 Feb. 20); Herbert M. Duvall encl. his poem entitled "The Loss of Titanic" (1912 May 13); E. Eichberg agreeing to furnish two bathrooms in the Executive Mansion with marble & plumbing work (1910 July 11); Maude Littleton, Washington, D.C., re. offer to purchase Monticello from Jefferson M. Levy (1912 Dec. 14); Maude Littleton, Washington, D.C., encl. a copy of the mortgage on Monticello (1913 Jan. 6); P.C. Knox, Secretary of State, re. a torpedo launching practice in the Chesapeake Bay by the H.M.S. Bremen of Germany (1911 Nov. 16); LaSalle Corbett Pickett, Washington, D.C., requesting an appointment of her son George E. Pickett to the Virginia Military Institute (1912 Jan. 5); Manual L. Quezon, Resident Commissioners from the Philippines, re. the bill to establish an independent Philippine government (1912 Apr. 11); Capt. George C. Round encl. a poster advertising the "Northern Virginia Negro Fair" at the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth (1912 Aug. 26); Claude A. Swanson, U.S. Senate, re. nine stones from the state of Virginia for the Washington Monument with their inscriptions (1912 Apr. 9); and Maggie L. Walker, Richmond, acknowledging receipt of her commission as delegate from Virginia to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation to be held in New York City (1913 Oct. 18).
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent, then chronologically.
Series II. The Subject Files series is housed in twenty-four archival boxes and is arranged alphabetically. This series contains correspondence, legislation, proclamations, vouchers, receipts, contracts, news clippings, bills, minutes, statements, reports, recommendations, applications for pardons, prison records, petitions, and other sundry items. Included in this series are subject files related to the United Agricultural Board, the Virginia Penitentiary, Paid Bills, Rejected Applications for Pardons, Proclamations, the Adjutant General, the Attorney General, Recommendations, the Gettysburg Monument Committee, Racetrack Gambling in Norfolk, and others.
Materials related to the United Agricultural Board make up the largest portion of this series. The United Agricultural Board was created by an act of the legislature to coordinate the Virginia College of Agriculture & Polytechnic Institute, the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, the Commissioner & State Board of Agriculture, and the State Board of Education in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This collaboration endeavored to improve agricultural, experimental, & demonstration work and to advance the agricultural interest of the state. The correspondence to/from Governor Mann relates to board meetings, appropriations, vouchers, and other subjects. Correspondents include P.B Barringer, President of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute; J.D. Eggleston, Jr., Superintendent of Public Instruction; S.W Fletcher, Director of the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station; Rives B. Hardy, Secretary of the United Agricultural Board; Nancy D. Hughes, secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture; George W. Koiner, Commissioner of Agriculture, Bradford Knapp, special agent in charge, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture; C. Lee Moore, Auditor of Public Accounts; and T.O. Sandy, state agent, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.
In addition to correspondence, the United Agricultural Board records contains minutes, statements, receipts, reports and vouchers. Vouchers comprise the largest portion of these records. The vouchers mostly relate to the payment of monthly salaries, equipment, travel expenses, Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station expenses, Farmers' Cooperative Demonstration Work expenses, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, the Commissioner of Agriculture, the State Board of Education, the Girls' Garden Club Fund, the Secretary of the Agricultural Board, and the transportation & installation of county exhibits at the Virginia State Fair.
Rejected Applications for Pardons and Removal of Political Disabilities are also abundant in this series. These files are arranged alphabetically by applicant and often include correspondence to/from Governor Mann and Commonwealth's attorneys, prisoners, John Wood, Superintendent of the Penitentiary, family members, judges, Charles Hutzler, President of the Prison Association of Virginia, and sheriffs. These files often include prison records and petition on behalf of the applicant.
The Virginia Penitentiary is another significant part of this series. The correspondence to/from Governor Mann concerns the State Farm, road camps, the hiring out of convicts, a contract for the manufacture of shoes, and petitions against the contract from the Reliance Manufacturing Company. Correspondents include Maj. John B. Wood, Superintendent of the Virginia Penitentiary; Maj. J.D. Patton, Chairman of the Penitentiary, and the Reliance Manufacturing Company. The Convict Lime Board files contain additional correspondence to/from Governor Mann regarding the crushing or pulverizing of limestone, particularly the establishment of plants for the grinding of limestone & oyster shells to be furnished to farmers. This correspondence also relates to the act of the Legislature known as the Lime Convict Act for locating a plant to grind limestone in a convenient and central place in the Commonwealth. The correspondence often includes catalogs and other information on products. Noteworthy is an agreement between James A. Wilson of Rockbridge County and the state of Virginia to examine his property for the purpose of ascertaining the quantity & quality of his limestone deposit with the view of establishing a lime grinding plant (1913 Apr. 2). Also noteworthy is correspondence to railroad companies regarding the fixing of railroad rates for hauling limestone (1911) and correspondence regarding the calling of a conference of the presidents of the various railroads to consider rates on lime & ground limestone.
The Attorney General's files contain important opinions conveyed by Samuel W. Williams or Richard B. Davis, Assistant Attorney General, to Governor Mann. Williams provides opinions on the following topics: the Sunday Train Bill (Senate Bill No. 60), a tribunal to hear the establishment of a public highway (House Bill No. 326), the Radford City Charter, the act to amend & re-enact the act to secure to operatives & laborers in coal mines, iron & steel factories, etc. (House Bill No 281), the payment of wages at regular intervals, the investment in boards of supervisors of counties having a greater population than three hundred inhabitants per square mile (Senate Bill No. 100), the payment of a license tax on motor vehicles by the Imperial German Embassy, an appropriation of Congress for the purchase of the Chesapeake & Albemarle Canal property, and the power of the governor to remove members of the Penitentiary Board.
The Education files document correspondence to/from Governor Mann and R.C. Stearnes, Secretary of the State Board of Education, and other members of the board. This correspondence involves meetings, quarterly reports, the Co-Operative Education Association of Virginia, the Normal School for Women to be established in Radford, and charges against Dr. P.B. Barringer, President of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, for poor administration. Also significant are letters of recommendations for superintendents of schools for various localities.
Files associated with the contamination of oysters involve oyster contamination in the Potomac River. Governor Mann appointed Dr. Mead Ferguson as bacteriologist and E.W. Magruder as chemist on the part of Virginia to serve in conjunction with the experts appointed by Gov. Philips L. Goldsborough, Maryland, and the U.S. government. Includes correspondence from Gov. Goldsborough; Thomas Parran, House of Representatives; the Commission on the Merchant Marine & Fisheries; E.W. Magruder; James Wilson & David F. Houston, U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture; W. McDonald Lee, Commissioner of Fisheries; Thomas S. Martin, U.S. Senate; and Dr. Meade Ferguson.
Racetrack gambling in Norfolk became a controversial subject during Mann's governorship as Mann fought to stop illegal betting at the Jamestown Jockey Club in Norfolk. Includes correspondence to/from Mann and Judge Joseph T. Lawless, Norfolk Circuit Court; Samuel W. Williams, Attorney General; J. Sydney Smith, attorney; and R.C. Marshall, Commonwealth's Attorney. These files also include a copy of the court case between the Commonwealth and the Jamestown Jockey Club, Inc.
Arranged alphabetically.