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Grimball, John, 1840-1922. John Grimball family papers, 1804-1893, bulk 1858-1885.

Title: John Grimball family papers, 1804-1893, bulk 1858-1885.

This collection chiefly consists of correspondence, mostly letters to John Grimball from his mother and other family members. Letters of the 1850s, to John Grimball while he was serving in the U.S. Navy, concern family matters, life at the Grove Plantation, social life, and political events at home. Several letters (1858) mention the capture of the slave ship Echo and the disposition of the Africans brought into Charleston. Two letters (1859) from John B. Grimball to his son John concern his views on the reopening of the slave trade, and other family letters from that year discuss John Brown's raid on the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, South Carolinians being on the alert for slave uprisings, and the possibility of secession and war ("there would undoubtedly be a most bloody war, for the north would not like the most valuable section to go."). Wartime correspondence includes letters to John Grimball in France from his family in Spartanburg, S.C., and elsewhere, and from fellow Confederate naval officers, including W.C. Whittle, E.G. Read, Dabney Minor Scales, Charles E. Lining, and John T. Mason. There is also a note to Grimball from Matthew Fontaine Maury (13 July 1863). There are a few letters from John Grimball to his family, including one (22 Jan. 1861) describing social life in Mobile, Ala., and a clergyman's condemnation of parties and dancing in a sermon. Just after the war, the letters often concern the fate of the officers of the CSS Shenandoah. John T. Mason's letter (17 Dec. 1865) reports he has been told that "none of the officers of the 'Shenandoah' could go back to the U.S. without standing trial for piracy." Postwar correspondence traces the economic and personal struggles of various members of the Grimball family. Letters of this period from John Grimball's mother, brothers, and sisters, including Gabriella Grimball, Charlotte ("Lottie") Grimball, Berkley Grimball, Arthur Grimball, Lewis Grimball, Harry Grimball, and Elizabeth Grimball Munro, often concern friends and social life in Charleston. Letters (1881) include notes of condolence to John Grimball on the death of his mother, mostly from members of the Morris family.

ArchivalResource: 1.25 linear ft.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/326878800 View