This collection contains no documents from the hand of Byron De La Beckwith III, but does offer a rich resource in understanding his family background and early childhood. Received in a largely disorganized state, the papers are primarily sorted by surname as either Beckwith or Yerger. The exceptions are a few pieces of correspondence by Sally Morgan Green, which, because of her residence in California and close ties to the Beckwith family, appear in the Yerger correspondence, and the pre-marital correspondence of Susie Yerger with Byron De La Beckwith, Jr. and others. The preserved Beckwith correspondence, on the whole, occurs among family members: the Ohio branch of Beckwiths to Byron De La Beckwith, Sr.; Mary Oliver Bray Beckwith to her husband during his business trips; letters from Beckwith, Sr. to Beckwith, Jr.; and Susie Yerger's letters to her fianceĢ and then husband. Business correspondence occasionally appears in this mix as well, although documents and receipts are organized separately unless specifically found with a letter. The Yerger correspondence is primarily of a business nature, with a smattering of personal letters and correspondence concerning Confederate commemorative efforts such as Confederate Veterans conventions. Separate from this correspondence are records specifically related to three of L.P. Yerger's clients: George Cary, a resident of New Orleans who apparently speculated in Mississippi Delta land between 1870 and 1893; the estate of P.P. McLemore; and the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad Company which was essentially a branch line of the Illinois Central Railroad. In addition, Yerger was the executor of the estate of his brother-in-law Judge L.M. Southworth who had served on the bench in the Philippine Islands before succumbing to cancer in Baltimore, Maryland.
