From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Sheriff E. F. Haynie to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, reporting the murder of T. J. Shope and stating that the only eye witness to the murder has fled to Arkansas. Haynie also reports the case of another man, Leopold, who is charged with stealing property in the amount of $3,000 and has also fled to Arkansas.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from F. M. Price, concerning the deposition of Mr. Martin, Justice of the Peace in Warren County, Mississippi, concerning the theft of a horse by Felix Stone, a resident of Madison Parish, Louisiana.

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 A. R. Bowdre to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, requesting information from which he could present to the courts in Memphis, Tennessee, concerning the theft of stock.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Affidavit of D. Y. Howell given to Oliver Clifton, Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, stating that Willis Johnson, a.k.a. Willis Jackson, stole money from Mrs. E. Y. Wall and requests that a warrant for his arrest be made. He also states that Johnson/Jackson may have fled to Louisiana.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Affidavit of D. Y. Howell given to Oliver Clifton, Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, stating that Willis Johnson, a.k.a. Willis Jackson, stole money from Mrs. E. Y. Wall and requests that a warrant for his arrest be made. He also states that Johnson/Jackson may have fled to Alabama.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Legal document from H. L. Muldrow, concerning a indictment against James R. Ellis from Winston County, Mississippi. The indictment charges Ellis with violation of official duties and allowing a bond belonging to the sheriff to be stolen.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from A. R. Bowden to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, asking for a requisition for an arrested horse thief, whom Bowden says has a number of aliases.

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 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 John Butts to R. J. Matthews, explaining that one of his bags had been stolen in Vicksburg, Mississippi, from the porter, and that part of the contents of his bag were found in the possession of John Thomas, who had been convicted of receiving stolen goods. Butts believes that Thomas has made amends for his part in the crime and deserves to be released. Butts also states that he had promised Thomas last year that he would do all that he could to help him but had not had an opportunity to do so.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from James T. Coleman at Vicksburg, Mississippi, replying to an inquiry concerning the case against Parker Lacey. Coleman believes an injustice had been done by the conviction of Lacey, arguing that a companion of Lacey had been swindled out of some money and when Lacey went to recover the money from the alleged swindlers, they had Lacey arrested. Coleman believes that Lacey was convicted because he is an African American man and the alleged swindlers are white, and that Lacey's punishment was far beyond his offense.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Thomas Reed to R. J. Mathews, concerning an inquiry into the case of Tim (or Jim) Carter who had been convicted of stealing a mule and sentenced to one year in the Mississippi State Penitentiary. Reed explains that the prosecution failed to positively identify the mule Carter had supposedly stolen, and believes that the jury convicted him just for being in possession of a mule. Reed also explains that Judge Smiley had not taken the oath, and therefore the court did not have jurisdiction to hear the case and thus Carter was being held without cause and should be released.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter to R. J. Mathews, stating that the author could not recall the specifics of the case against Eliza Davis, other than she was charged with stealing several items amounting to $6.00 in value.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from B. B. Boone at Jacinto, Mississippi, addressed to R. J. Martin (possibly intended for R. J. Mathews?), recounting the details of the case against C.C. Byers--a Tennessee man working in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, accused of stealing a horse. Boone states that Byers was questioned about the horse, and said that he purchased the horse from someone else but later turned the horse loose in the woods. Byers was unable to procure any witnesses for his case, and his parents, being impoverished and out-of-state, could neither help him nor attend his trial. Boone further states that he believes that Byers has served enough punishment for petty larceny.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Sharkey Collection. Letter from W. H. Harvey, clerk of the circuit court of Choctaw County, Mississippi, at Greensboro, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor William L. Sharkey, informing Sharkey that someone broke into the county courthouse and took all the civil and criminal papers.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Sharkey Collection. Printed form letter from Assistant Adjutant General W. A. Gordon at Jackson, Mississippi, giving Major General Peter J. Osterhaus's instructions on cotton claims. The letter is unaddressed.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Sharkey Collection. Letter from William M. Pollan in Greensboro, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor William L. Sharkey, concerning his efforts to organize a Union League militia in Choctaw County, Mississippi.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Clark Collection. Letter from Sheriff Readman T. Portwood of Sunflower County, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor Charles Clark, concerning alleged crimes being committed in the county by Confederate deserters and African Americans.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Clark Collection. Incomplete letter from Confederate Captain A. Q. Withers, commander of a company of state troops at Holly Springs, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor Charles Clark, asking that his troops remain in Marshall County, Mississippi.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Clark Collection. Affidavit and appeal from Lucinda Cantrill and Mary Jane Smyth, arrested for burglary and larceny, at Columbus, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor Charles Clark, stating under oath that they are not guilty and asking that they be released from jail in Lowndes County, Mississippi. The affidavit is sworn before and witnessed by Stephen A. Brown, probate judge and justice of the peace.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Clark Collection. Letter from W. A. Strong at Greenwood, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor Charles Clark, concerning theft at the local distillery by Confederate troops.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Clark Collection. Unsigned letter from a Confederate Brigadier General (possibly Wirt Adams) at Jackson, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor Charles Clark at Macon, Mississippi, concerning the execution of alleged Confederate Army deserters and alleged thieves and "outlaws" in Yazoo County, Mississippi.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Clark Collection. Letter from M. A. Banks at Westville, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor Charles Clark at Macon, Mississippi, concerning alleged abuses against local residents by Captain F. M. Little and his men as they destroy distilleries in the county.