Papers (1821-1908, undated) including certificates, legal papers, letters, sale of personal property, disbursements by estate, teaching certificates, addresses, and statement of account (1881).
Andrew Bell Benedict (1839-1911) was a native of New York who served in the Civil War and later lived in Indiana, Ohio, and Tennessee. Benedict married Phebe Barrett (1846-1913), daughter of Hiram Barrett; and they were the parents of George W. Benedict and the grandparents of Ruth Benedict, who married Van S. Watson of Rocky Mount, N.C. The collection is largely concerned with the period 1863-1877 in the life of Andrew B. Benedict.
Correspondence in the collection is from and to Andrew B. Benedict and his wife, Phebe. Of particular interest is a letter (1865) from a friend in the Federal occupation forces in Jacksonville, Fla., describing in detail military and naval activities. The letter reflects leisure activities, pay arrears, Confederate desertion, and concern over Confederate influence with a Federal commanding officer. Other letters of interest describe travel in the midwestern U.S. (1850), the difficulty of holding temperance meetings on army posts (1863), war news (1863), and the establishing of various businesses in Ohio and Indiana (1874-1877). Benedict was involved successively in furniture and undertaking, farming, farm machinery, and milling during this period.
Legal papers concern the estate of Phebe B. Benedict's father, Hiram Barrett, Poundridge, N.Y. Three letters concerning the estate (1897-1899) are included in the legal papers. A copy of the Barrett will and documents relating to the sale of personal property and disbursements by the estate are present. Also, in these papers is a plat from a Georgia land grant (1821) for former Indian (Cherokee) lands.
Certificates include Phebe Barrett's teaching certification (1863, 1867), A. B. Benedict's membership in the Sons of Temperance (1845) and his discharge from the army (1865).
Miscellaneous items consist of memorabilia such as a description of a voyage in Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River (1863), rail tickets, personal cards, addresses, a statement of account (1881), and a report of guard duty for prisoners of war (undated). A blank form for military rations requisition is also in the material, as is a financial statement for A. B. Benedict (1908).
For related material, see Van S. Watson Papers #69.1 and Belcher Family Papers #67.1.
Gift of Mrs. F. B. Everett
Loaned by Mrs. F. B. Everett
Processed by T. Sloan, December 1968
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.