Title	1862-08-29: Robert H. Molton to Mary Louisa Mitchell Williamson, Letter
Description	This document is a letter from Robert H. Molton to Mary Louisa Mitchell Williamson (wife of his friend Samuel Thomas Williamson), written from his home in Montgomery, Ala., on August 29, 1862. He writes that he will be returning to camp soon and offers to take with him letters or packages for Dr. Williamson. The Fitzpatrick family emigrated from Ireland to the Virginia colony in the early 1700s. Over time, the family moved from Virginia through the Carolinas and into Georgia before finally settling in Line Creek, Alabama and Verbena, Alabama. Several members of the family were active politically including William Fitzpatrick, who served in the Georgia legislature, and Benjamin Fitzpatrick, who served two terms as governor of Alabama. Sarah Fitzpatrick, a descendant of this family, married Columbus White Mitchell who was from a prominent Alabama family. The couple had ten children, seven of whom survived infancy. Three of their sons served in the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy (Phil F. Mitchell, Joseph A. Mitchell, and Columbus White Mitchell). Their daughter Mary Louisa, a central figure of this collection, married Dr. Samuel "Trinley" Thomas Williamson in September 1861 shortly after the war began. Williamson was a medical doctor who also fought in the Confederate armed forces. With Williamson and the three Mitchell brothers away fighting, Mary Louisa was left home to run the household with only the help of her sick mother and her sisters. At this time she was also pregnant with her first child who was born in 1862. All three brothers and Williamson survived the war. The family continued to live in Alabama following the Civil War. Since the mid-1900s, some branches of the family have spread out while some continue to live in Alabama. This item has been aggregated as part of the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL)'s "Deeply Rooted: The Agricultural & Rural History of the American South" project.
Transcript	[page 1] Montgomery Ala 29th Aug't 1862 Mrs Dr. Williamson I shall return to Camp at Tazewell Inn, on the 6th or 7th of Septr and will carry any small packages or letters to Dr. W. I say small packages, not knowing that I will be able to get any conveyance beyond Knoxville. I will however, have a negro with me, who will be able to carry any package as large as you will desire to send I will call at Hutchins & Williams, and Bount & Hale and any thing you may leave there will be carried. Respectfully Robert H. Molton
Date	1862-08-29
Creator	Molton, Robert H.
LC Subject	Williamson Family Alabama--Social life and customs--19th century United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Correspondence
EOA Categories	Peoples -- Military Life Government & Politics -- Military History -- 1838-1874: Sectionalism, the Civil War, and Reconstruction
Location	Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama, United States
Coverage-Temporal	1862-08-29
Source	Fitzpatrick-Mitchell-Williamson Family Papers, 1850-1989, Auburn University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama
Original Item ID	Record Group 1223, Fitzpatrick-Mitchell-Williamson Papers, Folder 37
Original Item Format	1 page, 25 cm
Language	eng
Digital Publisher	Auburn, Ala. : Auburn University Libraries
Rights	This image is the property of the Auburn University Libraries and is intended for non-commercial use. Users of this image are asked to acknowledge the Auburn University Libraries. For information about obtaining high-resolution copies of this and other images in this collection, please contact the Auburn University Libraries Special Collections & Archives Department at archives@auburn.edu or (334) 844-1732.
Type	Stillimage; Text;
File Name	1862-08-29_MoltonRH_to_WilliamsonMLM_letter.pdf
File Type	application/pdf
Relation	Deeply Rooted
Contributor	Auburn University Libraries
Submitted by	Coates, Midge