Joseph Davis Smith papers, 1865-1901.

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Joseph Davis Smith papers, 1865-1901.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/300472596

Papers of Joseph Davis Smith consist primarily of correspondence of Smith and other family members. Written during the last years of the Civil War and the first years of Reconstruction, Joseph Davis Smith's letters to his son, William B. Smith, then a student in Lausanne, Switzerland, describe the war's destructive toll on Louisiana, his sentiments concerning the extension of suffrage to freed slaves, and the health and activities of family members. Smith exhorts his son to study diligently and recommends courses of study to follow. The papers include one letter written by William B. Smith to his father describing his language studies and financial affairs and inquiring about family members in Louisiana. Two brief letters written by Jefferson Davis to his daughter Varina Anne Davis in 1878 and 1882 are also found among the papers. The earlier letter describes the death of a relative's child from typhoid fever and a mentions a check that Davis sent to his daughter. The later letter is an affectionate note of salutation conveying news of family members. Several letters written after Jefferson Davis's death by Varina Jefferson Davis, his widow, to William B. Smith, her nephew, largely concern a legal dispute involving the disposition of a family graveyard area on Solitude Plantation. A letter to the editor of the State Times in Baton Rouge written by Nannie Davis Smith, who objects to factual errors in a news story about Jefferson Davis, is included with the letters. One of the Varina Jefferson Davis letters is a photostatic copy.

12 letters.1 clipping.

Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7282473

Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries

Related Entities

There are 6 Entities related to this resource.

Smith, William B. (William Boyle), 1845-1919

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6bw1jd8 (person)

Davis, Varina Anne, 1864-1898

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6wh2pj8 (person)

"Daughter of the Confederacy". From the description of Letter to Bradley Tyler Johnson [manuscript], 1885 March 13. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647861131 ...

Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6xk8d2z (person)

Mary Ann Lamar Cobb (1818-1889), wife of Gen. Howell Cobb (1815-1868). From the description of Letter to Mary Ann Lamar Cobb, 1888 Oct. 2. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 38476494 Jefferson Davis (1808-1889) was born in Kentucky. He attended Transylvania University for a short time before enrolling at West Point in 1824, at the age of 16. He graduated in 1828 and immediately joined the First Infantry. His regiment was engaged in the Blackhawk War of 1831. In 1833, he became a...

Smith, Anna Davis, 1841-1938

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6640n38 (person)

Born at Solitude Plantation in West Feliciana Parish, La., Anna "Nannie" Davis Smith was the daughter of Joseph Davis Smith and the grandniece of Jefferson Davis. From the description of Anna Davis Smith memoirs, 1927-1938. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 304436412 ...

Smith, Joseph Davis, 1817-1876

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6jx2h1h (person)

Joseph Davis Smith was a planter and medical doctor of Solitude Plantation in St. Francisville, West Feliciana Parish, La. From the description of Joseph Davis Smith papers, 1865-1901. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 300472596 ...

Davis, Varina, 1826-1906

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66h4gzq (person)

Second wife of Confederate States of America president Jefferson Davis. From the description of Letter and article: New York [N.Y.], 1905 Oct. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library). WorldCat record id: 29417912 First Lady of Confederacy. From the description of Letter: Montgomery [Al.], 1863 March [1]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122415155 Author; wife of Jefferson Davis [1808-1889], president of the Confederacy. From the description of V...