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Size | 110 items |
Abstract | William King Smith, Confederate soldier and farmer of South Carolina and Georgia, son of Sidney Smith (1805-1856), physician of Brighton, S.C., and grandson of William Smith (1764-1843), of South Carolina. Chiefly letters to William King Smith from relatives and friends. Many of the letters are from 1864 and discuss wartime conditions in Brighton, Beaufort County, S.C., and comment on William King Smith's experiences in the field. After the war, letters chiefly discuss the activities of family members, including William King Smith's efforts at farming. Also included are several typed biographical and genealogical items having to do with Sidney Smith, William King Smith, and other Smith family members. There are also two typed transcriptions of reminiscences by William King Smith of pre- and post-Civil War incidents, including a description of visits to Charleston, S.C., in 1859, 1860, and 1864. In addition, there are a few letters, 1845-1855, relating to Sidney Smith, and a small number of letters relating to other family members. |
Creator | Smith, William King, fl. 1864-1901. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Roslyn Holdzkom, December 1990
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
Photocopies only; originals in private hands.
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William King Smith (fl. 1846-1901) was the grandson of William Smith, born in 1764 in Dorchester, S.C. He later lived in Beaufort County, S.C., where he died on 30 January 1843.
William King Smith's father was Sidney Smith, who was born in Combahee, S.C., on 11 April 1805, and was educated as a medical doctor in Ohio. Sidney Smith practiced medicine for many years in Brighton, near Beaufort, S.C. Later, he moved to Marietta, Ga., where he died in 1856.
Sidney Smith was married to Eliza Lawton in 1829. The couple had nine children, four of whom lived to maturity. After Eliza's death in 1845, Sidney married Maria King, daughter of William King, with whom he had four sons, two of whom reached maturity.
William King Smith served in both North and South Carolina regiments during the Civil War. He saw much action at the front lines in South Carolina and Georgia. After the war, he farmed for a time, then moved to Marietta and later to Atlanta. He married Rosa Nicholes in 1870.
Back to TopChiefly photocopies of letters to William King Smith from relatives and friends. Many of the letters are from 1864, with the largest number written by Smith's half-sister Arrabella and half-brother Southwood, both of whom appear to have spent the war years in Brighton, South Carolina. These letters are primarily about the progress of the war, William King Smith's experiences in the field, and general family activities.
After the war, letters are chiefly from Smith's brother Walter, who seems to have been a merchant in Georgia. Most of these letters discuss the activities of family members, including William King Smith's efforts at farming.
Also included are photocopies of several typed biographical and genealogical items having to do with Sidney Smith, William King Smith, and other Smith family members. There are also photocopies of two typed transcriptions of reminiscences by William King Smith of pre- and post-Civil War incidents, including a description of visits to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1859, 1860, and 1864. In addition, there are a few photocopies of letters, 1845-1855, relating to Sidney Smith, and a small number of letters relating to other family members.
Note that the originals of these papers were photocopied by Manuscripts Department staff in 1990 and returned to the donor. The originals were maintained in a binder by the donor, and the photocopies duplicate the order of the originals as arranged in the binder.
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