From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Petition from several petitioners to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, requesting a full pardon for Peter Kesler who, having been convicted of cotton stealing, is now believed to be innocent. Having heard testimony from a Mr. Yates, who was also convicted in this same incident, the petitioners believe Mr. Kesler was a victim of circumstance and ask for his release.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Petition from Sheriff M. A. Metts to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, asking for a pardon for William T. Hester. The item also cites reasons for the petition, one being that the defendant is disabled in one arm due to an injury sustained at the Battle of Seven Pines.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Sarah Brady, writing on behalf of her brother Frank Brady, who is imprisoned in Jackson under the name of John McKay, and claims that he is imprisoned for a crime that he is not guilty of. She explains how her brother came to get arrested for unknowingly transporting stolen goods. Ms. Brady is requesting a pardon for her brother so that he can come home and help support his widow mother.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Mayor William Price of Grenada, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, recommending clemency on behalf of Tom Hanks of Grenada. Included is a note from H. F. Hewson, Alcorn's private secretary, giving a summary of Price's letter.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn's Private Secretary H. F. Hewson. A quick note jotted on a half piece of paper with instructions to issue a pardon.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Thomas J. Norton to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, requesting assistance in getting a pardon from the Governor of Indiana, Conrad Baker. Norton has been in the Indiana penitentiary since 1865, his sentence having been extended after his recapture following his escape in 1867.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Owen McGarr to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn's Private Secretary H. F. Hewson, requesting that Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn review the Marion Coleman case and asking that the Governor issue a pardon for Coleman thereafter.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Petition from White and Chalmers to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, requesting executive clemency for Thomas Ward, who has served four years of a five-year sentence on grand larceny. (Petition not included)

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from White and Chalmers to G. P. Carrington, to again request the release of Thomas Ward.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from C. Cummings to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn's private secretary H. F. Hewson, asking for Governor Alcorn to pardon a Mr. Riley who was convicted of stealing a watch and $70. Cummings believes Riley is innocent of these charges.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Anderson Rutland to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, recounting the events of how he was first imprisoned during the Civil War for horse theft and how he came to be released, only to be rearrested. He is asking Alcorn to review his case to see if his second arrest was legal in hopes that Alcorn would order his release.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from John Gillis to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, requesting a pardon for Anderson Rutland, who has spent nearly three years in the penitentiary. The request is made due to the indigency of him and his family.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from A. S. Dowd to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, writing to Alcorn to give him his interpretation of the character of Jesse Fagan, and asking for a pardon for Fagan.

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 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 A. P. Miller in Rankin County, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, writing on behalf of Thomas Easom, a freed person whom Miller formerly held as an enslaved person. According to Miller's letter, Easom is seeking a pardon for his son, a United States Army veteran who was convicted of larceny and sentenced to four years incarceration. Miller asks for clemency for Easom's son, whom Miller characterizes as "young and ignorant" when convicted. Included is a note from H. F. Hewson, private secretary to Alcorn, giving an executive summary of Miller's letter.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Petition from Bell Davis at Valewood, Mississippi, given to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, applying for pardon and asking to be released early from her incarceration so that she can care for her struggling mother.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Damaged, incomplete letter from someone in the Territory of Denver, Colorado, written to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, requesting a pardon for the son of the sender, who is incarcerated in the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Jackson, Mississippi.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from T. V. Noland at Woodville, Mississippi, to R. J. Mathews, recounting from memory the case of Res. Smith and stating that the two counts of larceny and burglary were weighed against Smith circumstantially. Although Smith was in possession of some of the items, Noland believes he most likely did not steal them. Noland states that Smith should be pardoned as he has fully atoned for his crime.

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 W. H. Fitz-Gerald at Charleston, Mississippi, to P. B. Starke, recounting the case of an African American man named Henry White who was convicted of rape in May 1867. Fitz-Gerald claims that White and the woman whom he was charged with raping had previously had consensual intercourse except for the night in question, where he forced himself upon her against her will. Fitz-Gerald states that although White is legally guilty, Fitz-Gerald believes that there were "extenuating circumstances" and that the sentence imposed was too great.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Z. A. Philips, superintendent of the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Jackson, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, requesting the early release of Samuel Harmon, who was convicted in 1868 of larceny. Included is a note from H. F. Hewson, private secretary to Alcorn, giving an executive summary of Philips's letter.

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 H. S. Van Eaton at Woodville, Mississippi, to R. J. Mathews, recounting the case of Elisha Boker and stating that he ought to have never been convicted, stating that the prosecutor had gone to the cabin of Boker looking for a woman that was staying there. When Elisha came out, the prosecutor tried to attack Elisha with a long piece of iron. Van Eaton claims Elisha defended himself with a knife, cutting the prosecutor. Van Eaton also accuses the witnesses in the case, all African Americans, of being prejudiced against Boker. Van Eaton requests executive clemency for Boker.