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], Stanford Family Papers, Ms2009-010, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Stanford Family Papers were purchased by Special Collections in 1994.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Stanford Family Papers was completed in January 2009.

Biographical Note

Nehemiah Stanford was born June 6, 1805 in Putnam County, Georgia. He married Elizabeth Wyatt on August 6, 1829. They had eight children: Thomas, Lycurgus, Eli, Martha, Sarah, Caroline, Adoline, and Virginia. Stanford died November 1, 1889. He has a tombstone at Sumach, Georgia that read, "Here lies Nehemiah Stanford. Born June 6, 1805; died November 1, 1889. Grandson of two noblemen who fought in the Revolutionary War, and were always true to their country. He was a strict adherent to their faith, and always voted the Democratic ticket. "

Lycurgus L. Stanford was born December 10, 1831 in Putnam County, Georgia. He married Maggie Henry in December 1854. They had two children John and William. Educated at Maryville College in Tennessee, Stanford taught mathematics at Milltown Seminary in Alabama. After the death of the principal, he was made Principal of that institution, a position he held until 1857 when he became President of Hamilton Female College. He resigned in 1858 after the death of his wife. Stanford went back to college and graduated with a law degree from Cumberland University in December 1858. He married Margaret Passmore in June 1859.

At the start of the American Civil War he enlisted in Company B, 3rd Georgia Calvary. He was captured in the battle of Resaca on May 14, 1864 and imprisoned at Johnson's Island, Sandusky Bay, Lake Erie. He returned home to Georgia in July 1865 to find that his second wife had died in 1862, they had two children Margaret and Eldon.

He married Marietta Walker October 1865; they had two children Lycurgus and Etta. He served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in December 1867. He also served in the state General Assembly in 1877 and 1880. He married Elizabeth Walker in 1882, they had one child James Leland. Lycurgus Stanford died October 5, 1917.

Eli Stanford was born in 1835 in Putnam County, Georgia. He married Tennessee Blair and they had five children: Edgar Rembert, James Nehemiah, Milma Herline, Mollie Elizabeth Stanford, and Tennessee Leola Stanford. He enlisted in Company A of the 37th Georgia Infantry in May 1861 at Spring Place, Georgia. He survived the war and helped purchase land for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in 1899. Eli was buried in the Sumach Cumberland Presbyterian Cemetery in Spring Place, Georgia.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of the correspondence of members of the Stanford family. The bulk of the letters were sent to or by Lycurgus L. Stanford, his brother Eli, and his father Nehemiah. The letters date from 1858 through 1876. Pre-war letters include a letter from Nehemiah to Lycurgus Stanford that includes a "Receipt for Consumption. "

Many letters date from Lycurgus and Eli Stanford's time serving in the American Civil War. In these letters members of the family discuss the events of the war and express their belief in the Southern cause. Even when the situation in the south begins to deteriorate they express a desire for a swift victory. There is one letter written to Lycurgus during his imprisonment at Johnson's Island, two letters from after the war make reference to Lycurgus Stanford's time in prison and the efforts of Southerners to rebuild. The remaining letters date from the post-war period and relate mainly to Lycurgus Stanford's service as a representative of Georgia. The collection also includes court documents from a case relating to the hire of an African-American boy named Sam in 1878 as well as a brief biographical sketch of Lycurgus L. Stanford published in 1881.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Civil War
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Stanford Family Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).