Date Original
1764-1875
Description
This collection contains a Bible with a written record of the families' marriages, deaths, and births dating from 1764-1875. In order to preserve the material, the Arkansas History Commission has digitized and placed the images on a useable CD.
Biographical/Historical Note
Matilda Frances Nowland Fulton was born on September 15, 1803, in Hartford County, Maryland, to Rebecca Savin and Perry Nowland. Matilda married her first cousin William Fulton on February 9, 1823, in Lauderdale, Alabama. The couple had eight children: Elizabeth Rebecca, David Peregrine, Hickory, Sophia, Mary Jane, Matilda Frances, Maria Eller, and Ida. Only Elizabeth, Sophia and Ida would survive to adulthood. William Fulton was born in Cecil County, Maryland, on June 2, 1795. He attended Baltimore College in 1813 before beginning his law practice in 1817. In 1815, Fulton traveled to Florida to serve as private secretary to General Andrew Jackson in the Seminole Wars. After his service, Fulton moved to Tennessee in 1820 and then to Florence, Alabama, where he engaged in law and wrote editorials for the Democratic newspaper, the Florence Gazette. He served as judge of Lauderdale County, Alabama, in the 1820s. In 1829, Fulton was appointed by President Andrew Jackson as the secretary to the territory of Arkansas, replacing Robert Crittenden. During Governor Pope’s frequent absences from Arkansas, Fulton often acted as governor or traveled between Washington, District of Columbia, and Little Rock, Arkansas, on territorial business. Jackson appointed Fulton as governor of Arkansas territory on March 9, 1835. Fulton was generally opposed to Arkansas statehood on the grounds that neither the people nor the resources were ready. Despite the criticism aimed at him for this view, Fulton was appointed by President Jackson to serve as the first junior senator from the state of Arkansas to the United States Congress in 1836, a position he held until his death in late 1844. Matilda was a strong individual and oversaw the construction of their home in Little Rock, named Rosewood, and was the manager of their land and crops. After Matilda’s death on January 15, 1879 her home, Rosewood, was made into a school for the blind. This site would later be used as the location for the Governor’s Mansion on Eighteenth and Center Street.
Physical Description
Document, 8.5" x 11"
Geographical Area
Arkansas
Language
English
Identifier
MS.000667
Resource Type
Text
Collection
Fulton family Bible, MS.000667
Publisher
Arkansas State Archives
Contributing Entity
Arkansas State Archives
Recommended Citation
Fulton family Bible, Arkansas State Archives, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Rights
Use and reproduction of images held by the Arkansas State Archives without prior written permission is prohibited. For information on reproducing images held by the Arkansas State Archives, please call 501-682-6900 or email at state.archives@arkansas.gov.
Disciplines
United States History
