Inventory of the Edmiston, Kelley, and Flowers Family Papers, 1838-2004

Collection Number 5230


Manuscripts Department, University Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Collection Information
Descriptive Summary
Administrative Information
Online Catalog Headings
Biographical Note
Collection Overview
Items Separated
Related Collections
Contact Information:
Manuscripts Department
CB#3926, Wilson Library
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890
Phone: 919/962-1345
Fax: 919/962-3594
Email: mss@email.unc.edu
URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/
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Descriptive Summary

Repository
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Creator
Edmiston family.
Kelley family.
Flowers family.
Title
Edmiston, Kelley, and Flowers Family Papers, 1838-2004
Call Number
5230
Language of Materials
Materials in English
Extent
Items: About 600
Linear Feet: 1.0
Abstract
The Edmiston, Flowers, and Kelley families, primarily of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama, are related through the marriages of William Kelley (1844-1897) to Mary Seraphina Flowers Kelley (1844-1937), and their daughter, Olive Kelley Edmiston (1887-1979), to Paul C. Edmiston Sr. (1881-1927). William Kelley was a physician in Tallulah, La., in the 1880s and 1890s.
The papers consist primarily of family correspondence and genealogical materials, chiefly from Mississippi and Louisiana, gathered by Edmiston family members. Correspondence chiefly consists of letters between Saraphina Brooks Flowers of Bovina, Miss., and her daughter, Mary Saraphina Flowers Kelley, 1867-1868; letters between William Kelley of Tallulah, La., and his wife, Mary Saraphina Flowers Kelley, 1878-1897; telegrams sent to William Kelley regarding yellow fever cases in Louisiana, 1880s-1890s; and letters between Olive Kelley Edmiston and her mother, Mary Saraphina Flowers Kelley, 1900-1915. Some letters are from girls in school in Mississippi or Louisiana in the mid-19th century and early 20th century; others relate to African Americans in 19th-century Louisiana. Also included is a 1864 letter from Saraphina Brooks Flowers regarding her visit to the Union Army prison in Rock Island, Ill., where her son, a soldier serving with a Mississippi regiment, was a prisoner; an autograph album of William Kelley containing signatures of friends and acquaintances; naval records and other papers of Paul C. Edmiston Jr. serving as a naval radio officer, 1940s-1950s; photographs of various Edmiston and Flowers family members, 1850s-1950s; and a photograph album belonging to Olive Kelley Edmiston, circa 1900-1910, with some images of the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in Saint Louis, Mo. Genealogical materials include notes, prepared works, and a compact data disc documenting the lineage of the Edmiston, Kelley, and Flowers families.

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Administrative Information

Restrictions to Access
No restrictions.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Paul C. Edmiston Jr. of Mobile, Ala., in October 2004 (Acc. 100176), and from Lee Edmiston in May 2007 (Acc. 100657).
Processing Information
Processed by: Jessica Sedgwick, September 2006
Encoded by: Jessica Sedgwick, September 2006
The addition of May 2007 has been integrated into the original deposit.
Finding aid updated in April 2008 by Noah Huffman because of additions.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Edmiston, Kelley and Flowers Family Papers #5230, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
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Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

African Americans--Louisiana--History--19th century.
Bovina (Miss.)--History.
Bovina (Miss.)--Social life and customs.
Edmiston family.
Family--Louisiana--Social life and customs.
Family--Mississippi--Social life and customs.
Flowers family.
Kelley family.
Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 : Saint Louis, Mo.)--Photographs.
Mississippi--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Physicians--Louisiana--History--19th century.
Rock Island Arsenal (Ill.)
Soldiers--Confederate States of America.
Tallulah (La.)--History.
Tallulah (La.)--Social life and customs.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Prisoners and prisons.
United States. Navy--Radiomen.
Women--Education--Southern States.
Yellow fever--Louisiana.
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Related Collections

Craig, Ferris, and Flowers Family Papers (#5323)
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Biographical Note

Oliver Flowers (1841-1884) and Uriah Flowers (1846-1870) fought for the Confederate Army in the Civil War. Oliver served with "Harvey's Scouts," composed chiefly of men from Madison County, Miss., and was captured and sent to the Union prison at Rock Island, Ill. While imprisoned, his mother, Seraphina Brooks Flowers (1824-1868), traveled by riverboat from Vicksburg, Miss., to visit him.

William Edmiston (1845-1907) was a corporal in the Union Army in the Civil War with the 132nd Regiment, Ohio National Guard. After receiving an honorable discharge in 1864, he started the Edmiston Lumber Company in Springfield, Ohio. In 1899, he moved to Hattiesburg, Miss., with his wife, Esther Cassil, and son Paul C. Edmiston.

William Kelley (1844-1897) was a physician and parish health officer in Tallulah, La. In 1885, he married Mary Seraphina Flowers Kelley (1844-1937), daughter of Seraphina Brooks Flowers (1824-1868). Their daughter, Olive Kelley Edmiston (1887-1979), married Paul C. Edmiston.

Paul C. Edmiston (1881-1927) of Hattiesburg, Miss., married Olive Kelley Edmiston (1887-1979), and helped organize the Pole Stock Lumber Company with his father William Edmiston.

Paul C. Edmiston Jr. (b. 1919) was the son of Paul C. Edmiston and Olive Kelley Edmiston. He married Betsy Collins Edmiston (b. 1925) and served as a naval radio officer during the 1940s and 1950s.

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Collection Overview

The papers consist primarily of family correspondence and genealogical materials relating to Edmiston, Kelley, and Flowers family members in Mississippi and Louisiana that were gathered by Edmiston family members. Correspondence chiefly consists of letters between Saraphina Brooks Flowers of Bovina, Miss., and her daughter, Mary Saraphina Flowers Kelley, 1867-1868; letters between William Kelley of Tallulah, La., and his wife, Mary Saraphina Flowers Kelley, 1878-1897; telegrams sent to William Kelley regarding yellow fever cases in Louisiana, 1880s-1890s; and letters between Olive Kelley Edmiston and her mother, Mary Saraphina Flowers Kelley, 1900-1915. Some letters are from girls in school in Mississippi or Louisiana in the mid-19th century and early 20th century; others relate to African Americans in 19th-century Louisiana. Also included is a 1864 letter from Saraphina Brooks Flowers regarding her visit to the Union Army prison in Rock Island, Ill., where her son, a soldier serving with a Mississippi regiment during the Civil War, was a prisoner; an autograph album of William Kelley containing signatures of friends and acquaintances; naval records and other papers of Paul C. Edmiston Jr. serving as a naval radio officer, 1940s-1950s; photographs of various Edmiston and Flowers family members, 1850s-1950s; and a photograph album belonging to Olive Kelley Edmiston, circa 1900-1910, with some images of the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in Saint Louis, Mo. Genealogical materials include notes, prepared works, and a compact data disc documenting the lineage of the Edmiston, Kelley, and Flowers families.

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Items Separated

Oversize Papers (OP-5230/1)
Oversize Volume (V-5230/S-1)
Data Compact Disc (DCD-5230/1)
Photographs (P-5320/Folders 1-3)
Photograph Album (PA-5230/1)

Detailed Description of the Collection

Edmiston, Kelley, and Flowers Family Papers, 1838-2004.
About 600 items.
Folder 1
Correspondence, 1853-1869 (bulk 1867-1869)
Chiefly letters to Mary Saraphina Flowers Kelley, known as "Mollie", during her studies at Mount Herman Female College in Clinton, Miss., 1867-1869. Frequent correspondents include her mother, Saraphina Brooks Flowers; her sister, Lizzie Flowers; and other friends and family members. Letters chiefly discuss news from the Flowers family home in Bovina, Miss., near Vicksburg, Miss. Also included is a 14 October 1864 letter from Saraphina Brooks Flowers regarding her visit to the Union Army prison in Rock Island, Ill., where her son Oliver Flowers was imprisoned.
Folder 2-4
Correspondence, 1870-1898
Mostly correspondence between Mary Saraphina Flowers Kelley and her husband and cousin, William Kelley. Letters from William Kelley discuss courtship, his medical practice, and other events in Tallulah, La., including his fear of African-American riots, mass emigration of African Americans from Louisiana to Kansas, and a visit to Birmingham, Ala., where he witnessed "boom fever" in the city.
Folder 5
Correspondence, 1900-1915
Mostly correspondence of Mary Saraphina Flowers Kelley and her daughter Olive Kelley Edmiston, a student at the New Orleans Normal School. There are some letters from Mary Saraphina Flowers Kelley's nephew, Melville, at various locations in British Columbia, Alberta, Washington, and elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest.
Folder 6
Correspondence, 1921-1990
Letters from various members of the Edmiston and Kelley families including Mary Edmiston and her mother Olive Kelley Edmiston
Folder 7
Correspondence, undated
Folder 8
Telegrams sent to William Kelley, 1880s-1890s
Telegrams sent to William Kelley, parish health officer of Tallulah, La., mostly discussing yellow fever cases in Louisiana.
Folder 9
William Kelley autograph book, 1877-1892
Autograph book containing signatures and messages from Kelley's colleagues, friends, and family.
Folder 10
Postcards and greeting cards, 1934-1989
Postcards and greeting cards sent to various members of the Edmiston and Collins families.
Folder 11
Paul C. Edmiston Jr. materials, 1930s-1980s
Chiefly papers of Paul C. Edmiston Jr. related to his service as a naval radio operator during the 1940s-1950s. Included are passports, certificates, and other documents.
Folder 12
Other papers, 1860s-1910s
Marriage certificates, report cards, graduation announcements, and other documents related to the Edmiston, Kelley, and Flowers families.
Oversize Paper Folder OP-5230/1
Civil War Discharge papers for Corporal William Edmiston, 132nd Regiment, Ohio National Guard, 1864
Folder 13-14
Genealogical materials: Descendants of Ignatius Flowers (1740-1794) of North Carolina
Folder 15
Genealogical materials: Descendants of Thomas Kelley (b. 1655) of Ireland and New Jersey
Folder 16-19
Genealogical materials: Edmiston and Kelley families
Family trees, genealogical notes, and copies and transcripts of selected family papers compiled by Paul C. Edmiston Jr.
Data Compact Disc DCD-5230/1
Genealogical materials
Compact data disc with digital images of individual portraits of family members, relevant historical information, and family trees, among other information.
Folder 20
Olive Kelley Edmiston book of sheet music, 1893
New Method for the Piano Forte by Jean Manns
Folder 21
Photocopies and transcriptions
Copies of family letters, documents, and photographs.
Photograph Album PA-5230/1
Olive Kelley Edmiston photograph album, circa 1900-1910
Chiefly candid photographs of Olive Kelley Edmiston, friends and family, in Louisiana, Mississippi and other locales. Some photographs depict the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in Saint Louis, Mo.
Image Folder P-5230/1
Edmiston family photographs, 1850s-1890s
Photographs of Paul C. Edmiston Sr., Olive Kelley Edmiston, Mary Edmiston, and others.
Image Folder P-5230/2-3
Flowers family photographs, 1860s-1890
Photographs of Lizzie Flowers, Colonel Uriah Flowers, and unidentified individuals. Also included is a carte-de-visite of General Ulysses S. Grant.
Oversize Volume V-5230/S-1
Child's scrapbook, circa 1880s-1910s
Scrapbook, probably belonging to Olive Kelley Edmiston, chiefly consisting of illustrated advertising cards and handouts given to children in retail stores in the 1890s.

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