Legacy finding aids update

Over 150 updated and encoded finding aids have just been posted online. Some of the notable collections in this group are:

Robert Bingham Papers, #3731-z

Robert Bingham (1838-1927) of Hillsborough, N.C., was a captain in the 44th North Carolina Regiment, Confederate States of America. The collection includes two volumes of a diary Bingham kept, 1863-1864, while he was a prisoner at Norfolk, Va., Fort Delaware, Johnson’s Island, Ohio, and Point Lookout, Md.; and a letter, 14 March 1923, from him to his granddaughter, Henrietta Bingham, describing his Civil War experiences in Virginia, his capture, and his imprisonment. The diary, marked “intended only for my wife,” records thoughts Bingham hesitated to put into letters to his wife. The diary describes prison life, including quarters, gambling, work, escape plots, sermons, food, illness, and hospitals at various prison camps. Included are descriptions of the trip from Johnson’s Island to Point Lookout; of Bingham’s work making chairs and gold and silver rings, needles, and buttons; of his exchange of books with other inmates and guards; and of rumors, including rumors of cessation of prison exchanges, return of North Carolina to the Union, and Confederate privates signing oaths of allegiance.

Sarah G. Beck Papers, #3076-z

Sarah G. Beck (fl. 1863-1865) worked with the United States Sanitary Commission during the Civil War. The collection includes passes and letters to Beck relating to her work with the sick and wounded in the United States Army under the auspices of the United States Sanitary Commission in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. One letter is from Edwin McMasters Stanton, Secretary of War.

Berry Benson Papers, #2636

Berry Benson (1843-1923) of Hamburg, S.C., was a Confederate army soldier in the 1st South Carolina Regiment. After the war he lived at Augusta, Ga., where he was a teacher, cotton trader, author, and inventor of a remunerative bookkeeping technique. The collection contains correspondence, writings, notes, Civil War diary and reminiscences, and other papers of Benson relating to his early life, family history, and Civil War career. Writings include fiction; poetry; plays; humor; and commentary related to the Civil War, including Benson’s experiences at the battles of Fredericksburg, Mechanicsville, Cold Harbor, Bull Run, Winchester, Antietam, Chancellorsville, and the Wilderness; his escape from Elmira Prison; manners and mores; and other subjects. Other papers relate to Benson’s expertise in handwriting, codes, ciphers, mycology, and other matters. Also included are full diaries from 1880 and 1884 regarding his his travels in Mexico, Cuba, and Texas.

James Washington Matthews Diary, #3757-z

James Washington Matthews (1798-1880) was a farmer of Maury County, Tenn. The collection includes a copy of the diary, 1 January 1858-6 January 1869, of Matthews with entries of two to three lines per day mentioning weather, relatives, friends, farm work, attendance at church, expenditures, and other matters.

Panknin Drugstore Records, #3084

The Panknin Drugstore in Charleston, S.C., was owned and operated by Charles F. Panknin, a chemist and pharmacist. The collection includes business correspondence, prescription books, and other records of the Panknin Drugstore. Twenty volumes, 1852-1872, record prescriptions, ingredients, and purchasers. Correspondence is chiefly with suppliers and customers, although personal matters are represented. Also included are three account books of scattered dates.

John Peter Geortuer Diary, #3487-z

John Peter Geortuer (1797-1829) was an Evangelical Lutheran minister from Johnstown, N.Y. The collection includes Geortuer’s diary, 17 May-16 June 1828, containing a detailed and literary account of a sojourn in Paris, France, including descriptions of sight-seeing, visits with General Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier Lafayette and other prominent figures, French reactions to political events in America, the Lutheran Church in Paris, accommodations, and general activities; and a photograph of a painted portrait of Geortuer.

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