Middleton, Harriott, 1828-1905. Harriott Middleton family papers, 1848-1917 (bulk 1880-1905).
Title:
Harriott Middleton family papers, 1848-1917 (bulk 1880-1905).
These papers are mostly correspondence of the daughters of Henry A. Middleton (1793-1887), owner of Weehaw Plantation and other properties in Georgetown County, S.C., and Newport, R.I. Most of the correspondence consists of late nineteenth-century letters to Harriott ("Harry") Middleton (1828-1905) at her home on South Battery in Charleston, S.C., or in Flat Rock, N.C. Letters to Alicia (Alice) Middleton (1840-1915) form the second largest group. Harriott Middleton's principal correspondents are her sister Anne M. Hunter (wife of John Hunter of Hunter's Island, N.Y.); her niece Anne Hunter Ellis; her sister Mary Esther Lowndes; and, to a lesser extent, her nephew Langdon Cheves; friend Maria Ellery MacKaye; and members of the Parker and Cheves families. Other correspondents include Elizabeth McPherson Ravenel and Dr. R.L. Brodie. The principal subject is family matters, and there are numerous references to literature, travel, current events, and politics. Letters to Alice Middleton are predominately found in the earlier correspondence (1848-1879), and in letters dating after the death of Harriott Middleton. Anne M. Hunter's letters from Annieswood (Westchester County, N.Y.), and elsewhere often concern gardening and pets, but mainly deal with family, domestic, and personal affairs. The letters of her daughter Anne ("Annie") Hunter Ellis (Mrs. Augustus Van Horn Ellis) from Westchester County and Pelham, N.Y., New York City, Indian Point, Me., and elsewhere, often comment on social matters and mention individuals and families who are part of New York high society, such as Mr. Vanderbilt and the Lorillards. Other names that appear in her letters are the Edwards and Waterbury families. A topic mentioned somewhat frequently in her correspondence is the game of golf, and sometimes horses and riding. Her letters constantly complain of headaches, some of which are incapacitating. Langdon Cheves often writes of activities and conditions (weather, flora, etc.) in Flat Rock, N.C., and Hendersonville, N.C. Other letters concern family news and family property and financial affairs. A series of undated correspondence is arranged by correspondents, including Sarah Lewis Simons Lesesne, Harriott Lowndes, M.M. Lesesne, Harriott Horry Ravenel, Emma Middleton, and Eliza Pinckney Rutledge. Early correspondence (1848-1879) includes wartime letters of Francis Kinloch Middleton of the Charleston Light Dragoons, and letters about his death and burial in Virginia in 1864. Also of note are postwar letters concerning trouble with freedmen, their attempted lynching of a plantation foreman, and intervention by U.S. Colored Troops. Other early correspondents include Isabella M. Cheves, Anna M. Parker, and Eweretta E. Middleton. Miscellaneous items include calling cards; financial records; plans of a house at Pelham Bay, N.Y., with related letters from Anne Ellis; memorabilia; clippings; poetry; recipes; and slave records, including a list of 86 slaves (named) at Delta Plantation (1863). Other persons represented include Harriott Kinloch Cheves Barnwell, Harriott Kinloch Middleton, and Susan Matilda Middleton.
ArchivalResource:
7 linear ft.
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