Guide to the Thomas C. Nixon Papers
Prepared by Lacey Brother, Student Assistant and Mark C. Shenise, Associate Archivist
United Methodist Archives and History Center
General Commission on Archives and History, Madison, New Jersey
4/20/2004
Overview of Records
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| Record Creator: |
Nixon, Thomas C. |
| Title: |
Thomas C. Nixon Papers |
| Dates: |
1812- 1983 |
Click here to view the finding aid format suitable for requesting material at the Archives
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| Abstract: |
Thomas C. Nixon (1793-1872) was an American Minister who served in Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. The collection contains his journals beginning from 1815 to 1872. The journals reflect Nixon's daily activities including personal and business relationships, preaching, and his plantation activity among other topics. The collection also contains notebooks, loose journal pages, sermon notes, financial records, and clippings. There is also a photocopied collection of material related to the Nixon Family’s history which contains correspondences, copies of photographs, journals, notebooks, and sermons material along with additional family records. |
| Extent: |
1.11 cubic feet |
| Resource ID: |
gcah.rg.4191 |
Biographical Note
Thomas C. Nixon (1793-1872), an American minister, was born on October 22, 1793, in the Kershaw District of South Carolina. While he was still young, he and his family moved to Tennessee and settled on Duck River in Maury County. His parents were both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and his father was a local preacher.
In 1810, Nixon had a spiritual awakening and joined the Church at Mount Pisgah. The Tennessee Annual Conference licensed Nixon to preach and admitted him on trial, November 1, 1812. In 1813, the annual conference appointed him to the Cumberland District, Somerset charge. Bishop Francis Asbury ordained Nixon a deacon in the following year he was appointed to the Illinois District and served at New Madrid. Nixon traveled for three years in the Tennessee Conference before being appointed in 1815 to the Wilkinson Circuit in the Mississippi Territory. The year proved to be a busy appointment for Nixon. Another appointment to both the Holston District and the Wilkinson District while stationed at Lee added to his responsibilities. The following year, 1816, became a pivotal year for both Nixon and Mississippi Methodism.
Due to church growth, the General Conference divided the Tennessee Annual Conference to form a separate Mississippi Annual Conference. The new annual conference covered Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. Nixon and eight other circuit riders became the clergy foundation of the new annual conference. Bishop Richard Roberts ordained Nixon as a full elder with all the rights, duties, and privileges granted a minister in full connection. Roberts would appoint him to the Wilkinson (1817), Louisiana District-Attakapas charge (1818), Mississippi District–Amite (1819), and Alabama (1819).
The 1821 Mississippi Annual Conference minutes records Nixon's appointment to the Alabama District, Cahawba charge but also its presiding elder. This is the last time Nixon’s name appeared on the conference appointment list until his expulsion in 1823. Nixon’s journal records the suspension from his official office in the church. The journal also tells a story of sorrow during the same year.
Despite the disconcerting pause in Nixon’s ministerial career, his personal life had positive moments. He married Elizabeth Rawles on May 9, 1824. The couple had eleven children before Elizabeth died during the birth of her twelfth child on May 3, 1846. During this period the Nixon family settled on a farm in Hinds County, Mississippi, where he lived the rest of his life. Despite the disconcerting pause in Nixon’s ministerial career, his personal life had positive moments. He married Elizabeth Rawles on May 9, 1824. The couple had eleven children before Elizabeth died during the birth of her twelfth child on May 3, 1846. During this period the Nixon family settled on a farm in Hinds County, Mississippi, where he lived the rest of his life. Nixon’s journal indicates that the plantation produced mostly corn and cotton crops through the labor of enslaved people.
By 1832, Nixon is readmitted for the first time into the Mississippi Annual Conference. For the next five years, his ministry included the following appointments: Washington District-Bayou Pierre charge (1833), Vicksburg District-Madison and Raymond charges (1834-1836). Once more he locates by the 1837 Mississippi Annual Conference. Before his second readmission to the annual conference, he marries Cynthia Dean. During the 1866 Mississippi Annual Conference, Nixon is readmitted and for the next five years serving at Brookhaven District-Crystal Springs and the Vicksburg District-Cayuga charges.
Nixon retires in 1871 to resume life outside the ministry. However, retirement is short as he dies on March 4, 1872.
Scope Note
The collection contains Thomas C. Nixon's journals beginning from 1815 to 1872. The journals reflect Nixon's daily activities including personal and business relationships, preaching, and his plantation activity among other topics. Here we see how Nixon's character develops over time and details related to his ministry, especially preaching, and his emotional reactions regarding suspension from the annual conference and the issue of slavery. The early journals discuss a great deal about his dedicated circuit-riding days whereas the later journals reflect on his life as a plantation owner. The collection also contains notebooks, loose journal pages, sermon notes, financial records, and clippings. There is also a photocopied collection of material related to the Nixon Family’s history which contains correspondences, copies of photographs, journals, notebooks, and sermons material along with additional family records.
Arrangement
Materials have been arranged in the following manner.
Series: General
Series: Journals
Series: Notes and Financial Records
Preferred Citation
When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, Thomas C. Nixon Papers, United Methodist Church Archives - GCAH, Madison, New Jersey. Do not make use of the item's call number as that is not a stable descriptor.
Restrictions on Use
Detailed use restrictions relating to our collections can be requested from the office of the archivist at the General Commission on Archives and History. Photocopying is handled by the staff and may be limited in certain instances. Before using any material for publication from this collection a formal request for permission to publish is expected and required.
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Subject Terms
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Subject Names - Personal
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Addams, John |
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Roberts (Bishop). |
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Roberts, Robert Richford |
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Subject Topics
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Circuit riders |
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Civil War |
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Funeral service |
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Genealogy |
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Ministry |
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Religion |
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Sermons |
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Slavery |
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Subject Geographic
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Alabama |
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Louisiana |
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Mississippi |
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Tennessee |
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Genre
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Clippings |
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Correspondence |
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Financial records |
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Genealogies |
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Journals |
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Licenses |
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Marriage records |
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Notebooks |
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Occupations
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Circuit Rider Minister. |
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Added Names - Persons
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Asbury, Francis |
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Roberts, Robert Richford |
Series: General
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Call Number
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Folder Title
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Date(s)
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| 1552-5-1:
25 |
Correspondences |
1858 |
| 1552-5-1:
26 |
Thomas Nixon's Preaching License |
1824 |
| 1552-5-1:
27 |
Clippings |
Undated |
| 1552-5-1:
28 |
Obituary for Samuel L.L. Scott |
1864 |
| 1552-5-3:
7 |
Correspondences (Photocopies) |
1858 |
| 1552-5-3:
8 |
Clippings (Photocopies) |
1896 |
| 1552-5-3:
9 |
Obituary for Samuel L.L. Scott (Photocopies) |
1864 |
| 1552-5-3:
10 |
Family Obituaries (Photocopies) |
1983 |
| 1552-5-3:
11 |
Family Records (Photocopies) |
1812-1930 |
| 1552-5-3:
12 |
Correspondences (Photocopies) |
1861-1980 |
| 1552-5-3:
13 |
Photographs (Photocopies) |
1909-1941 |
Series: Journals
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Call Number
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Folder Title
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Date(s)
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| 1552-5-1:
1 |
October 9 - February 4 |
1815-1816 |
| 1552-5-1:
2 |
February 5 - August 17 |
1816 |
| 1552-5-1:
3 |
August 18 - November 1 |
1816 |
| 1552-5-1:
4 |
November 2 - May 9 |
1816-1817 |
| 1552-5-1:
5 |
May 10 - August 19 |
1817 |
| 1552-5-1:
6 |
August 20 - January 20 |
1817-1818 |
| 1552-5-1:
7 |
January 20 - April 24 |
1818 |
| 1552-5-1:
8 |
August10 - November 11 |
1821 |
| 1552-5-1:
10 |
April 21 - September 22 |
1822 |
| 1552-5-1:
11 |
September 28 - May 10 |
1823-1824 |
| 1552-5-1:
12 |
Fragmented Journals |
1842-1857 |
| 1552-5-1:
13 |
Fragmented Journals |
1857 |
| 1552-5-1:
14 |
April 18 - May 28 |
1859 |
| 1552-5-1:
15 |
May 29, 1859 - June 7, 1861 and April 12, 1865 - July 3, 1867 |
1859-1867 |
| 1552-5-1:
16 |
June 7 - February 1865 |
1861-1865 |
| 1552-5-1:
17 |
Inserted page from September 1 |
1864 |
| 1552-5-1:
18 |
July 4 - May 7 |
1867-1870 |
| 1552-5-1:
19 |
May 8 - February 8 |
1870-1872 |
| 1552-5-1:
20 |
Loose pages inserted before May 3 |
1867 |
| 1552-5-1:
21 |
Loose Journal Pages |
1858 |
| 1552-5-2:
1 |
October 9 - February 4 (Photocopies) |
1815-1816 |
| 1552-5-2:
2 |
February 5 - August 17 (Photocopies) |
1816 |
| 1552-5-2:
3 |
August 18 - November 1 (Photocopies) |
1816 |
| 1552-5-2:
4 |
November 2 - May 9 (Photocopies) |
1816-1817 |
| 1552-5-2:
5 |
May 10 - August 19 (Photocopies) |
1817 |
| 1552-5-2:
6 |
August 20 - January 20 (Photocopies) |
1817-1818 |
| 1552-5-2:
7 |
January 20 - April 24 (Photocopies) |
1818 |
| 1552-5-2:
8 |
August 10 - November 11 (Photocopies) |
1821 |
| 1552-5-2:
9 |
October (Photocopies) |
1821 |
| 1552-5-2:
10 |
April 21 - September 22 (Photocopies) |
1822 |
| 1552-5-2:
11 |
September 28 - May 10 (Photocopies) |
1823-1824 |
| 1552-5-2:
12 |
Fragmented Journal (Photocopies) |
1842-1857 |
| 1552-5-2:
13 |
Fragmented Journals (Photocopies) |
1857 |
| 1552-5-2:
14 |
Fragmented Journals (Photocopies) |
1858-1859 |
| 1552-5-2:
15 |
April 18 - June 9 (Photocopies) |
1858 |
| 1552-5-2:
16 |
May 29, 1859 - June 7, 1861 and April 12, 1865 - November 28, 1886 (Photocopies) |
1859-1886 |
| 1552-5-2:
17 |
June 7 - December 24 (Photocopies) |
1861-1863 |
| 1552-5-2:
18 |
Inserted page from September 1 (Photocopies) |
1864 |
| 1552-5-2:
19 |
January 1 - February 22 (Photocopies) |
1864-1865 |
| 1552-5-2:
20 |
Fragmented Journal Entries (Photocopies) |
1866-1869 |
| 1552-5-2:
21 |
July 4 - May 7 (Photocopies) |
1867-1870 |
| 1552-5-3:
1 |
May 8 - February 8 (Photocopies) |
1870-1872 |
| 1552-5-3:
2 |
Loose pages inserted before May 3 (Photocopies) |
1867 |
| 1552-5-3:
3 |
Loose Journal Pages (Photocopies) |
1858 |
Series: Notes and Financial Records
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Call Number
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Folder Title
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Date(s)
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| 1552-5-1:
22 |
Notebook |
1851-1857 |
| 1552-5-1:
23 |
Financial Records |
1850-1869 |
| 1552-5-1:
24 |
Sermon Notes |
1867 |
| 1552-5-3:
4 |
Notebook (Photocopies) |
1851-1857 |
| 1552-5-3:
5 |
Financial Records (Photocopies) |
1850-1859 |
| 1552-5-3:
6 |
Sermon Notes (Photocopies) |
1867 |
