Richard Coke Papers #0066
1
Descriptive Summary:
Creator: Richard Coke, McCelvey family
Title: Richard Coke Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1828-1964, undated
Bulk Dates: 1852-1957, undated
Abstract: The Richard Coke Papers consist of correspondence, legal,
financial, literary, and scrapbook manuscripts, plus photographs
about former Texas governor Richard Coke.
Accession #: 0066
Extent: 3.5 linear feet (6 document boxes)
Language: Collection is in English and Spanish.
Repository: The Texas Collection, Baylor University, Waco, Texas.
Biographical Note:
Richard Coke, resident of Waco, Texas, and state governor, legislature, and
lawyer, was one of the most influential political figures in Texas during the late 1800s.
His papers held by The Texas Collection include letters, legal records, financial
documents, literary productions, scrapbook materials, and photographs. This small but
diverse collection reflects the many activities of Richard Coke on the local and state
political stage.
Coke was born in 1829 March 13 near Williamsburg, Virginia to John and Eliza
Hankins Coke. He apparently received good primary education, since he entered William
and Mary College in 1843, graduating in 1848 with a law degree. In 1850 he moved to
Waco, Texas, perhaps looking for a place on the frontier that he could use his skills as a
lawyer. His law business did very well, and he became known for his abilities in both
civil and criminal law cases. Richard married Waco girl Mary Evans Horne in 1852.
Though the couple had four children, none of them lived to adulthood. Several letters,
receipts, and legal forms are in the collection from these early years of Coke’s life.
Richard Coke’s political career began in 1859 when he was appointed by Texas
governor Hardin R. Runnels to a commission that decided the Comanche Indians must be
removed from Texas. Coke was a delegate to the Texas Secession Convention, voting for
secession. During the American Civil War, he was captain of Company K, 15th Texas
Infantry, under Colonel Joseph Warren Speight. As part of the 15th Texas, Coke fought
in the Trans-Mississippi, including Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, and was wounded at
the Battle of Bayou Bourbeau in 1863 November 3. With the war over, Coke was
appointed judge of the Texas 19th Judicial District by Reconstruction Governor A.J.
Hamilton. In 1866 Richard Coke was elected as justice of the state supreme court, but
was removed by General Philip H. Sheridan when the Radical Republican Congress
divided the South into military-controlled districts in 1867. Coke continued his efforts to
influence Texas political life, and was elected as the first post-war Democratic governor
of Texas in 1873 by over forty thousand votes. His victory was bitterly contested by the
state Republican Party, the state supreme court, and outgoing Governor Edmund J. Davis,
but he took office in 1874 January with popular majority backing. The collection
contains several documents written during the Civil War, as well as several certificates
from right after the war.
Richard Coke Papers #0066
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As governor, Richard Coke pushed for undoing many of programs adopted during
Republican rule of Texas. He cut spending by reducing funding for state asylums, state
printing, and decentralizing the school system, but the savings were wiped out by
increasing the military presence on the Texas-Mexico border and guarding the frontier
from Comanche and Kiowa trying to regain their land and way of life. As part of his
rollback of Republican programs, Coke and the Democratic-controlled Congress passed a
new state constitution. Voters expressed their approval of his actions by reelecting
Richard Coke as governor in 1876, but he resigned in 1877 upon his election as United
States senator. There are almost no manuscripts directly from Coke’s time as governor,
though several letters and other documents date from his years in the United States
senate.
Coke’s career in the United States senate lasted for seventeen years. During that
time, he earned a reputation as an informed senator who generally voted in line with other
Southern Democrats. He opposed federal aid to schools, tariffs to protect domestic
manufacturing, suspending silver coinage, and providing federal army protection to
elections threatened by intimidation. Coke supported the Bland-Allison Act of 1878 and
the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. He did not run for reelection in 1894.
After retirement from political life, Richard Coke did some farming along the
Brazos River. However, he enjoyed retirement for only three years before he died at his
home in Waco in 1897 May 14. Luminaries such as the governor of Texas at the time
were pallbearers during his funeral at Oakwood Cemetery, Waco. Richard Coke is
remembered today for his election as the first post-Civil War Democratic governor of
Texas.
Much of the collection was gathered by the McCelvey family, especially by Mary
Elizabeth “Honey” Horne McCelvey, who was the niece of Richard Coke’s wife Mary
Evans Horne Coke. Mary Horne McCelvey apparently lived with Richard and Mary
Coke during the last six years of Richard’s life, and eventually inherited many of his
historical manuscripts.
Sources:
Duncan, Merle Mears. “The Death of Senator Coke.” The Southwestern Historical
Quarterly 63, 3 (January 1960): 385-403.
Duncan, Merle Mears and Richard Coke. “An 1890 Richard Coke Letter.” The
Southwestern Historical Quarterly 66, 1 (July 1962): 68-72.
Moneyhon, Carl H. “Edmund J. Davis in the Coke-Davis Election Dispute of 1874: A
Reassessment of Character.” The Southwestern Historical Quarterly 100, 2
(October 1996): 130-151.
Payne, Jr., John W.
“Coke, Richard.”
Handbook of Texas Online.
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fco15.
Accessed 2011
November 30.
Roberts, Oscar Walter. “Richard Coke on Constitution-Making.” The Southwestern
Historical Quarterly 78, 1 (July 1974): 69-75.
Texas Historical Commission. “McCelvey, Dr. John S. and Mary, House.” Texas
Historic Sites Atlas. http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/shell-kword.htm. Accessed 1
December 2011.
Richard Coke Papers #0066
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Scope and Content:
The Richard Coke Papers were acquired by gift in two separate transactions. The
first gift was made in or prior to 1969 by the McCelvey family. Since the collection has
such a low accession number, it is likely the collection was given earlier than the 1969
date of accession. The second transaction was a gift from Roger N. Conger at an
unknown time, but probably in 1989.
The collection begins in 1828 and ends in 1964. Records include correspondence,
legal and financial documents, literary productions, and photographic materials. The
scrapbooks series is the largest in the collection. The legal series contains many early
documents, some dating from the Republic of Texas and earlier.
Organization and Arrangement:
Though an unusually large amount of some documentation exists for this
collection, there was little organization and no finding aid available. Several inventories
existed before this finding aid.
Currently, the Richard Coke Papers are arranged in six series: I. Correspondence,
II. Legal Documents, III. Financial Documents, IV. Literary Productions, V. Scrapbook
Materials, and VI. Photographic Materials.
Restrictions: The collection is open for research.
Literary Rights Statement:
Unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator (s) of this
collection are in the public domain. There are no restrictions on use. Copyright status for
other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use
requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain
cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners.
Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
All requests for copying of materials must be submitted to The Texas Collection
in writing. Please use the Request Form for Copying Materials sheet.
Index Terms:
Coke, Richard, 1829-1897.
Lawyers--Texas.
Legislators--Texas.
Silver question--Speeches in Congress.
Texas--Politics and government--1865-1950.
Related Materials:
Richard Coke Scrapbook, 1864-1912, Dolph Briscoe Center of American History, The
University of Texas at Austin.
Texas Governor Richard Coke Records. Archives and Information Services Division,
Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
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Richard Coke Papers #0066
Separated Materials: None.
Custodial History:
Acquisition: Collection was acquired in two separate gift at unknown times.
Gift of McCelvey family, in or prior to 1969. No definite date
available.
Gift of Roger N. Conger, in or prior to 1989. No definite date
available.
Citation: Richard Coke Papers, Accession #0066, Box #, Folder #, The Texas
Collection, Baylor University.
Processing Information: Finding aid completed by Paul Fisher, 30 November 2011.
Container List:
Series I: Correspondence, 1848-1910, 2 folders.
This series contains correspondence to and from Richard Coke during most of his
life. A letter during the American Civil War addresses him as captain. Other letters date
from his years in the United States Senate. The series is in good condition.
BOX
FOLDER
FOLDER TITLE
NUMBER NUMBER
1
1
Correspondence
2
Correspondence
DATES
1848-1878
1882-1910
Series II: Legal Documents, 1828-1885, undated, 2 boxes.
This series contains general legal documents and land deeds dating from before
the Republic of Texas. One of the land deeds was to Asa Hoxey. The series is in average
to good condition.
BOX
FOLDER
NUMBER NUMBER
1
3
Legal:
4
Legal:
5
Legal:
6
Legal:
7
Legal:
8
Legal:
9
Legal:
2
1
Legal:
2
3
FOLDER TITLE
General
Land Deeds
Land Deeds
Land Deeds
Land Deeds
Land Deeds: (1 of 2)
Land Deeds: (2 of 2)
Land Deeds
Legal: Land Deeds
Legal: Land Deeds
DATES
1860-1885
1828-1838
1848-1852 January
1852 February-May
1853-854 April
1854 October 10
1854 October 10
1854 November-1855
October
1857-1859
1860
5
Richard Coke Papers #0066
BOX
FOLDER
FOLDER TITLE
NUMBER NUMBER
2
4
Legal: Land Deeds
DATES
1861-1865, undated
Series III: Financial Documents, 1848-1852, undated, 1 folder.
This series contains receipts for various monetary amounts. One is made out to
the Republic of Texas treasurer Henry Smith, for a firm in New Orleans to pay one
thousand dollars upon receipt of the bill. The series is in good condition.
BOX
FOLDER
FOLDER TITLE
NUMBER NUMBER
2
5
Financial: General
DATES
1848-1852, undated
IV: Literary Productions, 1865-1957, undated, 2 boxes.
This series contains various speeches, genealogy materials, clippings, and
certificates. Richard Coke gave the speeches while he was a United States senator. The
certificates are from the end of the American Civil War, made out by Texas governor A.J.
Hamilton to Richard Coke. The series is in good condition.
BOX
FOLDER
FOLDER TITLE
NUMBER NUMBER
2
6
Literary: General
7
Literary: Genealogy
8
Literary: Speeches
9
Literary: Speeches
3
1
Literary: Speeches
2
Literary: Clippings
3
Literary: Clippings: (1 of 2)
4
Literary: Clippings: (2 of 2)
6 OVZ
3
Literary: Certificate
4
Literary: Certificate
5
Literary: Certificate
DATES
1865-1957, undated
undated
1878-1880
1886
1888
1897-1939, undated
undated
undated
1865
1866
undated
V: Scrapbook Materials, 1866-1964, undated, 4 boxes.
This series includes five scrapbooks containing correspondence, literary
productions, and photographs. The scrapbooks give details about Richard Coke and his
family, plus other state and local events that occurred while Richard Coke was still active
in politics. There is one Gildersleeve photograph preserved in this series. Scrapbooks
one through three have been copied onto acid-free paper, while scrapbooks four and five
are still in their original binding. The last two scrapbooks contain only photographs. The
series is in good condition.
6
Richard Coke Papers #0066
BOX
FOLDER
FOLDER TITLE
NUMBER NUMBER
3
5
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 1: (1 of 12)
6
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 1: (2 of 12)
7
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 1: (3 of 12)
8
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 1: (4 of 12)
9
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 1: (5 of 12)
4
1
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 1: (6 of 12)
2
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 1: (7 of 12)
3
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 1: (8 of 12)
4
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 1: (9 of 12)
5
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 1:
(10 of 12)
6
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 1:
(11 of 12)
7
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 1:
(12 of 12)
8
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 2: (1 of 7)
9
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 2: (2 of 7)
5
1
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 2: (3 of 7)
2
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 2: (4 of 7)
3
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 2: (5 of 7)
4
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 2: (6 of 7)
5
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 2: (7 of 7)
6
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 3: (1 of 2)
7
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 3: (2 of 2)
6 OVZ
1
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 4
2
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 5
5
8
Scrapbook: Scrapbook 5: Loose
Materials
DATES
1898-1956, undated
1898-1956, undated
1898-1956, undated
1898-1956, undated
1898-1956, undated
1898-1956, undated
1898-1956, undated
1898-1956, undated
1898-1956, undated
1898-1956, undated
1898-1956, undated
1898-1956, undated
1866-1964, undated
1866-1964, undated
1866-1964, undated
1866-1964, undated
1866-1964, undated
1866-1964, undated
1866-1964, undated
undated
undated
undated
undated
undated
VI: Photographic Materials, undated, 1 folder.
This series contains several photographs of Richard Coke and several unidentified
men. Most of the photographs in this collection are in the scrapbooks series. This series
is in fair to good condition.
BOX
FOLDER
FOLDER TITLE
NUMBER NUMBER
5
9
Photographic: Photographs:
General
DATES
undated
7
Richard Coke Papers #0066
Notes:
Much of the scrapbooks concern old Waco families and the Horne family, and not
Richard Coke directly. Some of the scrapbook materials are from the Horne family
during the mid-1900.
The land deeds within the Legal Series pertain include many early deeds from
McLennan County and the surrounding area. It is thought that Richard Coke was called
in as a lawyer to settle disputes about the deeds, such as boundary disagreements.
Appendix A:
Richard Coke Family Tree
Amanda Eliza Coke
(1856 January 311856 December)
John Coke + Eliza
Hankins Coke
Richard Coke Jr.
(1829-1897) + Mary
Evans Horne Coke
Jack Coke (1857 July
27-1880 June 5)
Mary Victoria Coke
(1861 April 9-1862
November)
Richard Coke Jr.
(1896 July 30-1880
June 5)