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Shugart (Zachariah T.) Papers
mssShugart
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Table of contents
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.
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.
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.
[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.
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.
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.
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 2.
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)