Dr. Alexander Brabson Tadlock Family Papers
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, financial records, land records, poetry, short stories, publications, memorials, photographs, calling cards, newspaper clippings, a lock of hair, and other material from Dr. Alexander Brabson Tadlock, Clara (Moyse) Tadlock, and the Tadlock family. Of note is correspondence to Clara (Moyse) Tadlock from Hamilton Fish (US Secretary of State), Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Greenleaf Whittier, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Whitcomb Riley.
Dates
- 1815 - 1917
- undated
Creator
Conditions Governing Use
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Note that unless created by Maryville College or specifically transferred to the College, any applicable copyrights may be held by another individual or entity. Whenever possible, Maryville College Archives will provide information about copyright owners and related information. Securing permission to publish or use material is the responsibility of the researcher.
Biographical / Historical
Dr. Alexander Brabson Tadlock was born March 28, 1836 in Greene County, TN to Sevier and Mary (Blair) Tadlock (youngest son of eight children). Graduating from Maryville College in 1859, Tadlock continued his studies to become a surgeon at Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery. During the Civil War, he enlisted as a surgeon with the Union forces whereas the entirety of his family held Confederate sympathies.
On July 4, 1865, he married Clara Moyse in McLean County, IL. Their only son, Thomas Lewis Tadlock, was born and died the following year. Following the war, he returned to Knoxville to practice medicine and to lecture medical students. In 1871, he was elected president of the East Tennessee Medical society and three years later became Knoxville's first city physician. Some Tennessee medical sources claim that he was the first physician in the world to discover the germ-carrying capability of house flies.
His wife Clara became a travel writer and poet. She published two works, Solomon Grinder's Christmas Eve and Other Poems (1885) and Bohemian Days (1889). Through her literary pursuits, she corresponded with many major literary figures including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and John Greenleaf Whittier.
At the time of his death on November 16, 1926, Dr. Tadlock was the oldest living Maryville College graduate (90 years old). Following bequests to surviving family members and his home church, the balance of his estate was bequeathed to Maryville College. According to President Samuel Tyndale Wilson, this gift was "considerably over $100,000."
Maryville College Graduating Class
1859
Extent
0.5 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Organized into six (6) series: Series I: Correspondence; Series II: Writings; Series III: Publications; Series IV: Legal and Financial Records; Series V: Samuel Tyndale Wilson Files; and Series VI: Other Papers.
Custodial History
Found in Pres. Samuel Tyndale Wilson's papers. Likely acquired by him at time of Dr. Alexander Brabson Tadlock's death and bequest to Maryville College (1926).
- Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery
- Correspondence
- French, John P.
- French, William L.
- Greene County (TN)
- Jolly, William
- Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 (General subdivision: Assassination.)
- Martin, Michael M.
- Poetry
- Spanish-American War, 1898
- United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
- Washington College (Tenn.)
Creator
- Tadlock, A. B. (Alexander Brabson), 1836-1926 (Person)
- Tadlock, Clara Moyse (Person)
- Tadlock Family (Family)
Source
- Blair, John (Correspondent, Person)
- Eakin, John (Correspondent, Person)
- Fish, Hamilton, 1808-1893 (Correspondent, Person)
- Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr., 1841-1935 (Correspondent, Person)
- Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 1807-1882 (Correspondent, Person)
- Riley, James Whitcomb, 1849-1916 (Correspondent, Person)
- Tadlock, Alexander Doak (Correspondent, Person)
- Tadlock, Hannah Elizabeth Caroline (Correspondent, Person)
- Tadlock, James D. (James Doak), 1825-1899 (Correspondent, Person)
- Tadlock, John Blair (Correspondent, Person)
- Tadlock, Mary Jane (Blair) (Correspondent, Person)
- Tadlock, Mary Jane Blair, 1829-1862 (Correspondent, Person)
- Tadlock, Sevier (Correspondent, Person)
- Tadlock, Susan Kelsey (McLin) (Correspondent, Person)
- Taylor, A.[S.] (Correspondent, Person)
- Whittier, John Greenleaf, 1807-1892 (Correspondent, Person)
- Title
- Dr. Alexander Brabson Tadlock Family Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Amy Lundell (Maryville College Archivist)
- Date
- 08 January 2020
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Maryville College Archives Repository
Maryville College Archives
Fayerweather 012
504 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway
Maryville TN 37804 United States
865-981-8352
amy.lundell@maryvillecollege.edu