Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to Use

No usage restrictions.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the George Colmer Diary #1089, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Received from Albert E. Casey of Birmingham, Ala., in 1946.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Processed by: Virginia Ferris, April 2013

Encoded by: Virginia Ferris, April 2013

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Colmer, George (1807-1878)
• Diaries (Blank-books)
• Enslaved persons--Medical care--Louisiana.
• Livingston Parish (La.)
• Medical care--Louisiana--History--19th century.

Original manuscripts belonging to George Colmer are located in other repositories as follows:

• George Colmer papers (#753), Louisiana Research Collection at Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane University
• Regional-Livingston Parish Collection, the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies at Southeast Lousiana University.

George Colmer (1807-1878) was born in England. He graduated from Tulane University in New Orleans, La., and lived in the town of Springfield in Livingston Parish, La., from 1841 until his death in 1878. Colmer practiced medicine and was involved in philanthropic and civic activities in his local area. He served as Justice of the Peace, was a land owner and land agent, and built and operated a slave hospital. He did not own slaves and opposed slavery. Colmer is credited with identifying the first epidemic of polio reported in medical history in West Feliciana, La., in 1841.

(Adapted from notes by Albert E. Casey, Southern Medical Journal Vol. 37, 1944.)

The collection consists of two microfilm reels of diary volumes belonging to George Colmer. Volume 1 (1842-1878) is the daily journal of Colmer's medical practice, including case histories and treatment notes on patients and on his own physical condition. Volume 2 (1849-1878), "Diary C," is a personal diary describing local and national events, weather, flora, epidemics, and notes on gardening and fishing; the diary also contains clippings and pamphlets.