History Commons^™

Hobson, Edward Henry, 1825-1901 (Mss 736), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 736. Photocopied correspondence of Brigadier General Edward H. Hobson of Greensburg, Kentucky. Letters from his family in Bowling Green, Kentucky, fellow soldiers, colleagues and citizens of Greensburg cover his Mexican War and Civil War service, his business ventures, and attempts to win political office. Includes Hobson's memoranda of actions against Confederate raider John Hunt Morgan in 1864, a list of prisoners taken from Morgan's and other brigades, and a letter from Hobson's nephew deploring an 1892 lynching in Bowling Green, Kentucky (Click on "Additional Files" below).

Sumpter Family Collection (Mss 735), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 735. Correspondence and papers of the family of Captain Charles Ward of Plymouth, New Hampshire, including descendants in the Sumpter family of Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Stuver, Aaron S., 1842-1894 (Sc 3505), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript of letter (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3505. Letter, 26 July 1863, of Aaron S. Stuver, written to his sister Emma from Cincinnati, Ohio while serving with the 115th Ohio Volunteers. He describes the defense of Cincinnati from Confederate guerrilla John Hunt Morgan during his raid through Ohio and Indiana, and the funeral of Major Daniel McCook, whose six sons also served in the Army and who was killed at the Battle of Buffington Island. Stuver remarks on the likely effects of conscription on the length of the war, and on the …

Skinner, Asahel, 1814-1902 (Sc 3506), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3506. Application, affidavit, and power of attorney, 4 May 1869, of Asahel Skinner, made to recover the amount of a claim for property loss in connection with the Morgan Raid of 1863 in Meigs County, Ohio. The form, headed “Morgan Raid Claims,” was completed pursuant to an Act of the Ohio Legislature passed 26 April 1869 authorizing such compensation. Includes a photocopy from an unidentified report indicating that Skinner received $220.00 for two horses, a colt, bridles and provisions.

Madden, Cornelius J., 1842-1903 (Sc 3494), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript of letter (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3494. Letter, 17 November 1862, to his mother from Cornelius Madden, serving with the 102nd Ohio Infantry at Bowling Green, Kentucky. He describes an increase in patrols and fortifications precipitated by rumors of guerrilla leader John Hunt Morgan’s presence in the area. Anticipating an encampment for the winter, he suggests his mother and other “widows” send a box of provisions, prepaid in order to save expense. He reports hearing nothing of his father, also in military service, who he believes to be at Nashville, Tennessee. …

Knott Family Papers (Mss 675), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Collection 675. Papers and photographs of James Proctor Knott, Lebanon, Kentucky, and his wife Sarah "Sallie" (McElroy) Knott. Includes two journals of Sallie Knott covering the first eight years of their marriage (Click on "Additional Files" below to view typescripts), and miscellaneous papers of a related family, the Clarks.

Obetz, Jeremiah H., 1843-1923 (Sc 3444), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of transcriptions (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3444. Letters of Jeremiah H. Obetz, Manheim, Pennsylvania, to his former employer Henry C. Gingrich, written during his service with the 9th Pennsylvania (Lochiel) Cavalry at Camp Dunham near Bowling Green, Kentucky, and at Camp Andy Johnson near Jeffersonville, Indiana. Obetz describes the pursuit of Confederate raider John Hunt Morgan, the death of a comrade, camp life, and his confidence that England could not interfere successfully against the Union. He also reports on the strength of fortifications at recently recaptured Bowling Green. Suffering from …

Griffin, Lowell M. (Mss 669), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 669. Civil War related material, chiefly recorded audio presentations to the Louisville Civil War Round Table of which Lowell Griffin was a member. Also includes some news clippings about the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln as well as transcripts of several presentations on Civil War topics.

Messer, George, 1833-1863 (Sc 3312), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript for Manuscripts Small Collection 3312. Letter, 24 February 1863, of George Messer to his wife Lottie, written while encamped with the 107th Illinois Infantry near Woodsonville, Hart County, Kentucky. His news of camp life includes the engagement of an African American cook and a rumor of impending attack by John Hunt Morgan’s guerrillas, which he dismisses in light of the camp’s superior defenses. He describes holding money for safekeeping on behalf of his comrades, and of searching for vegetables to treat an outbreak of scurvy. He also discusses various matters relating to home, including deserters, honoring …

Weir Family Collection (Mss 651), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Collection 651. Letters and papers of the Weir family of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, and related members of the Rumsey and Miller families. Well-to-do merchants and farmers, the Weirs were leading supporters of the Union during the Civil War, providing advocacy, financial support, and military service. Includes full-text scans of a letter from the brother of steamboat pioneer James Rumsey defending his legacy as an innovator; James Weir's journal; James Weir's will; the annotated recollections of Edward Weir, Sr.; and two letters from former Weir slaves recolonized in Liberia (Click on "Additional files" below).

Ligon, Lucy Ann (Parker) Robbins, 1833-1891 - Letters To (Sc 3278), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescripts (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3278. Letters to Lucy Ann Robbins Ligon, the daughter of Fulton County, Kentucky judge Josiah Parker and his wife Lucy A. Parker, written while she lived in Crittenden County, Arkansas with her late husband’s brother, and in Hickman, Kentucky after her remarriage. Lucy’s parents relay news of her siblings and of pre-Civil War Hickman, and at the outbreak of war dramatically describe the division of loyalties, the townspeople’s fear and uncertainty as invasion threatens from the North, the enlistment of local men, two destructive fires, economic conditions, …

Messer, George, 1833-1863 (Sc 3254), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3254. Letter, 4 January 1863, of George Messer to his wife Lottie, written while encamped with the 107th Illinois Infantry at Woodsonville, Hart County, Kentucky. He notes recent Confederate attacks that resulted in interrupted mail, a shortage of food rations, bridge burnings, and some of his regiment being captured. He reports a delay in receiving his pay due to an officer’s negligence, and fears that a box of provisions sent to him has fallen into enemy hands.

Messer, George, 1833-1863 (Sc 3163), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text typescripts (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3163. Four letters of George Messer to his wife Lottie Messer, written March-May 1863 from Camp Hobson, Glasgow, Kentucky. He describes preparing the camp’s fortifications and accommodations, the arrival of reinforcements, the presence of nearby Confederates, his novel reading, and the prospects of obtaining a furlough. He relates the prevalence of fighting among the local citizenry and discusses affairs at home such as his debts and local elections. His letter of 16 April includes a sketch of the fort.

Messer, George, 1833-1863 (Sc 3138), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3138. Letters, 16 December 1862, 13 February 1863 and 6-7 June 1863, of George Messer to his wife Lottie in DeWitt County, Illinois, written while camped near Woodsonville in Hart County, Kentucky and at Camp Hobson, Glasgow, Kentucky. He describes his quarters (his “shebang”), a fire in Woodsonville that burned two hospitals, the remnants of a nearby battlefield, local troop movements, illness, and his finances. He also writes of contributing money to send a soldier’s remains home, and comments on his officers and on domestic matters.

Kitchcart, Mary L., 1837-1925 (Sc 3113), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3113. Correspondence of Mary L. Kithcart, Mount Pleasant, Ohio. A letter to her from Ella Hurst and Thornton Moore, 23 October 1862, reports on encounters between Confederates, including John Hunt Morgan, and Union troops near Lexington, Kentucky, Ella’s family’s aid to home guards, and the theft of horses and wagons. A concerned Mary forwards the letter to a cousin with details of one of the stolen horses.

Doll, Howard D. And Anne (Parker) Doll (Mss 573), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 573. Correspondence and papers of of the Pool, Keel and Beauchamp families of Metcalfe (formerly Barren) County, Kentucky. Includes papers of related families: Mitchell, Clark, Rogers, Cook, Shirley Yates, and others. Civil War letters include a letter from James F. Keel (Click on "Additional Files" below for typescript) describing activity at Nashville, Tennessee in July 1862.

Clagett, Marjorie Elizabeth, 1900-2000 (Mss 513), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 513. Correspondence and papers of Marjorie E. Clagett, a WKU faculty member who taught French from 1928-1964. Includes field notes and slides relating to her studies of flora in south central Kentucky, Great Britain and other habitats in the United States, and research materials relating to the history of the French in Kentucky. Includes correspondence, photographs and genealogical data of the Clagett, Northcott, Strange and associated families. Also includes notes (Click on "Additional Files" below) of a Northcott ancestor's encounter with Lost River Cave in Warren County during the Civil War.

Wilson, John W. (Sc 2865), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and full text (click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2865. Letter, 2 July 1864, of John W. Wilson, Company B, 2nd Kentucky Battalion Cavalry, written from Bristol, Virginia to the father of Private James Minter informing him that his son was killed at the 2nd Battle of Mt. Sterling, Kentucky and praising his character. Includes associated data on Wilson and Minter.

Alexander Family Papers (Mss 505), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only Manuscripts Collection 505. Correspondence, business and estate papers, deeds and miscellaneous records of the Alexander, Fontaine, Lucas, Graham and associated families, principally of Henry County, Virginia; Cumberland, Metcalfe and Warren counties in Kentucky; and Pontotoc County, Mississippi. Includes letters of Martha (Lucas) Graham written from Bowling Green, Kentucky during the Civil War (Click on "Additional Files" below).

Battey Family Letters (Sc 2840), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid, scans and typescripts (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2840. Letters of brothers Peter, Alfred and George Battey to a sister and a brother James, written during their Civil War service in the Union Army. From the “Colo Barracks” in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Peter describes his duties as a teamster, criticizes the length of the war, and relays news of the killing of John Hunt Morgan by one “Gillman” and the capture of his men. Alfred writes from a hospital in New Orleans, and George writes from Bowling Green, where he and Peter continue on …

Tuttle, John William, 1838-1927 (Sc 1197), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1197. “History of the Third Kentucky Volunteers” written by John William Tuttle, Wayne County, Kentucky, from a diary that he kept of his Civil War experiences. Includes associated data.

Wiltse, Jason S., 1843-1874 (Sc 2760), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2760. Diary of Jason S. Wiltse, kept while serving as a corporal with the 23rd Michigan Infantry. He describes the countryside, weather and conditions during his tour of duty in Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, and notes the names of his correspondents. He also describes the battle of Campbell’s Station near Knoxville, Tennessee, and refers (p. 68) to having been in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on Christmas Day 1862. Includes a photograph of Wiltse in uniform.

Coombs Family Collection (Mss 349), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Collection 349. Correspondence, photographs, business records and miscellaneous papers of the Coombs, Robertson and related families of Warren and Simpson counties in Kentucky and of Alabama, Texas and Tennessee. Includes correspondence, personal papers and research of Elizabeth Robertson Coombs, librarian at the Kentucky Library, Western Kentucky University. Several documents from this collection have been scanned are available for viewing by clicking on the "Additional Files" below.

Morgan, John Hunt, 1826-1864 - Relating To, 1863 (Sc 1019), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1019. Special Order Number 44, signed by Major General Wheeler, Confederate States of America Cavalry, 8^th Regiment, near Shelbyville, Tennessee, detailing plans for Morgan to proceed to Kentucky with a force of 2,000 in an attempt to destroy the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and supplies. Impressment authorization is granted to Captain McCarthy and assistants

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Bowles, Orlando Charles, 1839-1896 (Mss 455), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 455. Correspondence, accounts, land surveys, and miscellaneous business and legal papers of Orlando C. Bowles, a Civil War veteran, lawyer, farmer, and timber trader of Pike County, Kentucky. Includes some material relating to the Cecil family of Floyd and Pike counties.

Fox-Walthall Letters (Sc 1007), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only and scan (Click on "additional files" below) Manuscripts Small Collection 1007. Family letters of the Fox and Walthall families, chiefly of Mildred P. (Walthall), Joseph, Rachel M. and William S. Fox of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. The collection includes family correspondence, Civil War letters, 1861-1862 (34), and courtship letters.

Morgan, John Hunt, 1825-1864 - Relating To (Sc 952), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 952. Photocopy of script (31 p.) used from radio program “Our America” broadcast on WLW Cincinnati about John Hunt Morgan. Also original letter regarding script.

Ritter Daybook (Mss 98), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 98. A photocopy of an account book (432 pages), detailing the activities of a boarding house/tavern and large stable in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, owned by Burwell Clark Ritter.

Kentucky - Cavalry - 14th Regiment (C.S.A.) (Sc 56), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 56. Roll of Quirk’s Scouts consisting of Company B, 14th Kentucky Cavalry (C.S.A.) which was under the leadership of Colonel. R.C. Morgan and General John Hunt Morgan. Compiled from memory by Lieutenant K.F. Peddicord.

Whitaker, Matilda Lucretia, 1841-1892 (Mss 434), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 434. Photocopies of the Civil War diaries of Matilda Lucretia Whitaker, Grove Spring, Logan County, Kentucky. Whitaker sympathized with the South and noted the activities of Confederate troops in Russellville. Poetry and songs are also included.