Shugart (Zachariah T.) Papers

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Shugart (Zachariah T.) Papers

mssShugart

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Table of contents

Box 3

Account book 1838-1853

Scope and Contents

Shugart's account book he kept from 1838 to 1853. Entries list land acquisitions, general financial expenses and income, the opening and operating of a boarding house, which also served as an Underground Railroad station, and the sales of medicine. The ledger also lists expenses for the education of his children, the medical bills and funeral expenses for his daughter Malinda who died at sixteen after a long illness. On page 96 of the volume, Shugart began his 10-page list of names of 137 enslaved men, women, and children who he and his associate Stephen Bogue helped escape to Canada.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Due to the fragile nature of the account book, it is restricted. Access by curatorial permission only. Please use digital copy on the Huntington's Digital Library.

Box 1, Folder 2

Diaries and Bible 1853-1880

Scope and Contents

The diaries consist of two volumes kept by Zachariah Shugart. The first is a diary Shugart kept from January to September 1867 while running a drugstore in Belle Plaine, Iowa. The second diary, kept from September to October 1880, documents a trip Shugart took to Ohio and Indiana. The Bible is a pocket edition of the New Testament published in 1853. It has a pencil note on flyleaf, in Shugart's hand: "A. Shugart, [illegible word] Bureau Co., Ill." and "Princeton, Ill. Bureau Co."

Box 1, Folder 3

Letters, documents, and ephemera 1851-1893

Scope and Contents

This folder contains seven letters written by Joseph R. Shugart to his parents from 1862-1864 during his Civil War service. One letter is written on pictorial letter sheet featuring: "Naval Combat off Fort Wright." The letter of May 27, 1863 describes the battle of Champion Hill, in which Joseph was slightly wounded. The last letter, dated October 17, 1864 (two days before Joseph's death), talks about the 43rd Battalion of Virginia Cavalry, better known as Mosby's Raiders. Enclosed with the letter is a swatch of fabric, described as "a piece of our old banner." This folder also contains a portion of a copy of an unknown Civil War soldier's diary, May 1864, a land indenture between Levi Shugart and his father Zachariah, September 1851, an invoice of Zachariah T. Shugart to Hope Lodge, May 1873, some ephemera, and the newspaper clipping listing the death of Joseph R. Shugart at the Battle of Cedar Creek, October 1864.

Joseph R. Shugart letter to parents 1862 November-1864 March

Scope and Contents

Incomplete.

Joseph R. Shugart letter to parents 1863 February 18

Scope and Contents

With typescript.

Joseph R. Shugart letter to parents 1863 May 27

Scope and Contents

With typescript.

Joseph R. Shugart letter to parents 1864 February 23

Scope and Contents

With typescript.

Joseph R. Shugart letter to parents 1864 October 17

Scope and Contents

With typescript and cloth square from banner. Written two days before Joseph R. Shugart's death.

Joseph R. Shugart letter to parents undated

Scope and Contents

On illustrated lettersheet "Naval Combat off Fort Wright." On verso: sketch of battle. Incomplete.

Joseph R. Shugart letter to parents undated

A portion of a Soldiers diary 1864 May 13

Scope and Contents

Copy of typescript. Found with Shugart material. Author unknown.

Indenture between Levi H. Shugart and Zachariah T. Shugart 1851 September 1

Invoice of Zachariah T. Shugart to Hope Lodge 1873 May 1

Invitations 1878-1879

Newspaper clipping listing the death of Joseph R. Shugart, Battle of Cedar Creek 1864 October

Ephemera 1863-1893

Box 1, Folder 4-5

Photographs 1860s-approximately 1900

Scope and Contents

The 46 loose photographs in the collection are mostly unidentified and undated. The dates for the photographs are the 1860s to approximately 1900. It is assumed the individuals in the photographs are Shugart family members. There is one daguerreotype of Zachariah T. Shugart. There are two tintypes of unknown men (one standing with a bicycle). The rest are cabinet cards by various photography studios, mostly in Iowa. The photography studios heavily represented are: Boyd, Des Moines, Iowa; J. L. Hudson and Hudson's Gallery, Tama City, Iowa; J. S. Moore, Toledo, Iowa; J. B. Scholl, Chicago; and I. L. Townsend, Iowa Falls, Iowa.

Box 2

Photograph album 1850s-1890s

Scope and Contents

The photograph album contains 42 cabinet cards of Shugart and Overturf families, from the 1850s to the 1890s. Only a few are identified and none are dated. It looks like two cabinet cards fell out at some point and the edges around some of the cabinet cards are ripped, making it possible for more to come loose.

Collection Contents