Natchez-Area Manuscript Collections
The Mississippi River is one of the predominant geographical features of the United States. It simultaneously divides and links the country, demarcating the east from the west while serving as the artery of communication through which has passed the enterprise and the soul of the nation. The Mississippi River has defined the contours of the lands it drains and given shape to the culture, the economy, and the politics of the communities that draw sustenance from it.
For this reason, when LSU history professor Edwin Adams Davis began in 1935 systematically to collect the papers of the families that settled and prospered in the region and the records of the plantations and businesses they built and maintained, he gave no thought to distinguishing among those who were divided by the almost artificial political boundaries of the states. His interest was in documenting and preserving the rich history and culture of the Lower Mississippi Valley. Over the years, the department he founded at LSU has developed into one of the premier repositories for such materials in the nation.
In 1985, Louisiana State University renovated the original library building on its Baton Rouge campus specifically to house its growing collections of manuscripts and rare books. The Department of Archives and Manuscripts was renamed the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections (LLMVC), highlighting the scope of its mission to collect and preserve. It was combined administratively with the collection of printed materials related to the history and culture of the region, creating an integrated center for research.
Preserved in the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections at LSU are more than 5,000 manuscript groups, totaling 25,000 linear feet in extent. The collections include the papers of individuals and families; the records of plantations, merchants, and financial institutions; and the records of political, social, and labor organizations. The most important of these collections relate specifically to the families and enterprises in the Lower Mississippi Valley, from Memphis to New Orleans, and are especially strong in the Natchez, St. Francisville, and Baton Rouge areas. This guide concentrates on collections relating to Natchez and Adams County, Mississippi, as well as to the four Mississippi counties surrounding Adams County: Amite, Franklin, Jefferson, and Wilkinson. All were part of the original Natchez District of the Spanish period, and together they form the southwestern corner of the state, bordering Louisiana on two sides of a triangular geographical area.
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Conner, Mary Macrery Britton. Scrapbook, 1825-1904. 1 volume. Location: O:21. Scrapbook created by Mary Macrery Britton Conner, daughter of Eliza Macrery and Audley Clark Britton and wife of Lemuel P. Conner, Jr. Scrapbook contains drawings and fabric swatches, including pieces of fabric from her own trousseau and from that of her mother-in-law, Elizabeth Frances Turner Conner. Mss. 5320. Referenced in Guides: Women, Natchez, Mississippi
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COURIER (Natchez, Miss.), 1862 May 22. 1 item. Location: 99:. Single issue on blue paper. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3365. Referenced in Guides: Civil War, Natchez, Mississippi
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Crawford family notebook, 1886-1887, 1914-1917. 1 vol. Location: F:16. Farmers of Centreville, Wilkinson County, Mississippi. Early notes are recipes for various medical cures; later notes pertain to stock on the Crawford farm. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 288. Referenced in Guides: Medicine, Natchez, Mississippi
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Crosby, Dixie Hammond. Family Papers, 1890-1992 (bulk: 1937-1965). 159 items, 3 v. Location: 34:, OS:C. Family papers of Mack Gerald Crosby, Dixie Lillie Myrtle Hammond Crosby, and their daughter Dixie Lee "Dee" Crosby Brown. Mack Crosby and Dixie Hammond were both from Baton Rouge, La. and attended Louisiana State University in the 1930?s. Mack Crosby served in the United States Air Force for over thirty years. This collection includes correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, and, newspaper clippings relating to family affairs, work, and military service. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 4805. |
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Dana, Charles B. Family Papers, 1799-1949 (bulk 1823-1880). 700 items, 59 vols. Location: B:71-72, OS:D, K:35-36, Mss.Mf:D. Protestant Episcopal minister of Alexandria, Virginia, Port Gibson, Mississippi, and Natchez, Mississippi. Papers include correspondence, sermons, essays, maps, photographs, and other papers relating to religious activities, family matters, and local events. Manuscript volumes are comprised of a diary, cashbooks, registers, sermons, and notebooks. A letter of S. A. Kimball of Concord, New Hampshire discusses the abolitionist movement and members of the Colonization Society (1836). For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 972, 973. |
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DeRussy, Rene Edward. Letter, 1838 Dec. 1. 1 item. Location: Misc.:D. Letter to Benjamin L. C. Wailes, Jefferson College, Adams County, Mississippi declines an offer of a position as a teacher of mathematics and civil engineering at Jefferson College. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1053. Referenced in Guides: Education, Natchez, Mississippi
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Diary, 1835-1837. 1 vol. Location: M:19. Available on microfilm 5750: University Publications of America Southern Women and Their Families in the 19th Century: Papers and Diaries Series E, Reel 33. Governess from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at Belfield Plantation near Natchez. Diary records reactions to plantation life, amusements, visits to neighbors, and expressions of discontent with the South. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 533. |
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Douglas, Emily Caroline, b. 1840. Papers, 1855-1913 (bulk 1855-1868). 9 items, 2 ms. vols., 1 printed vol. Location: U:49, Mss.Mf:D. Available on microfilm 5750: University Publications of America Southern Women and Their Families in the 19th Century: Papers and Diaries Series E, Reels 8-9. Connecticut native and resident of Louisiana and Mississippi. Autobiography, diary, and writings describe life in New England; with her brother, the Rev. William Kirtland Douglas, near Natchez, Mississippi, during the Civil War; at New Iberia, Louisiana; in various Mississippi towns; and in New Orleans. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 566. Referenced in Guides: Religion, Plantations, New Orleans to 1861, Women, New Orleans in the Civil War, New Orleans 1866-, Civil War, Natchez, Mississippi, Literature
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Douglass, Daniel. Document, 1802, 1813. 1 item. Location: Misc.:D. Resident of Concordia Parish, Louisiana. Sale of land of Daniel Douglass by Elijah Smith, executor for the estate, to Jonathan Thompson of Natchez, Mississippi. Attached is the grant to Douglass, signed by Joseph Vidal, Commandant of the Post of Concordia, 1802. Grant in Spanish. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 397. Referenced in Guides: Spanish, Natchez, Mississippi
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Dunbar, Archibald. Document, 1836. 1 item. Location: Misc. Resident of Adams County, Mississippi. Sale (notarized) of slaves formerly attached to Ashwood Plantation by Archibald Dunbar to Peter M. and Joseph H. Lapice. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 668. |