Edmonston Inventory of the Edmonston/Kelly Families Collection, 1860-1865 Processed by: George Frizzell; machine-readable finding aid created by: Tim Carstens Special CollectionsWestern Carolina University Hunter Library
Cullowhee, NC, USA
 2007

This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.

 Machine-readable finding aid derived from XML authoring program. Date of source: Description is in English Finding aid was prepared using DACS Inventory of the Edmonston/Kelly Families Collection Western Carolina University Hunter Library Descriptive Summary Western Carolina University Hunter Library Special Collections Edmonston and Kelly Families Edmonston/Kelly Families Collection, 1860-1865 Material in English 0.25 For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Hunter Library Special Collections. Letters of Edmonston and Kelly families of Haywood County, North Carolina during the period 1860 to 1865. Collection includes correspondence of the Edmonston and Kelly families and also includes photographs and supporting research on the families. Administrative Information Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

 Copyright Notice

Copyright for materials resides with the creators of the items in question, unless otherwise designated.

 Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Edmonston/Kelly Families Collection, Special Collections, Western Carolina University Hunter Library, Cullowhee, NC, USA.

 Acquisitions Information

Gift

 Processing Information

Processed by George Frizzell.

Encoded by Tim Carstens, January 2007.

Biographical Note

Soldiers of the North Carolina 62nd Infantry Regiment wrote most of the letters in the Edmonston and Kelly collection when they were stationed in east Tennessee. The letters were written to family members in Haywood County, North Carolina. The connection between the two families was the marriage of Rufus P. Kelly to Dorothy Edmonston in 1855. In two instances, Kelly and Thomas B. Edmonston wrote separate letters on a shared piece of stationery. Rufus P. Kelly joined Company I, North Carolina 62nd Infantry Regiment as a 1st sergeant in July 1862 (North Carolina Troops, vol. 15, p. 121; see also North Carolina Troops, vol. 2, p. 532). Thomas B. Edmonston, born 1842, enlisted in July, 1862, and was assigned to Company I, North Carolina 62nd Infantry Regiment, and afterwards to Company F (North Carolina Troops, vol. 15, p.117). The Federal Census of 1860 for Haywood County, North Carolina, lists Benjamin F. Edmonston, age 23, and Thomas B. Edmonston, age 18, in the household of Ninion and Mary Ann Edmonston.

Content and Scope

Correspondence (c. 1860-1865) of the Edmonston and Kelly families, particularly letters from R.P. Kelly, Ben Edmonston, and T.B. Edmonston -- serving as soldiers in the Civil War -- to family members in Haywood County, North Carolina, notably Dorothy Edmonston Kelly; additional correspondents include Maggie Edmonston and A. MacDowell. Also included are photographs and supporting research on the families and the individual items in the collection.

 Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

Edmonston family--Correspondence Kelly family--Correspondence United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865 Haywood County (N.C.)--History Detailed Description of the Materials MSS 95-5Correspondence A. L. MacDowell, E. Keehan, N.C., to R.P. Kelly, July 19, 1860. R.P. Kelly, Camp Zalacopher, to "Dear Dorthy." September 1, 1862. [envelope]. R.P. Kelly, Co. (g) 62 Reg. N.C. to Mrs. D.I. Kelly [Dorothy Independence], Wainesville [sic], Haywood County, N.C. Edmon(ston) [Thomas], Camp Zallicoffer, Ten., to "Dear Parents", September 16, 1862 R.P. Kelly, Zolycoffer, Tenn., to "Dear Father and Mother and Sisters." September 16, 1862 R.P. Kelly, Zalacffer, Ten., to "Dear Dorthy." September 1862 R.P. Kelly, Limestone, Tenn., to "Dear Dorthy." February 2, 1863. Ben Edmonston [?], Cumberland Gap, to "My Dear father and mother." June 25, 1863. [This item is a fragment of a letter and is without a signature, but is believed to be from Ben Edmonston] T.B. Edmonston, Cumberland Gap, to "Dear Parents and famolie." July 4, 1863. R.P. Kelly to "Dear Dorthy." [July 4, 1863]. [Note: almost all of this letter is illegible]. Maggie Edmonston, ?, to "Dear parents and family." July 6, 1863. [?], Camp Woodfin, N.C., Asheville, to "Sister Dorothy and Mother." [?] 17, 1865. [Note: the letter has faded to a considerable extent, and most of it is illegible]. [envelope]. Addressed to Mrs. D.I. Kelly, Waynesville, Haywood Co., N.C. Postmarked Freedom, Ten, Apr 21 Ben Edmonston to ? (letter fragment). ? MSS 95-5 Photographs [photograph] Ninian Edmonston and wife