Anna – Page 4 – Opening America's Archives

Ida B. Wells-Barnett “Lynch Law in Georgia”

Anna Primary Source Set 7 June 22, 2018June 25, 2018African-American History, lynching, New South, SS8H7

“Lynch Law in Georgia” was published by the Colored Citizens of Chicago in 1882. Ida B. Wells was part of the Great Migration movement, in which African-Americans moved North in large numbers, looking for equality and opportunity outside of the South. Yet Wells did not cut ties with the South and continued to work toward justice for black Southerners even after she left.

“Lynch law in Georgia: a six-weeks’ record in the center of southern civilization, as faithfully chronicled by the “Atlanta journal” and the “Atlanta constitution”: also the full report of Louis P. Le Vin, the Chicago detective sent to investigate the burning of Samuel Hose, the torture and hanging of Elijah Strickland, the colored preacher, and the lynching of nine men for alleged arson” By Ida B. Wells. [Chicago: This pamphlet is circulated by Chicago colored citizens, 1899]. From the Library of Congress.

Click here to view the item description and plain text on the Library of Congress website

Portrait of Mathilda (or Josephine) Beasley

Anna Primary Source Set 6, Uncategorized June 21, 2018June 21, 2018African-American History, antebellum, Reconstruction, SS8H6

This source is particularly interesting, because it demonstrates the complications of archival research. This image, originally believed to be a portrait of Matilda Beasley, manager of the Sacred Heart Orphanage. Beasley was born enslaved, became free, and moved to Savannah, where she became a teacher to enslaved children, got married to a free black man, and led a devoutly Catholic life. Beasley is extremely famous in Savannah history, yet the woman in the picture is most likely of Josephine Beasley, wife of Abram Beasley who was a child of Mathilda’s husband. Based on the style of clothing and hair the image is thought to be circa 1890, when Matilda would have been 71 years old.

Click here to read more about Mathilda Beasley

Slave Cabins on St. Catherine’s Island

Anna Primary Source Set 6 June 21, 2018African-American History, Reconstruction, sharecropping, SS8H6

Between 1883 and 1892, photographer William E. Wilson documented the lives of sharecroppers and day-to-day life in Georgia through his photography. Wilson made his living doing portraits but he had a passion for documentary photography. This type of photography focuses on capturing the everyday. Unlike a posed portrait, these photographs show a more unstaged view of life in the Savannah area during the late 1880s and early 1890s.

First African-American Senator and Representatives

Anna Primary Source Set 6 June 21, 2018African-American History, politics, Reconstruction, SS8H6

Photograph of the first black senator and representatives from Georgia

This group portrait shows the first African-American congressmen to serve in the United States Congress. During Reconstruction, Republicans gained the upper hand in Georgia politics, and African Americans served in Congress at both the state and national level. Thirty-two African Americans were elected to the Georgia Assembly in 1868. Standing in the back on the right side is Jefferson Long, Georgia’s first African-American senator. At Reconstruction’s end, Democrats gained control of political power and an African American would not represent Georgia in Congress again until Andrew Young in 1972.

Click here to read item description

Confederate Seal, 1873

Anna Primary Source Set 6 June 21, 2018Confederacy, Reconstruction, SS8H6

This Confederate seal–with the inscription “The Confederate States of America : 22 February 1862, Deo Vindice”–was reproduced as a fundraiser for the widows and orphans of the Confederacy in 1873. The seal commemorates the election of Jefferson Davis, the only president of the Confederate States of America.

James Jones Pardon 1865

Anna Primary Source Set 6 June 21, 2018June 25, 2018Reconstruction, SS8H6

William Jones was a planter in Columbia County, Georgia. Following the Civil War, Jones was pardoned by President Andrew Johnson on August 25, 1865. On December 5, 1865, Jones took an amnesty oath pledging to support and abide by the Constitution of the United States. This pledge was required for anyone who wished to vote or participate in the Reconstruction government.

William Jones Pardon 1865 by Andrew Johnson. From the Georgia Historical Society Manuscript Collection. MS 449.

Click here to read the transcript of the Pardon and Agreement

Georgia Ordinance of Secession with Signatures

Anna Primary Source Set 5 June 21, 2018Civil War, government, Secession, SS8H5

On January 19, 1861, Georgia passed its ordinance of secession at the Statehouse in Milledgeville. It was signed by 293 delegates on January 21. This source document lists the names of these 293 delegates as well as the 6 protest signatures at the bottom. George W. Crawford, who wrote the ordinance above the signatures, was at the time of the signing, a representative of Richmond County but had also been elected chair of the proceedings. Crawford had previously been both Attorney General of Georgia and Governor. Below the original source, the transcription of Crawford’s letter is linked.

Click here for the Transcript of the Ordinance

Robert Hamilton Harris Letter 1863

Anna Primary Source Set 5 June 21, 2018June 25, 2018Civil War, SS8H5

Robert Hamilton Harris (1842-1929), of Thomasville, Georgia, served in Company A, 29th Regiment of the Georgia Infantry. On October 13, 1863, Harris married Martha “Mattie” Love (1845-1900). Several of Harris’ letters to Mattie, before and after they were married, have been preserved. This particular letter includes Harris’s hand-drawn map of Sapelo Island. During the Civil War, sea islands like Sapelo were strategically important because of the Union’s emphasis on creating a naval blockade of the Southern coastline.

Letter from Robert Hamilton Harris to Martha “Mattie” Love, c.1861-1863, Sapelo Island, Georgia. Courtesy of the Georgia Historical Society Manuscript Collection. MS 2135.

Democratic Convention Address, 1856

Anna Primary Source Set 5 June 21, 2018June 25, 2018Civil War, government, politics, SS8H5

On July 4, 1856, Georgia Democrats held their state convention in Milledgeville. This rare pamphlet has a transcript of the address given by William H. Stiles at the Georgia State Democratic Convention in 1856.

An address, delivered before the Georgia Democratic State Convention held at Milledgeville, July 4th, 1856 by William H. Stiles. From the Georgia Historical Society Rare Pamphlet Collection. E435 .S85 1856.

Fragment of a Confederate Flag 1861

Anna Primary Source Set 5 June 21, 2018Civil War, Confederacy, SS8H5

This piece of a Confederate flag was given to Lawrence Cecil Berrien by a girlfriend when he left Savannah. Berrien carried it with him during the war as a Confederate Soldier.