Letterbooks, 21 Apr. 1854-26 Feb. 1863 [microform].

ArchivalResource

Petigru and King (Firm). Letterbooks, 21 Apr. 1854-26 Feb. 1863 [microform].

Letterbooks, 21 Apr. 1854-26 Feb. 1863 [microform].

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/43485357

Indexed letterbooks, 21 Apr. 1854-26 Feb. 1863, documenting legal matters with occasional references to political developments during late antebellum and Civil War eras. Topics discussed include legal cases, management or settlement of estates, and business ventures; administration of estates of Nathanael Greene and Richard Singleton; African American slaves and runaways; hiring-out of slaves; illegal sales of African-Americans, both slave and free; Nesbitt Iron Works in upstate S.C.; Blue Ridge Rail Road Co.; Kansas-Nebraska bill; sectional tensions; the Know-Nothing party; reprimands against a member of the night security patrol; sadness at the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, and hardships on homefront during Civil War. Letter, 5 May 1854, James L. Petigru, to M.M. Johnson re his recent aggressive behavior towards slaves during night-patrol duty, ordering him to stay away from Mrs. Chisolm's plantation where his activities caused "disorder and alarm among her negroes" and reminding him that "a patrol has no right to enter a plantation unless to search disorderly houses or house suspected of harboring runaway negroes"; letter, 23 June 1854, J. L. P., to J[osiah] J[ames] Evans (Washington, D.C.), re estate of General Nathanael Greene, regretting that he had to vote for the Kansas-Nebraska bill of 1854 (which repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and allowed question of slavery in the territories to be decided by popular sovereignty), and remarking, "I think the violation of the Missouri compromise the worst thing that has been done in 20 years"; letter, 2 Dec. 1854, to Capt. P.C. Christian, informing him that the owner of Ned, an African American slave who was injured while employed by the Mount Pleasant Ferry Company had filed a claim against him. Letter, 22 Mar. 1855, to H. Chipman (Detroit, Michigan) re a legal case, and a reference to the Nativist party, stating that he intended to read the "Know nothing manifesto," advising that he felt indifferent towards the organization but understood that "a great many people have different ideas," and remarking that if the group's influence extended to S.C., "the whole thing can be nothing more than a plot to get possession of power"; letter, 27 Mar. 1855, to H.W. Greatorex & M. Reeves, re an arbitration between T. Roberts, "Leader of the Orchestra in the Charleston Theatre," and the Theatrical Association with Roberts claiming that he "was discharged in a summary and... most unjustifiable manner"; letter, 27 Dec. 1856, J. L. P., to W. F. DeSaussure (Columbia, S.C.), berating himself over the loss of a case, "Yet I will have to digest my wrath, and put up with the mortification of a failure which implies disgrace of the heaviest kind... the disgrace of being beaten by an imbecile and worthless enemy"; 2 letters, 23 Feb. and 19 Mar. 1857, to Randolph L. Motte (Columbus, Ga.), informing him that a man named Dangerfield had illegally sold three African American slaves who were the property of George Broad, stating that one man was a candidate for settlement in Liberia and had been repurchased by citizens of St. John's Parish, and offering to purchase Sammy and Simon. Letter, 2 July 1857, J.L.P., to Miss Susan P. Webb (Walterboro, S.C.) stating that he had paid her taxes and would deduct the amount from Tony's wages, reporting on capture of Sampson, a fugitive slave who was advertised for sale, and advising that "perhaps he will do better in Louisiana, but here he is perfectly incorrigible"; letter, 29 Dec. 1857, J. L. P., to J. L. Mustian (Columbus, Ga.), reporting that Sam and Simon had decided to return to his employment, stating that he would supply them with a ticket and letter, and advising that they should be registered as free men of color. Two letters, 16 and 24 Jan. 1861, J.L. Petigru, to Thomas R. R. Cobb (Milledgeville, Ga.), discussing a case in view of "the oncoming of Secession" and considering the impact of secession on the legal process, agreeing with his opinion re a case, doubting that S.C. would encourage confiscation of private property in the event of war, and remarking, "King Cotton is a upstart & I don't believe in him but I will speak of him as he behaves & hope he will answer your predictions." Letter, 13 Apr. 1861, J.L. Petigru, to N.P. Gignilliat (Darien, Ga.), discussing a case, "I am writing in solitude , while all the world is gone to witness the bombardment of Fort Sumter by the collective forces of South Carolina. All which I witness with a heavy heart"; letter, 8 June 1861, Petigru to Col. E.B.C. Cash (Richmond, Va.), relating the case of Aberdeen, the runaway slave "of a neighbor of mine a very respectable coloured man of the name of Anthony Weston," and requesting that Cash assist in returning the slave; and letter, 9 July 1862, Petigru to W.H. Trapmann (Liverpool, England), discussing a case and observing, "I have lost Henry King he fell in the battle of the 16th June, and sleeps in the bed of honor. Johnston Pettigrew a prisoner and wounded in Fort Delaware. My house is burnt & I live in Summerville [S.C.], and Mrs. Petigru suffers from nervous debility as much as usual." Persons represented include Josiah James Evans, Capt. P.C. Christain, H. Chipman, H.W. Greatorex, M. Reeves, T. Roberts, W.F. DeSaussure, Randolph L. Motte, George Broad, Susan P. Webb, J.L. Mustian, Thomas R.R. Cobb, N.P. Gignilliat, W.H. Trapmann, and Col. E.B.C. Cash.

3 v. (microfilm)

University of South Carolina, System Library Service, University Libraries