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Martha Lumpkin Compton papers

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS139

Scope and Content

This collection contains two scrapbooks, a diary, correspondence, newspaper clippings, Atlanta Board of Aldermen resolutions, and a recipe book. The two scrapbooks contain poems, genealogical notes, letters, greeting cards, and notes from family members and friends including “Cousin Naomi,” Augustus Alden, “Sister Anna L. A.,” Danny Boykins, Allie Alden, and Wilson Lumpkin. There are newspaper clippings on topics such as the 1888 Southern Baptist Convention, a 50th anniversary article on the naming of Atlanta, and a series exploring the possibility that Martha Compton was poisoned. Along with newspaper clippings, there are obituaries of prominent men such as Alexander Stephens, John C. Calhoun, Wilson Lumpkin, Dr. R. D. Moore, and Joseph Henry Lumpkin. Included in the collection is a copy of Miss Beecher’s Domestic Receipt Book, a recipe book, with handwritten notes and recipes. There is also a diary that contains Compton's thoughts on the "Christian Woman" well as transcribed letters from family and friends. Correspondence consists of three letters: one from Emma S. S. Burger regarding an autograph and information about Martha (Lumpkin) Compton and her family in Athens, Georgia; another is from Martha (Lumpkin) Compton, written to Mrs. Eugene Hardeman asking for Colonel Napier to visit her due to her illness; and the last is from an unidentified cousin writing about the death of her mother. There is an Atlanta Board of Aldermen resolution to identify a plot in Oakland Cemetery for Martha upon her death as well as an acknowledgment of that resolution 52 years later.

Dates

  • 1840-1959, undated

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright law. (Title 17, U.S. Code) Permission for use must be cleared through the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center. Licensing agreement may be required.

Administrative/Biographical History

Martha Lumpkin Compton (1827-1917) was born in Athens, Georgia, and was the youngest daughter of Governor Wilson Lumpkin and Annis Hopson Lumpkin. The site of Atlanta was named Marthasville in her honor from 1843-1845. She married Thomas M. Compton in 1878. She is buried in Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia, in a plot donated by the city in 1907. Additional biographical information about Martha Lumpkin Compton has not been determined.

Extent

0.42 linear ft. (1 Document Case)

Language

English

System of Arrangement

This collection is arranged alphabetically according to titles supplied by staff.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift, 1967

Description Control

Collection reprocessed in 2011.

Title
Martha Lumpkin Compton papers
Status
Completed
Author
Laura Starratt
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

Contact:
130 West Paces Ferry Road
Atlanta GA 30305
404-814-4040