Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Preferred Citation
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Biographical / Historical
Scope and Contents
Processing Information
Existence and Location of Copies
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Zachariah T. Shugart papers
Creator:
Shugart, Zachariah T., 1805-1881
Identifier/Call Number: mssShugart
Physical Description:
1.0 Linear Feet
(3 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1838-approximately 1900
Abstract: Papers of Zachariah Taylor Shugart (1805-1881), Quaker abolitionist and an operator of the Quaker line of the Underground
Railroad in Cass County, Michigan.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
Box 3: due to fragility of Shugart's account book, it is restricted. Access by curatorial permission only. Please use digital
copy on the Huntington's Digital Library.
Conditions Governing Use
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. Zachariah T. Shugart papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased by William Reese Company on behalf of The Huntington from Swann Galleries Sale 2517, Lot 205, September 26, 2019.
Biographical / Historical
Zachariah Taylor Shugart was born in December 1805 in Surry County, North Carolina to Quakers George Shugart and Mary Shugart.
In the 1820s, the Shugarts left North Carolina for Indiana over the issue of slavery. The family first settled in Wayne and
then Randolph County, Indiana. There Zachariah married fellow Quaker Suzanna Harris. Here their first four children were born:
Levi, born in 1827; Kelita, born in 1829; Malinda in 1834; and Lucinda, born in 1840. Shortly after Lucinda's birth, the Shugarts
left Indiana and moved to Cass County, Michigan, where their youngest child Joseph was born in 1842. In the 1840s and 1850s,
Shugart operated a stretch of the Quaker line of the Underground Railroad. His brothers John and George who lived in Indiana,
were also conductors of the local line. In 1854, the Shugarts moved to Iowa, first living in Belle Plaine and then Irving.
Late in life, Zachariah Shugart became a Universalist. He died in Irving in January 1881. Levi Shugart returned to Indiana
and became a farmer and married Nancy Overturf. Kelita Shugart studied medicine and ran a successful medical practice and
a drugstore in Belle Plaine. In the 1860s, with his wife Martha Reames, Kelita moved to Colorado and later to Southern California.
The youngest son, Joseph, enlisted in the 28th Regiment of Iowa Infantry in August 1862. He was killed in the battle of Cedar
Creek on October 19, 1864.
Scope and Contents
Collection of Shugart family papers and photographs dating from 1838 to approximately 1900, most likely preserved by Shugart's
widow, Suzanna, and the family of his daughter Lucinda. The collection includes an account book kept by Zachariah T. Shugart
from 1838 to 1853, which contains a 10-page list of names of 137 enslaved men, women, and children who he, and his associate
Stephen Bogue, helped escape to Canada. There are also two diaries by Shugart, Civil War letters by Joseph Shugart, one land
indenture, a pocket New Testament, 46 photographs, a photograph album, ephemera and newspaper clippings.
Processing Information
The collection was processed by Brooke M. Black in October 2020.
Existence and Location of Copies
This collection has been digitized, with the exception of the contents of Box 1, Folder 1. The digital reproductions are available
in the
Huntington Digital Library.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Abolitionists -- Michigan
African Americans -- Michigan
Antislavery movements -- Michigan
Champion Hill, Battle of, Miss., 1863 -- Personal narratives
Drugstores -- Iowa
Fugitive slaves -- United States
Quakers -- Michigan
Underground Railroad -- Michigan
Cass County (Mich.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Michigan -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Middle West -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
United States -- History -- 1815-1861 -- Sources
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
Account books -- Michigan -- 19th century
Diaries -- Iowa -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Photographs -- Middle West -- 19th century
Shugart, Joseph R., 1842-1864
Shugart, Kelita Davis, 1829-1879
Confederate States of America. Army. Virginia Cavalry Battalion, 43rd
United States. Army. Iowa Infantry Regiment, 28th (1862-1865)