Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

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 William King Smith papers #4563-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Originals received for photocopying from Mrs. A. Berry Credle of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in October 1990.

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: Roslyn Holdzkom, December 1990

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

Photocopies only; originals in private hands.

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.

• Agriculture--South Carolina--History--19th century.
• Beaufort County (S.C.)--Social conditions.
• Brighton (S.C.)--Social conditions--Civil War, 1861-1865.
• Charleston (S.C.)--Description and travel.
• Confederate States of America--Social conditions.
• Confederate States of America. Army--Military life.
• Family--South Carolina--Social life and customs.
• Physicians--South Carolina--History--19th century.
• Smith, Sidney, 1805-1856.
• Smith, William King, fl. 1864-1901.
• Soldiers--Confederate States of America--Correspondence.

William King Smith (fl. 1846-1901) was the grandson of William Smith, born in 1764 in Dorchester, S.C. He later lived in Beaufort County, S.C., where he died on 30 January 1843.

William King Smith's father was Sidney Smith, who was born in Combahee, S.C., on 11 April 1805, and was educated as a medical doctor in Ohio. Sidney Smith practiced medicine for many years in Brighton, near Beaufort, S.C. Later, he moved to Marietta, Ga., where he died in 1856.

Sidney Smith was married to Eliza Lawton in 1829. The couple had nine children, four of whom lived to maturity. After Eliza's death in 1845, Sidney married Maria King, daughter of William King, with whom he had four sons, two of whom reached maturity.

William King Smith served in both North and South Carolina regiments during the Civil War. He saw much action at the front lines in South Carolina and Georgia. After the war, he farmed for a time, then moved to Marietta and later to Atlanta. He married Rosa Nicholes in 1870.

Chiefly photocopies of letters to William King Smith from relatives and friends. Many of the letters are from 1864, with the largest number written by Smith's half-sister Arrabella and half-brother Southwood, both of whom appear to have spent the war years in Brighton, South Carolina. These letters are primarily about the progress of the war, William King Smith's experiences in the field, and general family activities.

After the war, letters are chiefly from Smith's brother Walter, who seems to have been a merchant in Georgia. Most of these letters discuss the activities of family members, including William King Smith's efforts at farming.

Also included are photocopies of several typed biographical and genealogical items having to do with Sidney Smith, William King Smith, and other Smith family members. There are also photocopies of two typed transcriptions of reminiscences by William King Smith of pre- and post-Civil War incidents, including a description of visits to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1859, 1860, and 1864. In addition, there are a few photocopies of letters, 1845-1855, relating to Sidney Smith, and a small number of letters relating to other family members.

Note that the originals of these papers were photocopied by Manuscripts Department staff in 1990 and returned to the donor. The originals were maintained in a binder by the donor, and the photocopies duplicate the order of the originals as arranged in the binder.