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Organized into three series:
Series 1 - Personal records, 1826-1867
Series 2 - Financial papers, 1832-1870
Series 3 - Legal papers, 1832-1870
Chronological.
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Biographical/Historical:
Achille Murat (1801-1847) was the eldest son born to Caroline Bonaparte, sister of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, and Joachim Murat, a military leader in Napoleon's army, in Paris, France. In 1808, Joachim Murat was named King of Naples (Napoli) and Achille was crowned the prince. In 1814, as tensions between Napoleonic France and the rest of Europe ran high, the Murats betrayed Napoleon and sided with the Austrians in an attempt to save their fortune and claim to Naples. However, Napoleon returned to power in France in 1815 and the Murats sided with the emperor, who ultimately failed to retain his position. The resurrection of the Bourbon reign in France led to the execution of Joachim Murat and the Austrian government's banishment and surveillance of his family, including Achille.
In April 1823, Achille left Europe for the United States. In 1824 in Washington, D.C., he met Richard Keith Call, territorial representative for Florida, who convinced him to relocate. In Jefferson County, Achille purchased a labor farm he called "Lipona," an anagram of his former kingdom, and enslaved a large number of Black men, women, and children to labor on the property. On July 12, 1826, Murat married Catherine Dangerfield Willis Gray, great grandniece of George Washington. Two years later, Murat became a United States citizen.
In Florida, Murat held various public service titles, including postmaster of Lipona, colonel in the Florida Militia (following the Seminole Wars), and inspector of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He also served as head of several business offices, including the Union Bank in Tallahassee, the Wacissa and Aucilla Navigation Company, and the Texas Land Company in New Orleans.
In 1830, King Louis Phillippe took political power of France from the Bourbons and Murat and his wife left for France to reclaim his family's status and reputation. However, he returned to America in financial ruin, having heavily mortgaged his land holdings to fund the unsuccessful trip.
In 1835, Murat moved to New Orleans, where he became involved in speculative ventures and practiced law with Charles Garnier. From this point on, the life of the "Prince of Tallahassee" would become rife with financial and legal troubles. Murat's financial situation fell further into ruin as the Panic of 1837 swept the nation. National finances further damaged Murat's poor credit and he faced even more lawsuits throughout the next decade of his life, including one from Lipona's caretaker, James Gadsden. In 1839, the labor farm, as well as all of its associated enslaved Black persons, resources, equipment, and livestock were deeded to Gadsen as compensation. The Murats moved to a smaller labor farm near Tallahassee, Econchatti.
Murat's financial downfall took a toll on his morale and health. He died on April 15, 1847 in Tallahassee. Following his death, his cousin Louis-Napoleon rose to the throne in France, assuming the title Emperor Napoleon III. Napoleon III gave Catherine all claims and titles that Achille had fought and petitioned for during his lifetime, including the title of Princess. Princess Catherine lived comfortably in Tallahassee for 20 more years, until she fell ill with typhoid pneumonia. She died on August 6, 1867.
Summary:
This collection documents the personal life and financial and legal matters of Achille Murat from 1826 to 1870. The personal records consist of wills and marriage licenses, correspondence, financial records, mortgages, and various legal documents. The legal and financial records include mortgages, receipts, depositions, and testimonies. The collection comprises three series: Personal Records, Financial Papers, and Legal Papers.
Series I: This series contains items related to Murat's private life, including his marriage license and bond to Catherine Dangerfield Willis Gray, his naturalization papers, a letter of recommendation from Richard Keith Call, typescript copies of Achille and Catherine Murat's wills, and Murat's commission and duties as Colonel in the 7th Regiment of the Florida Militia. Achille's will includes the bequeathal of his labor farm and all enslaved Black persons thereupon to his wife; however, it does not identify them. This series also includes two unrelated items: a description of "Aunt Memory (Adams)," a Black woman who lived in Tallahassee in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and an unidentified piece of fabric that is believed to have come from a piece of the Murat's furniture; it was formerly a part of the Walker Library collection.
Series II: This series contains records related to Murat's financial affairs from 1832 to 1870. Records include correspondence regarding financial matters, financial papers, mortgages, promissory notes, receipts, and ledger sheets. This series documents the expenses of the Lipona labor farm and one of Murat's trips to Europe, and identifies the numerous Black men, women, and children he enslaved.
An indenture, dated April 10, 1838, records the sale of 53 enslaved Black persons and several tracts of land to the Union Bank of Florida. Identified enslaved persons are: Tom, Louisa, Tom, Tom, Lucy, Richard, Sophia, Ben, Mary, Ben, Moses, Tom, Prudence, Catherine, Patsy Ann, Jerry, Willis, Thornton, Nathan, Thomas, William, Rebecca, Susan, Lewis, Henry, John, Mary, Charlotte, Reason, Mary, Patsy, Eliza, Susan, Emily, Mingo, Prince, Ned, Caleb, Grace, Rosalia, Fanny, Clarissa, Parmela (sic), Letty, Toney, Suckey, Harris, George, Israel, Hetty, Obeah, and Sue.
An abstract of mortgages from Achille to the Union Bank records the same list of enslaved persons, truncated after Clarissa, with Mary and Rosalia replaced by Morris and Robbin, respectively, in item number 1, dated March 1, 1834. This list appears again, in the same way as the 1838 indenture, further down in this document as item number 3, dated April 10, 1838. Item number 2, dated February 5, 1835, identifies four additional enslaved Black persons: Lydia, Hagar, Amelia, and Joe. Item number 4, dated April 10, 1838, contains another list of 53 enslaved persons: Chloe, Marsh, Olivia, Molsey, Nelly, Sam, Diana, Mary, Sam, Jim, Caroline, Tina, Anna, Caesar, Isaac, John, Dorea, Nancy, Tirrah, Mina, Hugee, Joe, Judy, Lyddia (sic), Judy, Amelia, Richard, Ned, Jacob, Quamina, Hagar, Murray, Joe, Affy, Die, Elsy, Judah, Lindy, Doll, Sarah, Louisa, Amelia, William, Scipio, Benah, Betty, Prince, Tom, Rainard, July, Emily, London, and Joe.
Another abstract of mortgages, dated March 25, 1839, includes a list of 106 enslaved Black persons, some of whom are included in the previous lists: Israel, Hetty, Obey, Cloe, March, China, Molly, Susan, Nelly, Hagar, Quamina, May, Joe, Affy, Die, Elsy, Grace, Clarissa, Fanny, Rosanna, Julius, Henderson, Dorcas, Nancy, Tina, Minia, Eugene, Mary, Caesar, Caroline, Anna, Bina, Scipio, John, Isaac, Betty, Prince, Byron, Diana, Sam, Cuffee, Little Sam, Lundon [sic], Jim, Linda, Joe, Doll, Sarah, Louisa, Old Susan, Emily, John, Mary, Charlotte, Prudence, Amelia, William, Old Etsy, Jacob, Harris, Lydia, Little Judy, Toney, Sucky, George, Little Amelia, Richard, Old Judy, Ned, Nathan, Big Judy, Josey, French Mary, Ben, Moses, Patsey, Robert, Rebecca, Mingo, Susan, Catharine, Thornton, Jerry, Parmelia, William, Hughes, Perry, Willis, C. Tom, Louisa, little Tom, Lucy, Tom Sprigs, Sophia, yellow Emily, Letty, Prince, Ned Lee, Reasin (sic), Mary, Don Juan, Caleb, Judy, Thomas, and Patsy Ann.
A second indenture, dated March 1, 1834, contains the list of enslaved Black persons noted in item 1 of the abstract of mortgages with the same date - see above.
A third indenture, dated February 5, 1835, details the mortgage described in item 2 of the abstract of mortgages and contains the same list of four enslaved Black persons.
A fourth indenture, dated April 10, 1838, details the mortgage described in item 4 of the abstract of mortgages and contains the same list of 53 enslaved Black persons noted above, with the additional inclusion of the ages of each identified person.
Series III: This series contains records from lawsuits in which Murat was involved: Union Bank v. Joseph Lallande, Joseph Lallande v. Achille Murat, William B. Rogers v. Achille Murat, James Gadsden v. Achille Murat, and James Gadsden and the Union Bank v. Achille Murat. Types of records include testimonies, depositions, promissory notes and ledger sheets. French-language documents in this series are accompanied by English translations.
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Previously State Library of Florida Manuscripts Collection MS62. Includes some records in French.
Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields:
Gadsden, James, 1788-1858 Murat, Achille, 1801-1847 Murat, Catherine Willis,
1803-1867. Napoleon I Emperor of the French 1769-1821
Union Bank of Florida (Tallahassee, Fla.)
Land settlement Florida Lawyers Florida Slavery Florida
Financial records. aat
Florida. Jefferson County (Fla.) Tallahassee (Fla.)
for detailed listing.