Zachariah T. Shugart Papers: Finding Aid mssShugart
Brooke M. Black
The Huntington Library
October 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Note
Finding aid last updated on March 29, 2022, by Maggie Hughes.
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 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)
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
Newspaper clipping listing the death of Joseph R. Shugart, Battle of Cedar
Creek
1864 October
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.