Legacy finding aids update

The latest group of updated and encoded legacy finding aids has just been posted online. Some of the notable collections in this group are:

J. L. M. Curry Papers, #197-z

J. L. M. Curry (1825-1922) was a Southern educator. The collection includes two letters from Grover Cleveland, and one each from James Bryce and Wade Hampton, to Curry concerning Curry’s work with the Slater Fund for the education of freedmen. Also included are a description of an incident in the Confederate Congress, written by Curry, and a hymn written for his memorial service. This collection has been digitized and is available through the collection’s finding aid, which is linked above.

William B. Burke Papers, #105

William B. Burke (1864-1947) was a Methodist missionary in Shanghai, China. The collection includes letters to Burke and his wife Addie from his mother and his father, John William Burke, publisher and stationer of Macon, Ga. Topics discussed include the yellow fever epidemic in Florida, 1888; American politics and immigration legislation affecting the Chinese, 1890; and the business depression in the United States, 1891. Volumes are a handwritten sketch of the life of John William Burke, by George G. Smith, and two scrapbooks of a newspaper column, “Life’s Reflections.”

H. C. Kendrick Papers, #397-z

H. C. Kendrick (died 1863) was a Confederate soldier who served in the 8th Georgia Infantry Regiment, Army of Northern Virginia. The collection includes letters from H. C. Kendick to his parents, brothers, and sister while serving in the Civil War. Letters were written from camps at or near the following locations: Daleville, Va.; Winchester, Va.; Manassas, Va.; Centerville, Va.; Camp Sam Jones; Savannah, Ga.; Gordonsville, Va.; Fredericksburg, Va.; Richmond, Va.; and Suffolk, Va. Kendrick’s letters contain little discussion of major battles. They give excellent views of camp life, food, sickness among the troops, rapid marches, and other aspects of military life, including troop morale, the importance of mail from home, hatred of Yankees, drills, the superiority of southern soldiers, patriotism, kindness of the local populace (particularly the ladies of Virginia), scenery, northern degeneracy, and homesickness. Some minor skirmishes are described. A final letter is from Kendrick’s commanding officer to Kendrick’s parents describing Kendrick’s death at Gettysburg.

Caroline O’Reilly Nicholson Papers, #537-z

Caroline O’Reilly Nicholson (born circa 1812) was the wife of A. O. P. Nicholson (1808-1876), United States senator and chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court. The collection contains “Reminiscences of an Octogenarian (Mrs. A. O. P. Nicholson),” typescript (43 pages), written circa 1894, by Caroline O’Reilly Nicholson, and one letter. The reminiscences cover social activities, religious life, and town events in Columbia, Tenn., and Nashville, Tenn., 1820s-1840s; politics and elections in Tennessee, 1830s-1840s; social life in Washington, D.C., 1840s; and A. O. P. Nicholson’s political activities, including his personal and political friendship with James K. Polk.

Waddy Thompson Papers, #718-z

Waddy Thompson was a South Carolina politician and United States minister to Mexico. The collection is chiefly correspondence of Thompson while he was United States minister to Mexico, 1842-1844, including letters to his wife, Emmala Butler Thompson, and letters received from American political friends in the United States, the Republic of Texas, and Mexico, concerning yellow fever epidemics and general living and working conditions in Mexico, and diplomatic relations among Mexico, Great Britain, and the United States. Also included are some business papers related to sugar and cotton planting and the slave trade in Alabama and South Carolina.

A complete list of all updated and encoded finding aids can be found here.

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