Henry Marston family papers, 1820-1938 (bulk 1850-1890).

ArchivalResource

Marston, Henry, 1794-1884. Henry Marston family papers, 1820-1938 (bulk 1850-1890).

Henry Marston family papers, 1820-1938 (bulk 1850-1890).

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/244249374

Plantation records, diaries, business records, legal documents, and personal correspondence reflect the activities of the Marston family, particularly in Clinton, East Feliciana Parish, La. Plantation diaries of Henry Marston (1822-1832, 1855-1883) record details of plantation management; later entries reflect his role as an absentee plantation owner. An overseer's contract (1857) is present. Diaries record weather conditions, crop disease and new plant varieties, mortgages and insurance coverage, repairs to plantation equipment, travel from Port Hudson to the Red River, and mail service. Papers reflect Marston's sale of cotton in New Orleans. Diaries relate to business matters of the Clinton & Port Hudson Railroad Company and the Silliman Female Collegiate Institute. Some entries record local news of births, deaths, and public health in the community, including reports of the yellow fever epidemic of 1871. Diaries reflect views on African Americans' participation in politics and race relations during Reconstruction and record Marston's activities in a local temperance council and reflect his religious views. Letter books (1839-1884) contain correspondence to clients of the Union Bank of Louisiana, to commission merchants, and to business firms regarding materials needed at the bank, on Marston's plantation, and for personal use. A record book (1828-1836) holds the proceedings of the administrators of the East Feliciana Parish school fund. Union Bank of Louisiana accounts and receipts (1835-1850) and a charter of the Silliman Female Collegiate Institute (1852) are present. Letters (1883-1884) from Henry Marston to his brother, John Marston, a retired US Navy Rear Admiral of Philadelphia, discuss health and family matters and political issues. Civil War materials include records of Capt. Bulow Marston's service in the Confederate Army, including letters from Generals Maxey and Cooper to Federal General Thayer concerning Confederate civilians. Bulow's divisional report (Dec. 1864) contains statistics on the Confederate Army's use of Native American troops. Later letters by Bulow Marston reflect his activities as a plantation owner, steamboat captain, and warehouse owner. His correspondence reflects his plantation management, including his involvement in fighting the boll weevil, his trade in cotton, and his ownership and captaincy of steamboats. Mortgages of Ashland, Home, Bee, and Star Point Plantation are included. James G. Marston's diary contains entries (May-Sept. 1864) describing the Siege of Atlanta. Papers of Abbie L. Marston (1890-1938) indicate that she managed her father's personal and plantation business after his death in 1884. She was active in civic affairs in Clinton. A series of letters from J. Walker Marston of Texas to his aunt, Abbie Marston, describe his work as a cowhand and trade in horses and mules. Letters (1937-1938) of Abbie Marston McLelland relate to the Randall and Wederstrandt branches of the family.

2,104 items.59 v.

Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries