GUIDE TO THE JOHN P. VARNUM FAMILY COLLECTION
Collection Number: M02-4
Title: John P. Varnum Family Collection
Dates: 1841-1927 (bulk 1877-1888)
Size: 2.3 linear ft. (2 boxes)
Repository: Manuscripts and Personal Papers, Thomas
G. Carpenter Library, University of North Florida
ABSTRACT
The collection
consists chiefly of the personal correspondence of Varnum Family
members and other correspondents circa 1841-1927, with the bulk
of the materials from the family's Jacksonville period of 1877 to
1888. Most of the letters are outgoing correspondence to relatives
from Josephine L. Dyer (signed "Josie") Varnum, wife of
John P. Varnum.
LANGUAGE: English.
ACQUISITION
Collection purchased in 2002.
ACCESS TO THE COLLECTION
The collection is open for research. For additional information and
to make an appointment to view the collection, contact E. Brady at
904-620-1533; email: ebrady@unf.edu
PREFERRED CITATION
John P. Varnum Family Collection, Thomas G. Carpenter Library, University
of North Florida, Jacksonville, Florida.
ADDITIONAL GUIDES
Brown, S. Paul.
The
Book of Jacksonville : a history. Poughkeepsie, N.Y. : A.V.
Haight, Printer, 1895. (Information on Jacksonville Board of Trade;
Journal & Journalists)
Beecher, Henry
Ward, Mrs. Letters
from Florida. New York : Appleton and Company, 1879. (Two letters
from Mrs. Beecher are in the Varnum Collection)
RELATED MATERIALS
Varnum, John
P. Florida! : its climate, productions and characteristics
: a hand book of important and reliable information for the use
of the tourist, settler and investor / prepared by John P. Varnum
; [with an introd. by V.O. Coshow]. [Jacksonville, Fla.?] : Issued
by the Passenger Dept. of the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway,
1885.
Varnum, John
P. (ed.) Annual descriptive and statistical report of the
industries and advantages of the city of Jacksonville, Florida.
[Jacksonville, Fla.? : The Board?, 1885]. (First annual report
of the Jacksonville Board of Trade)
Graham, Thomas.
Charles H. Jones, journalist and politician of the Gilded Age. Tallahassee
: Florida A & M University Press, c1990. (Varnum-Jones' newspaper
partnership discussed)
BIOGRAPHICAL / HISTORICAL NOTE
Attorney, journalist,
publisher, and editor. Born on February 26, 1854. Son of John
B. Varnum, Union General and later Adjutant General of Florida during
the Reconstruction period of 1870-1877. Early documentation shows
John P. Varnum (son) held jobs as citrus grower, Deputy Marshal
and Postmaster of Eau Gallie, Florida. In 1878, he was practicing
law in Jacksonville, Florida, under the partnership of Cheney &
Varnum. In May 1882, he formed a partnership with the brothers
C. H. Jones and George W. Jones, as Jones, Varnum
& Co., to publish the newspaper, The Daily Times. In 1883,
the firm bought the newspaper, Daily Florida Union, later merging
it with the Times to become the Times-Union, with Varnum as City
Editor.
In February
1884, Varnum was appointed the first Secretary / Treasurer of the
Jacksonville Board of Trade, at a salary of $125.00 per month. He
resigned this position on June 1, 1885, and in 1886, after selling
his ownership in the Times, he established the Jacksonville Morning
News, later the News-Herald (1887), which was absorbed by the Florida
Publishing Co. into the Times-Union fold in 1888. He also managed
the Florida Literary and News Bureau and represented the United
Press in 1888.
Varnum had four
children, with wife Josephine L. Dyer: Charles Archibald, Grace,
Edith, and Norah. After leaving Jacksonville in May 1888, he died
in Massachusetts on December 5, 1888.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The collection
consists chiefly of the personal correspondence of Varnum Family
members and other correspondents circa 1841-1927, with the bulk
of the materials from the family's Jacksonville period of 1877 to
1888. Most of the letters are outgoing correspondence to relatives
from Josephine L. Dyer (signed "Josie") Varnum, wife of
John P. Varnum.
Miscellaneous
materials include several nineteenth century legal documents relating
to the family's real estate holdings in Florida. Of special interest
in the collection are two letters to John P. Varnum, dated May 12,
1877 and April 25, 1878, from Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher, Mandarin,
Florida. She was the sister-in-law of Harriet Beecher Stowe, owner
of a Mandarin residence from 1867 to 1884.
All items are
originals. Most letters are legible and typed transcriptions
of selected letters are available.
ARRANGEMENT
Correspondence
alphabetically by family member; chronological within folder.
INDEX TERMS
The following terms have been used to index the description of
this collection in the Library's online catalog:
Varnum, John P. -- Correspondence.
Varnum family -- Correspondence.
Dyer, Josephine L. -- Correspondence.
Beecher, Henry Ward, Mrs., 1813-1897 -- Correspondence.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 1811-1896.
Cheney & Varnum (Firm)
Jones, Varnum & Co.
Jacksonville Board of Trade.
Lawyers -- Florida -- Correspondence.
Journalists -- Florida -- Correspondence.
Publishers and publishing -- Florida -- Correspondence.
Editors -- Florida -- Correspondence.
Practice of law -- Florida.
Legal documents -- Florida -- Jacksonville.
Real property -- Florida -- Jacksonville.
Jacksonville (Fla.) -- History.
Jacksonville (Fla.) -- Newspapers.
Mandarin (Jacksonville, Fla.) -- History.
CONTAINER LIST
The Container list provides a listing of the folders as arranged in the
Collection. When available, links are included to
full-text resources and online images.
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