From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Report from P. B. Starke, Thos. W. Stinger, and T. J. Mitchell, members of a committee appointed to assess the affairs of the Mississippi State Penitentiary, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, containing the results of the committee's investigation into the condition of the penitentiary - including plantations leased by the penitentiary where some convicted persons, mostly African Americans, are made to perform labor - and its inmates. There are several pages of information concerning some inmates needing medical attention, some inmates whom the committee believed were improperly convicted, and recommended pardons or commutations of sentences. Appended are additional "special reports" concerning particular cases and persons.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Murray Peyton, secretary of the Mississippi State Senate, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, giving notice of Senate confirmation of nominees to the offices of Marshall County, Mississippi Chancery Clerk, and Grenada County, Mississippi Circuit Clerk respectively. The reverse bears a brief note from Mississippi Secretary of State James D. Lynch.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Murray Peyton, secretary of the Mississippi State Senate, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, giving notice of some Senate confirmations. (List of nominees not present).

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Legislative document from Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn to the Mississippi Legislature, concerning money and land grants to aid in the construction of levees in the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta. He explains that it is important for the revival of the cotton industry and he makes reference to it's standing in the global cotton economy, specifically noting the Manchester Cotton Supply Association as competition.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Petition from Wm. Bolton and several residents of Washington County, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, seeking a pardon for Woodson Baldwin, an African-American man, who was convicted for attempted theft and sentenced to 6 months imprisonment and a $200 fine.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from G. N. Martin to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, providing recommendation and support for O. H. Whitfield to be appointed as the chancellor of the Monroe County, Mississippi, chancery district. (This document may be one of the enclosed letters mentioned in mdah_786-971-02-01).

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Murray Peyton, secretary of the Mississippi State Senate, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, giving notice of the Senate's confirmation of nominees to the offices of District Attorney (12th and 7th Districts), Chancery Clerk of Coahoma County, Mississippi, and Public Printer respectively.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Eli Phillips, L. A. Munson, and J. H. Piles to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, providing recommendation and support for O. H. Whitfield to be appointed as the chancellor of the chancery district composed of Lee, Itawamba, and Monroe Counties, Mississippi. (This document may be one of the enclosed letters mentioned in mdah_786-971-02-01).

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from H. B. Gegan and Ambrose Henderson, representatives from Lowndes and Chickasaw Counties, Mississippi, respectively, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, providing recommendation and support for O. H. Whitfield to be appointed as the chancellor of the chancery district composed of Lee, Itawamba, and Monroe Counties, Mississippi.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from J. Shepperd to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, giving notice of the Mississippi State Senate's confirmation of county and municipal officers for Grenada County, Mississippi, as well as the 5th District Chancery Court Judge and Sheriff of Claiborne County, Mississippi.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Murray Peyton, secretary of the Mississippi State Senate, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, giving notice of the Senate's confirmation of county officers for Warren and Itawamba Counties, Mississippi, as well as municipal officers for the town of Fulton, Mississippi.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Murray Peyton, secretary of the Mississippi State Senate, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, giving notice of the Senate's confirmation of several nominees to the Board of Trustees for the Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Murray Peyton, secretary of the Mississippi State Senate, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, giving notice of the Senate's confirmation of county officers for Lincoln County, Mississippi, and municipal officers for the town of Brookhaven, Mississippi.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Murray Peyton, secretary of the Mississippi State Senate, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, giving notice of the Senate's confirmation of county officers for Panola County, Mississippi, and municipal officers for the towns of Panola, Sardis, and Batesville, Mississippi.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Murray Peyton, secretary of the Mississippi State Senate, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, giving notice of the Senate's confirmation of Dr. William M. Deason to the office of Medical Superintendent and Director of the State Hospital at Natchez, Mississippi. On the reverse, a note from H. F. Hewson, Alcorn's private secretary, refers Peyton's letter to the Mississippi Secretary of State.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Murray Peyton, secretary of the Mississippi State Senate, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, giving notice of the Senate's confirmation of Dr. John R. Hicks to the office of Medical Director and Superintendent of the State Asylum at Vicksburg, Mississippi. On the reverse, a note from H. F. Hewson, Alcorn's private secretary, refers Peyton's letter to the Mississippi Secretary of State.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Murray Peyton, secretary of the Mississippi State Senate, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, giving notice of the Senate's confirmation of Dr. William M. Compton to the office of Medical Superintendent of the Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum. On the reverse, a note from Mississippi Secretary of State James D. Lynch indicates that Compton's commission has been issued.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Murray Peyton, secretary of the Mississippi State Senate, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, giving notice of the Senate's confirmation of nominees to the office of circuit judge for the 15th, 7th, and 12th Districts respectively.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from M. B. McMicken at Canton, Mississippi, to P. B. Starke, giving Starke details of the case of Robert Brown, an African American man incarcerated in the Mississippi State Penitentiary, who was accused of murder and defended by McMicken and Henry S. Foote. McMicken is requesting a pardon to be given to Robert Brown.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Hillary Talbert to Colonel N. Howard, requesting a pardon on behalf of Henry Bennett, an African-American man, who was convicted of stealing cotton and was sentanced to 5 years in prison and has already served 3. Talbert believes Bennett was being directed by a "mean white man" and did not financially benefit from the crime. Two petitions have already been sent to the Governor on Bennett's behalf but to no avail. Talbert is requesting that Howard bring the pardon before Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn. (Note added from Colonel N. Howard and Stephen Johnson).

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. 2 -sided letter between Z. A. Philips and Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn. One side is from Alcorn, the other from Philips. Philips writes to Alcorn giving him the reason for the imprisonment of Ann Parker, an African-American woman, who was convicted of arson and sentenced to five years in the penitentiary in Jackson, MIssissippi. Alcorn writes back to Philips that after a conversation with Parker, he has decided to grant her a pardon due to her age and frail condition.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from O. H. Whitfield to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, applying for the position of chancellor of the district composed of Monroe, Lee, and Itawamba Counties, Mississippi. Whitfield states that he has enclosed letters of recommendation. (Enclosed letters of recommendation are likely mdah_786-971-01-06, mdah_786-971-01-17, mdah_786-971-02-02, and mdah_786-971-02-03).

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Superintendent of Mississippi State Penitentiary Z. A. Philips to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, recommending that George Lewis, an African American man who is currently incarcerated at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, be given a pardon on the grounds that Lewis still professes his innocence. Lewis is also suffering from a gunshot wound received during his service in the United States Army.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Judge Wade H. Hough of the 13th District in Louisiana, containing a certified copy of a judgement of the conviction of William E. Brewer from the State of Louisiana. Brewer was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to two years of hard labor in the Louisiana Penitentiary in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was also fined $1 and is liable for the cost of prosecution.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn to the Mississippi Legislature, requesting a joint committee be formed to meet with him concerning errors made in the draft of condolences pertaining to the Capitol disaster in Richmond, Virginia, that was to be sent to the Governor of Virginia. Alcorn also makes note that previous errors have been noticed in a different draft regarding overflow lands on the Mississippi River.