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				Watson Family Papers
				Collection 3 Watson Family. Papers, 1793-1930. 1 ft. (ca. 500 items)
				Correspondence, financial and legal records of several families from the Port Gibson, Mississippi region. Among the themes reflected in the collection are the Presbyterian Church and its activities in Mississippi, economic pursuits especially plantation management, relations with blacks as both slaves and freedmen, and health concerns including recurring yellow fever epidemics. The major figures represented in this collection are James Smylie, Amelia Smylie Montgomery, Joseph A. Montgomery, James Cotton, James W. Watson, and Caroline Buck. Also included are the papers of Major J. W. Watson, U. S. Army (ca. 1865-1920) who served in Indian Wars and as an Indian Agent during the 1890s and in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Following his retirement for reasons of health he returned to Cuba. He wrote about a Cuban land dispute in which he was involved and the Cuban Revolution of 1917. He also wrote some virulently anti-German pieces during World War I. The collection was donated by Dalton Watson of Waterproof, Louisiana.
				SERIES
				A.	Family Records
					1.	Family Papers
						a.	Correspondence		1-1 through 1-18
						b.	Journal		1-19
					2.	Photographs			1-20
					3.	Financial and Legal Records			1-21 through 1-31
					4.	Miscellaneous
						a.	Churches and Schools		2-1 through 2-2
						b.	Clippings		2-3 through 2-4
						c.	Miscellaneous		2-5
				B.	James Waterman Watson Papers
					1.	West Point			2-6
					2.	Indians and the West			2-7 through 2-10
					3.	Cuba: Spanish-American War			2-11
					4.	Cuba: Retirement			2-21
				INVENTORY
				A.	Family Records
					1.	Family Papers
						a.	Correspondence
				1-1	1805-1819
						Presbyterian Church 6/7/1806; 4/29/1811; 11/22/1819
						Business 11/22/1819
					Person represented: James Smylie
				1-2	1820-1829
						Smylie Family
						Presbyterian Church
					Person represented: James Smylie
				1-3	1830-1836
						comments of Cherokees and nullification 7/2/1832 Oakland College 5/14/1836 Smylie Family
					Persons represented: Amelia Smylie; James Smylie
				1-4	1837-1839
						Oakland College 12/14/1837 Presbyterian Church 6/7/1838
					Person represented: James A. Montgomery
				1-5	1840s
						Smylie Family business health
				1-6	1853-1859
						yellow fever 1853 case of a slave killing 2/8/1854 state politics 10/4/1855 health business
					Persons represented: James W. Watson; James Cotton; Joseph A. Montgomery
1-7	1861-1865
		letter from Henry W. Allen (ALS 1/12/1865) business changes in slavery caused by war
	Persons represented: James W. Watson; Clarissa Young; Amelia T. Montgomery
1-8	1866-1868
		Reconstruction business: plantations; cotton market 5/12/1868
	Persons represented: Joseph A. Montgomery, James W. Watson; Clarissa Young
1-9	1869
		business Montgomery Family (ancestral history through early 19th century)
	Person represented: Clarissa Young
1-10	1872-1874
		Reconstruction Presbyterian Church 10/23/1873
	Person represented: Joseph A. Montgomery
1-11	1876-1877
		Watson Family State Republican Party 6/22/1876 Clarissa Young, died 1877
1-12	1878-1879
		Watson Family yellow fever 10/8/1878
1-13	1881-1887
		Watson Family
1-14	1893-1899
		Watson Family Agriculture--Washington [State] 5/9/1899
1-15	1907-1911
		reminiscences of Julia Richardson Booth of year 1863 (ca. 1910)
			Vicksburg Campaign
		Watson Family Genealogy
1-16	1915-1926
		Watson Family genealogy Alcorn A & M College Port Gibson Methodist Church
	Persons represented: A. T. Montgomery; Linda Watson Montgomery; J. T. McCaleb
1-17	1930
		Irwin Russel genealogy - Buck Family
1-18	n.d.
		genealogy - Flower Family
			See also letter of 5/23/1907
		genealogy - Carpenter Family, fragment
A.	Family Records
	1.	Family Papers
		b.	Journal
1-19	Journal of Caroline Buck, 1875-1879, 65 pages, typescript
		excursion to Virginia and north, 1876 yellow fever epidemic, 1878
A.	Family Records
	2.	Photographs
1-20	Miscellaneous photographs of individuals, ca. 1870s-1920s
		identified: Lucile MacCrellis (?) ca. 1870s; Kate Gunnis (See letter of 11/3/1873); Lucile -----, ca. 1910s; "Miss Linda Watson and Her Flock of Southdowns" (n.d.)
		remainder unidentified
A.	Family Records
	3.	Financial and Legal Records
1-21	1793-1810
	personal receipts; slave sale document; tax payment receipts
		mainly records of James Smylie
1-22	1811-1815
		same, including certificate of baptism performed by Smylie
1-23	1818-1822
		receipts; doctor's bills; survey of land in Claiborne County; land deed; (DS James Monroe)
1-24	1824-1829
		receipts and accounts
1-25	1830-1836
		will of Francis Murdock 6/8/1833 receipts and accounts mainly of James Cotton
1-26	1837-1848
		receipts mainly of James Cotton; land survey deed of land from Cotton to village of Port Gibson
1-27	1852-1858
		receipts of James Cotton
1-28	1858
		receipts of James Cottn including drug bill
1-29	1858-1860
		receipts and accounts of James Cotton pew rental agreement between Port Gibson Presbyterian Church and J. A. Montgomery 12/17/1860
1-30	1862-1874
		receipts of James W. Watson and others 1 DS by John Taylor Moore citation for delinquent taxes against estate of James Cotton 2/18/1874
1-31	1916, 1924
		teaching certificate of Linda Watson deed from heirs of Caroline Buck to Linda Watson Montgomery 10/27/1924
A.	Family Records
	4.	Miscellaneous
		a.	Churches and Schools
2-1	Materials on religious and education institutions 1799-1900
		playbill for Last Judgement, 1799 constitution of Franklin Society and Franklin Academy, Jefferson County, Mississippi Territory, 1805 prospectus for The Western Monitor, 1818 includes list of subscribers headed by James Smylie congregational report for Church of Sharon in Simpson City, 1827 prospectus for Jefferson College, Washington, Mississippi, 1829 prospectus for The Mississippi Presbyterian, 1853 prospectus for La Grange Synodical College, 1857 program for ceremony at Chamberlain-Hunt Academy, 1900
2-2	Oakland College Magazine
		v 1, # 1, 12/1855; v 1, # 2, 7/1856; v 2, # 1, 11/1856
A.	Family Records
	4.	Miscellaneous
		b.	Clippings
2-3	1867-1876; miscellaneous
		includes: politics, race relations, and list of Confederate dead of Amite County
2-4	1878: Yellow fever
A.	Family Records
	4.	Miscellaneous
		c.	Miscellaneous
2-5	Miscellaneous
		"Piece Book" of Amelia Smylie, 5/1825 "Speech of Hon. O. P. Morton...on the Mississippi Election," 1876 election ticket, ca. 1877-1879 flyer for lecture by A. T. Montgomery on "The South," 1897
B.	James Waterman Watson Papers
	1.	West Point
2-6	Appointment (1876) and letter (1/17/1878)
B.	James Waterman Watson Papers
	2.	Indians and the West
2-7	1881-1890
		description of medicine dance observed in Indian Territory, 8/13/1881 report of activities during Apache War, 1890
2-8	Crow Reservation Agency, Montana, 1903, n.d.
		documents prepared in defense against case involving claims against Watson for violating penal statutes while agent on Crow Reservation, 1894-1897
2-9	Accounts of travel in Mexico, 1901
		handwritten draft emphasizing climb of Colima Volcano typed draft entitled "From Guadalajara to Tuxpan, Mexico," 4 pages similar but many variations
			Mexico--Description and Travel Colima Volcano
2-10	Photographs (7 originals, 4 copies)
		Apaches calvary officers and chief of scouts, Albert Seiber drawing of Battle of Wounded Knee reproduced as albumin photograph
B.	James Waterman Watson Papers
	3.	Cuba: Spanish-American War
2-11	Report, re assault on San Juan Hill and recommendations for citations for bravery resulting from assault on San Juan Hill and Battle of Las Guasimas
B.	James Waterman Watson Papers
	4.	Cuba: Retirement
2-12	Correspondence and drafts of letters-to-the-editor
		denouncing German war effort, 1913-1915
			includes: letter from James B. Hughes about his military disciplinary case letter to Mr. Douglass re Cuban land letter to George W. Goethals containing reminiscences about West Point and army experiences and personal news
2-13	Correspondence, 1916
2-14	Correspondence and anti-German writings, 1917, n.d.
		includes: letter to Naval Consulting Board with detailed suggestions concerning war effort, 6/1917
2-15	Journal, February-May, 1917: 2 drafts
		deals with Cuban Revolution and World War I news mainly
2-16	Same: copy 2 (partial)
2-17	Correspondence and writings concerning Cuban land controversy, 1919-1920
2-18	Miscellaneous
		correspondence concerning posthumous citations for Major Watson, 9/4/1924 fragments of correspondence; clippings miscellaneous writings of J. W. Watson poem in Spanish Hubbard, Elbert, "How Lifted the Lid Off Hell?" n.p., 1914, anti-German booklet

Document last revised Monday, May 12, 2008 2:32 PM

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