Calhoun family papers
Scope and Content
The Calhoun family papers consist of correspondence, newspaper clippings, military papers, and family history. The primary contributors to the collection are James Montgomery Calhoun and his son, William Lowndes Calhoun. Notable items in the collection include an undated Calhoun family history, a personal account of Sherman’s siege of Atlanta by Robert Henderson, a family Bible, a handwritten copy of the affidavit of James M. Calhoun regarding the surrender of Atlanta, and a floor plan of the James M. Calhoun residence on Washington Street. The correspondence includes letters to and from James M. Calhoun and handwritten messages between General Hood and General Sherman. There is also a scrapbook (1872-1879), City of Atlanta vouchers (1863-1864), and information regarding the Confederate Soldier's Home (1902).
Dates
- 1834-1960, undated
Creator
- Calhoun, William Lowndes (Person)
- Calhoun, James Montgomery (Person)
- Calhoun, John C. (John Caldwell) (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. All requests to publish, quote, or reproduce must be submitted through the Kenan Research Center.
Administrative/Biographical History
James Montgomery Calhoun (1811-1875) born in the Calhoun settlement near Abbeville, South Carolina, moved to Decatur, Georgia, when he was eighteen. James married Emma Elizabeth Dabney in 1832 and they had ten children: Anna B. Calhoun; James Tyree Calhoun; Emma Elizabeth Calhoun (1835-1854); Anna Eliza Calhoun (b. 1837); Corolin Chattanooga Calhoun (1842-1858); Hanna Rebecca Calhoun (b.1840); James V. Calhoun (b. 1841); Patrick Henry Calhoun (b.1842); John Dabney Calhoun (b. 1843); and William Lowndes Calhoun (1837-1908). James married Amelia Holt in 1860 following the death of Emma Dabney Calhoun. William Lowndes Calhoun married Mary Oliver (1836-1905) and had seven children: Lowndes Calhoun, Nellie A. Calhoun, Emma Calhoun, James Montgomery Calhoun, Mary Calhoun, William Dabney Calhoun, and Nettie Aline Calhoun. He was a lawyer, Captain of Mounted Infantry in the Creek War in 1836, legislator in DeKalb County, and Mayor of Atlanta from 1862-1865. He married Emma Eliza Dabney (1813-1860) in 1832, the same year he passed the bar exam. William practiced law, served as Captain in the 42nd Georgia infantry, was elected as a Georgia state representative, served as Mayor of Atlanta (1879-1880), and as a judge of the Court of the Ordinary of Fulton County, Georgia (1881-1897).
Extent
2.25 linear ft. (two document cases and one oversize box)
Language
English
System of Arrangement
This collection is arranged alphabetically according to titles supplied by staff
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift, 1940 with subsequent additions.
Description Control
This collection was re-processed in 2012.
- Title
- Calhoun family papers
- Author
- Melanie Stephan
- Date
- June 2012
- 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