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Collection Number: 02779

Collection Title: Hughes Family Papers, 1790-1910.

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


expand/collapse Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size 1.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 500 items)
Abstract Principal member of the Hughes family of Edgefield, S.C., are Dr. John Hughes (d. 1835) and his son, John H. Hughes (d. 1871), who were both cotton planters; John Hughes's sister, Sophia Hughes Hunt (fl. 1825- 1864); his daughter, Jennie H. Hughes (fl. 1858-1879); his father-in-law, James Bones (fl. 1819-1836); his cousin, Lucy T. Butler Moore (d. 1857); his son-in-law, Cicero Adams (d. 1868); and wagon maker John Christie (fl. 1851). The collection includes family correspondence, legal, and financial Papers, and miscellaneous items, dated chiefly between 1820 and 1898, and relating to Hughes family members and their Bones, Hunt, Christie, and Nicholson relatives. Papers relate primarily to plantation life, especially the daily routines and social and religious lives of plantation women. Other topics include army life during the Civil War and postwar antagonisms. South Carolina politics are also discussed in the early papers. Locations besides Edgefield for which considerable information appears are Augusta, Ga.; Grande Cane, La.; Woodville, Miss.; and various locations in Ireland. Financial and legal items of interest include wills, deeds, personal accounts, estate Papers, and slave bills of sale. A few miscellaneous items include sermons, clippings, advertisements, and recipes.
Creator Hughes (Family : Edgefield, S.C.)
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Hughes Family Papers #2779, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alternate Form of Material
All or part of this collection is available on microfilm from University Publications of America as part of the Records of ante-bellum southern plantations from the Revolution through the Civil War, Series J.
Acquisitions Information
Purchased from Sallie May Nicholson of Edgefield, South Carolina, in 1944.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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Processed by: Jill Snider, June 1991

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

Updated by: Amelia W. Holmes, August 2016; Dawne Howard Lucas, April 2021

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

John H. Hughes (d. 1871), a South Carolina cotton planter and dry goods merchant, was the son of Dr. John Hughes (d. 1835) of Edgefield. The elder Hughes married Sarah Winn in 1792, and married again soon after Sarah's death in 1807 to Elizabeth Galhagar. It is unclear whether John H. Hughes was the son of Sarah or Elizabeth.

Hughes had at least four siblings: a sister named Sophia, who married Charles Hunt in 1820; a brother named Brothers, who was a teacher in Washington Parish, Louisiana; a sister named Elizabeth, who married Rev. Nicholas Ware Hodges in 1820; and a sister named Margaret, who married James Hunt in 1824.

Sophia Hughes Hunt (fl. 1825-1864) lived most of her life in Woodville, Mississippi. She also spent some time in Greenville and Columbia, South Carolina, and Grand Cane, Louisiana.

John H. Hughes married Martha Bones in 1831, and the two lived at Cedar Grove outside Edgefield. They had eight children: Jennie, who remained unmarried and lived at Cedar Grove; Lizzie, who married Col. Ben Nicholson in 1865; Sophy, who married Lovick S. Hill; Mary, who married Cicero Adams and lived with him in Bamberg; Robert B., a planter who served as a captain in the Civil War; Willie B., who died at Boonesboro during the war; and Samuel Bones Hughes, who was a cadet during the war at Arsenal Academy.

James Bones (fl. 1819-1836) of Edgefield was the father of Martha Bones Hughes. He had five children besides Martha--James Jr., John, Robert, Samuel, and William--most of whom were planters in Augusta, Georgia.

Cicero Adams, Lovick S. Hill, and Ben Nicholson all served together, along with Robert and Willie Hughes, in the 22nd Regiment of the South Carolina Volunteers during the Civil War.

Lucy T. Butler Moore (Mrs. Joseph Moore) was a cousin to John H. Hughes. John Christie, who lived in New Cambridge outside Edgefield, South Carolina, was a wagon maker. His connection to the Hughes family in unclear.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

This collection consists of the personal correspondence and financial and legal papers of three generations of the Hughes family and relatives in South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Ireland. The bulk of the collection, 1820-1898, revolves around the family of John H. Hughes of Cedar Grove, located outside Edgefield, South Carolina. Papers appear for Hughes's father, Dr. John Hughes; for his sister, Sophia Hughes Hunt; for himself and his wife Martha Bones Hughes; for his children, Jennie Hughes, Lizzie Hughes Nicholson, Sophy Hughes Hill, Mary Hughes Adams, Robert B. Hughes, Willie B. Hughes, and Samuel Bones Hughes; and for his sons-in-law, Cicero Adams, Lovick S. Hill, and Ben Nicholson. Also represented in the collection are a cousin, Lucy T. Butler Moore, whose estate papers appear, and John Christie, of Williams & Christie, a wagon-making firm in Edgefield.

Many of the earlier papers relate to the parents and siblings of Martha Bones Hughes, most of whom lived in Augusta, Georgia, and to their relatives in Ireland.

The collection is arranged chronologically within two series, designated as Loose Papers and Volumes. Seven subseries, corresponding roughly to the following time periods, divide the Loose Papers:

None of these divisions is exact; for example, a small amount of Hughes family correspondence appears in the subseries designated as Bones family correspondence, and the estate papers of Lucy T. Butler Moore are scattered across several of the subseries.

The twelve volumes in the collection are separated into two subseries--account books and personal notebooks. The nine account books document primarily hardware and dry goods business activities in Pottersville, Charleston, Columbia, and Edgefield, South Carolina. Only a few of these accounts belong to John H. Hughes; most are unidentified. The personal notebooks include diaries and law office memoranda.

The collection, made up primarily of personal correspondence, is most useful for the study of plantation families, especially the daily routines and social and religious lives of plantation women. Other topics about which detailed information appears are army life during the Civil War and postwar antagonisms. South Carolina politics also receive attention in the early papers. Locations besides Edgefield for which considerable information appears are Augusta, Georgia; Grand Cane, Louisiana; and Woodville, Mississippi. Financial and legal items of interest include wills, deeds, personal accounts, and slave bills of sale. A few miscellaneous items include sermons, clippings, advertisements, and recipes.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Loose Papers, 1790-1910 and undated.

About 480 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Mostly personal correspondence of members of the Hughes and Bones families and estate papers of Lucy T. Butler Moore. The bulk of the correspondence relates to Sophia Hughes Hunt, Jennie Hughes, James Bones, and Cicero Adams. Financial and legal papers relate mostly to John H. Hughes in his capacity as executor of the Moore estate.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.1. 1790-1819.

9 items.

Scattered early Papers, relating mostly to members of the Hunt, Bones, and Hughes families. Two letters appear in this period. One, written 7 September 1812 to Charles Hunt in Dumfernline, Scotland, gives shipping news. Of interest in this letter is mention of a ship named the Moffat, which was to sail to Botany Bay, Australia, with female convicts in October 1812. The second letter, dated 6 January 1818, is from James Blocker of Charleston to Col. Sampson Butler of Edgefield (near Winnsboro), South Carolina, and contains Butler's reply of 17 January on the back page of the original. The letter concerns the legal status of a free black man named Joe, who had once belonged to Samuel Butler's brother.

Financial and legal items include a land lease agreement, dated 12 April 1790, between Arvin Moore and Thomas Boone for land in Edgefield County; four bills, dated 1809, addressed to Charles Hunt in London for the purchase of clothes and other personal items; an 1810 memorandum of transactions concerning the estate of Elizabeth Galhagar Hughes; and a listing of the accounts for 1819 of James Bones with the estate of the deceased John S. Adams.

Folder 1

Scattered early papers, 1790-1819

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.2. 1820-1825, 1828-1834.

57 items.

Chiefly correspondence of Bones family members. There are many letters to James Bones and his wife Mary in Edgefield from their sons in Augusta, Georgia. A handful of letters the Bones family children (James, John, Robert, Martha, Samuel, and William) exchanged with each other and with friends also appear. Other individuals for whom letters exist are Sophia Hughes (Mrs. Charles) Hunt, Lucy T. Butler, and John Hughes. Frequent topics include crops and cotton market conditions; horses; outbreaks of cholera and other illnesses; visits to medicinal springs such as Red Sulphur Springs and Salt Sulphur Springs, Virginia; family and social life; and politics. A number of Bones family letters, including several from William and Jane Adams and W. F. Stavely, discuss relatives in Ireland.

Of note in the early letters are one dated 6 March 1825 from James Hunt to his sister-in-law, Sophia Hughes Hunt, in Greenville and one dated 19 March 1925 to Mary Bones from her son William, which provide details of the preparations, schedule, and work of committees in Augusta and Columbia for the reception of General LaFayette.

The letter to Sophia Hughes Hunt marks the beginning of her extensive correspondence, which continues through the Civil War. Letters to her in this period are mostly from her friend Sarah Ann Robson of Columbia and concern home and social matters. Of note in her correspondence is a letter she wrote her father on 4 November 1832, in which she discussed South Carolina politics, including nullification, and a cholera outbreak in Natchez and New Orleans. It is unclear where exactly Mrs. Hunt lived in the early 1830s; she received one letter in 1831 in Woodville, Mississippi, her later home, but she also received letters in Greenville and Charleston, South Carolina.

Family correspondence often addresses political issues. Included are a letter of 24 July 1825, in which John Bones mentioned the anti-tariff sentiment in South Carolina and Georgia; a letter dated 30 July 1828 from Cincinnati in which William Bones described seeing Henry Clay; and a letter of 30 December 1833 to J. Hughes from James R. McKain of Camden, in which McKain commented on current periodicals and anti-masonry.

Letters with and about Adams, Stavely, and other Irish relatives living in Cincinnati, Ohio; Belfast, Chequerhall, and Ballyboyland, Ireland; and elsewhere appeared between 1828 and 1834. See, for example, letters dated 30 July, 31 August, and 10 September, 1829; 15 August 1832; and 10 June, 6 August, ff., 1834. These letters often give detailed accounts of family members and places and sometimes mention English-Irish affairs.

Miscellaneous items of interest include a letter written from John Blocker at Lake Laura to his cousin, the widow Lucy T. Butler at Edgefield, in which he proposed marriage. He also commented on the death of his mother-in-law and discusses his work for the surveyor general in Florida. Several letters between September and October 1828 concern James Bones's will.

Legal and financial items include two items pertaining to the sale of a slave named Nace. A receipt signed 22 September 1828 by Joel Spencer acknowledged his taking possession of Nace, whom he promised to sell in Louisiana for John Hughes. A bill appears from Hughes to Spencer for Nace on 23 May 1831. One final item, dated 12 December 1834, is a grant of rights to Lucy T. Moore from William S. Johnson, both in the Edgefield District, for cutting various kinds of timber on his land.

Folder 2

1820-1825

Folder 3

1828

Folder 4

February-July 1829

Folder 5

August-November 1829

Folder 6

1830-1832

Folder 7

1833-1834

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.3. 1835-1857.

120 items.

Primarily correspondence of Sophia Hughes Hunt of Woodville, Mississippi, and estate papers of Lucy T. Butler Moore of Edgefield. Scattered items also appear for John Christie of New Cambridge (outside Edgefield), South Carolina; Robert B. Hughes; Mary Hughes (Adams); and James Bones.

The bulk of the letters received by Sophia Hughes Hunt were written between 1835 and 1846 by her cousin Harriet C. Lewis, who lived at Baywood near Grand Cane, Louisiana, which was then located in Natchitoches Parish. Mrs. Lewis often included in her letters news of her neighbors and local building projects, plans for her children, descriptions of crops and farm affairs, discussion of transportation and mail delivery, and mention of family illnesses, deaths, and other matters. She also on occasion wrote about social and civil affairs in Green Wood, a town near Grand Cane. Of particular interest among her letters are one dated 29 July 1837, which describes the elaborate wedding of a 14-year-old girl in Grand Cane, and one dated 28 February 1838, which gives details of a 21-day journey she took through Louisiana. In 1837, she urged Sophia to come and teach her children at Baywood. After 1845, Mrs. Lewis wrote from Berry Grove on the Red River.

Undated letters from Harriet Lewis, probably written in this period, discuss the boarding of Lewis's young son; family finances; shopping; sewing; cholera among Lewis's slaves; news of neighbors and neighborhood businesses; and Sophia's having a broken leg.

Mrs. Hunt also enjoyed a warm relationship with Harriet Lewis's husband, William; his letters give news of his business affairs and social gossip.

Additional correspondents of note are Sophia Hunt's cousin, Mary M. Christmas of Jackson, Louisiana, and her brother, Brothers Hughes of Washington Parish, Louisiana. Letters from Mary Christmas in 1836 and 1837 discuss her operation of a boarding house in Jackson, the social and religious life of the town and its rapid growth, and her leaving the Presbyterian church to join the local Baptists. Of note is a letter of 27 November 1836, in which she described a religious revival in Jackson.

Two letters from Brothers Hughes, written in 1851 and 1853, provide insight into his family life, opinions, and finances. He mentioned his teaching positions, local affairs (especially those of a religious nature), cash-flow difficulties, and views on drinking and drunkenness. A letter dated 11 April 1851 told of his wife's giving birth to triplets.

Sophia Hunt also received scattered letters from friends, including E. C. Prosser of Vicksburg in 1853 and 1857, and several other cousins, among whom were E. C. McDaniel of Percy's Creek (1852); Lizzie of Woodville, Mississippi (1855); and Nancy Hotchkiss of Shreveport (1846). Most of the letters discuss family news, vacations, and financial affairs. Two letters of interest are one, dated 8 July 1844, from her cousin R. D. Gill at Centenary College in Rankin, Mississippi, telling of student brawls and violence, and another, dated 6 April 1848, from her nephew S. E. Hodges in the U.S. Army in Mexico, which describes the country and General Winfield Scott.

Miscellaneous undated letters addressed to Sophia Hunt in Woodville and Grand Cave are from her sister-in-law, E. Hodge of Columbia; E. C. Prosser of Vicksburg; E. of Green Wood; and H. D. Smith. These women discussed family illnesses, the obtaining of dry goods, preaching in Green Wood, and cholera among Prosser's slaves.

The bulk of the remaining dated correspondence is addressed to John Christie of Williams & Christie of Edgefield. Most of the letters are from Moses Harris of Claiborne, Alabama. Harris wrote during 1851 and 1853 to try to persuade Christie to allow him to marry his daughter Elizabeth. Two letters also appear in 1851 from Harris to Elizabeth and concern her father's refusal to respond to him and the outbreak of yellow fever in New Orleans. Other letters Christie received include two from D. M. Moore of Hamberg, South Carolina, concerning cotton he sold for Christie; one dated 29 January 1855 from his nephew J. W. Walker of Banff in North Britain, about the death of a friend in a steamboat accident in New York; and a letter of 14 August 1851, from a friend, Josiah Reames, of Pendleton, South Carolina, describing the effect of a drought on his crops.

Miscellaneous dated items include an 1857 letter from Martha Hughes to her son Robert as a student; an 1836 letter from John Bones to his father concerning his cotton crop; a 29 February 1852 letter from "James" of Jackson, Mississippi, to his "cousin" concerning the affairs of the legislature and the raising of his children; and an 1855 letter from Cicero Adams to Mary Hughes. The first in a long series of letters from Adams, this one described the crowded conditions of the Columbia business office where he worked and his affections for her.

Additional undated items for this period include letters to Jennie Hughes at Cedar Grove from Lizzie Hughes and Betty; a letter to "Aunt Sophy" from Fannie Boener; and several gragments relating to Willie H., Betty B., and John Bones. These letters discuss mostly family news and crops.

Other materials consist mostly of the estate papers of Lucy T. Butler Moore, kept by her executor John H. Hughes. A few additional items concern the affairs of Sophia Hughes Hunt, John H. Hughes, and John Christie. Deeds, receipts, and accounts make up the bulk of these papers. Of note in Mrs. Moore's estate papers are a legal instrument (1 November 1851) transferring the estate of her deceased husband Joseph Moore to her; her last will and testament (29 June 1856); a sale bill of her estate (3 December 1857); and a copy of a slave bill of sale (originally dated 18 December 1827; copy dated 21 January 1847) for a young girl named Pricilla.

Two sermons whose authorship is uncertain appear for June 1840 and 16 June 1849.

Folder 8

1835-1837

Folder 9

1838-1844

Folder 10

1845-1850

Folder 11

1851-1852

Folder 12

1853-1854

Folder 13

1855-1856

Folder 14

1857

Folder 14a

Undated antebellum letters (1835-1857)

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.4. 1858-1860.

44 items.

Principally the legal papers of John H. Hughes, including scattered accounts and receipts for the estate of Lucy T. Butler Moore and papers pertaining to the trusteeship of Julia Hodges.

Eighteen letters appear, mostly addressed to the Hughes family sisters, Jennie, Sophy, Lizzie, and Mary, from their aunt Sophia Hughes Hunt of Woodville, Mississippi, and from other friends and relatives. These letters discuss personal and neighborhood news, marriages, school, and family. Of particular interest is a letter of 12 November 1860, written by Sophia Hunt to Jennie and Lizzie, in which she described Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. She mentioned the excitement in town over the secession crisis and her attendance at Yancey's speech at the Clay Monument in New Orleans.

A small number of letters are addressed to Sophia Hughes Hunt from her friends and relatives, including Isabella St. Clair Porter of Sumter, South Carolina; Brothers Hughes of Washington Parish, Louisiana; and Emma M. Lenice of Augusta, Georgia. Of note among these is a letter from Emma Lenice, dated 3 May 1860, which discusses the travel of her brother and sister to Africa as missionaries with 80 freed slaves, who had been educated and manumitted by a Mr. Cuthbert of Savannah.

Miscellaneous items are loose diary entries for 1859 made by Jennie Hughes and a school report (1860) for Jennie Hughes from Edgefield Female Institute.

Folder 15

1858

Folder 16

1859-1860

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.5. 1861-1864.

95 items.

Civil War correspondence of the Hughes sisters at Cedar Grove and their husbands and brothers who fought with the 22nd Regiment of the South Carolina Volunteers in North and South Carolina and Virginia. Frequent letters were exchanged by Mary and her husband Cicero Adams; by Sophy and her husband Lovick S. Hill; and by Robert and Willie Hughes and their mother, sisters, other relatives, and friends. A number of letters appear from fellow soldiers to Robert B. Hughes. Correspondents of note include Sophia Hughes Hunt, John Bones, and George Lake. A small number of letters appear from Samuel Bones Hughes, who was a cadet during the war at Arsenal Academy.

Cicero Adams wrote Mary frequently in 1862 from Camp Hampton near Columbia. After August 1863, when he was discharged from the regular army and appointed an enrolling officer in the provisional army, he wrote from the enrolling department in Orangeburg. His imaginative letters give detailed descriptions of officers' elections, drilling, camp politics, individual ambitions, and management within the army. Of note is a letter of 21 October 1862 in which Adams described the personality of General Stuart (perhaps J.E.B. Stuart). Most of the letters Adams penned from the enrolling department concern exemptions of friends, investments, and other business.

Lovick S. Hill, an officer of Company A, was stationed in Charleston and at Camp James Island. He later went with the 22nd Regiment to Richmond, Leesburg, and Culpeper, Virginia, and Wilmington, North Carolina. Hill corresponded with Sophy on a regular basis, and his letters mention activities in the Charleston harbor and give news of Robert and Willie. Of note is a letter of 16 June 1862, in which he described a sharp engagement at Secessionville, two miles from Camp James Island, and several letters he wrote during May 1862, which describe disorder during elections at Charleston Race Course. Sophy's letters to Hill concern mostly news of home, including births, illnesses, courtships, and deaths.

The correspondence of Capt. Robert B. Hughes, stationed in Charleston, concerns mostly the internal politics of the 22nd Regiment. Wounded in battle in 1862, he went home to Cedar Grove to recuperate, and received a number of letters there from fellow soldiers. One, dated 7 January 1863, from Col. S. D. Goodlett describes the fighting around Kinston, North Carolina, and his being arrested for refusing to obey a strategic order he considered foolish during the battle. Letters to Hughes at Cedar Grove from men in his regiment are filled with discussion of its officer troubles, the "Goodlett Affair," and ambitions and intrigues in regard to promotions. Letters from George B. Lake in late 1863 give news of Hughes's old company in Wilmington, North Carolina; Scott County, Mississippi; Savannah, Georgia; and Sullivan's Island. Hughes'early letters to his mother and sister describe his company and give news of Willie and Cicero.

Willie B. Hughes, stationed in Charleston, wrote frequently to his sisters, conveying his impressions of camp life, mentioning the election of camp officers, and passing on information about Robert and Cicero. He wrote in late 1862 from Fort Johnson, and traveled, along with his regiment, to Richmond later in that year. Of note is a letter of 17 February 1862 mentioning that John Blocker had been taken prisoner.

Letters from Sophia Hughes Hunt in Woodville to Jennie Hughes between 1861 and 1864 comment extensively on the war, giving news of relatives in the army, discussing the raising and leading of troops, describing civilian affairs in Georgia and New Orleans and ladies' activities in Woodville, and complaining about the lack of farm labor. Of particular interest is a letter of 15 October 1861, in which Mrs. Hunt stated that "27 Negroes" had been hanged near Natchez to suppress an insurrection. Her later letters are filled with descriptions of difficulties in obtaining farm supplies, medicines, and other necessities; her financial distress; and labor troubles.

Undated Civil War letters relate to Cicero Adams, Sophia Hunt, Jennie Hughes, and Sophy Hughes Hill.

Miscellaneous items consist of Cicero Adams's discharge papers (16 February 1863) and his certificate of appointment as an enrolling officer (August 1863).

Folder 17

1861

Folder 18

January-April 1862

Folder 19

May-December 1862

Folder 20

1863

Folder 21

1864

Folder 21a

Undated Civil War letters

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.6. 1865-1898.

114 items.

Mostly letters received by Jennie H. Hughes at Cedar Grove from relatives and friends. Letters received by other Hughes family members, including Sophy Hughes Hill and Robert B. Hughes, also appear. Correspondents include Willie Hodges, Lizzie Hughes Nicholson, John S. Bones, S. A. Hill, Thomas J. Hunt, and Mattie L. Topics of interest in the letters are domestic arrangements, attempts to grow cotton, church affairs, and family events. The tone apparent in some of the early letters is one of anger and anxiety. As Robert B. Hughes wrote to his friend Richard Robinson on 26 November 1867, "There is no Liberty here, nothing, but Darkness, Tyrany & Hatred." He complained to Robinson that planters were being "forced by this infernal [Freedman's] Bureau to promise higher wages than they can possibly pay." The majority of the letters, however, ignore politics and focus more insularly on the family and church.

A number of letters also appear for Cicero Adams and his wife Mary Hughes Adams. Adams wrote from his home in Bamberg, South Carolina, to Mary, Sophy Hughes Hill, and others between October 1866 and November 1867. He most frequently discussed obtaining hands to help work on his house, buying horses, improving his farm, and procuring servants. He also occasionally wrote about books he was reading. Of note in his letters is one of 14 October 1867 to Sam, possibly Samuel Bones Hughes, concerning a black woman named Edith, who had died in childbirth. Adams had arranged for her burial and described the kind treatment she received in her last hours from friends. Also of interest is a fragment dated 11 February 1869, in which an unidentified person described to Mary Adams recollections of her husband's deathbed conversion experience.

Other letters of interest are two written to Martha Hughes, expressing sympathy over the death of her husband, John H. Hughes, in 1871, and one from R. H. Greneker in Helena, South Carolina, to T. Rainsford in Edgefield, concerning the death of Rainsford's brother.

Undated correspondence for this period appears for Martha Hughes, Lizzie Hughes Nicholson, Jennie Hughes, Mary Hughes Adams, and others. Topics of interest are family news, church matters, the birth of Sophy's son, and Cicero Adam's postwar business affairs.

Financial and miscellaneous items pertain mostly to the personal affairs of Jennie H. Hughes. Her financial papers consist of one receipt dated 6 December 1868, an account with Mrs. Lewis Jones for 1870, an account with John B. Hill & Co. for 1874, and a doctor's bill for 1875. Scattered diary entries for 1876, 1880, 1882, and 1896 also appear for Hughes.

Papers relating to others consist of a furlough pass dated 29 April 1865 for Cadet Samuel Bones Hughes; a deed signed 25 October 1866 transferring land in Edgefield County from Noah Corley to William L. Haws; an order, dated 30 October 1868, empowering Mary Adams to sell the property in her deceased husband's estate; a letter dated 12 January 1882 sent to Sam B. Hughes by cotton factors Phinizy & Co. of Augusta, stating that his mortgage had been cancelled; an account for groceries and other items belonging to Mrs. L. Christie; and a tuition receipt for 1877 for Miss Kate Hill. One final item is a newspaper clipping from 1870 that contains recipes and household hints.

Miscellaneous undated items include clippings, invitations, and a subscription list for building a Methodist Church in Edgefield.

Folder 22

1866-1868

Folder 23

1869-1877

Folder 24

1878-1898

Folder 25-26

Folder 25

Folder 26

Undated postwar items (1866-1898)

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 1.7. 1901-1910.

20 items.

Six letters and scattered miscellaneous items belonging mostly to Robert B. Hughes and Nicholson family members. Of the six letters, the ownership of only two is known. One of these, dated 12 August 1905, is addressed to Robert B. Hughes from Dr. F. George Curts, and concerns an eye remedy Curts had given Hughes. A letter of 29 July 1910, addressed to T. B. Greneker of Edgefield from the College of Charleston, expressed hopes that Greneker would attend school there the following year. Ownership of the remaining letters is less clear. In a letter dated 4 February 1905, James N. Hannahan of Darlington, Idaho, wrote to a "Miss Nicholson," describing the increase in fishing activities and Japanese labor around Darlington. On 23 June 1903, a missionary named June wrote a letter to her mother telling her about some of her experiences in Shanghai, China. The final letter is a business note from the Richardson Silk Co. to "Dear Madam," which urges its recipient to order embroidery supplies.

Financial items are a bank note dated 14 May 1901 and an account with the Augusta City Hospital dated 8 December 1905, both belonging to Robert B. Hughes, and two unidentified listings of accounts for personal items dated 1906 and 1908.

Miscellaneous items include obituaries for Dr. J. Walter Hill (d. 1902), Ellie Miller Lanham (d. 6 March 1902), and Susie Weir (infant, d. 22 May 1904). Also appearing are a clipping entitled "A Very Serious Word to Our Young Men" (circa 1901); several invitations; and a program of events at the Centennial Exercises of South Carolina College (8-10 January 1905).

Folder 27

1901-1910

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Volumes, 1808-1899.

12 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Mostly account books kept by merchants who were members of, or were related to, the Hughes family. Several volumes contain accounts kept by more than one person or by more than one business enterprise. Three volumes are personal notebooks. All volumes are arranged chronologically within their respective subseries by the latest date appearing in them.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.1. Account Books, 1832-1899.

9 items.

Volumes 1 through 3 and 6 through 9 contain mostly merchants' accounts with customers. Dated 1829-1833, Volume 1 is a 210-page listing of general merchandise accounts, mostly for grocery items. Neither the merchant nor the location for these accounts is specified. Many of the pages in this book have been written over at a later date by Samuel Bones Hughes. His additions include mathematical calculations, drafts of parts of letters, and miscellaneous scribblings. Volume 2, which has entries for 1832 and 1833, is a 204-page daily record of accounts with customers kept by an unidentified merchant in Columbia, South Carolina. Accounts are primarily for groceries and hardware items. Volume 3, a 138-page volume with entries for 1846 and 1847, contains mostly accounts kept by an Edgefield, South Carolina, tailor.

Seventy-nine pages of accounts appear in Volume 6 for Ramey & Hughes (formerly Ramey, Hughes & Gibbs), general merchandise merchants of Pottersville, South Carolina, between 1839 and 1840. Eighty-four pages of similar accounts, dated 1860-1864, also appear at the end of the volume for an unidentified merchant. Volume 7 (141 pages) consists mostly of accounts kept between 1829 and 1832 by Hunt and Hughes and later by Hughes (John H. Hughes) in Columbia and Charleston. These accounts are for general merchandise and dry goods. Later unidentified accounts of the same type found in this volume are dated 1864-1867. Volume 8 includes 31 pages of accounts. Most of these were kept by John H. Hughes in 1826 and between 1839 and 1840, possibly with slaves. This volume also has several pages of unidentified personal accounts for 1889 and 1899. Volume 9, "Pierce's Memorandum and Account Book," is dated 1897-1899 and has 7 pages of miscellaneous cash accounts kept by an unidentified merchant. Printed in the book is information on Dr. Pierce's medical remedies and the World's Dispensary Medical Association (Buffalo), which published the memorandum book.

Insurance and personal accounts appear in Volumes 4 and 5, respectively. Volume 4 is a 10-page pocket notebook listing insurance accounts sold in 1848 to individuals living at locations identified as Brookes Plantation, Turner's, J. C. Allen's, George Strawther's, John Stidman's, Allen Kemp's, C. Lowry's, and Elisha Stevens's. The seller of the accounts is not named. Volume 5, belonging to W. Bones and dated 1856-1858, is an 18-page pocket notebook of petty accounts for clothing and other personal articles.

Folder 28

Vol. 1, Account Book, 1829-1833 and Undated (Unidentified)

Oversize Volume SV-2779/2

S-Vol. 2, Account Book, 1832-1833 (Columbia, S.C.)

Folder 30

Vol. 3, Account Book, 1846-1847 (Unidentified)

Folder 31

Vol. 4, Insurance Accounts Book, 1848 (Unidentified)

Folder 32

Vol. 5, Petty Accounts Book of W. Bones, 1856-1858

Oversize Volume SV-2779/6

S-Vol. 6, Account Book of Ramey & Hughes, 1839-1840; also 1860-1864 (Unidentified)

Folder 34

Vol. 6, Enclosures

Folder 35

Vol. 7, Account Book: 1829 (Hunt & Hughes); 1829-1832 (John H. Hughes); 1864-1867 (Unidentified)

Folder 36

Vol. 7, Enclosures

Folder 37

Vol. 8, Account Book, 1826, 1839-1840 (John H. Hughes); 1889 and 1899 (Unidentified)

Folder 38

Vol. 9, Account Book, 1897-1899 (Unidentified)

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 2.2. Personal Notebooks, 1808-1860.

3 items.

Three volumes containing personal materials. Volume 10, with entries for 1808, 1811, and 1816, is a small, 29-page notebook kept by an unidentified individual in Columbia, South Carolina, and includes diary entries, notes on sermons and readings, prayers, and observations on science and philosophy. Volume 11 is a 16-page notebook kept by Jane H. Hughes (probably Jennie) in 1858. The notebook and its enclosures contain her essays, exercises, and a record of her Bible reading following her sister Kate's death. Much of her Bible-reading record is scribbled on drafts of letters to an aunt. Volume 12 contains poems, daily entries on law office tasks to be done or already accomplished, notes on law and other readings, copies of outgoing business letters, lists of legal cases, and records of the deaths of prominent men and comments on their lives. All 67 pages of the volume pertain to 1858 except for two, which contain copies of business letters written by Cicero Adams in 1860. The handwriting of these letters suggests that at least some of the other entries as well may belong to Adams.

Folder 39

Vol. 10, Personal Notebook, 1808, 1811, 1816 (Unidentified)

Folder 40

Vol. 11, Personal Notebook, 1858 (Jane H. Hughes); (Contains Diary Entries)

Folder 41

Vol. 11, Enclosures

Folder 42

Vol. 12, Personal Notebook, 1858 (Unidentified); 1860 (Cicero Adams)

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