Smith (Eliza Bicker Walter) Correspondence, 1839-1905

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Summary

Title:
Eliza Bicker Walter Smith correspondence
Dates:
1839-1905
Creators:
Smith, Eliza Bicker Walter
Abstract:
Correspondence by Eliza Bicker Walter Smith of Ohio, to her family including her son, Thomas Kilby Smith, a general in the Union Army in the American Civil War.
Extent:
1.5 Linear Feet (2 volumes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Eliza Bicker Walter Smith correspondence, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Volume one contains approximately 180 original letters primarily from Eliza Bicker Walter Smith to her son, General Thomas Kilby Smith, during the American Civil War. In the letters to her son, Smith expresses concern for his health and frustration with the slowness of news over troop movements. The letters also deal with family news; domestic life in Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania; politics and social life during the war; the Roman Catholic church; and friends and associates, including William T. Sherman, and Ulysses S. Grant. Also included are letters from Eliza's children and family. There is an envelope consisting of three loose items: Bella to "Dear Papa," June 1869 and R.W. Deming to Thomas Kilby Smith, August 1905, and an undated note. Volume two contains reproduced typescripts of selected letters compiled by Thomas Kilby Smith in 1905. Smith transcribes letters from his mother Eliza Bicker Walter Smith, along with her children and family, 1848 to 1870. Included are three envelopes with two loose letters: Anna Bigelow to "My dear Cousin," April 13th and M.J. Worthington to Lizzie, 1870 May 8; newspaper clippings; and a photograph of Eliza Bicker Walter Smith. Thomas Kilby Smith's introduction in both volumes indicates that not all the original letters have been transcribed, additionally not all the transcribed letters appear in the volume of original letters.

Biographical / historical:

Eliza Bicker Walter Smith (1800-1869) was the second daughter of William Walter and Sarah Bicker. In 1817, Eliza Walter married George Smith (1782-1850), son of a physician who had immigrated to Massachusetts from Brunswick, Germany. Smith was a sea captain who traded in the American Northwest, China, Europe, and South America. Eliza and George had five children: Thomas Kilby Smith (1820-1887), Walter G. Smith (1828-1859), Adriana (Ada) Walter Smith, Helen Hunter Smith, and Charles William Godfrey Smith (1840-1861).

Thomas Kilby Smith was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. From 1843 to 1853, Smith practiced law in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1853 he became special agent in the Post Office Department in Washington D.C. and later served as U.S. marshal for the Southern District of Ohio and deputy clerk of Hamilton County. In October 1861, Thomas Kilby Smith was commissioned Colonel of the 54th Regiment of Ohio Infantry, which he commanded at Shiloh and the advance on Corinth. From 1863 to 1864 he fought under William T. Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant in Mississippi and Tennessee, commanding brigades in the Army of the Tennessee (15th Army Corps, Sherman's Yazoo Expedition, and in 17th Army Corps), and serving on a court of inquiry and on Grant's staff. From 1866 to 1869, he served as United States Consul at Panama. In the early 1870s, he settled in Torresdale, Pennsylvania, and later was a member of the business staff of the New York Star. The Smith family was Catholic.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Bartleby's Book, February 2019.
Processing information:

Processed by Gina C Giang in May 2019. In May 2025, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.

Arrangement:

Organized in two series: Series 1: Original letters, 1839-1905; Series 2: Copies of selected letters, 1849-1905.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Bibliography:

Published in part in: Smith, Walter George, Life and Letters of Thomas Kilby Smith, Brevet Major-General United States Volunteers 1820-1887 (New York and London, 1898): call number: 78897.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Brooke M. Black
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-06-13 15:32:40 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

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]. Eliza Bicker Walter Smith correspondence, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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