Information Sheet

 

 

R         Thompson, Elizabeth Remay Dabbs.

671                  Papers, 1850-1932.

                                    Three folders, photocopies.

 

 

 

These are papers collected mostly by Elizabeth Remay Dabbs Thompson of Greene County, Missouri, covering a period from 1850 to 1932.  Included are personal correspondence from friends and family, legal documents, and business papers.  The collection generally concerns the Civil War in southwestern Missouri, family matters, and business affairs.

 

Personal letters to Elizabeth Remay Dabbs Thompson are from her brother, W. P. Dabbs; her sister-in-law, Hanna M. Dabbs; her father, Abner Dabbs; Maria Thompson Lair and Elizabeth Thompson Fulbright (presumed to be sisters of Elizabeth's husband, James M. Thompson), and others.  (See index.)

 

Several of the letters address the Civil War in southwestern Missouri, including brief refer­ences to bushwhackers, militia matters, and the burning of the courthouse at Forsyth in Taney County, Missouri. Perhaps the most notable wartime documents are those which relate to business dealings of Abner Dabbs and James M. Thompson with both Confederate and Union forces. Other significant items include correspondence from a Confederate prisoner of war at Fort Delaware, Delaware, seeking release from confinement, and official documents such as a certificate of dis­charge from the Missouri State Guard and a muster out document from a camp on Sac River. There are also documents authorizing payments for supplies for secession forces at Camp Price, Missouri, and also from the forage master of the 6th Missouri Cavalry (US) at Springfield, Mis­souri.

 

The bulk of the correspondence dates from the post-war era, and concerns domestic affairs, with an emphasis on the hardships and responsibilities of the women in the families.  There are in­dications of financial difficulties for Elizabeth Thompson after the death of her husband.  Included in the letters are numerous references to chronic and epidemic illnesses, and crops and the weather are also common subjects. James M. Thompson was a stock (cattle) producer.  Some of the docu­ments in this collection refer to his business affairs, including a detailed accounting of expenses from a cattle drive.  There are also references to mining claims in Colorado.  Places of origin of the letters include, but are not limited to, Springfield, Utica, Wolf Grove, and St. Louis, Missouri; Rally Hill in Boone County, Arkansas;  and Springfield, New Moorefield, and Urbana in Ohio.

 

Shelf List for this collection
Index cards for this collection
Questions? Use our Researcher Registration Form
Return to WHMC-Rolla's home page.