Menefee Family Papers, 1826-1958

Held by The Filson Historical Society 

Creator:  Menefee Family 

Title:  Papers, 1826-1958 

Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Collections Department. 

Size of Collection:  0.66 cubic feet 

Location Number:  Mss. A M542 

Scope and Content Note 

Collection includes correspondence, primarily the letters of Richard Jouett Menefee (1837-1893) and Richard Hickman Menefee (1877-1956). Letters record primarily family news; condolences upon the death of Richard Jouett Menefee, June 1893; and army life and news from Richard H. Menefee from camps in Lexington, Ky., Ga., and Puerto Rico during the Spanish American War. Correspondents include James B. Beck, Benjamin Bristow, Don Carlos Buell, Garrett Davis, Henry F. Farney, Joel T. Hart, J. Proctor Knott, Thomas Satterwhite Noble, William T. Sherman, and Thomas Speed. Also included is genealogical material of the Menefee and Jouett families; family record labeled; Matthew H. Jouett’s Bible; diary, 1840-1841, of Richard Hickman Menefee; tributes and eulogies upon the death of Richard Jouett Menefee, 1893 June; and printed material of the Spanish American War period. 

Biographical Note 

Richard Hickman Menefee was born in Louisville in 1877. He attended Male High School and later married Edith Norton, daughter of George Chester and Jessie Norton. Menefee worked as a grain merchant with R. H. Menefee & Co. He served as First Lieutenant and Battalion Adjutant in the First Kentucky Volunteers during the Spanish American War. Menefee died in 1956. 

Richard Hickman Menefee 

  • 1809 Born in Owingsville, Ky. 
  • 1826-1828 Attended Transylvania University. 
  • 1831 Began the practice of law. 
  • 1832 Received his law degree from Transylvania University. 
  • 1832 Married Sarah Bell Jouett, daughter of Matthew Harris Jouett.  
  • 1837-1839 Served in Congress.1841Died and was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery. 

Richard Jouett Menefee 

  • 1837 Born in Lexington, Ky. 
  • 1863 Formed a partnership with J. C. and J. B. McFerran, wholesale provision dealers in Louisville. 
  • 1871 Toured Europe.  
  • 1873 Formed a partnership under the firm name of McFerran, Shallcross & Co. 
  • 1875 Married Elizabeth Speed, daughter of J. Smith Speed of Louisville. 
  • 1893 Died and was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery.  

For more information consult the Kentucky Encyclopedia. 

Folder List 

Box 1 

1 Correspondence, 1826-1881.

2 Correspondence, 1883-1887.

3 Correspondence, 1888-1889.

4 Correspondence, 1890 Jan.-July.

fl.5 Correspondence, 1890 Aug.-Oct. 

6 Correspondence, 1891-1892 July.

7 Correspondence, 1892 Aug.-Dec.

8 Correspondence, 1893.

9 Correspondence, 1894-1897.

10 Correspondence, 1898 Jan.-June.

 

Box 2 

11 Correspondence, 1898 July-Aug.

12 Correspondence, 1898 Sept.-1899 Feb.

13 Correspondence, 1921-1958.

14 Correspondence, n.d. 

fl.15 Genealogical material-Menefee and Jouett families. 

16 Original diary of Richard H. Menefee, 1840-1841, speeches.

17 Tributes and eulogies written upon the death of Richard Jouett Menefee, 1893. 

18 Material concerning the Spanish American War, 1898.

19 Miscellaneous.