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Size | 0.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 200 items) |
Abstract | Digby Gordon Seymour (1855-1927) was a railroad engineer who lived and worked in the southeastern United States. He was the father of Knoxville, Tenn., lawyer and businessman Charles Milne Seymour (1882-1958), who was the father of Tennessee medical doctor and historian Digby Gordon Seymour (1923- ). The collection chiefly includes letters, 1893-1902, written by Digby Gordon Seymour at his work locations in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee to his oldest son, Charles Milne Seymour. Also included are telegrams from Digby Seymour and a letter from him to another son, James. These communications contain fatherly advice, especially comments on and encouragement of Charles Seymour's studies. Digby Seymour wrote of borrowing money to pay for Charles Seymour's attendance at Sewanee Military Academy in Tennessee and at the University of Tennessee and for his family's monthly expenses; expenditures for rent, food, clothing, shoes, and travel; and a lawsuit with R. M. Quigley & Co., a Saint Louis contractor for which he had previously worked. In later letters, he discussed his political opinions, especially his support for Republican politicians. Items of note include a 22 March 1900 letter that provides directions for staging an eleven-act minstrel show. |
Creator | Seymour, Digby Gordon, 1855-1927. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
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Digby Gordon Seymour (1855-1927) was a railroad engineer who lived and worked in the southeastern United States. He was born in Kentucky, but educated at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H. Throughout his career, he worked for a number of employers and, for a time, was engaged in a lawsuit with R. M. Quigley & Co., a Saint Louis contractor for which he had worked. Digby Seymour married Josephine Ermine Douglas, and the couple had several children, including Charles Milne Seymour and James Seymour.
Digby Seymour's eldest son, Charles Milne, was born on 17 July 1882. He attended Sewanee Military Academy, 1897-1899, and graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1903. He later became a lawyer, businessman, and community leader in Knoxville, Tenn. Charles Seymour married Flora Nell Gloster in 1906, and they had eight children: Nell Gloster, Jane Scott, Charles Milne Jr., Josephine Douglas, Arthur Gloster, Dorothy Gordon, Richard Caswel, and Digby Gordon. Charles Milne Seymour died in 1958.
Back to TopThe collection chiefly includes letters, 1893-1902, written by railroad engineer Digby Gordon Seymour at his work locations in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee to his oldest son, Charles Milne Seymour. Also included are telegrams from Digby Seymour and a letter from him to another son, James Seymour. These communications contain fatherly advice, especially comments on and encouragement of Charles Seymour's studies. Digby Seymour wrote of borrowing money to pay for Charles Seymour's attendance at Sewanee Military Academy in Tennessee and at the University of Tennessee and for his family's monthly expenses; expenditures for rent, food, clothing, shoes, and travel; and a lawsuit with R. M. Quigley & Co., a Saint Louis contractor for which he had previously worked. In later letters, he discussed his political opinions, especially his support for Republican politicians. Items of note include a 22 March 1900 letter that provides directions for staging an eleven-act minstrel show.
Back to TopArrangement: chiefly chronological.
Folder 1 |
Letters, 1893-1897Letters to Charles Seymour from Digby Seymour in Fairmont, Ind., September 1893; "In Camp," April-May 1896; and Tuscaloosa, Ala., April-May 1897 |
Folder 2 |
Letters, June-December 1898Letters to Charles Seymour from Digby Seymour in Georgiana, Ala. |
Folder 3 |
Letters, January-December 1899Letters to Charles Seymour from Digby Seymour in Georgiana, Ala., January-August 1899; Bon Air, Tenn., September-October, 1899; Knoxville, Tenn., October 1899; and Brookwood, Ala., October-December 1899. |
Folder 4 |
Letters, January-July 1900Letters to Charles Seymour from Digby Seymour in Brookwood, Ala., January-May 1900, and Ducktown, Tenn., May-July 1900. |
Folder 5 |
Letters, July-December 1901Letters to Charles Seymour from Digby Seymour in Ducktown, Tenn., July 1901, and Vicksburg, Miss., August-December 1901. |
Folder 6 |
Letters, January-August 1902Letters to Charles Seymour from Digby Seymour in Vicksburg, Miss., January-May 1902, and "In Camp," May-August 1902 |
Folder 7 |
Other papersLetter to Digby Seymour, January 1899; letter to James Seymour from Digby Seymour in Vicksburg, Ala., January 1902; telegrams to Charles Seymour from Digby Seymour, July 1899-March 1902; papers marked "Rule for Vertical Curves"; fragments; and clippings. |