Carswell family papers, 1861-1963.

ArchivalResource

Carswell, Porter Wilkins, 1904-1986. Carswell family papers, 1861-1963.

Carswell family papers, 1861-1963.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/181587591

This collection consists mainly of the papers of Mrs. Rosa (Hugh Buchanan) Moore McMaster and her son-in-law Porter Wilkins Carswell, Jr. Both are from Burke County, Georgia and much of their papers concern Burke County and its Confederate history. Rosa's papers are mainly from the 1910s-1930s. Carswell's papers are from 1961-1963. The earliest papers in the collection are two 1893 letters to Dr. Hugh Buchanan McMaster, Rosa's husband, concerning his upcoming marriage to Rosa. Rosa's papers make up the first 5 boxes of the collection. The first 4 boxes of her papers stem from her involvement with the Margaret Jones Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) in Waynesboro, Georgia in the 1921-1927. Box 1 contains correspondence to her while she was chairman of the Mrs. Norman V. Randolph Relief Fund for Needy Confederate Women and while she was president of the Margaret Jones chapter. There is some correspondence from 1917 to previous chapter officers. In Boxes 1 and 2, there are also some reports, programs, membership rosters, newspaper clippings, notes, receipts, and manuscripts dealing with the Margaret Jones Chapter. The newspaper clippings cover the local Waynesboro UDC chapter and the Georgia Division of UDC. In Box 1, there is some interesting information about Confederate Veterans. Folder 6 contains applications by United Confederate Veterans (UCV) of Gordon Camp #369 for the Southern Cross of Honor. These applications list information about the veterans such as who they served with, when they were discharged, and their rank upon discharge. There are also pamphlets detailing the UDC's rules for awarding Crosses. Folder 7 contains questionnaires that were sent out by the Margaret Jones Chapter to Confederate Veterans living in Burke County in 1921 asking them to record their experiences during the Civil War and Reconstruction. There are about 8 questionnaires and some provide candid opinions on these topics. Among the UDC papers in Box 2 are files relating to the Stone Mountain Confederate Monumental Association. The UDC was active in raising money for this memorial. There is correspondence, newspaper clippings, and pamphlets about the memorial and the fund raising efforts of the Stone Mountain Confederate Monumental Association. There is some historical material in Box 3 relating to Burke County's Confederate history in the UDC papers. These include a typed manuscript on the histories of the Margaret Jones Chapter of the UDC, Burke County during the Civil War and Reconstruction, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Freedman's Bureau. There are rosters of different units who served in the Confederate Army from Burke County, including the Poythress Volunteers, Alexander Greys, Burke Sharp Shooters, Burke Guards, and Company F of Cobb's Legion Cavalry. This manuscript also discusses women's role during the Civil War and contains a copy of the Constitution of the Confederate States of America. In the oversized folder, there is the original muster roll for Company D of the 27th Battalion of Georgia Volunteers of the Confederate Army for the period of October 31, 1864 to December 31, 1864. Also in Box 3 are three volumes dealing with the Margaret Jones Chapter of the UDC. They contain minutes, membership lists, and a list of recipients who received the Southern Cross of Honor from the Margaret Jones Chapter of the UDC. Box 4 contains UDC and DAR publications from the 1920s and 1930s. See the inventory for a complete listing of these publications. In Box 5 of the collection are several folders of papers dealing with the Edmund Burke Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). These stem from Mrs. Rosa McMaster's involvement with this group. These contain correspondence, rosters, programs, news clippings, and notes. This box also contains manuscripts on different segments of Burke County's history. Mrs. McMaster was involved with the Burke County Chapter of the American Red Cross and there is a file on this group. There is also a file of personal papers relating to the McMaster, Macaulay, and Carswell families. These include personal letters to Mrs. Rosa McMaster and news clippings about other family members. Other papers of Mrs. McMaster's in this box include files of poetry, plays, songbooks, and church programs. Finally, there is a file of miscellaneous newspaper clippings dealing with various people and events in Burke County. Some clippings are from the 1920s and 1930s and some are from the 1960s. There are several obituaries and marriage announcements in this file of people Rosa McMaster knew. Porter W. Carswell's papers are in Box 6. These consist of correspondence to him for 1933 and for 1961-1963. The 1960s correspondence deals with Carswell's work as editor of the True Citizen, Waynesboro's weekly newspaper. There is a file of newspaper clippings of articles Carswell wrote for the True Citizen and for other newspapers. There is a file of typed letters from Civil War soldiers (from Burke County) to family papers. These letters look like they might have been printed in the True Citizen. They include copies of letters from Tully Graybill, John Devine Carswell (1841-1868), and John Wright Carswell (1806-1885). There is also a file with an odd assortment of materials dealing with Burke County history and a file of typed manuscript versions of newspaper articles (not written by Carswell). In Box 6, there is a file of newspaper articles and correspondence by Ruby Royal Quick. She is from Burke County and is possibly a cousin of Porter Carswell's; his grandmother was Linda Royal Carswell. One of the newspaper articles lists her as a correspondent for the Augusta Chronicle. The articles are mainly short histories about different churches in Burke County. In addition to the muster roll, the oversized folder also contains newspapers. There is a copy of the Gone With The Wind souvenir edition of the Atlanta Journal from December 15, 1939, the Civil War Centennial issue of the True Citizen (April 20, 1961), the March 1, 1964 issue of Savannah Morning News Magazine, and copies of the Sunday Feature Section of the Augusta Chronicle-Herald for December 30, 1962; January 6, 1963; and February 3, 1963. The Savannah Morning News Magazine issue and the issues of the Augusta Chronicle-Herald's Sunday Section contain feature articles written by Porter W. Carswell, Jr. There is also a print of the Stone Mountain Memorial with a brief history of the monument. The visual materials consists of various photographs of the Carswell and McMaster families (not all are identified). All but two are not dated and unless otherwise noted in the inventory are in black and white. There is a photograph of Carolina Helen Plane who was president of the Atlanta Chapter of the UDC from 1895-1896. The second folder includes images of the Stone Mountain Memorial produced by the Stone Mountain Confederate Monumental Association. They contain proposed images of the carving and images of the men carving the mountain. Eight of the ten images are postcards. The folders containing the photographs are indicated by "VM" in the collection inventory.

6 boxes, 2 folders, 1 oversize folder (3.10 cubic feet)

Georgia Historical Society