Creator: Anderson, Edward C.
Collection number: 3602
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Abstract: Edward C. Anderson (1815-1883) of Savannah, Ga., was a United States Navy officer, planter, Confederate Army officer, mayor of Savannah, insurance company representative, and railroad director. He was married to Sarah McQueen Williamson (1816-1884). Family letters and volumes of Edward C. Anderson and Sarah McQueen Williamson Anderson of Savannah, Ga. Most of the letters, 1837-1882, are to Sarah Anderson from female friends and relatives, and her husband. Topics include social life in various northern and southern cities, family news, and wartime conditions in Savannah and in Charleston, S.C. Eight volumes of notes and diaries of Anderson record his experiences as a United States naval officer, 1835-1839 and 1842-1846, serving in the Mediterranean, in Florida coastal waters, and with the United States Coast Survey; as a Confederate Army officer traveling to England, 1861-1864, trying to purchase military supplies there, and later serving with the Savannah River defenses; and as a resident of Savannah, 1869-1875 and 1877-1882, active as mayor, insurance agent, and director of the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad Company and the Central Railroad and Canal Company of Georgia. Anderson’s interests in family, social, economic, racial, and civic affairs during Reconstruction and later are also represented. Other materials include the minutes, 1813-1868, of the Chatham Academy of Savannah and miscellaneous plantation and slave records.
Repository: Southern Historical Collection
Collection Highlights: This collections contains materials that have been digitized and are available online. Click here to link to the finding aid for this collection and to access the digitized content.
Correspondence covers various topics including black Union soldiers (1863) and African Americans living in Savannah (1868). Manuscript volumes include slave papers which document slave births and deaths (1817-1866) and blankets and shoes distributed to slaves (1853-1866). Anderson’s diary mentions conferences to establish an African-American hospital (1870), a riot connected with segregation on street cars, African-American education in Savannah, and national race relations (1872). Microfilm available.