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Biography/History:
William Lewis Nugent was born in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, on December 12, 1832. He was the son of Scotch-Irish immigrant John Pratt Nugent and Anne Lavinia Lewis. Nugent spent his early years on the family plantation with siblings Amelia, Anne, Aphra, Clarence, John, Perry, Richard, and Thomas. At the age of eight, Nugent was sent to school at Opelousas, Louisiana. He completed his studies by the age of fifteen and entered Centenary College, then located at Jackson, Louisiana. Nugent graduated in 1852 and moved to Greenville, Washington County, Mississippi, where he found employment as a teacher. Three years later, Nugent began studying law under Abram Fulkerson Smith. He was admitted to the Mississippi bar in 1856. In April of 1861, Nugent was appointed as inspector general of Mississippi. He resigned from this post in early 1862. Nugent enlisted in the Confederate army as a second lieutenant in Company D, Twenty-eighth Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry (Volunteers), on March 9, 1862. He served as an acting adjutant in March and April of 1863. Nugent was relieved of duty on August 10, 1863, and ordered to report to the headquarters of Brigadier General Samuel Wragg Ferguson. He was promoted to the rank of captain and served as an assistant adjutant general. Nugent was promoted to the rank of colonel in early 1865 and ordered by General P. G. T. Beauregard to recall the remaining men of the Twelfth Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry. He was fulfilling this assignment when the Confederacy surrendered. After the war, Nugent returned to his family and law practice in Greenville. Nugent moved to Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, in 1872 when he joined the law firm of W. and J. N. Yerger. Three years later, Nugent formed a law partnership with T. A. McWillie. Nugent married Eleanor (Nellie) Fulkerson Smith on November 6, 1860. She was the eldest daughter of Abram Fulkerson Smith. The couple had one child, Eleanor (Nellie) Fulkerson Nugent (b. September 25, 1863), who later married Robert Somerville. Eleanor Fulkerson Smith Nugent died in December of 1865. Nugent married his second wife, Mary Catherine (Kate) Montgomery, on June 20, 1867. She was the daughter of William Pinckney Montgomery of Washington County, Mississippi. Mary Catherine Montgomery died about a year later. On February 25, 1870, Nugent married his third wife, Aimee Webb, on February 25, 1870. She was the daughter of John S. and Cecile Webb of Mobile, Alabama. The Nugents had five children: Aimee (Anne), Bessie W., Cecile, Louis Coupree, and William Lewis, Jr. Nugent died at his home in Jackson on January 18, 1897.Scope and Content:
This collection contains papers concerning Locust Plantation in Washington County, Mississippi; business and legal papers of the Montgomery family; and miscellaneous correspondence. The majority of the collection consists of correspondence, receipts, and statements of account pertaining to Locust Plantation. This plantation was owned by the William Pinckney Montgomery family and managed by William Lewis Nugent, beginning around 1868. These papers indicate that a dispute arose over expenditures incurred by Nugent. Included are 1868 Locust Plantation accounts with several numbered entries that correspond to numbered entries on an accompanying 1869 document written by Nugent justifying the expenditures. Montgomery also filed for bankruptcy in 1869. Of particular interest is a handwritten copy of an 1872 arbitration agreement between the Montgomery family and Nugent concerning Locust Plantation. Named in the agreement are Montgomery and his sons, Daniel Cameron, John Malcolm, Samuel W., and William Eugene. The remaining papers reflect business and legal matters of William Eugene Montgomery and members of his family from 1832 to 1883. There are tax receipts for property owned by the Montgomery family in Bolivar County, Mississippi. William Eugene Montgomery was one of the lawyers involved in the settlement of the estate of Francis M. Torrey of Bolivar County. Included are documents pertaining to the settlement of his estate. Of note is a letter from Shepherd Brown to William Eugene Montgomery criticizing the way Montgomery and his brother-in-law, Fred Clark, were handling a legal matter for him. There are two personal letters that are apparently unrelated to William Lewis Nugent or the Montgomery family. The first letter is to Miss S. A. James of Monroe County, New York, and it is unsigned and undated. The second letter is from R. Chestwick to Jessie Morrison, and it is dated 1842.Series Identification:
Box 1, folders 1-2
Box 1, folder 3
Box 1, folder 4