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Finding aid for the Roxana Chapin Gerdine Collection


MUM00683

PURL

http://purl.oclc.org/umarchives/MUM00683/

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Summary Information

Repository
University of Mississippi Libraries
Creator
Gerdine, Roxana Chapin, 1833-1891
Title
Roxana Chapin Gerdine Collection
ID
MUM00683
Date [inclusive]
1858-1892
General Physical Description note
3 boxes (1.25 linear feet)
Abstract:
Letters and papers of Roxana Chapin Gerdine, a native of Chicopee, MA. who married William Louis Crawford Gerdine and moved
to West Point, Mississippi

Prefered Citation

Roxana Chapin Gerdine Collection, Archives and Special Collections, J.D. Williams Library, The University of Mississippi

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Biographical Note

Roxana Emma Chapin Gerdine was born on April 3, 1833 and was the daughter of Titus Chapin, a farmer of Chicopee, MA. Her mother
died in her youth and as the eldest daughter Roxana was in charge of the care for the large family. A very well-educated and
motivated woman, Roxana graduated from Mt. Holyoke Seminary in 1854. At some point she met William Louis Crawford Gerdine.
Gerdine, a young widower (with nine children!) and Roxana married on March 5, 1858 and they initially moved to his home in
Athens, GA. A graduate of Princeton University, Gerdine returned to West Point, Mississippi two years after the marriage in
order to manage his cotton plantation. It was a substantial place worth about $20,000 with 40 slaves in 1850. William Gerdine
lived through the Civil War until 1878. Roxana established a successful school at first on their plantation, and then after
her husband’s death she moved this school to the town of West Point on Tom Bane Street. It was a girls school and Mrs. Gerdine
taught advanced coursework. On May 2, 1891 Roxana died from a stroke and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in West Point, MS.

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Scope and Content Note

The Roxana Chapin Gerdine Collection contains 48 letters written primarily from Roxana Chapin Gerdine to her sister, Emily
Chapin (who would later marry another Chapin and retain the family name). There are a few other letters written by other family
members (some of Roxana’s sons, her step-children, and other individuals). The antebellum letters describe Roxana’s view of
slavery (her father was an ardent abolitionist), her new family, and life in the South. As the years progressed her letters
outlined the effects of the Civil War on Mississippi and the South. Her Reconstruction-era letters and late 19th century correspondence
detail her work with her school, family life, race-relations, and illness.

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Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically. As many of Roxana’s early letters are not specifically dated, the archivist used
date ranges as a means of determining the order. Box 2 contains related family materials, including hair jewelry and a small
set of china dolls. Box 3 contains user copies of box 1.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

University of Mississippi Libraries

Access Restrictions

The Roxana Chapin Gerdine Collection is open for research. As these items are available in the Civil War Archive (
https://clio.lib.olemiss.edu/archives/civil_war.php), patrons are encouraged to use the digital files in place of the originals to aid preservation.

Photographs in the collection are stored in Cold Storage for preservation; however, photocopies of the photographs are available
with the manuscript materials. Researchers interested in using original photographs must contact
Archives and Special Collections at least two business days in advance of their planned visit.

Copyright Restrictions

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions
of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a
photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used
for any purpose other than private study, scholarship or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy
or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use”, that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

Additions

No further additions are expected to this collection.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Patricia Emily Moon Bramich, August 2006, on behalf of Emily Chapin (Parsons) Gill and Carolyn Elizabeth Gill Moon.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Archives & Special Collections staff. Finding aid originally encoded by Chatham Ewing; updated by
Jason Kovari, 2010.

Alternative Formats

The collection has been digitized and is available in the Civil War Archive :
https://clio.lib.olemiss.edu/archives/civil_war.php

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Related Materials

Resources at the University of Mississippi

For more Civil War era material housed at the University of Mississippi Archives & Special Collections, see our
Civil War subject guide.

For more Reconstruction material housed at the University of Mississippi Archives & Special Collections, see our
Reconstruction subject guide.

For more material on Mississippi women housed at the University of Mississippi Archives & Special Collections, see our
Gender Studies subject guide.

Separated Material

Several photographs have been removed from the collection to cold storage including: 1) a tintype of Emily McKinstry Chapin
(Roxana’s younger sister); 2) A reproduction of a print of Emily McKinstry Chapin; 3) Reproduction of photograph of several
Chapin male relatives; 4) Reproduction of cartes-de-viste of Carra Mary (Chapin) Parsons (daughter of William Day Chapin and
Emily Chapin) and William Day Chapin (husband of Emily McKinstry (Chapin) Chapin); 5) Reproduction of drawing of Elizabeth
Lucy Chapin (Roxana and Emily’s youngest sister who died in Mississippi in 1862); 6) Reproduction of image of Roxana Emily
Chapin Gerdine; 7) Reproduction of image of Emily McKinstry (Chapin) Chapin. Note: photocopies of the images are present within
the collection, within the Collections Photographs Binders, and the originals are stored in the cold room. Patrons who would
like to access the originals need to contact our photograph curator for advance warning (662-915-7408 or archive@olemiss.edu)
so that the originals have time to acclimate to room temperature.

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Controlled Access Headings

Format(s)

  • correspondence
  • jewelry
  • photographs
  • porcelain dolls

Geographic Name(s)

  • Mississippi — History — Civil War, 1861-1865
  • Southern States — Race relations
  • United States — History — Civil War, 1861-1865 — Personal narratives, Confederate
  • West Point (Miss.) — History

Personal Name(s)

  • Chapin, Emily McKinstry — Correspondence
  • Gerdine, William Louis Crawford, d. 1878

Subject(s)

  • Plantation owners’ spouses — Mississippi — West Point — Correspondence
  • Plantations — Mississippi — West Point
  • Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) — Mississippi
  • Schools — Mississippi — West Point
  • Slavery — Southern States
  • Women — Mississippi — West Point — Correspondence
  • Women teachers — Mississippi — West Point — Correspondence

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Collection Inventory

1.1 Photocopy. AL. Unknown sender to “Dear Brother Wm.”, Undated   (Fragment of letter. Photocopy)

Scope and Contents note

Regarding father’s will and it being different that the writer had thought. The author of the letter notes that all that has
been willed to them is now William’s

1.2 ALS. “R. Emma” [Roxanna Chapin] to “My dear Aunt” [Eliza McKinstry]. Washington, GA., prior to 1858   (4 page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes about the beauty of Washington, GA; in-depth talk of slavery; feelings of guilt; talk of the union and possible
secession; Senator Robert Toombs; a local Baptist revival meeting; her sister Lucy attending Mt. Holyoke “Seminary”; her sister
Emily Chapin; and notes that she has been thinking of her deceased mother and sister recently

1.3 ALS. “Brother Will” [William L.C. Gerdine] to “Dear Big Sis” [Emily McKinstry Chapin], 12 February [1858]   (Photocopy of four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Writes about his upcoming marriage to her sister Roxana Chapin.

1.4 AL. [Roxanna Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister Em” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. Athens, GA, 28 March [1858]   (Eight page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes to her sister about her honeymoon trip; their arrival back in Athens, GA; all the greetings from her step-children
and servants; and her first meeting with T.R.R. Cobb

1.5 ALS. “R. Emma Chapin” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “My dear Em” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. Athens, [GA], 17 May [1858]   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes of Mt. Holyoke; hearing from mutual acquaintances in Washington, [GA]; her wish that her sisters (Lucy and Emily)
could be with her down South; stories about her step-children; T.R.R. Cobb’s opinion of her; and the opinion of Judge Lumpkin
(grand-father of her step-children).

1.6 AL. [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister Em” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. Athens, [GA], 28 November [1858]   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes of her children and cooking for such a large family; Thanksgiving celebrations; alludes to the death of their
brother Titus Chapin, Jr. who at 26 drowned in the Kansas River; speaks of the arrival of their sister Lucy Chapin; talks
about the school in Washington, GA; talks of her step-son John traveling to their land in Mississippi; and talks about slaves
in the household

1.7 AL. [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister Em” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. Athens, [GA], 6 March [1859]   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes of her baby Tom Cobb Gerdine; Tom’s nurse (slave) and the differences between “northern” and “southern” children;
their sister Lucy Chapin (who came to teach at the Lucy Cobb Institute in January 1859; William L.C. Gerdine’s Mississippi
plantation; Roxana’s dislike of possibly living on a plantation; talks about Washington, GA; and also the possibility of two
of her step-sons (Joe and Johnnie) attending the University of Georgia in the future

1.8 ALS. “Sister Em” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister Em” [Emily McKinstry Chapin], [c.1859-1861]   (Two page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes that Mr. Gerdine has gone for two months to a plantation possibly in Texas. It is unclear from this letter whether
Roxana has moved to the West Point, MS area or is still in Athens, GA

1.9 ALS. “Sister” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister” [Emily McKinstry Chapin], 19 November [c.1859-1862]   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes of their sister Lucy’s spending habits while she visited up north; she mentions “Lizzie” (possibly her step-daughter
Elizabeth Gerdine, later Mrs. William Sykes); mentions slaves in household; Thanksgiving and food for the holiday; and their
cotton crop

1.10 AL. [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister Em” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. [Athens, GA], 19 May [c.1859-1861]   (Six page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes of the raising of Tom Cobb Gerdine and southern children in general; her worries about bringing a slave north
to visit with her because of their father’s abolitionist views; talking off of her mourning (probably for her brother, Titus
Chapin, Jr.); Emily’s upcoming marriage (William Day Chapin); the “General” (William L.C. Gerdine) wanting to buy a Texas
plantation and her opposition to it

1.11 ALS. “R.E.” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister Em” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. Plantation [Near West Point, MS], December [1859]   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes about the move from Athens, GA to the Mississippi plantation outside of West Point; behavior of slaves; possibility
of traveling north next summer; Tom Cobb Gerdine’s boyhood antics; their father’s resemblance to John P. Calhoun; and Judge
Joseph Lumpkin of GA

1.12 ALS. “Em” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister Em” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. Oak Grove, [MS], 1 January 1860   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes about her first Christmas on the Mississippi plantation; the celebrations of the plantation slaves; the making
of clothes for slaves [in 1860 the census listed 73 slaves for the Gerdine plantation]; sending her congratulations on Emily’s
marriage; interesting notations about her disbelief in romance; and her hope for a possible visit north

1.13 AL. [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister Em” [Emily McKinstry Chapin], 2 April 1860   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes about a possible visit north but continues to worry about bringing a slave with her. She also notes the birth
of a daughter to Mrs. Cobb

1.14 ALS. “R.E.” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister Em” [Emily McKinstry Chapin], September 1860   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

This letter was written after Roxana visited her family in Chicopee, MA. She writes to let Emily know that the piano has been
delivered; how excited her children are waiting for the “box” of goodies from the north to arrive

1.15 ALS. “Your sister” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. West Point, [MS], 29 November [c.1860-1862]   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes of her recent trip north to Chicopee, MA; her husband’s favorable impression of the north, especially ladies
who work; return home; visiting Waverly, MS; complains of their sister Lucy Chapin not helping with household work enough;
and she talks a bit about starting her school

1.16 ALS. “R.E.” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister Em” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. Plantation [near West Point, MS], 16 December [c.1860-1861]   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes of talk of secession; their step-mother Sarah Chapin; T.R.R. Cobb; Tom Cobb Gerdine; the feelings of southerners
via the north; her desire to obtain reliable northern news; talks of the new railroad through West Point; and writes of their
sister Lucy Chapin

1.17 ALS. “Em” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister Em” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. West Point, [MS], 4 February [1861]   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes of the improvement in Lucy’s health since her coming to Mississippi; talk of secession in surrounding areas;
calling her son Tom Cobb “a little black Republican”; the secession of Mississippi; her desire to read northern newspapers;
the Southern Congress; and mentions T.R.R. Cobb and Mr. Howell Cobb

1.18 ALS. Lucy Chapin to “My Dear Sister.” [possibly Emily McKinstry Chapin]. West Point, [MS], [c. 1861-March 21, 1862]   (Four page photocopy of letter)

Scope and Contents note

In this letter Lucy writes about her desire to know more of Chicopee, MA gossip; explains the lack of eligible men in the
area due to the outbreak of the Civil War; and the effects of the Civil War in general upon Mississippi

1.19 AL. [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister Em” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]., [c. 1861-March 21, 1862]   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes about the differences between northern and southern newspapers; explains what her family is doing on behalf
of the Confederacy; the possibility of making Mr. Gerdine a Colonel; departure of Miss Eaton for Ohio; the dangers of travel,
especially for a woman alone; notes that their sister Lucy will be staying south; and notes the hanging of a “suspicious”
woman in Columbus, MS

1.20 ALS. “R.Emma” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister Em” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. Plantation, [MS], 25 January [1862]   (One page letter with envelope. Note that part of the letter has been cut out earlier)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes about the sickness of their sister Lucy [Lucy would die on March 21, 1862]; writes about the ban on the communication
of war news north; says she is limited to only one page; tells her sister to direct her letters via Fort Monroe; mentions
a Colonel Young and his family; and talks of her desire to travel north sometime in March

1.21 AL. [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. West Point, [MS], 24 November [1862]   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes about her worries over what to do with the remains of their sister Lucy who died on March 21, 1862 of tuberculosis
and is then buried at the Gerdine plantation. Lucy’s remains would not be returned to Chicopee, MA until after the Civil War

1.22 ALS. [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister Emily” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. West Point, [MS], 21 March [1863]   (One page letter with envelope)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes of the death of her good family friend Gen. Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb at the Battle of Fredericksburg (December
13, 1862); talks about her family and her worries over their father; talks about a possible trip north despite the war; talks
about the opposition of her husband to the proposed trip north; begs her sister not to allude to military affairs; talks in
general about the Confederacy; and discusses her continued sorrow over the war

1.23 ALS. “R.E. Gerdine” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister Emily” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. West Point, [MS], 13 December [c.1863]   (One page letter with envelope)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes about her extreme sadness over the death of her three year old daughter, “Pet,” (Emma Sarah Chapin Gerdine);
mentions not receiving any mail from the family; and the difficulty of getting greenbacks

1.24 AL. “Your Sister” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]., 4 March [c.1865]   (Two page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes of wanting the image Emily has of “Pet”, her daughter who died in on October 17, 1863; this letter was possibly
written after the death of their father Titus Chapin in 1865 as Roxana speaks about division of assets; Roxana is clear that
she does not want to accept any money from her family for caring for their sister Lucy Chapin before her death

1.25 AL. [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. West Point, [MS], 5 April [c.1865]   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes about the “Fall of Selma, [AL]” [April 2, 1865]; talks of sons in service; describes how it was almost impossible
to send mail through the lines now; her tiredness in feeding so many Confederate soldiers; a law passed by the Confederate
Congress which took half their cotton; need of greenbacks; and guerrilla warfare tactics

1.26 AL. [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. West Point, [MS], 22 June [c.1865]   (Four page letter fragment)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes in detail about what is happening in post-Civil-War Mississippi; freedmen; death of (daughter-in-law) Maddie
(married to Joe Gerdine) and their baby; death of a freewoman’s baby that morning; the sending of a former slave “Aunt Tempe”
away in part due to the running away of her daughter Harriet with Federal troops came through Columbus and resulting consequences

1.27 AL. [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to [Emily McKinstry Chapin], [c.1865-1878]   (Four page fragment of letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana mentions that she is not so enthusiastic about travel as she gets older; they have rented out the plantation to freedmen;
mentions the trend of plantation owners to rent out their plantations to freedmen; they pay with cotton for their rent; mentions
the scarcity of schools and churches; and talks about the death of her step-daughter Lizzie’s baby

1.28 ALS. “R.E.G.” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. West Point, [MS], 14 January [c.1865-1878]   (Three page letter)

Scope and Contents note

In this letter Roxana discusses family business matters; she responds to the family’s question regarding how much she spent
on Lucy’s doctors and burial; division of assets; their “Mother” (step-mother Sarah); mentions how the South was not “whipped
enough” in the war; and ends with a description of what she sees as a dangerous society

1.29 ALS. “Your Devoted Son Joe” [Joe Gerdine] to “Dear Ma” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine]. Columbus, [MS], 9 September 1866   (Two page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Joe writes to Roxana while she was visiting family in Chicopee, MA. He discusses the Mississippi gossip and mentions seeing
quite a number of Confederate veterans recently (Col. Chalmers, Col. Sims, Col. Young). Joe also write about “Pa” in some
detail (William L.C. Gerdine). Note: Joe’s first wife and child died in 1865. He would remarry in 1867 to Rebecca C. Murrah
and have eight children including Joe Jr. in 1870

1.30 ALS. “Aff. Your Sister” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister” [Emily McKinstry Chapin], 30 August [1870]   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes of the birth of Chapin McKinstry Gerdine (August 7, 1870); also writes of the birth of Robert Emmett Sykes,
son of Roxana’s step-daughter Lizzie Gerdine Sykes

1.31 ALS. “Aff. R.E.G.” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister” [Emily McKinstry Chapin], [post 1870]   (Four page letter and it appears that another page is missing)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes of the business surrounding her school. The letter is after 1870 because she mentions her niece (Emily’s daughter)
Carra Chapin, who was born that year. Roxana also writes in detail about several suicides of neighbors in the area

1.32 ALS. “Your Sister R.E.G.” [Regina Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister” [Emily McKinstry Chapin], [post 1870]   (Three page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes news of her school and boarders; information about the running of the plantation; and the marriage of a (cousin?)
Eleanor Chapin

1.33 ALS. “Aff. Your Sister” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to [Emily McKinstry Chapin], [c. 1873]   (Four page letter fragment)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana is possibly pregnant with her fourth child, Lynn Van Horn Gerdine (b. 1873). She writes about the death of her step-daughter
Lizzie Gerdine Sykes’ son Emmett and she notes her son Chapin’s reaction to the death. She writes of cholera outbreaks and
the inability to buy a house in West Point, MS because of the poor cotton crop

1.34 ALS. “Aff. Sister” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. West Point, [MS], [post 1878]   (Two page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes about the end of the school semester and returning to the plantation. She notes the loneliness of the plantation
(Mr. Gerdine would have died after 1878); she mentions Greenwood Cemetery; her step-daughter Lucy coming to visit from Florida
where she was teaching; mentions her interest in Emily’s daughter Carra

1.35 AL. [Tom Gerdine] to “Dear Ma” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine]. West Point, [MS], 20 August [post 1878]   (Incomplete four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Most likely written by Tom Gerdine, Roxana and W.L.C. Gerdine’s first born son, while she was on vacation up north visiting
family. Tom mentions town events, and talks about his father’s grave and Greenwood Cemetery

1.36 ALS. “Rox. G.” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. West Point, [MS], 4 December [post 1878]   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes about her school; financial affairs; high rate of taxes; the cotton crop; the financial problems of their half-brother
Edward and she advises him to sell Aunt Roxey’s place

1.37 ALS. “Sister” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister” [Emily McKinstry Chapin], 15 January 1882   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana describes the unusually rainy winter they have had; gathering rents from the plantation and estate matters; her children’s
health and smallpox scares in Mississippi; their half-brother Edward’s financial difficulties, and Emily’s fellowship meetings.

1.38 ALS. “Aff. R.E.G.” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. West Point, [MS], 7 February 1886   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes of “Brother Edward”; her son Chapin going to school, possibly to Amherst College in MA; Clint Chapin; and Joe
Chapin

1.39 ALS. Chapin M. Gerdine to “Dear Clint” [Clint Chapin]. West Point, [MS], 2 November 1889   (One page letter written on “W.W. Robinson, Dealer in Fine Staple and Fancy Groceries” letterhead)

Scope and Contents note

Chapin writes to his cousin Clint about purchasing an “oxidized handle walking stick” and sending it to him in Mississippi

1.40 ALS. “Sister” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “My Dear Sister” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. Home [West Point, MS], 9 March 1890   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes a very moving letter to Emily about the death of her eldest son Tom Gerdine

1.41 ALS. “Sister” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. W.P. [West Point, MS], 23 November 1890   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes about a Ku Klux Klan incident and lynching at Macon, GA which involved her step-grand-daughter Ella. She describes
the repercussions felt from this incident in West Point, MS. She talks about how white men view southern white women in this
context and how race plays into this

1.42 AL. [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. West Point, [MS], 28 December 1890   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana writes of the Christmas holidays and presents; she notes the general financial panic and the talk of several fore-closings;
her step-son Joe Gerdine is closing his affairs in West Point and people are paying their notes with mules. She also notes
her son Chapin’s position with Mr. Crump

1.43 ALS. “Sister” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Sister” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. W.P. [West Point, MS], 11 March 1891   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

This is Roxana’s last surviving letter to Emily before her stroke in April 1891. She writes mostly about family matters, especially
of her sons Chapin and Lynn and stepchildren Mary, Joe and Jane White

1.44 ALS. “Auntie” [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to “Dear Carria” [Carra Chapin]. W.P. [West Point, MS], 16 April 1891   (Two page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Roxana thanks Carra (who she always called Carria) for her recent birthday present. She mentions “the grippe” bothering her
right arm which was a sign of her illness to come. She suffered a stroke later that month and would die on May 2, 1891

1.45 ALS. Mrs. Chattie Beall to Mrs. [Emily] Chapin. West Point, [MS], 25 April 1891   (Four page letter)

Scope and Contents note

Mrs. Beall writes to Emily McKinstry Chapin about Roxana’s recent stroke and condition

1.46 ALS. Joe Gerdine to Mrs. Wm D. Chapin [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. West Point, MS., 28 April 1891   (Photocopy of a two page letter written on West Point Real Estate Rental and Loan Agency letterhead)

Scope and Contents note

Joe Gerdine (Roxana’s step-son) writes to Emily about his step-mother’s stroke and general condition.

1.47 ALS. Chapin M. Gerdine to “Dear Aunt Emily” [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. West Point, MS, 25 April 1892   (Two page letter written on “I.A. Oliver, Attorney-at-Law” letterhead)

Scope and Contents note

Chapin explains that due to losses incurred by recent heavy flooding they are forced to ask “Uncle Ed” [E.E.C. Chapin, Roxana’s
half-brother], to pay the interest on a loan

1.48 Photocopies of several photographs which have been removed to Collections Photographs, 19th century 

Scope and Contents note

For descriptions of items see “separated materials” section of finding aid

Box 2: Victorian hair jewelry worn by Emily McKinstry Chapin & other family jewelry, 19th century 

2.1 Several small China Dolls 19th century 

Box 3: Photocopies of contents from Box 1 

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