Jackson Family Correspondence

Collection

Identifier: MSN/CW 5067

Staff Only

Manuscripts of the American Civil War Digital Project

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Scope and Contents

Nineteen of the letters in the group predate the Civil War. Many of these were written to Archibald Jackson by relatives who had settled outside Moore County. Of the forty wartime letters in the collection, eleven were written by Archibald Jackson during his time in the army; ten more were written by Burgess or Gorry Jackson during their own periods of service. These were mainly directed home to Moore County, most notably to two of the Jacksons' sisters, Dicy Ann and Effie Jane. Most of Archibald Jackson's letters were written from December 1862 to April 1864, from camps in Virginia, when the 30th North Carolina was attached to the Army of Northern Virginia. Many of Burgess Jackson's were written from hospitals in Richmond. The collection also includes wartime letters to the Jacksons from a number of other individuals, including at least eight Confederate States soldiers, most of them residents of Moore County serving in Co. H, 30th North Carolina Infantry; Co. I, 2nd North Carolina Cavalry; or Co. H, 26th North Carolina Infantry. Also present are a small wartime commonplace book kept by Effie Jackson, and four family photographs.

Dates

Creation: 1852-ca.1866

Creator

Jackson, Archibald A., 1835-1864 (Person)
Jackson, Effie Jane, b. 1841 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Biographical / Historical

The central figures in the correspondence are five sons and daughters of James C. Jackson (ca.1816-1862), a farmer with a small parcel of land near Pocket, Moore County (later Lee County), North Carolina, in the eastern Piedmont. These siblings are:

1. Archibald A. Jackson (1835-1864), identified in the 1860 Federal census as a turpentine distiller living near Crain's Creek in Moore County. Served in Co. H, 30th North Carolina Infantry from 1861 to May 1864, rising to 2nd lieutenant. Died of wounds inflicted at Spotsylvania, 19 May 1864.

2. Dicy Ann Jackson (b. 1837), m. Cpl. William S. Caveness, Co I, 2nd North Carolina Cavalry 21 April 1864.

3. Burgess C. Jackson (1839-1864), m. M. M. Bethune 1861; served in Co. H, 30th North Carolina Infantry May 1862 to May 1864; killed at Spotsylvania 12 May 1864.

4. Effie Jane Jackson (b. 1841), m. Duncan Murchison McLeod (formerly Co. H, 26th North Carolina Infantry) 17 January 1866.

5. Gorrel ("Gorry") Jackson (b. 1845), served in Co. I, 2nd North Carolina Cavalry from April 1864.

The North Carolina families represented in the correspondence are almost exclusively Scottish-American, descendents of the Highland Scots who settled the Upper Cape Fear Valley from the mid-eighteenth century. Spelling in the letters is often idiosyncratic, and the prose formulaic.

Extent

1 Cubic foot

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

A group of around 60 manuscript personal letters, almost all written by and/or to members of the Jackson family of Moore County, North Carolina before and during the Civil War. The collection includes letters of eleven Confederate States soldiers, serving in the 26th or 30th North Carolina Infantry or the 2nd North Carolina Cavalry.

Arrangement

The letters in the collection are sequenced first, and are arranged chronologically, one item per folder (folders 1 to 59). Miscellaneous materials follow (folders 60 to 66).