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Size | 28.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 8000 items) |
Abstract | The Ker Family of Natchez, Miss., and Concordia Parish, La., and related Baker and other families of Mississippi and Louisiana, as well as people enslaved by these families. Correspondence, financial records, legal papers, photographs, and other materials document members of these white families as plantation owners and enslavers, elected officials, a surgeon, school teacher, a bank clerk, and owner a rare book and antiques store, among other employments in and beyond the home. The people enslaved by these families appear chiefly in lists of plantation laborers; it is possible that more information about their lives, as recorded by their enslavers, may be discoverable in estate papers, bills and receipts, property inventories, wills and indentures, account books, and correspondence. Other topics include family matters; medicine; Louisiana and Mississippi plantation operations; Presbyterian church activities; local, state, and national politics, including the conduct of the 1813-1814 Creek War and the War of 1812 (Note: 1814 Andrew Jackson letter about the defense of Louisiana); men's and women's education, chiefly at the Natchez Institute and Oakland College, Miss.; European travel; bank clerking in Fayette, Miss.; and the Ye Olde Booke Shoppe in Natchez. Plantations mentioned include Linden, Marathon, Elba, Glenwood, Lake Washington, Dunbarton, and Delaronde (De la Ronde). There are also a few diaries, clippings, 19th- and early 20th-century pedagogical materials, and family photographs. Other papers include scattered records of John Ker's work with the American Colonization Society and extensive records of the Natchez branches of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1924-1968, and the Colonial Dames of America, 1941-1967, and letters and Mardi Gras invitations. |
Creator | Ker (Family : Ker, John, 1789-1850) |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Jill Snider, July 1995; Meg Phillips, December 1997; Jennifer Rawlings, September 1998
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
Revisions by: Nancy Kaiser, May 2020 (box containers added and series arrangement compressed)
Conscious Editing Work by: Nancy Kaiser, May 2020. Updated abstract, subject headings, scope and content note, and container list.
Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.
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.
Dr. John Ker (1789-1850) studied medicine in Philadelphia; served as a surgeon in the Creek War; became a cotton planter in Natchez, Miss., and Concordia Parish, La.; and served in the Louisiana Senate in the 1830s. He also served as vice-president of the American Colonization Society and vice-president of the Mississippi Colonization Society. Ker married Mary Kenard Baker of Kentucky in 1820. Mary Ker's father, Joshua Baker (fl. 1800-1814), was a colonel in the army and a planter in Fort Adams, Miss. Her brother Isaac L. Baker (fl. 1820s-1840s) was a planter in Attakapas, La.
John and Mary Ker had five children: Sarah Evelina, who married Richard Butler, of Terrebonne Parish, La.; David (1825-1884), a lawyer and sugar planter who married Elizabeth Brownson of New York; John, Jr. (1826-1902), lawyer and cotton planter; Lewis (1831-1894), a planter who married first Jane Percy and second, Susan Percy, and took over his father's interests; Mary Susan (1838-1923), a teacher in Natchez, Miss.; and William Henry (1841-1902), a cotton planter and later a teacher and principal in Port Gibson, Miss., and in Natchez, who served as president of the State Board of Education. William married Josephine (Josie) Chamberlain.
Lewis Ker's first wife died during the Civil War, and he sent his two daughters Mamie and Nellie to live with his sister Mary Susan, who became their guardian in 1867. To support her wards, she turned to teaching, receiving a certificate in 1874. In 1886, Mary Susan went to Europe as a traveling companion to her cousin, Amelia Metcalfe Choppin. She later returned to teaching to raise two of Mamie's children, Matilda Ralston (Tillie) Dunbar and Catharine Shields Dunbar, when Mamie died in 1894. Mary Susan taught at the Natchez Institute from 1897 to 1907 and at the Shield's Lane School in Adams County, Miss., from 1907 to 1915. Catharine and Tillie lived with Mary Susan in a rented home in Natchez until 1917, when Tillie bought a house.
Tillie Dunbar graduated from Stanton College in Natchez in 1904 and went to work as a clerk in a local store, Baker and McDowell. In 1912, she left her job there to become a stenographer for the law firm of Truly and Ratliffe and, in 1918, became a clerk in the Jefferson County Bank, which Truly owned, in Fayette, Miss. She boarded there and returned home on weekends.
Catharine Dunbar graduated from Natchez Institute in 1905 and attended the University of Mississippi at Oxford, completing her studies in 1908. She then began teaching at the Natchez Institute, where she remained until 1918. She left that position to work in the Britton & Koontz Bank in Natchez and later operated a rare book and curio shop in Natchez. She married Frederick Brown. Both Tillie and Catharine were active in civic affairs in Natchez and were officers of the Natchez chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Colonial Dames of America.
Back to TopThe Ker Family of Natchez, Miss., and Concordia Parish, La., and related Baker and other families of Mississippi and Louisiana, as well as people enslaved by these families. Correspondence, financial records, legal papers, photographs, and other materials document members of these white families as plantation owners and enslavers, elected officials, a surgeon, school teacher, a bank clerk, and owner a rare book and antiques store, among other employments in and beyond the home. The people enslaved by these families appear chiefly in lists of plantation laborers; it is possible that more information about their lives, as recorded by their enslavers, may be discoverable in estate papers, bills and receipts, property inventories, wills and indentures, account books, and correspondence.
The original deposit of the collection is arranged into three series: Series 1. Niineteenth-Century Papers, Series 2. Twentieth-Century Papers, and Series 3. Pictures. Collection topics include family matters; medicine; Louisiana and Mississippi plantation operations; slavery; Presbyterian church activities; local, state, and national politics, including the conduct of the 1813-1814 Creek War and the War of 1812 (Note: an 1814 Andrew Jackson letter about the defense of Louisiana); men's and women's education, chiefly at the Natchez Institute and Oakland College, Miss.; European travel; bank clerking in Fayette, Miss.; and operations of the Ye Olde Booke Shoppe in Natchez. Plantations mentioned include Linden, Marathon, Elba, Glenwood, Lake Washington, Dunbarton, and Delaronde (De la Ronde). There are also a few diaries, clippings, 19th- and early 20th-century pedagogical materials, and family photographs. Other papers include scattered records of John Ker's work with the American Colonization Society and extensive records of the Natchez branches of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1924-1968, and the Colonial Dames of America, 1941-1967, and letters and Mardi Gras invitations. Other papers include scattered records of John Ker's work with the American Colonization Society and extensive records of the Natchez branches of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1924-1968, and the Colonial Dames of America, 1941-1967, and letters and Mardi Gras invitations.
Series 1. Nineteenth-Century Papers is divided into three subseries: correspondence, financial and legal papers, and other papers. Subseries 1.1. Correspondence includes antebellum and postwar letters of the Ker family of Greenville and Natchez, Miss., and their Baker, Hunt, and other relatives of Fort Adams, Miss.; Attakapas, La.; Philadelphia, Pa.; and Cincinnati, Ohio. Early letters, 1800-1820, mostly discuss financial affairs and military service. An item of interest is a letter, dated 10 December 1814, from General Andrew Jackson to Joshua Baker concerning the appointment of Baker's son to West Point and the defense of Louisiana against the British. Other letters comment frequently on local and national politics, including the Embargo of 1807 and mob actions; the Creek War, 1813-1814; the War of 1812, 1814-1815; and the practice of medicine and law on the Mississippi frontier. Remaining family letters of the first two decades reveal details of the social activities, education, finances, travel, and health of various Ker, Baker, Porter, and Nutt relatives in Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Kentucky. The people enslaved by these families were sometimes discussed in this period of the correspondence. Letters, 1821-1849, discuss politics and Senate business; plantation and religious affairs in Natchez; finances; and the education, rearing, and health of children, medicine, a Presbyterian minister who left Natchez for a new post in New York, the antislavery sentiment in the North, and the American Colonization Society. Letters, 1850-1858, give news of plantation affairs and children, travels, Butler relations, health, conflicts over the settlement of an estate, and a trip to New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Letters, 1860-1898, many from Marathon Plantation, discuss children, financials, life as a blacksmith and carpenter at Ingleside, beaus and weddings, financial difficulties, crops, European travel, and death in childhood. The undated letters are mostly about business, family, and social affairs of the Ker, Baker, and Dunbar families.
Subseries 1.2. Financial and Legal Papers are mostly antebellum papers of John Ker, his family, and his Baker and other relatives, documenting Natchez (Linden) and Franklin plantations, and household finances and settlement of relatives' estates, with additional postwar papers pertaining principally to the farming and personal accounts of Ker's son William H. and his daughter Mary Susan Ker. Included are estate papers; three Civil War items; bills and receipts from dry goods and hardware merchants, grocers, and livestock dealers; deeds and indentures; check stubs; scattered items relating to the American Colonization Society and other social projects, such as the Natchez Orphan Asylum. Of note is a will of Sarah Robinson that manumitts an enslaved person. Postwar papers are primarily plantation and personal accounts of William H. Ker and Mary Susan Ker of Elba Plantation, 1866-1870. There are account books recording grocery purchases, Europoean travel, and household inventory, and property and tax inventories. Enslaved people are documented in lists found in account books for Glenwood, Lake Washington, Dunbarton, and Marathon plantations.
Suberies 1.3 Other Family Papers consists of scattered items, mostly documenting Ker family history, the political career of John Ker, the education of his sons David and John at Oakland College, the political interests and teaching career of his son William H. in Port Gibson, and the family and social activities of his daughters Sarah Evelina and Mary Susan. Included are some short diaries; school essays; public addresses; poems, drawings, and etchings; and political broadsides.
Series 2. Twentieth-Century Papers consists of personal, teaching, financial and legal, business, and other papers of Mary Susan Ker, her grandnieces Tillie and Catharine Dunbar, and other relatives. Also included are records kept by Tillie and Catharine of the Natchez chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, of which they were officers.
Series 3. Pictures consists mostly of 19th-century portraits, including many childhood portraits, and other photographs of Ker, Dunbar, Butler, Forrester, Metcalfe, Choppin, Cade, Boyd, and other family members. There are also photographs of sports teams, school classes, and other group portraits, and photographs of scenes in and around Natchez, Miss., and abroad. None are in color. Unless otherwise noted, pictures are from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century.
The Addition of 1996 contains mostly family and social letters to members of the Ker and Dunbar families, especially John Ker, Mary S. Ker, Matilda (Tillie) Ralston Dunbar, Catherine Dunbar Brown, and Sue Percy Ker Hyams. There is also some financial and legal material produced by the Dunbar and Ker families, including wills, deeds of land sale, bills and receipts, stock certificates, and personal and business account books. There are many applications to genealogical organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Colonial Dames, along with materials documenting family history and qualifications for joining these organizations. Tillie Dunbar and Catherine Dunbar Brown were both very active in the D.A.R. and Colonial Dames, and this addition includes much material related to the organizations' administration and activities. Other material in this addition includes schoolwork done by members of the Ker and Dunbar families, and scrapbooks and commonplace books kept by various family members in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Much of this material is very similar to the papers in Series 1 and 2 of the collection. For most topics, researchers should look in those series as well as in the addition.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological.
Correspondence, financial and legal, and other papers of the Ker and Baker families of Mississippi and Louisiana and of scattered Hunt, Robinson, and Butler relatives, as well as the people they enslaved.
See Series 4, 5, and 9 for additional 19th-century papers.
Arrangement: chronological.
Chiefly antebellum and postwar correspondence of the Ker family of Greenville and Natchez, Miss., and their Baker, Hunt, and other relatives of Fort Adams, Miss.; Attakapas, La.; Philadelphia, Pa.; and Cincinnati, Ohio.
Folders 1-7:
Correspondence, 1800-1820, is chiefly of John Ker of Natchez, Miss., in the years prior to and months immediately following his marriage in 1820, with substantial correspondence of his brother David Ker of Greenville, Miss., his father-in-law Joshua Baker of Fort Adams, Miss., and his brother-in-law Isaac L. Baker, of Attakapas, La. Additional scattered letters belong primarily to Ker's fiancee Mary Kenard Baker, his mother Mary Boggs Ker, and his Hunt relatives of Philadelphia and Cincinnati.
Early letters, 1800-1811, mostly discuss the finances and military service of Joshua and Isaac Baker and the financial affairs of Abijah Hunt. An item of interest is a letter, dated 10 December 1814, from General Andrew Jackson to Joshua Baker concerning the appointment of Baker's son to West Point and the defense of Louisiana against the British (SEP-4656/1).
Later letters, especially those exchanged by John and David Ker, comment frequently on local and national politics, including the Embargo of 1807 and mob actions; the Creek War, 1813-1814; the War of 1812, 1814-1815; and the practice of medicine and law on the Mississippi frontier. Of note are two letters, 27 January 1815 and 17 October 1817, discussing medical philosophy and the relationship between the mind and body, and a letter dated 30 October 1816, describing a trip down the Mississippi River. Remaining family letters reveal details of the social activities, education, finances, travel, health, and enslaved people of various Ker, Baker, Porter, and Nutt relatives in Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Kentucky.
Folders 8-33:
Correspondence, 1821-1849, is chiefly of of John Ker, with substantial correspondence of Mary Baker Ker, Sarah Robinson of Natchez, and David Hunt of Lexington, Ky. There are also occasional items addressed to Isaac L. Baker; James and Sarah Metcalfe; several of the Ker children, including Sarah, Mary Susan, John, and David; and miscellaneous others.
John Ker's most frequent correspondents were his wife, sons David and John, associates Stephen Duncan and George Potts, and Judge A. W. Porter, Jr. John and Mary exchanged numerous letters, 1828-1845, while John served in the state Senate in New Orleans or was away on business. They discussed politics and Senate business; plantation and religious affairs in Natchez; their finances; and the education, rearing, and health of their children. David and John wrote their father frequently from Oakland College, 1841-1843, describing their material and academic life, and later from Houma, Miss., and other locations concerning their travels and work.
Letters, 1823-1849, from Stephen Duncan, who managed many of Ker's financial affairs, discuss business and occasionally medicine and politics. George Potts, a Presbyterian minister who left Natchez for a new post in New York, wrote, 1835-1849, discussing his replacement, his New York ministry, Ker's management of his financial affairs, and antislavery sentiment in the North. Judge A. W. Porter, Jr., wrote, 1831-1837, from New Orleans and Washington City discussing Louisiana and national politics, frequently criticizing President Jackson's policies. Scattered letters from others also discuss politics. A few letters, 1831-1835, mention Ker's role in the American Colonization Society.
Mary Ker's correspondence, besides that with her husband, is mostly with her brother Isaac, 1821-1829; her sister Sarah Metcalfe; her niece Anne Porter; and, after 1840, her children. Letters discuss plantation and Presbyterian church affairs, the welfare and education of her children, and other family news. Of note is an 1828 letter from her brother Joshua discussing the sudden death of their brother Lewis Baker. Also of interest is a letter Mary Ker wrote to Rev. John B. Warren of New Orleans in 1839 discussing the case of a Presbyterian minister charged with preaching "improper doctrine."
Letters to Sarah Robinson, scattered between 1822 and 1839, and those to David Hunt of Lexington, Ky., scattered between 1828 and 1857, as well as letters to miscellaneous others, discuss mostly business and plantation affairs and family news.
Folders 34-38:
Correspondence, 1850-1858, is chiefly letters received by Mary Kenard Baker from her daughters, Sarah Evelina Ker Butler and Mary Susan Ker. There are also scattered letters from her sons, John and David; her brother, Joshua Baker, Jr.; and other Baker, Nutt, Henderson, and Butler relatives.
Sarah wrote frequently from Terrebonne Parish, La., giving news of her plantation affairs and children, her travels, and her Butler relations. Of note are letters, dated May 1850 and 10 July 1855, opposing her sister Lizzie's and her sister Mary Susan's marriage plans. Mary Susan's letters, all written between July and September 1855, describe a prolonged visit to Brownson and other relatives in Kentucky and New York.
Letters from David and John discuss mostly their health, travels, and conflicts over the settlement of their father's estate. Other letters of interest are one in 1851 from Mrs. E. M. Hart Baker describing a trip to New Orleans during Mardi Gras and one in 1855 from Heloise de Mailly concerning Mary Susan's education. A letter dated 25 February 1850 lists an inventory of Mary Baker Ker's property.
Folders 39-40:
Correspondence, 1860-1899, is mostly Mary Susan Ker's exchanges with family and friends, and scattered letters of the William H. Ker family. Many of the letters to Mary Susan are from her niece Mamie S. Dunbar, who wrote from Marathon Plantation discussing her children, and from her friends Ysobel Boyd and Lou Conner. There are also letters from various other Butler and Ker relatives, including Mary Susan's brother David, her brother-in-law Richard Butler, and her brother Lewis B. Ker. Of note are an August 1867 letter from David expressing his views on her financial situation and an 1899 letter from Lewis describing his life as a blacksmith and carpenter at Ingleside. Many of the letters discuss beaus and weddings, financial difficulties, children, and crops. Several letters Mary Susan wrote in 1886 to friends describe a trip she took to Germany, Italy, and France.
Seven letters belonging to the William H. Ker family discuss the death of two of their children, 1888 and 1899; their daughter Pamelia's life at school in Port Gibson, Miss., 1890 and 1897; and her winning a scholarship to Stanton College in Natchez, 1899.
Folder 41:
The undated correspondence is mostly of John and Mary Baker Ker, with a few letters of their sons John and David, their daughters, Mary Susan and Sarah Evelina, and other relatives, including Lewis Baker, Sarah Baker Metcalfe, Mamie S. Dunbar, and Albert (Bertie) Dunbar. Most of the letters are from Stephen Duncan to John Ker about business affairs and medicine. Topics in the other letters are mostly business, family, and social affairs of the Ker, Baker, and Dunbar families.
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1
Folder 1-12 Folder 1Folder 2Folder 3Folder 4Folder 5Folder 6Folder 7Folder 8Folder 9Folder 10Folder 11Folder 12 |
1800-1829 |
Separated Folder SEP-4656/1 |
Letter from General Andrew Jackson to Joshua Baker concerning the appointment of Baker's son to West Point and the defense of Louisiana against the British, 10 December 1814Restriction to Access: The original item is not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options. |
Box
2
Folder 13-24 Folder 13Folder 14Folder 15Folder 16Folder 17Folder 18Folder 19Folder 20Folder 21Folder 22Folder 23Folder 24 |
1830-1840 |
Box
3
Folder 25-33 Folder 25Folder 26Folder 27Folder 28Folder 29Folder 30Folder 31Folder 32Folder 33 |
1841-1849 |
Box
4
Folder 34-41 Folder 34Folder 35Folder 36Folder 37Folder 38Folder 39Folder 40Folder 41 |
1850-1899 |
Arrangement: chronological.
Mostly antebellum papers of John Ker, his family, and his Baker and other relatives documenting plantation and household finances and settlement of relatives' estates, with additional postwar papers pertaining principally to the farming and personal accounts of Ker's son William H. and his daughter Mary Susan Ker. Included are estate papers of Everard Green, Lewis Baker, Anthony Baker, Mary Boggs Ker, and Sarah Robinson. A few items pertain to John and Sarah Ewing of Port Gibson, Miss., and Albert W. Dunbar. There are only three Civil War items, and only scattered items relate to Ker's involvement with the American Colonization Society and other social projects.
Folders 42-57:
The antebellum papers, 1776-1857, are of John Ker, primarily plantation and household accounts for Linden, his Natchez plantation, and for his Franklin, La., plantations. Also included are records for estates Ker administered, with scattered items of Baker (especially Joshua and Isaac Baker) and other relatives. Included are bills and receipts from dry goods and hardware merchants, grocers, and livestock dealers; deeds and indentures; and check stubs. There is also an 1840 "schedule of property" for John Ker. Estate papers are for Everard Green, Lewis Baker, and Anthony Baker, with a few items pertaining to Sarah Robinson (including her will manumitting an enslaved person) and Mary Boggs Ker.
Scattered items document John Ker's work with the American Colonization Society, 1837, 1842, 1847-1848; the Natchez Orphan Asylum, 1849; and Oakland College, 1837. One ledger, kept by John and Sarah Ewing, lists accounts of groceries and dry goods sold in Grand Gulf, Miss., and at unidentified locations, 1833-1857; watch and clock repair work done in Port Gibson, Miss., 1840-1845; and cotton picked and monies paid out, 1851 and 1855, on an unidentified plantation.
Also included is a 1776 bill of lading for Messrs. Campbell and Dunbar for foodstuffs shipped from Jamaica up the Mississippi River.
Folders 58-70:
Civil War and postwar papers, 1862-1893, primarily plantation and personal accounts, are of William H. Ker and Mary Susan Ker of Elba Plantation, 1866-1870. There are also several items relating to Albert W. Dunbar and to other Ker family members. Other materials relating to Mary Susan Ker include an 1861 bill from a Natchez grocer and an 1887-1888 account book, documenting her expenditures on a trip abroad to France, Italy, and England, and inventorying household items found at the Vicksburg, Miss., plantation where she was a governess in 1888.
Included in the materials relating to Albert Dunbar are a plantation account book, 1858-1877, containing scattered property and tax inventories and lists of enslaved people for Glenwood, Lake Washington, Dunbarton, and Marathon plantations, as well as a copy of a letter and deed related to the property of G. B. Shields. There are also photocopies of Dunbar's Civil War pardon, 1866. Additional items pertain to Mamie S. Ker and Pamelia Ker.
Folders 71-83:
Other Family Papers, 1806-1898, are scattered items mostly documenting Ker family history, the political career of John Ker, the education of his sons David and John at Oakland College, the political interests and teaching career of his son William H. in Port Gibson, and the family and social activities of his daughters Sarah Evelina and Mary Susan. Included are some short diaries; school essays; public addresses; poems, drawings, and etchings; and political broadsides.
Items of note are an 1842 description of a doctor's treatment of tetanus, the 1878 "Howard Association of New Orleans Rules for Treatment of Yellow Fever," and a list by Mamie S. Ker entitled "What I Can Remember having read before I was 10." There is also an 1806 muster order of Ker's father-in-law Joshua Baker.
Box
4
Folder 42-43 Folder 42Folder 43 |
1776-1829Also includes: Estate of Everard Green, 1804-1805, 1812-1813, 1819, 1821, 1823-1824 |
Box
5
Folder 44-54 Folder 44Folder 45Folder 46Folder 47Folder 48Folder 49Folder 50Folder 51Folder 52Folder 53Folder 54 |
1830-1850Also includes: Estate of Lewis Baker, 1834 Estate of Anthony Baker, 1828, 1834 |
Box
6
Folder 55-56 Folder 55Folder 56 |
Ledger, John and Sarah Ewing, Port Gibson, Miss., 1833, 1839-1845, 1850-1857 |
Box
6
Folder 57-62 Folder 57Folder 58Folder 59Folder 60Folder 61Folder 62 |
1810s-1867Also includes: William H. Ker, Elba Plantation, 1866 Mary Susan Ker, 1866-1867 William H. Ker and Mary Susan Ker, Elba Plantation, 1867 |
Box
7
Folder 63-70 Folder 63Folder 64Folder 65Folder 66Folder 67Folder 68Folder 69Folder 70 |
1857-1893Also includes: William H. Ker, Elba Plantation, 1868-1870 Mary Susan Ker, 1868-1869 Account Book, Albert W. Dunbar et al., 1857-1864, 1866, 1869-1871, 1877: Includes lists of enslaved people for various plantations. Marriage Certificate, Mamie S. Ker, 1878 Personal Account Book, Mary Susan Ker, 1887 Stock Certificate, Pamelia Ker, 1893 |
Arrangement: chronological by type.
Scattered items mostly documenting Ker family history, the political career of John Ker, the education of his sons David and John at Oakland College, the political interests and teaching career of his son William H. in Port Gibson, and the family and social activities of his daughters Sarah Evelina and Mary Susan. Included are some short diaries; school essays; public addresses; poems, drawings, and etchings; and political broadsides.
Items of note are an 1842 description of a doctor's treatment of tetanus, the 1878 "Howard Association of New Orleans Rules for Treatment of Yellow Fever," and a list by Mamie S. Ker entitled "What I Can Remember having read before I was 10." There is also an 1806 muster order of Ker's father-in-law Joshua Baker.
Box
7
Folder 71 |
Political Broadside, John Ker, Concordia Parish, Miss., 1830 |
Box
7
Folder 72 |
Address before Whig Club by John Ker, 1840 |
Box
7
Folder 73 |
Diary, Sarah Evelina Ker, 1841 |
Box
7
Folder 74 |
School Essays and Orations, David Ker, 1842-1844 |
Box
7
Folder 75 |
School Essays and Orations, David Ker, circa 1842-1844 |
Box
7
Folder 76 |
Drawings and Engravings, 1855 and undated |
Box
7
Folder 77 |
School Compositions and Grade Reports, Albert Dunbar, 1866-1871 |
Box
8
Folder 78 |
Daily Diaries, Mary Susan Ker, 1881-1884 |
Box
8
Folder 79 |
Genealogical Materials, 1884 and undated |
Box
8
Folder 80 |
Claiborne County, Miss., Election Materials, 1872-1873, 1876, 1879-1881, 1886, and undated |
Box
8
Folder 81 |
Miscellaneous Items, 1806, 1860, 1878, 1880, 1887-1890, 1896, and undated |
Box
8
Folder 82 |
Poems and Other Writings, 1865-1866, 1896, 1898, and undated |
Box
8
Folder 83 |
Teaching/School Administration Records (W. H. Ker), 1887-1889, 1893, 1897-1898, and undated |
Arrangement: By type.
Personal, teaching, financial and legal, business, and other papers of Mary Susan Ker, her grandnieces Tillie and Catharine Dunbar, and other relatives. Also included are records kept by Tillie and Catharine of the Natchez chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, of which they were officers.
See Series 4-9 for additional 20th-century papers.
Chiefly items related to Mary Susan's financial and legal affairs and clippings she saved from newspapers. There are also a significant amount of personal correspondence and scattered teaching and other materials. See also the Mary Susan Ker Papers (#1467).
Folders 84-96:
Letters, 1908-1923, received by Mary Susan, mostly from Tillie and Catharine and from her sister-in-law Josie C. Ker. There are also letters from other Ker, Dunbar, and Butler relatives and from friends in New Orleans and Lake Providence, La., San Antonio, Tex., Portland, Ore., Memphis, Tenn., and various Mississippi locations. The bulk of the letters are from the 1920s and chiefly discuss family news. Three letters, circa 1916-1918, describing the English homefront during World War I, are from Mary Susan's friend Ysobel Forrester in England. Other letters of interest are one, dated 12 December 1912, from a student of Mary Susan's, and two in 1915 from unidentified sisters aboard the U.S.S. Rotterdam.
Folders 97-104:
Bills, receipts, and account books of household and personal expenses, 1888-1920. Also of interest are scattered estate papers, 1888-1914, for Mary Susan's brother Lewis B. Ker.
Folders 105-114:
Newspaper clippings, 1880s-1923, principally related to religious matters, including missionary work in Africa, and to Mississippi history, politics, and education. Folder 114 contains clippings of wedding and death announcements and articles on family members' activities.
Folders 115-120:
Teaching materials are chiefly papers and grade books for students Mary Susan taught at Natchez Institute, 1898-1905. There are also a few undated lesson plan books.
Folders 121-126:
Other materials include are an address book and recipe book for Mary Susan, and a book of meeting minutes for the Natchez Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. (See Subseries 2.2.1 and Series 6 for additional D.A.R. material.) Miscellaneous items include poems; materials related to Flora McDonald College in Red Springs, N.C.; and a few loose diary entries.
Box
8
Folder 84-86 Folder 84Folder 85Folder 86 |
1908-1913 |
Box
9
Folder 87-94 Folder 87Folder 88Folder 89Folder 90Folder 91Folder 92Folder 93Folder 94 |
1914-1922 |
Box
10
Folder 95-96 Folder 95Folder 96 |
1923 and undated |
Box
10
Folder 97-100 Folder 97Folder 98Folder 99Folder 100 |
Bills and Receipts, 1900s |
Box
10
Folder 101 |
Bank Book, 1904-1905 |
Box
10
Folder 102 |
Estate of Lewis B. Ker, 1888-1897, 1899, 1901, 1903, 1906, 1914 |
Box
10
Folder 103-104 Folder 103Folder 104 |
Account Books,Includes: Household, 1919-1920 Personal, 1920 |
Box
10
Folder 105-106 Folder 105Folder 106 |
Newspaper clippings, 1892-1915 |
Box
11
Folder 107-113 Folder 107Folder 108Folder 109Folder 110Folder 111Folder 112Folder 113 |
Newspaper clippings, 1916-1923 |
Box
11
Folder 114 |
Newspaper clippings: Family, 1880s-1920s |
Box
11
Folder 115 |
Student Papers, 1898-1899 |
Box
11
Folder 117 |
Grade Book, Natchez Institute, 1899-1900 and undated |
Box
11
Folder 118 |
Grade Book, Natchez Institute, 1904-1905 (S-4656/1) |
Box
12
Folder 119 |
Student Papers, 1905 and undated |
Box
12
Folder 120 |
Lesson Books, undated |
Box
12
Folder 121 |
Address Books, 1906-1916 and 1916-1917 |
Box
12
Folder 122 |
Natchez Classified and Business Directory, 192? |
Box
12
Folder 123 |
Book of Minutes, D.A.R., Natchez Chapter, 1897-1899, 1903-1905 |
Box
12
Folder 124 |
The High School Dial, Short Story Ed., 1913 |
Box
12
Folder 125 |
Miscellaneous Items, 1902, 1916, 1921-1922, and undated |
Box
12
Folder 126 |
Recipe Book, undated |
Personal correspondence, business papers, and other materials of Tillie Dunbar of Natchez and Fayette, Miss. There are also scattered personal letters of her employer Judge Jeff Truly, and business items related to the bank he operated in Fayette (where she worked). Included are letters of Ker family relatives; correspondence and other business items documenting Tillie's personal and household finances, the settlement of the estates of Emily Dunbar and Catharine Dunbar Brown, and the affairs of Mary Duncan, an employee of Catharine's; and miscellaneous items relating to Tillie's club memberships and social activities.
Folders 127-152:
Correspondence, 1906-1969, is chiefly personal letters received from Ker, Dunbar, Butler, Pearl, and Cocke relatives, with scattered items from friends. Most early letters are from Mary Susan Ker, 1906-1923, and Tillie's beau Butler Reber, 1919-1920, who wrote often from Natchez after Tillie moved to Fayette. Scattered early letters also appear from Catharine Dunbar and from various relatives, including Genevieve, Josie Ker, Laura Butler, and Lizzie Cade.
Frequent topics of discussion are family health, finances, travels, and social activities and local events and acquaintances in Natchez. In 1937, there are letters from Catharine while she was being treated for liver problems in San Antonio, Tex. Beginning in the 1930s, a significant number of letters are from Mary Dunbar Cocke in Memphis, Tenn., and from Laura Butler. Many later letters from friends concern Tillie's organizational activities. A few, 1961-1962, discuss Catharine's death and the settlement of her estate. Undated letters are mostly from the later period.
Folders 153-192:
Business papers, 1895-1966, document the work and financial life of Tillie Dunbar and that of her employer Judge Jeff Truly. Items related to Tillie's finances and employment include checkbooks, bills and receipts for personal and household accounts, tax returns, and records of insurance she sold. Items for Jeff Truly include contracts, deeds, business and personal correspondence, bank accounts, advertisements and public relations materials for the Jefferson County Bank, and clippings on the banking industry. Much of Truly's personal correspondence concerns his genealogical interests. A few items in both Tillie's and Truly's papers relate to the finances of Mary Duncan and, in 1946, her ward Rebecca Hawkins. There are also estate papers for Emily Dunbar and Catharine.
Folders 193-210:
Other papers, 1894-1956, include personal files Tillie maintained on clubs and organizations to which she belonged, including the Business Women's Circle, the Natchez Historical Society, the Pilgrimage Garden Club, and the Colonial Dames of America. Also included are scattered personal items, including a postcard album, newspaper clippings, address books, recipes, poems, and pamphlets, and a few items relating to Ker family history. Of interest in the printed materials is a June 1921 issue of the magazine "Capt. Billy's Whiz Bang."
Box
12
Folder 127-131 Folder 127Folder 128Folder 129Folder 130Folder 131 |
1906-1927 |
Box
13
Folder 132-143 Folder 132Folder 133Folder 134Folder 135Folder 136Folder 137Folder 138Folder 139Folder 140Folder 141Folder 142Folder 143 |
1928-1952 |
Box
14
Folder 144-152 Folder 144Folder 145Folder 146Folder 147Folder 148Folder 149Folder 150Folder 151Folder 152 |
1953-1969 |
Box
14
Folder 153-154 Folder 153Folder 154 |
Business papers, 1895-1934Also includes: Stenographer's Notebook, 1915 Tax Returns, 1924-1928 |
Box
15
Folder 155-162 Folder 155Folder 156Folder 157Folder 158Folder 159Folder 160Folder 161Folder 162 |
Business papers, 1915-1938Also includes: Tax returns, 1934-1938 Stenographer's Notebook, 1915 |
Box
16
Folder 163-170 Folder 163Folder 164Folder 165Folder 166Folder 167Folder 168Folder 169Folder 170 |
Business papers, 1935-1940Also includes: Tax returns, 1930-1935 Stenographer's Notebook, 1935-1936 Account Book, 1940 |
Box
17
Folder 171-179 Folder 171Folder 172Folder 173Folder 174Folder 175Folder 176Folder 177Folder 178Folder 179 |
Business papers, 1940-1946Also includes: Insurance Account Book, 1940-1944 Correspondence, Jeff Truly, 1939-1944 Checkbook, 1944-1946 |
Box
18
Folder 180-187 Folder 180Folder 181Folder 182Folder 183Folder 184Folder 185Folder 186Folder 187 |
Business papers, 1945-1957Also includes: Correspondence, Jeff Truly, 1945-1946 Insurance Accounts, 1930-1947 Tax Returns, 1936-1953 Estate Papers of Emily Dunbar, 1957 |
Box
19
Folder 188-194 Folder 188Folder 189Folder 190Folder 191Folder 192Folder 193Folder 194 |
Business papers, 1956-1966Also includes: Account Book, 1939-1960 Estate of Catharine Dunbar Brown, 1960-1963 Address Books, 1939, 1951 |
Box
19
Folder 195 |
Business Women's Circle |
Box
19
Folder 196 |
Clippings, 1928-1965 |
Box
19
Folder 197 |
Family History |
Box
19
Folder 198 |
First Presbyterian Church, Natchez |
Box
19
Folder 199 |
Miscellaneous |
Box
19
Folder 200 |
Natchez Historical Society |
Box
20
Folder 201 |
National Society of the Colonial Dames of America |
Box
20
Folder 202 |
Pilgrimage Garden Club |
Box
20
Folder 203-204 Folder 203Folder 204 |
Postal Souvenirs Album, 1905-1915 and undated |
Box
20
Folder 205 |
Printed Materials, 1910s-1920s |
Box
21
Folder 206-208 Folder 206Folder 207Folder 208 |
Printed Materials, 1930s-1950s |
Box
21
Folder 209 |
Recipes |
Box
21
Folder 210 |
Webster's Dictionary, 1894 (with notes, 1920s-1930s) |
Personal correspondence, business, teaching, and other papers of Catharine Dunbar Brown. Included are letters exchanged with Ker and Dunbar relatives; financial and legal papers documenting her personal and household finances, her management of the business affairs of Alice Jenkins, Roberta Turpin, Mary Dunbar, and others, and management of her Natchez book and curio shop (Ye Olde Booke Shoppe); roll books, lesson plans, and other materials she used as a teacher at Natchez Institute; and miscellaneous items, including postcard albums, a photo album (PA-4656/1), a diary, and writings on Prohibition.
Folders 211-222:
Scattered letters, 1905-1959, were received mostly from Dunbar and Ker relatives and friends. Frequent correspondents include Percy and Lulie Dunbar in San Antonio, Tillie Dunbar, and David Ker. There are also scattered letters from Katharine Ker, Laura Butler, and others. Letters discuss mostly family news. A number of items in 1916 concern the dedication of a monument by the D.A.R. to Revolutionary War General John Willis. Many of the later letters are addressed to Catharine and "Doc," Catharine's husband Frederick Brown. These are mostly from their friends, many of whom shared Catharine's interest in genealogy and Natchez history.
Folders 223-253:
Business papers, 1911-1953, include one chronological and two alphabetical files maintained by Catharine documenting her household, business, and social affairs. The chronological file, 1911-1953, contains correspondence, bills and receipts, deeds, wills, account books, a telephone/address book, and clippings relating chiefly to properties Catharine owned, her household expenses, and individuals whose financial affairs she managed, including Alice Jenkins, 1927-1929, and Roberta Turpin, 1933-1934.
The first alphabetical file, 1922-1938, chiefly contains items related to Catharine's business affairs, with additional materials similar to those in the chronological file, including correspondence about the finances of Alice Jenkins and Mary Duncan. The second alphabetical file, 1931-1935, chiefly contains correspondence concerning books and antiques to be sold at Ye Olde Booke Shoppe. There are also four other folders containing accounts, receipts, financial statements, and miscellaneous items relating to Ye Olde Booke Shoppe.
Folders 254-261:
Teaching materials, 1893-1914, include lesson plans, roll books, and miscellaneous student papers kept by Catharine from her tenure at the Natchez Institute, along with class notes she took as a student at the University of Mississippi and texts she used for teaching Sunday School.
Folders 262-267:
Other papers, 1906-1955, include two albums of early 20th-century postcards, many with messages; a photo album containing mostly photographs of the Dunbar and Ker families; clippings about and a paper Catharine wrote on Prohibition; a household inventory book with scattered entries; and a diary with short entries describing daily events, 1951-1955.
Box
21
Folder 211-214 Folder 211Folder 212Folder 213Folder 214 |
1905-1926 |
Box
22
Folder 215-222 Folder 215Folder 216Folder 217Folder 218Folder 219Folder 220Folder 221Folder 222 |
1928-1959 and undated |
Box
22
Folder 223-225 Folder 223Folder 224Folder 225 |
Business Papers, 1911-1934Also includes: Household Account Book, 1919-1934 |
Box
23
Folder 226-230 Folder 226Folder 227Folder 228Folder 229Folder 230 |
Business Papers, 1931-1953Also includes: Household Account Book Enclosures, 1930-1938 Telephone/Address Book, 1947 |
Box
23
Folder 231-237 Folder 231Folder 232Folder 233Folder 234Folder 235Folder 236Folder 237 |
Business Files, General, A-W |
Box
24
Folder 238-253 Folder 238Folder 239Folder 240Folder 241Folder 242Folder 243Folder 244Folder 245Folder 246Folder 247Folder 248Folder 249Folder 250Folder 251Folder 252Folder 253 |
Ye Olde Booke Shoppe |
Box
25
Folder 254 |
College Class Notes |
Box
25
Folder 255-258 Folder 255Folder 256Folder 257Folder 258 |
Lesson Plans and Roll Books |
Box
25
Folder 259 |
"Limericks of Class A,1913-1914" and Other Student Items |
Box
25
Folder 260 |
Miscellaneous |
Box
25
Folder 261 |
Sunday School Texts |
Box
26
Folder 262-263 Folder 262Folder 263 |
Postcard Album, circa 1906-1913 |
Photograph Album PA-4656/1 |
Photo Album, 1915 |
Box
27
Folder 265 |
Prohibition, 1915, 1917, and undated |
Box
27
Folder 266 |
Household Inventory Book, 1935-1936 |
Box
27
Folder 267 |
Diary, 1951-1955 |
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Scattered items of Ker, Dunbar, and other relatives. Included are letters received by Mary Dunbar Cocke from Bill and Patsy Watson of Jacksonville, Fla.; receipts, deposit lists, personal property inventories, and an account book of Mary Dunbar; an account book and miscellaneous items belonging to Emily Dunbar of Pomfret, Conn.; scattered papers of Sue Ker Hyams, including clippings, correspondence, and newsletters chiefly relating to the First Presbyterian Church in Natchez; letters and financial items of Josie C. Ker; and a pharmacist's account book belonging to Rene Villere of New Orleans. (See also Series 2.1.2.2 for other items of Emily Dunbar.)
Box
27
Folder 268-269 Folder 268Folder 269 |
Mary Cocke (Mrs. Albert O.), 1962-1966 |
Box
27
Folder 270-271 Folder 270Folder 271 |
Emily Dunbar, Account Book, 1913-1923, 1951, and undated |
Box
27
Folder 272 |
Mrs. Mary Dunbar, 1892, 1915, and undated |
Box
27
Folder 273-274 Folder 273Folder 274 |
Sue Ker Hyams |
Box
28
Folder 275 |
Sue Ker Hyams |
Box
28
Folder 276 |
Josephine Chamberlain (Mrs. W. H.) Ker |
Box
28
Folder 277-278 Folder 277Folder 278 |
Rene Louis Villere, Account Book, 1927-1934 |
Box
28
Folder 279 |
Unidentified |
Arrangement: by type.
Correspondence, general files, and account books maintained by Catharine Dunbar Brown in her capacity as treasurer and regent of the Natchez Chapter of the D.A.R. and curator of Rosalie, the antebellum home restored and opened to tourists by the Chapter.
For addition D.A.R. material, see Series 6.
Folders 280-300:
Chronological files, 1924-1968 (bulk 1940s), containing correspondence; meeting materials, including agendas and programs; legal papers concerning the acquisition of Rosalie; clippings; membership lists; resolutions; by-laws; financial records; and scattered D.A.R. publications.
Folders 301-318
Alphabetical correspondence file, 1939-1945, of Catharine Dunbar Brown with fellow D.A.R. officers and others. Letters chiefly discuss Rosalie, organizational finances and business, conferences, membership, and the Natchez Pilgrimage.
Folders 319-326
Rosalie, 1948-1968, consists of accounts of visitors to and expenditures for the decoration and repair of Rosalie, the antebellum home restored and opened to tourists by the Chapter.
Box
29
Folder 280-286 Folder 280Folder 281Folder 282Folder 283Folder 284Folder 285Folder 286 |
1924-October 1947 |
Box
30
Folder 287-293 Folder 287Folder 288Folder 289Folder 290Folder 291Folder 292Folder 293 |
November 1947-1950 |
Box
31
Folder 294-300 Folder 294Folder 295Folder 296Folder 297Folder 298Folder 299Folder 300 |
1951-1968, and undated |
Box
32
Folder 301-309 Folder 301Folder 302Folder 303Folder 304Folder 305Folder 306Folder 307Folder 308Folder 309 |
A-J |
Box
33
Folder 310-318 Folder 310Folder 311Folder 312Folder 313Folder 314Folder 315Folder 316Folder 317Folder 318 |
K-Z |
Box
34
Folder 319-320 Folder 319Folder 320 |
Rosalie Guide Service Account, 1948-1950 |
Box
34
Folder 321-322 Folder 321Folder 322 |
Rosalie Guide Service Account, 1950-1954 |
Box
34
Folder 323-324 Folder 323Folder 324 |
Curator Year Book, 1958 |
Box
34
Folder 325-326 Folder 325Folder 326 |
Rosalie Guide Service Account, 1955-1968 |
Arrangement: by type.
Correspondence, office files, and visitors' calendars maintained by Catharine Dunbar Brown and Tillie Ralston Dunbar for the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. Calendars contain accounts for Evansview.
Folders 327-337:
Correspondence, 1941-1961 files maintained by Catharine and, after Catharine's death in 1960, by Tillie, concerning the activities of the Natchez Chapter of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. Letters scattered through the 1940s and 1950s are addressed to Tillie. They chiefly discuss her role as chair of the Historic Activities Committee. A few committee reports and other miscellaneous items are interspersed with the correspondence.
Folders 338-341:
Evansview, 1962-1966, includes a calendar of visitors to and expenditures for Evansview (formerly Bontura), the Natchez, Miss., antebellum home owned by and opened to tourists by the Colonial Dames.
Folders 342-349:
Other Material, 1945-1967, includes meeting materials, including minutes, agendas, and programs; financial records; membership lists; by-laws; scattered publications; clippings; and resolutions of the Natchez Chapter of the Colonial Dames. Most of the materials, 1966-1967, are financial records for Evansview.
For additional Colonial Dames material, see Series 6.
Box
34
Folder 327-330 Folder 327Folder 328Folder 329Folder 330 |
1941-October 1961 |
Box
35
Folder 331-337 Folder 331Folder 332Folder 333Folder 334Folder 335Folder 336Folder 337 |
November 1961-1967, and undated |
Box
35
Folder 338-339 Folder 338Folder 339 |
Evansview Calendar, 1962-1964 |
Box
36
Folder 340-341 Folder 340Folder 341 |
Evansview Calendar, 1964-1966 |
Box
36
Folder 342-349 Folder 342Folder 343Folder 344Folder 345Folder 346Folder 347Folder 348Folder 349 |
1945-1967, and undated |
Arrangement: chronological by type.
Mostly 19th-century portraits, including many childhood portraits, and other photographs of Ker, Dunbar, Butler, Forrester, Metcalfe, Choppin, Cade, Boyd, and other family members. There are also photographs of sports teams, school classes, and other group portraits, and photographs of scenes in and around Natchez, Miss., and abroad. None are in color. Unless otherwise noted, pictures are from the late 19th or early 20th century.
Included are four tintypes (SF-4656/1-4), and several colorized photos (P-4656/Folder 28). An album of photos (PA-4656/1) of family and friends compiled by Catharine Dunbar and two albums of postcards (folders 256-257), many bearing pictures, are filed in Series 2.1.3.4. Two additional postcard albums are filed in Series 2.1.2.3 (folders 195-196).
Acquisitions Information: Accession 96076, 96175
Arrangement: chronological.
Personal and business letters of members of the Ker, Dunbar, and Hyams families. The letters from 1803 through the 1860s are mainly to John Ker. Letters of particular interest include that of 1803 to Jonathan Dayton, which discusses the imminent transfer of New Orleans to the United States and predicts that it will become one of the nation's most important ports. There is an 1831 letter to John Ker from Mr. Thomas of Alexandria discussing the desirability of getting the free blacks out of the United States. A letter of 26 May 1850 mentions the writer, Adam Kleffort's, fears of persecution by doctors and their "mesmeric thought stealing." There is also a letter to John Ker from General John Quitman. There are also many letters to Mary S. Ker.
From 1894 through the 1950s, the majority of the letters are to Matilda (Tillie) Ralston Dunbar and her sister Catherine Dunbar Brown. Correspondents include Tillie and Catherine Dunbar, their sister Mary and brother Albert, their Aunts Mamie and Josie Ker, and relatives Laura and Pierce Butler. Letters mainly discuss family news. In the 1950s through the 1990s, most of the letters are addressed to Sue Percy Ker Hyams, but there continue to be many letters to and from Tillie Dunbar and Catherine Dunbar Brown. These later letters discuss family and social news, Daughters of the American Revolution business, Robert P. Hyams's barge and towing business, the bankruptcy of Pierce Butler in the 1930s, and Sue Percy Ker Hyams's work in historic preservation.
See also Series 1 and Series 2.
Box
37
Folder 350-368 Folder 350Folder 351Folder 352Folder 353Folder 354Folder 355Folder 356Folder 357Folder 358Folder 359Folder 360Folder 361Folder 362Folder 363Folder 364Folder 365Folder 366Folder 367Folder 368 |
1803-1905 |
Box
38
Folder 369-376 Folder 369Folder 370Folder 371Folder 372Folder 373Folder 374Folder 375Folder 376 |
1906-1908 |
Box
38
Folder 377 |
Postcards 1908 |
Box
39
Folder 378-388 Folder 378Folder 379Folder 380Folder 381Folder 382Folder 383Folder 384Folder 385Folder 386Folder 387Folder 388 |
1909-1911 |
Box
40
Folder 389 |
Postcards 1911 |
Box
40
Folder 390-397 Folder 390Folder 391Folder 392Folder 393Folder 394Folder 395Folder 396Folder 397 |
1912-1913 |
Box
41
Folder 398-405 Folder 398Folder 399Folder 400Folder 401Folder 402Folder 403Folder 404Folder 405 |
1914-1916 |
Box
42
Folder 406-417 Folder 406Folder 407Folder 408Folder 409Folder 410Folder 411Folder 412Folder 413Folder 414Folder 415Folder 416Folder 417 |
1917-1923 |
Box
43
Folder 418-430 Folder 418Folder 419Folder 420Folder 421Folder 422Folder 423Folder 424Folder 425Folder 426Folder 427Folder 428Folder 429Folder 430 |
1924-1939 |
Box
44
Folder 431-446 Folder 431Folder 432Folder 433Folder 434Folder 435Folder 436Folder 437Folder 438Folder 439Folder 440Folder 441Folder 442Folder 443Folder 444Folder 445Folder 446 |
1940-1957 |
Box
45
Folder 447-461 Folder 447Folder 448Folder 449Folder 450Folder 451Folder 452Folder 453Folder 454Folder 455Folder 456Folder 457Folder 458Folder 459Folder 460Folder 461 |
1958-1973 |
Box
46
Folder 462-477 Folder 462Folder 463Folder 464Folder 465Folder 466Folder 467Folder 468Folder 469Folder 470Folder 471Folder 472Folder 473Folder 474Folder 475Folder 476Folder 477 |
1974-1996 |
Box
47
Folder 478-484 Folder 478Folder 479Folder 480Folder 481Folder 482Folder 483Folder 484 |
UndatedIncludes letters and invitations to Mary Ker, Catharine Dunbar Brown, Tillie Dunbar, Sue Percy Ker Hyams, and others. |
Box
48
Folder 485-487 Folder 485Folder 486Folder 487 |
Christmas cards and calling cards |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 96076, 96175
Arrangement: by type of material.
Contains various financial and legal records of the Ker, Dunbar, and related families. The nineteenth-century legal material includes, among other documents, wills of Margaret Dunlop and Helen and Annette Smith, deeds of conveyance for land; nineteenth-century bills and receipts mainly of Mary S. Ker, with a few of John Ker and others. Twentieth-century legal material includes wills of Tillie Dunbar, powers of attorney, deeds of conveyance for land, and others. Other financial material in the series includes various documents and notes related to settling the estate of Tillie Dunbar, and many bank and account books kept by Emily Dunbar, Tillie Dunbar, Catherine Dunbar Brown, Dr. Ambrose Storck, and Sue Percy Ker Hyams (to whom the records of fabric purchased probably belonged.) There are also stock certificates, mainly for individual boats run by Robert P. Hyams barge and towing business, which were received in mostly blank books of stock certificates.
See also financial and legal papers in Series 1 and Series 2.
Box
48
Folder 488 |
19th-century Legal Material |
Box
48
Folder 489 |
19th-century Bills and Receipts |
Box
48
Folder 490-491 Folder 490Folder 491 |
20th-century Legal Material |
Box
48
Folder 492 |
20th-century Bills and Receipts |
Box
48
Folder 493 |
Stock Certificates |
Box
48
Folder 494 |
Estate of Tillie Dunbar |
Box
48
Folder 495 |
Miscellaneous Financial Records |
Box
49
Folder 496 |
Tillie Dunbar's Bank Book, 1902 - 1908 |
Box
49
Folder 497 |
Grocery Account Book, 1903 |
Box
49
Folder 498 |
Dr. Ambrose Storck's Ledger, 1915-1917 |
Box
49
Folder 499 |
Account Book, 1922-1936 |
Box
49
Folder 500 |
"The Hobby Shop" book, 1923 - 1936 |
Box
49
Folder 501 |
Bank and Account Books of Emily Dunbar, 1924 - 1948 |
Box
49
Folder 502 |
Account Book, 1928 - 1954 |
Box
49
Folder 503 |
Catherine D. Brown's Account Book, 1931 - 1954 |
Box
49
Folder 504 |
"Record of Sales" Book, 1936 - 1937 |
Box
50
Folder 505 |
Fabric Order Book, 1950 |
Box
50
Folder 506 |
Account Book, Stocks Book, 1956 - 1969 |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 96076, 96175
Arrangement: by organization and subject.
Various materials related to the genealogical research done by many members of the Ker and Dunbar families, especially Tillie and Catherine Dunbar and Sue Percy Ker Hyams, including their documentation of lines of descent to gain membership in such organizations as the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Colonial Dames, and many others. Because the genealogical research these women did for their own interest, for qualification to join the genealogical organizations, and the activities of those organizations are all so closely related, they are combined in this series. There are many letters in the Letters series which relate to their genealogical research as well. This series includes administrative information produced by the D.A.R. and the Colonial Dames, in which both Tillie and Catherine Dunbar held office, and especially material related to the management of the historic Natchez houses, "Rosalie," "Evansview" and "Bontura," restored and opened to the public by these organizations. The other genealogical organizations to which Sue Percy Ker Hyams and her family applied for membership include the Order of the First Families of Mississippi, The Society of the Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims, the Society of the Cincinnati of the State of South Carolina, and many others. Material for these other societies consists mainly of application forms showing the appropriate descent.
Other papers related to the D.A.R. and the Colonial Dames may be found in Series 2.2.
Box
50
Folder 507-512 Folder 507Folder 508Folder 509Folder 510Folder 511Folder 512 |
Daughters of the American Revolution - general material |
Box
51
Folder 513-519 Folder 513Folder 514Folder 515Folder 516Folder 517Folder 518Folder 519 |
Colonial Dames |
Box
51
Folder 520-522 Folder 520Folder 521Folder 522 |
Miscellaneous Genealogical Notes |
Box
52
Folder 523 |
Miscellaneous Genealogical Notes |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 96076, 96175
Arrangement: by originator of materials and type of materials, roughly chronological.
School assignments, notebooks, and report cards of Tillie and Catherine Dunbar produced mainly in the early twentieth century. Also includes Tillie Dunbar's books and assignments from The George H. Powell System of Advertising Instruction correspondence course. There are two grade books kept by Mary S. Ker when she was a teacher in the 1890s. Other nineteenth-century material includes two composition books kept by Matilda B. Ralston in which English sentences are translated into French, and Charles Dorrance Stuart's 1865 copy book which begins with the statement, "A reward of a gun for copying this speech. Speech on the Force Bill." Other school-related material includes various school bulletins and Mary S. Ker's teaching license and contracts.
See also Series 2.1 for additional teaching materials.
Box
52
Folder 524 |
Report Cards, 1893 - 1912 |
Box
52
Folder 525 |
Matilda B. Ralston, undated 19th century |
Box
52
Folder 526 |
Charles Dorrance Stuart, 1865 |
Box
52
Folder 527 |
Tracy's School Record - Mary S. Ker, 1894 |
Box
52
Folder 528 |
Teacher's Class Record - Mary S. Ker, 1896 and related material |
Box
52
Folder 529 |
Teacher's License and Contracts - Mary S. Ker, 1896 - 1915 |
Box
52
Folder 530 |
Tillie Ralston Dunbar, 1903 - 1904 |
Box
52
Folder 531 |
Catherine Shields Dunbar, c.1904 - 1908 |
Box
52
Folder 532 |
Advertising School Correspondence Course - Books and other materials |
Box
53
Folder 533-534 Folder 533Folder 534 |
Advertising Correspondence Course, 1907-1908, 1910 |
Box
53
Folder 535 |
Flora Macdonald College, Crossnore School, and Piney Woods School Bulletins, 1920s - 1950s |
Box
53
Folder 536 |
Miscellaneous Schoolwork |
Acquisitions Information: Accession 96076, 96175
Arrangement: none.
Scrapbooks and other materials, including six scrapbooks, some of which contain advertising and other pictures and some of which contain newspaper clippings. Also in this series are a number of other volumes, especially commonplace books in which the women of the Ker and Dunbar families wrote poems, song lyrics, aphorisms, and a few journal-like entries. Documentation of Robert P. Hyams's barge and towing business and of the individual tug boats he owned are also included. (See also the Stocks folder in the Financial and Legal series for stocks issued in these boats.) There are several drafts of a National Geographic article about New Orleans, for which Sue Percy Ker Hyams was interviewed and in which she appears as a character. Other materials document the Natchez Pilgrimage and other social and historical activities. The story of Mr. Cosgrove is a 48-page typewritten story told from the point of view of a child's teddy bear, Mr. Cosgrove.
Acquisitions Information: Accession 96076, 96175
Arrangement: into groups of family, friends, and unidentified people.
Large series of photographs. Photographs of numerous individuals who are represented in the papers of this collection. Many excellent photographs of men, women, and children in late 19th century and early 20th century costume.
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-4656/1 |
Oversize papers |
Oversize Image Folder OP-PF-4656/1 |
Oversize photographs |