FINDING AID
AUBURN UNIVERSITY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS & ARCHIVES
Guide to the Crowder Family Papers, RG 340
Reprocessed and Listed by: Dieter C. Ullrich
Date: January 2003
Date Span:
1847-1865
Size:
0.10 cubic feet; 47 items.
Number of Boxes:
3 file folders.
Type of material:
Personal correspondence.
Physical condition:
Poor condition & extreme aging.
Arrangement:
Arranged chronologically.
Historical or Biographical Sketch:
The Crowder family resided in Bacon Level, Randolph County, Alabama prior to and
during the American Civil War. Daniel C. Crowder (1818-1886), the patriarch of the family, was a native of North Carolina and
was listed as a Mineral Doctor (druggist) in the 1860 national census. Thomas J. Jarrell (1818- ), a native of Georgia, is
believed to have been married to Daniel Crowder's sister Harriet (1818-1862). The national census lists T. J. Jarrell as a
farmer. No date of death has been recorded for Thomas Jarrell but Harriet died of sickness on September 27, 1862. The Crowder
and Jarrell families are buried at First Fellowship Baptist Cemetery in Bacon Level.
Scope and Content:
Bulk of the material in the collection consist of correspondence from Daniel C.
Crowder of Bacon Level, Alabama to Private Thomas J. Jarrell of Company K of the 3rd Alabama Infantry Regiment (Confederate
Army) from December of 1861 to August of 1862. Includes material concerning the conscription laws of 1862 and miscellaneous
family papers and letters from unidentified persons dating from (1847-1865). Transcripts of the letters are available.
Item list:
SERIES I: Correspondence
1. R. G. Hawkins to Thomas Garrall, 1 August 1847. Almost unreadable, family news, asking him to come for a visit. Page 1 - Page 2
2. D. G. Crowder to T. J. Jarrell, 12 December 1861. Pleading with him to come home; asking permission to get Harriet's
father
to stay with her. Page 1 - Page 2
3. D. G. Crowder to T. J. Jarrell, 28 March 1862. Reports serious illness of Harriet and begs him to get a discharge;
postscript
for Captain Croft to send Jarrell home. Page 1 -
Page 2
4. D. G. Crowder to T. J. Jarrell, April 1862. Ask him to write Harriet who is very ill; fighting at Yorktown where
Confederates
winning; short supply of goods with scant credit available. Page 1 - Page 2
5. D. G. Crowder to T. J. Jarrell, 1 May 1862. Concerns recent law passed by Confederate Congress allowing for discharge
of
soldiers under 18 and over 35 as replacements are found or in 90 days which ever came first. Page 1 - Page 2
6. M. A. Knight to T. J. Jarrell, 3 May 1862. Begging him to come home. Page 1 - Page 2
7. [D. G. Crowder] to T. J. Jarrell, 7 May 1862. Bacon Level; urging him to come home. Page 1 - Page 2
8. D. G. Crowder to Tommy and Harriet, 29 May 1862. Mention of discharge law and urging him to come home. Page 1 - Page 2
9. D. G. Crowder to Tommy and Harriet, 2 June 1862. Urging Harriet to bring Tommy home; wheat crop poor this year. Page 1 - Page 2
10. D. G. Crowder to T. J. and H. E. Jarrell, 7 June 1862. News from family and home. Page 1 - Page 2
11. ? to H. E. Jarrell, 11 June 1862. Concerns discharge law that would bring Tommy home by 17 July; Asbury, a soldier
with
General
Jackson in Maryland moving toward Washington if he is still alive; reports of tramps with families moving from Pensacola to
Griffin. Page 1 - Page 2
12. D. G. Crowder to T. J. Jarrell, 16 June 1862. Harriet arrived safely but willing to go to him again; no word from
Asbury. Page 1 - Page 2
13. D. G. Crowder to Tommy and Harriet, 11 August 1862. Family news but none from Asbury, scanty food supply; church
revival. Page 1 - Page 2
14. ? to Father and Mother, 11 September 1862. Randolph Col; church meetings held by Rev. Lane of Tennessee, Methodist. Page 1 - Page 2
15. Martha Harper to [T. J. Jarrell, and H. E. Jarrell], 11 September 1862. Randolph Co.; husband's regiment with
Stonewall
Jackson,
rumors of Confederate victory at Manasses. Page 1
- Page 2
16. D.G. Crowder to Ellie, 11 February 1863. News from home to Elic, a soldier. Page 1 - Page 2
17. [Tommy] to Martha Ann, 29 January 1863. Camp near Shelbyville, Tennessee; wants to see his wife and children. Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3 - Page 4
18. D. G. Crowder to Tommy, n.d. Begging him to come home for a while and take care of ailing wife. Page 1 - Page 2
19. D. G. Crowder to Tommy Jarrell, n.d. Bad times at home and urges him to get out of the service and come home. Page 1 - Page 2
20. D. G. Crowder to ?, n.d. Very brief, family news. Page 1
SERIES 2: Miscellaneous
1. Poem, 10 December 1847.
2. M. A. Knight, Composition (poem), 16 July 1851.
3. Receipt for Wages, A. M. Knight, 28 November 1859.
4. Receipt from J. L. Winter and Bro. of West Point, Ga., to A. M. Knight, 1 December 1859.
5. Answer from the Baptist Church of Christ upon a request for reinstatement. 15 April 1860. Page 1
6. Membership dismissal from Baptist Church of Christ at Sharon, Henry Co., Ga., 19 May 1860. Page 1
7. Newspaper clipping, "The Conscription Law," 30 April 1862.
8. Tax assessment on Crops of D. G. Crowder, Randolph Co., Ala., 1863.
9. Freight receipt from Southern Express Co., 18 March 1865, by W. M. Knight, Post Master.
10. Oath of Allegiance, A. M. Knight, Randolph Co., Ala., 4 September 1865.
11. Oath of Amnesty, A. M. Knight, Randolph Co., September 1865.
12. Shopping list, n.d.
13. Slate of Candidates, Alabama Elections.
14. Sales receipt from Homer Wright, Druggist, Auburn, 11 April, no year.
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