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Correspondence and financial documents, 1852-1891
Manuscript Collection 713
INFORMATION ABOUT THE CURRIE FAMILY
The Currie family moved to eastern Arkansas from Tennessee prior to the Civil War. Dr. Calvin J. Currie probably came first, settling in Richland Township, St. Francis County, around 1850. His brothers, James B. Currie and William J. Currie, followed with their wives and children. By the time of the 1860 census all three Currie brothers were living in Washington Township, Jackson County, Arkansas. This area later became part of Woodruff County when it was created in 1862. The Currie brothers all became prominent landowners and planters, each owning a number of slaves on their productive cotton-growing operations. James B. Currie may have died before 1870, and his wife, Mary, moved back to Tennessee. Most of the postwar correspondence is between Mary and descendents of the Currie brothers living around Woodruff County. Franklin Currie, another brother mentioned in the correspondence, also appears to have been living in Tennessee after the Civil War.
The letters describe farming conditions, some local politics and race relations, and mostly family gossip regarding health, marriages, and deaths. The promissory notes include sections of ledger books and other financial records from both Arkansas and Tennessee transactions. The miscellaneous documents include some items which do not appear to directly relate to the Currie family. The collection has been arranged in three series.
Letters, promissory notes, and other miscellaneous documents pertaining to the Currie families of Woodruff County, Arkansas, were purchased by Special Collections from Charles Apfelbaum of Valley Stream, New York, on August 28, 1987. See also James B. Currie Ledger.
Processed by Kim Allen Scott, Special Collections Division, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville, Arkansas, in November 1987.
CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTION (137 items)
Series 1. Correspondence, 1852-1890 (Box 1, Folders 1-3)
Series 2. Financial documents, 1852-1887, n.d. (Box 1, Folders 4-7)
Series 3. Miscellaneous documents (Box 1, Folder 8)
Box 1
Folder 1.
Correspondence, 1852-1868
1. June 13, 1852: Jeb Thumb to "Esteem Friend" [Franklin Currie].
2. December 18, 1852: L. Martin (North Cache, Arkansas) to James B. Currie (Richland, Arkansas).
3. May 3, 1857: A. Stewart (Des Arc, Arkansas) to James B. Currie [Washington Township, Jackson County, Arkansas?].
4. January 15, 1859: Thomas C. Sugg [Augusta, Arkansas?] to James B. Currie [Washington Township, Jackson County, Arkansas?].
5. April 13, 1859: J.H. Rice (Batesville, Arkansas) to "Brother Currie" [James B. Currie, Washington Township, Jackson County, Arkansas?].
6. September 5, 1859: J.M. McCurdy (Augusta, Arkansas) to James B. Currie [Washington Township, Jackson County, Arkansas?].
7. April 29, 1866: Unaddressed, unsigned letter, probably from James B. Currie.
8. July 21, 1867: H.M. Couch (Gage"s Point, Arkansas) to James B. Currie (Washington Township, Woodruff County, Arkansas).
9. March 11, 1868: William J. Thompson (Augusta, Arkansas) to James B. Currie (Washington Township, Woodruff County, Arkansas).
10. March 16, 1868: James B. Currie (Woodruff County, Arkansas) to Kate Currie (Brownsville, Tennessee).
Box 1 (cont.)
Folder 2. Correspondence, 1871-1879
1. February 10, 1871: B.R. Falks (Augusta, Arkansas) to Mary P. Currie (Durkansville, Tennessee).
2. November 14, 1871: J.T. Bell (Augusta, Arkansas) to James F. Currie (Ripley, Tennessee).
3. April 4, 1873: Kittie Currie (Augusta, Arkansas) to "My dear sister" [Mary P. Currie?].
4. November 8, 1875: Dora Currie Monroe (Augusta, Arkansas) to Mary P. Currie.
5. December 6, 1875: Mary P. Currie (Augusta, Arkansas) to "Dear Child."
6. April 4, 1876: William Monroe (Augusta, Arkansas) to Kate Currie [Coogston, Tennessee?].
7. May 14, 1877: Mary P. Currie (Askew, Arkansas) to Kate Currie.
8. May 24, 1877: Mary P. Currie (Askew, Arkansas) to Kate Currie.
9. August 10, 1877: Fannie Moore to Kate Currie.
10. March 19, 1878: Dora Monroe (Augusta, Arkansas) to "My Darling Aunt" [Mary P. Currie?].
11. April 16, 1878: James W. Currie (Augusta, Arkansas) to "Dear Mama" [Mary P. Currie?].
12. December 13, 1878: W.G. Orgain to "Mrs. M.F. Currie."
13. May 22, 1879: Dora Monroe (Augusta, Arkansas) to "Dear Aunt and Cousin." [Mary P. Currie and Kate Currie].
Box 1 (cont.)
Folder 3. Correspondence, 1883-1890, n.d.
1. July 30, 1883: E.G. Thompson and Minor Gregory (Augusta, Arkansas) to "Mrs. M.F. Currie" (Lautendale, Tennessee).
2. June 2, 1887: Howell Jordan to "Dear Mother-in-law."
3. July 20, 1887: B.P. Lewis (Palistine, Arkansas) to Jack M. Currie.
4. January 8, 1888: E.B. Currie (St. Thomas, Arkansas) to M.F. Currie (Henning, Tennessee).
5. April 5, 1888: Alice Currie (Henning, Tennessee) to M.F. Currie [Haywood, Arkansas?].
6. March 20, 1890: Kate Currie to "Dear Son" [Edgar Currie].
7. September 22, [?]: "Mother" to "My dear Francis."
8. n.d.: W.J. Winsett to "Mrs. Currie."
9. n.d.: Unsigned letter from Augusta, Arkansas to "Aunt Mary."
10. n.d.: "Linda B." to Kate Currie.
Series 2. Financial documents, 1852-1887, n.d. (Box 1, Folders 4-7)
Promissory notes, receipts, ledger pages, and other financial records pertaining to the Currie families in Arkansas and Tennessee. All records have been arranged chronologically by decade.
Box 1 (cont'd)
Folder 4. Financial documents, 1850s.
(39 items)
Folder 5. Financial documents, 1860s.
(17 items)
Folder 6. Financial documents, 1870s.
(28 items)
Folder 7. Financial documents, 1880s, n.d. (15 items)
Series 3. Miscellaneous documents (Box 1, Folder 8)
Blank land pre-emption bond, ca. 1859 deed of conveyance between John
and Mary Flemming and James W. Murrell for a parcel of land in Prairie
County, Arkansas, January 14, 1867 unsigned
manuscript essay entitled "Spring," dated May 7, 1875; Arkansas notary
commission for J.J. Gentry, Sebastian County, Arkansas, August 21, 1891;
undated plat drawing of vacant land near home of
"J. Currie."
Box 1 (cont'd)
Folder 8. Miscellaneous documents (5 items)