MF 5322, Series I, Part 3, Reel 14

MF 6061, Series B, Part 2, Reel 11

ALEXANDER BLANCHE PAPERS, 1851-1914

(Mss. 3342)

Inventory List

Compiled by

Phyllis Castille

Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections

Special Collections, Hill Memorial Library

Louisiana State University Libraries

Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University

2004

CONTENTS OF INVENTORY

Summary	3
Biographical/Historical Note	4
Scope and Content Note	4
List of Series	5
Series Descriptions	5
Index Terms	6
Container List	7

Use of manuscript materials. If you wish to examine items in the manuscript group, please fill out a call slip specifying the materials you wish to see. Consult the Container List for location information needed on the call slip.

Photocopying. Should you wish to request photocopies, please consult a staff member. Do not remove items to be photocopied. The existing order and arrangement of unbound materials must be maintained. Reproductions must be made from surrogates (microfilm, digital scan, photocopy of original held by LSU Libraries), when available.

Publication. Readers assume full responsibility for compliance with laws regarding copyright, literary property rights, and libel.

Permission to examine archival materials does not constitute permission to publish. Any publication of such materials beyond the limits of fair use requires specific prior written permission. Requests for permission to publish should be addressed in writing to the Head, Public Services, Special Collections, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803-3300. When permission to publish is granted, two copies of the publication will be requested for the LLMVC.

Proper acknowledgement of LLMVC materials must be made in any resulting writing or publications. The correct form of citation for this manuscript group is given on the summary page. Copies of scholarly publications based on research in the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections are welcomed.

SUMMARY

Size

79 items, 2 manuscript volumes

Geographic Locations

Tensas Parish, Louisiana

Inclusive Dates

1851-1914

Bulk Dates

1851-56 and 1881-1914

Languages

English

Summary

Part 1 (1851-56): Antebellum plantation diary of Tensas Parish plantation owner (original and Xerox copy)

Part 2 (1881-1914): Miscellaneous correspondence, tax and payroll receipts, account sheets

Access Restrictions

Access to Plantation Diary restricted to microfilm use.

Reproduction Note

Photocopies must be made from microfilm. See call numbers below.

Related Collections

Citation

Alexander Blanche Papers, Mss. 3342, Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, La.

Stack Location(s)

W:48, Vault:3

MF 5322, Series I, Part 3, Reel 14

MF 6061, Series B, Part 2, Reel 11

BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL NOTE

Alexander Blanche (1833-1908) owned the antebellum plantation Marydale in Tensas Parish, Louisiana. He kept a handwritten diary from 1851-56 recording daily work, construction projects, illnesses and cures of slaves and deaths. He shipped freight in the steamboats Pargoud, J. P. Leathers, Charles D. Shaw, Natchez and Saint Joseph. S. L. James, a lessee with the Louisiana State Penitentiary, helped Blanche obtain prisoners for labor on the plantation.

Blanche, whose parents were John G. and Isabella McKenzie Blanche, was born in Scotland and came to America c. 1851. He married Sarah Henshaw in 1866 and served as a member of the police jury for a number of years.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The collection consists of a plantation diary (1851-56) relating details on farming, slave labor and plantation life, and miscellaneous papers (1881-1914). The diary contains records of daily work in cotton fields, crops, weather, construction of buildings and roads, sawmill, illnesses and cures, and deaths. It lists names of slaves and the daily amount of cotton picked. Notations on other work done, such as cutting logs, on Negroes’ health, and on the state of crops are included. There are yearly lists of tools for men and women as well as medical remedies. Alexander Blanche handwrote the diary.

The miscellaneous papers include correspondence; tax receipts; payroll receipts from S. L. James, Contractor; a receipt for capturing an escaped convict; account sheets; freight bills and discharge receipts to prisoners of Louisiana State Penitentiary.

LIST OF SERIES

Series I: Papers, 1881-1914

Series II: Manuscript volume, 1851-1856

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

I: Papers, 1881-1914

Includes tax receipts, payroll receipts, correspondence, receipts to discharged prisoners, and account sheets. Letters were written by E. G. Grade, Hyner Distilling Company and S. L. James.

II: Manuscript volume, 1851-56

Consists of an original, handwritten plantation diary and a Xerox copy. Access to the original is restricted; however, it is available on microfilm.

Plantation Diary (Xerox copy), December, 1851-January, 1853. pp. 1-65. Lists names of slaves and daily amount of cotton picked. Contains notations on other work done, such as cutting logs, on Negroes’ health and on the state of crops.

Plantation Diary (Xerox copy), December-August, 1852, January, 1853-January, 1854, April, 1856. pp. 66-143. Also includes yearly lists of tools for men and women and medical remedies.

INDEX TERMS

Materials relating to these people, places, and things can be found in the series indicated, as represented by their number.

Index Terms Series Folders

Blanche, Alexander, 1833-1908 I, II 1-7

Blanche, Alexander—Diaries I 6-7

Charles D. Shaw I

Cotton—Louisiana I, II 6-7

J. P. Leathers I

James, S. L. I 1

Louisiana State Penitentiary I 1

Marydale Plantation (La.) I, II 1-7

Natchez I

Pargoud I

Plantation life—Louisiana—Tensas Parish I, II 1-7

Plantation owners—Louisiana—Tensas Parish I, II 1-7

Plantations—Louisiana—Tensas Parish I, II 1-7

St. Joseph I

Slavery—Louisiana—Tensas Parish II 6-7

Steamboats I

Tensas Parish (La.)—History—19^th century I, II 1-7

CONTAINER LIST

Stack Location	Box	Folder(s)	Contents (with dates)
W:48	1	1	Papers, February, 1881-December, 1886. 23 items.
W:48	1	2	Papers, March, 1887-October, 1891. 12 items.
W:48	1	3	Papers, July-December, 1892. 17 items.
W:48	1	4	Papers, January, 1893-September, 1914. 22 items.
W:48	1	5	Papers, n. d. 5 items.
W:48	1	6	Plantation Diary (Xerox copy), December, 1851-January, 1853. pp. 1-65.
W:48	1	7	Plantation Diary (Xerox copy), December-August, 1852, January, 1853-January, 1854,
Vault:3	2	Volume 1	Plantation Diary (original), December, 1851-April, 1856. April, 1856. pp. 66-143. Restriction code: 4 (Access restricted. Use microfilm.)