Mf. 1917  -- [in process]

Mf. 1918  -- Brown Family Genealogical Materials. Jackson County, Tennessee. TSLA. 1 reel. 16mm.  Microfilm Only Collection.
This is a collection of genealogical research materials regarding the descendants of Thomas Brown (1773-1862) of Jackson County, Tennessee. Thomas was born in Fincastle (Botetourt County), Virginia and married Nancy Litton in 1795. They moved their family to about 8,000 acres of land along the Dry Fork of Flynns Creek in what would become Jackson County, Tennessee in about 1800. After Nancy’s death, he married Elizabeth Billingsley. See also Mf. 1990.  

Mf. 1919  -- Watertown First Methodist Church Records, 1904-2008. Wilson County. TSLA. 1 reel. 35mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
Included in this collection are photographs of children at the Holmes Gap School, ca. 1930, and of Poplar Hill School children dated 1921, 1929, and 1933. There are two registers for the Watertown Methodist Episcopal, South Church dated October 1899 through 1962, although there are two marriages listed in the second register dated 2008. The third register is for the Watertown Methodist Church and is dated 1962. These registers are listings of members, preachers, marriages, baptisms, and deaths.  

Mf. 1920  -- Armstrong Family Letters, 1832-1901.  Fayette County, Tennessee.  TSLA. 1 reel. 16 mm.  Microfilm Only Collection.
The Armstrong Family Letters consists primarily of correspondence between two brothers, Thomas Lapsley Armstrong (1810-1861), teacher and planter, of Somerville, Tennessee, and Anderson Armstrong, of Orange County, North Carolina.  

This collection is arranged alphabetically by subject and retains the creator’s original order. It contains genealogical research on various families from around Tennessee as well as out-of-state, including correspondence between families and Buckingham concerning the research; research topics such as the Battle of Hartsville; newspaper clippings; funeral home records; copies of census records, indentures, wills, photographs, and other documents.

Mf. 1922  -- William G. Clark Family Letters, 1861-1864. Rutherford County, Tennessee.  1 reel. 16mm.   Microfilm Only Collection.
These family letters are to William and Emily Clark of Jordan’s Valley, Rutherford County, Tennessee from their three sons, James A., R. Newton, and William G., and a son-in-law, Moses Woodfin, who served in Co D of the 45th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry during the Civil War.  James A. was a prisoner at Rock Island, Illinois; both Newton and William G. were killed at the battle of Missionary Ridge in 1863. The letters concern family news, prison conditions and the deaths of the two sons.  

Mf. 1923  -- Daniel Smith Papers, 1784-1973). Smith County, Tennessee. TSLA. 47 items. TSLA. 2 reels. 1 16mm & 1 35mm.
The Daniel Smith Papers are composed of items related to Senator Daniel Smith (1748-1818), the early Tennessee surveyor in whose honor Smith County, Tennessee, was named. This small but valuable collection begins in1784 with land and surveying records, and contains correspondence, photographs, legal documents, including wills, oaths of office, and a commission (signed by President George Washington and Thomas Jefferson), and genealogical information.

The twelve items of correspondence in the collection include a letter (in appreciation of Smith’s service as Secretary of the Southwest Territory) and a dinner invitation to Daniel Smith from Thomas Jefferson; a letter from Governor William Blount, turning over governmental authority to Smith while Blount accompanies a group of Cherokee chiefs to Philadelphia; and letters from Daniel Smith to Governor John Sevier, thanking the Governor for his recent commission to fill Andrew Jackson’s unexpired term in the Senate.

Land records and deeds in the collection include the 1784 North Carolina land grant #56 to Daniel Smith for his service in the American Revolution – 3,140 acres “On the North side of Cumberland River at the mouth of Drakes creek,” in Davidson (now Sumner) County, Tennessee. This is the property that would become Smith’s home, Rock Castle.

Mf. 1924  -- Mitchener Family Papers, 1918-[1942-1945]-1957. TSLA. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
This collection is directly linked with Hardy A. Mitchener, Jr.’s P.O.W. diary available at TSLA (see Mf. 1746), which was created during his imprisonment at Stalag Luft III during World War II. This diary includes drawings, songs, poems, and notes about his experiences as a P.O.W. The Mitchener Family Papers primarily include items that pertain to his wartime experience, including his military service records, letters written to his mother during the war, and other related materials, including some photographs.  

Mf. 1925  -- Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations Raised Directly by the Confederate Government.  National Archives.  8 reels 16mm.  Microfilm Only Collection.
On this film are reproduced the compiled service records of Confederate soldiers who served in military organizations raised directly or otherwise formed by the Confederate Government and who therefore are not identified with any one State. Two or three of these organizations seem to have been originally considered to be units of the Confederate Regular Army. Several others were raised among the natives of Indian territory, and one was made up of foreigners who were recruited from among Union prisoners of war. The Corps of Engineers, the Nitre and Mining Bureau, and the Signal Corps, as special corps, and the bands, were formed chiefly of personnel transferred from other organizations. Most of the cavalry and infantry units, however, were the result either of bringing together small units that had been raised separately from two or more States or of consolidating units from different States that needed to be strengthened because of losses in personnel or other deficiencies. Artillery units often resulted from grouping separate batteries for better tactical control. See Mf. 1554 for Tennessee organizations.

The compiled service record of some Confederate soldiers who served in one of the organizations covered by this microcopy may not be found for several reasons. First, the soldier may have served under a different name or used a different spelling of his name. Second, proper records of his service may not have been made by the Confederate Army; or, if made, they may have been lost or destroyed in the confusion that often attended the initial mobilization, subsequent military operations, or the final surrender of the Confederate military forces. Third, the references to the soldier in the original records may have been so vague that it was not practicable to determine his correct name or the unit in which he served.

Mf. 1927  -- [in process]

Mf. 1928  -- [unassigned]

Mf. 1929  -- [in process]

Mf. 1930  -- Cumberland and Stones River Turnpike Toll Collections and Notes, Log Book, 1858-1901. TSLA. 1 reel. 35mm.  Microfilm Only Collection.
This logbook documents the construction of a major thoroughfare in Middle Tennessee, the Cumberland and Stones River Turnpike which survives today as the road bed for Highway 231-North or Lebanon – Murfreesboro Road. The exact date of construction is uncertain. 1858 is the earliest date gleaned from the log book which supports the likelihood that the road was constructed in the 1850s time frame.

There were various different contractors involved in the building of the road. William Summerhill was awarded a total of seven miles, and thus he was the largest contractor. The other contractors included Hiram Drennon,  Joseph H. Johnson, Isaac Hunter, Seldon E. Baird, Jacob Castleman, Bird A. Arrington, William Petty, Allen H. Goodwin, Lester Bonds, John C. Organ, C.S. Organ, Rolley Organ, William McGrigger, Charles Dement, and F.N.W.Burton.

Also included in the log are financial records for the payment of the turnpike and listings of stockholders.  Finally, there are entries of names of individuals who used the road for their travel purposes along with dollar amounts beside each name, mostly amounting to $2 to $18.

Mf. 1931  -- Quilts of Tennessee Collection. 6 cubic feet. TSLA. 2 reels. 16mm.
The Quilts of Tennessee Collection is primarily a survey of quilts made in Tennessee from the 1820s to the 1930s. The survey was made in conjuction with the Homecoming ’86 celebrations that were held throughout Tennessee. The “Quilt Project” began in 1983 when it was decided to undertake a study of quilts still in the possession of individual citizens. This survey included quilts made in other states but owned by Tennesseans.

Included with each survey is information about the owner and a photograph of each particular quilt. The survey also included maker information, quilt provenance, and a genealogical or family history. There is also a detailed study of each quilt's physical characteristics. Research of the pattern identification is included with each survey. This collection offers an addition to the collected body of information from other state projects. Through these studies, quilt owners, collectors, and historians can make comparisons and trace the continuity of quilt patterns and styles. They may also find relationships to social, economic, political, and religious circumstances. All of these elements combined provide a fascinating record of human life.  

Mf. 1932  -- Quilts of Tennessee Collection, Addition, 1875-2005.  8 linear feet. TSLA. 2 reels. 16mm.
The Quilts of Tennessee Collection, Addition is centered around items collected by Bets Ramsey and primarily focuses on the Quilts of Tennessee Project. (see Mf. 1931) There are approximately 7,627 items included in this collection.  

Mf. 1933 -- Daniel Family Collection, 1750-2005. Franklin, Moore and Bedford counties. TSLA. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The Daniel Family Collection was compiled by Evelyn Daniel VanMeter.  It includes original materials related to the Joseph (Job), Robert Calaway, Andrew Jackson Daniel, and Finis Daniel families.  Mrs. VanMeter also compiled, researched, and answered correspondence related to numerous allied families.  They include the Bennett, Bomar, Chrisco, Daniels, Evans, Kimsey, Long, Motlow, and Shofner families.

The Job Daniel family settled in Franklin County in 1808.  The Robert C. Daniel family settled Daniel Hollow, near the “headwaters” of Flat Creek and Thompson Creek in Bedford County in 1810, which became part of Moore County in 1872.

Mrs. VanMeter collected a series of issues of the Moore County Historical and Genealogical Society Newsletter and they are included in this collection.

Also included in the collection is a series of letters of the Motlow family of Moore County.  The Felix, Lem, and Reagor Motlow family descended from the Job Daniel family line.  They also were the owners and operators of the Jack Daniel Distillery after Jack Daniel passed away in 1911.  Duplicated separately are many historic photographs of Lynchburg and surrounding area.  The Motlow families’ materials were collected and loaned by Mike Northcutt, Mrs. VanMeter’s son-in-law.

Mf. 1934  -- Center Point Baptist Church Records, 1925-2009.  Bradley County.  2 reels. 35mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The Center Point Baptist Church was organized October 6, 1925 at Charleston, Tennessee. The bulk of the collection is composed of 15 volumes of yearly membership and monthly church meeting records. Also included are the deeds to the property.  

Mf. 1935  -- Thomas L. Mabry Family Papers, 1863-1954. Montgomery County. 1.5 cubic feet. TSLA. 1 reel. 16mm.
These are the papers of Thomas L. Mabry (1847-1903), his wife Elizabeth (Bettie) Dabney Mabry, and his step-mother, Anna Marrast Mabry (1842-1913). Thomas L. Mabry was the son of Thomas Elliott Mabry of Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee. This collection illustrates the changing economic times and changing social institutions along with new agricultural practices, medical procedures and social mores of the time period.

The collection is composed of correspondence, legal records, receipts, school records and several miscellaneous items. Correspondence comprises the bulk of the collection and is primarily between Mabry relatives and the “matriarch” of the family, Anna Marrast Mabry.  

Mf. 1936  -- Governor A.H. Roberts Scrapbook, 1918-1920. TSLA.  1 reel. 35mm.  Microfilm Only Collection.
The Governor A.H. Roberts scrapbook consists of one scrapbook with newspaper clippings detailing the political career of Tennessee Governor, Albert H. Roberts.  The scrapbook focuses mainly on Roberts’ term as governor (1918-1920).

Governor A.H. Roberts (1868-1946) was instrumental in obtaining state ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment for woman suffrage. His highly unpopular tax reform, his use of state troops against labor, and his support for women’s rights combined to make him one of the most unpopular Democratic governors in the state’s history. He lost a reelection bid in 1920 to Alfred Taylor, Republican brother of famed Democratic governor Robert Taylor.

Mf. 1937  -- Jim G. Brown Scrapbook, 1941-1948.  Davidson County.  1 reel. 16mm.  Microfilm Only Collection.
James G. “Jim” Brown, a railroad clerk, was born in Hickman County, Tennessee. After his move to Nashville in 1927, he began the production of award-winning flower and vegetable gardens. During World War II, his Victory Gardens earned him two state awards in 1943 and 1944, and the National Victory Garden award in 1945. This scrapbook documents the efforts made by Brown to enter the National Victory Garden competition in 1945.  

Mf. 1938  -- Shirley Family Papers, 1938-1890. Hamilton County.  1 reel. 16 mm.  Microfilm Only Collection.
The Shirley Family Papers are centered around the Thomas Shirley family. Included in this small collection are several wills, legal documents and land grants.

Thomas Shirley, Sr. was born in South Carolina but settled in Tennessee. His son, Thomas Shirley, Jr. (born 1797), married Julia Ann Johnson and became a prominent farmer and landowner in James and Hamilton County, Tennessee. During the Civil War they took up residence in Georgia. The children of Thomas and Julia Ann Johnson Shirley, Jr. were Lucien Bonaparte Shirley (born 1828); Cordelia Shirley; Adaline R. Shirley (born ca. 1832); Thomas Shirley, III; James Brown Shirley (1837-1902); and Commodore Perry Shirley (dates unknown).

Mf. 1939  -- 1935 Census of Business: Schedules of Motor Trucking For Hire, Hamilton County – Wilson County. National Archives. TSLA. 4 reels. 35mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
This census schedule requested the following information for calendar year 1935: name of the concern or establishment; name and address of the owner; legal form of organization (proprietorship, partnership, corporation, other); kind of business; whether local, intrastate, or interstate; number of proprietors and firm members; number of full-and part-time paid employees and weekly payrolls; total payroll for the week ending October 26, 1935; number of male, felmale, and “Negro” employees, et cetera.  

Mf. 1940  -- Petitions Submitted to the U.S. Senate Requesting the Removal of Political Disabilities of Former Confederate Officeholders (Tennessee), 1869-1871. National Archives. 14 reels, 35mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
Some of the political and social effects of the Civil War are reflected in the records of the select committee on removal of political disabilities that resulted from section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Under the provisions of that section, political disabilities were imposed on anyone who, as a legislator or officer of the Federal Government or one of the State governments, had taken an oath to support the U.S. Constitution, but who had subsequently supported the Confederacy. Such persons were barred from holding any State or Federal office. Section 3 concludes: "But Congress may by vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability." In the Senate, the Committee on the Judiciary originally had jurisdiction over removal of political disabilities, but the Senate Select Committee was appointed on March 20, 1869, for the exclusive purpose of handling said petitions from politically disabled Southerners. The records include petitions, mostly from former rebels regarding their individual cases, as well as correspondence for or against certain removals.  

Mf. 1941  -- Historical Register of National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938. Register of Members, Mountain Branch, Johnson City, Tennessee.   National Archives.  22 reels, 35mm.  Microfilm Only Collection.
Originally designated the National Asylum for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers to serve Union volunteers from the Civil War, this is a record of disabled Union veterans admitted to the Mountain City Branch Home. A home number was assigned to each individual upon admission. The member retained his original number even if he was discharged and was later readmitted to the branch. Each page of the register is divided into four sections as follows: military history, domestic history, home history, and general remarks. The veteran’s military history gives the time and place of each enlistment, rank, company, regiment, time and place of discharge, reason for discharge, and nature of disabilities when admitted to the home. The domestic history provides information about the veteran such as: birthplace, age, height, various physical features, religion, occupation, residence, marital status, and name and address of nearest relative. The home history provides the rate of pension, date or dates of admission, conditions of readmission, date of discharge, cause of discharge, date and cause of death, and place of burial. Entered under general remarks is information about papers relating to the veteran, such as admission papers, Army discharge certificate, and pension certificate. Information was also entered concerning money and personal effects if the member died while in residence at the branch.  

Mf. 1942  -- United Daughters of the Confederacy, Tennessee Division. Applications for Membership, 2006-2008.   TSLA. 1 reel. 16mm.
This addition to the UDC (Tennessee Division) papers consists of applications for membership and transfers between chapters. It is indexed by surname. See also Mf. 583, Mf. 752, Mf. 959, Mf. 1021, Mf. 1276, Mf. 1326, Mf. 1369, Mf. 1411, Mf. 1479, Mf. 1532, Mf. 1582, Mf. 1638, Mf. 1687, Mf. 1705, Mf. 1755 and Mf. 1849 for additional UDC records.

Mf. 1943  -- Tennessee Fifth District Circuit Court Record Book, 1816-1826. 1 volume. TSLA. 1 reel. 35 mm.
The Fifth District Circuit Court Record Book contains the cases held before Judges John Overton and Archibald Roane of the Supreme Court of Errors and Appeals of the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Tennessee held at the courthouse in the town of Clarksville (Montgomery County) beginning in January 1816 and ending in 1826. The volume contains an index of 54 names of early Tennesseans.  

Mf. 1944  -- Paul Ramsey Papers, 1950-2001.  .25 linear feet.  TSLA.  1 reel.  16mm.
The Paul Ramsey Papers is composed of assorted newspaper clippings, poems, and printed materials that relate to the life and/or poetry of Paul Ramsey. Also included is a salesman sample book of custom-designed business cards created by Mrs. Paul (Bets) Ramsey and Betty Goudelock.

Dr. Paul Ramsey, Jr. (1924-1994) grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. He received his bachelors and masters degrees at the University of North Carolina. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. As part of the U.S. Navy, Dr. Ramsey served in the Pacific during World War II. He taught at the University of the South before going on to teach English at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Dr. Ramsey was a well-known poet and published over 700 poems.  

Mf. 1945  -- [unassigned]

Mf. 1946  -- Compiled Records Showing Service of Military Units in Volunteer Union Organizations.  US Colored Troops.  National Archives Roll M594-Roll 216:  109th -118th Infantry.   1 reel.  16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The 109th, 114th, 115th, 116, 117th US Colored Infantry were raised in Kentucky; the 110th was made up of former slaves from northern Alabama and southern Tennessee; the 111th was organized from the 3rd Alabama Colored Infantry, attached to the garrison at Pulaski, Tennessee; 112th and 113th were organized in Little Rock, Arkansas; and the 118th was organized in Baltimore, Maryland.  

Mf. 1947  -- Butler Family Papers, 1834-1949. Sumner County, Tenn. .25 linear feet. 1 reel. 16mm.    [view finding aid]
The papers of the Butler family of Sumner County, Tennessee, contain approximately 90 items and cover the period 1834-1949. Most of the papers are land records and receipts related to the life of William F. Butler (1855-1926), a resident of Fountain Head, Sumner County, Tennessee, and his wife Fannie A. Pond Butler. Also included are the following: (1) accounts and documents regarding Federal government promises to pay for corn, etc., appropriated during the Civil War (1862-63) that are made out to Oliver Porter Butler (1818-1875), father of William F. Butler and a merchant and farmer of Fountain Head; (2) various land records of Sumner County, many concerning the Fountain Head / Myers Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church South; (3) various receipts; and, (4) genealogical data. The genealogical data includes: photocopies of the will of Aaron Butler (ca. 1782-1848), a pioneer settler in Sumner County; a biographical sketch (source unknown) of his son, Oliver Porter Butler; records of 2 Butler family Bibles (7 pages); and a typed pedigree chart of William F. Butler.  

Mf. 1948  -- John Leland Jordan Papers, 1760-1955. TSLA. 2.25 linear feet. 1 16mm and 35mm.
John L. Jordan (1869-1950) was born and reared near Triune, Tennessee in Williamson County. He was the son of Josiah Turner and Mary Elizabeth King Jordan, pioneer settlers of the Nelson Creek Valley in Triune. He was educated at Hardeman Academy, a boys school in Triune, and later graduated from the Commercial College in Kentucky.

He enlisted as a captain in the U.S. Army in 1898 and served in Cuba during the Spanish American War and then in the Philippine-American War. He eventually rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring for a disability incident to the service in September of 1917.

The papers of John L. Jordan consist of one hundred pieces of correspondence written by John L. Jordan during the wars. The majority of the materials consist of daily accounts of Captain Jordan’s early military experiences contained in letters written to his mother for the years 1898 to 1903, which he requested that she keep as a form of diary. This correspondence brings out clearly conditions and movements of the American troops in Cuba and the Philippine Islands, as well as a description of the aftermath of the war in both countries.

Also included is a sketch, “Triune in the Civil War,” a genealogical notebook, accounts of academies, churches, election practices, and places of business in existence in the Triune, Tennessee, area before and shortly after the Civil War. Photographs are predominately family pictures as well as a large photograph showing the Field, Staff and Line Officers of the 38th Volunteer Infantry Division.

See also Mf. 110.  

Mf. 1949  -- Bellevue United Methodist Church Records, 1879-1995.  Davidson County. 1 reel, 35mm.  Microfilm Only Collection.
Newton Edney deeded a plot of land to build a house of worship in 1809. It was named Edney’s Meeting House; when this church burned in 1813, it was rebuilt as Edney’s Chapel. In 1910, the church was renamed the Bellevue United Methodist Church.

This collection of seven volumes spans the year 1879 through 1995, although earlier dates are recorded in the volumes. The records consist of membership rolls, baptisms, Sunday school class membership rolls, family membership rolls and several miscellaneous items. Important genealogical information includes recorded death dates, marriage dates and dismissal notes.  

Mf. 1950  -- Elbridge (New Chapel) United Methodist Church (Elbridge, Tenn.) Records, 1886-2008. 2 reels. 35mm.  Microfilm Only Collection.
The Elbridge (New Chapel) United Methodist Church (Elbridge, Tenn.) Records span the period 1886-2008.  The collection is composed of Charge Conference records, membership registers, Sunday School records, and treasurer’s materials.  One membership register is from the Minnick Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Sunday School records are from the Jackson Hill Methodist Church.  All other items are related to the Elbridge United Methodist Church or the Elbridge Charge.  The Elbridge Charge was in the Dyersburg District, Memphis Conference, of the United Methodist Church.  The Charge originally included Elbridge, Zion, Cunningham, and Minnick Methodist churches.  Elbridge is also known as New Chapel United Methodist Church. 

Mf. 1951  -- Linda Boyd Lawhon Genealogical Collection, 1790-2002. TSLA 18 cubic feet.  15 reels. 16mm.
The Linda Boyd Lawhon Genealogical Collection consists of files compiled by Linda Boyd Lawhon in the course of doing genealogical research for her own family and for others. The collection is organized alphabetically by surname or topic. The collection retains the order established by professional genealogists Jeri J. Steele and William (Bill) B. Dow, Jr., who inventoried and arranged the collection after Linda Lawhon’s death.

Key surnames included in the research files are Alnutt, Boyd, Carrmuth, Conway, Dickinson, Douglas, Downman, Dykes, Ellis, Gosnell, Hale, Haynes, Huggins, Lawhon, Mitchell, McCall, McCowan, Murray, Nichols, O’Dell, Roseberry, Stephens, Towson, and Witherspoon. The collection includes research on families from all over the United States as well as the United Kingdom, but some of the chief areas of interest include Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina, as well as Texas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.  

Mf. 1952  -- Branham Family Papers, 1870-2000 (bulk 1903-1965). TSLA 6 cubic feet.  3 reels. Mixed sizes.
The Branham Family Papers span the period 1870-2000 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1903 to 1965. The items primarily belonged to Charles Branham, his wife, Emily Perkins Branham, and their daughters, Yolande (Landi) Vandeveer Branham and Jan Ferguson Lisk Branham. The collection is composed of correspondence, Charles Branham’s business records, training materials related to the Florence Crittenton Home in Nashville, published booklets, travel souvenirs, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, photographs, military school yearbooks, address/appointment books, medals, and genealogical research related to the lineal descent of Charles Branham. Perhaps the most prestigious item in the collection is the O.B.E. or Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire medal. This award allows the recipient to become a knight (male) or a dame (female).  

Mf. 1953  -- Burial Records, National Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee. National Archives.  1 Reel. 35mm.  Microfilm Only Collection.
This cemetery was established as a U.S. Military Cemetery on January 28, 1867. During the Civil War, those who died in general hospitals, on the battlefields, or as prisoners of war were buried with wooden headboards with the names and identifying data painted thereon, if marked at all. Many of these headboards deteriorated through exposure to the elements. The result was that when the remains were later removed to a national cemetery for burial, identifications could not be established, and the gravesites were marked as unknown. These deceased were gathered from an extensive region of Middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky. However, the majority of the dead in the cemetery were transferred from the hospital burial grounds in and around the city of Nashville and from temporary burial grounds around general hospitals in Nashville and the nearby battlefields of Franklin and Gallatin, Tennessee. Reinterments were also made from as far away as Bowling Green and Cave City, Kentucky. See http://www.bonps.org/natlcem/natlcem.htm for an index to these internments.  

Mf. 1954  -- Thomas Burr Fisher Papers, 1844-1922.  TSLA.  1 reel. 35mm.  Microfilm Only Collection.
This collection consists of the writings of Thomas Burr Fisher, a Civil War veteran and prominent Methodist minister. The collection is composed of two volumes of his autobiographical work, “Life on the Common Level,” (1921) along with a transcription. Also included is “The Autobiography of the Reverend Thomas Burr Fisher,” written in 1915.

Thomas Burr Fisher (1844-1922) was born in the Farmington-Verona area of Marshall County, Tennessee, the son of John and Mildred Stratton Fisher. In 1862, he joined Company C of the Eleventh Tennessee Cavalry Regiment (Confederate States Army) in General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Division. He was one of five brothers who served with distinction during the war. He returned to his family home in May of 1865. After the war, he pursued a classical collegiate education, became a Methodist minister, and was active in the church until after World War I.  

Mf. 1955  -- Lindsley – McGavock – Warner Genealogical Papers, 1804-1994. TSLA. 2.25 cubic feet. 1 reel. 16 mm.
This collection primarily focuses on members of the Lindsley and McGavock families, but also contains items relating to members of the Bass, Berrien, Caldwell, Condit, Dickinson, Grundy, Harding, Lawrence, and Warner families, compiled by Margaret Lindsley Warden. Individuals of interest include Randal William McGavock (1826-1863), Jacob McGavock Dickinson (1851-1928), Louise Grundy Lindsley (1858-1944), Dt. John Berrien Lindsley (1822-1897), Philip Lindsley (1786-1855), and Margaret Lindsley Warden.

The collection includes genealogical research, newspaper clippings, photographs, and correspondence. The collection also contains information on Nashville’s history as well as several historic sites such as Two Rivers Mansion, Carnton Plantation, the Mansion House and the McGavock Cemetery at Fort Chiswell, both in Wythe County, Virginia, and Rockingham in Rock Hill, New Jersey.  

Mf. 1956  -- Daughters of the American Revolution, Campbell Chapter, Records, 1806-1997. 7 reels. 35mm.
This collection is arranged in alphabetically according to document type. The collection primarily focuses on the Campbell Chapter, but includes items related to the national and state organizations as well. Contained in the collection are: Account Reports and Annual Proceedings, 1977-1986; Continental Congress booklets, 1986-1991; minute books, May 1901-May 1990; yearbooks, 1909-1995; regent reports, 1928-1997; scrapbooks, 1932-1977, containing newspaper clippings and photographs of DAR members and events; Historic Homes in Tennessee scrapbooks, 1959-1962; correspondence; chapter history; and numerous newspaper clippings.  

Mf. 1957  -- Mary L. Pearre Diary and Photographs, 1863-1864, 1896, undated.   1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
Mary L. Pearre was born in 1838, likely in Middle Tennessee. Educated at the Franklin Female College in Williamson County in 1858, Pearre worked as a teacher at Mill Creek, Tennessee. Her diary, written during the Civil War, reflects the personal musings of an educated woman who was unabashedly pro-Southern. She harbored an intense dislike of President Lincoln, whom she claims “violated the Constitution at every step, since he declared war. It makes my southern blood boil…” Pearre’s diary offers a compelling commentary on life at the home front during the Civil War.

After the war, Pearre married a Confederate veteran. She died in Memphis, Tennessee, at the home of her daughter Ida on December 24, 1913.  

Mf. 1958  -- John L. Carroll (aka Andrew J. Bartholomew) Genealogical Data, 1859-2000.  Robertson County. 1 reel. 16mm.    Microfilm Only Collection.
This collection was compiled by Joe H. and Christine V. Brown. It consists of photographs, census records, marriage licenses, death records, and a biography concerning John J. Carroll and the Carroll family.  

Mf. 1959  -- History of Oakland Baptist Church and Oakland School, 1908-1972. Robertson County. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The collection consists of the history, photographs, and records pertaining to both the Oakland Baptist Church and the Oakland School of Robertson County, Tennessee. See also Mf. 1736.  

Mf. 1960  -- History of Tabernacle Baptist Church, 1947-1987.  Robertson County. 1 reel. 16mm.  Microfilm Only Collection.
The collection consists of the history of the Tabernacle Baptist Church as well as photographs and newspaper clippings.  

Mf. 1961  -- Roe Family Genealogical Data, 1832, 2006. Robertson County. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
This collection consists of research concerning the history of the Roe family from Louisa County, Virginia to Robertson County, Tennessee. Other families included are the Carol, Elmore, Dorris, and Bartholomew families of the Oakland community in Robertson County. The collection contains photographs, census records, court records, bible records, marriage licenses, and wills.  

Mf. 1962  -- Claudia C. Bonnyman Collection, 1844-1961.  TSLA.  1 reel. 35mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
This collection largely consists of items relating to William G. Brownlow (1805-1877). The collection contains correspondence from J.B. Ashe to William G. Brownlow, 1844, regarding state matters; a pamphlet concerning the appointment of General Longstreet as Surveyor of Customs for the Port of New Orleans; and a sketch of Brownlow titled, “The Home of Senator William G. Bownlow.” The collection also includes numerous newspaper clippings concerning the life and career of Brownlow.  

Mf. 1963  -- Lou Cretia Owen Papers, 1918-1919. Davidson County .5 linear feet.  TSLA.  1 reel. 16mm.
The Lou Cretia Owen Papers consists of a diary and other papers chronicling Owen’s experiences as a women’s welfare worker in the Woman’s Work Department at the Old Hickory Munitions Plant during World War I.  The central item in the collection is a set of typed diary entries covering October 1, 1918, and January 25, 1919. Pasted to many of the diary pages are photographs and pass-cards.  The diary is a detailed record of daily events in the Woman’s Work Department where 10,000 women were employed. 

Mf. 1964  -- John G. Decker Papers, 1861-1950. TSLA.  1 reel. 16mm.  Microfilm Only Collection.
The John G. Decker Papers include a small collection of letters written by Private John G. Decker, Second Division, 32nd Indiana Infantry Regiment, Army of the Ohio, to his family in Evansville, Indiana. John Decker (1840-1921) and his twin brother Phillip joined the volunteer German unit organized in 1861 by Captain William Schnackenburg. The men were mustered in at Camp Nevin in Indianapolis and after training, headed south towards Louisville. John Decker’s letters were written to his family back home, and provide interesting details about life as a soldier during the Civil War. Most of the letters are in English, but several are in German.

Decker survived the war and returned home to start a family, but his brother Phillip died on July 26, 1864, at the Confederate prison in Andersonville, Georgia. The collection includes supporting materials about the Decker family genealogy, the family business (a wagon factory), family photographs, and other related military records.  

Mf. 1965  -- James Robert Lee Alley, Port Royal, Tennessee Collection, 1902-1921. TSLA. 1 reel. 35mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
This small collection consists of items related to small businesses near Port Royal, Montgomery County, Tennessee. Included are a register of funerals kept by Mr. James Robert Lee Alley (1866-1946?), Port Royal, dating from 1908-1921. With this register is an index of names compiled by the Montgomery County Archives. Also included are two original bills for burial supplies, 1918-19; a ledger used by a rural mail carrier for the Port Royal Post Office, 1908; a teacher contract for Miss Carrie Wyatt (Mr. Alley’s second wife), Montgomery County, TN; three photographs, one of Mr. Wiley Sawyer, rural mail carrier at Port Royal, and two related to the Alley family.

Also included in this collection are two account books of Dr. William S. Elliott (1856-1910), a physician who had a medical practice near the Port Royal area.  

Mf. 1966  -- Eagleville Baptist Church (Rutherford County, Tennessee) Records, 1839-2009. TSLA. 2 reels. 1 16mm, 1 35mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The Eagleville Baptist Church Records includes a minute book of its predecessor, the Harpeth Church, dated Nov 7, 1839 to Feb. 1872. The Eagleville Baptist Church records consist of minute books, membership records, treasurer’s ledgers, and Sunday School records dated 1890 to 2009. This collection also includes the minutes and membership records of a mission church, the Jackson Ridge Baptist Church, from 1963-1965.  

Mf. 1967  -- Masonic Grand Lodge of Tennessee Annual Returns of Local Lodges, 1800-1971. Masonic Grand Lodge of Tennessee. 134 reels. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
This collection is composed of documents relating to the local Masonic lodges in hundreds of communities throughout the state. The records are organized by lodge number, and the records of each lodge are preceded by a target page bearing the lodge name and number. Some lodges have no records on file, while for others hundreds of pages have been preserved. The material in each lodge’s file is roughly arranged in chronological order. An index to lodges by location and name is included in the finding aide.

The majority of documents in the collection are annual returns listing the names of members in each lodge, and showing the names of officers and members added, removed, promoted or deceased. However, in many cases additional correspondence and documents to the lodge can also be found.

For additional information about the Masonic Order in Tennessee, see The history of Freemasonry in Tennessee, 1789-1943 by Charles A. Snodgrass (Nashville, Ambrose Printing Co, [1944]).

Mf. 1968  -- D.M. Woods Collection, 1835-1868. TSLA. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The D.M. Woods Collection was assembled by two Civil War collectors from Montgomery County, Tennessee. The materials include a miscellaneous assortment of financial records that were originally in the possession of D.M. Woods, a Clarksville-based blacksmith and carriage maker. It appears that he worked with the Nashville-based T.M. Brennan foundry, also known as the Claiborne Machine Works, as well as the Clarksville-based company, Whitfield, Bradley, and Company.

Dulana Maphes Woods (1825-1865) was born in Kentucky and married Mary Martha Cuffman in Sumner County, Tennessee in 1848. He fathered eight children and owned a number of slaves. He did not serve during the Civil War, rather, he purchased iron in order to help manufacture Confederate weaponry. The collection includes the shipping receipts from numerous steamboats that delivered iron to Woods.  

Mf. 1969  -- G.F. Robinson Letters, 1861-1864. TSLA. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The G.F. Robinson papers are comprised entirely of letters from George Franklin Robinson (1840-1888) to his wife Elvira J. Robinson (1840-1921) and children in Pickens County, South Carolina, during the Civil War. Robinson was a member of the Confederate 7th Infantry Regiment (Company A) of the South Carolina Battalion in Joseph Kershaw’s Brigade. He enlisted in June 1862 and was discharged from the Federal prison camp at Point Lookout, Maryland, in June 1865; he had previously been taken prisoner in November 1864. Most of the letters are intact and legible, but the last folder contains quite a few letter fragments or undated letters.

The collection is significant because Robinson was a member of one of the elite units in Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War, and took part in a number of battles on the eastern front. Robinson wrote on the eve or in the wake of several of the war’s largest battles, including Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. In the fall of 1863, Robinson was detached westward with Kershaw’s Brigade and Lt. General James Longstreet’s corps to play a pivotal role in the Battle of Chickamauga. He continued to write from places such as Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Greeneville before returning to Lee’s army in the east in spring 1864. He served in the lines around Petersburg, Virginia during the heavy fighting there.  

Mf. 1970  -- Maury County (Tenn.) Episcopal Church Records, 1809-2001. TSLA. 5 reels. 35mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
This collection includes the records of three churches: St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, St. John’s Episcopal Church, and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. St. Peter’s Episcopal Church is the only church of the three that is still in regular use, and it cares for St. John’s Church Cemetery, an official burial ground of Tennessee Episcopal Bishops. St. John’s and St. Mark’s shared a deacon at one time; St. John’s is now used only on Whitsunday.

In the records of St. Peter’s, Sunday school records, church registries, treasurer’s reports, Minutes of the Vestry, and service records give detailed notes on various aspects of the church, including attendance, birth and death, baptisms and financial records. From St. John’s Church are two prayer books, a Bible, and a copy of the Old Testament all given to St. John’s by A.J. Polk in 1841. The material from St. John’s Episcopal Church is historically significant as the founder of St. John’s was Leonidas Polk, the “Bishop-General of the Confederacy,” and the church was the site of Civil War skirmishes. Some material on the history of St. John’s is also included along with a ledger from St. Mark’s. This collection also contains the records of St. Mary’s Guild which merged with St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Holy Comforter Episcopal Mission, St. Peter’s Women of the Church, and the Holy Cross in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee.  

Mf. 1971  -- Moscow B. Carter Papers, 1853-1908. TSLA. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The Moscow B. Carter Papers consist of family and military correspondence, fragmentary memoirs, genealogical notes, military documents, claims filed with the U.S. Claims Commission for wartime damages, and a leather-bound diary kept by Carter from November 20, 1862 to the fall of 1867.

Moscow Branch Carter (1825-1913) was the oldest son of Fountain Branch Carter and according to census records, was a surveyor and farmer. He married three times and fathered children by all three wives.

Moscow and his two younger brothers Theodoric (Tod) Carter and Francis (Wad) Carter all joined Company H, 20th Tennessee Infantry Regiment, CSA. Moscow won election to Lieutenant-Colonel of the 20th and served as such until his capture at Mill Springs, KY, in January 1862. This battle is often referred to by other names, Fishing Creek, being the most common. Moscow apparently took the oath of allegiance to secure his freedom, as a document to that effect appears in the collection, and continued to run the gin and farm. He was running the farm at the time of the Battle of Franklin and it was he who ventured onto the battlefield after the fighting ended to find his mortally wounded brother Tod.

Moscow continued to live in the Carter house after the war and rebuilt the farm and gin. He and his father filed with the Southern Claims Commission to be compensated for damages to the gin and one of his plows. He only collected a small fraction of what he claimed. He is buried in the Franklin City Cemetery.

His diary begins on November 20, 1861 when Carter is serving on the staff of General Felix Zollicoffer and his army in southern Kentucky. Carter describes scenes of camp life, draws a map of the Mill Spring, KY fortifications, and on January 19-20, 1861 Carter gives his account of the Battle of Mill Spring, Gen. Zollicoffer’s death, and his own capture after having two horses shot from under him. He provides extensive lists of killed and wounded men from various Tennessee regiments after the battle. In February, 1862 he was marched with other Confederate prisoners to Louisville, KY, and from there he was removed to the Camp Chase prisoner-of-war facility in Columbus, OH, and finally on to the Fort Warren prison in Boston Harbor, MA. Carter comments at various times on the Federal army’s treatment of escaped slaves, shedding light on the evolving Union policy toward African-American ‘contrabands’ or runaway slaves in the south early in the war. On July 31, 1862 he was paroled in a prisoner exchange near Richmond, VA and returned by foot to Tennessee in August.

The Moscow B. Carter Papers shed light on the military careers of Moscow and his brother Tod Carter (especially the Battle of Mill Springs), the management and physical particulars of the Carter Farm during and after the Civil War, and family life in one of the best known Confederate households in middle Tennessee.

This collection covers some of the same experiences described in the papers of James Litton Cooper (Mf. 1976), also in the 20th TN Infantry and also at the Battle of Mill Springs.  

Mf. 1972  -- James C. Mates Diaries, 1863-1865. TSLA. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
These two small Civil War era diaries were penned by James Clubine Mates (1837-1898) of the 101st Regiment of the Pennsylvania Infantry, USA, Company A. James Mates was 24 and had been working as a farmer in Alleghany County, Pennsylvania, when he enrolled in the Federal Army in Pittsburgh in August 1862.

Mates was captured in Plymouth, North Carolina on April 20, 1864, after the four-day siege of Plymouth. The Union men who were captured during the battle were later referred to as “Plymouth Pilgrims.” After capture Mates was interned at the infamous Confederate prison in Andersonville, Georgia, also known as Camp Sumter.

Largely as a consequence of Sherman’s march southward, Mates (and many other able-bodied prisoners) were forced to leave Andersonville in September 1864 and were taken to other Confederate prison camps. Mates arrived in Camp Florence on October 6, 1864, and in the following weeks wrote frequently of paroles and prisoner exchanges.

In early 1865 the Union prisoners began to receive marching orders to leave the prison camp. It is not clear when Mates was released from prison, but in late February he wrote that he left Camp Florence and boarded a train. He was furloughed on March 13 and arrived home on March 14, 1865. The diary’s last entry was on this date.  

Mf. 1973  -- United Daughters of the Confederacy. Clark Chapter, No. 13 (Gallatin, Tenn.), Minute Books, 1898-1902, 1942. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The United Daughters of the Confederacy, Clark Chapter, No. 13 (Gallatin, Tenn.), Minute Books span the period 1898-1902.  A letter, dated 1942, is also included.  The collection is composed of two handwritten volumes dated 1898-1899 and 1900-1902.  The materials give insight into the transactions and business of the chapter.  Details regarding Trousdale Place in Gallatin, Tennessee; the Library and Historical Society; the Monumental Association; and the death of Varina Anne Jefferson Davis can be found within the minutes.

Mf. 1974  -- Vance Leland World War I Service Diary, 1917-1919. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The Vance Leland Seat World War I Service Diary consists of numerous entries made by Seat during his time in the Navy from 1917-1919. Seat used an official US Army and Navy Diary to record his service. Seat also used the provided area in the diary to list almost forty family and friends, including many individuals he met during his service overseas.

In his diary Seat records numerous events directly impacting him, and others concerning the broader status of the war. He begins his diary with the time he spent in Boston, Massachusetts after enrolling in the Navy in April 1917. Seat left for England in June 1918 on board the USS Plattsburg. He was stationed in London where he spent much of his time standing watch or handling official military communications.

Seat began his voyage home on February 18, 1919, again on board the USS Plattsburg. While at sea he was appointed corporal of the guard. He arrived at New York on March 8, 1919, and was discharged from the Navy on March 17, 1919, after 23 months of service. After mustering out, he ended his entries in his service diary. Seat enrolled as an Electrician 1st Class and was discharged having achieved the rank of Chief Electrician.

Vance Leland Seat (1896-1979) was a resident of Humboldt, Gibson County, Tennessee and is buried there in Rose Hill Cemetery.  

Mf. 1975  -- Walker, Dallas (1895-1970), World War I Letters, 1917-1918. 1 reel. 16mm.
The Dallas Walker World War I Letters, containing approximately 34 items, span the period 1917-1918. The collection is composed entirely of personal correspondence. Most of the letters were written by Mary Walker, a student at Nashville’s Ward-Belmont School for Women, to her brother, Dallas Walker, while he was stationed in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States Army Ambulance Service. A few of the letters were written by Mary’s classmates at Ward-Belmont; including Margaret Saunders, Sadie Edwards, and Gladys Edwards (Sadie’s sister). Topics include life on Ward-Belmont’s campus, Charlie Chaplin, and the war.

Mf. 1976  -- James Litton Cooper Collection, 1861-1864. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The James Litton Cooper Collection consists of family and military correspondence (most of which are transcribed), fragmentary reminiscences in the form of newspaper articles, military documents, and additional newspaper clippings. The letters and military documents date from the Civil War or its immediate aftermath.

James Litton Cooper was born in Nashville on July 19, 1844. He was the son of Washington B. Cooper of Davidson County, Tennessee, a well-known portrait artist, and Ann Litton Cooper. He enlisted in October 1861 at Cumberland Ford, Kentucky, in Company C of the 20th Tennessee Infantry CSA. He served in Gen. Felix Zollicoffer’s Confederate army operating in the vicinity of Cumberland Cap, Kentucky, during the winter months of 1861-1862. He was at the Battle Rock Castle (Wild Cat) and the Battle of Mill Springs, and his letters describe that winter campaign and those engagements. Captured after Mill Springs, Cooper was held near Somerset, Kentucky, before being sent as a prisoner-of-war to Camp Chase, Ohio, from which he wrote a series of 21 letters home.

Cooper was eventually paroled and rejoined his unit in time to participate in and be wounded at the Battle of Missionary Ridge. He convalesced at a military hospital in Dalton, Georgia, and was involved in the fighting around Atlanta, Georgia in the summer of 1864, eventually being appointed as aid-de-camp for Generals Tyler and W.R. Smith. Cooper served with the Army of Tennessee until the end of the war. Having mustered in as a private, he was promoted to sergeant and lieutenant and mustered out as a captain. He died in Nashville on September 7, 1924 and was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery. See also Mf. 1971.  

Mf. 1977  -- General Joseph B. Palmer Autograph Album, 1861-1862. TSLA. Microfilm Only Collection.
The General B. Palmer Autograph Album was compiled by Palmer during his five months of captivity after his surrender at Fort Donelson in Dover, Tennessee, on February 15, 1862. The loss at Fort Donelson was a major defeat for the Confederate army. Palmer and his captured men were sent to Fort Warren prison in Boston in March 1862.

In most cases, the individuals who signed the book, 91 in all, wrote only their names, ranks, and addresses, but in some cases, they penned a few personal thoughts.

In addition to the album itself, the donor has also provided an index of names, a transcription of the album, and a lecture about the history associated with the autograph album.

Joseph Benjamin Palmer (1825-1890) was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where he was raised by his grandparents. He attended Union University, also located in Murfreesboro. He passed the state bar exam in 1848 and began a career as an attorney. In 1849 he served in the General Assembly and in 1855 he was elected mayor of Murfreesboro. When he left Rutherford County to join the Civil War, his wife was deceased, but he had a six-year-old son. Palmer began his military service as a Colonel of the 18th Tennessee Infantry but later became a Brigadier General. He fought mostly in the Western Theatre, taking part in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign as well as the 1865 Carolinas Campaign. He was wounded a number of times during the war and lost the use of one of his arms. Palmer died in 1890 and was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Murfreesboro.  

Mf. 1978  -- Captain Elisha Tompkins Hollis Civil War Diary, 1863-1865. 1 roll. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The Captain Elisha Tompkins Hollis Civil War Diary consists of daily entries made by Hollis while serving in the 20th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment from the time he left home to join the Confederate Army on November 27, 1863 until February 14, 1865, eight days after submitting his resignation from the military. The diary is missing its cover and possibly some of its pages and cannot be called a complete record of his experiences but it certainly covers his service in the Civil War with the 20th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment.

Elisha Tompkins Hollis was a resident of Weakley County, Tennessee and married Elizabeth “Bettie” H. Thompson. He joined the Confederate Army as a cavalryman in November 1863 and left for campaign in January 1864. He served with the 20th Tennessee Cavalry as captain of Company I during its campaigns in Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Alabama during 1864 before returning home and resigning on February 6, 1865.  

Mf. 1979  -- Daniel Henry Chandler Papers, 1862-1908. TSLA. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The Daniel Henry Chandler Papers consist of family and military correspondence, fragmentary memoirs, a pension certificate, and leather-bound diaries kept by Chandler from February 2, 1862 to November 26, 1864.

Daniel Henry Chandler was mustered in as a three-year enlisted man on November 22, 1861, serving as a blacksmith in the 5th Indiana Battery, Volunteer Light Artillery. He mustered out of service as a Second Lieutenant, in command of a section of the 5th Battery, on November 26, 1864. During that three-year period, Chandler served extensively in Tennessee as part of Federal operations there.

His diary entries, reminiscences, and letters give eyewitness accounts of the Battle of Stone’s River; the engagement at Liberty Gap; the Tullahoma Campaign in Tennessee, and in Georgia the Battle of Resaca, and battles around Atlanta. On June 15, 1864, at Pine Mountain, Georgia, the battery was ordered to fire on a cluster of Confederate officers; a round from this cannonade killed Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk of the Army of Tennessee. One of Chandler’s letters also provides details on the aftermath of the Battle of Missionary Ridge, Tennessee.

Daniel H. Chandler (1829-1908) was born in New York, lived in Noble County, Indiana when he mustered into the Union Army, and lived in Erie County, Pennsylvania after the Civil War. He died in 1908 in Knoxville, Tennessee, and according to his obituary, was buried in Zenia, Ohio.  

Mf. 1980  -- Adam J. Himmel Civil War Letters, 1861-1865. TSLA. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The Adam J. Himmel (1841-1866) Civil War Letters were written by a German born member of the 85th Illinois Infantry, Company K, during the Civil War. Himmel was mustered into service in Peoria, Illinois, on August 27, 1862. The letters in this collection are all written to his brother George, who was a preacher. A religious man, Adam Himmel wrote frequently about his faith, the evils of slavery, as well as his unshakable belief in the war.

Himmel was present during a number of important military campaigns during the Civil War. He spends a period of time in Nashville, at which point (July 23, 1863) he refers to Fort Negley as a “Magnifficent (sic) Fort.” During a march through Williamson and Maury Counties, he describes the countryside as looking desolate, with numerous deserted houses. In an undated letter, which was likely written in May 1864, Himmel discusses in significant detail the capture of Rome, Georgia. On November 23, 1864, he mentions an important expedition led by General William Tecumseh Sherman. As a member of the 85th Illinois Infantry, Himmel takes part in Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign.  

Mf. 1981  -- Thelma Priest Gentry Scrapbook, 1925-1927. TSLA. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The Thelma Priest Gentry scrapbook consists of various photographs with captions and newspaper clippings. Also included are four separate photographs of Charles Cecil Gentry, Thelma’s husband, and a character analysis of Laura Wingfield from Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie.” The scrapbook also contains a few entries concerning traveling, dinner parties, and outings with her friends as well as poems and a recipe for Mock Biscuit Tortoni.

Thelma Priest Gentry (1904-1966) was born in Alabama. She lived in Columbia, Tennessee as a small child and by 1920 had moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Around 1929, she married Charles Cecil Gentry (1902-1992) of Nashville. He was a Pullman porter and later became the beloved custodian of Woodmont Elementary School in Davidson County, Tennessee.  

Mf. 1982  -- Rock Springs Church of Christ Records, 1832-1899. Rutherford County. 1 reel. 35mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The Rock Springs Church of Christ Records of Smyrna, Tennessee, consists of three volumes. The first volume is dated from 1832-1860 and consists of a list of members from 1843, a record of female members from April 1847, and financial and meeting records from 1843-1857. This volume also contains two letters of note between the Rock Spring Church of Christ and an unknown Baptist church in the same community requesting a meeting between pastors to discuss differences in their religious values.

The second volume is dated 1875-1899 and contains a separate membership list for males and females for 1875. This volume also contains financial records which include church contributions and expenses.

The third volume is not dated and includes member’s names along with their contributions to the church.  

Mf. 1983  -- Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities Records, Addition, 1950-2007.  3 reels.  16mm.
This addition to the collection focuses on the day-to-day operation of the association and its chapters. It consists primarily of chapter dues records, chapter treasurer reports, correspondence, the Endowment fund Committee records, financial reports, fund requests, lists of chapter officers and members, board meeting minutes, newsletters, newspaper clippings, and photographs.  

Mf. 1984  -- Robert T. Quarles, Jr., Papers, 1937-1962. .5 cubic feet. 1 reel. 16mm.
This collection consists of correspondence, receipts, photographs, an account book, a daily planner, an address book, invitations, greeting cards, event tickets, and various notes.  The correspondence concerns Quarles and his retirement, friends visiting from out of town, and family matters.  The receipts regard furniture, clothing, and flower arrangements.  Some of the photographs depict General Clifton B. Cates of the U. S. Marine Corps at the Armed Forces Day parade in Nashville, Tennessee; the remaining photographs are unidentified.  The personal account book and daily planner are dated 1944 and 1945, respectively.  The invitations are to events such as the Nashville Children’s Museum Association, the Sam Davis Memorial, and the Confederate Historical society of Nashville.  The greeting cards are for Quarles’ birthday and Christmas.  The membership cards are for the Boy Scouts of America, the Old Hickory Masonic Lodge, and the Education Association.  The event tickets are to Tennessee Industrial School, American Legion, and a play at the Maxwell House Hotel.  Lastly, Quarles’s research notes concern muster rolls, Civil War maps, James K. Polk, and agriculture and trade in Tennessee.  

Mf. 1985  -- Montgomery Family Papers, 1800-1982. Davidson County. TSLA. .5 cubic feet. 1 reel. 16mm.
The collection is comprised of accounts, Civil War documents, letters, court records, deeds, genealogy, and receipts concerning James Montgomery (fl. 1829-1905) of Davidson County, Tennessee. It contains several Davidson County tax receipts and accounts showing purchases of clothes, dry goods, and farming tools for James Montgomery. There is a will for Stirling M. Brown of Marshall County, Tennessee, and a Davidson County Public Schools Annual Report, which includes lists of board members, white and colored teachers, course studies, general statistics, and public school conditions.

The collection also holds some genealogy on the history of the Montgomery name and several photocopies of Civil War documents concerning Mrs. William Cooper.  

Mf. 1986  -- Mary Camp Webster Memoir, ca. 1928-1935. Maury County. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The memoir was written by Mary Camp Webster Gordon (1840-1935) sometime between 1928 and 1935. Much of the memoir includes details about family history, including extensive genealogical information, but she also briefly discusses a few events from the Civil War as they relate to family history.

Mary C. Gordon was the daughter of Col. George Webster (1809-1875) and Harriet Walker (Blair) Webster (1819-1876), both of Maury County, Tennessee. Col. Webster fought in the Seminole War from 1835-1836, and was the grandson of a captain in the American Revolutionary War. Mary Camp Webster married Richard Cross Gordon (1837-1903) in Maury County on August 20, 1863. The couple had four daughters. During the Civil War, Gordon fought for the Confederacy and reached the rank of Major. In 1891 he served in the Tennessee General Assembly.

Related material at TSLA is the Bolling Gordon Family Papers, 1797-1960, which includes correspondence between Richard Cross Gordon (son of Bolling Gordon) and Mary Camp Webster. Mf. # 1191.  

Mf. 1987  -- United Daughters of the Confederacy & The Children of the Confederacy, Tennessee Division. 1998-2010. TSLA. 3 cubic feet. 2 Reels. 16mm.
This collection consists of membership applications, transfers from different chapters within Tennessee, supplementals, and military awards for the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) and the Children of the Confederacy. These membership application forms include genealogical information dating back to the applicant’s ancestors in the Civil War.

The UDC is the oldest Southern heritage and patriotic organization. It is made up of the lineal and collateral female descendants of the soldiers, sailors and statesmen of the Confederate States of America. Originally established in 1894 as a service organization to aid Confederate soldiers and their families, the UDC expanded its role to include educational, historical, memorial, benevolent and patriotic responsibilities.

The first chapter in the organization also was the first chapter in Tennessee. Nashville Chapter # 1 was chartered September 20, 1884. The Nashville Chapter later founded a children’s auxiliary to provide instruction about the Confederate heritage. The organization became known as The Children of the Confederacy.

Today, the Tennessee Division is made up of 50 chapters who strive to honor the era of the Confederacy (1861-1865) by providing scholarships for students who are descendants of Confederate servicemen, holding memorial services at burial sites of soldiers, participating in historical and educational programs and working in veteran hospitals to show respect and gratitude for those who continue to serve our country. See also Mf. 583, Mf. 959, Mf. 1021, Mf. 1276, Mf. 1326, Mf. 1369, Mf. 1411, Mf. 1532, Mf. 1582, Mf. 1638, Mf. 1687, Mf. 1705, Mf. 1755, Mf. 1849, and Mf. 1942 for additional UDC records.  

Mf. 1988  -- Benson Family Letters, 1858-1863. TSLA. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The Benson Family Letters consists mostly of letters written from the Benson brothers (William E., George, and Joseph) to their sisters (Mary Francis and Sinae Ann). The brothers were serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and were reporting to their family from Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, and Mississippi. W.E. Benson and George Foster Benson both enlisted in Cosby’s Brigade, 1st Mississippi Calvary, Company D, and confronted Federal forces in Mississippi and later in North Alabama and Middle Tennessee. Joseph Benson served in the 2nd Mississippi Infantry, Company G and wrote a number of letters from Camp Fisher, Virginia, where hundreds of soldiers camped during the winter of 1861-1862 during their blockade of the Potomac River.

William Early Benson (1837 - ?) was the son of Hardy Benson (1797-1848) and Mary Jane Duke (1821-1848), and was born in Oakland, Yalobusha County, Mississippi. He married twice, first to Sallie P. Tyrus ( ? -1865) and later to Jane Hawley Doggett (1848 - ?). William Early Benson had four siblings, two of which served along with him during the Civil War, George Foster Benson (1845 - ?) and Joseph Peru Benson (1843 - ?). The brothers occasionally wrote letters to their sisters, who were Mary Francis (Fannie) Benson (1836-1859) and Sinae Ann (Annie) Benson (1842 - ?).  

Mf. 1989  -- Perkins Family Letters, 1861-2000. TSLA. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
The Perkins Family Letters contain a series of letters that were written to and from family members during the Civil War. The majority of the letters were written by Charles T. Perkins, who served in the C.S.A., 31ST Tennessee Infantry Regiment, Company D. His slave, Jerry Perkins, accompanied him during his military service and brought his body home after his death during the battle of Atlanta in 1864. The family lived in several regions of Tennessee, including Haywood County (Brownsville) and Williamson County. The letters reveal the dynamics between a family and their slaves as well as other insights into daily life during the Civil War.

Nicholas Tate Perkins, Jr. (b. 1794) and Lucy P. Turner (b. 1797) had several children, including Thomas M. Perkins (b. ca. 1841), Charles T. Perkins (1839-1864), Lucy P. Perkins (ca. 1835-1867), and Annie G. Perkins. Some members of the family resided in Haywood County, Tennessee, in a home known as Shady Grove. Family members also lived in Williamson County, Tennessee, at a home originally known as Poplar Gove and later referred to as Two Rivers.  

Mf. 1990  -- Dalton Harold Brown Genealogical Materials, 1815-2011. Jackson County. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
This collection of materials includes photographs, family stories, genealogy charts, research notes, and muster rolls concerning the Brown family of Jackson County, Tennessee. Family names included in this collection are Thomas Brown (1772-1862), John (Jackie) Brown (1796-1879), Thomas Cowan Brown (1825-1916), David Harold Brown (1871-1942), and Dalton Harold Brown (1912-1999.) See also Mf. 1918.  

Mf. 1991  -- [in process]

Mf. 1992  -- Daughters of the American Colonists, Tennessee State society.  1 reel. 35mm.
This collection includes histories of the Captain Thomas Jameson Chapter, the Chattanooga, Henry County, Clay Lick, Knoxville, Colonel Gideon Macon, Isaac Dawson, Jamestown, McMinnville, Middle Plantation, and Union city Chapters of the Tennessee Society, as well as a history of the state organization. The collection also holds genealogy charts and a program for a State Assembly event that took place in 1959 in McMinnville, Tennessee.

The collection also includes three oversize scrapbooks. The first, which is indexed, dates 1932-1982, and includes newspaper clippings and photographs from the various chapters throughout the state. The second is dated 1982, and has a list of the officers and newspaper clippings concerning state chapters. The third is dated 1982-1985, and contains a booklet concerning the organization’s history, programs, photographs, lists of chapter officers, and newspaper clippings.  

Mf. 1993  -- [in process]

Mf. 1994  -- Tennessee Library Association Records, 1897-2009. 6 reels. 35mm.
The Tennessee Library Association Records span the period 1897-2009. The majority of the items relate directly to the Tennessee Library Association (TLA) with the remaining items relating to the Nashville Library Club. The collection is composed of financial and administrative records as well as materials relating to annual meetings and conferences. Topics include the American Library Association (ALA), the Louise Meredith School Library Award, the Tennessee Library Association History Book Award, the Tennessee Library Association/Social Issues Resources Series Freedom of Information Award, the Volunteer State Book Award, the Governor’s Conference on Libraries, the Governor’s Conference on Library and Information Services, the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the Southeastern Library Association Conference, the Southeastern Regional Conference on Adult Education, the Tennessee Conference on Library and Information Services, the Tri-State Convention, the White House Conference on Library and Information Services, National Library Week, state aid for public libraries, the Women’s National Book Association, and the Work Projects Administration Library Service Project.

Also, incorporated are materials related to various libraries within the state including Austin Peay State University, Carson-Newman College, Chattanooga Public Library, Chattanooga Public Schools, Country Music Foundation, East Tennessee State University Medical Library, Forked Deer Regional Library, Henry County High School, Knoxville Business College, Knoxville College, Malesus Elementary School, McKenzie School District, Memphis Public Library, Milan City Schools, Milligan College, Morristown College, Middle Tennessee State University, Nashville Public Library, Nolichucky Regional Library, North Side High School, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Library, Presbyterian Day School, Shelby State Community College, Somerville-Fayette County Library, Tennessee Botanical Garden, Tennessee Department of Transportation Library, Tennessee Library for the Blind, Tennessee State Library, Trenton School District, Tusculum College, Tennessee Valley Authority Library, University of the South, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University Medical Library, Watauga Regional Library, and West Jackson Elementary School.

Items of particular interest consist of correspondence regarding the lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Tennessee to challenge the constitutionality of the Tennessee Obscenity Statute (filed in the Chancery Court of Davidson County on June 15, 1990) and two letters written by J. [Jesse] Cunningham concerning race relations. The first Cunningham letter, dated April 5, 1955, discusses inviting a “negro” speaker to the TLA meeting in Chattanooga and deals with the “inter-racial problem” in Memphis. In the second letter, dated April 15, 1955, Cunningham states that “we would not be interested in scheduling a speaker at an important function who is a negro.”

Mf. 1995  -- “Brother Charles”: Letters Home to Michigan, Civil War Correspondence of the Wadsworth Brothers, 1861-1865, bulk 1863-1865. TSLA. 1 reel. 16mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
Civil War correspondence of the Wadsworth Brothers encompasses 1861-1865. Predominant are letters received by Charles B. Wadsworth of Summerfield, Michigan, a farmer and family man educated as a teacher at Oberlin College, Ohio. The letters are authored by his younger brothers, Elihu and Orry, who, at the inception of the Civil War, are both students at Oberlin College.

Beginning in 1835, Oberlin College undertook a mission to educate African Americans. Early students and faculty brought an abolitionist zeal which shaped Oberlin’s stand on interracial education. Arranged chronologically, the collection is initially significant for snippets of commentary on the social life and customs of the first coeducational institution of higher learning in the United States, as well as course offerings and student living arrangements.

“Elihu H. Wadsworth” (b 1837) is enshrined on plaque number B-33 by the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington, D.C. Captain Wadsworth served in the 16th United States Colored Infantry, Companies B and D. His military career began when he left college and returned to his home state to enlist. Detailed primarily to perform clerical work while with the 18th Michigan Infantry, Elihu was assigned to the Headquarters of the Inspector General’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee during the fall of 1863. He eventually rose to the rank of First Lieutenant and on December 1, 1863, he was mustered into the 16th United States Colored Infantry as an Officer. Troops included “contraband” or ex-slaves, who had fled to the Union lines and were working as military laborers. Elihu describes the encampment of the 16th in Clarksville, Tennessee near the Red and Cumberland Rivers.

Charles B. Wadsworth (b 1834) was exempted from military duty in November 1863, “by reason of permanent organic defect of the left foot” by the state of Michigan.

Orry H. Wadsworth’s military history is elusive, with stints in two Ohio regiments, the 7th Infantry Ohio Regiment in 1861 and the 56th Ohio Infantry, 1864-1865 and one with the 8th Michigan Cavalry. Orry’s Civil War journey was disrupted by an apparently intentional capture by Confederates with expectation of parole.  

Mf. 1996  -- Moore Family Papers, 1816-1900.  1 reel. 16mm.  Microfilm Only Collection.
This collection consists primarily of receipts, accounts, and other business records of the John Bertie Moore family of Mooreland Plantation, Haywood County, Tennessee, and related families. Some of the earliest documents in the collection are from North Carolina. The documents mostly reflect transactions involving the sale of land, slaves, farming equipment, dry goods, and personal items, and payment of property taxes. Many documents in the pre-Civil War years relate to the sale and shipping of cotton. Also included are documents relating to school tuition, giving permission to purchase family supplies at Fort Pillow during the Civil War, letters (primarily financial in nature), and promissory notes.  

Mf. 1997  -- “Memorial of the First Baptist Church, 1820-1863” [handwritten manuscripts of R. B. C. Howell].  2 reels.  35mm.  Microfilm Only Collection.
Consists of two volumes of R. B. C. Howell’s “Memorial of the First Baptist Church,” a handwritten manuscript on the history of First Baptist Church, Nashville, Tennessee, written during Howell’s imprisonment in Nashville during the Civil War. Volume 1 is believed to be Howell’s original manuscript, housed at the church since its writing; Volume 2 was discovered in private hands in 2011 and acquired by the church. It is a slightly different version of the same manuscripts but written in Howell’s hand. It is possible that he recopied his work at a later date with some editing. The manuscripts recounts the history of First Baptist Nashville from its organization in 1820 through 1863, the time of Howell’s writing.

Also included as introductory information are exhibit materials kept by the church’s History committee relating to R. B. C. Howell, his family, and his career as pastor. These items include photographs and document copies with their exhibit caption cards.  

Mf. 1998  -- John E. Justice & Son (Wartrace, Tenn.) Funeral Ledgers, 1931-1947. 1 reel. 35 mm. Microfilm Only Collection.
Consists of two ledger volumes containing printed “Record of Funeral” forms which include such information as name of deceased, name of person paying for funeral and their address, date of funeral, location of funeral, clergyman and his address, certifying physician and his address, cause and date of death, occupation of the deceased, marital status, religion, date of birth, names and places of birth for deceased’s parents, cemetery location, and specific charges for funeral services such as casket, vault, clothing, hearse, limousines, and flowers. Not all spaces provided for information have been used. Most of the second volume is unused. The business was in part a funeral directorship; there was no chapel but only a body preparation area housed at the present location of the Wartrace (Tenn.) Town Hall. The business closed in 1948 and most of the funeral equipment was sold to Caleb Thompson of Thompson Funeral Home in Shelbyville. The business also included furniture sales and ambulance services.  

Mf. 1999  -- Enon Primitive Baptist Church Records, Shelbyville, Tenn., 1821-2008. 1 reel. 35mm. Microfilm Only Collection. [View Manuscript Finding Aid]
The Enon Primitive Baptist Church was established in 1794 in what was then North Carolina (now Shelbyville, Bedford County, Tennessee). The first building was built around 1800 and the church was constituted in August 1821 and received its first African American member (“Major Byler’s Black Boy Emmanuel”) in November 1823. The congregation is a member of the Cumberland Association of Primitive Baptists.

The collection is composed of constitutions, membership lists, letters of transfer, disputes, minute books, newspaper clippings, correspondence, and printed booklets. The printed booklets are titled: “Minutes of the Fountain Creek Association of Primitive Baptists,” “Minutes of the Cumberland Association of the Primitive Order of Baptists” (dated 1886 and 1896), “Minutes of the One Hundred-Fourteenth Annual Session of the Cumberland Association of Primitive Baptists” (dated 1916), and “Minutes of the One Hundred Ninety-Seventh Annual Session of the Cumberland Association of Primitive Baptists” (dated 1999).

Also included are constitutions and a statement of faith, dated 1869, for the members of Mount Olivet Baptist Church in Lincoln County, Tennessee.