]
]
This collection has use restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
This collection was rehoused under the sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.
Expand/collapse
Collection Overview
| Size | 2.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 850 items) |
| Abstract | Marcus Joseph Wright, Confederate brigadier general and military historian, worked for 30 years, beginning in 1878, as agent of the U.S. War Department charged with collecting and compiling official Confederate army records. The collection includes correspondence, early memoirs, and other papers of Wright. Included is post-Civil War correspondence with ex-Confederate leaders concerning military history, his work, and various publications. Also included are letters, 1831-1860, of Wright's father-in-law, planter and politican John W. Womack of Eutaw, Green County, Ala., to his brother Jacob Lewis Womack, planter of Ridgeville, Butler County, Ala., concerning family matters, cotton planting, the Alabama legislature, and the coming war. There are also papers, 1929-1945, of Wright's son, Howard P. Wright, that deal chiefly with his father and Confederate history, as well as genealogical notes on the Wright family of McNairy County, Tenn., and photographs, loose clippings, and scrapbooks of clippings, chiefly relating to Confederate history. |
| Creator | Wright, Marcus Joseph, 1831-1922. |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
| Language | English |
Expand/collapse
Information For Users
Expand/collapse
Subject Headings
The 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.
Expand/collapse
Related Collections
Expand/collapse
Biographical Information
Marcus Joseph Wright, Confederate brigadier general and military historian, worked for 30 years, beginning in 1878, as agent of the U.S. War Department charged with collecting and compiling official Confederate army records.
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
Scope and Content
The collection includes correspondence, early memoirs, and other papers of Wright. Included is post-Civil War correspondence with ex-Confederate leaders concerning military history, his work, and various publications. Also included are letters, 1831-1860, of Wright's father-in-law, planter and politican John W. Womack of Eutaw, Green County, Ala., to his brother Jacob Lewis Womack, planter of Ridgeville, Butler County, Ala., concerning family matters, cotton planting, the Alabama legislature, and the coming war. There are also papers, 1929-1945, of Wright's son, Howard P. Wright, that deal chiefly with his father and Confederate history, as well as genealogical notes on the Wright family of McNairy County, Tenn., and photographs, loose clippings, and scrapbooks of clippings, chiefly relating to Confederate history.
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
Series Quick Links
Expand/collapse
Series 1. John W. Womack Letters, 1831-1860 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Letters from John W. Womack, Marcus Joseph Wright's father in law, to his brother, Jacob Lewis (Lewis) Womack, and a letter of advice, undated, to his daughter, Pauline, wife of Marcus Joseph Wright.
Most letters discuss family matters, the state of people's health, and crop conditions. Family members mentioned in the letters include John W. Womack's mother, who split her time between John and Lewis; John's first wife Nancy and their daughter; and his second wife Ann M. Beville (or Bevill) Womack and their children Winston, Sidney, and Pauline. Members of Lewis's family mentioned in the letters include his wife Agnes and their children Augustus (Gus), and Caroline. Occasionally mentioned are John's brother Joseph Womack's struggle with alcoholism, and the illness and death of their brother Mansel Womack (1810?-1842). Many letters mention politics, travel, social matters, and business and legal affairs.
Expand/collapse
Series 2. Biographical and Genealogical Material, 1792-1922.
Arrangement: topical.
Folder 4-5
Folder 4Folder 5 |
Wright family history #01044, Series: "2. Biographical and Genealogical Material, 1792-1922." Folder 4-5A history of the Wright family, including notes, quotations from history books, newspapers, directories, and other sources concerning the Wrights. |
| Folder 6 |
Marcus J. Wright biography, bibliography, and tributes #01044, Series: "2. Biographical and Genealogical Material, 1792-1922." Folder 6Contains copies of Wright's 1922 obituary and tributes published at the time of his death. Also included are obituary notices, 1875, of Wright's wife, Martha Elcan Wright, and a partial list of Wright's writings. |
| Folder 7 |
Early memoirs of Marcus J. Wright #01044, Series: "2. Biographical and Genealogical Material, 1792-1922." Folder 7An 18-page typescript containing Wright's early memoirs, through the time of his employment in the United States Navy Yard at Memphis, 1850-1851. |
Expand/collapse
Series 3. Correspondence and Related Material, 1853-1923 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Correspondence and other papers chiefly relate to Marcus J. Wright's personal life, his various governmental appointments, his work assembling Confederate records for publication by the United States War Department, and his publications. Includes some Confederate papers, and much post-war correspondence concerning Confederate affairs. An index of correspondents was prepared by Wright's son, Howard P. Wright, and is filed at the beginning of the series.
Expand/collapse
Series 4. Howard P. Wright Papers, 1864-1949.
Arrangement: chronological.
Correspondence of Howard P. Wright, son of Marcus J. Wright, concerning his father, Confederate history, and the history of McNairy County, Tenn. His correspondents are various historical societies, libraries, patriotic societies, interested individuals, descendants of Confederate veterans, and various governmental and private agencies who are concerned with marking historical spots, preserving monuments, and similar activities.
Expand/collapse
Series 5. Clippings and Articles, 1894-1933.
Arrangement: topical.
Chiefly consists of clippings and typescripts from the papers of Marcus J. Wright. Howard P. Wright previously had possession of the clippings, and he organized them and added clippings concerning various matters relating to Confederate history.
Expand/collapse
Series 6. Pictures, 1863-1933 and undated.
Pictures are undated unless otherwise indicated.
Expand/collapse
Series 7. Volumes
Arrangement: topical.
Expand/collapse
Items Separated
Processed by: Eric France, May 1991
Encoded by: Kathryn Michaelis, May 2010
Updated by: Staff, July 2018
This collection was rehoused under the sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.
Back to Top