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Size | 8.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 2600 items) |
Abstract | Stephen D. Heard, lawyer, commission merchant, and native of Wilkes County, Ga., practiced law in Talbotton, Ga., from about 1835 until about 1847. In 1836, he married Mary Anne Willis of Wilkes County, whose father, Colonel Richard Jefferson Willis, later signed the Ordinance of Secession. About 1847, Heard moved to Augusta, Ga., where he worked for the remainder of his life as a commission merchant in the successive firms of Dye & Heard, Heard & Simpson, S. D. Heard, and S. D. Heard & Son. Heard was an active Mason, a member of the Augusta Board of Health (1858), a wartime city alderman, a member of the board of directors of the Milledgeville Railroad Company (1862) and of the Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad Company (1874), and president of the Macon & Augusta Railroad Company (1866). His son and partner Richard Willis Heard (d. 1880) married Anna Platt of Augusta, Ga., in 1868. Correspondence and financial and legal materials, chiefly 1840-1864, concern the successive firms in which Heard was involved. Business materials show extensive commercial connections with local planters and small town merchants, as well as with merchants in Savannah, Charleston, and New York. Letters and other items document the impact of the Civil War on Heard's business. After the Civil War, papers doucument the development of crop lien arrangements with local farmers. Volumes include account books, shipping records, bank books, and letterpress copies of correspondence. The collection also contains some family materials, including correspondence, diaries, recipe and remedy books, and household account books. There are also materials relating to the Platt family, including the courtship and honeymoon of Richard Willis Heard and Anna Platt and a furniture business operated in Augusta by Anna's father, Charles Platt. There is also a volume with names and dates of birth for several generations of slaves. |
Creator | Heard, Stephen D., 1807-1875. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Lisa C. Tolbert, June 1994; Jodi Berkowitz and Amy Morgan, January 2019
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
Updated by: Nancy Kaiser, March 2021
This collection was processed with support, in part, from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Preservation and Access.
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Stephen D. Heard (1807-1875), lawyer, commission merchant, and native of Wilkes County, Ga., practiced law in Talbotton, Ga., from about 1835 until about 1847. In 1836, he married Mary Anne Willis of Wilkes County, whose father, Colonel Richard Jefferson Willis, later signed the Ordinance of Secession. About 1847, Heard moved to Augusta, Ga., where he worked for the remainder of his life as a commission merchant in the successive firms of Dye & Heard, Heard & Simpson, S. D. Heard, and S. D. Heard & Son. Heard was an active Mason, a member of the Augusta Board of Health (1858), a wartime alderman, a member of the board of directors of Milledgeville Railroad Co. (1862) and of the Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad Co. (1874), and president of the Macon & Augusta Railroad Co. (1866). In 1861, Heard was commissioned second lieutenant in the Silver Greys, a volunteer organization for home defense, and served throughout the war. After the war Heard established a business partnership with his son, Richard Willis Heard. Stephen D. Heard was a first cousin twice removed of the Stephen Heard who served as governor of Georgia in 1781.
Back to TopCorrespondence and financial and legal materials chiefly 1840 to 1874 concerning the successive firms in which Heard was involved. Business materials document a commercial network that extended from local planters and small town merchants to Southern ports such as Savannah and Charleston, and northeastern trade centers, especially New York. Papers following the Civil War document the development of crop lien arrangements with local farmers. Volumes include account books, shipping records, bank books, and letterpress copies of correspondence.
The collection also contains some family materials, including correspondence, diaries, recipe books, and household account books. There is little correspondence, however, between Stephen D. Heard and his immediate family. The bulk of family correspondence was written by extended family members who had moved away, and it is difficult to develop a full picture of Heard family life in Augusta from this material. One exception to this observation is the courtship of Richard Willis Heard and Anna Platt, which is well documented by notes the young couple exchanged. They were married in Augusta in 1868 and their honeymoon is also documented in a travel diary kept by Richard. Three volumes relate to a furniture business operated in Augusta by Anna's father, Charles Platt, and other materials relate to the Platt Family.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological by type of material.
Correspondence, financial and legal Papers, and account books chiefly related to Stephen D. Heard's business activities, including his early law practice in Talbotton, Ga. and a series of partnerships in the commission business focusing primarily on the cotton trade in Augusta, Ga. Letters and accounts show that some of Heard's clients were women.
Arrangement: chronological by type of material.
Although some correspondents include relatives or family members for whom Heard served as commission merchant, these letters are almost entirely devoted to business affairs. There is very little reference to personal or family matters in this correspondence. See Series 2.1 for family correspondence.
Arrangement: chronological.
Business correspondence can be roughly categorized according to four chronological periods.
1833-1849. Chiefly letters related to Heard's law practice in Talbotton, Ga. Correspondence shows that Heard also pursued various civic and commercial activities during this period. Heard moved from Talbotton sometime in the late 1840s.
1855-1860. Chiefly letters related to the commission business of Simpson and Heard in Augusta, Ga. Heard apparently entered the commission business in Augusta around September 1849 in partnership with M. M. Dye, but soon established a long-term partnership with James R. Simpson. Letters were written by three types of correspondents--customers, agents, and suppliers--thus documenting Heard's commission business from several angles. Letters also show other phases of Heard's public and professional life, including his various civic activities and his involvement in railroad development.
1861-1865. Letters during this period document the impact of the Civil War on the commission business. The Heard and Simpson partnership ended sometime during this period.
1866-1879. Chiefly letters related to commission business of S. D. Heard and Son. Richard Willis Heard entered into partnership with his father sometime after the war ended. Father and son re-established ties with New York merchants and resumed investment in railroad development.
Arrangement: chronological according to date of last entry.
(Note that when a volume's number has changed as a result of reprocessing, the old numbers may be found in square brackets following the current volume number.)
Arrangement: chronological by type of material.
Loose papers and a variety of account books documenting the business interests of Stephen D. Heard and his associates, especially his commission business partnerships in Augusta, Ga. Scattered information may also relate to personal or to family financial and legal matters.
Arrangement: chronological.
Shipping invoices, bills, receipts, indentures, land grants, and other financial and legal documents chiefly related to the business interests of Stephen D. Heard. These papers can be roughly categorized according to four chronological periods.
From 1758 to 1833, records consist chiefly of land grants and plats related to land in Orangeburgh District, S. C. Scattered materials continue to relate to land in Orangeburgh throughout remaining periods. The connection between this land and Stephen D. Heard is unclear.
From 1834 to 1849, papers relate chiefly to Heard's business interests in Talbotton, Ga. Much of this information documents his law practice, but also shows early merchant activities.
From 1850 to 1867, papers document Heard's commission business in Augusta, particularly the firm, Heard & Simpson. A few documents relate to the partnership of Heard & Dye, but by 1853 Heard had formed a partnership with James R. Simpson. Papers include information about Heard's participation in such civic groups as the Masons and the Augusta fire company. A few papers relate to Richard Willis Heard's activities in the Civil War, but bills and receipts continue primarily to document Stephen D. Heard's business concerns throughout the war years. [See Volume 1 for more extensive documentation about the impact of the Civil War on Heard's commission business.]
From 1868 to 1875, papers document the postwar firm of S. D. Heard & Son. New commercial developments of particular note during this period include a series of crop lien factor's agreements; regular market reports from New York agents who managed the cotton trade for the firm; and scattered information related to Heard's involvement in railroad development.
Each period also contains scattered information related to personal or family expenses for goods and services from tailoring to tuition. Some documentation concerns slaves either purchased or hired by Heard, including occasional bills for medical treatment.
Arrangement: chronological according to date of last entry.
(Note that when a volume's number has changed as a result of reprocessing, the old numbers may be found in square brackets following the current volume number.)
Ledgers, daybooks, cash books, memorandum books, bills, receipts, bank books, and shipping records, documenting Heard's extensive connections with planters surrounding Augusta, Ga., and with merchants in Savannah, Charleston, and New York. Account books document each of Heard's successive partnerships in Augusta, beginning with Heard & Dye and ending with S. D. Heard & Son. Volumes show that throughout his mercantile career cotton was the focus of Heard's business concerns; nevertheless, he also handled a variety of other types of agricultural produce raised on local farms.
Heard's early career as a lawyer in Talbotton, Ga., is documented by one docket book. Some volumes, particularly general ledgers and cash books, contain scattered entries related to personal or family expenses. Household account books are contained in Series 2. Heard Family Materials, because they were often kept by female members of the family and have no connection to the commission business.
Arrangement: chronological by type of material.
Family correspondence, household account books, diaries and other materials unrelated to the commission business. Much of this material relates to women and children.
Arrangement: chronological.
Chiefly letters to family members other than Stephen D. Heard related to personal or family matters rather than business. Letters can be categorized according to two chronological periods.
1830-1847. There are only a few letters during this period, chiefly from family members of Mary Willis Heard. There is very little correspondence between Stephen D. Heard and his immediate family. Two letters exchanged between Stephen D. Heard and Mary Willis Heard are all the surviving documentation for the family's years in Talbotton, Ga. There are no family letters to document the 1850s years in Augusta.
1861-1889. Chiefly correspondence of Richard Willis Heard and Anna Platt Heard. Anna received several letters from family members separated during the war, including one from her brother Charlie at Pauley Island. The most substantive documentation for the war years, however, consists of several letters to Richard from his admirer, Annorette Greene, who revealed the impact of the Civil War in the small Georgia town of Greensboro. The collection contains more substantial documentation for postwar experience than for wartime events. Letters from Anna's brother in Knoxville, Tenn., describe postwar violence in east Tennessee. Richard received long letters from a friend named "Dime" who moved to War Trace, Tenn., after the war and discussed his readjustment to civilian life. Of particular note is a letter (23 October 1865) to Anna from her "old mamy," Ellis Davis. In 1867 a series of notes (dated and undated) exchanged by Richard W. Heard and Anna Platt document their courtship. Their marriage is less well documented in scattered letters written during occasional separations when Richard traveled on business or Anna visited family. Among the correspondents during this period are Anna's parents and other Platt family members, and Charlie, Willis, and Frankie Heard, the sons of Anna and Richard.
Folder 187 |
1830-1847 |
Folder 188 |
1861-1863 |
Folder 189 |
1864-1865 |
Folder 190 |
1866 |
Folder 191 |
1867 |
Folder 192 |
1868 January-April |
Folder 193 |
1868 May-December |
Folder 194 |
1868 Undated 1868 |
Folder 195 |
1869 |
Folder 196 |
1870-1874 |
Folder 197 |
1876-1879 |
Folder 198 |
1880-1896; 1935 |
Folder 199-200
Folder 199Folder 200 |
Undated |
Arrangement: chronological according to date of last entry.
(Note that when a volume's number has changed as a result of reprocessing, the old numbers may be found in square brackets following the current volume number.)
Travel diary and memorabilia related to the honeymoon trip of Richard Willis Heard and Anna Platt Heard in 1868; diary of R. W. Heard kept while he was a young school-aged boy; and miscellaneous household accounts. See also Subseries 1.2.2., Volumes S-25, S-27, and 43 for additional information related to family expenses.
(Note that when a volume's number has changed as a result of reprocessing, the old numbers may be found in square brackets following the current volume number.)
A variety of materials, some with an unclear connection to Stephen D. Heard's commission interests or to the Heard family. Much of this material relates to the Platt family before the marriage of Anna Platt and Richard Willis Heard. School materials consist of mathematics lessons of Charles A. Platt (1826) and grade reports (1858-1860) of his daughter, Anna, at The Misses Sedgwick's School (in Augusta?). Three volumes relate to the furniture business of Charles A. Platt. Other Platt family information includes a family register with a slave list, and an extensive library inventory.
Election returns document several Talbot County, Ga., elections from 1838 to 1849. Also included are poetry and other writings by unidentified authors, newspaper clippings, and a variety of advertisements, certificates, and other printed materials. A cookbook and account books document unidentified households. [See also Subseries 1.1.2. Volume 1 for accounts documenting the grocery business of R. S. Hook in Chattanooga, Tenn. The connection between Hook's business and Stephen D. Heard's commercial interests is unclear.]
Oversize Paper OP-1478/1-8
OP-1478/1OP-1478/2OP-1478/3OP-1478/4OP-1478/5OP-1478/6OP-1478/7OP-1478/8 |
Oversize papers |
Acquisitions Information: Acc. 102156.
Box 18 |
Genealogical materials of Heard, Platt, and Willis families |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 102315
This addition consists of 4 booklets documenting the family tree of Stephen D. Heard (1807-1875), Virginia Lord Heard (1905-1997), Richard Willis Heard (1906-1992), George Alexander Heard (1917-2009), Richard Willis Heard (1871-1959), and Virginia Lord Nesbit (1879-1963). It also includes facsimiles and transcriptions of a journal and a monograph written by George Willis (1754-1827) of Wilkes County, Ga. and King William County, Va.
Box 19 |
Genealogical papers of Heard, Nesbit, and Willis families |