Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Briggs family letters
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Briggs family letters
- Date
- 1847-1868 (inclusive)
- Extent
- 0.22 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Letters.
- New York (State)
- Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Social aspects.
- Briggs family
- Case, Mary Briggs, 1839-1932
- Hall, Wade, 1934-
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged chronologically. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0043: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Briggs family letters, 1847-1868, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Mary S. Briggs (1839-1932) was born to Thomas E. Briggs (1798-1874) and Rosanna Kellogg (1804-1874) in Strykersville, New York. She had at least one brother, William, who died suddenly of an illness in 1857. On June 28, 1862, Mary married Sidney Allen Case (1840-1919), who served with New York's Company C, 1st Dragoons Regiment. They had three children together: Elfie (1866-1941), Nora (1869-1938), and Maude (1876-1928).
- American Letters collector Wade Hall (1934-2015) was a native of Union Springs, Alabama. Starting in 1962, he lived in Louisville, where he taught English and chaired the English and Humanities/Arts programs at Kentucky Southern College and Bellarmine University. He also taught at the University of Illinois and the University of Florida. He held degrees from Troy State University (B.S.), the University of Alabama (M.A.), and the University of Illinois (Ph.D.). He served for two years in the U.S. Army in the mid-fifties. Dr. Hall was the author of books, monographs, articles, plays, and reviews relating to Kentucky, Alabama, and Southern history and literature. His most recent books include A Visit with Harlan Hubbard; High Upon a Hill: A History of Bellarmine College; A Song in Native Pastures: Randy Atcher's Life in Country Music; and Waters of Life from Conecuh Ridge.
- Scope and Content
- The Briggs family letters (dated 1847-1868; 0.22 cubic feet; 16 folders) comprise letters to William Briggs and his sister Mary, from extended relatives and friends that document life leading up to and during the Civil War. The bulk of the letters were written during the Civil War and revealed the opinions of northern women who were left alone when their husbands were either drafted or volunteered to fight for the Union. They discuss conditions of hospitals and soldiers, the need to fight the "Slave Power", and the aftermath of President Lincoln's assassination. The letters also concern issues affecting women in the nineteenth century, including leaving abusive husbands, fear of not finding a husband, and how migration westward and homesteading caused families to be separated.
- The Briggs family letters are part of the Wade Hall Collection of American letters, which includes correspondence and diaries from all over North America covering the time period of the Civil to Korean Wars. The materials were collected by Wade Hall and document everyday men and women.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- The collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
Briggs family letters, 1866-1868
Briggs family letters, undated
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
