Alexander K. Hall family papers, 1839-1917.

ArchivalResource

Hall, Alexander K. (Alexander Kirtland), 1817-1876. Alexander K. Hall family papers, 1839-1917.

Alexander K. Hall family papers, 1839-1917.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122498284

The Alexander K. Hall Family Papers present a unique picture of 19th century life in central Alabama. Because the family lived in two very different areas of the United States, the viewpoints presented are of outsiders who eventually become a part of the area in which they settled. They also give a comparison of life in central Alabama before, during and after the Civil War. The correspondence subgroup consists of four series: Family Correspondence, Mary Snyder Johnson Hall Correspondence, Edward C. Hall Correspondence, and Elizabeth Fambro Hall Correspondence. A unique aspect of the letters in the family correspondence series is that many of the individual letters are not written by just one family member. The Hall and Cooke family members had a habit of circulating letters between them after adding their own notes to the original letters. The series begins with letters from 1841, when Alex and Frank moved their new wives to Dallas County, Ala., and ends in 1893, when Mary Ann Cooke Hall left Alabama to return to Connecticut. The correspondence of the Cooke sisters takes up a large part of the series, with their letters that kept family current on the events in their corner of the world, including deaths in the family, fashion, and local gossip. Also included are Alex's letters written when he traveled to California during the gold rush. By the 1850s, letters from Alex's sons begin to appear in the series. These letters, like those of their mother, are concerned with mainly family matters and local events. The family correspondence during the Civil War is especially interesting. The majority of the letters during this time period are from mary Ann and her son Alexander ("Ellick"). The letters from Mary Ann show an increasing concern as the years go by, because blockades prevented most of her family's correspondence to her from getting through. Her frustration and anxiety for her family is very evident by her 1862 letters. Included in Mary Ann's letters is a dramatic account of the Federal invasion of Dallas County and more specifically, Portland, and their home. Ellick's letters were written while he served in the 2nd and 3rd Alabama cavalries. His letters present requests for supplies from home; accounts of the actions in which he was involved; and his opinions of commanding officers and of the war in general. There are also letters from Ellick to his younger brother Charles. These give brotherly advice and express some concern for the formal education that Charles is missing because of the war. Postwar letters in the family correspondence include those from New England relatives written during their visits to Dallas County, describing their impressions of southern culture. One 1869 letter from Helen Cooke Kirtland proclaims, "I have attended one of the most aristocratic colored weddings you ever heard of!" Other correspondence includes letters from Ellick while living in New York City, 1865-1869, and letters concerned with Episcopal church business. Later correspondence in the series is dominated by the boating accident in 1881 whilch resulted in the deaths of Ellick Hall, Charley Hall, Frank Hall, Willie Kirtland, and James Bassett. The Mary Snyder Johnson Hall correspondence is predominantly from the period before she met Ellick. The majority of the letters are from her friend Elizabeth Fambro and are concerned with their friendship and personal matters. One interesting letter in the correspondence is an 1864 letter from an officer in Sears' Brigade of the 36th Miss. Regiment, written from the field of battle during the Atlanta campaign. The Edward C. Hall correspondence and Elizabeth Fambro Hall correspondence is mainly concerned with the family property in Dallas County and its disposition. These letters were written by James Bassett, a family friend who managed the property for them. The financial records subgroup is composed of List of Taxable Estate records for Randall Cooke and Porter Cooke and three volumes of business records from the family store and mill. The volumes include a daybook kept by the Hall brothers at their store, 1839-1841; and two ledgers that recorded business at the store and at the cotton mill, 1859-1874. The property records subgroup is comprised of a transcription of an 1870 deed and a draft of a 1904 deed. The clippings subgroup is dominated by clippings relating to the 1881 boating accident that claimed 4 family members, however, it also contains an oversize 1853 clipping about William Rufus King and an 1887 clipping about Grace Church in Tilden, Ala. The songs, poems and essays subgroup includes poems written by family members and friends, as well as some that were copied from newspapers and other sources. Two poems are about the boating accident and two deal result from the Civil War. The group has only two essays. One was written by Ellick about a storm that he witnessed in 1862 while in the 2nd Alabama Cavalry. The other essay is probably by Elizabeth Cooke Hall and is about Rose's Ford, which was on Cedar Creek in Dallas County. The subgroup, drawings, is composed of pencil drawings that were made by Elizabeth Cooke Hall of Alabama scenes. The final subgroup, diplomas, is comprised of two George Washington University diplomas made out to Elizabeth Fambro Hall.

3.5 cubic ft. (2 archives boxes, 1 oversize box, and 3 oversized volumes).

Alabama Department of Archives and History