George Yates Freeman, son of George R. Freeman and Kate Walthall Freeman, was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, on September 8, 1850. Freeman attended the University of Mississippi where he studied law, and he was admitted to the state bar in 1874. He went to work as a junior law partner for his uncle, Confederate general Edward Cary Walthall, in Grenada, Mississippi. Freeman practiced law with Colonel R. H. Golladay of Grenada. He started working as a general representative and traveling attorney for Richardson and May of New Orleans in 1882, a job which he kept for the remainder of his life. Freeman also served as a brigadier general in the state militia, a trustee of the University of Mississippi, and a trustee of the State Lunatic Asylum.

Freeman married Rosabel Hunter of Jackson, Mississippi, in 1883. The couple had one son, Edward Walthall Freeman. Rosabel Freeman died in 1890, and George Yates Freeman died on April 20, 1895.

Edward Walthall Freeman was born in Jackson, Mississippi, on August 6, 1886. Freeman served as manager of the Walthall Hotel in Jackson, and he also worked at the Capital National Bank. He married Clyde Traylor, sister of Ruby Traylor Phelps (Mrs. Dudley Phelps, Sr.), in 1931. Kate Freeman Clark, the noted Holly Springs, Mississippi, artist, was Freeman’s cousin. At the time of his death on October 16, 1946, Freeman had been state banking examiner of Mississippi for six years.

This collection consists of correspondence and other records of Brigadier General George Yates Freeman and his son, Edward Walthall Freeman. The papers of George Yates Freeman contain incoming and outgoing correspondence, a ledger concerning Hanging Moss Plantation, and records pertaining to land holdings and finances. His papers also include several bound letter books with copies of outgoing correspondence from 1883 to 1895. The papers of Edward Walthall Freeman contain incoming correspondence, photographs, and business and financial records.

Holly Springs, Mississippi, artist Kate Freeman Clark, also known as "Glory," was Edward Freeman’s cousin, and several of Clark’s letters to Freeman appear in the collection. Freeman’s wife, Clyde Traylor Freeman, was related to the Phelps family by marriage, and the couple lived in the Manship House at 412 East Fortification Street in Jackson, Mississippi. Clyde Freeman continued to live there following her husband’s death. Much of their correspondence contains information concerning Manship and Phelps family members.

Subgroup 1: George Yates Freeman Papers. 1843-1895; n.d. 9 bound volumes; 20 folders.

1. Letter Books.

   1a. Letter Books (Originals). 1883-1895. 9 bound volumes. Restricted.

   Boxes 1-2

   1b. Letter Books (Photocopies). 1883-1895. x folders.

   Boxes 3-4

2. Correspondence and Related Financial Records. 1843-1895; n.d. 19 folders.

   Boxes 5-6 (plantation ledger is in box 6)
   Box 7, folders 1-3
   Box 8, folder 1

3. Newsclippings. 1890; 1895. 1 folder.

   Box 7, folder 4

Subgroup 2: Edward Walthall Freeman Papers. 1924-1948; n.d. 27 folders.

4. Business and Personal Correspondence. 1926-1948; n.d. 10 folders.

   Box 9

5. Photographs and Prints (Published). 1924-1925; 1937-1938; 1942; n.d. 7 folders.

   Box 8, folders 2-3
   Box 10, folders 1-5

6. Newsclippings. n.d. 1 folder.

   Box 10, folder 6

7. Certificates and Awards. 1912; 1916. 3 folders.

   Box 8, folder 4
   Box 11

8. Miscellany. ca. 1931-1948; n.d. 5 folders.

   Box 12