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Greensboro Historical Museum Archives
MSS. Collection #67
Edward A. Small Papers, 1841-1937. 1 box (32 folders), c. 360 items.
Introduction
Biographical Note
Scope and Content Note
Series Descriptions
Folder Listing
Index to the CollectionNOTE: The numbers cited in parentheses throughout the inventory, e.g. 1:5, refer the researcher to the Series#:Folder# in which that name/topic will be found.
This collection primarily documents the financial dealings of Mary Small as executor of the estate of her father Isaac Thacker. The bulk of the collection dates from the last half of the 19th century.
Arrangement: The Small collection is arranged into seven (7) series and, within series, materials are arranged alphabetically. The seven series are: Correspondence, (1868-1906); Financial, (1854-1908); Legal, (1841-1908); Literary, (185?-1865); Printed, (1884-?); Small, Edward, (n.d.); White, William, (1906-1937). There was very little original order to this collection. The William White material was filed separately from the material pertaining to Small. This order has been maintained. Otherwise, the materials were arranged into series by document type. Further processing is necessary within each series.
Provenance: The Small collection was given to the museum by Mrs. William White. Mrs. White was the wife of the grandson of Edward and Mary Small. The entire collection was donated to the museum except for the diary, which is on loan. The materials came to the museum in 1974 and 1976. All of the material in the collection was either generated or collected by Small, or members of his and his wife's family.
Processing: This collection was organized and the finding aid prepared by Robert M. Browning in March 1996. A new folder listing and an index were prepared by Francis D. Pitts III in March 1997.
Edward Small (1835-1890) was a merchant in Greensboro during the 1880's. He was originally from Edenton, NC. Little is known about Small prior to the Civil War. He served as a Captain of Company F, N.C. troops, 11th Regiment for the Confederate Army. Small saw action at Gettysburg, where he was captured by Union forces on July 3, 1863. He was imprisoned at Fort Delaware, DE until July 18, 1863, at which time he was transferred to Johnson's Island, OH, prison near Sandusky, OH. He remained a prisoner of war until March 14, 1865, when he was paroled. He returned to Richmond, VA, and eventually settled in Baltimore, MD before coming to Greensboro.
He married a Mary Thacker, daughter of Isaac and Mary F. Thacker of Guilford, Co. He and his wife had three children, all girls, named Alice, Mary, and Lillian. There is a possibility Small and Isaac Thacker may have been business partners before Thacker's death in 1884. Small died on March 10, 1890, three days shy of his fifty-fifth birthday.
Biographical Sources: Information about Small's military career can be obtained from Weymouth T. Jordan's North Carolina Troops 1861-1865, A Roster vol. v, Raleigh: Division of Archives and History, 1975: p. 57. Additional biographical information on Edward Small and his family can be found in some of the legal documents (series 3), and correspondence (series 1). Certain items, like the Last Will and Testament of Isaac Thacker (3:1), show the connections between various members of the family.
Types of materials in this collection include correspondence, bills, receipts, bonds, indentures, leases, wills, contracts, agreements, deeds, a bank book, a diary, speeches, a broadside, programs, a map, a pamphlet, and some news clippings. Further organization and processing of the collection is needed to ascertain its full research strength. This particularly concerns the correspondence (series 1) and the legal documents (series 3). A closer examination of these items may reveal greater information about Small, his family, and his dealings.
Small's Civil War diary (4:1) is an excellent primary source of information about conditions inside a Union Army prison during the final stages of the war. Also of great interest are the two speeches (4:2) given by Small on the steps of the Edenton, NC Courthouse in the 1850's. In these documents Small called for temperance, and a return to the ways of God. Researchers interested in social movements prior to the Civil War, particularly the temperance movement, will find these items useful. A small collection of Civil War era financial documents (2:1) list what Mr. Small was paid during his service in the Confederate Army, and are further examples of primary documentation of the period.
1. Correspondence. 13 folders (c. 30 items). 1868-1906.
The letters are mostly between various members of the family of Edward Small. There are several between Mary Small and her sister Georgia. There are others from Small's daughters to their mother. It appears that some members of the family relocated to California. Other letters are financial in nature. One interesting item is a letter from Edward Small to his wife. It is undated, but speaks of their separation, and his longing to be reunited with her. In it he mentions temperance, which was clearly a passion of his. There is no evidence, however, that he wrote this letter while in prison. In this series there is also a folder (1:13) containing items from unidentified sources.2. Financial Documents. 12 folders (c. 275 items). 1854-1908.
The bulk of this material is bills, receipts, and bonds, relating to the estate of Isaac Thacker (2:3-12), Edward Small's father-in-law. A few documents show some of the dealings of Edward and Mary Small (2:2), and appear to have no connection with the Thacker estate. The documents relating to Small's service in the Confederate Army (2:1), include receipts of pay from the War Department of the Confederacy, and others regarding his stay at Johnson's Island prison as a prisoner of war.
3. Legal Documents. 1 folder (20 items). 1841-1908.
These materials relate to the business and legal dealings of Edward Small, Isaac Thacker and Mary Small. They include deeds, wills, agreements, contracts, and indentures. They are useful for establishing connections between various members of Small's, and his wife's, families.
4. Literary. 2 folders (3 items). 185?-1865.
These items include some of the most fascinating, and useful material in the collection. The diary (4:1), details the final three months of Edward Small's imprisonment at Johnson's Island, OH as a prisoner of war during the Civil War. In it he details camp life, weather, and the escapes of several prisoners from January to March, 1865. After his parole in March, he seldom entered information into the diary. These later notes refer to travel and social engagements he attended.
The speeches (4:2) were given by Small in Edenton, NC in the 1850's and advocate temperance. They were given before a group named the Cadets of Temperance, and the general public.
5. Printed Material. 2 folders (8 items). 1884-?.
This small miscellaneous series contains a broadside (5:1) announcing the sale of land previously owned by Isaac Thacker by his daughter, Mary Small, the executor of Thacker’s estate. The series also includes some miscellaneous updated news clippings (5:2). Also of interest is a short typed piece (5:2) titled "An Interesting Occurrence in Greensboro during the War Between the States," written by Bettie Sue Beaman. It is a tale of gold, reportedly removed from Richmond, VA, during the Civil War, and buried near Greensboro.
6. Small, Edward - Miscellaneous material. 1 folder (4 items). n.d.
This series contains a few undated materials including a floorplan of a house drawn on the back of an envelope, and a business/calling card with Edward Small's name on it.
7. White, William material. 1 folders (7 items). 1906-1937.
This series contains printed material collected by Mr. White. It includes programs of several Presbyterian Church rallies and meetings in various locales throughout the country. A small pamphlet of information about Greensboro, published by the Chamber of Commerce in 1911, is also of interest. A 1937 pocket map of the city of Greensboro is also included.
Contents 1 1 Corresp. -- Acree, Coleman and Co. (1884)
2 -- Chilcutt, B. G. (1885-87)
3 -- Moore, Georgia E. (1886-1901) 4 -- Richardson, R. P. (1871-73) 5 -- Rowe, W. D. (1902) 6 -- Small, Alice (n.d.) 7 -- Small, Edward A. (n.d.) 8 -- Small, Mary E. (1886-87) 9 -- Spilman, Jas. D. (1868) 10 -- Thacker, Bettie J. (1886-1906) 11 -- Thacker, Mrs. S. M. (1883-86) 12 -- Thacker, S. M. (1883-85) 13 -- Unidentified (1891-1901)
Financial Documents -- Small, Edward -- Civil War Related (1862-1865)
2 -- Small, Edward & Small, Mary (1867-1892)
3 -- Small, Mary & Thacker, Isaac (1854-1908)
Legal Documents (1841-1908)
Literary -- Civil War Diary of Small, Edward (1865)
2 -- Speeches given by Small, Edward (185?-1857)
Printed Material -- Broadside (1884)
2 -- Misc. material (n.d.)
Small, Edward -- Misc. material (n.d.)
White, William -- material (1906-1937)
Index to the Edward A. Small Papers (1841-1937)
NOTE: The numbers following the name/subject entry -- e.g. 1:1 -- indicate in which Series#:Folder# (or, if no ":", Series only) that name/topic can be found. Dates of the items are given in parentheses for an individual Series/Folder or, if at the end, for the entire subject/name entry. The abbreviation GSO indicates a Greensboro association.
Acree, Coleman and Co.: 1:1 (1884)
Beaman, Bettie Sue: 5:2 (nd)
Cadets of Temperance: 4:2 (ca. 1850's)
California: 1:9-12 (1883-1906)
Chamber of Commerce (GSO): 7:1 (1911)
Chilcutt, B. G.: 1:2 (1885-87)
Civil War: 2:1; 4:1; 5:2 (1862-1865); prisons, 2:1; 4:1 (1863-65)
Confederate Army: 2:1 (1862-65)
Edenton, NC: 4:2 (ca. 1850's)Greensboro, NC: 1; 5:2; 7:1 (ca. 1868-1937); map, 7:1 (1937)
Johnson's Island Prison (OH): 2:1; 4:1 (1863-65)
Moore, Georgia E.: 1:3 (1886-1901)
Richardson, R. P.: 1:4 (1871-73)
Rowe, W. D.: 1:5 (1902)
Small, Alice: 1:6 (nd)
Small, Edward A.: 1:7; 2:1-2; 3:1; 4:1-2; 6:1 (1841-1908)
Small, Mary E.: 1:8; 2:2-12; 3:1; 5:1 (1841-1908)
Spilman, Jas. D.: 1:9 (1868)
Temperance: 1:7; 4:2 (ca. 1850's)
Thacker, Bettie J.: 1:10 (1886-1906)
Thacker, Isaac: 2:3-12; 3:1; 5:1 (1841-1908)
Thacker, Mrs. S. M.: 1:11 (1883-86)
Thacker, S. M.: 1:12 (1883-85)
White, William: 7:1 (1906-37)