Crumley and Berry family papers
Scope and Content
This collection contains correspondence, memoirs, military records, diaries, and newspaper clippings relating to the Crumley and Berry families of Atlanta, Georgia. Correspondence from William Greg Crumley to his parents includes letters, telegrams and postcards written while he was stationed in France, England and Belgium during World War I. He described personal illnesses, travels during leave, and the duties of a medical officer. He noted how to care for soldiers who had been exposed to poisonous Bromine gas and for soldiers that had “trench foot”. He repeatedly discussed the censorship and delay in delivery of his correspondence. In his letters to his brother Robert Macon, he confided that he exaggerated his safety to his mother and gave a much happier description of the war than the “true Hell” he believed it to be. These letters were transcribed by a member of the Crumley family shortly after they were received. Documents pertaining to W.G. Crumley’s military service are also included. Also from the Crumley family is a scrapbook of Zulette Crumley dated 1896-1899; an account book of William Macon Crumley dated 1884-1887; a story by William Monroe Crumley about the faith and death of an unnamed Confederate soldier; and William Macon Crumley’s reminiscences of the Civil War.
Material from the Berry family includes correspondence of John Berry during the Civil War; and a typed transcription of Carrie M. Berry’s Civil War diary which describes home life in Atlanta, Georgia during the Atlanta Campaign. She wrote about living with Union soldiers and the burning of most of the city.
A final document is a speech was made by Leila C. Pullen to the Daughters of the Confederacy in 1902 detailing the actions of “Confederate Girl Soldiers” in Georgia who formed their own regiment—The Nancy Harts.
Dates
- 1864-1921, undated
Creator
- Crumley Family (Family)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote or reproduce must be secured from the Kenan Research Center.
Administrative/Biographical History
The Crumley Family of Georgia included William Monroe and Sarah McLean Crumley. Mr. Monroe was the Chaplain of Georgia hospitals during the Civil War. Their son William Macon Crumley (1847-1921) enlisted in the Confederate Army at the age of fourteen and became a courier for a General in Longstreet’s Corps. He moved to Atlanta in 1867 and was a clerk, salesman, and Vice President of Tommey and Stewart Hardware before he created Crumley Hardware Company (later Crumley-Sharp Hardware Company). On February 25, 1875, he married Carrie M. Berry (1854-1921) and they had four children, Robert Macon (1877-?), Zulette (1881-1961), William Greg (1883-1924) and Locke (1892-?). All of the children were born in Atlanta, Georgia. William Macon Crumley died on June 4, 1921, shortly after his wife died on May 22, 1921.
William Greg Crumley graduated from the Atlanta College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1912. In January of 1915, he enlisted as a medical officer and was stationed at the American Women’s War Hospital in South Devon, England. He left this service on November 20, 1915. In July of 1917, he was commissioned as a Captain in the Medical Officers Reserve Corps and left for France on August 18, 1917. While in France, he contracted dysentery from drinking water that had collected in shell holes on the ground. He was granted medical leave from November of 1917 to April of 1918, which he spent in London. When his leave was over he was assigned to a General Hospital in France. On August 9, 1924, he committed suicide in his home in Rabun County, Georgia. Zulette Crumley graduated from Girls High School in 1899. In early 1900, she married James H. Franklin (1877-1938) and they had three sons, William C., James H. Jr. and Daniel B. James H. Franklin, Sr. died on July 31, 1938, and Zulette Crumley Franklin died on April 29, 1961.
The Berry Family of Atlanta consisted of Maxwell Rufus and Harriet Key Berry. They had four daughters; Carrie Mabry Berry (1854-1921) Fannie Berry, Zuie Berry, and Maggie Berry, and one son, Maxwell R. Berry, Jr. In February 1875, Carrie married William Macon Crumley. John M. Berry (1855-1937) served in the Confederate Army as Quartermaster for the 30th Regiment of Steven’s Brigade, Walker’s Division of the Army of Tennessee. Additional biographical information about John M. Berry has not been determined.
Extent
0.63 linear ft. (1 document case, 1 half document case)
Language
English
System of Arrangement
Folders are arranged chronologically.
Existence and Location of Originals
This collection contains only the transcriptions of William Greg Crumley’s letters. The existence of originals has not been determined.
Existence and Location of Copies
Transcriptions of Civil War diaries and memoirs are housed in Box 1, Folder 3.
General
America's Turning Point: Documenting the Civil War Experience in Georgia received support from a Digitizing Historical Records grant awarded to the Atlanta History Center, Georgia Historical Society, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, and the Digital Library of Georgia by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Description Control
Collection re-processed in 2009
- Title
- Crumley and Berry family papers
- Author
- Paul Crater
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center Repository