Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Albert Hobart, Jr., Correspondence, Ms1989-081, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Albert Hobart, Jr., Correspondence was purchased by Special Collections in 1989.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the Albert Hobart, Jr., Correspondence commenced and was completed in 2022. Preliminary processing had occurred in 2001.

Biographical Note

The writer of these letters had orginally been identified as a native of Abington, Connecticut, but evidence in the letters suggest that he was instead from Abington, Massachusetts. A 15-year-old Massachusetts native named Albert Hobart appears in the 1860 census as a resident in the Abington home of Albert and Sarah E. Hobart. In the 1865 Massachusetts state census, Albert Hobart appears as a 19-year-old shoemaker. The 1870 census lists a 24-year-old Massachusetts native named Albert Hobart living and working as a wholesale dealer in Marion (Jefferson County), Texas. A 63-year-old, unmarried cutlery salesman named Albert Hobart, a native of Massachusetts, appears in the 1910 census as a resident of Rockland (Plymouth County), Massachusetts. The 1920 census shows Hobart still living in Rockland but working as a fruit farmer. An Albert Hobart died in Rockland in 1929.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of twelve letters written by Albert Hobart Jr., a native of Massachusetts living in Atlanta, Georgia and operating a store during Reconstruction. Addressed to "Freind [sic] Wallace," 10 of the letters date from the latter half of 1869. The letters focus almost entirely on personal matters. A rare exception occurs on June 16, 1869, when Hobart reports the apparent removal of Freedmen from legislative offices and their later reinstatement. Elsewhere, Hobart mentions the Peace Jubilee of 1869, Thanksgiving, New Year's Eve, and the prospect of spending Independence Day in the South, but the letters focus largely on the weather, personal activities of his friends at home, and Hobart's own homesickness.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Albert Hobart, Jr., Correspondence, Ms1989-081 by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).