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Anchram H. and Elizabeth K. Evans Civil War Letters

 Collection
Identifier: SC-MS-254

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of correspondence between Anchram Harris Evans, a Confederate soldier during the Civil War from Brunswick County, NC, and his wife Elizabeth Kelly Evans (she is referred to as either "Bettie" or "Lizzie" in the letters). There are a handful of letters to or from other family members, as well as typed transcripts of the letters by their grandson, Troy Henry, from 1956. The bulk of the correspondence occured in 1864, but letters span the duration of the war from 1861 to 1865. Topics discussed in the letters include but are not limited to the daily lives of those living in rural Brunswick County, the relationship between a husband and wife, the diet and struggles of a Civil War Soldier, insight into a soldier's mind during the last months of the war, thoughts and results of elections, the cost of living and goods, transactions of enslaved persons, familial health concerns and relationships, raids and movements of soldiers during the war, and concerns over diseases like small pox and yellow fever.

Dates

  • Creation: 1861-1865, 1956
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1861-1865

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research use.

Digital Access

Portions of this collection have been digitized. For access to these digital materials, please browse the finding aid via the "Collection Organization" tab and select an individual file or item to see if it contains a linked digital record.

Copyright Statement

Copyright 2003 University of North Carolina at Wilmington, all rights reserved (subject to exceptions). Certain items in this collections were conveyed to UNCW without the accompanying copyright. Where the donor did not convey copyright to UNCW, copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Biographical Note

Anchram Harris Evans was born in Town Creek, Brunswick County, North Carolina to Daniel Bassett Evans (1798-1867) and Elizabeth Aiken Smith (1796-1881) on May 22, 1838. He was the youngest of seven children in their farming family. Elizabeth Robinson Kelly was born on October 1, 1844. She and Anchram married on February 23, 1861, when he was 22 and she was 16. Anchram enlisted in the Confederate Army in early 1862, and the couple had their first child, Katie L. Evans on October 1, 1862. Anchram was a Sergeant during the war and served mostly in Virginia, especially during the Siege of Petersburg in 1864. It is likely he returned home during the Battle of Wilmington in 1865. After the war, Anchram returned home to farm alongside his family. Elizabeth and Anchram had eight surviving children. Elizabeth preceded Anchram in death by one year, dying at the age of 65 in 1910. Anchram passed in August of 1911 at the age of 73. They are both buried at Zion United Methodist Church Cemetery in Brunswick County.

Extent

2 Containers (Contains 2 document boxes and 1 oversize folder.)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection is separated into two series: Correspondence and Miscellaneous. The items in the Correspondence series are organized chronologically.

Transcription Note

Many of the letters are illegible or in poor condition. Though efforts have been made to transcribe the letters to best of their legibility, transcriptions may be incomplete and areas of uncertainty are indicated as such.

Acquisition Information

This collection was donated by S.S. "Bud" Jenkins, an Evans family descendant, in 2003.

Processing Information

This collection was reprocessed by Tess Will in the Spring of 2023. The transcriptions were created by Kirk Ward in January 2023.

Title
Anchram H. and Elizabeth K. Evans Civil War Letters
Status
Completed
Author
Tess Will
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Randall Library Special Collections Repository

Contact:

910-962-7810